4 August 2014   Last Week

Hello Family and Friends,

Carlos and Sheron were married and baptized this week!!! Wednesday they were registered as a married couple, Friday were baptized, Saturday was the bishop's blessing in the chapel, and Sunday they were confirmed members of the church. What a week it was because everyday was dedicated to them getting married and baptized. All in all everything went smoothly with the help of your prayers and the willing members of the ward. Carlos and Sheron are super excited to be part of the church and for having found the truth. They bore their testimonies this past Sunday sharing their individual convictions of the truthfulness of the church.

While I was sitting in the sacrament room I felt overwhelmed by the spirit. I remember looking around the congregation and seeing 3 young men that we had baptized passing the sacrament with brand new suits on. Looking to the other side I saw some other youth that we baptized or helped to remain active. I was singing hymns with our recent convert Maria, and then Carlos and Sheron were confirmed and bore their testimonies. It was very emotional to see the fruits of our work and to be humbled knowing that we are just instruments in the hands of our Lord, helping to bring his children back to him. I bore my last testimony in sacrament meeting to the congregation and I mentioned how I saw people's lives molded, and while molding the lives of others my own life was molded significantly. Jesus Christ is our master and he can mold us we let him. This I came to understand while on my mission. I gave thanks to the members for all that they had done for me and my companions.

Friday I had my last interview with President Castro. It was one of the more spiritual experiences of the mission. He asked a lot of divine questions that caused me to reflect on my life and what I need to do when I arrive home. He gave me a picture of myself that he uses while doing the transfers and behind this picture has all my areas and companions. He told me to look at that picture of myself, which was taken while I was in the MTC, and then tell him how that missionary in the photo changed until this point in time. I won't say that I am 100% different than I was before but there was an incredible change in my heart while serving the Lord these 2 years. I am more confident, I have more faith, I am extremely grateful, and I see myself as an agent now instead of an object which only receives the action from others. More than anything I am now committed to this gospel and I never will deviate from this path, it doesn't matter the obstacle I will continue forward. I learned to love others and to love God and Jesus Christ and to show this love for them.

 

 

I can't believe that my mission is coming to an end it just hasn't phased me yet. One thing is certain is that even though the badge will be taken off my chest I will never stop being a missionary. There is a lot of work to be done at home and so many people that I neglected to show the gospel. Yes, it will be sad to leave the people that I learned to love here in Rio Grande do Sul but I have the hope that this love will only expand to the people that await me wherever it is that I go in life. I will do my best to keep in contact will everyone that I met here, the friendships are eternal and are part of me now. I am excited to see my family once again. I can't even describe the feeling for them that I have kept locked away in my heart these past two years. I know that when I see their faces that lock is going burst open and it is going to be a mushy mess in the airport, but I don't care love is love and I can't contain it anymore. I hope I will be able to write one more email next week but if not know that these were in fact the best two years of my life, however it is only the beginning.

I love you all,

Thanks for all the support,

I will see you soon,

Elder Miller

28 July 2014

Tuesday I bore my testimony together with the other missionaries that are leaving the mission. It was a zone conference so there were quite a few missionaries present.

 

 

 

My testimony was very simple. I counseled the missionaries to become agents, or in other words, do much good with their own free agency and not wait to be commanded to do good deeds. Also, I told them to love their companions, learn to put the needs of their companions first and then attend to you own. I gave the advice that if they could find a christ-like attribute in their companion and then learn to develop that attribute in themselves they would be a lot happier. If you are not happy it will be much more difficult to invite the spirit in your lessons and the spirit is everything. Therefore, unity is essential in your companionship, if you don't have it forget about teaching with power. Then I went on to bear my testimony that God watches over us and that his love is so profound for all of us that he sent his most perfect son to the world to live, teach, suffer, die, and then live again in order to break the chains of death and allow us the opportunity to stand before god's presence, without stain, worthy to enter into his heavenly home. In addition, Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God with the mission of reestablishing God's kingdom on Earth, and that there is a prophet and other special witnesses of Jesus Christ here in our days. I gave thanks to President Castro, Sister Castro and all the companions that I had. 2 of them were present. I mentioned that I love and am grateful for missionary work especially the missionaries that introduced our family to the church. If they had not given 2 years of their lives where would I be today? I am eternally in debt to them and I hope that I have had this kind of impact on the people I met during my mission. The gospel is everything to me now that my eyes have been opened.

 

 

All of your prayers have paid off because Saturday we had the baptism of Lucas. By wednsday we still were not sure if he would be baptized or not because of his parents permission. While we were eating with a member, who is Lucas's Sunday school teach and returned missionary, I had the thought of inviting him to teach Lucas's parents and ask for permisson to baptize Lucas. It was perfect and the member hit it off with Lucas's parents and we were able to teach them well about the importance of baptism and they allowed him to follow christ example and enter in the waters of baptism. They went to watch him be baptized Saturday and I am sure that they felt the spirit.

 

 

Tomorrow Carlos and Sheron will be registered as a married couple then Friday night will be their baptisms, and Saturday will be their marriage cerimony in the chapel. We are stoked for this to happen and it will be a great way to close the final chapter of the mission. I am sure these last two weeks will be full of work and some mixed feeling about leaving the mission. I know that it won't be easy to just one hour to next stop being a full time missionary but I will be honest that I am anxious to see my family and get my life rolling. When the mission concludes it will then be time to put everything I learnt into practice. The mission is the MTC for life and I finally feel prepared.

 Lots of Love,

Elder Miller

 

21 July 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

The work is quickly progressing. We are focused and prepared to take on the obstacles of the coming weeks. Lucas, a young investigator is battling to be baptized this week. He has been coming to church for about 3 months now, seminary, activities, the whole bit, but his parents have not permitted him to be baptized. They have set some unattainable standards for him in order to be baptized, however this past week they verbally permitted him to be baptized which was a milestone. Now we have to get their signature this week. For sure this young man will bring his family to the church one day due to the faith and diligence that he holds.
 

Sharon and Carlos passed out their wedding invitations to all the ward members this past week so it is official. Over these past weeks they have come to recognize the necessity of baptism in their lives and are more and more anxious for this day which will be the 1st of August and marriage ceremony on the 2nd. They will be registered as a married couple the 29 of this month.

We had the blessing of one of the members of the ward bringing a friend to church who has been passing through a lot of trials after a cruel breakup. We met with her last night and it was a spiritual experience. We mentioned how Christ is the source for lasting peace in this rapidly changing world. She was able to recognize the need to be closer with Christ and committed to be baptized the 9th of August if she is prepared. Her name is Fátima and has been really afflicted by the injustices of the world. I am truly grateful that I am a member of the church and thus have been protected from these disappointments. My life has been a lot less painless because I was taught which decisions would bring lasting happiness and which would bring just a taste and then regret. What I have learned is that we have to experience a bit of pain in life, it is how we learn and there are some that only can learn by pain and discomfort, but I know that these difficulties will make them stronger and produce faith that will take them far in mortal life and then eternal life. Christ suffered more than anyone can imagine and the scriptures tell us that because of this he learned obedience. In the same way affliction can teach us to be obedient and thus we will be worthy of God's many blessings.

To finish my email I would like to tell just touch on our English lessons that we are offering to the public. Saturday, we taught how to pray in English and we had the blessing of watching young individuals praying in English after just one hour of practice. I was amazed because it took me weeks to pray in Portuguese. It brought much happiness satisfaction to me and I know that the spirit was present to help us learn.

Lots of Love

Elder Miller,

PS. Keep praying for our investigators, it is helping

14 July 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

All the hard work is paying off. We have the marriage of Carlos and Sharon planned for the 2nd of August. They are also striving to be baptized some time around this date. In my last email I mentioned that they literally called us from across the street asking to be married in our church. After a few lessons this week they committed to be baptized as well. When we taught the Word of Wisdom to them they gave us all the coffee that was in their house. I am truly humbled by the fact that God placed them in our path. I can't think of anything better than baptizing a family before finishing the mission. We also have a few young men that are preparing to be baptized. My hope is that we can attend to all their needs in the next few weeks, and that they can be fully prepared to make covenants with God.

Elder S. Silva and I are working well together. We are giving our best in these last weeks. I am really happy that we are able to keep a steady work pace. Honestly we don't have time to think about going home anymore, there are so many things to be done. This past week we had zone counsel, then we had to give a zone training, and of course the world cup. It was a rush to get everything done with little time.

So Brazil showed it's true colors against Germany. The Brazilians here in Porto Alegre have lost all respect for their national team. They say that Brazil was needing a wake up call like that 7-1 beat down which they suffered. They say that they don't play for the name on the shirt anymore, but for the fame. I am afraid to say that this is becoming the case for many these days. Germany totally deserved the win. From what we heard from people in the streets Germany was obviously the strongest team. The Brazilians like to pull my leg by saying that I am one of the German soccer players because of my last name, Miller. For sure things will now calm down now that the world cup is over, and we will be able to work 100% everyday.

 Lots of Love,

Elder Miller

7 July 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

There were a lot of mixed feelings this past week on the mission. My companion Elder Aires finished his mission and went home to Fortaleza. This has always been difficult for me to say goodbye to my companions and this time it was no different. Then my new companion came, Elder Silva, and it has been a great experience so far. Elder Silva is in his final transfer just like me. He is super humble and friendly. He was a little disappointed that he was taken out of his area in Pelotas to finish his mission here in Porto Alegre but we talked and he is determined to give it his best these next few weeks. I will be honest that it is a little strange being in a companionship which both missionaries are in their final weeks on missions. 

 

 

This being a transfer week and with the world cup game Thursday we did not get to work as much as I would have liked but we did see some miracles Saturday. My testimony of fasting grew this day. We were fasting to thank God for all the baptisms that we had as a zone this past month and God blessed us twofold. We came across a less active family that we were not looking for including some of which had not become members yet. They were happy to have the missionaries back in their lives to help orient them to the straight and narrow path once again. Then when we were returning to the chapel we heard someone call for us across the street. It was a young couple with a small child. They began to tell us that they had been taught some of our lessons and had gone to church a few times last year. They went on to tell us that in a few short weeks they would be getting married and would like to be married in our church. It was one of those moments were don't believe what is happening and you look up to the sky expecting angels to sing, "Halleluiah." It was incredible and last night we went to their house to teach all the lessons once again. At first they were a little hesitant on the thought of being baptized so quickly but we responded their questions and I have faith that we will marry and baptize this couple, Carlos and Sharon. Pray for them please.

My biggest hope for this transfer is just to baptize. If we can achieve this goal I would have baptized with all of my companions which has been my goal since the beginning of the mission and I will go home a happy man. Help me with this goal by praying for my investigators. I have another 5 weeks to do this. I think that at the end of the mission President Castro allows the missionaries to visit the areas in which they passed through. If that is the case Elder Silva and I will be traveling a lot the last week of the mission. It would be a great reward for a job well done.

 

Tomorrow Brazil plays Germany for a spot in the final game. It will get tense here and for sure we will be in our apartment the whole time. Wednesday we will be going to zone counsel here in Porto Alegre where all the zone leaders of the mission meet to talk about the success and areas to improve from the past month of the mission. In our mission there were 108 baptisms in June which was a record since I have been here. 

Lots of Love,

Elder Miller 

PS. These are the names to include in your prayers. 

Lucas, Miguel, Patricia, Gregory, Carlos, Sharon, Paulo

 

 

30 June 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Another transfer has passed and a new one begins, and unfortunately it will be the last. This past transfer was the best of my mission. Elder Aires and I had accomplished our goal of baptizing 7 people this month and our zone achieved 18 which was also tied for the best this month in the mission. Although this was great for the mission, church, and lives of these 18 individuals I say this was the best transfer for me because it was the transfer in which I finally woke up. I was able to look deep down within in me to see what strengths and weaknesses I have and what I need to do differently to help more people and myself get closer to God. I look to apply the things I learned in this transfer so that I can finish my mission with honor and give a boost to my life back home.

 

So Elder Aires finished his mission today, it is very sad because he really is one of the best missionaries of this mission. I will be staying in Medianeira and I will be companions with Elder S. Silva from Bahia, the Northeastern part of Brazil. We will finish our missions together. You all are probably asking yourselves why is this happening. It is because the President plans on taking out the ZL's of the area and placing the assistants in our place so that they can be examples for the rest of the mission. This transfer I will be doing a lot of divisions with the assistants so they can get to know the area, members, and investigators. I will finish my mission as ZL with another ZL who is finishing his mission. It will be cool and kind of dull at the same time because together we will have a lot of success due to the experience that we both have however dull however really trunky. I really wanted to train a new ZL but that won't be the case. I have always wanted this on my mission to really train someone but I only had one transfer with that priviledge.

Moreover, we had 4 baptisms this past weekend. Pedro, Willian, Guilherme, and Bruno were all baptized. They were references from a member of the ward. I will work hard this transfer in order to baptize the rest of their families especially their parents whom are progressing. the baptism was awesome.

 

 President Castro and Sister Castro showed up which was nice. It was a real miracle that they came because at the last second we needed President to do an interview because Guilherme, who had participated in all the lessons, decided he wanted to be baptized when he saw his brother Pedro dressed all in white. It was not planned that the President would come to the baptism but it was inspired in order for him to do that baptism interview with Guilherme. He said in his interview that he wanted to be baptized because he wanted to follow God.

 

Today we went to Harmony which is a Gaúcho festival in Porto Alegre. Everything Gaúcho is there. A member of the church who has a cabin there invited our zone and we had a good Gaúcho lunch. We took a lot of photos and had a great time.

 

Germany plays tonight here in my area. You can hear the screams from the stadium. Brazil advanced which means that we will have to stay indoors during their next game. I am excited to hear that the United States is playing well.

Tomorrow it is that routine again, go to the bus station, pick up my new comp, take him to the new area, show what has been going down the past couple months, and then get to work. I know that these last weeks of mission will be the best. I ask for your many prayers for us and our investigators.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the support,

Lots of Love

Elder Miller

24 June 2014

 

Hello Family and Friends, 

Before starting this e-mail I have to mention that this week, the 27th, is my Mom's Birthday, Yay! I will sing the Brazilian birthday song to you.

Parabéns pra você, nessa data querida, muitas felicidades, muitos anos de vida!  

Translating it means, congratulations to you, on this special day, lots of happiness, and years to come. The divine calling that Heavenly Father gave to his daughters was chance to become mothers or the chance to give life to others. I can't think of anything more grand than that, and I thank Heavenly Father that I earned a place in your family. I have your present here with me and in a little while I will give it to you. Happy Birthday Mom, I hope that it is the best yet.

Well we got to go to the temple this week which was a good experience. There is always something magnificent to learn there. This is a great privledge that we have as missionaries of the Porto Alegre missions. We get to go to the temple almost every two months!

The work is progressing in Medianeira. When we are not baptizing the other companionship is. By the way there are two companionships working in the ward. There are activities in the chapel every week. We have various investigators going to church. We will have a baptism this Saturday and hopefully others on Sunday. My companion is showing no signs of being "trunky" with only this last week left on the mission.

 

 

Things are getting tenser with Brazil going to the next round in the world cup. Yesterday we were in the center and there was a full blown platoon of soldiers attending to the strike that was going on against the games. Brazil is a country where the people like to voice their opinion. Tomorrow Argentina plays here in Porto Alegre. Apparently thousands of Argentines are coming to the city to watch the game. Oh and the stadium in which they will play is part of my area in Medianeira, the stadium Beira Rio! That is cool, is it not? You will get a clear view of where I am working right now. Maybe you will see me on T.V. in the streets of the neighborhood on the other side of the stadium.

Well that is all the news for now. Next week will be a new transfer. I will make it the best.

 

 

Lots of Love, 

Elder Miller

16 June 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

The world cup is going on right now, I am sure that you are all aware. There is not much world cup buzz here in Porto Alegre. I hear that in other states in Brazil they are going crazy for soccer. We have a rule that when Brazil plays we have to go to our apartment a hour before the game and stay there until a hour after the game has ended. In total it is about 4 hours in our apartment listening to the shouts and greets of fans cheering for Brazil. There is a neighbor in the other building that has a big flat screen TV so I am not totally out of the game. When we are walking in the streets I also get to see some highlights every now and then.

 

These next two weeks we are working hard in order to finish the month with 7 baptisms! I am stoked and it will happen according to our faith and work ethic. We are working like never before, but the world cup is interfering a bit and last week it rained for 2 days straight. Elder Aires is showing no signs of slowing down until the end of the transfer which is 2 weeks away. I think our zone will be able to achieve more than 20 baptisms this month. That would be my best month as a zone leader. I am praying hard that this all happens. I can't think of a better way of finishing the mission than baptisms and hard work.

 

Before I finish this e-mail I would like to congratulate all the fathers in my life this Father's day. My Dad, Grandpa, Oupa, Per, Lars, and all the other that are reading this e-mail. Personally, my Dad is superman to me. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father gave me the parents that I have. They are the best!

My parcel arrived this week which was a relief. Thank you for all the goodies. I will cook the brownies with our recent converts here. I liked the booklets that the Lofstrand family made me. Oh, and the birthday card was priceless. The monkey with the bad to the bone music. I get a kick every time I open it. So I received 100% of all the packages that you all sent me. That is definitely not normal. Usually the American missionaries lose a few on the mission but I got all of them which was a great blessing. So you liked the picture of me with the rooster. Yeah it is Maria pet. It is crazy you can pet the rooster and he falls asleep.

 

 

That is all for now,

Lots of Love,

Elder Miller

9 June 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers this week for they were anwsered.  Maria, Luis Felipe, and Nicolas were baptized this past weekend due to the power of prayer. Friday night Nicolas was baptized by Wilker, Nicolas's next door neighbor whom gave us the reference. Nicolas's family went to his baptism and had an uplifting experience. For sure they will be baptized inasmuch as Nicolas continues to exercise his faith. 

 

Saturday was the baptism of Maria and Luis Felipe which completed the family. Now they are all members of the church. The missionaries had been trying for years to baptize Maria and after much effort they conceded. Upon meeting Maria Elder Aires and I knew that we were prepared to teach and baptize her and it happened. The change that each one of these individuals experienced was tremendous. They are totally different people. Happy people, people that are now closer to God. I am grateful to be but a mere instrument in God's hand to help his children come back to him.

 

 

This week was very eye-opening for me in that many of my flaws and weaknesses were presented to me. I know that I am full of defects and faults as a human and follower of Christ and I am grateful that they were shown to me. Now that I am aware I know what I need to do in order to overcome these obstacles and become more like Christ, our perfect example. So this was God's lesson for me this past week that you can never be satisfied because there is always something that needs to be improved, and if you wait for someone else to resolve the problem you will never win the race. A missionary once told me the satisfied animal sleeps or in other words when the animal eats and is filled he goes to sleep. We can never stop improving ourselves for progression is part of the plan of God and if we want to progress eternally we will have give our 100% to God now.

Lots of Love,

Elder Miller

 

2 June 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

My birthday last week turned out to be one of the best birthdays ever. One of the sisters in our Ward planned a surprise birthday party with some of our young investigators from her condominium. We arrived for a family night which was really this surprise birthday party. They had made cake and bought balloons and soda. We taught a few lessons that night to these investigator's families and all-in-all it was a really good day.

The missionary work is progressing quickly here in Medianeira. We will have 3 baptisms this Saturday, Maria, Luis Felipe, and Nicolas. Maria and Luis Felipe Mother and Son, and are eternal investigators since about 8 years back and we will baptize them this week! Nicolas is a young teenager that was a reference from one of the members in the Ward. We are working hard to get his whole family to go to church which has been a challenge but it is going to happen one of these days.

Last night my companion had an allergic reaction to something that he ate so we spent the night at the hospital. His face puffed up, his eye became swollen, and his throat closed up. We got home around 2 in the morning and then we had to go back to the hospital a few hours later. That is why I am writing so late today because I just took like a 5 hour nap to recuperate. He is slowly getting better and in a little bit we will back firing on all pistons.

Other than the baptisms this Saturday we are really focused on the Ward game show activity that we are putting together. It is a 4 week game show so every Friday the 4 organizations, Young Women, Young Men, Elders, and Relief Society, we be competing in variety of different things such as, Theater, Music, and Dance. Based on the quality and attendance from these organizations they will be rewarded points and the team with the most points will win a prize from the bishopric in the end. It should bring in a whole lot of in-actives and investigators so we are stoked.  

That is all for this week,

Pray for Maria, Luis Felipe, and Nicolas 

Lots of love, Elder Miller

26 May 2014 Ryan's Birthday

Hello Family and Friends, 

Well, I am 21 years old today. I remembered late last night that today would be my birthday so I did not have time to let my companion know beforehand. I told him this morning and he was like, "WHAT it is your birthday!" I don't think we will celebrate tonight because we had already marked a whole lot of appointments. Maybe next week I will celebrate by souvenir shopping in the center of Porto Alegre. I want to buy some Brazilian and gaúcho things for you guys back home.

 

This past week passed by very quickly, probably the fastest week of my mission. We had meetings, birthdays, church activities, splits etc.. Every Saturday my companion goes to the temple to watch the sealing of families that he has baptized on the mission. Yeah, my comp is one of the best missionaries of this mission. He has baptized a ton of families and now he has the blessing of seeing them be sealed in the temple. It is a privilege to work with him. I feel like I am being trained all of over again. It is a shame that I will only have this transfer to work with him, because these are his last weeks on the mission.

The only thing worth mentioning in this letter is that we had an activity at church Friday night and about 60 young investigators showed up. It was awesome there was ping-pong, pool, and a movie on the projection screen. We were not expecting some many people to show up so it was kind of a rush, but everything worked out at the end. We will visit them and their families so for sure we will have a lot of work to do these coming weeks.

In other news, the World Cup is about to start. We got a message today that during Brazil's matches we will have to go to our apartments and study. Brazilians are crazy for soccer and this year their team is really good so are expecting some craziness in the coming weeks. Also, there are other factions that are looking to protest so it should be pretty fun. I will root for the US of course but when they got knocked out of the tournament it is all Brazil for me.

 

That is all for now,

Love, Elder Miller 

PS. I did not get my parcel yet

 

No Explanation given for this picture

 

 

19 May 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

 

 

So I am pretty happy right now, actually really happy. There are various reasons for why I am so happy. First, my companion is excellent. Elder Aires is finishing his mission right now but it does not seem like it. The lessons are taught with power and authority. We are talking with everyone about the gospel. The members of our ward are friendly and trust us. We have marked baptisms already in this first week of the 7 week transfer. We are the zone leaders of 10 companionships and all are working hard. The list doesn't end.

My new area is Medianeira as I stated in my last e-mail. It is identical to my first area on the mission, Glória, which is one of the areas in our zone. There are a lot of hills in the area and it is right next to the mission office. Our ward has an attendance of about 70 which is very low considering what it was about a year back. Many leaders from the ward had to move because of the world cup and as a result the ward had a fall in attendance, but it is getting back up on it's feet. The chapel is prettiest that I have seen in Rio Grande do Sul. It is three stories with an elevator and new appliances and gadgets. The members are super cool and I have hit it off with them already.

We have an American missionary that lives in our apartment that has been in brazil for 2 months now, but he has already served almost a year! He had to stay in the US for about 9 months before getting his visa. This is the story of a lot of American missionaries now. I am helping him to get his Portuguese down quickly. I am grateful that I went on the mission when I did. If I had hesitated even a little bit I might have been serving in another mission. His companion is an American also and served in Houston, Texas. It was classic listening to him tell the story of how he attacked by a pit-bull, the scar is huge! Don't mess with TEXAS!

Everything is pretty chill right now on the mission. Unlike in the beginning of the mission now I know how things work and what I need to do. It is a pity that only at the end of the mission you really know how to be a missionary. Honestly, I am enjoying everyday now. Before I was really anxious and nervous about what to do every minute of the day. Now it is just take a chill pill and let the spirit guide.

So yeah, all in all the week went well. I am still getting to know my new area, searching for God's prepared people, and for the first time I can say without hesitating that I am loving the mission. 

 

Lots of Love,

Elder Miller

12 May 2014 Happy Mothers

Hello Family and Friends, 

The news is in and I will be moving to Medianeira! I will be serving as zone leader with Elder Aires, another zone leader. Elder Aires is from the city Fortaleza, the Northeast of Brazil. He is in his last transfer on the mission. I not worried though because he is a very good missionary that baptizes a lot and he asked to stay an extra transfer on the mission. The zone is located close to the center of Porto Alegre so I won't be going to the interior, actually the zone is right next to the zone I am serving in now. I have heard that the ward I will be serving in is rather weak at the moment, but hey that has been the story of my whole mission.

Our zone should be a strong one because we have the assistants, secretaries, the leaders of the sisters, and another 5 companionships. This zone is the first one that I served in when I arrived on the mission. It was kind of an unexciting zone almost 2 years back because the work is definitely harder closer to the center of the city. I look to change that image in the last 2 transfers on my mission. 

So it is tchau tchau to Restinga. I had the most success on the mission here. It was here that I finally figured out how to be a missionary. Really it is just invite everyone you see to go to church and be baptized without any fear. It is testify with power and authority through the spirit. In Medianeira, my last area, I will apply everything that I have learned this last year and 9 months. I know that we will have much success.

In other news Everton was baptized Saturday! It was an awesome baptism, the missing piece of the puzzle in our work here in Restinga. We had been working with him since January and finally he was baptized in my last week in the area. I had the privilege of performing the ordinance. I think his Mom, Neuza, will be the next one to be baptized. 

Also another great blessing was talking to my family on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day Mom! I LOVE YOU!

 

The family is doing well from what I saw. My Dad has a six pack, I thought I would never see the day. It was difficult talking in English this time because I hadn't practiced in awhile. I was stressing out the whole day because the computers were not working but Elder Saboia is a computer wiz and got it all sorted out. It was funny watching him calling his family all emotional and what not. All in all it was a good day and I am really looking forward to being home again, but until then I am going to work harder than ever. The mission is 2 years, can't give in the towel yet.

 Lots of Love,

 Elder Miller

5 May 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Well we are now in the last week of this short transfer. I am stoked for this coming transfer. I have high hopes that I will be transferred to my last area on the mission. I have another 2 transfers on the mission and I look to take advantage of every minute. I have been writing my friends from college and they are all going home in the next few weeks, it is so weird.

 

 

I am stoked right now because I think I will be able to squeeze out one more baptism before leaving this area. His name is Everton and we have been working with him since January I think while Elder Horst was still here. He was married in January and then Adriana his wife was baptized. She passed through a lot of trials in order to be baptized. Let's just say that Everton was a completely different person before being introduced to the gospel. The lessons were always spiritual. Everton is probably the smartest investigator I have ever had, photographic memory. Everything was going well until he found a new job and quickly went back to his worldly ways. I thought it was all over but Sunday morning who showed up to church, you guessed it Everton. He showed up with a white shirt, tie, and slacks. The first thing he said to me was "When is my baptism," I was practically speechless. He went on to tell that he had managed to quit smoking, drinking, and the other things that he used to do. He said that things went all wrong when he stopped receiving visits from us and went through a rough process of repentance. We marked his baptism for this Saturday.

This was very emotional for me because he is a very good friend of mine and Elder Horst. I thought that he was lost forever, but he returned and now his family will be complete. It is funny because while we were planning for this week Elder Dos Santos and I were setting goals and he asked me how many baptisms we would have. Then he asked me who would be this person we would baptize. I looked off into space for awhile then said, I have no idea, but it is going to happen. Everton is that person. Pray for him this week so that everything goes according to plan. We will need the prayers of everyone.

In other news I will call home this week on Mother's Day. Woohoo! It will be the last time before going home. Also, Greg will be turning 25 this week, May 7th. Congratulations, miss you a ton. Eat a lot of cake and ice cream for me. Today we will play paintball! Tomorrow we have zone counsel, all the zone leaders meet with the President in Porto Alegre, it should be cool.

 Love you Lots,

Elder Miller

Tchau

28 April 2014

Hello Family and Friends, 

This past week was very special but challenging. I think I experienced the hardest day on my mission last Friday. Long story short I had a stomach/intestinal infection. I got it after splits with one of our district leaders. I don't know if it was the water or a badly cooked dinner but I got awfully sick. The next morning returning to my area in Restinga I hurled in the bus. Luckily my companion had a plastic shopping bag. The bad part was that it was ripped.

I got home and got cleaned up and then laid down and that is when the stomach pain hit. It felt like someone was continually stabbing me in the guts and it did not let up until the next day. I threw up again in the house and then had diarrhea 9 times. I stayed in our apartment until 7:00 at night.

My many prayers were answered when we went to the chapel that night. Our investigator who was being interviewed to be baptized the next day saw that I was suffering and went to the pharmacy and bought all the meds I needed to get better. I was shocked by the charitable act from our investigator, Adriano, because it was a non-member that ended up caring for me, and he did not have the financial means to buy all the meds that he did. He acted on the hour without delay. That is charity to me. It isn't tomorrow or next week, but NOW. If someone needs help it is our obligation to help right then and there even if it means opening up our wallets in order to help. Your neighbors burden is your burden too. God will bless you in double for the act.

 

 

The good part of the week is that we had 2 baptisms this past Saturday. Maria, 63, and Adriano, 34, Mother and son.

 

 

They were references from the bishop's councilor. In our first visit Adriano asked to be baptized! The Lord has been preparing them for some time now. Before teaching the word of wisdom Adriano mentioned that he had stopped drinking coffee because he felt that it was harming his health. Also we asked him what chastity was and he answered absolutely perfectly. I had the privilege of baptizing him. It was a super good baptism.

 

 

Sunday there were 56 people at church a great improvement. I still want to be transferred in 2 weeks. We will go to the temple this week which will be cool. Oh and a new paintball field opened up right in front of our apartment so I think the next p-day we will play. 

That is all for now,

 Love Elder Miller