Still in Almirante Tamandaré April 29, 2013

Oiiii!

So this week was a good one. We had transfers, but Elder Reeves and I are both staying! Which I’m very happy about. We both want to see the people we have been helping the past month get baptized, and this week we have found some elects to add to our group!

Just an update on the people we are teaching. R. and F. should be baptized this coming Sunday. A. and D., went to stake conference with us and loved it. It was all about the temple and I think they have a goal now to get married there one day!

This week we found a cool family that we contacted in the street. When we went there to teach them, they were all home waiting for us to get there (which is a rare thing). As we taught they had tons of questions. Mostly about prayer, as they hadn’t really ever prayed before. At the end of the lesson, after explaining about the book of Mormon and how they could get an answer through the Holy Ghost, we invited A. (the 26 year old son) to pray. I had written down the steps of prayer in the back of the book of Mormon we gave him, and I was a little worried he was just going to read word for word what I had put… But as he began he really begin conversing with Heavenly Father and I could tell by the sound of his voice he was getting a little emotional. He prayed for lots of things (their family has been going through some hard stuff) and I felt the spirit so much in the prayer. When he finished he said to us, a little teary eyed, "I don’t know if you guys will believe it, but I think I felt the Holy Ghost you guys were talking about." He described how warm and peaceful he felt during the prayer and how he had never felt that before. It was an awesome experience and it’s made a lasting impression on me, and taught me even more about the power of prayer.

We also marked a baptismal date for a young lady we are teaching in Itaperuçu (a small town about 45 min away from Almirante Tamandaré) when we asked her if she had read and prayed about the Book of Mormon, she said she had but she wasn’t sure if she got an answer. She said after she prayed she felt like crying, but not because she was sad... it was more of a happy cry ha. We then explained that for sure it was an answer from our heavenly father, and then taught about how knowing the Book of Mormon is true, means she knows that this is Christ’s church. It was an awesome experience to and I’m excited to keep working with her.

Mom and dad, Italy looks awesome! Mom you look pretty, and Dad you look like a boss in your leather jacket ha. I’m so excited to Skype you here in another week or so! I want to hear all about it!

Remi, good job on working hard. Your email made me laugh a lot! I’m sure proud of you though buddy.

Mom to answer your Q's! Yes I got my card! Thank you for sending it, and thanks for the letters Mom and Remi!

I would love that big jar of peanut butter in the next package ha! Other than that I do not need much.  

I am kinding of needing something else but it’s a big thing. When I was in Bon Sucesso, we were going around Sunday morning grabbing investigators for church and a barbwire fence ripped my suit pants a little. The holes have been growing a bit lately ha, but I can make it work for a while longer!

Thanks for all you do though! I’m so happy the Italy trip was awesome! I miss you all and think about you every day! Having an awesome family like you helps me get through the hard days and remember how blessed I am.

I love you all,

Elder Miller

 

PS  Mom... the [preparedness] fair looks awesome! I bet it was a huge success!!!

Double Post! April 15 & 22, 2013

 

Eating a caterpillar...

Also, we had to help catch a chicken that got into a members yard… I got him! ha They are fast though!

April 15, 2013

Wowww,

Italy looks awesome! I’m so jealous. I will def be going there one day! Thanks for taking the time to write! I didn’t think you guys would. I can’t wait to hear all about your trip there and what it was like.

Ryan, I’m excited to get the letter! You sent it with the people that are coming here from the ward? I’m excited! I want that video now dangit! Oh and to answer your Q, we're still not allowed to use Facebook, but they did double our time to email so that’s good.  

But... this week was a good one! We are still helping A. and D. They came to church again yesterday and the kids were blessed in sacrament meeting. And A's mom came and her granddaughter (A’s niece) came for the third Sunday in a row. At night we went over to their house and they were all there. We watched “The Mountain of the Lord” and they all loved it and afterwards... the niece, T., who’s 11, asked what she needs to do to be baptized!!! We were shocked ha, and super happy. The whole family is transforming! D. and A. should mark their marriage this week... but it’s probably gunna be a month before her baptisms... I think it’s going to be awesome though. We are hoping A. can baptize her!

Also, R. and F. have completely stopped smoking and drinking coffee... and we are going over there tonight to watch the restoration movie with the whole family. We taught the kids the Ten  Commandments this week and they all loved it (I learned the little hand tricks so we teach it using that)... but I sat in one of the kids pee during the lesson... so afterwards I had to go home and switch my pants ha.

J. is also progressing really well.... he wasn’t able to make it to church this Sunday but he says he will be going for sure this next. We’ve developed a really good friendship with him and I’m excited to keep helping him progress.

Other than that I don’t have much. I forgot to take notes this week when funny/crazy things happened... actually I lied...

We went by a less active member's house and her grown son who was plastered (drunk), tried to fight me. He got in my face yelling (his breath smelled terrible) and when I gave him a little push so that he would leave my personal space he started falling and grabbed my tie to hold him up... Which made me mad... so I picked him up...slung him over my shoulder and took him inside (He was fighting me, but he was so wasted it wasn’t hard. ha) and I threw him on the couch....tucked him in with a blanket and held him down... He yelled a little more but after like 5 minutes he passed out ha. The member was super embarrassed and apologetic, but it wasn’t that big a deal. We both feel really bad for her and were going by this week to see what we can do to help. 

But I think that sums up my week. I miss you all and love you more. Remi... the paintball sounded fun. Way to not get shot in the head ha! I hope you and Ryan have lots of fun bro.

Love you all

Elder Miller

 

 

 

One's of T's baptism. Thats A., E. (his mom) and T.

Then there’s one of my butt… I sat in a little kids pee when we were teaching. ha
The other ones me laughing about it.

NOTE about past posts from Elder Miller:

Mom, “safado” means jerk ha not ´´devious.´´
And “que benção” means what a blessing.. not ´´that blessing.´´ haha
I looked at my blog and saw some of the translations.

 

April 22, 2013

Oii tudo mundo!

We had a baptism! Her names T.! She’s A’s niece and she’s 11-years-old. We’ve been working with A. and D. for a while now, and she has been over there a few times when we taught. The first time we met her, we taught her a first lesson really quick and gave her a book of Mormon and then she started going to church with A... and we also got her grandma (A’s mom) who’s a less active member to start going again too! Last Monday we had a family home evening with A., D., T. and A’s mom and all the little kids... and toward the end of it, T. asked us ´´what rules do I have to keep after I get baptized?" Elder Reeves and I were caught off guard!! We taught her again about the Book of Mormon and invited her to read and pray... which she did, and two days later told us about her answer and how warm she felt inside. Then, when we were teaching her about the Word of Wisdom, we found out she had already stopped drinking coffee when she heard in church that she shouldn´t. She was extremely ready to be baptized and I know that God put her in our path...

There was a wonderful spirit at her baptism, and afterword, her grandma (A’s mom) talked to the bishop about getting her records moved to the ward and about what she needs to do to start taking the Sacrament. Elder Reeves and I, and the Lord, have successfully helped two super inactive members come back to church now. It had been about eight years I think since they had stopped going and it’s so cool to see them now, faithfully walking to church every Sunday and participating in the classes.

Last p-day I drew a Chevy Opala for A., because it’s his favorite car. And he loved it... he framed it and put it on the wall, next to the temple picture we gave him and D. D. has stopped smoking for good and is working on a few other things, but should be baptized within the next transfer.

R. and F. are doing well. R. had a really stressful week and smoked a cigarette, but she got right back on the horse and is still trying her hardest to quit. She went by herself to church this week... walking with three babies and three other young kids. We walked with her... and the whole time I was thinking about what a good example she is. She is really trying to do what’s right and to be a good example for her six kids.

We taught J. last night and talked about the Word of Wisdom... He doesn’t have a problem with anything and said living it won’t be a problem! We asked him if he had read, and he said only a little... and we asked him what he learned. He explained... in detail about the testimony of Joseph Smith and when the angel Moroni visited him, about the testimonies of the other witnesses and then said he read up until where Nephi is building the boat! That’s on page 41 ha. He read a ton! Elder Reeves and I are super excited. He is incredibly smart but super humble at the same time.

We also discussed polygamy with him. Someone had told him something about it, so he had a few questions, but we explained it and he said it makes sense... and accepted it just fine ha. He really is so ready to be baptized! He’s going to come with us to Stake Conference this weekend and we´re really excited for that.

I also had a cool experience I forgot to tell you about last week. Elder Reeves and I were pretty strapped for cash, and it was the day before we would get the mission funds in our accounts again. We had to take the bus a LOT that week and it drained our money fast ha. But we gathered up all our money and change and put it together. We needed R5.70 to get to our lunch appointment in Itaperuçu, with a recent convert about 45 minutes away (by bus). We knew if we could get there we could get a ride back, but when we totaled it up we only had R5.50. We thought about it and figured they might let us into the terminal just 20 centavos short... and we didn’t have much time to think about it. The bus only leaves every two hours, so we left in a hurry, hoping they would let us in. On the way I said a little prayer in my head that everything would work out... and AS SOON as I finished, I looked down, and saw a 25 centavo on the ground right in front of me. I know it was an answer to my prayer. I picked it up, we were able to grab the bus on time and everything worked out fine. I know heavenly father hears and answers our prayers... as I have seen yet again here in the mission ha.

But that’s all for now,

I love you all and miss you.

Elder Miller

 

Finally! April 10, 2011

Oii tudo mundo,

So this week has been pretty good. Mom you already knew about it [Moms on LDSMissionaryMoms.com know everything!] but I went to the temple today! It was awesome. The temple here is super pretty and I really needed a nice visit to the temple! I’ll try and send a pic if my batteries on my camera will last to do it... they are almost dead.

But this week I wrote down a bunch of notes and stuff of things I wanted to tell you..... First off, we now have an hour and a half to send emails!! It doubled! So we can email anyone we want now! The first presidency sent a letter to all the mission presidents in the world that missionaries now have twice as long to send emails ha!!! Que benção! [That blessing!]

Also this week a dog bit me... It was a big one but it didn’t draw blood... We were knocking a door... and two dogs came running out, but there was a gate, and they stopped there and were barking at us. I was looking at them, and then I felt something bite my leg! Another dog had run up from behind and bit me ha. I was mad! But it didn’t hurt that bad, just scared me a little bit. Safado! [Devious!] Ha

But other than that its all good news. Our pesquisadores [investigators] are progressing really well!!!! One of the families we're teaching marked their marriage! A. is a member that was inactive but we’ve got him coming back to church and he is doing really well. D. is progressing really well, and she received an answer when she prayed about the Book of Mormon! Tonight we are going to mark her baptismal date. It’s going to take like 30 days because you have to wait 30 days for the marriage to process... but I’m still super excited and super happy for them... I love their family!

We also have a family we are teaching... R., F. and their 6 kids! After I emailed last week, we went to their house, taught them, marked a baptismal date, and took their cigarettes and coffee from them (we traded for herbal tea and nesquik ha) and they haven’t smoked or drank since! I think today is day 9! I’m super happy for them, and they are on track to be baptized on the 20th!

Also last week... we were walking in the street, and looking for a few houses of people we had contacted. We were having a hard time finding this one house, walking up and down the street... I saw this guy up on the third floor of his house doing laundry, and he waved at me... I waved back, and we kept walking... but then I really felt like we should go talk to him... so we went back and knocked his door (clapped at the gate) he came out and let us in right away. As we started teaching, I was blown away by how prepared he was to receive the gospel. I seriously thought he was messing with us ha (like maybe he was a member we didn’t know or something)... The first thing he asked was why there are so many churches now days, because Christ only had one..... Me and my comp were just looking at each other smiling so big haha! It blew my mind!!! And I know without a doubt that our Father in Heaven helped us find him. His name is J. and he has a date for the 28th of April. He’s already read about half the Book of Mormon. He’s super intelligent and he’s a cop. haha It’s awesome!!!

Oh, dad I have a question for you... the other day I read that scripture in Ezekiel 37:16 about the two sticks, and referring to the book of Mormon as a record of the people of Ephraim (explained by the bible dictionary under ´´Ephraim, stick of´´).. But then the next day I read in Alma 10:3 that Lehi is a descendant of Manasseh ha (I’m reading the book of Mormon in Portuguese). But why is that? I was a little confused... do you know? [Scott's answer next week...]

Ryan, on P-day, I do play soccer a little. I’m actually getting really good at juggling with my feet. I can do some cool tricks with the ball my Brazilian comp taught me ha. We also play ultimate Frisbee with our zone sometimes ha, I would rather play football... but we don’t have one here. :( Also, where is my video from your concert? The pics you sent last week didn’t work btw. You have to send them as attachments. Oh also, when will summer sales start for you???

Mom... what’s the news on the novel??? Did you guys not send a big email this week??? I only got pics!!!!

Remi, how’s the blower? Are you excited to hang out with Ryan????

Well that’s all for now. If you email me back I still have a good amount of time. :)

I love you all,

Elder Miller

Almirante Tamandare April 1, 2013

Almirante Tamandare is awesome!!! I'm loving it here! This week has been super exciting! The area is huge! I thought my last area was big... but this area is 4 whole cities. We only work in Almirante Tamandare, though, because it would be very time consuming and unpractical to travel to the other cities, and I doubt anyone would be able to come to church. ha ... But we are having a lot of success this week and focused on finding new people to teach.

We found two awesome families and taught them each twice ... and both of them came to church!! They loved it because it was Easter Sunday and all of the talks in Sacrament meeting were very powerful and about the Savior and His atonement. After Pday is over today we have plans to go and visit them both. The mom of one of the families smokes and its going to be a challenge to help her stop, but we are working on it!!

We also have a family that is really special. A week before I got here the Elders found a young lady in the street named D. and made an appointment to teach her and her family ... and when they showed up, they found out that her husband was already baptized in the Church ... He's been inactive for 9 years, and has been really wanting to come back and missing it ... So we have been teaching him and D. and their two sons and its been so cool. They are all progressing really well, and A., the husband is studying the book of Mormon like crazy and reading tons of church books! And when we taught about the law of chastity, he and D. went the next day to mark their wedding! He had been smoking and drinking and the day we taught the word of wisdom he stopped with it all and now he is helping his wife quit smoking too. They all went to church this past week, and in gospel principles [class] A. was making awesome comments and asking super good questions! It so cool seeing him come back to the church and helping his family in the process! I am so excited for them and so happy we are helping.

Some random facts this week ... We ran into a drunk guy in the street, named M,. and he was following us a round for a while talking really obnoxiously ... so when we passed one of the outdoor gyms (like a playground for old people) I invited him to work out with us... so we started doing stretches with him, and he ``taught´´ us a few exercises. ha. Elder Reeves was dying laughing ... But I was keeping a straight face and trying to copy him. He was plastered. Then afterwards we helped him home and got his address ... We might pass by this week. ha.

We have also been playing a fun contact game ... We have to contact 140 people every week and sometimes it can be really hard to stay motivated ... so we have been making it more fun. As we see a person walking towards us, one of us will say a random word in Portuguese and the other one has to use that word in the contact. It's been super fun and we have done some really good contacts this week ha!

Today we hiked a mountain close to our house and the few [view] was awesome... I'll send pics! Our area has toooonnnsss of hills so every day is a good workout ha. Also, there are tons of orange trees here so we just pick them and eat them in the street. Oh, also I learned how to solve a Rubik's Cube ha. Elder Reeves is really good at it and he taught me this week. ha

But I'm happy to hear that you're are doing well. Ryan, where's my video of the solo? Remi!!!! Why were you trying to swim, silly kid? ha Did you get lots of Easter candy? They do celebrate Easter here. Everyone gives these huge chocolate eggs (we got lots of chocolate:)) ...  speaking of driving crazy ... did you see the new James bond yet? I saw the DVDs on display here this week.

But that's all for now. I will send pics!!!!
Love you all!!!
Elder Reece Miller!