Almost August!

Thanks everyone for the emails and support.

Tomorrow is zone conference, and I am really excited to see my former companion, Elder Brown for the first time since he left Mostoles. We are going to be talking about companionship study and its importance. Right now, the work is going great.

We challenged Rita to baptism on Monday, and she came to all 3 hours of church on Sunday. She is from Nigeria, and she is way awesome. She was in Alicante, in the Barcelona mission before, and was being taught by the Hermanas there for 2 months. She came here and contacted us near her new piso, and we have taught her 2 times now. She is awesome, but doesn’t feel ready for baptism yet. We will keep teaching her and helping her. The Relief Society was amazing to her, she is 23 and speaks English. One girl who is about 23 or 24 and is from Portugal translated for her. It went just great. We didn’t even know that this woman, Laticia, knew English, and then she just translated for Rita. So befriend the new people, and remember Christ’s principle with the one lost sheep. Like Elder Wirthlin said in the last conference, we need to focus on those people who are new and alone, and help them along. Also, we have been focusing even more on teaching the members here in our barrio, and we have been using the Book of Mormon.

As a mission, this last 5 weeks of this transfer, we have been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and highlighting the things about Christ, mentioning one of Christ’s titles and his words. I remember doing this activity as a family when my grandma was on a mission in Albania, and it was awesome. I don’t know if I knew how awesome it really was at the time. We have felt the converting power of the Book of Mormon, and have been helping the members keep that fire burning within them, and rekindling the fire in those who have lost it. So we share this lesson when we cover the 6th paragraph of the Book of Mormon introduction, then 1 Nephi 6:4-6. Then we have them write their thoughts on a piece of paper. I take their papers, switch them for other ones we prepared that are just blank, and then my companion reads 1 Nephi 19:23. Then I proceed to explain how when we don’t study the Book of Mormon, we don’t read the final words of those prophets and apostles called of God to help us in our days. So it really pulls a chord on their heart as we tear the papers up. Then, obviously we have saved their final thoughts and are like, “well, now you can use these final thoughts as a reminder of how important the Book of Mormon is for us, and how those who brought it to life feel if we don’t read it and study it.” It has worked amazingly. We have taught it about 10 times so far, to active members mostly.

Also, Jesus from Mexico street, is doing just amazing and actually, we taught him on Sunday night because he had to work Sunday morning. Hopefully he can come to church this Sunday. He is planning on it. Actually, his 12 year old son and his 14 year old daughter are both being taught by the missionaries in Colombia, and going to church there. So that is just awesome. The only one left is the mom over there who needs to listen to the discussions as well. This is a work of making eternal families, and I absolutely love it.

We had a great lesson with Francisca and her parents Marco and Marisol on Friday. It was a great Noche de Hogar, and we made cookies to take over to them. I found out I was out of oatmeal when I go to that step of the recipe, and couldn’t turn back. The cookies were supposed to be my favorite choc. chip oatmeal ones, but were flat crispy choc. chip instead. They still tasted good, but were a super disappointment. Especially because they bought 2 Telepizzas for the meal. Telepizza is a place that is so, so, so good and has a buy-one-get-one free deal. So the family size for 20 euros makes it 10 for each pizza. Basically, over here there is just Telepizza and Pizza Hut, but no Dominoes or other ones. So that was a way great Noche de Hogar, and it is just awesome to see that family happy and together.

Also, we had a Noche de Hogar with a member who is single and about 55. She has her 2 grandchildren for 2 weeks and so we did a Noche de Hogar over there and next week too. The kids are a 5 yr. old girl and a 2 yr. old boy. We gave them a drawing thing from the Liahona, and then did a puzzle I made last Christmas. Also, she invited her neighbor’s 12 year old daughter over. She is Romanian, and she is just awesome. We hope to teach the daughter and her parents soon. Also we found a Philippino couple who has a 2 year old and a baby, on one of our faith Calle activity streets. They are awesome.
By the way mom, Elder Sewell’s brother is in Salt Lake for the month of August and might give you a call. If so, that would be awesome if you guys would feed him at the house or take him out to a meal if he gives you a call and is around in the area -just a heads up.

Mom, even though I have hated it all my life, tuna is a regular meal for me now, no gags no torture or anything. I make this seafood salad with crab, tuna, and frozen shrimp (obviously thawed), and then croutons. It is way good, oh yeah and white cheese. There’s no dressing on it but it tastes good still and it is more healthy.

The spiritual thought for the week will be Isaiah 49:14-16, He has engraven us upon His hands with the atonement, and He will always be with us through thick and thin.


Hey, have a great week everyone, and much love to you from Spain.



Love,



Elder Miller