First Week in the Field December 3, 2012

Oiii familia!!!

I have so much to say, I don’t even know where to start!!!! It was so hard going for two weeks without emailing!!!

Soo... my first area is in Ponta Grossa!! In my mission there are two big cities... Curitiba and Ponta Grossa. It is beautiful here!!! The city central is pretty nice and feels relatively like a city would in the states... but we spend most of our time tracting in the villas around the city. Our area is called Bom Successo... which is ironic because it means good success... and we are having just that! It’s beautiful, like a different world!! It’s very hilly with lots of green... like Florida... but rocky dirt roads to. When I opened my mission call I never thought this is what it would be like!!! It’s so beautiful here!!! I will send pics because I can’t do it justice with my words.

 

 

My comps name is Elder Arrioal... he is Chilean. He speaks good Portuguese... but not a word of English, so this week has been FUN! Ha I have actually been able to understand almost everything he says... luckily... and we communicate pretty well. He is an awesome teacher and has some really cool ways of explaining the gospel!!! I have a lot to learn from him!! His nickname is The Baptizador... because he has a lot of baptisms... which leads me to... this week I invited 6 people to be baptized on Christmas and they all accepted!! In the months of December total I think we will have 15 or more baptisms!!! It's awesome! The people are so humble here and willing to listen to the message of the gospel. I think part of it is because they are living in VERY humble circumstances. I have never seen poor like this. But they are so kind and I love them all!

Fun facts; this week I was a witness for a marriage. Two of our investigators got married so they can be baptized this month!!! They are way cool people and he has a crazy conversion story... he was living a bad life with drugs and drinking and women, and ended up in a coma... and when he came out of the come he felt like he needed to repent and follow Christ... That day he met the missionaries!!

The little kids here are super cute. They all try to talk to me... I can’t understand anything they say... but it doesn’t stop them from trying! haha I'm adopting a Brazilian one day!! Mark my words!

Another cool story... they are tons of strayers [stray dogs] here... Friday we walked about 20 miles!!! It was killer... but I started counting strays I saw . . . and I stopped counting at 150... I bet I saw at least 300 that day... but anyway we went to teach a lesson to an investigator we found on Wednesday... and we clapped at the front of their yard (they don’t knock doors here, they clap!) and a pit-bull ran out from behind the house and was barking at us... but the ladies motioned for us to enter... so as we took a few steps into the yard... the pit-bull came running at me snarling and jumped up to bite me... it was scary!! Fortunately we always carry hard cover copies of the book of Mormon with us to show people... and I popped that dog in the face as hard as I could!!! LOL The dog whimpered and left us alone long enough to make it inside the house!! It strengthened my testimony of the book of Mormon!! haha But yeah, there a lots of dogs here!

What was even cooler was the lesson we taught afterwards!! The first time we taught them, it was obvious [they had domestic problems] BUT this second lesson we taught, I could already see and feel a difference in their home! The gospel is powerful stuff!! and the spirit was in their home as we taught... also they now have dates for baptism! This is so cool!!

To answer questions, President Cordon and Sister Cordon were awesome!! I love them!! And the Mission Home is sooo coool!! It’s in the middle of downtown Curitiba and it’s legit!! It’s on the 15th floor of a high-rise and way nice! We didn’t stay the night there, though. I got interviewed we ate lunch, met our trainers and took a 2 hour bus ride here to Ponta Grossa!

The view from the Mission Home.

Also, about the packages and letters...everything goes to the mission office... and we get to pick it up at zone conference once a month... but it’s okay. ha I get to pick up the packages on the 21st of this month for zone conference!! I’m excited for that! But I’m going to send this email and send some pictures!!
I love you all, and I miss you all too!!

Elder Miller

 

This is the view from my apartment... not too shabby ha
Random Facts
I have already killed two brown recluses in our apartment.

Our neighbor has a rooster... I didn’t like sleeping anyway.
People in Ponta Grossa become possessed sometimes (according to my Comp)
There is a small favela [shanty town] here...
There are 180 members in the ward here... but they are using a house. They have land purchased for a chapel next year... but for now we are using a big house... and baptizing in a swimming pool. ha Maybe a river soon... we will see.
I bore my testimony yesterday.. it went well!
We live across the street from an Assemblia de Deus church... They worship at night, and they believe in the gift of speaking in tongues...
One of the members comes with us tracting a lot. He's way nice!

 

As his brother, Ryan, said, "Elder Miller is preaching the gospel to all God's creatures."