Surprise!
Hey guys! I know I said I was going to email tomorrow because of the temple trip but things change. Being in Tupelo we are about 2.5 hours away from Birmingham, plus there are two sets of Elders that are an hour South of us who don’t have cars and need rides tomorrow. Therefore, we will be driving for 3.5 hours to the temple tomorrow, do a session, eat lunch, and 3.5 hours back home! Yay! I’ll be going from Alabama to Mississippi, to Alabama to Mississippi, and then to Alabama to Mississippi in one week. Gotta love Tupelo, MS!
This is a great area though and I love the people here! I will miss the people in Prattville, all those great families, but Tupelo is just as good a place to be! Lyn is one of our investigators. She has been meeting with the missionaries on and off for a few years now and has a great personality haha! She’s an older lady who has a desire to get closer to God, but helping her realize that this is the way she can do that is a little more frustrating. Keshaun is a 16-year-old who is prepared. He has a baptismal date for September 02, and he’s going strong. He was found because he asked a girl in the ward on a date, she said “No,” and then he asked if he could then come to church with her. Go the girl who said “No!” Jerome is another investigator and he is also on date for September 02. He is the boyfriend of a member and she is more or less his motivation. We are trying to determine if his intentions are for her or for him but we are hoping for the best! Quantrio is hilarious and he is also the friend of a member. He is disabled and in a wheelchair but he is one of the funniest kids I think I’ll ever met. He is so optimistic and he loves coming to church so we are hoping to help him get baptized soon as well! We taught him the Restoration and he totally understood and retained all the information, that was super cool to see!
A couple other people that we’ve run into and will hopefully be able to teach and get baptized are Nick and Annie, Fredrika, Courtney, Brittany, Marco, Bryan, Marquita, Bob, AJ, and probably some more people I’m forgetting.
The members here are great as well. There is this awesome guy, Brother Paul, who is a blessing from God. He allows us to do our laundry at his house because we don’t have a washer and dryer. Plus he is nice enough to let us email at his house today because of all that stuff that’s going on with our P-day tomorrow. He is disabled and has a few medical issues. Best story Elder Stanford told me about this guy is that he sat through Sacrament while having a seizure. BEAST! If people say that they can’t wake up for church or anything, they just need to meet this guy. The Thordesens is another awesome family who allows us to use their gym in the mornings. The Chapmans will never let us go hungry. The Olsons are super supportive of the missionaries. And the names will go on as I get to meet more members. Bishop Westcott is great too, and the Jones’...just to name a few people!
And...can’t forget about my companion! Elder Stanford is awesome. He’s been on his mission a while-he goes home in December. He is from Virginia and played Basketball and Football at home. He is also into things like Anime and such so he’s kinda a cool mix of a personality. But, he is a great leader, an even better missionary, and we are going to set Tupelo on FIRE! (The fire of the Holy Ghost because so many people will be ready to receive it, lol).
Some Funny Stories:
- I said goodbye to Pauline and got a hug!
- Lyn told me a story of the time she had the missionaries over and the Jehovah Witness came to knock on her door at the same time. She told the missionaries, “Stay here, I’m going to invite them in and let y’all talk a little bit together!” Luckily, the JWs didn’t feel comfortable coming in.
- Brother Stanton, a member who is helping fellowship Lyn complained to us about how everyone who speaks in Sacrament meeting speaks too fast and to soft. He said he may have to talk to Bishop about it...he also slammed Lyn for not wanting to keep commitments.
- Quanterio, in response to our question about whether God has answered his prayers before, went on about how God sent him his girlfriend. He said he was praying and praying for a girl, a white girl, to come his way. Then, long story short, she did. We were dying in the middle of the lesson!
- More of a “cool” story is that Elder Alba from the Seventy came to our meeting we went to on Friday and we got a picture with him!
But, before I completely forget about Prattville we did have a miracle before I left! Last Saturday we had a ward party/BBQ at a park. A member went around and rounded up all the people who were in the park and called them over to come have some food! A couple of those people were Mary and Felicia and all their kids. They are two Sisters who were brought up in foster care and were currently searching for a church home where they would feel welcome. As we ate we talked a little bit about our church and we set up an appointment for the following Tuesday to come and teach them more. Before they left, we invited them to come and attend church with us the next morning, at 9:00am. They said that they would come and all their kids seemed excited about it. The next morning before Sacrament Meeting started we didn’t see them; after the Sacrament was passed they were nowhere to be seen. Then, at about 10 minutes until the meeting was over in walked Mary, Felicia, their kids, and one of their brothers (I think). They stayed all three hours and each of them loved the meeting! But that’s not the end of the story. My last day in Prattville we had an appointment with all of them for 12:00 Tuesday. All of them were there in addition to another sister of theirs and we taught the Restoration and invited all of them to be baptized and they accepted. I hope all continues to go like it did in the first few days with Mary and Felicia and their families.
I love my mission and I love all that I was able to do in Prattville. It was a great twelve weeks in which learned so much from companions, the members, and my Heavenly Father. My Faith has increased dramatically and I’ve seen how important and how necessary it is to have that faith in Jesus Christ and in his Atonement. I can’t wait to go to the temple tomorrow and to help hasten the work of our Father and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
I love y’all and I hope that things are going good at home! Let me know if I can do anything for you! Make it a great week!
Much Love,
Elder Milius
PS: More pictures to come next week...I don't have an SD card reader with me!
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Godspeed,
ELDER MICHAEL S. MILIUS
ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM MISSION
"Behold I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life." ~3 Nephi 5:13
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