With how late this blog is this week you can probably predict how crazy my life has been. Why I thought I could take on more in the form of school is beyond me, but that is me... always biting off more than I can chew, or as my Grandpa Ty would say, "your eyes are bigger than your belly!" However, I want you to know that I chose to continue my education after much prayer and fasting. I love school and I love learning, but I am also learning that I need to be better at delegating my responsibilities. Just this morning Blaine very sweetly told me to make out a specific list of things that he can do each day to help my cause around the house. This is very sweet coming from a man who is also a work-aholic. He has been putting in 12 hour days lately. We both need to slow down. This is where the kids come into play. I just need to find a way to delegate more of my load to them in a positive manner where they miraculously see the benefits of them doing more housework. I wholeheartedly believe that despite my children's perceived busy-ness there is ample time for them to step it up on a daily basis. I can see a new chore chart already developing. Brace yourselves Ty and Carter - the leisurely life you are enjoying is about to get exciting! Sunday's FHE will be eventful! I'll let you all know how it goes down.
Anyhow, Dallin sounds like his happy self. Just the other day Carter commented on how he is having a hard time remembering what Dallin's voice sounds like. As I tried to hear it, I realized I am experiencing the same thing. Thank goodness for the Christmas Skype - I'm already counting the days. Dallin is excited to train a new missionary starting this week. He should be with him now! I am excited to hear of their many adventures. Trainers hold a special place in every returned missionary's heart. My trainer was Sister Melissa Roddy from Yuma, Arizona. She was an amazing missionary with a heart of gold and a beautiful singing voice. She sang at my wedding reception and was my maid of honor. She currently lives with her family in Gilbert, AZ. Good luck Dallin - you will be amazing, and good luck to your new greenie!
Blaine's Letter To Dallin This Week:
Hi Dallin,
I have been really worried about you. With all the unrest going on in the middle east with the Muslims in Syria and Iraq and all their evil doings I have been really worried for your safety. You had mentioned how you have been interacting with some Muslim families there. I initially felt that must be a good experience for you to get to interact with them. However, with the current events going on with ISIS and their beheading of an American journalist, I want you to stay away from them. Has your mission president advised this too. I hope the church has made some awareness of these things to the missionaries on the ground.
I have been really worried about you. With all the unrest going on in the middle east with the Muslims in Syria and Iraq and all their evil doings I have been really worried for your safety. You had mentioned how you have been interacting with some Muslim families there. I initially felt that must be a good experience for you to get to interact with them. However, with the current events going on with ISIS and their beheading of an American journalist, I want you to stay away from them. Has your mission president advised this too. I hope the church has made some awareness of these things to the missionaries on the ground.
Otherwise, all is well here in Washington, Utah. Everything is exciting right now. I can't wait for you to return home though and start your life. I really feel what a great boy you are and I can't wait to see your life progress from here. All the more reason to be safe at all costs. I don't want you to risk anything. If things don't appear to be safe, take the best side of caution as to protect your future.
All The Best
B G Milne
All The Best
B G Milne
Dallin's Reply:
Hey Dad,
thanks for the heads up, I had no idea that had happened with the journalist. So awful. We are always careful, you can always tell really quickly when you start talking with a Muslim if they are nice or not. Its not very often that you run into someone who wants to yell at you or something. The Spirit will guide us with those kind of situations. We can't completely ignore them because there have been a lot of recent converts lately in Sweden from the middle east. The most recent convert here in Västerås is from Iran and he has started to bring his entire family to church and it looks like they also will be baptized soon. The Lord will take care of me, but thanks for your concern Dad I will be extra careful for sure. By the way, how is the old truck holding up? We were talking about trucks the other day in the apartment and I remembered how great of a job that little half-ton ranger pick up did carrying 1.5 tons of concrete out of grandpas house to the dump last summer haha. Take care
E D B Milne
Natalie's Letter to Dallin This Week:
Dear Dallin,
Well, here we are again.... another Sunday evening of getting to miss my favorite missionary. I pray you are happy and well. Only a few more days and you will be welcoming the "greenie". That is so awesome. I am so proud of you and your desire to do this. I love that you told your mission president that you were ready for this responsibility; it shows me that you are confident in the language, in the area that you are serving, and you are confident with yourself and your abilities to lead and guide. You will do an awesome job! He is a lucky missionary. You will set the tone for his entire mission. Work hard, be obedient, and be yourself, and you will be successful. Enlist the help of the Lord and stay humble. Be ever mindful of the Spirit and of your companions feelings. Remember what it was like for you as a "greenie" and how awesome your trainer was. What a wonderful opportunity!
Well, this week has really flown by. I started back to school at SUU this week. I love school. I love learning new things and stretching my mental capacity as well as meeting new people. As you might imagine, I am the oldest student in each of my classes. My favorite class so far is a marriage and family class on Fathering. Our text book is called Why Fathers Count - The Importance of Fathers and Their Involvement With Children. This is the first text book I can honestly say that I love to read. You and I both know that fathers are such an important part of our lives. Who can measure their worth? This book states that getting along with others, empathy, academic achievement, childhood poverty, and depression in childhood - all issues that reflect differing aspects of a child's well-being and development - are significantly affected by a father's presence and involvement. The list could be significantly expanded. The simple point is that a mounting wave of scholarship suggests fathers count in a variety of ways in the lives of children and their contributions inevitably shape the future of their child's life..... In the eyes of a child, a father's love and acceptance can count for everything.
Dallin, you have been blessed with a wonderful father who loves you very much. He has sacrificed tirelessly for the well-being of our family, as well as provided much love, guidance, and support to his three sons. He loves you very much and is always concerned for your well-being. He is so proud of you and the righteous example you have always been to all of us. His love for you should give you a glimpse of the type of love our Heavenly Father has for you. Always keep in mind that our Heavenly Father and your earthly father love you very much. I was reminded today for some reason of your baby blessing in church that dad gave you. He told you that you would walk upright before God and be a leader among your fellowmen. You have been doing this your entire life. Keep up the great work.
Ty and Carter were both sick with colds this week. Ty at the first of the week and Carter over the weekend. They are both doing better. School for them is in full swing and they are plugging along. Carter is working hard to maintain his 4.0, and I am trying to get him study more for his ACT. He like you just needs to improve one point to secure his Regent's Scholarship. Hopefully he can get that done. Maybe you could send him some words of encouragement and advice. It would be awesome for him to get that like you did. Every little bit of money helps when it comes to college. Carter has also been working out in the weight room quite a bit and attending open gym and catching a few pick-up games at the rec center. It will be fun watching him play ball this year. Dad watched your basketball highlight video on you tube yesterday. He came in and said, "I forgot what a great player Dallin was." He then went on to say what an exceptional son you have always been. I just thought you would like to hear that.
We had a great combined third hour lesson today on family history work. We are going to prepare some names for the temple to take on November 11th when we go to do Grandpa Glen's work. November 11th is also grandma Bonnie's birthday and Veteran's day. We thought this would be a very fitting day to do his work for him. We also each took some time this evening to write in our journals and Carter and Ty filled out some family history workbooks. We have an incredible heritage. Draw upon the strength that comes from such a blessing.
Grandma called tonight with a really cool story. Remember Bishop Donny Roberts from Beaver. He lives right across from Nanette and Randy? He has a son that has been home from his mission for about five years - Ben Roberts. He just so happened to serve in Sweden. Well today in grandma Susan's ward the stake patriarch spoke - Howard Bradshaw. He spoke about giving Ben Roberts his patriarchal blessing right before his mission. In his blessing he told Ben that he would bring thousands of people into the gospel through his service in Sweden. After the blessing as he was typing it up he wondered if he should leave that line in there because it was Sweden, and he knew that it was a very tough mission and that he would be very lucky to get just one baptism let alone thousands. The Spirit prompted him to keep it in the blessing. Well, Elder Roberts served his mission and only had a few baptisms as is typical for Sweden. This might have caused some to question the inspiration of the patriarch, but today in sacrament meeting the patriarch was happy to report that Ben Roberts' blessing had been fulfilled. Ben's parents had the opportunity to go to Sweden to pick up Ben and to meet the people he had baptized and served. Five years later they received a phone call from one of the members that Ben had baptized. She asked his parents if they could send her some money to help her get to America. They sent it to her and when she arrived she brought with her 62,000 names from her family history that needed to have their temple work performed for them. What a miracle. Thousands were literally brought into the gospel because of Elder Roberts' service. It is surely impossible for us to predict the impact that bringing even one soul into the gospel will have. I thought of you and Daniel. He has already taken names to the temple. You never know the far reaching effects your missionary service will have. Many of the resultant blessings may not be manifest for years to come, but surely they will come. Do not get discouraged. Every day counts, every act counts, and most importantly, every soul counts. Each day strive to be the one that makes the difference. You be the miracle in someone's life!
I love you Dallin. You are amazing to me. I admire your faith, your determination, and your goodness. Keep up the great work. Did your package come yet? I will put some more money in your account in a few days. Let me know if there is anything else you need. Take care of yourself, stay safe, and always be mindful of your surroundings. Remember that there is great protection that is promised through obedience. Obedience keeps us happy and safe! Have a fun p-day. It is Labor Day here so we all have the day off. We are going swimming in the Veyo pool and then up to Pine Valley for Lunch and shooting the guns. It will be nice to get out of the heat.
Much Love,
Mom
#secondharvest
#theworthofsouls
#greeniepower
Well, here we are again.... another Sunday evening of getting to miss my favorite missionary. I pray you are happy and well. Only a few more days and you will be welcoming the "greenie". That is so awesome. I am so proud of you and your desire to do this. I love that you told your mission president that you were ready for this responsibility; it shows me that you are confident in the language, in the area that you are serving, and you are confident with yourself and your abilities to lead and guide. You will do an awesome job! He is a lucky missionary. You will set the tone for his entire mission. Work hard, be obedient, and be yourself, and you will be successful. Enlist the help of the Lord and stay humble. Be ever mindful of the Spirit and of your companions feelings. Remember what it was like for you as a "greenie" and how awesome your trainer was. What a wonderful opportunity!
Well, this week has really flown by. I started back to school at SUU this week. I love school. I love learning new things and stretching my mental capacity as well as meeting new people. As you might imagine, I am the oldest student in each of my classes. My favorite class so far is a marriage and family class on Fathering. Our text book is called Why Fathers Count - The Importance of Fathers and Their Involvement With Children. This is the first text book I can honestly say that I love to read. You and I both know that fathers are such an important part of our lives. Who can measure their worth? This book states that getting along with others, empathy, academic achievement, childhood poverty, and depression in childhood - all issues that reflect differing aspects of a child's well-being and development - are significantly affected by a father's presence and involvement. The list could be significantly expanded. The simple point is that a mounting wave of scholarship suggests fathers count in a variety of ways in the lives of children and their contributions inevitably shape the future of their child's life..... In the eyes of a child, a father's love and acceptance can count for everything.
Dallin, you have been blessed with a wonderful father who loves you very much. He has sacrificed tirelessly for the well-being of our family, as well as provided much love, guidance, and support to his three sons. He loves you very much and is always concerned for your well-being. He is so proud of you and the righteous example you have always been to all of us. His love for you should give you a glimpse of the type of love our Heavenly Father has for you. Always keep in mind that our Heavenly Father and your earthly father love you very much. I was reminded today for some reason of your baby blessing in church that dad gave you. He told you that you would walk upright before God and be a leader among your fellowmen. You have been doing this your entire life. Keep up the great work.
Ty and Carter were both sick with colds this week. Ty at the first of the week and Carter over the weekend. They are both doing better. School for them is in full swing and they are plugging along. Carter is working hard to maintain his 4.0, and I am trying to get him study more for his ACT. He like you just needs to improve one point to secure his Regent's Scholarship. Hopefully he can get that done. Maybe you could send him some words of encouragement and advice. It would be awesome for him to get that like you did. Every little bit of money helps when it comes to college. Carter has also been working out in the weight room quite a bit and attending open gym and catching a few pick-up games at the rec center. It will be fun watching him play ball this year. Dad watched your basketball highlight video on you tube yesterday. He came in and said, "I forgot what a great player Dallin was." He then went on to say what an exceptional son you have always been. I just thought you would like to hear that.
We had a great combined third hour lesson today on family history work. We are going to prepare some names for the temple to take on November 11th when we go to do Grandpa Glen's work. November 11th is also grandma Bonnie's birthday and Veteran's day. We thought this would be a very fitting day to do his work for him. We also each took some time this evening to write in our journals and Carter and Ty filled out some family history workbooks. We have an incredible heritage. Draw upon the strength that comes from such a blessing.
Grandma called tonight with a really cool story. Remember Bishop Donny Roberts from Beaver. He lives right across from Nanette and Randy? He has a son that has been home from his mission for about five years - Ben Roberts. He just so happened to serve in Sweden. Well today in grandma Susan's ward the stake patriarch spoke - Howard Bradshaw. He spoke about giving Ben Roberts his patriarchal blessing right before his mission. In his blessing he told Ben that he would bring thousands of people into the gospel through his service in Sweden. After the blessing as he was typing it up he wondered if he should leave that line in there because it was Sweden, and he knew that it was a very tough mission and that he would be very lucky to get just one baptism let alone thousands. The Spirit prompted him to keep it in the blessing. Well, Elder Roberts served his mission and only had a few baptisms as is typical for Sweden. This might have caused some to question the inspiration of the patriarch, but today in sacrament meeting the patriarch was happy to report that Ben Roberts' blessing had been fulfilled. Ben's parents had the opportunity to go to Sweden to pick up Ben and to meet the people he had baptized and served. Five years later they received a phone call from one of the members that Ben had baptized. She asked his parents if they could send her some money to help her get to America. They sent it to her and when she arrived she brought with her 62,000 names from her family history that needed to have their temple work performed for them. What a miracle. Thousands were literally brought into the gospel because of Elder Roberts' service. It is surely impossible for us to predict the impact that bringing even one soul into the gospel will have. I thought of you and Daniel. He has already taken names to the temple. You never know the far reaching effects your missionary service will have. Many of the resultant blessings may not be manifest for years to come, but surely they will come. Do not get discouraged. Every day counts, every act counts, and most importantly, every soul counts. Each day strive to be the one that makes the difference. You be the miracle in someone's life!
I love you Dallin. You are amazing to me. I admire your faith, your determination, and your goodness. Keep up the great work. Did your package come yet? I will put some more money in your account in a few days. Let me know if there is anything else you need. Take care of yourself, stay safe, and always be mindful of your surroundings. Remember that there is great protection that is promised through obedience. Obedience keeps us happy and safe! Have a fun p-day. It is Labor Day here so we all have the day off. We are going swimming in the Veyo pool and then up to Pine Valley for Lunch and shooting the guns. It will be nice to get out of the heat.
Much Love,
Mom
#secondharvest
#theworthofsouls
#greeniepower
Aldste Milne's Reply:
Dear Blaine, Natalie, Carter, and Ty, Milne,
Yes, here we are again indeed. Another P-day. All is well, I have nothing of bad report that I can think of. The package came a couple days ago, thanks so much for that. I've been sitting here for about 5 minutes thinking about what I can write about this week and nothing in particular has really come to mind. This week wasn't as busy as last week. Some of our top dogs canceled on us this last week unfortunately. But yes, I will be getting my greenie here in a couple days and I am super pumped about that. According to travel information, it looks like the kids name is Elder Treat, but that is not 100% confirmed yet. He has a blog too online and looks like he is a fun kid. Me and some other guys who are training saw his blog last week and we were all hoping to get him, so I'm happy about that. It'll be tough to say hejdå to elder brown though, we have had a fun time together these last 6 weeks and the branch really liked him so all day tomorrow will pretty much just being going around seeing everyone and saying goodbye, which will be great because of all of the food :). Speaking of food, I also don't know what we'll do without elder brown because he is the one who does all the cooking! Sure I can make a mean batch of spaghetti and meatballs but you can only eat so much of that so often till it starts tasting pretty nasty. I liked elder brown because he had the skills to mix it up every now and then and keep everything fresh. Hopefully this new kid has got some cooking talent otherwise we'll probably just have to start buying stuff for pb&j's again haha.
Anyways, that's cool that you are back into school and loving your classes. Every Sunday, we teach sunday school and aaronic priesthood and as you probably know the main topics this month have all been about the importance of eternal families. In priesthood, we have mostly talked about fathers, their importance, and how we can prepare to become righteous fathers and husbands using our Heavenly Father as an example. It has been a great opportunity for me to teach about these type of things. I have started to realize that being a husband and a father will be my most important calling on this earth. I'm also grateful that I still have quite a bit of time before I have to really worry about it haha but of course it is important to prepare now by improving myself. That is probably what I am most grateful for as a missionary, the time I have to improve myself by trying to follow my Savior's example. Of course, I am no where near perfect but I really have noticed a difference in myself. One of my favorite chapters in the Preach My Gospel is the chapter about Christ-like attributes and how we can develop them. As I have started to understand the scriptures better, I have started to realize that most of life comes down to whether you are prideful or humble. In the Book of Mormon, we see many examples of this with the Nephites. When Sister Newell was here she would always encourage us to pick an attribute every month to work on and write it in our planners every day of that month. Most of the time, for me I have written Humility in my planner haha. I think that it's because I am so competitive that I feel like I have this pride issue. Growing up, I have always tried to be better than the next guy in whatever I was doing. I'm starting to learn that the best way to do things is to compete against yourself, trying to improve yourself without comparing yourself to others. I know that those are the people that the Lord smiles down upon. That is very hard for me to do but I am working it. At the same time, I do think it is important to be competitive, but in the right way. If that makes any sense. Goodness I don't even know what I am saying. Moving on.
It's good to hear that you guys are keeping it up with Family Home Evening, and even better that you are doing family history! That'll be an awesome thing to do as a family for Grandpa Glen. Way to go everyone. Speaking of family history, I was looking at my tree the other day and I found some ancestors who were from Denmark. I had no idea that I had a little Scandinavian blood in me. Unless you guys had told me once before and I just forgot, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case.
That sure is a cool story about the Robert's boy. The temple really is what it is all about. President Newell always said that the Second Harvest was going on right now, and that it was happening inside the walls of the temple as our converts brought their deceased family members' names to the temple to do their work. I sure was happy when I found out that Daniel made it to the temple, I know that there are more wonderful people like him out here. Oh and I forgot to tell you guys last week that in my talk I shared the story about Carter and the Arteaga family. The topic was how obedience brings blessings and as I was preparing for it I was trying to think of an experience where I was awesomely obedient and got really sweet blessings but the first thing that came to mind was Carter's obedience to our responsibility as members to share the gospel and his obedience to the stake president who challenged all the youth to give out a BoM to a friend. Everyone was really impressed with Carter's story. It seriously is the greatest blessing to be able to share the message that we have. It has helped me experience true joy, the kind that lasts, and has helped me get my priorities straight and has given me a bigger perspective. Take care everyone, love you all!
Love
Elder Milne
This Week's Pictures: The first three are random pictures of Vasteras while out and about...
Still got a little bounce, actually way more than I had before
Dinner at the Stake President's House
It's about time! I've been waiting and waiting for this post. I understand though now that you have started school back up; I'm impressed. I loved how you said Blaine is being kind and asking you what he and the boys can do to lighten your load at home. Way to go BGM. I loved the story about the Beaver boy and his patriarchal blessing; it gave me cold chills. Dallin sounds great and I loved the pictures once again. Sweden is beautiful. Love to all. Kimbo
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