Title: (Really) Quick Update

So, it's been a while since I wrote a blog, and things have still been going pretty well. It took a little while to get adjusted to my new area, but things are really starting to turn out awesome. I happen to live near some of the nicer trailer parks, so I'm running into more and more snowbirds. It seems like every other day I see a North Dakota license plate, which makes me a little homesick, but it's fun to see. It's starting to warm up and everybody keeps warning me about the summer. "You're from North Dakota?! You'll go home by June!" I keep telling them that it gets hot in North Dakota too, but I guess I'll find out how bad it is in a few months. But I've been enjoying the weather and the citrus. I just made homemade lemonade out of lemons I picked myself the other day. It actually wasn't that great, but it was homemade.

Things are really, really good. Really hard, but really good. I think that most of the reason that I'm enjoying my mission so much is the satisfaction of knowing that God is giving me the opportunity to work harder than I ever have, and be more than I have ever been. I've never had to put in the kind of effort into anything else in my life that I've put into my mission. In placing me in difficult and uncomfortable situations, God has helped me love his children more and see more in them and myself than I ever have.

I'll just share this scripture quickly before I finish up:

"But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things." (Alma 26:11-12)

 

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

The Best Christmas Ever!

 

Christmas 2011 was incredible! I thought that it would probably be really depressing since I wasn't at home, but Elder Hill and I have kept ourselves busy enough that we haven't had time to be homesick. We just had our first baptism in the area, and it was great! Isabelle is 9 years old, and she's hilarious. We've been spending time with her family lately and she's been lots of fun to work with. She has a little brother named Nathan who's completely crazy, but just as fun.

We spent our Christmas Eve with the Alldredge family. They have eight kids and everybody was there, so it was a packed house! We ate a ton of food, only to come home to more food that people in the area had dropped off to us...people are so great around here. Although I'm probably going to be eating nothing but Christmas cookies for the next month. Elder Hill and I live with two other missionaries, Elders Tomlinson and Simcox, and we've been trying to keep the Christmas Spirit in our apartment. We made our own Christmas tree out of empty boxes stacked on top of each other and we've been blasting the same three Christmas CDs over and over. Elder Tomlinson and I kept our family traditions of opening one present on Christmas Eve, and then Elder Hill set a timer for the lights on our "tree" to go off when it was time to wake up.

Christmas morning we woke up at 5:30 to open presents. Then we went to President Castaneda's home (of the mission presidency) for a breakfast of pancakes, spam tamales, and breakfast burritos. We went to church, and then we got to Skype home! It was great seeing my family and knowing that they're all doing well. I even got to see my dog. Then it was back to work. I'm so grateful to be a missionary! It's so great to serve God, even on days like Christmas when it's hard to be away from family. Our dinner appointment was awesome. We ate with the Requenas, who are an awesome family from Philedelphia. They made the best Italian food I've ever eaten, and afterward we all jammed out to a Gladys Knight CD. It was so much fun! After that, we spent the rest of the night caroling.

I hope that all of you had a fantastic Christmas, and that 2012 is the best year ever! (Insert end of the world joke here)

- Elder Miller

First Baptism

 

This week was awesome! Isabelle's baptism was perfect. Everything was really stressful until it started, and then everything went according to plan. I was so grateful and humbled that she asked me to baptize her. I was feeling really nervous about it before, and I turned to the Book of Mormon. I decided to read over Mosiah 18, since that talks so much about baptism. The following verses really stood out to me, "And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart. And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him..." Well, I offered that same prayer to Heavenly Father, and He answered it. I felt the Spirit so strongly and really felt that Heavenly Father was proud of me.

 

Isabelle and Elder Miller