rain rain rain

Como estan!!!

Wow, this place is so crazy!!! I mean the ranch!!! It has rained everyday this week and hard!!! I have been talkin to a lot of people and they told me that it will be like this for the next 3 months!!!!! I was a little shocked!!! The rain is good.  I am so grateful for the rain.  It is such a blessing, but man o man does it make it make it interesting to do the Lord's work!!!   Sometimes we just get soaked from head to toe.  It is really just uncomfortable and you just want to go to the house and put some dry clothes on.  But I always just do something funny or say something to my comp so that we start laughing and smiling.  And on we go doing the work of the Lord with a great big smile on our faces!  How beautiful! 

This Elder Cuevas.

  So speaking of the rain.  First off my companion thinks I am nutz.  He said he has never met anybody like me in his whole life.   He says I am crazy,  but we have a great relationship even though we are so different.  We get along great.   My comp is not very outgoing and doesn't like to get out of his comfort zone. He always likes to be sure of things before he does something and he does not like to get dirty.  Well he has changed a lot since he has been with me, haha.  I can say that because it is true. But really he has progressed a lot. The other day we are walking to Carmen's house, which is clear out in the boonies.  We are walking and it had just rained a ton.  My comp was a little down.  I see this big big rain puddle and it has a bunch of islands of dirt through it. I said to Elder Cuevas " do you think I can make it across with out falling the puddle?" he said no. I said "watch this" and realize that this puddle is like 30 yards long and wide. So i started across and made it safely across jumping from island to island. My comp was laughing.  We went and taught Carmen and her family and had a great lesson and then on the way back we were passing the puddle.  I wasn't going to do it again but my comp turned to my and said, I will do it--- if you do it again?  I was so shocked because Elder Cuevas would never do anything like this. I went first and made it across and then Elder Cuevas started.  I was worried because just picture Elder Cuevas who is shorter than me and weighs 220 and has big boots and who doesn't like sports or jumping across these little islands. Yeah, I was worried but I was encouraging him the whole time "come on you can do it, you are the man!!!!" He was happy and he almost made it across when he had to jump across the biggest gap. He took his courage and fuuuum and when he landed he didn't quite make it and sunk up to his knees in pure mud.   I was like ahhhhh what is he going to say.  Then he looked up and started laughing and said, "hey help me out of here"!!!!  I was laughing.  I helped him out and we started for our next appointment.  We had mud all over our pants and he had a lot more but I have never seen him so happy.  He turned to me and said "if my mom knew that I did this, she would kill me" I was laughing.  Family, Elder Cuevas is a good elder and I have grown to love him.  It wasn't easy at first but now it is great.  I just feel such great joy to see him learn and grow.  That's what makes me really happy! He really has become a stronger and more fearless representitive of JESUS CHRIST. 

 Yesterday we had a ground breaking in our area. They are building a chapel here in my area and actually they are building it to be a new stake center!!!!!! yeah, they are going to have 2 stakes here in Uruapan!!!!! I am so stoked!!!! The devotional was so awesome!!!! Some of the missionaries and I sang in front of all of the people and it was amazing. I even did a little solo. Well it was a duet sort of with Elder Jaen!  We sang the hymn "la oracion del profeta" but we sang it with the melody of "come thou fount" Wow it was beautiful!!! I really enjoy singing maybe when I get back I'm gonna go burn a cd.  Well I'm going to ask Brother Merrill if he could record a couple of songs hahah 

 Oh and Elder Jaen is the man. He is one of my really good friends.  He is an awesome zone leader.

Elder Jaen and Elder Miller

He will be coming to BYU this January to go to school.  I'm super excited and I already invited him over for Sunday dinner.  Hope you don't mind mom and he is super stoked to come to Sunday dinner!!!  He wants to meet all of you!!!  He is super funny.  He is from Mexico and lives here but he has learned English and speaks it almost perfectly!!! Can't wait for you to meet him!!!

   

Sounds like everything is just awesome back at Utah. Sounds like the dream team are really just dreamin and don't have clue of what's going on in the world.  That's alright that's how it should be.  I am super excited for those two.  I'm really stoked to have two brothers. 

But life here is good!  Weather is nice hahah  When it's not raining.  The people are great.   The food is good.   I let my comp cut my hair last week haha funny.   The gospel is true, life is just good and I am livin it and I am happy!!

I love all of you very very much and I miss ya a whole heap.

I hope this week is filled with happiness and miracles.

live life 

show your faith

do what's right

les ama elder miller

Hey

How is everyone doing!!!

I am just dandy. Last night in the middle of the night the monsoon rains came. It was raining so hard it was crazy. Now the pavement streets are like dirt roads it is crazy. When it rains here in Uruapan it rain and it rains hard. It is awesome. Everything here is starting to turn really green!! Wow it’s so so awesome!! I love the ranch of constituyentes(my area)

Victor and his family on the day of his baptism.

We had a baptism this last Saturday. I sent you pics. It was so awesome. These last 2 weeks all Victor was telling us is that he couldn't sleep because all he wanted was the day of his baptism to come. Well it came and Victor was baptized and confirmed on Sunday. We had his baptism in a river right by the national park. Man that water was so so cold!!! It felt like the water up at sliding rock. Victor and I went in together with happiness and big smiles on our faces. It was a special baptism and was really special for me. This little 12 year old and his desires to follow Christ have changed his family. They were less actives for a couple years but now they have gone to church for a month straight.  Wow they are so much happier in their lives. It is because they are living the gospel!!

Elder Cuevas, Elder Miller and Victor at the National Park where he was baptized.

I love the Book of Mormon.  I am just eating it up right now. One thing I love that I share with everyone is the promise in the book. There is a promise that God gives us and it is so big and important that it is mentioned over and over and over in the Book of Mormon. The promise is this IF WE KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD WE WILL PROSPER IN THE LAND this is said so many times but I have a testimony of this I truly do. All we are asked to do is to live the commandments and as we do so God will bless us abundantly in our lives!!

                                             KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS

We baptized a girl named Brenda about a month ago. I just want to let all of you know that she is awesome. She is having a lot of challenges in her life but big challenges. But she has been an example to me. She is really putting her trust in God and letting him help her and in doing so her testimony has grown greatly. She only has a month as a member but her testimony is solid and she loves her Savior and his Gospel.

live life

smile

think outside the box

Love Elder Miller

The Challenge

Family and friends and Highland 30th ward,

I need your help with something very big and important.  I am trying to share the Gospel in new ways with all of our fellow brethren that do no know of the Gospel.  I want to involve all of you in inviting others to come unto Christ and be a part of this great work of the Lord.

This is what I ask of all of you and I know that it is going to help so much.

The family is one of the most important things in the Gospel.  It is where we receive some our greatest happiness in this life. 

This is my challenge. 

Get a family picture and a sheet of paper and write on the paper what your families mean to you and your testimonies of how the gospel has blessed your families. You can write it in English because I can translate it into Spanish so that these people can hear your testimonies. I know that this will help out the work.  Testimony is one of the most powerful tools we have to help bring these people our brethren unto Christ!  Please help me in this I will be so grateful and I know it will bless you and your families.

In these next couple of weeks, I hope to be receiving a lot of family pictures and your testimonies.

Oh and this can be a great activity for all of you today for family night!! 

Thanks so much i love all of you and i pray for you often.

Mom make sure that the Cook families do this and Mike Eager, Ben, Gregorys, Budge, Cindrich, Egberts, Jerry and his family and just everyone this will be so so great.  Especially all the family.  This would mean a lot to me.

Elder Miller

Ole Mexico

Hey how is it goin?

Elder Miller, Elder Parry, Elder Wallace, Elder Cuevas

Another good week in Ole Mexico!! A lot of things happened this last week.  I was able to learn and grow a lot.  First of all we went out to the city of Zamora for two days for a training. Our zone and 2 others and it was really nice. I learned a lot from President Jesperson he is a pretty amazing man and he is a great example for me.  So now I have a lot of new ideas that I am going to use to do the Lord's work in a more efficient way!  Yup I'm stoked!!!  I worked with a new elder one night while I was there.   He only has like 10 days in the mission and his name is Elder Bradshaw and he is from Sandy.  I had a great time with him.  I really enjoyed doing the work with him.  We went and taught one of his investigators that night and I just felt so good and I could feel the spirit just flowing through me.  I love those moments.  Elder Bradshaw doesn't know a lot of spanish but he was bold and not afraid to do our Fathers work.  He is a great elder.

So I was studying in Alma 37 this week and wow, what an amazing chapter.  I really loved the part where Alma was relating the liahona to the word of Christ. Back in this time Nephi and his family had the liahona to guide them on their journey to the promise land.  When they were following the commandments of God and being diligent they were led and guided.  But when they were slothful and not diligent they ceased to see miracles and all progression in their journey stopped.  I love this part because then it talks about how the word of Christ is like our Liahona but in our days.  We can receive the same help that Nephi and his family had or see the miracles that they saw or if we don't take heed to the word all of our progression in this life will halt.  Its amazing I can't really write the way I feel because my words I work in writing but I know this is true.  We need to be in the scriptures everyday of our lives reading and pondering so that we can receive the direction that we so all need. I know that if we do, we will be taken to a better place.  Read the scriptures they are amazing.

So the other day all of our appointments fell through.  I wasn't sure what to do and my comp was a little down.  So I said hey lets knock these apartments somebody is waiting for us.  We started knocking.  We knocked a whole bunch and we didn't have anything.  My comp was struggling to keep the faith and I told Elder Cuevas it's alright the Lord will bless us we just have to keep going on but with a smile on our face. We got to a door and I knew that moment that it was the one. I told Elder Cuevas "elder knock that door they are waiting for you and they are golden" he knocked.  A young mom came out we started talking with her and she said she wanted to listen to our message. We shared a great message with her and she also accepted to be baptized in the first part of july!!!  wow how amazing. I love the Lord and I am so grateful to be an instrument in his hands.

I love all of you so much

Elder Miller

smile

live life

do work

where does the time go

Hola!!! buenas tardes!!! como estan?? espero que todo este bien con todos!!

I had another great week in the ranch!! It treats me really well and I love being out here!!! I had a lot of cool experiences this week that just strengthened my testimony of this marvelous gospel!!

First, the other day Elder Cuevas and I were looking for new areas to find chosen people.   We found a new subdivision with a lot of new cute little houses that I had never been to.   I knew someone was waiting.  But the question was where do we go and which street?  I asked my comp "left, straight or right?  He said, right.  We started walking and we came to a little side street.   I looked down it and I saw a brand new audi a4 and I was like sik!!!! I didn't say anything to my comp, but I said we were going to knock this street.  We got rejected a bit but we kept on going.  Then we arrived at the house with the audi.  We knocked and a young lady came out. My comp started talking to her when I nudged him in the side.  He talked about the joy and happiness we can receive from the restored gospel.   Then talked about the Book of Mormon and how we can know these things to be true from this book.   After, I came in and started testifying to this book.  I could feel the spirit so strong.   I could see that it was impacting this lady as I was looking her in the eyes.  When I stopped talking she smiled really big and said " I have never heard of these things but there is something stirring inside me to know of these things." I about fell over.  It was amazing and we talked a little bit more and she said come back on Monday and explain to me all of these things, I want to know all about your message!!!  Wow super chosen.   I am just so grateful that I can be a instrument in the Lord's hands. We are going to go visit Mari Carmen today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The other morning I was walking to go to my study room when the whole dang house started shaking and it freaked me out!  I didn't know what to do.  So I just ran for the doorway!! But then it stopped and everything was alright.  I went and studied. The people say when it is about to start the rainy season there are always tremors or little earthquakes. Interesting.

Elder Miller, Christian, and Gina

The companionship in my district Elder Yardley (he is from Gunnison and is the blonde in the pic) and Elder Santiago had a baptism this week and a marriage.  Oh thanks a bunch, they wouldn't have been able to get married and baptized without you guys.  It was Friday night at like 7:30 and we were in the church with Christian and Gina.  The judge came to do their marriage and while they were getting married the font was filling up. Well they got hitched and they were all smiles now for the their baptism. We were just waiting for the font to fill up when the water stopped and there was only about a foot of water in the font.  Now there was just a little trickle of water coming out. I was like what are we going to do? I said Elder Yardley lets go look for the water tanks and the water pump.  We found them and messed around with them for a while but we couldn't find a problem for like why it wasn't pumping water in the tanks. I had prayed and looked for things to do but nothing came to mind.  At this point all the bishopric and members my comp and the other missionary had given up and were just talking outside of the church. I didn't know what to do but I knew I had to do something so that this couple could be baptized. I saw some big jugs of drinking water, we grabbed them and dumped them in the font. Then I remembered that Elder Sargent and his comp lived a block a way from the church.  So I got Elder Sargent's comp and some ward members and we grabbed the water jugs and buckets and took off for his house. We started bringing buckets of water to the church to fill up the font.  Meanwhile everyone kept on talking and not helping. The water still wasn't falling from the tap. But in our third trip up to the house they called us and said that the water was falling again and really fast. This was about at 10:00 pm. and shortly after they were baptized!  This experience really strengthened my testimony of my Heavenly Father and that he lives.  I realized that he is always there to help us but first we have to put in our effort to receive his help. Sometimes people think that they can just pray and the help will come.  Like in this case, pray and the water will fall out of the sky and fill up the font. But it's not like that, we have to do our part.  If we really have the desires to have these things we will put all of our efforts into receiving these things and when we can't do it anymore and we have done everything to try to accomplish the task, that is when our Heavenly Father comes in with his helping hand and lifts us to another level so that we can complete his will. I love my Heavenly Father and all the opportunities that I have to learn.

well I love all of you!!! I'm gonna go do some work!!!

smile

keep the faith

stay close to your God

Elder Miller