Week 31 - Viru

Wow we had a really interesting week here in our area. It was a great week filled with ups and downs. We started off last week at the beach. That's right we went to the beach for p-day. It was super fun. We played some catch on the beach and we also played some ultimate Frisbee. 

We have really been focusing a lot on our Savior and his atonement lately because its Easter Season obviously, but we have also been asked by the general authorities to testify of Christ more. I have definitely seen my testimony of the Savior grow as we have taught and testified of him more.

This week we also had a little activity night with a lesson in the Church, and all day we couldn't think of what to talk about, but as soon as it started we saw that we were talking with about 12 young boys. We decided to talk about preparing and serving a mission. It went pretty well, and after a young man ho has a ton of friends in the church and is coming to seminary took us aside and told us he wants to be baptized. That was really  awesome, but in our mission we have a rule that you cant baptize people under the age of 18 if their parents aren't members or aren't going to be baptized too. We have that rule because its really hard for the young kids to stay active and keep their covenants without the support of their family. We are going to start working with his family more and see how it goes. 

This week a great family we have been teaching had a lot of ups and downs. It is the same family I talked about last week. The two brothers that I talked about, their mom passed away this week. She wasn't super old, so it was a surprise for the whole family. They have handled the situation very well though. We have visited them quite a bit this week to help those who aren't members understand the plan of salvation better. They are a great family and I can really see the spirit working in them. The brother who isn't a member shared his testimony with us yesterday which was super cool because he is really quiet and kind of shy. Anyway, the dad and mom weren't married yet so they couldn't be baptized, but now they will just have to be sealed in the temple in the future because shes not on earth anymore. The dad is planning on getting baptized this Saturday. I'm really excited to continue to help them throughout these next few weeks. They are such an awesome family. 

Yesterday was the last day of the change so we got the news of transfers and.......Elder Herget and I get to stay right where we are!!!!! Yeahhh!!! I'm so excited for one more change here. I know this is the work of the Lord. I know that our Savior is someone real and that he is always there ready to help lift us up. I'm so grateful for that and the knowledge we have of the plan of salvation. 

Companion Picture (Elder Miller & Elder Herget)

 

Elder Herget Elder Cook Elder Muñoa and Myself

We got to play some football and ultimate frisbee at the beach last Monday

Week 30 - Viru

Wow this week was another great one here in Viru. Probably one of the harder weeks I've had in my mission so far. There were a few days that we could not find anyone to teach, so the days went by super slow and we walked a ton. As the week went on it got much better ,however. We have been working with a few of the same families for a little while and every week is interesting to see their progress. Some progress a ton, but at times we don't even get to visit with them at all because we can never find them in their house. 

We did have a few great lessons with two great families this week that were so awesome. Yesterday we had one with a couple who is not married and the guys brother was there too and he actually served a mission and is active in the church right now. We had a little lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and i got kind of frustrated in the end because the lady wasn't really able to understand a ton of it because she doesn't know how to read. Then the brother shared his testimony, and it was so sincere and powerful. After the testimony the lady told us she felt something really good during the testimony. When she said that I realized that it doesn't matter if they understand everything perfectly for every lesson, but rather they should be able to feel the spirit. That is the most important thing.

We actually learned a lot about the role of the spirit this week in this work in our zone conference and I actually got to teach a little part of it so that was a cool opportunity. We set personal goals to get better at certain points of the work.

I am having a lot of fun with my companion Elder Herget. We have definitely been enjoying the package from our grandmas this week. 

I'm very grateful that I have the opportunity to serve and to try and be the best example I can be to those around me. I know that through our savior and his atonement we can all become better people, learn from mistakes, and have eternal families. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

at the bottom of the Castillo de Zaraque

Elder Herget & Elder Miller 

His BEST Jordan pose.  He cracks me up!

Week 29 - Viru

I never tire of seeing this boys face! 

We had a great week here in our area this week. We  met a bunch of new people again this week which was great. We found a few great families that are actually a crack up. We asked one lady is this your husband and she told us no he is my friend. I was so confused for a second until they started laughing and the husband rolled his eyes. Working with families makes this whole work so much fun and so worth it. We werent really able to teach our older investigators a whole lot this week which was frustrating but it gave us an opportunity to meet new people. It really is so important to stay in contact with these people in order to help them progress.

Every week we have a district meeting and we talk and practice things to become better missionaries. This week I had something planned to teach, but we went in a completely different direction during the lesson and it actually ended up great. We learned a lot about how we can use our testimonies to inspire people to act. It was definitely directed by the spirit and it was a great experience. 

My companion and I got to do a little changewith the zoneleaders this week as well which was awesome. I didnt get to teach much with Elder Cook because I did another baptismal interview for a guy who got baptized this weekend, but I got to learn a lot from the one lesson we had together. We also talked about some of our goals for our missions. It was really fun. 

We have been asked by the general authorities to really focus on testifying of Christ and it has actually been a really cool learning process. It really brings the spirit. ¡es algo poderoso!

Week 28 - Viru

This week's summary from Elder Miller.

 

This kid cracks me up!  Check out that sweet cell phone.  LOL

 When the power goes out we plan with candles haha such an adventure!

 

This week was such a great week. My companion and I  were kind of frustrated at the beginning of the week and we talked with a few Elders to get ideas of how we could help our area out better. We kind of ended up changing our vision a little bit. At  times in the mission you get stuck walking in the same pattern and youve got to change. Change has brought me a lot of success on my mission so far.

This week we have had a lot of success with one investigator. He is the husband of a recent convert and he has been kind of halfway interested in the church and we have invited him time after time to come and he hasent come because he has been helping his friend. So we offered to help him with his friend and we ended up painting the inside of his house with him this last saturday. It was such a great experience. That little act of service with this guy has made such a difference. He came to church yesterday and at the end he told us that it was awesome. I am super happy with his progress and Im excited to see his progress in these next few weeks. His wife is super excited too and she was asking us about when she could receive the temple ordinances yesterday, so she is definitely looking to the future with her family in the church.

We found a few new people to teach this week as well. We have started to work with them, so it will be great to keep working with them. 

I had a great week with my district this week too. One of the companionships has a guy that is going to be baptized this week, so I got to interview him. It was my first baptism interview and it was a really cool experience. The Elders did a great job helping him. I also had a great talk with one Elder and got to know him a lot better on a change we did this week for a day. I was able to help him a little bit because of the experiences Ive had so far on my mission. I know that the Lord gives us experiences for a reason and prepares us to help the people around us. 

Ive also learned that Im not always very good at listening to people. Ive learned in my mission that when you just stop for a second and listen that you can actually help the people around you so much better.

It was a good week in Viru with Elder Herget. He is a great missionary and I think we are going to be good buds! 

The mission is such a great experience. It is crazy all of the things that we do and learn in such a short time. Im so grateful for the Atonement and for the opportunity to learn, grow and gain experiences in this life.

Week 27 - Viru

Weekly Summary and pictures from Elder Miller.

This week was another great week here in Viru. The highlight of the week was a multi zone conference that we had in Trujillo with President and Sister Rios. I love them so much. When they talk you just listen. They are very powerful. President Rios had a great lesson with us about seeing the big picture(the plan of salvation) and remembering the importance of that when we are doing missionary work. He also gave us another talk on being consecrated missionaries not just missionaries who sacrifice. It was so awesome. We have a talk that talks about the same thing that we got on the first day of our missions and It talks about 4 types of missionaries. The first two are just bad. The third is pretty good. He sacrifices his two years and is obedient but his hearts not in it. The fourth missionary is great, however. He becomes consecrated. His heart is in the work and in the end his whole life is changed for the better. That is something that I'm really trying to work on lately. Its quite the process, but I'm progressing a little bit and I'm definitely seeing the difference in my mission. I'm enjoying it more and I feel like I'm able to help the people better. The hardest thing is to just realize that you cant go back and play high school football again. You cant go back to high school and you never will. Life never stays the same. Its kind of hard to take in the beginning, but I know the future holds great things if i do the best I can with what I'm doing right now. I really enjoy being a missionary.

We have some great people we are working with here and Its exciting to see their progress. We had a FHE with in a recent converts house yesterday and we pretty much packed her house with members and a few investigators. It was a huge success. We talked about the tree of life, missionary work, and finished by talking about the book of Mormon. We gave them books of Mormon to give to someone they know. It really was a great night. They told us about a lot of people they want us to visit so I'm sure they were able to feel a special spirit. I've really been focusing on the book of Mormon lately and i found two verses in DandC that i really like that talk about the BOM and missionary work. D&C 3 19&20

Today we got to go to the temple as a zone and it was so great! I love going to the temple. I've really learned on my mission to rely on the Lord and he has really become someone real for me. I'm very grateful for this gospel and the opportunity to share it!

Elder Herget & Elder Miller outside of Trujillo Temple on P-Day

A Spider Elder Miller spotted outside on the temple grounds

Elder Cook & Elder Miller outside of temple in Trujillo on P-Day

Post Temple on P-Day  .... sleepy missionaries 

PDay Temple Trip