"Peace be to Thee..."

3 John 1:13-14 --

 13. I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write

unto thee:

 14. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to

face. Peace be to thee...

I love you all! See you soon!

At the Los Angeles Temple

Work Your Hardest!

Hello everyone! What a week it has been here in the "Nard."

Monday night we ended up in the ER with Hermana Garza. She was having

some weird pains that they couldn't diagnose. SO FRUSTRATING. But that

meant another quality 6 hours in the ER with President and Sister

Felix, which is always fun. We had some good laughs, and a LOT of

waiting. We still aren't totally sure what is going on, but Hermana

Garza is doing a lot better now, and we are hoping it will stay that

way!

 ER fun at 4 a.m.!

However, that meant a lot of time inside the apartment this week, so

it was fun. (Side note: you can only watch the Joseph Smith movie so

many times before you want to scream.) It was good though. Thursday,

the Sister Training Leaders came down, and we went on a blitz, and

then by Thursday night we were able to be back out working again. It

has been a fun week. :)

Here is one fun story from the week. Missionaries favorite question:

Can we help you with anything? Our favorite answer: Yes! We got a big

ol yes from our recent converts this week when we asked if we could

help them set up their pool they had just bought. It was one of those

bigger inflatable ones with the rings around the top, if you can

imagine. Well, none of us had any idea what was going on, and it was a

disaster. And SO MUCH FUN! So much water everywhere. After about an

hour, a change of clothes, and soaked hair, we were just dying

laughing because the pool was still only about 1/4 of the way full.

Such a struggs. When in doubt, laugh it out. That is my motto.

I still can't believe it is week 6 of my last transfer. What just

happened? Oh well, no time like the present to work your hardest!

I hope you all have a fun, pool filling, giggly week!

Love you so much!

Hermana Courtney Miller

"Finding Joy in the Journey"

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had another awesome week!

Oxnard is doing well. We have been spending a lot of time with our

LARCs recently with the hope that they would be a great finding tool,

and this week it really paid off. We have been able to find a bunch of

really cool potentials, and one AWESOME new investigator. His name is

L., and he is renting a room from on of our less actives/part member

families. We were watching "To This End Was I Born" this week, and he

came in about half way through, and asked if he could join us. We

said OF COURSE! And he absolutely loved the video. The family shared

with him why they meet with the missionaries, and E. talked about

why she decided to be baptized. He said he is really interested in

learning more, and we are excited to work with him. He has had a lot

happen in his life recently, and has really been prepared to receive

the gospel right now. Other than that, I love Oxnard!

Casual.

Hermana Garza is awesome. I love her so much. I have really had my

testimony strengthened again this week about people being put in our

lives for a reason. Hermana Garza is for sure the exact companion I

need at this time of my mission. And I am so so so grateful for my

district, and for all of the joy, and spirit that they bring into my

life. I am grateful to get to serve with Elder Moreno as we both

prepare to go home (he is helping to keep me sane. Haha.) And just

everything has been orchestrated so perfectly. Heavenly Father truly

knew what I needed. 

What do you get after you eat too much chile at a dinner appointment?

McDonalds dipped cones, of course!

Also, this morning I was reading the talk "Finding

Joy in the Journey" by President Monson. (Find it here: Finding Joy)  It talked a lot about

changes, and how a lot of times we don't notice them. As I think back

on these last 18 months, I realize how much I have really changed. All

of which are for the good. I am grateful for how much Christ has helped me

on my journey, and who he has allowed me to become. I was on exchanges

with Hermana Hurley this week, and she asked how I was handling going

home. I told her how I honestly felt. A lot of missionaries try and

spend there last couple of weeks trying to make up for things they

wish they would have done for the last 18 months. But the thing it,

Christ already made up for all of that. He covered our mistakes, and

helped us grow from them. So making up for it is not what it is all

about. But what it IS all about is showing him how grateful we are for

what he has done for us and who he has helped us become. That's why we

don't give up at the end. Because Christ helped us so much already.

Now it is our turn to tell him thank you through our actions. It is

not time to give up. Instead it is time to do our best.

I love this work so much. There is so much work to be done, and as one

of my favorite songs says, "the master is coming, we are not done

yet." There is always more to be done.

I love you all so much!

Hermana Courtney Miller

Baptism!!

HELLO EVERYONE!

 Oxnard. Where Elmo walks down the street with an American Flag in one

hand, and a Mexican Flag in the other.

I can not believe that it is Monday already. What just happened to this week!?

Oxnard is doing well! For SURE the highlight of this week was F.'S

BAPTISM! It was so incredible. And so smooth. And so spiritual. They

were so happy to have Hermana Brown and Hermana Eames come back. We

got to sing, which was super awesome, and he loved it. His whole

family came and supported him, which was really neat to see as well.

They all wrote him little notes, talking about how happy they are to

see him take another step in his faith, and they have really opened up

to us as missionaries. Our goal is to start teaching all of them

before the end of the transfer. Yay! But the baptism was so great.

F. was confirmed on Sunday, and when we visited him last night, he

was feeling super awesome. We explained to him how that was the

Spirit, and he is really starting to recognize it in his life. One

thing we found out yesterday, though, is that his football

coach/firefighting mentor is a super active member of the stake! We

couldn't believe it! If we would have known, we would have gotten him

involved. It will be great, though, for F. to have such a good role

model for him in his life, and to help him progress towards the temple

and a mission! I am so excited to see what lies in his path!

 F.'s Baptism!

 F.'s Baptism! Tripan ON POINT.

How we felt about the baptism!

I love love love being a missionary, and I can't wait to see what this

next week has in store!

 We keep it classy!

Hermana Courtney Miller

Life's a Beach!

Hello Everyone!

Oxnard is doing so awesome! We are so excited for the baptism of

F. this weekend! We met with him yesterday and went over his

interview questions, and is really confident in all of his answers. He

told us that he feels so ready to be baptized, and that he can't wait.

He has realized recently how so much in his life has prepared him for

his baptism, and it has really put him at peace with everything. It is

awesome to see. We just have a couple of things left to teach him, all

of which he has learned about in church recently, so hopefully it will

be pretty smooth sailing to his baptism this weekend.

This is what happens when it gets hot and humid, and your apartment

doesn't have AC. Fans everywhere.

 My cutie companion. :)

So this week, we got to go to the beach! (Kind of. There was a baptism

on the beach in the 5th ward, and we got permission to go to the

service at a members beach house, although we didn't get to actually

go on the sand. It was still incredible, though.) Our investigators

were the first people there, they were so excited, and M. said it

was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. They are waiting to

get baptized because they can't get married due to some paperwork

problems in Mexico, and we were afraid they were losing steam about

their desire to be baptized. But the baptism on Friday refueled them,

and they are going ahead now full steam, again. We are praying and

praying that their papers will come soon, and that they will be able

to progress again towards their own baptism! It was such an incredible

night though. I got to play the piano, with a view of the beach, and

while the investigator was changing, I got to play with Hermana Huey,

who plays violin. We just jammed and made up arrangements, and had

such a fun time. It was an experience I will NEVER forget. Oxnard,

man. So many miracles. I love this place SO MUCH!. :)

Out that window you see nothing but beach. Sorry you can't see it in

the picture. But this was my view for the night. Elder Moreno joined

me, because it was standing room only. AWESOME NIGHT.

 Love her so much.

 Everyone goes to the baptism. We stay on the patio. #Obedience

There are a ton of pictures, so I need to get all of those uploaded. I

love you all, though. Have an incredible week!

Much love,

Hermana Courtney Miller

Weird Week!

Hello Everyone! Hope everyone had a great week. It has been nice and

toasty warm and humid here. (But then again, I might have just gone

soft...)

Oxnard is doing great. It was a weird week, but a good week. We were

stuck inside on Tuesday due to neither of us being able to drive

(although we got that figured out,) and us not living in our area, and

then Saturday Hermana Garza and I had a 24 hour stomach flu (I don't

know what it is about Oxnard and the Stomach flu... Starting to get

suspicious), so it was an interesting week through and through. 

We got sick. The Elders got us flowers. So tender.

But the rest of the week was so awesome. We kind of inadvertently worked

with a lot of LARCs (Less Active/Recent Converts) this week, which was awesome. There are so many

less actives in this area, and the ward really wants to focus on

reactivation, and retention. We are continuing forward working on

accountability, and trying to get to know all of our LARCs that are in

our book. We had a really cool miracle last night with one of our

LARCs. He was someone we had tried to contact multiple times, and we

decided last night that he would be our "one last person" before we

went in. We finally found him at home, and he is awesome! We found out

that he has been a member for about 4 years, but went inactive when a

members son from the other ward went on a mission (they were best

friends.) He said he was interested in meeting up with the YSA elders,

and was going to try and get in contact with his friends family. (We

were sure to tell him where he could find them every Sunday morning

around 9:00!) But we got in contact with the 5th ward elders last

night, and found out that that son should be getting home in about 10

days, and that ward is going to try and reach out to him to get him to

the homecoming. AWESOME! We are super excited for him. We are also

still working with F. He has a baptismal date right now for the

1st of August, and he is so excited to work towards that date. He is

someone who has truly taken ownership of his date, and is progressing

so well. He really liked church yesterday, and loved the youth class

on temples. The members have really taken him under their wing, and

are fellowshipping SO WELL. It is helping him so much. It makes me so

happy!

Hermana Garza is great. I love working with her so much. She inspires

me to be my best, and we work our hardest every day. She has some

great ideas for finding new investigators that are fun and different,

that we are going to try and implement soon, and I am so excited to

see where this work goes. It is going to be an awesome transfer. I

love her so much!

I am so excited and happy to be a part of this great work. I love

Oxnard, I love the 6th ward, and I love being a missionary.

I hope you all have a great week! I love you lots!

Hermana Courtney Miller

Son Muchos Los Dias

First things first, transfers! I am going to be staying here in

Oxnard, with a new companion, Hermana Garza. I have heard awesome

things about her, and am so excited for our adventure together.

Had lunch with some members this week at Toppers Pizza. By the harbor.

Talk about awesome. (This is as close to the harbor as I will be

getting any time soon.)

Oxnard is doing so awesome. We spent a lot of this week working on

accountability (aka tracking down all of the people on our ward

roster.) Fun fact: Most of the people on the roster that don't attend

church have moved. Another fun fact: That creates for an awesome

finding opportunity. We have a lot left to go, and I am excited to see

what happens. This week, though, we did have to move back a baptismal

date for one of our investigators, F. He had a camp this weekend,

and was out of town, and couldn't come to church. He is still really

excited about getting baptized, though, and was sad we had to move the

date, but is willing to do whatever he needs to to get baptized. Go

him! He is really helping out his Recent Convert brother, as well.

They are reading together, and praying together, and both of them are

so excited about the gospel. It is so neat to see this family come

closer and closer together. Their mom has shown interest as well, and

we are hoping to be able to teach her, as well. Yay families!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve. Time is going fast (way

way way too fast. Like, "where is the giant slow it all down button?"

fast), but one of my favorite quotes is from Hermana Zarate. She would

always say, "Son Muchos Los Dias!" Y es verdad! We have so many days,

and we have to treat every one as the gift from our Heavenly Father

that it is. Every day is an incredible opportunity, and as we use

those opportunities to its fullest, we will have success. I am excited

to see what this transfer has in store.

Played Hungry Hungry Hippos Live last week at Zone Activity. So psycho. LOVE IT!

Bring it on.

Hermana Courtney Miller

Happy 4th!

Hellllloooo everyone! Hope the 4th was great! We had an awesome ward

picnic in the morning, which included Hermana Eames getting smashed

with a couple of water balloons. It was priceless. We had to be in by

7 that night, which was a bummer, but if you stood on the bed on the

third floor of our apartment, you could see the fireworks at Port

Hueneme. So I was happy. (Okay, I was acting like a five year old, but

that is a different story.)

#MURICA

Oxnard is great. We focused a lot on Less Actives this week, and saw a

lot of success with that. Bishop has asked us to really focus on

helping and strengthening the members, and so that will be a focus

this week. Most of our investigators were out of town or really busy

for the fourth, and the few that weren't moved out of our area this

week. These kind of weeks happen, but we are excited to hit the ground

running again this week. I am so grateful for the chance to serve here

in Oxnard, though. It is such an awesome area. The people here are so

open to our message, and are so willing to listen. It is great. Even

the people that we talk to on the street are generally willing to at

least hear some of our message, and for that I am so grateful. It has

been a good week for growing and learning more about how to most

effectively work in this area. The majority of our members live with

non-members, or have close friends who are interested in learning

more, so as we go forward working with members this week, we are

excited to see what is to come.

This week I have been studying a lot about enduring, and strength. I

think as missionaries we all have weeks where it would be easier to

just "not" or to just live under our potential, but that is not what

Heavenly Father wants us to do. I was able to find a lot of strength

in the scriptures, and Jesus The Christ this week that has helped me

to persevere, and keep going with more strength than I had before. As

I have studied more about the final days of Christ's life, and about

what he went through, I have found so much more strength and had an

increased desire to be my best every day. I am excited for the

upcoming weeks, and what they have to bring. I know we will see

miracles. They aren't always tangible, but they are always there.

I love being a missionary. I love this work. I love California.

Life is good.

Stay awesome.

Hermana Courtney Miller

Consecration

HELLLLLLOOOO real world!

What a week!

We made homemade empanadas con la familia DeLeon this week. So yummy.

Did I mention that we made them in their back yard wood burning oven?

Oxnard is doing well. We have an awesome investigator with a new

baptismal date. His name is F., and his brother is a recent

convert. F. has met with missionaries before, but was always

distracted by other things, and never really made any commitments.

Well... now it is summer, and he is about to go into his senior year

of High School, and he told us that he really wants to start to take

things seriously, and really wants to learn more. He has a date for

the 25th of July, and we are so happy for him. He came to church

yesterday, and is excited to keep progressing. We are also focusing a

lot on working with our members and less actives. Especially trying to

get to know those who are in the newish area that we have. It has been

really neat to see how getting to know them has helped a lot with just

gaining trust. I love this ward we are working in, and I love Oxnard.

We had emergency transfers this week. But I got to see all my favorite people.

This week, I have been studying a lot about consecration. I feel as I

have made it a bigger focus in my mission life, it has actually become

a harder thing to do. Although it is something that we will never be

perfect at, it is something we should never stop striving towards. I

was reading a talk by Elder Maxwell this morning, titled Consecrate

Thy Performance. click here The whole thing was incredible, and I wish everyone

would read it. But the part that stuck out to me the most was when he

said, "Spiritual submissiveness is not accomplished in an instant, but

by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of

stepping-stones. Stepping-stones are meant to be taken one at a time

anyway. Eventually our wills can be 'swallowed up in the will of the

Father'." I felt like that was so true. There was no way that we would

be able to do it all at once. That was never the intention. We are

just supposed to keep moving forward. I also really like what he said

at another point, about those around us. He said, "As you and I

develop additional love, patience, and meekness, the more we have to

give God and humanity. Moreover, no one else is placed exactly as we

are in our opportune human orbits." That is Oxnard. The perfect people

have been placed in Hermana Eames' and my human orbits. We have been

surrounded by the perfect people to keep us up, and keep us going when

we otherwise probably would have fallen down. It has been a roller

coaster here these last 10 weeks, but as we keep just trying to move

towards the Savior, he takes care of everything else around us.

Anyway, it has been a good week. I love you all so much, and love

getting to hear from you each week! I hope your lives continue to be

blessed!

District Birthday BBQ for Elder Law. Instead of cake, we had poptarts.

Meditating under citrus trees. #California

We keep it classy.

Much love!

Hermana Courtney Miller

Becoming a California Girl

Hello everyone!

First for the big news of the week: Hermana Brown is being emergency

transferred tomorrow down to Agoura. I am so jealous. But she will be

great. We sure are going to miss her, though.

We went on a hike last week. (And when I say hike, I mean we literally

scaled a mountain. The view was worth it, though!)

Hermana Brown. #Classy

Oxnard is great. We were able to have some awesome success this week

finding new investigators through our members. They truly are the best

way to find new people, and we are excited to see what will happen

with those we are starting to teach. We had a really cool experience

with another investigator this week. He has been trying to get Sundays

off from work for the longest time, and so we fasted with him this

week. He felt really strongly after that he needs to be baptized, and

should be at church next Sunday. We are so excited to work with him as

well.

California is growing on me. (And by growing on me, I mean that I am

already obsessed with this place.)

Sorry this is so short, it has been a crazy week, I just am not sure

what to write.

I love you all tons though!

Have a great week!

Hermana Courtney Miller