Re: Hey, Elder! June 7, 2010

Dear Family,

My birthday week went very well! Thank you for making my birthday a special day for me through your thoughtful gifts and prayers. I really appreciated and enjoyed your package and the Schwan's treats. The other Elders and I ate them in almost one sitting! But it was the perfect amount for 4 Elders. :) I really liked the slacks a lot and I hope I will be able to find the right size in that style because they were really nice! (I tried them on but they are a size too big- I still need size 30 waist and 28 length.) I need a 15 1/2 - 16 in. shirt size so I will exchange that as well. The gifts were all very nice and I will send you some pictures of my birthday. I am glad you had a fun party on my birthday! It sounds like it will be a fun welcome home party as well!

Ryan [investigator] is starting the stop smoking program with us this week. I am so excited for him! We met his girlfriend for the first time this week and she seemed nice. I hope she will be receptive to the message like Ryan has been. I hope that she will give us the time of day to share the message with her so that she can feel the Spirit and know that this is the right step for her in her life as well.

Alex and her family are golden and really kind to us. She even made me a birthday cake! (See picture) We are going to be watching the testaments DVD with them this week since we just went over 3 Nephi chapter 11 last week. It will be a fun way to review. We also have plans to set a baptismal date with their family. Please pray for us to be guided by the Spirit in doing so and for them to feel the Spirit and accept the Lord's Invitation. Stewart (60) enjoyed his first time at church yesterday. He said that it was a good visit and I hope he will come again next Sunday! We are preparing both Ryan and Stewart for the 26th of June for baptism. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Here is President's charge this week. I thought it was great for member missionary work!:

CHARGE
“If we are going to carry this message to every land, every nation, every people, every soul as our great missionary prophet-leader has directed us, there is still one part of this vital missionary force that has not been awakened. It is like a sleeping giant waiting to be aroused. When this sleeping giant is fully awakened, the day of the sickle will have come to an end, and the day of the combine will come in. The harvest will be in the millions in place of thousands, as it is today.” (Elder Rex C. Reeve, Sr., Conference Report, October 1980, 27-28)

Let us awaken that sleeping giant, the members of the Church, to this great work. Use this quote in your member missionary work.

With Great Love, President Darrington
“One Lord, One Faith, 100 Baptisms!”

I loved this quote! He's right!

You mentioned the plane tickets. Is it that time already? I guess you do have to purchase plane tickets in advance for them to be affordable. That makes sense. We will probably have to pack light (missionary style), huh? I am not sure with the limited time and the price if it would be feasible for me to visit Visalia before school starts but I would really love to visit sometime soon. If it could work out that way please let me know. Is the apartment decided on yet? Oh, and Mom, do you happen to know what day specifically I can sign up for my classes? Was it a day towards the end of June?

Congratulations, Reece, on a successful high school experience and your graduation from seminary as well (even more important in the eternal scheme of things!) It was really cool to hear that you went out with the missionaries, and that you got to teach part of the Plan of Salvation with them! That is one of the eternal truths that many families do not know about yet - and you helped someone to learn about it for the first time! Nice Job!

Dad, actually I only spent 2 1/2 weeks in the MTC so I have a little more time than that left, but you're definitely right that the time is going quickly and that it will never come again. I am glad that you had a successful finish to the school year for seminary and I am sure with how well you are doing that they will want to keep you for a while. :) Sorry I wasn't able to catch you during your lunch hour today. It was zone p-day so our schedule was a little different. Mom, I am pretty sure that is the right Karolyn you found because she mentioned that she used to have long hair. Go ahead and give her a try. I know she would love to hear from you and Dad about your conversions and testimonies. Thank you for your faith and your prayers!

Today our zone p-day was a lot of fun. We got up at 5 am to make to the beach for the sunrise. Early this morning we went to Stuart Beach and had a sunrise service with all of the missionaries in the surrounding areas. It was a lot of fun and I am sending you some pic.'s from our trip. (Do you like my shirt? ;) The other Picture at the beach is what I wrote in the sand- It's abbreviated : Elder Miller, Florida Orlando Mission, 2008 to 2010.

[Having problems with his pictures -- will post asap!]

Thank you all again for how special you made my birthday! I look forward to hearing again from you next week. By the way, Did you get my letter and the BYU-I forms that I sent last week??

I love you all and hope that you enjoy this first week of summer. Stay safe from the storms, okay? Keep being the awesome missionaries that I know you are. I will be praying for you to have missionary experiences.

Love,

Elder Miller