2016-08-15

UPDATE:

I chatted with Mason via email for a few minutes today.  He is doing well and working hard for the last few weeks of his mission.

He likes his companion and they are preparing several people for baptism with the hopes that some of the will be scheduled for the Saturday that Quinci and I are in Mexico with Elder Millar.

Quinci and I will be going down to pick him up on September 14th and will be returning home with him the next Monday, September 19th.

Elder Mason Millar will be speaking in church on Sunday September 25th at 9am at the Murray North Stake Center located at 5200 S Glendon St (700 W), Murray, Utah 84123.

All that would like to attend are welcome and we would love to see you at our home following the meeting to visit with Mason.

Thanks for all your love and support for these 2 years.

Mason's Dad, BJ

2016-08-07

It is official - the Puppy's name is Maya  (after the Mayan people of Mexico)

She is at home being trained and waiting for her return missionary.

2016-07-25

Just a little thing for the blog!! 

So I know it has been a while since I have written something for the blog, But I just want you to all know that I am still alive, and breathing!!!

I just wanted to write a little something today:)

So as missionaries we are always focused on teaching people and helping them to learn more about their Heavenly Father, and how much he loves them, and that He has a plan for them, but so often we just get into a rhythm of saying the same thing and using the same scriptures over and over and over. Something that I have learned here as I have been teaching over the last 22 months is the importance of a testimony!! 

What is a Testimony? A testimony is the knowledge that someone has about a truth. It can be as simple as " I know that God loves me" and it can be as complicated as a 4 page paper. It is different for everyone, and everyone receives them in different ways. 

The importance of a testimony is not only to have one though. It is something that you have, and that by sharing it with others can drastically change their lives!!! As missionaries we see it all the time as we meet new people and help to to build theirs. I have always been asked by missionaries why I don't teach with lots of scriptures, and I have always said I have found more joy and success by sharing with them MY testimony and then watching them as they feel the spirit and start looking for themselves!!! It is such an incredible thing to see, and it saddens me to think that it is coming to a close in 7 short weeks!!! 

Take the time to share you testimony, It can be done through a Text, Conversation, Actions, and Just by being an example!!! 

Find the joy of sharing your Testimony!!!

Love, 

Elder Mason Millar  

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I kind of put together a BBQ for the elders in my zone today!!! It was Pretty Epic!!!

A SPECIAL REQUEST. . . .Name that Puppy

Dear Friends and Family,

We are requesting some "creative" input and help for Mason as he begins his transition home from mission life to "puppy owner" life.

Yes, that is right.  Mason will have a cute female black lab puppy waiting for him when he gets home on September 19th. She will be coming to our house on July 24th to begin her training for Mason's return and will be heading off to college with him in January.

Her picture is below and she is adorable.

What we are asking is for help coming up with a cute and appropriate name.

Please forward all of you suggestions to bjmillar@comcast.net , and I will pass them on to Mason.

Thanks for your help and have fun with this project.

2016 07 04

What American Missionaries do in Mexico on the 4th of July. . . .

2016-06-27

Mason just sent pictures. I'm sure there is a story, but we will just have to imagine what it is.

Can you find the 10 things that are different between these pictures?

05-30-2016

Description on the photos. 

The baptism was an investigator that I was teaching in one of my old area, and asked me to baptize him!!! That was a really cool experience. 

The Mountain pictures was where we went to eat the other day with the members. It was very pretty, and we are planning on going back in a few weeks to hike it more!°!! 

Life is good here in the mission, My comp is getting ready to leave in three weeks, and is very excited!!! The work is going, and all is well!!!

05-23-2016

So here are some pictures of the adventures of this week!!!

Lots of fun, and just a little bit of water flooding the church parking lot!!!

05-04-2016

Hey Everyone!!!

So all is good, I am alive, and breathing!!! 

So Not a lot has been happening in the mission. As of almost two weeks ago I got moved out here to Texcoco 2 again, and I am just loving it!!! 

Life is great, and it is so nice to be here and actually be able to talk and communicate with everyone!!! I am with Elder Muir, He is from Heber, Utah, and will be finishing his mission in 7 weeks. (He hasn't gone a day without reminding me!!!) He is a great Elder. We met in the mission almost a year ago when I was in Campestre. He was one of the other two elders there, and we were in the area together for 3 months!!! 

So this last week was pretty great!! The work out here in Texcoco is just a little different from in the rest of the mission. Out here we have an area that is bigger that 85% of the mission combined!!! So we spend lots of time (and money) on buses, and Combi's. So for that we don't have much time to work. But regardless of that we are having lots uf fun and lots of success. 

At the moment we are teaching 9 people, and have plans this next week to find another family of like 5 people. (Fingers Crossed!!!) 

So today we went to central. We changed out P-day so that we could go to the anthropology museum. Here in mexico everything government is closed on Monday so we are never able to go and see them!!! 

So today we went there, and then went and ate and Olive Garden. It was really good. But when we asked for the tab the waiter came over and told us that a lady a few tables over wanted to cover our tab. There were four of us, and we were so grateful, That is something that you just don't get being outside of Utah as a missionary.  We then went and talked to here. She is not a member of the church, but knows who we are, and said that she is on her path. It was a really cool experience!!! 

So that is all for today!!! Love you all, and have a great week!!!

Elder Mason Millar 

Libre de virus. www.avast.com

04-13-2016

Hey all, 

Sorry for not writing very much recently. All has been well, we have been busy, and I am learning a lot!!!

So in the last few weeks, I have had changes (transfers), and am now in a new area. I have a new companion, and am just going with life. 

So last week was a pretty event filled week!!! We had a less active member get the Priesthood, we married a couple, and then his wife got baptized on Saturday!!! It was a wonderful baptism. They are a family of three. With a small daughter that is almost 2. At the baptism I sang with a young 9 year old girl that lives in our building!!! We sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" It was really good!!! I will try to get a recording of it to send next week!!! 

We also have several other people that we are planning on baptizing in the next several weeks!!! 

Today we had the opportunity to go to the temple. It was really really great!!! I had the opportunity to do sealings. When we got there I went with another elder from my district, because he wasn't feeling well, and didn't want to sit through a session. So we went in, and while we were sitting in the sealing room waiting for more people to show up so we could start we had about 30 minutes just sitting there talking to the sealer. It was so great!!! He is a convert to the church. He got baptized at 13, and has been a member for 72 years. He was so awesome!!! At the moment he is a Patriarch, and a Temple Sealer. 

So other than that all is normal!!! I am happy, and just going on with life!!! 

Love you all!!!

Elder Mason Millar

So the pictures!!! 

Iguanas just walk in the street down here. so I but one on my back!!! 

(Just kidding) There was some guy on the street that had it and I asked to hold it!!!

The pie got sent from Esteban. he misses me, and sent it with his sister to my area!!

That is JJ Walters. He is a friend of Kaden Goodrich!!! He is in the mission with me!!!

03-28-2016

Hey all!!!

Sorry, I know it has been several weeks, but honestly I have just not had ganas (the desire) to write a big letter. 

So in the last three weeks there have been several different things that happened. 

So two weeks ago, we had the chance to go to the temple and doa session. It was absolutely wonderful!! It had been almost 6 months since I had entered the temple!!! This was not any normal temple visit though. My companion received special permission from Pres to go, because his mom came into town with her ward to go!!! So my comp spent the whole day with his mom, and we went to the temple!!!

So this last week, I had a great opportunity to use my talents to help a sister in the ward. So this sister is a widow of three or so years, and had about a hundred plants just sitting all over her yard in flower pots that were gifted to her over they years from her husband. I asked her if she would trust me enough to design her a garden. She said yes, and we went over the next day, and I spent 6 hours on it!!! (with 45 minutes for breakfast, and for lunch!!!) She was at work the whole time, and had no idea what was going to happen. So after we finished we left, and then get a text that night. It was just thanking us. Then I was talking to her yesterday, and she confessed that she was super super worried that I was going to destroy her plants!!! But it was really just a wonderful thing to be able to get dirty again, and do what I love!!!!

So other than that there is not much of anything that we have done!!! We are going to have a baptism next week, which will be the first in over 6 months for me!!! It is going to be really nice!! She has asked me to confirm her. She will be the first confirmation that I have done, not that it is too difficult. I speak Spanish, so it should be pretty easy!!! 

So that is all that I have for now. 

Hasta la Proxima!!! 

Love you all,

Elder Mason Millar

Before and after!!!

03-14-2016

No Words - Just A Picture

02-29-2016

Hey all!!!

So this last week was really good!!!

Last week I told you about Omar and his Family, so this week I will tell you about our other investigator that is really cool too!!!

So a little about Isai. He is 19, and the grandson of a member. (The member is a super super crazy old lady!!!) He is in college to become an engineer, and is super cool!!! He has now come to church twice, and has a baptismal date for the 26th of March!!! He is really excited, and loves our visits. He is also really into exercise, and I think he is going to start going to the Gym with us in the morning!!! 

So the events for this week were the amazing eating/cooking that we did with a member. His name is Estevan, and he is a chef for the MTC (Mission Training Center)  here in Mexico. So last week after we had our meeting we came over, and learned how to make Chicken fettuccine alfredo. It was amazing!!! Then on Sunday we ate here for lunch, and then we chilled for the afternoon, and learned how to make an Impossible Cake. It is a chocolate cake with Flan on top!!! We have peanut butter flan!!! We are going to eat it today for a missionaries birthday!! We also ate snickerdoodle cookies, and cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting!!! I have become really really good friends with Estevan!!! He loves to cook, and I miss eating really good food!!! 

I can be 100% honest saying that I can not wait to get home and eat Mom's food!!! I am so tired of oil covered food that makes me feel sick after every meal!! I just want some sauteed vegetables. Doesn't matter what they are, and a super rare cooked thick steak!!! And maybe a little Guacamole that is really spicy. That makes steak taste really good!!! But I miss my Mommy's cooking!!! 

So it was another week in the mission just like that!!!!

Have a great week!!! Love you all!!!!   

02-22-2016

Hey all!!!

So I have noticed recently that I can't really speak English anymore!!! I realized that no one is going to be able to understand me when I get home!!! I have a very very heavy Spanish influence on my English. I speak pure Spanglish!!! Every third word is Spanish!!! It is really really bad. It is something that goes both ways as well. I throw Spanish words into my English, and English words into my Spanish!!! 

But, on a completely different note... I got a new comp!!! He is awesome!!! He is from my generation in the mission. (That means we got to the mission field on the same day) He is from Puebla Centro, Puebla. That is like an hour and a half from the mission. It is literally two missions away!!! It is really funny!!!  

So this week we had some really good lessons. We have now been teaching Omar and his family for about a month now, and last night we met with them again!!! (They are kind of hard to get lessons with. They are always running around!!!) But we were there, and asked them if they had any questions. And Omar looked at us, and just out of the blue asked, "What do I have to do to be part of your church?" BAM magic question!!! He is so great, so last night we taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then invited him to be baptized!!! He is now starting to prepare himself to be able to be baptized!!! He is such a great guy!!! 

So other than that, it was a normal week!! We walked a lot, went to the gym and got really sore (I have started on my "7 months to super sexy"), and taught about Jesus!!! Just the normal life of a missionary!!! 

Hope you are all well there!!! I love you all.

Love you,

Elder Mason Millar

02-08-2016

Hey all!!!

So this last week was pretty great!!!

So to start out. WE HAVE THE GREATEST INVESTIGATORS IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!! 

Now you might ask why I say that... That would be because they are reading, and keeping their commitments, and then on top of it all are giving us references!!! 

So to tell you about one of the families!!

The Familia Solis Ovalle. 

They are a family of 6. Omar, Claudia, Vianca, Eduardo, Yonathan, and Pollo. And then we are teaching José, and Fabian. (They are two workers they have) We found them about 3 weeks ago, by contacting Omar. We then pretty much became part of his family!!! 

They came to church on Sunday, and we have now worked with them twice destroying cars!!!! It is a great way to get rid of mission stress!!! So they don't have a date to get baptized, but we are going to work this week to put a date with them!!! 

On Sunday they invited us to their house to celebrate their son's birthday. He just turned 14. We were there, and they asked us to pray for the food. (Their whole extended family was there) And then they asked us to sing a hymn and leave them with a prayer when we left!!! They are the greatest family ever!! They are for sure my family in this area!!! 

So today we spent the day again tearing apart a car with Omar. I will send pictures!!! Hope you all have a great week!!! 

Love you!

Elder Mason Millar

02-02-2016

Hey all,

Sorry again for not getting you written yesterday. We had a service project that we did all day with an investigator. It was freaking awesome!!! 

So this last week was a good one, but also pretty normal. We had some really good lessons, and also had a bunch of lessons fall through. It is pretty normal though. People have their own lives, and things don't always go as planned!!! 

So we have now been teaching the people that we have found over the last several weeks!!! One of them is a family of 6. They are really really cool!!! They are still investigators, but just like out of the blue like invite us to do fun things, and to come over to eat. They are progressing really well, and I am hoping that they will get baptized. We are going to try and put a baptismal date with them this next week. 

This is the family that we did the service for yesterday. They have a business of buying old cars, and then tearing them down for scrap. So they invited us yesterday to go and get a little dirty, and help them tear a car apart. It was really fun!!!! SI (yes in spanish) that is what we did all day yesterday. We started at about 11, and finished at like 4. It was really really fun!!!! I will send pictures!!! 

Saturday was also a very fun day. So the other elders had a baptism, but there wasn't any water at the church. (Water is kind of a big part for a baptism) So they called us, and then for the next three hours we were going back and forth to members houses to to get water and then take it to the church to fill up the font. 

Three hours later, we finishes, and then were able to watch the baptism. The Spirit was so strong, This convert that was baptized has such a strong testimony. It was truly a gift to be able to watch her get baptized. She was so happy, and she just was so ready to be baptized. It is honestly so incredibilidad to see the change in people. The Lord has truly given us a gift to be able to change through his Atonement. I know He loves us, and that if we accept Him we can truly find happiness and peace!!!! 

I love you all, and love this work!!!

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Mason Millar