Hello!!
It was another good week in Alabama! Not as long and exhausting but still earning my pillow each night as expected. We had a couple exchanges this past week and are gearing up for another Transfer Week--crazy. Technology is also ramping up. (PS: Follow me on Facebook, "Michael Milius." I won't be able to respond unless it fulfills my missionary purpose of inviting others to come to Christ and I ask that you not tag me in anything from home. But, enjoy following my mission and the Lord's work for the time being!) Also, I had a pretty good birthday! There was quite a few cakes and David cooked for us. I had a cool experience too, at least it was for me. We went and taught a younger kid named Cameron about the Restoration and about who God is. It was a typical teaching-on-the-doorstep experience and then I kinda stepped back a little and thought to myself how cool it was that I was teaching and testifying on my birthday. The Spirit was just there and as I bore my testimony I knew what I was teaching was true. It's neat to see the gospel change peoples lives, but it's even better to watch it have an effect on your life as you sacrifice for the Lord. Then again, as Elder Bednar said, "It's not a sacrifice-it's who we are." Amen!
I'll get right into following up with a couple people first. Crystal and Oscar are still basically gone. We aren't sure what's really going to happen in the end but you can always hope, right? There isn't much progress being made with anyone else in particular. A lady named Ayobiyi has been reading from the Book of Mormon and we are trying to teach her more consistently. Coaly, a guy we first met in the Walmart parking lot and then finally located seems pretty cool as well. He's been reading and is asking some sincere questions about things and has the desire to learn which is always helpful. Good things from those two. Jabori and Javon are doing great as well, love those boys! Elder Egbert and I feel like they are our younger brothers, especially when we were sitting with them in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. It was awesome and they are progressing well-still headed to the 10th for baptism, hopefully!!
Also, we had a cool lesson with Jabori and Javon where we watched one of the children narrative Bible stories. Elder Barker, one of the senior missionaries, went with us to help us teach. May I just say that was cool in it of itself because he told us how happy it made him that he was able to come out with us to be a "missionary." That was a tender moment. Anyway, as we taught the boys about the Atonement and the importance of the sacrament and church attendance the Spirit was so strong. It was a meaningful lesson for me just because of that background. On a side note Teressa won't be able to come to church because of work but she did sound like she wanted to come. I hope we can get the boys baptized and that they can bring their Mom along eventually! We went back a couple days later and finished the Plan of Salvation and besides the fact that the boys looked at each other weird when we said they could live together forever it went really well!
So, on a new note, Each week in Sacrament Meeting I always take the time to ask my Heavenly Father what it is He would like me to focus on this upcoming week. A lot of times it is a skill, or a certain lesson, or simple things like that. This week was different though, I was impressed by this phrase, "Suffer the little Children." That's it. Weird, huh. Well with that in mind we have had a lot of good experiences with the "children." We were able to spend some time with the Young Men on Wednesday doing PMG study and role plays. We were also able to go and teach a family in our ward, the Harmons, and a lot of it was focused on their two kids. We've become very known for a couple of our object lessons in the ward thanks to the Bishop, one of then being a particular Rubix Cube lesson, so we shared that thought and it was well received...as usual; no thanks to me however that credit goes to Elder Stanford and from him to Elder Allen I think so its been passed down.
We made a couple new contacts this week to: a guy named Marcellos who we didn't think was going to be solid was actually interested in reading the Book of Mormon; another guy with a young family named Gift didn't seem too interested hut when we came back at the time we said we would he invited us in and we had a good conversation (I say us but in reality I haven't taught him due to these exchanges we do); Lloyd, our Christmas Eve tracting miracle finally pulled through-we gave him a church tour and taught him more on detail the Restoration so looking to keep up on him; a kid named Cameron as well who we taught a kinda Restoration lesson to as well as helping him understand more about who God even is; Dee was someone we knocked into who lives in Colombiana so we sent his information down there but that was a solid contact I think.
Saturday was the best Saturday yet this transfers because we didn't get blasted by our investigators! Sunday was great, as always. (We found this cool video about the Sabbath: Watch it! https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-12-008-the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng) Splits went great with the Bishopric and we are slowly bust surely cleaning up some of these records and finding those people who are ready to come back and all they need is an invitation! It's but a good experience.
- Jabori prayed on Tuesday that he could come to basketball on Thursday so he could, "Show them how to play."
- Brother Bartmess and I got our pictures taken by a guy who was living next to an address we went to see if a member still lived there that we have on record. It was interesting.
- Two guys were having an argument as we were tracting in an apartment complex. One of them asked us for a lighter and had the ghettoest blunt rolled up in his hand. They were so high so we left.
- We met this guy knocking doors who was almost rude in the fact he was just bringing up situations in the past as to why we were wrong and why Christians are hypocrites. After he closed the door however we knock his neighbors and he peeked out to watch us twice, the second time he had a weird monkey mask on. It was creepy and I did not have a good feeling so we walked around the building. Then, about 10 minutes later the dude walks around the building to where we were smoking a cigarette and had these Freddy Kruger/Edward Sissorhands things on his fingers. Let's just say the Spirit left and so did we, in a hurry. People like that just aren't fun to run into.
- Elder Stanger told me he was famous in the MTC because of the poop he left in one of the building bathrooms.
- Brother Morgan shaved his head and his beard!! That means nothing to y'all because I don't think I have pictures with him but trust me when I say it was significant.
- Gator Ball is Life.
- Got a funny Birthday text from the Cahaba Elders with the picture below. You can guess which picture but the text read: "Hey there Elder Milius! We were gonna bake you a nice cake for your birthday but we decided instead to get you some nice guns Happy 20 bro! Love you! ️️️"
Gotta loves these new phones.
In conclusion, we had a neat experience with a Sister in our ward named Sister Porter. She hasn't been to church in a while and we didn't know who she really was, neither did Bishop. But on Wednesday we went over there on a team-up with the Bishop and started talking to her and she really wanted to get back into church. She started to break down a little bit in talking about how she wanted to be sealed to her parents-she being the only child not sealed to them because of her moving to her biological fathers when she was young. It was cool to see her desire and to reassure her of the love Heavenly Father has for her and the knowledge that there is a plan and a way for her to get what she desires, all central to Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Man I'm going to miss being a missionary; going to miss being all about helping others 24/7. But I guess we can all figure out how to be "lower case missionaries" in the words of Elder Egbert.
All of your work does NOT go unnoticed. The Lord is aware of all of us and will never turn his back on us. As we were tracting the other day we met a guy who said he used to be a Mormon and stuff. He wasn't interested, which was fine, but he made a comment that always makes me sorrowful and that is, "I'm way too far gone..." That is never the truth, and no one should ever get lost in that trap.
Love y'all, hope you have a blessed week!
Much Love,
Elder Milius
--
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
"Hey there Elder Milius! We were gonna bake you a nice cake for your birthday but we decided instead to get you some nice guns Happy 20 bro! Love you! ️️️"
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