Kyrst's First Area!

We got a hand written scanned letter from Kyrstin this week.  She left the CTM and is in her first area which happens to be the area of the CCM.   So the following is her letter that I (mom) typed. 

I’ve definitely felt a lot of help from the Lord this week, so thanks for any and all prayers said in my behalf, they help!  I’d appreciate any prayers to help me speak and not be scared to talk with people on the streets about the gospel.

Agh I LOVE it here and I’m so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here.  I realized just how awesome it is that I’m serving at the same time as so many people that mean the most to me  (high school friends, my best friend Nik, my cousins, and my sister).  What a blessing!  HOW COOL IS IT THAT WE ALL GET TO SERVE THE LORD TOGETHER ACROSS THE WORLD?!?!?!

Well we said goodbyes to our MTC friends and now I’m here!  I’ll miss my district and my other Brazilian and Latino friends.  My comp/trainer is Hermana Altamiano.  She is Awesome.  She doesn’t speak English, but understands lots and she is so HELPFUL!   Elder Schade is now an AP (our neighbor in Lindon ward), so I got to see him today.  IT was nice to come here with someone I know waiting to help me.  He speaks like a Chileno with no “S”s at the end of his words ha ha.  I took a picture with him so I’ll send it next week.  My area is back by the CCM so I’ll be going to the same chapel and living in the building behind.  It’s called the POCURO ward and the LAS CUNDES stake.

Happy Birthday Becca!  With Love Hermana Millett

All The New Missionaries with their Trainers

                                       
                                                      The Chile MTC

Last Letter from the Chile MTC

Agh Mal I was soooooo excited to hear from you!!!!!! So crazy.  Sounds like we have similar but different experiences.  I am also LOVING being here, my district is seriously the greatest ever. Like I swear we were best friends before this life.  Its different here in that everyone knows everyone, if not personally then they at least know what they look like.  So mal, elder Van Liew is here! Ill go talk to him! Also Hermana Olsen one of the nortamericanas said that her sister talked to you on facebook from the sister missionary website? Idk what her sisters first name is but I think she is from Cali and she is going to your mission.  

I CANNOT WAIT TO HEAR ABOUT KATIES CALL!!! The bummer is I have to wait two weeks because I go out into the field next tuesday and pdays in the field are on monday.... which means I skip a pday haha so yeah fun times.  

Agh so much to say so little time!!

First, I saw Ryan Schade!!! So here at the CCM the doctor for the whole area and some mission office stuff is here so we see people from other missions and stuff all the time! So I was talking to one of my previous maestros with my district and I hear someone call HERMANA MILLETT!!! and I just thought.......who the heck knows me here? But yeah it was elder schade so we went and talked to him, he said I will most likely have a latina trainer and other cool stuff about the mission.   I am a little scared though haha he has put on a little weight.... I could see it in his face...... so yeah I guess we will see how I do but if you get pictures of me and I start looking different you will know why.... no mas pan for me!

So Hermana Huber and Hermana Bangerter got changed out of my room at the beginning of this week! I was super sad because they are like our very best friends and they are almost like our 3rd and 4th companions!!

But we got new roomates and they are AWESOME.  2 are from Chile, 1 from Argentina(She is going to my mission!) and 1 from Peru! Its funny because that morning I had prayed that I would get to practice my spanish more and we got 4 hermanas that dont speak any english! But I love them to death!! My old Roomie Hermana Benitez came back with her companion to go to the doctor and I just hugged her and cried for a few minutes, she left to the field about a month ago and it was soooo good to see her again.  You really learn to love these people its hard to say goodbye!!

This week we got new teachers that dont speak any english and when I told one of them that I was a Millett he said Joseph Millett?? Like in the film?? I assume he meant the family history film, so I said yes and he came and shook my hand and told me that I come from an amazing heritage.  I thought that was cool! Also, was I the first Sister Millett?? I was trying to think of any others (other than mal of course) and I couldnt think of any, I am so glad to be a missionary and see my name right next to that of Jesus Christ on my name tag.  This is his work and I want to do the best I can to represent him.

I went street contacting this week! I was terrified.  And I didnt do so well. We were only out there for like 20 minutes and I could understand most of what they were saying but we didnt get very far with our conversations haha oh well it was a fun experience, I get to try the real thing for 4 hours this friday!!

Agh we had an AWESOME sunday this week. I LOVE sundays.  We were with the Latinas this time and we got to help them learn some English! Then we watched the testaments in Spanish and wrote our testimonies in a letter to give to our future kids. It was really cool.  I cried.  A lot.  

Haha so just random stuff about the good ole Chile CCM.  We get bored during breaks so we get creative, we started by playing volleyball with oranges, but the oranges break and spill juice everywhere, so we justcover them in packing tape..... we may have hit a few people in the head..... haha but its fun everyone joins in, even the teachers haha. 

Also, there is a kid here, Elder Sanchez from Mexico, that is Nikoras twin.... I dont like it haha the poor kid probably wonders why I give him wierd looks all the time...

Agh we had an AWESOME lesson this week.  Me and Hermana Lofgreen translated the poem Footprints in the Sand into spanish and shared it with one of our investigators who had been struggling with a lot of stuff. The whole lesson went so great and by the end we were all crying.  My teacher, who acts like the investigator, burst into tears and said that when she sees how far me and my comp have come from our very first lesson, (which was also with her acting as a different investigator) 5 weeks ago she can see how much the Lord has shaped us. It is so true, there is NO WAY Id be able to speak any spanish or understand as much as I do without absolute miracles.  The Lord blesses his missionaries, I know that for sure!

Talk to you in 2 weeks! Pray for me because Im going to need it! Im super ner vous but also super excited!

With love Hermana Millett

Week 4 in the MTC

Ok I can't believe that it has been 4 weeks.  A month ago I was saying good bye to you all and now I've been here a month! I have one more pday to write you guys here in the ccm and then you probably wont hear from me the next week because I go into the field!!

Haha mom I've been taking the dried fruit with LOOOTTTS of water and its helped A TON! I'm feeling much better and doing much better hahaha

I doubt I'd be able to find apple cider vinegar but I guess I've never looked so you never know!
 

OK I AM FREAKING OUT FOR MAL AND KATES.

Mal I hope you are dang excited.  I know when I was in your shoes I was just nervous and scared and just way too many emotions, mostly because I was going to a different country though haha.  So yeah don't be nervous, its just freaking awesome.  Honestly right now the hardest thing for me is just accepting that I'm not perfect so I need to stop expecting myself to be perfect at spanish, focusing, and being a missionary.  I just need to be obedient and try really hard and not worry about it.  So yeah.  Don't compare your success to that of others because thats not good and just love it so much. I've made so many great friends and I'm having a BLAST.  So youre going to love it.  HAHAHA BED BUGS IN PROVO?!?!?! Yeah we don't have that problem in the Chile CCM.  They also do our laundry for us.... and we get to go outside in the city on pdays and its much more relaxed, and presidente plays volleyball with us.... and CHILE IS JUST THE GREATEST. Agh guys I'm just loving it.  Missions are hard, and its going to be really scary in 2 weeks. but I'm so happy.  so so so happy. 

Katie.  You better send me a video of you opening your call.  I want to hear all about it.  And I want you to get called to Chile REAL BAD.  But I guess that one is in the Lords hands haha.

So the spanish is coming..... Our district is apparently waaaaaaaaaay further a long than most districts usually are because we are learning the things in our language books that many missionaries don't even get to in the CCM but I still feel like I have SOO MUCH LEFT TO GO.  Lessons are going well though, I'm finally able to just go in, ask questions and teach whatever I feel prompted too, without notes or anything like that.  Of course I have to sit there and stumble through it and think through it a ton but its coming.  My gospel language is doing well..... its my street language that is non-existent hahaha

Oh and Mal, you are lucky, Argentine spanish is easy! I understand the argentines but the Chilenos are really hard to understand.... I'll get there though!!

Agh spency was the dance so fun?!?

Alex, I found a logo quiz for you, remember the car brand with the two little silver arrow things that we didn't know? Its everywhere here, its citroen I think.  Maybe you already figured that one out haha. 

Becca you would be in heaven here there are stray dogs everywhere and they are all really nice(Ok most of them are nice... some are really scary) and you would probably just make friends with all of them. I just want to clean them up and adopt them all, it really is sad to see such sweet little animals out on the streets haha

So a cool lesson I had this week, even though it is a fake investigator.  So our teacher Hermano Traverso is using his investigator "Esteban" who we think is actually him from when he was 16 and inactive.  And me and my comp walk in to our lesson and he has some leaves that are supposed to be marijuana on the table... and he was apparently on drugs during this lesson.  The spirit was just completely gone and we weren't sure what to do, so we opened with prayer and my comp started talking and I just got this super strong prompting to ask him what he had on the table, I resisted at first cuz I already knew and it was awkward, but then I got the prompting again and I just said "Esteban, what is that?" he flicked it off the table, and as I kept asking he did everything he could to hide it, I looked him in the eye (Or the sunglasses I guess cuz he was wearing aviators... and a fake lip ring... super funny, but also helped us realize the personality and kind of person we were teaching) so yeah I looked at him and told him that the spirit couldnt be here in situations like this... then I went on to tell him how much the lord loved him how much we loved him and promised him blessings if he got rid of that stuff and then I said that if the spirit couldn't be there then neither could we and other stuff I can't even remember because It wasn't me saying it.  We ended with a prayer and left.  It was suuuper unexpected but I said words I didn't know, and there WAS SO MUCH POWER IN THAT ROOM. Then my teacher came in and taught us about the power that we can have as representatives of Christ and it was CRAZY.  As missionaries directed by the spirit we really can make promises, and bring the spirit to testify and change people.  Agh I can't even describe it but it was amazing, just a testimony to me that as missionaries we can't beat around the bush, boldly testify of Christ and the Spirit will boldly testify that what you are saying is true.

I played a musical number at the devotional on Sunday night! I played dr hatch's arrangement of our saviors love!

also mom and dad, the spanish scriptures we have aren't so fantabulous, and they are hard to work with because they don't stay open, have no tabs, and don't fit in any cases they have here, I want to buy a nice set but I also want to make sure thats ok with you guys? I finally found a usb charger for my camera, ipod, and speakers and I bought batteries and stuff too, so that should be showing up on the account also :)

We also had daylight savings so now I'm 3 hours ahead of you guys

Love you lots! Love Hermana Millett

Kyrstin's bruised volleyball wrists

Food Poisoning and a Priesthood Blessing

September 4, 2013

Sooooo the adventure of this week, I woke up last wendsday in HOOOOORRRIBBLEEE pain, like worse than I think I've had in years.  I couldn't figure out what it was. So I woke up my companion after an hour and we knocked on presidentes door (President and Hermana Allred are the next door down from us, that doesnt happen in Provo) haha.  So I told him I needed a blessing and he woke up my district leader and his comp (Haha I guess he walked into their room and said something like "Elder Kern! Are your sleeping on top of your sheet!!" All of the elders freaked out thinking it was some surprise inspection in the middle of the night....) So they gave me an awesome blessing and told me I would be able to serve to my full capacity, my comp also wasn't feeling well so they gave her one too. 

The rest of the day my comp and I were taking frequent runs to the restroom because we think the empanadas we had on the street the day before had given us food poisoning.  So yeah.... constapation and diarrhea because of food poisining and too much pan (bread in Spanish) is not a good combination.  But yeah.... my companion and I definitely got closer having to leave to the bathroom every 5 minutes but we were able to somewhat be in class and it was a crazy adventure and its all good!! Lesson learned, eat your fruits and veggies even if they only have an old bruised pear and seaweed left....

So spanish is coming a long, I've been able to start teaching lessons without having to completely plan it all out before hand, the last three or four lessons we went in with a plan felt the spirit say something different and did our best to put what the spirit was telling us into words. My grammar is bad, but I'm getting better at the gospel language at least!! Agh its scary to think I'll be out in the field in 3 weeks. I'm halfway through and I've made strides of progress but man there is SOOOO MUCH LEFT TO LEARN!! I just have to remember not to compare myself to others because there are so many in my district that are AMAZING and speak way better than me, but I'm working hard and doing my best to focus and apply what I'm learning.  There is only 1 latina hermana here now! Last time there was 20 or more!! So we don't get to practice spanish as much during meal times which is a bummer but we still get to practice a lot with people on temple grounds and with our teachers!

Also, pray for me to be able to focus in class (its hard because my district is so fun that we get out of focus!!) and pray for me to feel better....

Also, I don't think I ever told you my plaque scripture, DC 6:36 and 37 are my favorite! Such a good reminder for when I get too caught up in my own shortcomings, God loves us and if we are focused 100 percent on him there is no reason to doubt or fear because you are in his hands!!

Haha some funny things said during classes this week:

Elder Lloyd: Elder Denver would you like an altoid?

Elder Denver (Country Boy from the middle of nowhere near Duchesne): AN ALTOID!??! I haven't had an altoid in a fortnight!!

Elder Kern and Elder Denver: Dios es Nuestro Almuerzo Padre Celestial.... (God is our Lunch Heavenly Father, I think they meant to say Amoroso meaning loving haha)

Haha its a lot of fun here, I love all of these people that I get to spend time with and I love getting to spend so much time studying and teaching the gospel!!

Love you all!!

Hermana Millett