Title: Hagona' Shikiss

This Friday I received a sad phone call from my former companion Elder Wadman. He's currently serving in Taylor, and he called to let me know that on Wednesday, January 18, Bennie Tsaipi passed away.

We're not sure about the details of what happened, but he had a history of health problems and it could have been anything. Fortunately he died peacefully in his sleep.

Bennie, Patty, and their son Stetson were the first people that I taught on my mission. I remember my first real day in the mission field and the anticipation for my first lesson as Elder Lyon and I drove the four hours from Scottsdale to Taylor. When I stepped into Patty and Bennie's house I immediately knew I was home. I was delighted to find out that they knew how to speak Navajo and I jumped at the chance to learn as many words as I could. Bennie was always excited to teach me new words. I would get after him for not reading the Book of Mormon, and he would get after me for not practicing my numbers in Navajo. Eventually, with his help, I could successfully count to one hundred.

I went through a lot of ups and downs with Bennie. He and his family have a lot of struggles, and I felt like everytime they were struggling, I was too. When they were happy, I was happy. We saw them almost daily and it became the highlight of the afternoon to go and visit them. Every day we would show up and greet Bennie with "Yaateeh, shikiss!", which means "Hello, brother!" and he would reply with "Yaateeh Gamalees!" (Gamalee means Mormon or Elder). We would laugh, and laugh and laugh. The Tsaipi family had a strong desire to be together forever, and did whatever it took to strengthen their family and come closer to Christ. Although there were some differences and struggles, I feel like I came to love that family in a way that I don't know that I've loved anyone before.

Saying goodbye to them on Halloween night was one of the hardest things I've had to do. After we talked for a while, they asked me to say a prayer. I only got a few words in before I started sobbing. I wasn't the only one. We all embraced, and we gave Bennie one last goodbye, or "hagona' ", obviously having no idea that it would be the last time that we'd see him.

When I got the news that Bennie had passed away, however, there were no tears. Strange as it seems, I'm very happy. I think it's because I've spent so many hours in Bennie's home testifying to him that he would be with his family forever, that death would not separate him from his loved ones. Although I do feel a sense of loss, I know that the time that I'll be separated from Bennie is very short in the grand scheme of things. It's not a fairy tale. It's not just something that makes me feel better. I will see Bennie again, and we'll both be a lot happier that we ever were in this life. His family will be together forever, and we'll be able to walk together again in the presence of God.

Hagona' shikiss, ayoneshneh.

- Gamalee Miller

Elder Miller’s companion featured in this video

https://lds.org/youth/video/priesthood-duty?lang=eng