Only One More E-Mail Left! July 26, 2010

Dear Family,

Everything is becoming a blur for me. I was just thinking of the first time I emailed you from the MTC from the laundry room computers. That seems like just yesterday and yet it was two years ago! Sounds like you are all keeping busy! Thank you for everything you are doing for me in preparation for my return. I couldn't do it without your help and the Lord's help! I wanted to especially thank you for your prayers on John's behalf. I have a very faithful family and I thank Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with all of you!

John's baptismal service went really well this weekend! Hannah (9) and Pito from the Stuart south area (the zone leader's area) were baptized at the same service as well. (See photos. left to right: Pito, Elders Merrill and Hager (our zone leaders), Hannah, John, Elder Thomas, Elder Miller.) Nothing brings me more happiness than helping my brothers and sisters accept Christ's atonement and the fullness of the gospel through baptism into His church! There were a lot of ward members there to support those being baptized and the talks were done very well. John asked that Elder Thomas baptize him and I confirm him. This was Elder Thomas' first time ever baptizing someone and he did a great job! Especially considering the font plug was leaking and he had to baptize John in water only knee deep! Yet he did it first try! We have a goal to have two more baptisms within the next two weeks and we are working towards that with the Lord's help. Two of the people we have in mind for that are John's daughter Summer and her friend Brittany who have both come to church twice already. Whether it is them Heavenly Father helps us to baptize within the next two weeks or someone else, we are going to work our tails off to help two more of his children be prepared and baptized before my time is through. Please continue to pray for us and those we teach so that we can reach this goal the Lord has helped us set!

This week was a success for Elder Thomas and I even though I was gone for a special leadership training four days out of the week. On Monday night I left to Orlando with the Assistants in their van and on the way up we picked up 5 other missionaries. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we would arrive at the Weatherbee chapel in Orlando at about 10:00 am for that day's training given by each missionary from the mission leadership. At around 5:00 pm each day we headed out to areas nearby to go on exchanges with the other missionaries in the area to strengthen them and apply the training we had just received. Tuesday night I got to go to Kissimmee! I had dinner with the Moore family and got to see the Nganga family as well (both families that I knew from serving there over a year ago!) I feel that the Leadership training was a success and I have already seen fruits of it in sharing what I learned with my companion. It was basically like an infield mini MTC experience!

Elder Thomas is a great companion and he is striving to be obedient to the mission rules. He has a sincere desire to do the work and he and I have experienced a lot of success together. Although, due to my limited time left, I will only be able to train him for this transfer, I know he will do a great job with his next companion as well. Recently, we read over the training requirements together so that we could remind ourselves of everything that we need to accomplish together. As we did I felt really good that everything we read over we were doing our best on and I know the Lord is helping us to accomplish these things.

There is one experience that I wanted to share with you this week because it was Elder Thomas' first one like it: Yesterday we went on a member exchange in the afternoon to visit a lady who had ordered a free copy of the Bible from mormon.org. The minute we sat down I could tell that this was going to be a crazy experience. She is really nice and even came to church for part of sacrament meeting yesterday, but she definitely has some different views on feeling the Holy Ghost, seeing visions, and speaking in tongues! She is a middle-aged, African-American woman who is a former body builder and is very animated in her communication. She talked for about half the time about how ever since she was three she would have dreams and visions of when people were going to die or when something bad was going to happen and that it would happen even to the very day she had predicted it. She claims to have received the Holy Ghost and she said that when she does that she falls down and runs around shouting among other things. Although she may have felt the Spirit at times she most certainly has not yet received the gift of the Holy Ghost through laying on of hands by those who are in authority and the Holy Ghost is definitely not the one who throws her to the ground or causes her to run around screaming! As Elder Thomas pointed out, luckily she did not try any of this during our sacrament meeting. Thank goodness! Ironically, she did have a lot of beliefs that were in line with the restored gospel such as the importance of prophets, authority from God, the need for chastity, and the Lord's law of health. She informed us that we could come back to share more of our message with her after she finishes her next seven-day fast this week!? I definitely know that if she takes the opportunity to read from the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and receive an answer from God of it's truthfulness that the restored gospel can strengthen her faith in Jesus Christ and help correct all of her incorrect beliefs from her former religions.

Thank you for your support and love, it really means a lot to me. I pray that you have another great week and that you will have the Lord's help in accomplishing all that you need to get done. I love you a lot! Be safe and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Miller

P.S.-

Dad, in answer to your question I feel it would be good for Grandma and Rodney to come for the time you mentioned before my homecoming party but I am happy with either way. It will just be great to see family again!

Mom, I do remember that book you used to read me- I think it was called "There's always room for one more right? Thanks for sending out the invites. I think it would be great if some how you could send one to each ward as well (the Minneola, Kissimmee, Daytona Beach, Viera, and Stuart North wards).

Reece, that's cool that we'll be taking the same English class! I don't know how I feel about the whole online thing but it's worth looking into. I'm just very accustomed to have a professor or teacher at the from of a class room giving the lessons. I hope you are able to sign up for some more classes, too!

Remi, I am glad that you are my brother as well! Thanks for being willing to share a room with me when I get back. I hope you have a lot of fun at your friend's birthday party!