Last entry to Maryandra's Mission blog!!!

 Maryandra struggled her last weeks with knowing how

much she was going to miss the wonderful people

she has been living with and working with

and really loving!!!

 She put her all into those last days!

 Here is her testimony from her mission experience:

 

My final testimony:

When I first came out on my mission, I thought I might be one of those missionaries who accomplishes great things, or things that would seem great in the sight of the world. Maybe I would see a dozen baptisms, or find someone who would become the next mission president or sister Wada. I felt like I was meant to accomplish all these miracles. The only trouble is, I thought I would see the results immediately, and I thought it would be because of me. I learned pretty quickly that I was wrong in both of those thoughts. I've learned a lot and been humbled by my mission. I have seen miracles, but they were always personal, and none of them were accomplished because of me. It was when I learned that this work is not only not about me, it's not even done by me, not really. It's when I realized that I was merely an instrument in the hands of the real Master, that I truly felt the power of serving a mission, and truly knew what it meant. No, I may not have seen a dozen baptisms in my mission, but the people I've done my best to reach out in love, may receive the gospel someday, and there's definitely a lot more than just a dozen of them. No, I didn't see someone become a mission president before my eyes, but I've seen people who have been touched, or whose fears have been resolved, because I was at least where the lord wanted me to be, when He wanted me to be there.

I'd like to share a poem that my grandpa sent me, that he wrote while on his mission. He called it the plowman. I didn't think much of it until just recently, but as I look back on my mission, I have been able to see the parts I've played in the lives of so many people.

 

 

 

And then July 3, 4:00 pm finally came!!!

 

 Maryandra's brothers made awesome giant paper samurai hats

to wear to surprise their favorite and only sister, 

returning from her mission!!!

 

 

And finally at 4:15 pm there she was!!!

 How we've missed our "Sissy!"

There were a lot of tears shed, by mom and daughter, mostly!

 Maryandra is home!!!

 Maryandra brought her mission experiences home with her!

She is changed forever, in good ways.

 

This is Maryandra and her Daddy just before being released

from her mission by our dear stake president.

 

 

 Sister Maryandra Sophia Miller

Maryandra's whole life is ahead of her!

New and different challenges are coming,

but she will tackle them with all her heart,

with gratitude and courage,

and with total trust in the Lord!



 Maryandra is loving the hydrangeas!!! (sp)

 She is also loving the people she serves with!!!

We are loving the fact that she'll be home next Friday!!!  :-)

 

Sorry!  Due to time constraints and business travel and reunion travel,

I am only sending photos this blog!!!

Hopefully I'll get one more in next week!!!

 Maryandra had a pretty interesting week, but it was all dwarfed by her experience on her P-day of going up to see Mount Fuji!  In her own words:

Monday: So, here are three things I want to say before heading out today. One, were are about to head over to Kofu area and see Fuji-San!!!!! Two, we met a new sister in the ward yesterday who served her mission in salt lake, and she thinks she recognized me,many I feel like she looks familiar too. Crazy, right? And three, there is a brother who served his mission at the exact same time as daddy. He says he can't remember him, but we are going to dinner with his family's house tonight, so he will look through his mission pictures. Also, if dad or you could send me some pictures of dad from his mission, that would be helpful. Okay, so I have to go, because we have to leave super early, but I love you! See you next week! Miller Shimai

 

Then we actually got an e-mail about her visit to Mount Fuji, and tons of fun photos. 

 Here are just a few!  And some of her e-mail!

 Fuji is the mountain tip behind Maryandra's head!!!

 

Okay, so I just had the best pday of my entire mission! I can't believe it! Almost our entire district, as well as the other machida sisters, went all the way to MOUNT FUJIIIIII!!!!!!! And we all had the best time of our entire missions! We're gonna be talking about this one for the rest of our lives! Oh my gosh! So, we all woke up between five and six in the morning, left by or before 6:40, and then we gathered at Hachioji station at 7:20 or so. Once we had all gathered, we all went down to the line we were supposed to wait at, to take a three or so hour train ride to our destination. Yeah! One we got on the train, the talking and having fun really got underway. There is never anybody on the trains, so we didn't have anyone to talk to.... EXCEPT EACH OTHERRRR!!!! And boy, was it fun! The elders ran into adjacent cars that were empty, and took pictures of each other doing the craziest things, like hiding in the rafters, and hanging from the handrails and stuff. Haha! That train ride, including perhaps two transfers to new train lines, lasted two or three hours, but it felt like not long at all! So, we took lots of pictures of the beautiful train ride over there, and then once we got there, we all jumped out excitedly, ready to run to Mount Fuji! We then learned that the passes Gappmayer Shimai had kindly obtained for us were basically magic! We could go anywhere! They were all access one day passes! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah! So, we rode a bus, talking all the

way, up to a bat cave, and even though all the bats were sleeping, we got to walk, stoop, and crawl(yeah, that was a bit hard wearing skirts and dresses) through the stinky wet caves, but we were laughing and having fun the entire time! And while we weren't in the caves, we enjoyed a lovely walk through nature! After that, we rode the bus to a wind cave, again talking and laughing the whole time. And we got to wear white helmets again!

The ice caves were wet and absolutely freezing! We had some fun, though, and did t have to stoop so far for those ones. It was cool to see. Ice caves under Mount Fuji! When we came back up and the warm air and humidity hit us again, it was like trying to breathe in water. Such a weird feeling! But we got some good pictures there as well, which I will send all of as soon as I get them. By the way, I definitely recommend doing this when we come back, maybe even on a Monday, as everyone whose not going home wants to do it again next transfer, haha! Also, we should give the squirrel park a try. I haven't been yet. Anyway, we had some fun there, and then we rode back down to the bottom, and ended up taking an hour long bus ride, half way up Mount Fuji itself! It was incredible! Granted, the air was extremely thin, so everyone felt light headed, but we had a blast, looking around, walking around in the clouds(yes, we were that high up!) and checking out the gift shops. But my favorite part was when we met up with the elders at the lookout point of Mount Fuji, after being temporarily separated, to find Mount Fuji in full view! We'd been told a few times that we wouldn't be able to see it today because of the cloudy and rainy weather, but then elder Crandall told us that he and the other elders had said a quiet prayer, with him as voice, that they would be able to see the mountain, even if only for a few minutes. And he told us that the second he opened his eyes, the mountain was in plain sight! So we hurried and took some group pictures, both from the lookout, and then on the ground where everything was prettier, and we took the perfect group picture. It was one of the most awe-inspiring moments of my life! And get this! No sooner did we finish taking pictures and get our fill than clouds swooped over Mount Fuji again, completely hiding it from view! It took less than thirty seconds for it to just vanish! But our hopes and prayers were answered! It was a miracle!

I wish I could write do every single detail of the entire trip! It was the best pday I've ever had!

 

It was a great experience both individually, and for

us as a group! It was one of the best binding experiences I've ever had on my mission! Yeah!

 

So, I couldn't write down enough to do it any justice, and I've already forgotten a lot of it, unfortunately, and I'm absolutely exhausted, but I will say something that I learned from this experience, and I will quote one of the elders, using a phrase he used as we were walking towards the wind caves: "Dude, Nature's dope!"

 Maryandra loves the Tama Zoo!!!

And she loves the tigers!

From this photo we learn a few things, and one of them is that Sister Tall is not very tall!!!

We also learn that Maryandra can still smile after being shook up a little by an earthquake!

From her e-mail:

Oh, but before I forget, we had an earthquake while at the zoo, and it was big enough that it cause the alarms on our phones to go off, warning that it was coming, a second too late, I might add. It was so weird. I was standing at a vending machine to buy some water, and then I suddenly feel the very ground beneath my feet start to vibrate, and I saw everything kind of Shake, in this big wave kind of a thing, and all the animals started going crazy. After a few second,a it was done, but I was still shaking!



 Sister Tall is definitely one of Maryandra's funnest companions!

And the other Machida sisters are fun too!!!

We had another, pretty intense earthquake right near the end of companionship inventory on Saturday evening. We weren't sure whether or not we should go outside, but it was pretty scary, and lasted for probably a good two and a half minutes. Aaaaah! What if that big earthquake that everyone keeps talking about happens soon? Scary! 

Sunday:

We were picked up by a wonderful member family, and we went to their house, which, I must say, is one of the coolest houses I've ever seen. It looks like it's still under construction, but that's kind of part of the style. And there's this cool, twisty staircase that leads up to their second floor, but that floor is open in the center, and you can see it all around from the bottom! It's the coolest thing ever! 

They fed us this yummy salad, and asparagus wrapped in thin strips of chicken, which was soooooooooooooo good! Oh boy, was it good!

 

During dinner, we were privileged to hear the conversion stories of both parents, and both of the, were absolutely amazing!

(Brother F went to Melbourne Australia on his mission and years later baptized his father after years of him being against his son joining the church, and Sister F went to Washington DC on her mission.)

She told us that after she got back, she had a friend who was seriously struggling with activity in the church, and was going to go less active, but before making that decision, she prayed about it first, and said "if this is where you want me to be, I need to know for sure." And right after that, just in the street, she saw the backs of two elders, Just as they were walking while out proselyting. She said that in that moment, she felt the spirit testify to her that he's, she did need to come back to church, and this was her answer. She came back a faithful member, and her whole life was changed by that experience. 

After Sister F told us that story about her friend, she said that she received a powerful testimony of how while we are doing missionary work, we will have times when we don't know why we are walking down this certain street, or why we are doing what we're doing, but that someone, somewhere, will always notice what we do, and they will always be inspired. When we follow the spirit, we will be guided to where someone needs us to be. 

My companion and I received a particularly strong testimony about this, because we had a situation a few weeks ago where we just could not find the spot where the lord needed us to be. We felt so confused, and felt that none of the things we were doing were right. So, we prayed about it, and we just felt the impression to stay there. We waited there for a few minutes, and even though we didn't notice anything at first, we waited until we felt drawn to a building across the street, which we housed. Though we met with meager success there, we still feel let good about what we had done that day. Who knows? Maybe someone saw us as we prayed or drove by while we were waiting to be guided by the spirit, and felt inspired or cheered up by seeing us doing our best to follow the will of the Lord. It was a pretty amazing experience last night, I'm not gonna lie. 

We shared a lesson about love, and about how it is a commandment, and it brings about good in both our loves, and in the loves of others. I bore testimony about how the members in my family who were struggling would one day come back to the church if I just kept showing them love, like Brother F's dad, and their hearts would be softened. It was a wonderful time there. When he prayed at the end, he asked the lord to guide and protect me through the remainder rof my mission, and throughout my life, and he asked that sister Tall would be inspired an that her Japanese would come quickly, and he asked a blessing on each of our families. It made me start crying, so I was swiping tears away when he said amen, and then we had to take pictures. I hope I didn't look too bad. But it was one of the best days ever! 

I loved it! I sincerely hope that this makes up for my lack of a proper weekly this week. It's one of my favorite experiences, and I hope it will stay in my heart forever.

Maryandra and Sister Tall actually look like real sisters!

 

Wednesday:

. . .

So, we made our way by bus to the station, and

met with sister Brown and the other Machida sisters to wait with them. We sent off sister Foutz after a few minutes of saying goodbye to the elders who were transferring. . .

We went back to wait for the new companions who were

coming. We had to wait a few minutes, but it was all right. I was so nervous the whole time I waited for Sister Tall to arrive. I knew nothing about her, and the only picture I'd seen of her was the Mother's Day picture she'd sent with her trainer, sister Merstrand, to sister Wada, and it gave me nothing to go off of. I was such a worry wart that Gappmayer Shimai basically told me to calm down. When she finally walked through the gate, she was talking to two ladies at once. . . and she's one of the cutest people I've ever met, and as soon as we started off for food shopping with the other sisters, we hit it off, and I realized she's not scary at all. She's so cute. She has been the easiest companion up to now. Sometimes I wonder why I had all these other companions up till now, or why we didn't get put together sooner, but then I realize I wouldn't have appreciated it as much as I do, having had all the experiences I have.

Maryandra appreciates all the art, both on the big buildings, and on the humblest of doors!

 



Sister Tall and Sister Miller

 

Maryandra noticed that the forget me nots are out already!!!

 



 So are the soggy sister missionaries that like to dance in the

warm rains of typhoon season!

 Sister missionaries with mustaches!

 

 

Tuesday:



. . . So, the typhoon came tonight instead of tomorrow, and by seven or so, it was raining pretty hard. We were greeted by the other sisters in a very interesting manner. They opened our door, and we saw a sopping wet, barefoot Gappmayer Shimai. We all aligned a bit, and they came in for a little while. Later, we visited them, and in the meantime, we all were fascinated by how hard it was raining. It was so crazy! Gappmayer Shimai, on a whim, suggested that we go and run outside and play in it. I agreed, and so we ran out into the pouring rain! We got soaked within a matter of seconds, but it was warm, and it just kept coming! We played in the street for about ten minutes, and we weirded out both the delivery man, who came out of the apartment, got on his bike, put on his helmet, and looked at us like he wasn't really sure what to do, as well as the teenage boy who poked his head out a window and asked "aren't you cold?" And watched us for a good five minutes. But we didn't care, it was sooooo fun! I haven't done anything that impulsive or childish in years! It was the best thing ever! And it was a major stress reliever! Yeah!

 

Wednesday:
Well, we just had a pretty long earthquake at about six this morning.
It woke me up, and I hear the walls creak, but it wasn't a terrifying
one. I kind of just laid there, and waited to see how long it would
take. Interesting. 



(So different from how Maryandra responded to her first earthquake!)

 

 

Friday:

. . . On the way there, as we

walked out of the train station, I got the most nostalgic feeling, mixed with a sense of déjà vu, because the street we walked down looked al last exactly like just street that leads up to the St. George temple and visitors center, that we used to go to all the time. The houses were built like they are in southern Utah, and the trees looked the same, and the smells, the colors, even the sloping hill of the rode just smacked me in the face like "ST. GEORGE!!!!" Which I found odd, because why would it be St. George, of all places? But it felt like home, and it was the coolest thing ever! I felt like I was floating on clouds as I walked Down memory lane, of all the times we got to go to St. George before.



 



 The fun Machida district missionaries!

 

Monday:
Haha, whoops, it's transfer day, and I haven't had time to tell you
what my last transfer call is yet. Well, I'll just tell you what
happened on Saturday, and then get caught up to today. So, we went to
the church at about eleven, and got our transfer emails. Sister Foutz
is transferring to Zama, and will be with a sister Roth. I will be
staying here in Machida second ward, and I will be receiving a new
companion. My new companion will be sister Tall. She will be a
transfer two as of today, so I will be doing her follow-up training.
It should be interesting,.

Okay, so, here's a few updates! I'm ALIIIIIIIIVEEEEE!!!!! I'm more alive than I've ever been since.... I can't remember. Transfer six, maybe? I looooooooove sister Tall! Get this! She is into doctor who, Sherlock, Zelda, Celtic music, she loves hanging out with her family, like I do, and she's sooooooo super genki and nice and sweet! I'm sooooo excited for my final transfer! I can't believe it!

 

We had an awful lot of fun on our Skype with Maryandra!!!

We actually got to talk to her for over an hour!!!

We hope we weren't breaking too many rules by that!

She had a pretty good week, too.

 



Sunday:
I liked the meetings during church
pretty well. I just wish we hadn't ended up skipping lunch for
contacting, because then we had a good hour bike ride before we arrived
at a member family's home for dinner with the elders.
Anyway, it was so fun. It was
the very first dinner appointment I've ever been to, of any sort,
since coming to Machida a month ago! 

Then Maryandra found out that that member is the son of her
daddy's mission president in Sapporo over 25 years ago!!!  Here is
Maryandra and a bunch of missionaries at the that members' house!
During the Skype, her dad mentioned he remembered that this brother
was about 16 when he entered the mission field back in 1990!

Maryandra says this is her quote of the week!!!