Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hi!

From:elder.miller@myldsmail.net

Hey everyone, I am back to full health, and the Mission Conference was amazing!
I had 4 exchanges last week and one on Monday this week. Friday I got the opportunity to do 4 baptismal interviews, and Elder McBride got to do one in Salamanca. It was a crazy, crazy week, just jam packed with spiritual experiences.
The conference was just spectacular. It was amazing and life changing all wrapped into a 3 hour revelation-receiving session. I learned so, so, so much. It was just awesome how they conducted it and great to have the whole mission there and the CCM missionaries and teachers as. There were about 150 missionaries in attendance total. Richie Romney’s little brother was there. First, Sister Oaks spoke about companions and the importance that every missionary has a good companion. She talked about charity towards our companions and helping them and teaching and learning from one another the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then Sister Bednar spoke about companions a little bit as well. They had 3 missionary sons who went to Finland, Bolivia, and I think Brazil. She talked about some motherly advice: be the missionary our mother thinks we are- be the missionary the Lord expects us to be- and then one other piece of advice that was just dandy but isn’t coming to mind.
Then it switched to Elder Bednar and an open discussion/lesson/questions/applying scriptures/nothing like I’ve ever seen. He started with “Don’t take notes. Just write the promptings of the spirit and what the spirit says, not what we say”. He guided the meeting for the next 2 and a half hours. He occasionally directed comments or questions to President Farnsworth (just 2 or 3 times), but more often to Elder Robert C. Oaks. It was amazing to see the area of Europe’s goals in line with the Spain Madrid mission goals and how we are unified as a team. Elder Bednar taught from Doctrine and Covenants 44:1 and 2 to start out with, and did questions like “what do you observe and learn from that scripture?” He just kept asking and prying and getting more and more out of such a small window of passages in the scriptures. He later opened up to questions from us, and there were some great questions asked and answered by the spirit. It was a one on one experience with the spirit, in that they taught us better how to teach with the investigators receiving revelation through inspired questions and scriptures. As they mentioned numerous times, it was better than just preparing talks and giving them, because the revelation was received and would continue to be received, and our learning would continue long after the conference. They taught about scripture study and scrutinizing the scriptures, and one amazing activity to read the Book of Mormon for 6 months daily as many times as possible in those six months, and study the whole time about the atonement and then write about the atonement a 1 page paper on our learning and knowledge and understanding gained through diligent scripture study. It was awesome because all of this came up through elders’ questions to an apostle of our Lord. It was just amazing. It was one of the best experiences of my life, bar none.
My studies have been going amazing this week as well, ever since trying to apply what I learned. The fireside was awesome as well, and they invited the missionaries in the conference to not write anything down, just pay attention to the teaching method as they opened up the whole hour and a half to open questions from the audience of a jam packed Stake Center. I love a scripture that Elder Bednar shared in Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Also, he shared many other inspired and amazing things. Our investigators ate it up and just loved it. We have been applying it in our lessons with the members and investigators by sharing scriptures and just ripping them apart with questions and helping the investigator receive revelation. It’s awesome.
Eva and Juan Carlos both came with Alejandro to the Fireside with Elder Bednar. Also, Quirico came, Manuel, and Aurelio the Spaniard that I talked about a while ago. So it was just awesome, awesome, awesome. Eva is just amazing and she received her answer as to the need to be baptized. She had a dream twice, in which she was just scrubbing and cleaning and trying to get out a stain from some of her clothes. Then she realized that she couldn’t get it off, only by baptism and through the cleansing power of the atonement. It was just amazing for me to hear. I am so excited for them.
Manuel quit smoking on Monday at 11ish, and we just had an awesome lesson with him a little bit after. It was one of the best lessons I have had on my mission about obedience using 1 Nephi 3:7 & 15. It went awesome and he was just on fire, then we called him Monday night, still no smoking. Then on Tuesday morning, still no smoking. Then he didn’t show up to the 7 o clock lesson we had at the church. We called and found out he had fallen in and was smoking again. So he has a couple more days to try and quit. He has got to make it more that 24 hours and quit for a life time. The 20 years of smoking is hard to break but it’s possible. So we will see what happens.
Also Ever is doing awesome and he loved the fireside. He made a promise to his member brother, a recent convert, Bernardo, that he would come to church each week from now on. He came! So that was great and we taught him and his girlfriend. The big challenge is the girlfriend Diana has got to turn into Mrs. Ortiz so they can be baptized.
Dinner at VIP’S was awesome with the Whitmore’s last week. They made us order appetizers (mozzy sticks, chicken tenders) and desserts (ice cream sundaes) and drinks (lemonades). On top of that I had ribs. It was so, so good and way out of our missionary price range. It felt like being out to dinner with parents.
I love you all so much. Good luck this week in everything you do. The church is true.
Love, Elder Miller

Thursday, February 19, 2009

We got the official letter from President Farnsworth yesterday.
Morgan will by released to return home on July 14th.
That's less than 5 months! I'm sure the time will go by quickly.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

February 17


Hey how’s things? I’m feeling better, but Wednesday night was the peak. After we got back from working Wednesday night I felt crappy, and I had a 102.6 fever. The elders in the piso gave me a blessing and I took some Nyquil and went to bed. The next morning I still had a little above 100 degree fever, but I slept a little more until weekly planning and felt somewhat better. We have just been doing the work as normal and it seems to be as good a cure as any. All is well and I haven’t been so unlucky this week. My elbow is just fine.
Stake Conference went just great, and best of all 4 investigators were there. Manuel and Oliver were both able to go, even though we weren’t able to get in touch with them all weekend. They just showed up. We took Camilo, an awesome Dominican with us and the Paraguayan family clan took Eva and Alejandro her baby. Eva is such a trooper to bring a 2 year old to Stake Conference as an investigator. She has a testimony and reads and prays daily, it is awesome. She and her future husband Juan Carlos still don’t have plans to get married until after May 1st when they go back to Paraguay. They both want to be baptized then. We want them to get married in the embassy and baptized sooner. We will see what happens.
Interviews went really well. With 4 districts, the scheduling was a little bit crazy. The assistants had to do the number report Monday morning until oneish, and President Farnsworth started at 10:00 doing interviews. The assistants and president finished both at about 5:15 and then we had one more presentation to make to a district, and then we were done as well.
Last night we did exchanges with 2 of the elders from Valladolid while they are down here for Mission Conference. I went with Elder Ford and Elder McBride went with Elder Gamarra. It went well. Tonight we are going on exchanges with two of the elders from Salamanca. I’m going with Elder Sansing from Riverton. It should be good. He is about 6 ft. 4 and he is way nice. He played football for Coach Miller all three years in high school. That is something I would have loved to have done. Also, he wrestles and hunts and I really get along well with him.
It’s weird emailing on a Tuesday. That’s for sure. I also went on exchanges with Elder Goldhardt last Friday and it went way well, he lives in our piso and is companions with Elder Weinert. They have 4 baptisms this Saturday, and that should be awesome. They are baptizing a couple, and then a mom and her son. Anyway, Elder Goldhardt and I ate another interesting thing from the kitchen of Andres.... cow intestine. Gross, it was cut open and in squares about 3 inches by 3 inches. It had a skin like lining and then a thick layer and then the lining which looked like barbeque pork. It didn’t taste as good though. The way you prepare it is by soaking it in salt and vinegar for 7 days to purify and clean it, and then cook it with a ton of spices for a long time to produce a not very appetizing meal.
Today we are in Fuenlabrada to visit a family Elder McBride baptized. We are even emailing from the big library right by the piso. It is super weird to be back, and to walk the same walk I did on that first day not to long with Elder Van Dyke.
The work is going well and we are mainly working with the three investigators who were at Stake Conference - Manuel, Camilo and Eva. Manuel is doing well, but is jobless right now, and is still on for the 7th of March the last day of this transfer for his baptism. The only problem is his smoking, although he has cut down, he hasn’t quit. The goal we set for the 19th is Thursday, and we are hoping Elder Bednar will say some inspiring and life changing things to help him quit. Camilo lives right above Bernardo and Lorenza and is coming along well. He is about 50 and Dominican. He is oh so nice and punctual. He came to our appointment on Saturday, 30 minutes early and just waited on a bench clipping his nails. He speaks with a drawl as do lots of Dominicans, and is such a simple guy. He has been to church now twice and we have taught him twice. We are hoping to get his 17 year old daughter, 21 year old niece, his 10 year old son, his 7 year old son and his wife Juanita in on the teaching. As of now, none of them have been taught or come to church. The sons are the only ones who would really come right now, but hopefully they can set the example with there dad for the girls.
As far as food, we had Burger King from one member last week, and steaks from another. This week we are headed to a restaurant called VIP’S with an American couple the Whitmores. It should be a great week.
Thanks for all your help and prayers. Keep on keepin’ on and much love from me to you.
Love, Elder Miller

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day


I hope this email gets to you in its entirety! I’ll hold my breath. Firstly, thanks for the emails this week from both my Grandmas, my Mom, Becky Brown (Happy Birthday), Tiffany Evans and Jackson Brown. I got Grandma’s box and the cookies were simply splendid. We all loved them in the piso. Also, Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone, before I forget.
We taught Quirico yesterday and were able to show him the testimony of President Thomas S. Monson. It was really powerful, and I am especially excited to have Elder Bednar come on the 18th for our Mission Conference, and then a fireside for the investigators and members. The Mission Conference next Wednesday should be interesting. We will have preparation day on Tuesday instead of Wednesday next week, so keep that in mind for emails, to get to me next week they have to be sent by Monday night in your time zone. I hope all goes well in another fantastic week.
We rented bikes at the park with Quirico last week. We went to Juan Carlos Primero Park on the north side of Madrid near the airport. We had so much fun, but Hermana Salas crashed and so the hermanas left. Elder Goldhardt was also with us and all he had was a copy of his passport and no residency card due to being in the process of renewal. So it was a good thing we had thought to invite Quirico the night before.
Well, you have had a pathetic amount of updates on my mission in the past two emails so here goes. We had an awesome experience yesterday, in that the other elders started Spanish classes to teach the Filipinos and Americans, and afterwards we had a Noche de Hogar with a family of Filipinos. They brought some of their other family members that went to the Spanish classes, and we taught them about an hour after the other elders had written their information to give to us last night as a referral. The Lord helped us to contact a reference before it was even received. Miracles happen every day.
I have been focusing a lot on prayers which are just vital, and as Elder Bednar told us last conference, your nighttime prayer leads into your morning prayer which should stay a prayer in your heart throughout the day, thus creating a big blessing merry-go-round if you do it right. I am being impressed alot lately with one thing at least to improve on as I show my willingness to change and act on those promptings. It definitely doesn’t feel like it has been 19 months. It really leaves me questioning where the time went and how I can cherish the rest of the Lord’s time.
Has anyone been to Elder McBride’s parent’s restaurant Gecko’s yet on 10600 South and 781 West, across from Mulligans? You should all go there because the food my companion knows how too cook from learning from his dad is amazing. I can only imagine what it is like to eat at his teacher’s restaurant. It took me a minute to spell restaurant. I can’t really sound out words in English anymore as I could before, so I hope my mom is a good editor as she always was for every single paper in my years of school up to now.
Andres is just an elect man that is super dooper prepared, and will be receiving the Melchizedek priesthood on Sunday at Stake Conference. Andres fed us paella yesterday, and is just an amazing member who wants to learn so much about the Lord from the scriptures and how to follow him. He is going to work miracles with the restored power of God on this earth, the priesthood.
I have of late been on exchanges with Elder Sewell last week, and with Elder Moreno from Cadiz, Spain in the south. They were both awesome experiences loaded with teaching opportunities and finding ways to improve.
Yesterday, I had a funny experience on a rotten day for me, and a great day for the work. I fell going down Quirico’s stairs with he and Elder McBride. Quirico lives on the second floor and I took the first step with just my heel and the second as well, which led to a pile of Elder Miller on the stairs after skiing down the least gracefully possible and landing on my hip and elbow. Wow that hurt! But wow how it was something to remember. I have a great goose-egg to remember it by on my right elbow. While eating spare-ribs after the Filipino lesson, I was all done and I set my plate on the table, half on half off, like my shoes on the stairs earlier, and yep it fell of spilling bones all over my shoes and the floor. At least I had eaten those suckers clean and there wasn’t any rice left on the plate. Then last night I got sick with a head cold and fever, but the fever broke about 3 hours after it started. So this is an adventure for sure, where things go wrong, and things go amazingly spiritually miraculous, and everywhere in between. That’s what a mission is, and I love it. Interviews are on Monday next week, and then preparation day on Tuesday, and then the Mission Conference on Wednesday. It should be a hustle and bustle week.
Tell someone you love them for Valentines Day, especially Jackson Brown to the special someone in his ward.
Much love from Spain.
Love, Elder Miller

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Salamanca, Spain


It's February!

Hey thanks for the emails.
Firstly, we are still teaching Quirico, even though Dora returned to the Dominican Republic, and things are going great. We have just have found lots of stumbling blocks that are in between him and his baptism, so we are working out the kinks.
Wow, I just deleted like all my email and tried to get it back and deleted more. I feel so, so bad.
We are in Salamanca and going home today. We went bike riding last week at a park. Mission Council was great with great food. Manuel is doing great.
The books for Tak and Rei arrived and I gave them to the Zone Leaders to give to them. They came just in time for Tak’s and Rei’s baptism this Saturday.
I love you all tons. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I love you!
Love, Elder Miller