Sunday, March 23, 2014

Courtnee's Last Letter to Miller: My Dearest Favorite Miller Toa

Rest in Love Elder Toa




My Dearest Favorite, Miller Toa:
Hey Love! It's another day in the mission field! I will still write to you as if I am talking to you face to face because I think you are even closer to me now! I can feel it. How are you? I am doing well. As my final letter to you, and to whoever else reads this, I want you to know that YOU DID IT! You conquered this life! You were to good for it! You were sent here for a time, fulfilled your purpose, so of course Heavenly Father would want you back with him! This morning we walked to our furthest area. Haha I wouldn't let my companion take a tricycle. It ended up being 4 miles. It rocked! We only taught 1 lesson, but what we spent our time doing made me think of you! Here in Aparri they are drying huge amounts of shrimp. We saw one of our investigators working and decided to step in and help. Man it was hard! My fingers even started bleeding! But I could feel their sincere gratitude for our help. It felt so good doing THEIR work. The work the people are dong here!  There was an instant connection with the people. An instant love. I thought to myself, this is how YOU, Elder Toa, did it!  As your best friend I want to share with you the greatest lesson I have learned from you. It is the principle of service. And we all know that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, ye are only in the service of our God! You served God your whole life! So it is only fitting that God would take you back to live with him while you were an ordained and set apart servant of Him! Thank you for sharing the way you served people with me. I will cherish your stories for the rest of my life. Let me remind you of a letter you wrote to me December 18th:


"Haha honestly? I can't give you any advice on missinoary work because I stink! Wanna know what I have noticed though? The more I become one with the people, the more I get closer to them, the less I find myself teaching with my mouth! The closer I become, the more time I spend in the swamp getting firewood! The more time I spend in the mountains with a machete gathering food. Or playing "rumi" with the old less actives, or gatherin tin cans off the ground so kids can go buy rice for their families! The closer I get to these people, the less I tell them about the Gospel... Is that bad? Am I a bad missionary for doing that? For not doing actual textbook missionary work?"

My Miller. You were the best of the best. You were and are the greatest missionary even if you don't sit down and explain the whole restoration. Even though I know you told me plenty of times that you have have gotten pretty dang good at teaching it! Haha. I know that you brought so many people into the Gospel in Chuuk by your Christlike example, and you constant Christlike service. You did become one with the people, and it will forever change their lives. Along with theirs, you have changed my life, and the life of everyone around you. Nothing was ever about yourself. You are so selfless! Your time was spent making others happy. And that is how you found your joy. You always told me, "If you're happy, I am happy." 
Miller there is a quote I want to share with you by Elder Neal A. Maxwell. He said, " The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit, millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others, but warm them as well." Thank you for willingly leading and warming everyone you come in contact with. But specifically me. I wish you could see my face every time I open a letter from you. Your smile and your laugh are contagious! Your testimony of this Gospel radiates from you! Your testimony strengthens my testimony. I think God knows how much you and I want to see each other again. Good thing he loves us enough to create a plan that will for sure include that! It will be a glorious day. You better be there to welcome me in with open arms! I already miss you more than words can describe, but I know that my time with you is spent, and there are others waiting for you to help them like you did me. You will be with me forever, I just know it. Well Favorite, I need to go. We have a family we need to go and teach. :) You will always be in my heart. I love you!
Sweet Dreams.
Ofa Atu!
Love,
Your very own missionary, Sister Courtnee Wood. <3

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