Serving with a Smile : And I was, as you Ameicans say, shooketh

Hello hello everyone!! These first couple days in the online MTC have been AMAZING!!!! Even though this is not the experience I was expecting, or really wanting, I'm learning so much more about God's plan and trusting in His timing than ever before!!! My companion is named Sister Hassler from Mapleton, Utah and she is the cutest human being ever!!! She is super sweet and we connected the first day we were told we were companions, even if our zoom connection wasn't very strong ;) She is SUCH a hard worker and very diligente and I'm so excited to learn with and from her in these next 6 weeks!! My district is made up of three sister companionship and two elder comps, all of us from Utah except for one kid all the way from Boise so we're hoping to all get together in real life one of these days! We were all pretty awkward at first trying to figure out how to use zoom and get to know each other virtually but we're all friends now and I can't wait for all the experiences we're going to have together!!

I've been sooo blessed to continue learning Portuguese from native speakers in Brazil as if I was at the MTC in Sao Paulo!! My two teachers have both lived in Brazil their whole lives and have taught for over a year and a half so I know I'm in good hands! Learning Portuguese online has its challenges, but it's still possible and I've grown such an appreciation for the technology that allows me and my district to do so!! Although there are challenges, I'm learning that attitude is EVERYTHING!!! The times when I've been discouraged by a weak internet connection have been more frustrating but when I just take time to breathe and laugh at the setbacks we experience, good things can come from it! In fact, one of these little glitches kicked our teacher out of one of our zoom classes but when he connected again about 10 minutes later he explained his confusion at the situation through the sentence in the subject line which made all of laugh and reminded us that we can appreciate the seemingly bad times just as much as the good!!

In addition to class, learning Portuguese, studying on my own and with Sister Hassler, I've been able to spend extra time with my family!! What a blessing!! We've gone on lots of walks and drives and even went on a hike on pday! Being able to just eat dinner and spend the evening with them at a time when I expected to have to be away from them has been super sweet!! All of you that are home I encourage you to take a few extra minutes to hug your parents and siblings and remind them how much you love them (even if you feel sick of them because of all this social distancing and staying home ;)) !!

Lastly I wanted to remind you all the God knows YOU and He knows what you're going through RIGHT NOW and He has a plan for you!!!! He knows your fears and concerns and He will comfort you, even when there seems to be no calm in this world. He loves you and is shaping you into who He knows you can be during this time!!! For anyone feeling unsure about what they should be doing at this time, I encourage you to read Doctrine & Covenants 51:16-17 :))

I love you and God loves you!!

Sis Miller