"TOMMY!" -Email 04/01/2103

Y'all better remember who Tommy is! That cutie 13 year old boy who pinkie promised he would come to church, who has been investigating for 2 years, who has knelt and prayed with us that his father's heart will be softened so he can be baptized, who calls us in the middle of the day and asks if we can come teach him that night, who was brave and bore his testimony to his father... that one! I love him so much! He is stinkin adorable, and a complete punk. BUUUUT after all of our efforts to be exactly obedient, after our fasting, and our prayers, and our combined faith with him, and after the testifying and his bravery, miracles have happened. Tommy's Dad finally let people from the church in last night- the Young Men's president and the first counselor in the YM presidency. They ate dinner with him and talked. Tommy's older sister, Mercedes, a member, was there too. And guess what happened? They talked to the father about the church, what the reason was Tommy couldn't be baptized. And Tommy has been given 30 days to now change. He has 30 days to change his behavior and change himself (ATONEMENT) in a way that shows his father that he is ready to be baptized and to take a step like this. Let's face it, Tommy's been ready to be baptized. But now we have a number to work with. Hermana Herrera and I are rededicating ourselves to him and to this work so that he can daily meet goals, and weekly see change over the next 30 days. We know that his Dad can see the Atonement at work in his life, and we know that Tommy can see it too! When Tommy's dad said he had 30 days, and if there was a change he could be baptized, Tommy began to cry. He wants this so badly. He knows that if he is baptized it is the first step towards being with his sister forever. I love that boy. Miracles happen!

It's been a week filled with experiences of people applying the Atonement and seeing the love of the Lord in their lives. For instance... Angela, a member who is currently going through the repentance process and whose mother was recently baptized, came to our minds this week as we prayed and thought about who we needed to visit. When we planned what we needed to share with her, we both knew it was the Atonement. And more amazing than that, is that when we were seeking for what we needed to commit her to do to grow closer to the Lord, I knew that she needed to write her testimony down- and just as I was about to say that, my companion said it. Then during the lesson, I opened to a random page, looking for a certain scripture, and knew I needed to share 2 Nephi 8:3 with her. Ever heard of it? I hadn't ever really. But when I shared it, we replaced her name for the word "Zion" and she began to sob. This woman is so strong and faithful and we know that as she receives the support she needs from us, ward members and others, she can fully repent and feel the full joy of the gospel in her life. We love her.

On another note: my companion and I have been so sick, all week. And it hasn't been one sickness, it has been 3 different kinds for each of us! We had to stay in for a whole day Thursday, and we are convinced that only because we are set apart servants of the Lord have we had the strength to go out the other days this week, and teach as much as we have had the opportunity to. Hopefully I will start feeling better soon... It's no fun to be sick! But know that the Lord is at work in Bayonne, NJ and the fact that we get a third sister into our companionship tomorrow means he has tons of people prepared! The work moves forward! LOVE THIS.

Hermana Millward <3

Oh... Happy April Fool's Day :) We have officially pulled two awful pranks on the other sisters in our apartment.... heh heh heh heh heh. They haven't found it yet :)

The Bishops sons. I love them. Excuse their immodesty. Cuties!!!

Our colored eggs we made Saturday night after planning (we call it our P-Night, every night!). The Easter Bunny came at 6:20 the next morning to hide them while the sisters slept for 10 more minutes. We couldn't hide them overnight because we officially have an army of mice in the apartment. Sick.

Bayonne Branch at our potluck dinner on Easter Sunday :)