Elder Michael Milius: 12 March 2018

New transfer, but same old.

And just like that we are in another transfer! Elder Egbert has left and he went to serve down in Clanton, AL. My new companion is...*drumroll*... ELDER CANTY!! Remember him? He was the tall blonde kid who smashed a Sisters face in playing volleyball in the MTC. He is from a tiny town in Colorado and is a State Champ basketball player. He also buys and sells livestock, mainly sheep. We were in the same MTC District and we got to know each other decently well, still a lot to learn about that guy but he will make a good companion. I might add a side note that after having Elder Egbert and now Elder Canty I have officially decided I am what they call a "city slicker." I don't know what President is trying to tell me by putting me with these country boys but I'll figure it out I guess.

With transfers and everything this week was busy and it definitely went by fast. It was good though and we've had a pretty solid start to the Transfer. We have had a couple solid teaching opportunities. One of them was with a guy named Bryan. He called us on Thursday and asked if we could come and see him--still no idea how he got our number. We went by on Friday and taught the Restoration and invited him to be baptized on the April 21st. In that same complex (it was a new one we hadn't seen before, which in it of itself is a miracle) we found a guy named Valentine who is from El Salvador and is super solid. I was able to talk to him a bit in Spanish and as I was doing that a guy named Chad walked up. Turns out Chad is a member of the church and he wants to start coming back! We found his name on our roster and are updating our records but that was a cool coincidence. Valentine is also getting taught by the Spanish missionaries Elder Snow and Ham and they said he was really solid too. We also have a couple other semi-return appointments. So hopefully more to come from "Little Mountain Cir."

We've been doing a lot of finding recently but also quite a few of follow-ups. Transfers are kinda a time to re-evaluate and also an excuse to go and visit everyone to introduce your new companion. We made contact with Ayobiyi again as well as Marcellus and a couple other former-ish investigators. We met Princa, a lady I remember visiting when I was here in Hoover on an exchange almost a year ago so that was a neat connection. We met a guy named Patrick who is really searching for truth, and another guy, Chris, who is curious to talk about God and religion. I have found that as we are out finding and talking with people sometimes we look for the "investigator." But, if we shift our focus and just talk to people and make connections and relationships they will BECOME the "investigator" we are searching for. We went and taught another lady named Vivian who we found a couple weeks ago and that went well. It was good to visit with her again. We focused a lot on the Priesthood and the Book of Mormon because that’s where she gets kidna lost. She said she wants to come visit a service though and even though she’s busy throughout the week we are going to try to use Facebook Messenger to call her for a few minutes in the evening.

Jabori and Javon are doing good! They came to church yesterday and they also went to Bishops Youth Night. They are basically members, bearing their testimony and volunteering for prayers and stuff. Unfortunately their mom doesn't feel they are ready for baptism yet. But, they are doing good and we are going to teach then as if they are getting baptized on the 31st and go from there.

We also got back in touch with Clinton. We went over the Apostasy and Restoration a little bit and talked about the Book of Mormon and how we've come to know this is the true church. Then he asked about the Trinity and we told him and explained to him that we believe God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate. Elder Canty talked about Christ's baptism and how it wouldn't be possible to hear the voice of God and have the Holy Ghost descend during that event. Before we could brace ourselves and throw a quick, "But you just need to pray about it..." response he says, "Yeah, that makes sense!" Blew us away. Hope to keep him rolling.

A couple other things for this week: MLC was great, we have quite a few of new leaders and with the technology literally coming out this week it's very exciting to get rolling! The new missionaries, the three Sisters we got, are solid and ready to get to work and help us with this technology implementation. And the departing missionaries were a great group and it was sad to see them go. A lot of good missionaries, and a lot of strong disciples.

Funny stories for the week:

President blasted me when I said that I had an ex-girlfriend serving in another mission with the older sister of one of the missionaries coming out. He said, "I don't know what's more of a shock: the connection or that you actually had an ex-girlfriend." To top it off he gave Elder Snow knuckles after he said it.
Elder Canty was trying to knock Bees out of the air on Saturday. Then with one swing I nailed one, it hit the wall, and Elder Canty stepped on it coming up the stairs all in one fluid motion over about a second and a half time span. Pictures will be sent. His name was Buzz.
Elder Canty said "Yes sir" to a lady in Ross and she called him out for it. Lol.
When we were out tracting around an apartment complex we saw a lady who literally ran away from us. We lost line of sight for about a half second and she took off sprinting to her apartment. Then, as we were quietly and calmly walking by we heard the sound of her banging on the door to her apartment yelling "Let me in! Let me in! They're coming!" Gotta love the South; always mistaken for Jehovah Witnesses. (Now I know why you always need to be within sight of your companion... It only takes half a second).
Within the hour of the above story we helped some people pack up to move and as we were walking up they asked if we were JWs. When we said, "No," they said, "Oh good because if you were we were going to run!" Then we told them about the lady who had just ran from us. They fed us pizza for lunch after helping them move. :)
When we were teaching Bryan-the same Bryan who is on date-we were using the pamphlet. He was reading about prophets in the pamphlet and as he read it went as follows: "Adam, Moses, Noah, Abraham-Abraham Lincoln!!" Elder Canty gracefully told him this was a different Abraham and we continued with the lesson.
We missed Ward Council with the Stake Presidency because we forgot to change our clocks. #nodaylightsavings #azhasitright

It was a great week and I’m excited to see how this transfer goes! Like I said it’s started off pretty solid and we are looking out for miracles that the Lord is going to put in our path. Elder Canty is a hard worker and we are going to definitely get to work. I know that as we work and do what we are supposed to we will be blessed. In ward conference yesterday, which was great by the way, Stake President Johnson said something that stuck out to me. He said: “The Lord cares more about the laborer than He does about the fruits of the labor.” It’s so true, this is the Lord’s work and He just lets us participate. Hope y’all have a blessed week!

Much Love,

Elder Milius

PS: Mom found this picture and my Dad sent it to me...figured I'd share! Don't forget to smile! :)

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