Novella from Minneola!

9-2-08

Dear Family,

My first week out in the field was amazing! I hope you got my e-mail today. My P-day is on Monday, but I had to e-mail you today (Tuesday) because yesterday was a holiday and the library was closed. Right now I’m sitting in the doctor’s office (Centra Care) with my companion who is really sick. He has had a sore throat thing 3 weeks and now he is getting worse. I feel good I was sick my last week in the MTC, but I got better, thankfully.

I got your e-mail today and it was really good to hear from you. I guess I got used to hearing from you every day in the MTC and now it’s hard to wait a full week to hear from you. It’s all right; it just makes it more special that way. (Dear Elder was nice while it lasted though, being every day and all.) DearElder only does the same day delivery thing in the MTC I’m sure.

So in my e-mail I told you about my experience teaching the E. R. High School Football Team. Or six of them at least : ) it is amazing to see the everyday blessing & miracles that Heavenly Father shows me. I love doing the work! Sometimes it can be tiring, but it is always worth it!

So guess what? I’m in the city of Minneola (which is right next to Clermont) and it is one of the only places in all of Florida with big, rolling hills and is the highest point in all of Florida. (But it is not very high compared to California at only 400 ft. above sea level, at least that’s what I’m told about these parts). I live in a four-man apartment with Elder Holland (my companion), Elder Carlisle, and Elder Le Bel. We’re all from the western United States and are getting along great.
I’ll have to take some pictures so you can see everyone. I haven’t really had time to take any pictures since we got here and went straight to work. (I just finished unpacking yesterday night!)

By the way I’m sending (enclosed in this letter) a picture of me and my companion, Elder Holland, on top of a hill over-looking some of the city of Minneola, FL. It’s an awesome picture that we made for each of the ward families that we visit as our gift to them. (Dad, sorry we spelled disciple wrong, I know you’ll notice that. : ) That picture was one of the first things I did when we got here because we had to grab some stuff at Wal-Mart and the hill was close by Wal-Mart area. Wal-Mart is where we develop pictures here I guess and that’s where we made the text for the picture of my companion and I.

We ate some of your peanut butter fudge the other day, Mom. Maybe it was only yesterday, who knows! Ha, ha. It seems like a year since I got here! I can’t believe that on Saturday, Sept. 6th I will have been out for a full month already. It’s hard to believe it! Time passes so slow, yet soo fast! I’m enjoying every moment of it!

I should probably tell you about my first day! I sent you a letter upon arriving to the mission home. Did you get it? By the way sorry about the expensive phone call debit card thing. I didn’t realize how expensive it was. But it was definitely good to hear your voices! Anyway, on the plane on the way here I wasn’t able to give out a Book of Mormon (my seatmate did) but instead I gave out a 3 ways to a happier family pass along card to a grandma and her grandson. I was very glad to have that opportunity on the plane. When we landed, walking through the airport was a weird feeling because I knew that this was it! I was finally here! And everyone in the airport was watching our group of 13 missionaries. Sister Darrington met us at the airport and we rode with the AP’s over to the mission home in Orlando. We were treated very well at the mission home and got to know President and Sister Darrington a little better.

The next day (Tuesday, the 26th) we drove to the mission office and had an orientation for new missionaries in the mission. It consisted of paperwork, a driving instruction video made by my companion’s dad (Jeffry R. Holland). Just kidding, my companion’s not related to the apostle! And listening to the mission office workers speak. After orientation we were introduced to our companions and I was told multiple times that my companion was the best trainer to have. What an answer to prayers! I prayed that I would get a companion who was stalwart, hardworking, and excited about the work and that is exactly who I got! We went outside and found my bike, all put together, and got my luggage together. (By the way, my bike is really awesome! It is the best bike I have ever ridden!)

Then we piled my luggage, my companion’s luggage, Elder Carlisle’s luggage and Elder Le Bel’s luggage into the back of a very small blue pick-up truck. A very kind man who was a member somewhere in the area was the one who gave us a ride to Minneola. It was about an hour and a half drive from Orlando and I had to sit in the middle of the member and Elder Carlisle. The small truck was stick shift, so you can imagine how that was uncomfortable! : )
We arrived in Minneola at our apartment, all of us new to the area except for Elder Le Bell who had been there for one transfer, and we carried all of our stuff upstairs to the apartment. It is a very nice apartment and is a two-bedroom; has a living, dining and kitchen area and a laundry room. Can’t ask for much more! There is even an apartment gym by the office where we work out every morning.

(By the way Reece, I’m getting really strong because of working out hard for the past month and being outside all day so I’m starting to catch up strength-wise. Dad, I’m going to have to arm wrestle you when I get back. : ) And I’m catching up height-wise, too! I’m 6-foot now!!! . . . Just kidding! Ha, ha, not that you believed me anyway : ) anyway, I wrestled Elder Le Bel the other day, because he kept trying to wrestle me so I finally gave him what he wanted, a pin on the ground for 15 minutes. : ) We get along great so of course our wrestling was in good fun before we went to bed, but he was very surprised that a 5’7", 148 lb. guy could pin a 6’3", 180 lb. basketball player.

Anyway, my apartment is awesome and so are the Elders in it! We work very well together, as we should and we "share" a car between companionships. But the other Elders have back problems so we let them use the car. Besides, biking and walking are way more fun than driving. You get to talk to a lot more people that way. And we like asking the members to do service by driving us places. It builds our relationships much more that way.

So when we got to the apartment we didn’t unpack. We went straight to work after eating the pizza the man who had driven us had bought us for lunch. The first thing we did was Area Book Work (Dad please explain). It’s basically just the records of all the people worked within our area. . . . We love a challenge. By the way, as I mentioned in my e-mail, we are white washing the area, meaning we are both brand new to the area, me being brand new period. (My companion has been out for 23 months, and will stay for 3 more months).

Elder Holland served his first year in Sao Palo Brazil until he got extremely ill. He then had to go home for 8 months of recovery. For awhile it didn’t look like he was going to get to come back out into the field, or even live for that matter. After 2 months of recovery he was told to move on with his life because it didn’t look like he was coming back out. But eight months later, after doing a semester at BYU-Idaho he wanted to be absolutely sure about the possibility of coming back out. He finally got a call that said he was going to Florida in four days and to pack his bags. He has been out in Florida for 11 months and goes home in 3. Elder Holland is a great guy. He has taught me about faith, perseverance, gratitude, and loving people.

So after we did Area Book Work my first day we finally got to go out in to the town on our bikes. It was around three in the afternoon. Dad you wanted to know about my first door so here it is. : ) As we biked uphill through a neighborhood nearby, we talked to all the people that were outside doing yard work and other things. At first my companion did most of the talking, but then I started to get the hang of it and I started to do more of the contacting. I found it to be really fun. As I have gone through the days I have felt a love for everyone we talk to and I know that love comes from Heavenly Father towards His children. After street contacting for awhile we decided to knock some doors. My first door no one was home. But my second door (really my first actual door), a man named Mauricio answered. He lives there with his fiancé and his two dogs. He is actually from Quito, Ecuador, Dad. And I explained to him that my Dad had lived in Ecuador for two years doing the same thing that I am doing now. We set a return appointment to come back and teach him the first lesson and we have now taught him that lesson in his home. Tonight we go back to follow up with him on his Book of Mormon reading and his praying. How exciting! My first door!
By the way, in this envelope I’m also sending my plane ticket and a picture that one of the ward families drew for us when they gave us cookies (still don’t know who). : ) I just thought you’d like to see some cool things from my mission and I want you to save things I send home so at the end of my mission I can have memories to look at.

Anyway, so that was my first door. And I told you about the football players experience and commitment yarn in my e-mail. Let me tell you more about my first Sunday. I told you already about committing the entire youth program with the commitment yarn to give copies of the Book of Mormon to their friends. That Sunday we also gave everyone missionary name tags that my companion made. We learned their names faster that way and everyone saw that they are missionaries, too!

My companion and I both bore our testimonies in Sacrament because the Bishop asked us to and it was good for the ward to hear our excitement for the work! My companion is musical as well and is a pianist just like my companion in the MTC. Elder Holland (my current companion) played a beautiful rendition of Joseph Smith’s First Prayer, Hymn # 26 on Sunday. As he played I could really feel the spirit.

Overall, Sunday was an amazing day and it was wonderful to meet the members. I could tell you experience after experience (and it’s only my first week), but I’m out of space in the envelope. : ) I will continue to share my experiences with you through e-mails and letters.

I want you all to know that I continually see the Lord’s hand in all my experiences and that I am so grateful for all Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I know this Church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and redeemer. I hope to get your letters soon and hear what you’re up to! I apologize for all the jumping around in this letter. Hopefully you understand it.

I love you all and I’ll write again soon.
Love,
Elder Ryan Miller