Week #6-A - The Arrival of Elder Milton

Dear Family of Elder Milton:

We are so happy that your son has joined us here in the Paraguay Asuncion North mission.  We know that as he commits to work hard and be obedient to mission rules, and continues to study and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost, he will have a great experience on his mission.  He will grow to love the people, he will be willing to pass through difficulties, and he will come to know and love his Savior in a more profound way than he has ever known.

All of the incoming missionaries received some training on staying healthy, finances, mail, etc. Your son was also interviewed and met his trainer, Elder S., who was specially chosen for him.  His trainer has proven himself as someone who can help your son develop the skills he will need to be a good missionary.  We hope you will enjoy these pictures that we are attaching as well.

Thank you so much for raising such a fine young man who is so willing to serve his Father in Heaven and be a blessing to the people here and to his fellow missionaries.  We truly pray for them every day and are also committed to working diligently to help them in whatever they need to be happy and successful.

May the Lord bless you, and your son, for the sacrifices and the love that you are extending to the people here. Thank you for all of your support.

With much love,

Pres.  and Hna. McMullin

Elder Milton with Pres. and Hermana McMullin

Elder Milton, Elder S. with Pres. and Hermana McMullin

Week #6

I made it mom! 

I dont have much time but i wanted to let you know i made it and that i love you! I will write you more soon! Thank you for the email! I will write much more next monday!

Love, 

Elder Milton

Week #5-A

Hey Mom!

Im heading out monday as I mentioned before but they are letting me email right now! I am leaving around 7:50(3:50 your time) So this is it for Argentina :) I will send you a more in depth letter once i have more time! I love and miss you! 

 

Love,

Elder Milton

Week #5

Dear Family!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope this email finds you all happy and excited for all your new presents! Thank you for your thoughts! It meant the world to me! I wish i was there but guess what!  I am only missing one more Christmas!

I love the pictures so thank you so much for sending them to me! I wish i could print them!

Mom thank you for your sweet words! I am grateful to be out here serving but today i am especially homesick! So thank you so much for comforting me. I hope that i can become the best man i can while i am out here! Tell Jeff thank you also for his compliments.

So Christmas time in the MTC isnt really as much as they make it out to be! Its alright but just think of a bunch of really homesick missionaries haha. I think i finally figured out why I am Elder McClellands companion! He has really thin patience with people. Me and him are super chill! but sometimes he gets really mad at somethings! Me and him get along really well but i think im his companion because I have the patience to help him get over his temper. you know? I love him like a brother but i try my hardest to help him out! For example he really hates christmas. He is the biggest grinch i have ever met haha. Everyone hates having him around because he just bad talks christmas all the time! I just deal with it and I try my hardest to make him happy! SO theres a little MTC drama for you haha :)

Yesterday we had normal classes until 4:30 and then we had physical activity time until dinner so it was fun we played handball and basketball for like three hours so it was really nice. After we had this interesting cherry chicken stuff? they were trying to be fancy with the cooking but it didnt really work out haha :) So then we had a devotional where people from different countries told about different traditions they had with their family and stuff. It was really cool! But it was all in spanish...and they all had different dialects so it was really hard to understand them but i enjoyed it haha :) That was really all we did yesterday. But today we get to email! And we have like 3 devotionals from salt lake so that will be fun!

Saturday we went proteslyting in a new area and it was another really good time for Elder McClelland and I :) We got to teach these Atheist women and they actually really seemed interested. I dont know if they were interested in the Gospel or if they were Interested in how bad my spanish is! haha either way we talked for a long time! After that it was really dry...nobody wanted to talkt to us! Everyone was just chilling in their pool(so jealous) and waving us off. Towards the end I saw this kid wearing a Lakers jersey(kobe bryant) so i decided to ask him about it. Well our conversation went all over the place from food in the usa to movies. Finally I brought up the gospel and gave him a pamphlet. He seemed somewhat interested so i asked him if i could come back next weeek to teach him and he said yet! So That is my first appointment! Im so excited! Ive been preparing all week just for him so come saturday i will be ready i hope :)

I should be heading out to Paraguay on Monday! Thats the plan but with the holiday its kinda iffy right now. But im excited to go! Ive heard so much about paraguay! Turns out I am going to have to buy a Machete! SO sick! :) Now some bad news...This could be the last time i email for a little while. I know we arent emailing tomorrow for p day :( but we might email real quick on monday before we leave. But after that i have no clue. So just a heads up!

I got your letters! Thank you so much! I sent one last week back to you guys! This week i will reply to your individual letters! Our time is a little shortened today because everyone is emailing! Thank you for the time and thought in the letters! But i replied to them in the handwritten one. should be there soon!

I love and miss you guys very much. Especially this time of the year! It doenst feel like christmas without you guys! But i just want to let you know that im grateful for your prayers and support. I love you and i hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Milton

Week #4

Dearest Mother,

 

I just want to start off by wishing you a very happy birthday! :) i woke up yesterday pretty upset that i was missing it. 19 years without missing it. I thought about you a bunch yesterday and I missed you more than ever! I hope that it was good and im sorry i couldnt be there! But i promise i am working hard so i hope you understand :) Happy birthday mom! Im so grateful for you! I dont know where i would be without you! Not just because you gave birth to me but because you are my best friend :)

 

Proteslyting this Saturday was freaking awesome! I got to go to the same place one more time. Not even 10 minutes after getting off the bus we met our first 2 contacts! They asked us where we were from in so we told them United States so they were immediately interested in why we were here. We told them about a mission and how we are going to paraguay in a couple weeks. One of them his name is Leonardo and he is 19 and his boss Gustavo. Gustavo offered us some water, which was really nice but gave Elder McClelland the squirts hahaha, After that we taught them about the book of Mormon for like 30 minutes on the sidewalk! They were really interested so we took their contact info down. After that Leonardo told us "You guys are my Amigos, I love the USA!" It was freaking awesome haha :) That was our best lesson of the day. Another experience was we were knocking on the doors and this lady answered. She told us we were crazy for walking around in this heat and offered us a drink. So she went left for a minute and brought us back drinks with her daughter who was older. These drinks were orange colored. And i had heard stories of people giving the Missionaries alchoholic beverages before, not to be mean but because the people dont know about the word of wisdom obviously. So i took the glass and said in my head "Heavenly father please remove any alchohol if there is any" haha i didnt want to be rude and tell her no! Turned out there wasnt any :) So we talk to them outside her door for 20 minutes about The United States and we bring up we are Mormons and this lady gets really excited and she shows us this ring. Its a CTR ring like an english one! She said her mom gave it to her but she doesnt know what it means! So we told her it meant Choose the right in english but in spanish its Hace Le Justo or HLJ. So she was really happy :) other than those two experiences the day was pretty hot and alot of walking! But i didnt even care! Those contacts have made my week :)

 

So sorry about the shortness! Ive never remember what to write and i only have an hour to think about it! After im done i always remeber stuff that i needed to tell you haha! But school sounds really hard and but i know you are doing great! You cant help it! The food here is really good sometimes! and other times its so so. We have a couple different cooks so one of them i usually prefer! We eat so much meat. Its awesome. Argentina is infamous for its beef i guess. So much steak. :)

 

I hope i get some letters today! They only give them out on P Day so we will see later if i did! I have been waiting pretty patiently haha. For my package i have one request please! I would like a SD card reader that you can plug in via USB. My friend has one so thats how ive been uploading pics! But without it theres no way to get them uploaded! so please if you can send me one :) i have some sweet pics for you!

 

Im so sad i missed megans first dance! She looks beautiful :) Aiden better have treated her right! He looks like a nice kid though! Please give her a really big hug for me! :) I love the red tie! Kody and his prayers. I love them because theyre arent repeated phrases that he has just heard over and over again! He really prays with his heart! Im so proud of him! Thank you guys for all your prayers :) i know for a fact that they are helping me!

 

Next week is Christmas! Holy moly its so hot and humid here i dont know how it can be christmas! But I will get to email next wednesday :) I dont know what time but make sure you check it out :) Please tell the family I said Merry Christmas and that I love them! I miss you guys so much! I am probably the most homesick ive been yet! Yesterday we set up a couple christmas decorations so I was so sad haha. I love you Mom! Thank you for the email :) it means the world to me! I pray for you guys all the time! Thank you for your support! I will see you on Christmas.

 

Love,

Elder Milton :)

Week #3

Dear Mom,

 

Well I got a little lazy this week so I didnt really write that much stuff down! Just a heads up! Well Saturday i went Proteslyting in the Buenos Aires. Some random zone. Boy was it ghetto...I wasnt allowed to take my camera otherwise i would be sending some flooring pics! My companion Elder McClelland and i got off the bus with high hopes he even said "Lets go find somebody to love!" Well we experienced 5 hours of doors being slammed in our face. One lady came out of her house holding a cross in denfense like she was trying to banish us! Haha it was hard not to laugh. We didnt get to teach anyone but we did give out a few pamphlets. All the people claimed to be Catholic so I guess they were pretty satisfied with their church or whatever. This Saturday we get to go back to the same zone! We didnt cover all of it last time so hopefully this time we will find more success. It was not a good day at all. It was hot and humid, and we walked the whole time! haha but I was kind of happy that at least the people believed in Jesus Christ. If all these people didnt have a belief in him at all i would be really sad.

 

Good news time: I will not be leaving the Buenos Aires! So i will be here until December 30th i believe!

 

Bad news time: Since i will still be in the MTC...No call home for christmas :( nothing. I was extremely sad when i heard this but i guess thats the rule! Probably too many people here!

 

Please make sure you squeeze Megan, Kali and Kody extra tight for me! I really miss them! Im so excited for Megans dance and i look forward to hearing about it! Kody looks as studly as ever at the game and Im so proud of Kali! Make sure you tell Mike I love and miss him also! And of course i love you very much mom! Thank you for supporting me and you guys are always in my prayers! I love you and i will write you next week :)

 

Love,

Elder Milton

Week #2 Pics

Elder Milton sent a couple of pics to share.

Elder Milton at the MTC in Argentina

Here are Elder Milton's study materials.  He has his work cut out for him!

Week #2

Dear Mom,

After i emailed you we had the rest of our P Day (until 5 o clock) to do our physical activities! So we played football for a little bit and got killed haha :) It was awesome! It definitley makes me miss Kody a ton! Then we played handball which is like soccer mixed with basketball...we use soccer goals and play like ultimate frisbee. It was super fun! Except when my glasses get knocked off! I hate glasses. I look like a freaking geek haha. After 5 we united as a district and we were supposed to study...but my district is kinda crazy so we ust talked the whole time! after our meeteing we went and had a fireside with the president. This guy is amazing. He is probably the most scripture savy guy i have ever met. Presidente Openshaw is his name. but our lesson was about getting married in the temple and being sealed so that we can recieve the patriarchal priesthood! I had no idea! To recieve exaltation we have to have this priesthood. So theres the fun fact of the day :) It was a crazy deep lesson! but i enjoyed it!

November 29th

I woke up so sore today! My muscles were aching from yesterday! My body was definietly not used to it haha. And i woke up with killer allergies. I was sneezing all morning! After breakfast i had an interview with president openshaw...it was pretty scary! But when my turn came to get an interview he was the nicest guy to me! He told me my spanish was really good and that i was ahead of schedule. After the interview we prayed and i felt like i was getting set apart again! He blessed me with so much! I was extremely grateful. After that it was the normal routine until we had some service to do! All we did was clean the kitchen haha but it was good to get out of the class room for a bit. My teacher in the after noon Hermano(Brother) Vargas has only been speaking english for 3 months! So sometimes i have to translate his Spanish into English for the class to understand haha! Its prettty Crazy. Hes freaking awesome though. Today i also got my first haircut! You will have to tell me how it looks.

December 1st

This is going to be a long entry so im sorry in advance! Today was my first 24 hour fast....i was starving haha. But I had a really good experience with it! Testimony meeting was amazing! I am honored to be with these people! They are truly angels of God. I am so humbled to be part of them. After Sacrement i took a two hour nap. haha a nap has never felt sooo good! We had another fireside that I want to share with you :) it was about blessings. Like administrering blessings. It was taught by President Openshaw and he told a story that I want to tell you! Its kinda sad! So 50 years ago when President Openshaw was serving his mission in Argentina, he was walking around town with his companion when a boy came running up begging for the missionaries to come to his house. His dad had just passsed away and he told the missionaries to give him a blessing to live again. My mission president said as soon as the boy was done talking, the president knew that the boys dad would live again. The spirit testified to the president that he was going to command him to live again. So my MTC president and his companion went over to the house and it was surrounded with friends and family crying and really sad. So my president went to the body and gave him a blessing and said "by the faith of those in this room you will live again" or something to that affect. Guess what....He didnt rise. My mission president then bore testimony that he should not have blessed him like that. he shouldve followed the spirit and commanded him to rise. If he had that father would sitll be alive today....i was blown away. It just made me realize I have to follow the spirt with EXACTNESS. Pretty crazy story.

 

Please tell Kali and Tara happy birthday for me! I love and miss you guys very much! Please give everyone hugs and kisses for me! I miss you so much mom! You guys are in my prayers!

Love,

Elder Milton

Week #1

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has definitely been a long week! I wake up at 6:30 and I dont get done with all my classes until around 10. And my bed time is at10:30.  haha so not really any personal time. My companions name is Elder McClelland. And its freaking hilarious because NONE of the latinos can say his name. They just call him Elder Mack! Me and him get along good! Hes from Salt Lake City and he loves football so thats okay with me! We have two other roommates and they are both from Peru so the language barrier is pretty thick. One of them snores louder than ANYONE I have ever heard. Its crazy. Not only is it loud but he breathes so fast! Haha i feel like im in a missionary movie! Well hes a pretty big boy and he sleeps on the top bunk. The other night he rolled off his bed! It was so freaking scary but hilarious at the same time! I could not go back to sleep because i was laughing so hard!

Thursdays are our P day and every Thursday we go to the temple! We are literally 20 feet away from it and it so beautiful. Look up the Buenos Aires Temple. It is one of the prettiest ones! I definitely enjoyed it very much! Also today we are having a turkey bowl :) hallelujah! There is one good football in Argentina! I will be starting QB for the Moroni District if you happen to catch it on BYU tv ;) haha. Our district has gotten really close for only being here for 7 days. But they are all way awesome!

Spanish. I eat, drink, and sleep spanish. Surprisingly all the stuff i learned in school is helping me! Thank you Senor Jones! First day we had to teach a lesson to our teacher in Spanish! Somehow me and my companion made it through! My mouth was just filled with words that i thought I had forgot! I was freaking nervous too haha. My teachers are legit! The one we have in the morning his name is Brother Pederson. Hes from argentina but he just got home from his mission in St. George! So he speaks really good english and me in him have a bond because he served in Cedar for a little bit too :) Our second teacher is amazing and his name is Brother Vargas. We all describe him as an angel or a truly exalted being. Honestly this guy is cute. He reminds of a little kid but he awesome! I wish i could send you pictures of him. You would understand haha. I love the pictures you sent me! they turned out good!

Christmas Package details. Large boxes will be held up in customs and there will be a cost to retrieve them. Unless the contents is really valuable we will not retrieve these packages.

Small video boxes seem to arrive here okay. The best way to send a package is the following: The contents must fit inside a padded 9x13 shipping envelope. It must weigh less than 4 pounds. Indicate missionary supplies on the outside. Secure package with Scotch tape so it will not break open.

Address:

CCM/ Templo de Mormones

Puente 13 & Ricchieri

Cuidad Evita

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Marco Milton

Those are instructions straight from the President :) thank you 

Well Mom, email time is done :( but it is so good to hear that everything with the family is going well. I miss you guys so much! I pray for you every night! Thank you for the support :) give everyone a big hug and kiss for me! I love you and I will be back to write you next week! Happy Thanksgiving :)

Love,

Elder Milton

P.S. Sorry about my grammar! I cant find half the puncutation marks haha :) i love you !

Safe Arrival

November 21, 2013 - At about 5:30 pm Wednesday, I received a phone call from an unknown number.  It was a woman calling me to tell me that Elder Milton had safely arrived in Dallas.  What an angel!   She will never know how much that 2 minute phone call meant to me.  One more connecting flight to go!

On Thursday morning at about 8:30 am, I received an email from Elder Milton telling he had been allowed to send a quick email home to his family to tell us that he had arrived to Argentina safely.  He said he would write as soon as he can.

As MJ sends updates, I will post them here for you all to read.  Thank you to all of his friends and family for your support.  If you are reading this blog, you have had a positive impact on his life somehow and he wants you to share in his experiences as he serves.  This is the day MJ has waited for and prepared for.  Now it begins.....

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

November 20, 2013.  Today was the big day.  Today we took Elder Milton to the Tucson, Arizona International Airport to depart on his mission in Paraguay.  He had a connecting flight in Dallas to head to the MTC in Buenos Aries, Argentina.

Heading out the door

Because MJ is officially set apart, there were no movies to be played in the car, no radio to listen to, so we found some piano music on Pandora to enjoy.  It was a quiet, but enjoyable car ride.

MJ and Megan in the car on the way to the airport

We stopped and had lunch at MJ's favorite place, In and Out, before we went to the airport.  I am positive MJ savored every last bite of the 4x4 he ordered!

Thumbs WAY UP!

Today was a bittersweet day.  The sadness at saying goodbye is inexplicable, but the pride is overwhelming! All of us cried as we said our goodbyes!  It was a very emotional time.  We each had a few moments to say our goodbyes and take a final picture before he went through the security gate.

MJ and Kody

MJ will never know how hard Kody cried when he left.  Kody will miss his big brother!

MJ and Kali

Kali loves her big brother!

MJ and Megan

MJ and Megan have a special bond.  Megan will miss him so much!

Megan, MJ, Kody, Kali

MJ and Mike

Denise, MJ and Mike

Me and my son, Elder Milton!

A final wave goodbye

There he goes!

Godspeed Elder Milton.  You will be missed, but the Lord has so much in store for you!  You will be a magnificent missionary!

Final Football Practice

Wednesday morning, November 20th, 2013, before we loaded the car to head to the airport, MJ, Kali, and Kody went outside to throw the football around.  MJ and Kody usually throw the football in the afternoon after Kody gets home from school. Sometimes Kali joins in.  MJ has been teaching Kody passing routes and teaching Kali how to throw the ball.  This will be the last football practice for two years.  Notice MJ is wearing his dress shoes and socks because the rest of his life and wardrobe is either packed away in the attic or in suitcases to head to the airport!

MJ and Kali

Kody catches a pass

Kali, Kody, and Elder Milton (notice Kody's gloves - a gift from MJ)

Packing Elder Milton

On the night of November 19, 2013, after MJ's setting apart and Kyle's baptism, we went home to start getting MJ packed.  With checklist in hand and with Mom's expertise, we were able to pack everything needed and a few extras, like peanut M&M's and a few Kit Kat bars.  We were even under weight and had room to spare.  If there would have been too much extra space, I am certain we would have found Kody in one of his suitcases!

Getting Organized (while talking to Uncle Lawrence on the phone)

Elder Milton's First Baptism

On November 19th, 30 minutes after MJ was set apart as an official missionary, he performed his first Baptism.  Our neighbor and MJ's good friend, Kyle Carver was baptised a member of the Church.

MJ and Kyle before Kyle's Baptism

MJ, President Sanders and Kyle

MJ has been a great friend and example to Kyle since the day our family moved to Safford.  Kyle has been to and will continue to go to church with our family and become active in our ward.

The full-time Missionaries in our ward taught Kyle the discussions in our home with MJ present to assist.  MJ was able to get to spend a lot of time with these Elders who served as great examples to him of what is to come.

MJ with Kyle and the Elders

The "Official" Elder Milton

On November 19th, 2013, MJ was "officially" set apart as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints tonight.  He was very excited.  He invited a family and a few close friends to be there.  Our Stake President, President Sanders set him apart with the assistance of Bishop Hancock and MJ's step-dad, Michael Cochran.  We were all touched by the Spirit that was felt as this special blessing was pronounced.  Elder Milton will be a great missionary!

Our Family

MJ with step-sisters Fallon and Darcy

MJ and Kyle Carver

MJ and the McCormies Family

MJ and Kody, our Future Missionary

The Farewell

On Sunday, November 10th, we had MJ's Mission Farewell.  MJ gave a wonderful, memorable talk.  Not suprising, he used several metaphores relating to (what else) ...  FOOTBALL!  I hope to have the video or audio soon to share with everyone.

MJ had many supporters at his farewell, including family, friends, and co-workers.  It was a packed house.  Hugs were exchanged, tears were shed, but it was a fantastic day with a fantastic talk given by a wonderful man, soon to be Elder Marco Milton.  Here are some photos from the occasion...

Elder Marco L. Milton, Jr.

 MJ's Grandma and Grandpa Chubbs from Las Vegas, NV

 MJ's Uncle Jeff, Aunt Dixie, Raychel, Nate, and Karsyn from Chandler, AZ

 MJ's Uncle Lawrence, Aunt Tracy, Jake and Connor from Las Vegas, NV

MJ's Close Family Friends, James and Michelle Ruesch with Sydney and Brooklyn from Riverside, CA

 MJ's Aunt Donetta and Peyton from Las Vegas, NV

MJ's Best Friend, Kelly Jo McCormies from Thatcher, AZ

MJ's Close friend and adopted "dad" Brian Williamson from Cedar City, UT

MJ's friend Shalene Allen

The Whole Fam-Damily:  Darcy, Fallon, Tara, Ryann, Marco, Kali, Megan, Kody, Mike and Denise

MJ and his siblings:  Megan, Kody and Kali

MJ and Megan

MJ's Family:  Denise, Marco, Kody, Kali, Megan and Mike

and of course... MJ and his Mommy  :)

You can plug in your own caption here!

Mission Mailing Address

When MJ has left the MTC, letters and packages can be mailed to him in Paraguay to the Mission Office.  He will eventually have an address at his first assignment, but mail will always be held for him at these addresses below.

There is some information you should know.  According to the guidelines received from the church:
"Small packages of nominal value may be sent through the regular mail.  Photographs, tapes, CD's, thumb drives, etc. may be included in these packages.  Please use padded envelopes when sending these items, as they may damage postal equipment or be damaged during transit if placed in flat envelopes.  Packages sent to other countries often do not reach their intended destination.  When they do arrive, they are subject to customs duties (taxes) that the missionary must pay from his own personal funds.  This amount may be equal to or greater than the cost of the items being sent."

If you want to send a package via private carrier (instead of the USPS), let me (Denise) know because you have to have some additional information.

Argentina Mission Office Mailing Address (Letters):

Elder Marco LeRoy Milton, Jr.

Paraguay Asuncion North Mission

Casilla de Correo 1871

Asuncion 1831

Paraguay

Argentina Mission Office Mailing Address (Packages):

Elder Marco LeRoy Milton, Jr.

Paraguay Asuncion North Mission

Av. Santisima Trinidad No. 1280

c/Julio Correa

Asuncion 1831

Paraguay

MTC Mailing Address

If you wish to send MJ an letter while he is in the Buenos Aires MTC, the address will be posted below.  Don't forget the mail will take 5-10 days to arrive and he will only be at the MTC for about 6 weeks. Currently, International First Class Mail is $1.10 for up to 2 ounces of mail (3 sheets of paper or so).

MTC Mailing Address:

Elder Marco LeRoy Milton, Jr.

Paraguay Asuncion North Mission

Argentina Missionary Training Center

Autopista Ricchieri y Puente 13

1778 Ciudad Evita

Buenos Aries 

Argentina

Email Address

While away, MJ will have an email address.  We are not sure, however, how often he will be able to check or respond to his emails.  Feel free to drop him a note.

marco.milton@myldsmail.net

Called to Serve

Elder Marco LeRoy Milton has been called to serve in the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He departs from Tucson, AZ on Wednesday, November 20th, 2013 to spend a few weeks in the Buenos Aires Missionary Training Center.  (MTC)  Here, he will learn his Spanish to prepare him for his work in Paraguay.