Saturday, August 29, 2015
8.28.15
MTC life is wrapping up, and I cant decide if im more excited or nervous. So I have 10 days left, but take away 1 more p day, 2 sundays, and 2 dyas that are for a special infield orientation, and I have 5 more days to study the gospel and Spanish. So ya kinda totally freaking out inside. But at the same time am so ready to get out there.
I did get my travel plans today though :) I will be leaving tue 8. I am to report to the travel office of the Mtc at 3:35 am, but my flight doesnt leave Salt lake until 8:40. who needs 5 hrs to figure out how to get through an airport. idk but I land in Phoenix at 9:18 Arizona time (which is an hr behind Utah) So that means I will have my first full day in the field off of like 4 hrs of sleep hahah :) but really im excited to go.
These last few days have been pretty interesting tho. So like my whole distrtict has been sick in one shape or another. just sorta a bug thats been going around, but i got my turn the last two days and its been soo fun -_- I first threw up the second i was done with a lesson, then ive had a headache and just felt achey and then today ive been stuffed and with a soar througt but besides that im doing great!:D But last night i had been in bed most the day but I had a really strong feeling to go teach one of our investigators. I really didnt want to but evenutally did, feeling like i was dying, but went and taught Jorge.
This was our first lesson with him. So at first we were just talking about stuff but then he said that his son died of cancer and was asking all these super hard questions, and i had like no idea how to anser them. and my companion really doest help at all, i do 90% of every lesson, buuuut i was sitting there and praying, please help me answer theses questions,about the starting of the church and Joseph Smith and Pioneers, and about 5 min later all the sudden I was answering questions that i had never ever known before, like all very trivial questions like even down to years of things and I know I had never know those before. After that point the spirit was so strong. And all of the sudden he started crying and he said he didnt know why, and i got to explain to him that it was the spirit and that through those feelings he could know that his son was in heaven and that he would see him again, and that all those trivial things about the church and Joseph Smith were true, but especially that he could know by the spirit though prayer and reading the Book of Mormon. It was SOO cool.
Ontop of all of this 2 nights ago i was praying and sorta trying to find something to really keep me out here. Like what do i get up for everymorning and work this hard for, and right after i walked out of that lesson, I just kept getting the thought over and over, theres your reason. Not only having the spirit that strong, but people like that, that need it in their lives, that they can have that feeling they can have all these blessings through this amazing Gospel. So ya guess I found why im out here :)
Miss you guys so much. Thank you so much for all the dear elders and letters and packages. Along with the spirit, thats how i make it through the week haha. \
Love you all
Elder Miller
Letter 8.21.15
UMMM so totally put 625 as my number its actually 265 soo ya. I did get a few like 3 days after they got here but ya my bad haha.
So just got done with 3 hrs of basketball. It was super fun. I got to play with Ben Tanner(from provo) and Bryson Young ( from summit). Im gonna be sore tomorrow. I haven't played the hard for that long for a while.But I like didn't miss the whole time it was sweet. Its fun having no one to get mad at you so i feel like i have all the confidence in the world haha.
I cant believe id be in school right now, or at least i would be if i were in highschool, and pretty close to going to byu. Good luck to anyone going or on their way :)
On Sunday we had a special devotional. There was no speaker. Instead a band called, The Nashville Tribute band gave us a concert, and my district and I sang back up to a few of their songs. It was soo cool. It was way fun, and nice to hear somewhat normal music, because i cant use my ipod in the mtc :(
Ive become really good friends with a guy in my district his name is elder Farnsworth. He played soccer and is wants to play in college when he gets home. We were talking about it the other day, we leave in I think 17 days or so ( so we have now been here longer than we have left) and i am going to miss him a bunch. Hes going to Buenos Aires north mission, so ive been trying to tell him everything i know about argentina, which isn't a ton, but hes really excited.
So a guy in my room go sick on like Tue. and he ended up going out to the ER. It got pretty intense he, with his 2 companions, were there from like 8 to midnight. Hes all good now and got like 5 packages after haha.
Kinda like Brigs emails, there's not a whole lot to really talk about cuz it all starts to be the exact same. Including the meals. We pretty much already know whats going to be served that day. So since its all the same we try changing stuff up. but there's not a ton to change haha. so we'll all match ties. we play ball on my mini hoop. play dodge ball in the hall. yea guess we don't really change up anything, but were trying. I did start working out at night with Farndog (Elder Farnsworth) my buddy and that's been fun. We mainly do pullups and pushups but i didn't realize how many different ways to do those two exercises. O and a ton of abs stuff. One kid in our district was a diver, and so he has so many crazy exercises for them. Ive been so sore haha but just these last 7 days i've gotten a lot back, too bad I have NO ONE TO SHOW IT TOO :( haha just kidding but really im not quite sure what my motivation is for working out right now, but its fun just talking with him for a while.
One thing that has changed significantly is the spirit. Its incredible, when you want it to be there. I have probably received more answers and revelation this past week alone than like my whole life combined. There are only two reasons im still out here, your guys letters and such, and the spirit. It is so amazing, and to think I get to have it with me this much for two years :) Im so ready to get out there. Maybe not quite with spanish and the stupid conjugations, but im ready to be able to go out there and serve those people and allow them to feel what I get to feel. Ahh im so PUMPED haha, but there was a talk that we watched by Elder Bednar that talked about how, imagine your homecoming and how amazing it will be and how excited and happy everyone will be and imagine that feeling. Now times that feeling by like 100 and thats how itll feel when we get to go home to Heavenly Father and all our family, and to be able to give that to someone else, ya just so happy I get to bring people answers and hope and joy and just everything that comes with this amazing gospel.
I miss you guys all so so much. I dont think its quite really sunk in that im not coming home on the 8, (which is my estimated MTC departure) but ya :)
Love you all, Thanks for all the support
Elder Miller
8.14.15
Hey everyone sorry for not writing last week but that'll just give me more to write about this time :) So Ive hit the end of week 3. Its only been 16 days but I feel like Ive been here for months, but at the same time it's been fast. The days feel like weeks but the weeks feel like days, if that makes any sense.
So lets see what's been going on. Um well first of all, I broke out in hives last week all over my body :) Not really sure what from but they were so fun, haha. I actually think it might have been from the detergent i used. But it's gotten better and i switched to a different one so we'll see how it goes this week.
The gym has been closed for a while now so it's been a ton of volleyball. It's been fun, but im kinda getting bored haha, but the gym is opening wed i think. It's way fun when you get some good guys together.
I've really started to love my district. They are all so different but way cool. There is one Elder that reminds me of Trevor (my cousin) so much, in his humor. Its hilarious, he makes me laugh all day.
My district is super musically talented for the most part. Most of them were in their school choirs and/or musicals. So we sing all the time and i love it :) Any time we aren't studying we're singing. Literally anytime, when were sitting around, eating, playing volleyball, and especially when were all showering haha.
Um so i'm kinda getting sick of the food a little, its just all starting to be the same thing, or even when it's not it kinda all taste the same haha. Tmi, but i have never, i mean never in my whole life gone the bathroom as much as i have these last three weeks :P
Wednesdays we get the newbies and I actually knew some this time. I've seen Jax from the ward a couple times and Brayden Day. Yesterday i saw Bryson Young from summit ball, and we have the same P day so we are definitely going to play a lot. But guess who grabed me in the cafeteria. I didn't even see him but he recognized me and yelled my name. I didn't hear him, so then came and pulled on me. It was Ben Tanner from the Provo days. It was crazy seeing him. We didnt get to talk much, but he'll be around a bit so i want to talk to him some more.
Our days are all pretty much the same now, and i think that's why they feel so long. We wake up at 6:30, eat breakfast at 7:10 then study in the classroom. Then lunch and gym time, then class with a teacher. Then we teach that teacher as they act as investigators, then more class time. Then dinner, then teach a "real" investigator then more classes, then bed time is at 10:30 and repeat -_- but ya its all good.
Spanish is going ok, like its good but we are no where near where it needs to be. P-days are the best. Every morning we go to the temple and it is so cool. Probably the strongest i have felt the spirit, has been there. Today we did sealings and i got to do 6 brothers, it was really cool. But at the same time, the devotionals have been amazing too. I've had more revelation in these 2 1/2 weeks then probably my whole life combined. It's so amazing!
I got a hair cut today and its sooooo short. Its wierd. They didnt use sissors either and so he kinda just went at my hair and ya :( but its whatever i really don't care that much, as long as its not awful then I'm good.
Ya Dad was right, well mostly right, Sundays are the second best day besides p day. It is way more relaxed and really spritual. We have a big devotional and sacrament and district meeting and we go sing in the choir so ya its fun. On sunday we sang for Russel M. Nelson. He came and talked and it was really cool.
I love the letters/dearelders and everything from you guys soo much. Thank You! They are like how i get through the week haha. Oh and everyone should like send me pictures and stuff because i sadly realized i dont have any of anyone and ya kinda sad about it.
Oh and the unit number for my dear elder is #625
Miss everyone so much, can't believe its only been like 16 days
Elder Miller 🐯
Instant Messaging between Dad & Elder Miller 8.9.15
Hey im jumping back on here at 3 soo u should like be available so we can talk a little haha :)
Do you have instant messaging?
OK but you still have to write us a long letter. I will only have 5 mintues since that is when I leave Sanoviv to the airport.
u left yet?
I'm right here waiting. How's it going? What are you up to?
Just finally getting settled in i think.
just got done plyaing volley ball for like 2 hrs haha
Awesome! What is your companion like, where is he from?
hes from indiana,um hes a little different, he just is a little immature sometimes
Every one of them will be! haha What do you like about the MTC?
its fun being in the dorms with a bunch of guys. its cool teaching the "investigators' but i get so nervous going in before
What is a full schedule for the day? How does that differ from a Sunday? What is your favorite part about the MTC? Brady Heiner told me his son saw you and you were able to talk, that's so funny you were babies crawling around together and his dad and I were basically companions in the MTC and went to the same mission together.
the foods good, it just makes you go A TON haha
What kind of food do they have? Is it all you can eat with desserts? I think I've lost another 3 lbs. this week at Sanoviv. I am so happy to go home right now. I'll keep writing from my phone. How long can you do this for?
ya the cafeteria has like 4-5 main courses with salad and fruit and a couple deserts and ya for the most part all you can eat
i have like an hr on here
That's what I remember. It sounds awesome! When I went to the MTC I loved the food and how much I got to eat.
i totally think ive put on weight haha
Awesome but don't put on too much you'll have to get new suits.
Do you have to do it in Spanish?
How did your Spanish compared to everyone else's in your district? I never had to do any teaching in Spanish like that before happened to my mission. That sounds kind of scary. But I'm sure that helps you learn Spanish better than anything else. I also learned that reading the book of Mormon in Spanish is one of the best things you can do to learn the language.
ya im prettty sure they are already members, but they pretend like they have no idea, and they say they speak no english so if you dont say it right they act all confused and its a little fruistrationg sometiems but ive actually feel like ive been doing pretty well. its just hard cuz my companion actually knows spanish pretty well actually our district is like an advanced spanish so they all know a good amount, but he just doesnt have any attention span and so i usually end up teaching everything and he says like 2 lines
ya its way scary actually and frustrationg cuz my companion kinda sits tyhere. but the o
How many people are in each room? Who is your favorite? What time get to go to bed at?
we have 5 theres usually 6. my district has 9 and we have 4 districts in our zone. my favs right now are elder hunt from westlake area, hes the one going to trinidad, and his companison elder flint from spanish fork ish hes going to toronto
lights out r at 1030 and we wake up at 630
OK well I'm driving now I am on the road from Santo Viva to Las Palmas using the microphone option so I'm sure that all of the words will not come out correctly in fact as I drive I'm going about 60 miles an hour and I won't even be able to look down I'm sure they'll have some funny words but you can kind of guess and see what it says a little bit so I'm almost to the military stop
That's better for you. I just make it made it through the military stop in front of Fox Studios right now went out for some yummy tacos last night. I love that you get to practice your Spanish teaching lessons I don't think there's anything better than you could too. I've obviously if danced a lot and the way they teach Spanish in the last 20 years. I'm excited for you to get to Phoenix.
What is your favorite thing about the MTC and what don't you like about the MTC? What has made it difficult this week being away and what would you do differently to prepare?
um theres not really one thing that stands out as my favorite thing here, and nothing i really hate either its just kinda meh. some fun, or spiritual times here and there, and then some hard times of working hard or being nervous or telling my comp to not do this or that or not to just disapear haha
Do you like my emails or the written letters better that I send you during the week? Or do you like them both forms?
i like the dear elders cuz i get those every day but emails only on p days
Is that hard for you? I was thinking about a good way to write letters to everyone if you write one basic letter that everyone can see and then you cut and paste it to everyone's letter and then you can add personal things to whoever else right and it looks like you wrote them a big long letter.
is what hard?
Like not having music or your friends being away or being away from family you're homesick or dealing with some of your past issues or anything like that?
Did you get the package? Is there anything else we can send you?
ya thank you hahah we actually were jsut talking about tryijng to get a hoop like an hr before it came haha umm actually if u send another one sometime can u throw in like 2 more pair of shorts and like 2 shirts maybe like my vegas ball ones or something, its just with me playing ball here eveyday they stink way bad but then i dont have anything to put on at nighrt when were chillin
Mom said she's waiting for you to respond to her.
Send me your daily calendar what's that like every single day? And what exactly Sunday like? I was look Sundays! Can you join the choir yet?
well we have bfast at 710 then study time at 740 till 1050 then gym till 1210 then lunch till like 1240 then class with a teacher then dinner at 510 then class for a bit then teaching someone then class then daily planning at 9 dorms at 930 lights out at 1030
Make sure you write mom a long letter she is waiting for one and is wondering why you're not instant messaging her also like you or me.
I'm now with Joel you know what that's like. Ha ha Ha. Joe says hi and he says anything goes!. I hope it doesn't get caught at the border was something weird like usual.
So is are your classes religious or are you just learning Spanish? What are you learning religiously? And what are they teaching you in Spanish?
um mainly spanish really
So are you doing vocabulary or what are you doing and what is your guide to learn with?
they have some like special books for the missionaries and ya kinda vocb
How did the other guys learn Spanish?
school
So you want another basketball hoop? And what do you miss the most?
no haha not another one ahah, um idk just u guys and friends and especially music ahah we sing a ton especially in the showes ahah
Have you seen anyone else in the MTC that you know? Joel wants to know are there any Mexican boys there?
dang ok my hrs up i gotta go love you so much
miss you
OK love you have a great day and Joel sends a hug goodbye
First P-Day 7.31.15
Hey Hey
Made it to day 3. Last letter wasn't quite sure what to say, this time I have too much to say.
Guess I'll start from the beginning. Came in, got our tags and language learning material, and our rooms. We then got ushered to our classroom where I met my companion Elder Maas, along with the rest of my district. We have 9 elders in our district, and sadly no sisters :( We have 4 elders going to Argentina, 2 going to Toronto, my companions going to Fresno, and we had a transfer the first day that will be the first missionary to speak Spanish in his mission of Trinidad. out of those we have 5 in my room. My companion is a little different to say the least but we get along ok haha. He is very into reading, but made sure I knew that he was not into any physical activities what so ever. He's a nice kid though, so we'll see how it goes. I really like the elder that is going to Trinidad. Hes a really cool kid and were getting along very well.
Spanish is going pretty good. Our district is an "experienced" class for language, so its nice that we can have class in all spanish, for the most part. Its been amazing how much in two days the spirit has helped me remember in spanish. I have been saying my prayers in spanish and have been speaking with my companion for portions of the day. I know that the gift of tongues is real and it is awesome already.
We've done a few workshop things with the other missionaries, and I've already learned a ton. I don't think I realized how much teaching investigators started with just talking to them and getting to know them, and their needs, and beliefs and such. They say this is super important, not to just do things like get to know them, can love them, they can feel trust, but especially so you can know what lesson would help them the most.
Second day was really really long for me. It just sort of dragged on. We are still on intro schedule so its been sort of random in what we do. And we've all been a little tired because my companion can't fix his clock so his alarm goes off at 5:30 instead of 6:30. I actually haven't heard any of the alarms yet haha, but everyone gets up and wakes me up, and then realizes that its not the right time. But everyone keeps telling us just to make it till Sunday and it gets a lot better from there.
I got to play some basketball yesterday and holy crap im out of shape or something because I was breathing pretty hard haha. It fun playin, they play 3 on 3 here and there are some really good players. I played this one elder, from Samoa probably 6'3" and 260 and he was killing me. He was way good. My companion sorta played 4 square but he didn't say much about it.
The food taste pretty good, and its fun having such a variety, but it all sorta runs though you pretty fast hahaha. The cafeteria has sorta been the place that I get to see others. I've run into a few here and there like Easton and Caroline Howell from the old ward. I saw Coleman Broman from back Indian hills ball, but he sorta gave me a dirty look soo yea. Thought id see more people i knew, but i guess its only the third day. Gonna be honest its been a really long 3 days. But they keep us busy, so really haven't even had the time to be homesick haha.
Today been pretty good though. We woke up, did a little laundry, and ran up to the temple, literally :P we got up there and I forgot my recommend. But the session was awesome. I got to see the one that I hadn't seen yet, (with the kinda blond satan) and loved it. I think its my new favorite. But after, in the celestial room, the spirit was soo strong, almost the strongest its ever been, it was awesome.
Just got the donuts. Love it!! haha. It was a nice surprise :) Thank you thank you.
Thank you for all the little notes and letters
Love you guys so much
Write you more next Friday
Elder Miller
First Letter 7.29.15
Subject: First day!
First day down. Now I kind of see why Brigs was short. They don't give us much time. So much info was given today. Its awesome. Super excited to be here. Already the spirit has been amazing. Thanks for all the notes and love. Gonna miss everyone, but I know the Lord wants me to be here. Love you.
Elder Miller
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