September 3

From: elder.miller@myldsmail.net

Ok, so it’s crazy to be in September again. On the 11th, I will have been in the field for 1 year. All the landmarks will have passed, one year as a missionary, one year in Spain, done with over half of my transfers, and now one year in the field. Kind of crazy! It will be single digit months. It blows me away.
Nieves is doing better. Going to the hospital and getting medication really helped her out with her depression. She is doing awesome. She seems happier than I have ever seen her in these 3 weeks.
Thanks for the pictures. It sounds like Lake Powell and Colter Bay were both fun trips. I remember we shared a cabin with the Madsen’s forever ago when we went there, and we took my Nintendo 64. We played a ton of games and Turok which was brand new then. Every one of us played Game Boy all day, Pokemon, and Brandon cried his eyes out. I believe it was him, when his game got erased, and we all wore vests. Wow, random memories are flooding back.
Well, so I will start on my week with Elder Ott. We have been to Valdapeñas this transfer, Puerto llano 2 times, including today when we went to switch back from exchanges and visit their email sites. So it has been great to get to know La Mancha areas, all but Alcazar. We have been on exchanges with all of the other 4 companionships in this last 2 weeks. This next week will be interviews and staying at the mission home, and then going to Zone Conference. We have exchanges with the assistants and then the temple on Wednesday, and who knows for the rest of preparation day before we return to La Mancha.
This time I exchanged with Elder Hinton from Arizona and Elder Coley from Arizona as well, who was Elder Ott’s trainee. Both were fun and both were here in Ciudad Real. It is a pretty simple city, and easy to get to know your way around. Today in Puerto llano, a mining town with way nasty water and a strip mine line Kennecott Copper Mine, we hiked up a hill. It was pretty tall. On the way up there is this huge miner statue and then on top is a huge squared chimney. Well in Spanish it is the chiminea cuadrado, and it is about 30 feet tall. It has an amazing view of the city and the roundabout plains. It’s really cool and was a fun little activity. We just have a little shopping to do, and then back to work at 6:30.
Elder Ott and I taught a way neat woman named Dora, like unto Dora the Explorer. She is way humble and nice, but we aren’t sure if she can read, and for her prayer we tried to explain it for like 5 minutes and she still just said "the lords prayer" or padre nuestro. So we will sort that out. Elder Coley and I got into a house knocking with a member named Jesus and taught a nice middle-aged Spaniard named José Luis. So things are good. The thought for the week is from President Henry B. Eyring. He quoted 2 Nephi 4:15 which says, "My soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children." He then said: "Sometimes I go to the scriptures for doctrine. Sometimes I go to the scriptures for instruction. I go with a question, and the question usually is, 'What would God have me do?' or 'What would He have me feel?' Invariable I find new ideas, thoughts I have never had before, and I receive inspiration and instruction and answers to my questions."
Well Grandma Judy, I took another spiritual thought from you. It’s a good one every time, so sometimes I reuse it.
So everyone have a great week and enjoy the cooling down weather. It’s so much better than the smoking hot kind.
Much love from Spain. Love, Elder Miller