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

Another busy week!

Thanks for all you guys do, and for the support and the updates. Well, this week was a good one.
Elder Fairbanks and I went on splits last Friday. He is our district leader. He is from Arizona, and we had a great day. We met with this amazing member named Nikolas. He is a waiter, and he is so nice and always loads us up with the left over food. It’s always good, but the last two times it has been fried fish. This is not American fried fish. It still has the tail, head and all, just coated in something and fried, and you can make out all of the characteristics. It’s in the freezer and will soon be in the trash because we don’t really even want to try it.
Then since Monday I have been in Badajoz with Elder Ogden. He is way lucky because he already had learned Spanish before coming, since elementary school, so at four months in the mission he is a Spanish wiz. We get along way well and he makes me laugh a lot.
We had district meeting in Caceres on Tuesday and that went awesome. Also I exchanged with Elder Strickland on Tuesday, as we do with the district leaders. He is awesome. He is a convert to the church from Washington, and is a Polynesian. He is a way fun guy and we like just about everything the same. We had a good time in Elder Jensen’s old stomping grounds. We taught with some awesome member, his name is Airless, and we cut his son’s hair. The lesson was a Noche de Hogar with a Brazilian who has a baptismal date named Christina. She is awesome and her brother was there who heard from the missionaries for 6 months in Sau Paulo. They loved the 4 Brazilian bills I have, and it was just a great lesson.
Last night Elder Strickland opened up barbershop for Elder Ogden, and he cut mine this morning before we left at 8 to catch the 8:30 bus to Merida. Yep, that’s right. We actually went this time. It is amazing. We first walked along an ancient Roman bridge, past a castle, past the Temple of Diana that has pillars like the Parthenon, then over to the Coliseum, and to the theatre, and then over to a crypt underneath the Santa Eulelia Catholic Church, and then to the aquaduct and back across the new bridge that is way cool. It was quite a lot to do and capture in pictures but we pulled it off and caught our bus 3 and a half ours later. Now we are back after 13 hours in buses over the last 3 days. Merida is amazing I would highly suggest to everyone to look it up on the internet. It was the 75th anniversary of the Merida Festival, which is like the Shakespearian Festival times 100. The coliseum and the Roman Theater were all set up for the plays that are going on tonight.
This week I had gazpacho, 2 times. It was actually the first two times I have had it. It is a cold vegetable soup, but almost like over blended salsa, or a vegetable shake. It is really good, but would be really good to dip corn chips in. I might try that in the near future. A crazy thing was realized at District Meeting in Caceres, when Elder Korongo was talking about his family. Elder Korongo is the huge elder from Ukraine, and then from Malaga that I took a picture with. He lived 10 years in both places. Anyway, he was baptized by Elder Ogden’s brother in-law 10 years ago, so that is just insane.
Last week, while on exchanges, Elder Weinert and Elder Sewell taught a guy named Paullino. We have been trying to teach his brother Nilton since I have been here, and Elder Brown taught him like 3 times before I got here. So they were passing by for Nilton and his brother was home (they are from Peru). They taught him about the Book of Mormon, and then Elder Sewell and I went back this week and taught about the Restoration of the Church. It was just awesome, he has way good questions and really wants to learn and know. I am excited for his potential. On Sunday in church, I had to teach the Sunday school lesson about the millennium. I have never taught that in English or Spanish, but I was told to give the lesson 5 minutes before class. So I just stood up with the manual and taught the lesson. It went well, as well as any lesson on the millennium to recent converts and investigators would go. The scripture study of the week is to get out your “Gospel Principles” manuals and study the millennium lesson so it won’t catch you off guard when you get called on at the last minute to teach about it someday.
We had some great meals this week: pork chops with delicious gravy, and gazpacho at the Yague’s; ham sandwiches, chorizo sandwiches and tuna salad sandwiches, with some chip things covered in chili sauce (I was kind of doubting it at first but Julio really pulled through on this spicy Mexican treat), and then at the Jabonero’s, delicious roast chicken with gazpacho, and grape kool aid. So, thanks to the members we had some delicious grub this week. Our investigator, Jesus is doing just dandy, his son actually is learning from the missionaries in Colombia as well, and he is going to church there. So it’s pretty amazing. Thanks for everything, and have a great week.
Much love from Spain.

Elder Miller

First Week of my Second Year!

From: Morgan Miller (elder.miller@myldsmail.net)



How are things?

Interviews went great yesterday. We do them every transfer; one zone at a time. So like all of Madrid Sur would come here to Móstoles, and then we would have interviews here. Then they do that same thing through the 7 zones on different days throughout the transfer. But instead of in the zone this time, they were at the mission home. So our zone all went to the mission home and it just was amazing. We had interviews with President Farnsworth. The assistants talked to each companionship about the area book, and then Elder Sewell, Hermana Farnsworth and I taught each of the 3 districts about question´s of the soul in “Preach my Gospel”, chapter 5. It all went really well. That took 4 hours in all, and Hermana Farnsworth had a ton of veggies and ranch dip, cheese and crackers for everyone in the down time between the rotations. It was awesome. Then after that, at 6 o clock, we started bbqing and it was delicious! We had 2 cheeseburgers a piece and all the fixins, and chips, and tons of good stuff. And then for dessert we had s’mores and Texas Sheet Cake with ice cream. It was awesome. Such a great day of good teaching, learning and eating.

We went to Tony Roma’s here in Móstoles on Friday to celebrate my year mark as a piso. We went at medio dia and it was just delicous. Elder Sewell and I both got Carolina Honey ribs and fries and Elders Ogden and Fairbanks got burgers. It was a great time.

Wow, so today was a great day of emails, and earlier we played soccer and basketball with the elders from Fuenlabrada, Alcorcon, Talavera, and us in Mostoles. So there were 10 of us elders at the capilla here, and we had a blast.

This next week I go to Badajoz on exchanges with Elder Ogden, and then with the Extremadura district, including Elder Lambert, who was my awesome dist. leader in Segovia. And then Elder Aranda, who is Colombian and I are going to Merida. So I am way excited. Also we did exchanges with the assistants on Monday after pedidos until interviews. Elder Porter from Alta High School and I had a great time, and made some good contacts and had an amazingly powerful lesson. We read 1 Nephi:8 with him and the chapter really was what the guy needed. So that’s the scripture of the week. Read chapter 8 in first Nephi. Its way good. I promise.

So this last week was just dandy. I really had a blast. With exchanges and interviews the week flew even faster than normal. We are going to go mini golfing at Xanadu mall in a second.

We had a great lesson at Julio’s, in which he fed us, and it was delicous. Julio is a menos activo member who has to work every Sunday, and was baptized 2 years ago. He is from Mexico, and met his Spaniard wife when the two of them both lived in North Carolina. Way random. But he has lived there for 5 years and loves the Carolina Panthers. He is about 30 and so is his wife. He is a member and is just awesome. They feed us every time we visit them, and this time is was just delicious. We ate loaded hot dogs with nacho cheese and all the fixins. Julio is a about 6´4 and about 270 pounds. So that is just a little rundown on one of my favorite members in Móstoles.

We had an amazing experience this week. We have a new finding activity that Elder Sewell and I got from a member. We pray and separately look at our area maps and then pick 10 streets. None of the 10 matched. We realized 7 were in the same area, so we decided to each pick 3 of the 7 streets and then we would pick the one that matched. We picked exactly the same ones, and so we went and knocked doors on all 3 streets. It sounds kind of cheesy but it worked. We did have to work really hard, and got one person to listen at the first door. Then on building 4, we had a crazy old man pull a bread knife on us, so we got out of that building. Then we knocked doors at the other 4 buildings of the 8. On the last door, when we were sick of knocking, and fed up with the street and the test of our faith, we knocked at the door of an amazing Colombian guy and were absolutely shocked when we he let us in and we taught him the first lesson. Dad, he lived in Cartago for a year, and his mom lives in Medellin. So that is really cool, and he liked your Colombian money that I keep in my book.



Much love,



Elder Miller

One year on Friday!

From: Elder Morgan Miller (elder.miller@myldsmail.com)

Well first off, Happy Birthday Grandpa!
Mom, thanks for the package. I loved it. It came in one week - Monday to Monday, or sooner. Pretty amazing! I loved the treats. I already used some of the chocolate chips. On exchanges with Elder Mcbride in Fuenlabrada yesterday, we made a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies to take to people. Thanks for the gmail account and all of the help with that stuff. Thanks for the tape. I loved it.
We have started to close the window at night, and just use the fan inside. It still is just fine, but before it kept it nice and cold inside. No more bug bites though.
Poor Evan on the hot, hot roof picking apricots! Where was Grandpa?
I bet he would be overjoyed to be doing that for his birthday.
First off, this last week was awesome! We had Summer Slam on Friday and Saturday from morning until 4 or 5 each day. We would start with our coaches meeting, and go over the schedule so we all understood the game plan. It consisted of a 1 hour shoot around as campers showed up. Over all we had 176 campers, and our goal was 170. Our goal of member campers in that 176 was 100. There were 105 members. Then to have 70 investigators was our goal, and you can see that the remaining 71 helped us complete that other goal. Well, now we commence with teaching part of the camp after it’s over. Last year there were almost 30 baptisms from it. It was amazing, and I absolutely loved it.
We would do some intro. things like dribble knockout, and knockout/lightening/speed/dynamite/shoot faster than the other person. There are a million names for that same game, but it was with 2 hoops and 2 huge, huge lines. The youth loved it. Then the males would commute to the Polideportivo, which had 8 hoops, and the women would stay there at the Stake Center. We would do skills, practices, drills and stuff like that in 6 groups, and then we would do Round Robin play with each coach having one team. It was awesome. They split it up into 16 and over and 15 and younger. I had a 15 and younger team both days that was amazing. I had one same kid both days who was tall enough to play with the older kids, and then one boy I had and was taller than most of the older kids. It was a blast rallying the troops and helping them play better as a team and individually. It was a blast with both teams, and we won all the games the first day and lost one the second day to two huge Twin Towers. It was just amazing. We had great opportunities to talk with the youth and get to know them, and they were able to visit the Temple grounds, hear testimonies from youth that were members, missionaries and our Mission President. It was just an awesome idea, and it was just splendid to be a part of it.
The scripture of the day is Mosiah 18:8-10. That is because of the next event which was Sunday. Francisca Alejandra Sandoval Martínez was baptized. It was amazing! Everything fell into place. The program came together with the help of the Ward Mission Leader’s dad, and the clothing just appeared. I honestly don’t know where they came from. Francisca had some clothes, a dress and white shirt, but then she came out in a white jump suit. I guess the ward had some hiding somewhere, or something, but it just worked out. The water in the font heated alright, and was full 10 minutes before the baptism. 50 of the 98 members at church stayed for the baptism, including a choir of Primary children. Elder Sewell gave an awesome testimony, and then the baptism was just surreal. I baptized her, and it was such a privilege. She was confirmed by Estalin from the Bishopric and Elder Sewell, and I were in the circle with him. It was just amazing. Francisca’s mother and sister, and then her father, all bore amazing testimonies. Before, they were too scared to do it, and didn’t want to, but it just was amazing to hear them. They talked about their conversion in Chile and the missionaries there, and then the missionaries, here bringing them back with the help of Francisca. It was the best day ever! I was soooooooo happy. We had cake and snacks afterwards, and it was awesome as well, and then we went to the Jabonero’s for lunch. It was lasagna, just delicious. They feed us every other Sunday and the other elders on the Sundays we aren’t there. They are awesome.
Monday was the Mission Council which was at the Stake Center. We had some amazing lessons and great discussions about this next transfer. We have interviews this coming Tuesday at the Mission Home which is in San Sebastian, just near Alcobendas. We will be presenting about the Book of Mormon and the questions of the soul it answers. The assistants are presenting about Area Books, and then afterwards we will be having a barbeque. Yep, you read it right, a bbq. I am soooo, soooo, soooo excited as is with the whole mission!
We are in Summer Schedule now, so instead of our getting up at 7 and going to bed at 11 at night, we get up at 7:30 and go to bed at 11:30. This is to accommodate the culture here, and the people’s habits. It gives us an extra 30 minutes to teach the investigators at night, when they can be taught. So it is just awesome. Then a thing we have tomorrow is piso checks by President and Hermana Farnsworth. They are checking every piso in the mission this transfer. So we will be doing some preparation-day scrubbing and cleaning and spiffing up the piso today.
We will see how this next week goes. Last week was amazing, and I hope more of the same this next week. I had an awesome exchange in Fuenlabrada with Elder McBride. It was way awesome to go back to Talavera again and then also to Fuenlabrada. We were able to go and teach Miriam the Spainard woman with the Nigerian husband. They own a locutorio together and are trying to sell the locutorio. They seem to be doing amazing. She is still smoking, but I think can quit in the near future. She has much more self esteem now that she has lost 20 kilos. She is doing awesome. I also got to see her son Owen. It was a great visit, and we were able to go by some people we used to be teaching and find some great potential there in Fuenlabrada.
Well, that’s all for this week, but thanks for everything, and I will write back next week. Hope all goes well.
Much love from Spain, and more specificly, Móstoles.
Well have a great week, and send me an email when you have a second.

Love,
Elder Miller

It's July!

From: Morgan Miller (elder.miller@myldsmail.

Elder Sewell, and I are together for another transfer, and I am way excited!
Tessa, Happy Birthday today, and everyone have a great Fourth of July on Friday. We had enough fireworks after Spain won the Euro Cup on Sunday for it to be the Fourth of July, but they were just explosives, like way loud, loud ones. I hadn’t heard anything like them since I came over here to Spain. They were pretty crazy also when Real Madrid won the league and I was in Fuenlabrada. They don’t do any damage but some are so loud they set off car alarms around them. So we slept great that night…
Evan thanks for the email about Trek. I’m glad you survived. I hope you had a good experience.
Hey Matthew, thanks for keeping in touch and helping me out with my email problems.
Mom, I made the Boston Cream Cake with the stuff that you sent and it was delicious.
I took pictures as well. I am going to stop baking so much so I can go on a diet. It is kind of silly to try and diet, but still be eating cookies and cookie dough and cakes weekly. So with Elders Dudley and Matthews in Alcorcon’s help, I am going on a diet. They were both personal trainers, and way fit before their missions. So from now on, just send me beef jerky, and those almond clusters that are sugar free, and the dried apricots or mangos. I can’t remember what it was that dad had, so just that type of healthy snack food. I am going to cut down on portions and eat small snack size meals.
Then also, you don’t need to send me the New Era and the English Liahona anymore. I don’t really need them. So, just as far as magazines go, just send the Liahona in Spanish only. Then I can focus more on all of the millions of tasks at hand. Sorry, and thanks for all you do for me and send me. I am really excited for my ½ way package though. When it comes, I will enjoy making the cookies, and then start my diet again. We can’t get cake mixes in Spain, so thanks for sending those, they made it more birthday- like.
Tell the Downings thanks. I loved the package with the pictures and candy! Thanks also for doing the email thing. If you could just log on one more time and forward the 9 emails I got today over to the other new account, and then delete them all, that would be just dandy. Thanks for doing that mess with the emails. I am so very, very grateful.
I was sun burnt last Wednesday, and I sometimes am a little bit at the end of the day, but nothing that isn’t gone the next morning into tan when I wake up. Also, we sleep with the fan in the window, and that keeps it cool, but all of the other rooms are hot when we wake up. Then we transfer the fan to our study room when we go in there, and it does a dandy job. Anyway, the reason I mentioned the fan is because we have to leave the window open and I have a bunch of mosquito bites, but it is better than never falling asleep because of the heat. It has hit 41 degrees Celsius, which is like 104 or something. Crazy, but the sweating will help the dieting.
Miguel Angel, who was baptized when Elder Brown was here, gave a talk on Sunday, and so did his wife. They were awesome, 10 minute General Conference quality ones, well not that good, but just amazing. It is awesome to see Miguel blessing the sacrament as well. I just love it. Francisca is still as amazing as ever, and her baptism will be on Sunday at 1:15, right after church ends. We are going to try and keep the entire congregation there, so it should be just amazing. She has been to church 7 times in a row, and we get to have an awesome lesson tonight with her and her father. I am so excited to see her be baptized; she is going places in her life.
We are going to play basketball today, here in Aluche where we are emailing. Aluche is in Barrio 3 and 9, and they have a sweet capilla. This is where Elder Peterson is. There are going to be 16 of us I think. So it should be way fun. We are getting together in preparation for the basketball camp this Friday and Saturday. I am so excited because Elder Sewell and I got selected as coaches, so it should be sweet. There are only 19 elder coaches, 4 on camera crew, 6 hermana coaches, and then Elders Ladner and Weinert are in charge. It is going to be way super sweet, and I can’t wait. I will have to tell you all about it next week, but for now, we just have some packets and then a bunch of Spanish basketball terms to learn. So I am really excited for the baptism, basketball camp, and then Mission Council next Monday. It is going to be busy, which is always nice. I love to be busy, even though it is a little stressful sometimes. We went to the 8 o‘clock session in the temple today as well.
Elder Brown sent me a way super sweet tie that is pink with pink polka dots for my birthday, he is just awesome, and he picked us up some Salamanca hoodies and sent them as well. Mine is red, like my old Jetta.
The work is going great and I am having a blast. We had a new investigator come to church this week, her name is Andalucia, and she is about 50 and from Colombia. Colombians are super sweet! We also just found a Colombian family this week that I am way excited to start teaching. Andalucia just came to church on Sunday and we taught her after Sacrament Meeting. I sat next to her and showed her dad’s Colombian money. She loved it. Thanks dad. I love you guys.
Love, Elder Miller