Wednesday, October 30, 2013

28 October 2013


The word is in... I will be transferred! I'm going back to the big city, or in other words, Porto Alegre. The zone is called Partenon, and I will be serving in the district Intercap. Oh there is another detail, I will be the District Leader and trainer. My trainee/companion with be Elder E. Santos who has one transfer under his belt so he is not completely green.

Yeah, so I am excited. It is a shame that I won't reap the benefits of my work in Dom Pedrito, but at least I know that I gave it my best and that Dom Pedrito will baptize a load of people in the coming months. Also, other Elders say that Intercap is a very good area so I am stoked. The members help out the missionaries and the people are receptive ect..

What is going to be hard now is saying goodbye to everyone here. Our members and investigators literally love us and unfortunately have become attached. In almost every visit we have mentioned that one day we would have to leave and that they would have to continue without us. Fortunately they undestand and know that their commitment is not with us the missionaries, but with Jesus Christ. They will all be fine without me. The new Elder will come in my place and they I will begin to fade into their memories. Elder Machado will stay and continue being the Junior companion. I trust that he will finish off the work that we started with the marriage and baptisms of Vanzenir and Flávio, and a big list of other families that we have been teaching.
 

 

Speaking of other families, we have been teaching a young family, Fabian, Ivana, and Emily. They made their second appearance at church yesterday and liked it a lot. Also, they went to a investigator/new member party that the ward put on last night, and they had a great time. They will be future baptisms for sure.

In a few hours I will leave Dom Pedrito for Bagé. I have to pack my bags quickly and say goodbye to our investigators. I will leave with Elder Carlos who was transferred also. Then I will leave early in the morning tomorrow for Porto Alegre with Elder Wright a good friend of mine. I will then find my companion and then it is off to my new area. I think I will have to give a training meeting my first day in the area which will be exciting.

Thursday, a member from the area Seventy will visit POA and we will recieve some counseling. It will be really cool. These kinds of training meetings are always very spiritual and uplifting. Maybe I will receive some personal revelation to help out my district or our area.

Lastly, I would just like to say that I am content. I am grateful for everything that the mission has provided me.  I am grateful for the new leadership role that I will assume. I know it will be for my benefit and for the benefit of others. I am grateful for my 4 months will Elder Machado in a difficult area. I have come much closer to Christ in this time. I finally feel that I have a grip on the mission and know what I need to do to have success. I love this gospel, I love my Heavenly Father and our Saviour.
 
 

That is all I can think of right now. If you have any questions email me!

Lots of Love,

Elder Miller

Monday, October 21, 2013

21 October 2013


Hello Family and Friends,
 

The time is passing by me so fast and there is nothing I can do to slow things down. Elder Machado and I are in our last week together and we are closing in on 18 weeks together. As I have mentioned before we have learned a lot from each other. It will be sad to part paths at the end of the week, but it is time to experience new things. I love all my companions that I have had on the mission, they are my true friends. Like my other companions, Elder Machado is another brother for me. If God has given me a gift in this life I think it is being a real friend. All my companions have mentioned that I am their best companion that they have had, and this brings me a lot of joy. I'd go to hell and back for anyone of my friends.

This past week was great. We taught a lot of lessons and made some more progress with our investigators. Vanzenir and Flavio are doing great and are anxious for their wedding in a week or 2. They will have their first family home evening today. Calebe is starting to prepare to go on a mission in the beginning of 2014. He will receive the priesthood the coming Sunday. He will be an amazing missionary because he is super spiritual and is a people person. Neiva Marcela, the newest member of Dom Pedrito, is doing great. We are preparing Luis, Neiva's boyfriend, to be baptized as well. I feel like this family is now part of my own family, it's incredible. 

Thursday night we traveled to Bagé and then on Friday we went to Pelotas for Zone conference. The conference was excellent. The theme was locking our hearts to things of the world and dedicating ourselves 100% to the Lord. The messages were all very inspiring. We wrote a list of things that are impeding ourselves from giving our best and then we put it in an envelope and sealed it very tight. Our mission is improving dramatically in all aspects. It was also very cool to see all the missionaries that are now in the mission. I also saw 4 of my 5 ex companions which was cool. Elder Weber gave his farewell testimony at the conference. He will leave the mission Wednesday.

In other news the members here in Dom Pedrito recognize that we are good missionaries so they have been taking us around to their friends and family to teach. It has been pretty cool. We have their confidence finally. It is a shame that all this is happening in our last weeks here. Our first two transfers could have been a lot less painful if the members had this confidence in us from the start 

I am not sure now what will happen in the next transfer. The president told us that one of us will surely leave. He mentioned that there is a possibility that one will go to Bagé. We will see what happens. I would like to go to Pelotas because the church is growing quickly in this city.

Oh I got your package, thanks.

That is it for now

I Love You All

Tchau

Elder Miller
14 October 2013


Hello Family and Friends,
 

So we had a baptism this past Saturday. Neiva Marcela was baptized. Elder Machado performed the baptismal ordinance and I confimed her member of the church. It was a very spiritual experience for us both. I was literally shaking when confirming her. I was not nervous or afraid, but I could not control myself, it was powerful.

Shortly after we had fast and testimony meeting, and to say the least it was one of the most spiritual in which I have ever participated. Neiva and Calebe bore their testimonies, and everyone in the chapel was teary eyed including Vanzenir and Flavio. Elder Machado and I also bore our testimonies, it was pretty cool. After all of us had born our testimony about half of the ward got up from their seats and went to the stand.

Something Joseph Heilner wrote me a short time back was to keep on doing what we were doing and the Lord would open the floodgates and the baptisms would come. Well, he was right. Elder Machado and I kept on working hard and so the Lord, as always, kept his promise. And not only did he bless us with this family, but in the past two weeks we have found 5 new families to teach!!! All of them are taking the lessons very well. One family showed up to church yesterday and had a wonderful experience. They are a young family, Fabian 26, Ivana 20, and Emily 3. They need to get married, but they are an elect family.

So there are only 2 weeks left in this transfer and then one of us, Elder Machado or I, will have to leave this area. It is disappointing that one of us will have to leave now with all the success that we are starting to have. We have a ton of awesome investigators and the members of the ward have really started to help us out. I have really had to contemplate a lot about this and I think it is time for me to go. Elder Machado is now a better missionary than me and deserves 100% of the blessings that will come his way here in Dom Pedrito. It is been interesting watching his development as a missionary. When we first arrived in Dom Pedrito almost 4 months back, he was very green and complained a lot. I remember walking in between appointments and him being a mile behind me trying to catch his breath. Now it is the exact opposite, and he is the one that is now pushing me. I will talk to the president soon demanding an excellent missionary to help him baptize all these families we are teaching. For me, I'm sure the President has another area for me to fix up. I don't mind going into the pits of the mission and working my butt off, it is what I have done for my entire mission. I don't need the glory of men, just God.

The only thing I can do is thank God for all these blessing he has given me in these past three transfer. We have taught many. We have grown spiritually. We have learned. I am so thankful for everything. In a couple weeks Vanzenir and Flavio will be married and then baptized. I hope I can return to Dom Pedrito for this, because they want me to baptize them. I guess we will see what happens.

In other news, we will be going to Pelotas for Zone conference. It will be very cool because there will be at least 5 zones. I hardly know anyone in the mission. I have been away from the majority of the other missionaries for almost a year now, ever since I went to Butiá. So it will be cool to see all the new missionaries that have entered into the field.

Well that is it for now,

 

Much Love,

Elder Miller
7 October 2013  The Wedding Bells Are Ready to Ring


Hello Friends and Family
 

We have some good news to tell. First off, Neiva Marcela will be baptized this Satuday at 6:00. To help you all remember she is the daughter of Vanzenir and Flávio. She is 14 years old. So we are super stoked for this. Also, we will have a marriage here in a few weeks. Yep, the papers are in and it is just a matter of time now. Vanzenir and Flávio will be married!!!!

Elder Machado and I are really excited. As you all know it has not been easy, but to tell the truth I would not change it one bit. We have learned so much from each other and the trials that we had to face. I am completely a different missionary than I was 3 months ago, stronger.

So there is a lot of people want to know how I feel out here on the mission, thoughts, feelings, desires, etc.. I am liking the mission a whole lot. Of course sometimes I get tired or fed up, but if there is one thing the mission has taught me it is to control my feelings. My thoughts are always positive. I know there is a purpose for everything that happens. The only thing I want is when I return to my home, I return without any regrets. I want to give my maximum to Lord. 

There are so many things that I like about the mission. I like being in a foreign country experiencing news things constantly. I like being immersed in the gospel 24/7. I like all the friendships I have made. The only dislike I have is the disobedience I see from other Elders. Like they say everyone is at a different point on their road to conversion, some are farther ahead then others.

When I daydream the only thing I dream about is seeing my Mom and Dad again. I know I shouldn't but I'm anxiously awaiting that day. When I am not thinking about the work my mind goes automatically to this day. I know it will be a marvelous moment.

As for ideas of post mission pursuits, it is pretty slim. After studying and graduating from BYU I kind of want to join the military. It has always been a great desire of mine. I really look up to the leaders of the church and the majority of them have paid time in military service and has given them a big advantage in life. Unless something else sparks an interest in me I think I will take this route in life.

We had conference this past weekend. We got to watch all the sessions except the Priesthood, because it was really late at night. Obviously I liked it all, but I was way too distracted with other things to pay close attention to what they were saying. Also, watching conference in Portuguese is a ripoff, it does not have that same feeling as hearing the actual words from the actual speaker. The talk from Richard G. Scott was hilarious to me. He knows Portuguese so he pre-recorded his speech in Portuguese for conference. Well lets just say that he sounds just like Yoda from Star Wars trying to speak Portuguese and I had a hard time paying attention to what he was saying. 

I noticed also that in other missions they are using Ipads and Facebook. I don't think these things will ever be liberated here in our mission. These kinds of privileges would be abused severely. And imagine a missionary walking around Porto Alegre with an Ipad, he would be left in pieces in a matter of seconds. Oh yeah, I will not be going to Porto Alegre tomorrow, it was rescheduled for November and yes my passport is safe and sound in the mission office.

Well that is about it for now. Pray for Elder Machado and I, and for Neiva Marcela.

Thanks, Much Love

Elder Miller

Sunday, October 6, 2013

30 September 2013  The Blessings are coming


This week was a good one. I think Elder Machado and I set new personal records for lessons taught in a week. Even the zone leaders called us last night to congratulate us. It was a nice change because for three months the only thing they have ever said to us is that we need to improve and work harder. I basically just listened to what they had to say and then hung up the phone because we have worked a lot harder in the past weeks but we had nothing to prove our arduous work in terms of numbers. This week the numbers were sky high because of the past three months of difficult work. This is missionary work for ya.

Some good news is that V won't lose her pension as we previously thought. Our district leader called President Castro who is a lawyer/judge and he set the story straight. So now we are planning the marriage and baptisms of V, F, and N  M. The only problem now is time. Elder Machado and I want nothing more than to baptize in our time together. We have worked too much not to. To realize this marriage it will take at least 30 days so that will mean that they will be baptized in the next transfer which will be on the 29 of October. We have a baptismal date for N M which is the 12th of October.

We had one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission Saturday night. We took a member couple with us to teach V and the family, and let's just say that everybody was feeling the spirit. Everybody was saying the right thing at the right time, it was amazing. Elder Machado and I were teaching literally by the spirit. At one point I did not know what to say, but I opened my mouth and said what needed to be said. God is really wanting this family in the church, it is the right time.

I would like to stay in Dom Pedrito for another transfer. I want to see this whole family baptized and active in the church. Also, after all the trench work we have done the members are seeing the difference in us from past missionaries and are starting give good references. They trust with their friends and family with us, there is a new energy in the ward. A week ago I had a talk and kind of gave a wake-up call to the whole ward and to my surprise they liked it, I'm sure things are going to change.

In other news... the 8th of October I will have to travel back to Porto Alegre to renew my visa. It will be like a 2 day event because of the traveling. We will have interviews with President Castro the 12th, I think. He is always coming up with new tactics and ways to hasten the missionary work. He is a really good president and his job is not easy here in Porto Alegre, I think it is the mission that baptizes the least amount of people in Brazil. He has a goal of a 1000 baptisms in total until the end of the year. I think we have about 600 right now this means that every missionary has to pull his weight until the end of the year.

Well that is about it for now, 

Love you all,

Elder Miller


23 September 2013  Calebe's Family


This past week was better, to say the least. I don't know if I have mentioned that we have been teaching Calebe's family the past 4 or 5 weeks, but we are and now we are starting to see the blessings. In our first transfer here we made a street contact with V, Calebe's Mom, and she insisted that we pay a visit in her home. When we arrived a few days later we came to find out that she has a son who is a member of the church, Calebe. Calebe was baptized in 2005, 10 years old, by an American missionary, Elder Brian, and remained active in the church for about 2 years. This family absolutely loved this missionary, he was basically part of their family. The only reason V, and F (Boyfriend) were not baptized was because V is a widow and does not want to lose her pension that she receives from her dead husband by remarrying. Also, Calebe has a sister, N, that did not have the baptismal age when Elder Brian was here. Well, we have moved into the place of the old missionaries, and let's just say that this family loves us.

So we have been teaching them for awhile now and finally all of them, including N's boyfriend, went to church yesterday. Needless to say they all had an excellent experience at church. Elder Machado and I have had some good lessons with them and now we are 99.9% sure that Neiva will be baptized within the coming weeks. Also, V has spoken strongly about marrying F despite the fact that she would lose her pension and money would become really tight in the family. I'm not sold yet that she will marry, but we are going to do everything within our reach to baptize this family. It is my dream to baptize a family like this. They are absolutely the most kind and loving family I have met here in Brazil. Every one of them has a strong testimony of what we teach. They are truly an elect family. We are going to need a lot of prayers with them because I do not know how we are going to pull this off. We are going to have to rely 100% on the spirit.

In other news the new missionary arrived in our apartment. He is a riot and that's all I will say. 

I think I am finally starting to slim down just a little bit. Elder Machado gave me the idea to eat granola and yogurt and I found out that it is pretty good stuff even though it is pricey. Also, I have been working out about 20 minutes a day ha ha, it is all that our schedule allows to do. I want to maintain this weight I have gained and somehow lose the handlebars, because now I can throw my weight around and see people fly. It is like having a super power. Alright, on that random note I will let you all go.

Thanks for all the emails you send me,

Love,

Elder Miller


16 September 2013


Hello Family and Friends,
 

There is not much to report from this past week. We worked really hard and then a torrential rain storm came in Saturday night until Sunday night so none of our investigators showed up to church. Yep, this is kind of our life right now, work like dogs and get nothing in return at the end of the week. I think our area has a curse over it from the past missionaries that passed through, who knows. I know we need to keep working hard no matter what happens, but this monkey on my back is getting pretty heavy.

So this morning we got the word that Elder Machado and I we will be companions for the third transfer. A third transfer is very rare in our mission. Obviously, there is something we still need to do together... BAPTIZE. I'm fine with the decision even though we are little tired of each other. It was funny last night we fought each other just for fun, Mauy Thai versus American Muscle, but at one point he almost lost control of the fight so I had to just fall on him with my 95kilos and it ended ha ha. I was hoping that in this transfer some young gun would come here and get me back up firing on all pistons but God has other plans.

I think we will go on the blitz these first three weeks of transfer to find an elect because frankly the people we have right now can't seem to progress. I can't say that these first two transfer were a waste because we managed to reactivate 3 teenagers that have the age to serve missions so that is pretty cool. Also, Adriana we will be baptized by someone, and the members here absolutely love us. Now we just need some references. I have a talk on Sunday so I will kick some butt.

So what happened with the rest of the household??? Elder Beary was transferred to Porto Alegre and Elder Carlos will stay. I have not heard anything good about this new missionary coming to live us, nothing at all. So this is going to be another challenge. He is a crazy Brazilian that is about it. We will have to put him in his place if this is possible.

I don't know what else to write about. It is a little cooler which is nice, I'm not a fan of the heat. 

Pray for Machado and I. Oh, fun fact for you all, Machado means axe in English so basically I'm serving with Elder Axe.  And what is ironic is that he likes to chop wood ha ha. 

 
Yep, that is it. 

Love, Elder Miller

 

Oh yeah Elder Machado wants to taste american candy so if you could get a package set up that would be cool.