Week ending Nov 10, 2014

Hello family!

 I dont have a lot of time at the ciber because the computers here are really slow, so I have to be short. This week was actually pretty good! Maybe it will start slowly getting better from here on out. Or who knows, probably not, I guess well just have to see what the new transfer brings. Sometimes I hope that I get put with another gringo that doesnt speak very well spanish so I have to be obligated to learn how to talk.. And sometimes I think I would love to stay with Elder Nava and slowly ease into learning how to talk to people better. Whatever the Lord gives me, I really do trust that he knows exactly what he is diong and he will provide the best for me.This week we found a lot of new investigators that are progressing. We have an investigator names Raul, who is a friend of one of the members here, and he has asisted church twice now and if he asists next week too we will be able to baptize him as long as he continues to progress. He is about 60 and lives alone. He likes what we teach him, and he likes how the church is. So hopefully that keeps going smoothly. We also found a new investigator this week names Valazgues, he is about 60 too and lives with his kids. He is really really nice to us and thigns are going good with him, but he didnt asist church this week, we dont know why. And we are still teaching two women from the family Aquino, but they dont ever keep their commitments and they didnt asist church this week either. BUT. I did talk to people a lot more, and Im feeling a lot better now. I just want to keep building that attribute of feeling free and easy to talk anyone and be really kind and friendly. 

I had a couple really good experiences this week. The first is that we had a multi zone conference with tons of missionaries, and as part of the introduction into the lesson, I was asked to share a short 5 minutes message of something from preach my gospel. I shared about the Book of Mormon and it worked out really nicely. And after the conference was over, I had a lot of people tell me how impressed they were with how quickly my spanish has come. Even a lot of the natives gave me compliments It made me feel really good and it gave me a lot of confidence. 

Also on that note, on tuesday night my companion says that I was sleeping talking all night.. IN SPANISH. YESSSS! haha. I usually dont ever remember any dreams I have, so I wouldnt know if I dream in spanish or not yet. But I sleep talk in spanish!!! WOOOO! He said all night I was saying, Eso es una pabada. Eso es una pabada! Over and over again, which means, That is so dumb! That is so dumb! haha. And a lot of other things but that is all that he could remember. So thats pretty cool! It really is getting hard for me to talk in english, my brain is starting to think in spanish. On thursday night we had a lesson with the family Aquino, and they all wanted to hear my speak in english, so I said the opening prayer in english, and I almost couldnt do it. I kept saying spanish words on accident and I had to tallk really slow. So the spanish is slowly starting to become not so much as an obstacle. For instance, I during that lesson with the family Aquino, we were talking to them about baptism, and for the first time, I dont really have to think about talking in spanish... I was just able to talk to them without thinking about the language. And it felt really really good to testify to them as a representative of Jesus Christ as we taught them the Doctrine of Christ. The live on the outskirts of town, on the edge of a great big lagoon, which is beautiful with a sunset and all the fireflies on the surface of the lake. They are poor poor poor, more pore than you can imagine, and it was just a really cool experience to see how far I have come. That was a really good day. And then later that night we had  a lesson with Valazgues, and that as well was a really cool lesson for me that we gave about the Plan of Salvation where I was just able to talk and testify to him without really having the language as an obstacle. After the lesson, he thanked us profusely and he said, Thank you, I feel really really good when you guys come over. So yeah, ive had a pretty alright week actually! There are also really hard days, but for the most part this week was pretty alright.

I hope everything is going alright with everyone, I dont have a lot of time to write individually this week. I hope you all have an amazing week, I know Christ lives and loves every one of us.

Love, Elder Miles

Nov 3

hola-

the exclamation point and the shift keys are broken on this keyboard that im using and they only sometimes work, so its going to sound im depressed and have really bad gramar. haha. But thats not true, im just depressed. haha. just kidding.

 this week was pretty alright! We moved apartments, we are now in the apartment right below our old one. We moved because now we will be able to install air conditioning in this one, im not sure why our last one couldnt have air conditioning, but were going to have it now! So last P day we spent all the day moving the furniture and everything, it took a really long time. I was greatful for my Red Door days though, because of my furniture moving experience, we managed to only break one bed frame. the new apartment is basically the same quality, some things worse, some things better.

I actually didnt do transfers this week with Elder Miles, but with Elder Coates, his companion, in my área. It was stressful to run our área without Elder Nava, but I managed to get through that day. my training is over in 2 weeks, which is when the next transfer is. Its not certain that I will get a new companion or move out from this área though, you never know. I might stay here another transfer with Elder Nava, or he will leave and another will fill his place, or vice versa, or we both might leave. I guess we will see when it comes! I would really love any kind of change. haha.

I also went on a Little mini división with Elder Anderson this week for like 4 hours one day, and while we were out he told me something that was really interesting. First of all, Elder Anderson is a stud missionary, and he is just over Little then a year. he told me that my ability to speak spanish right now is better than his ability when he had 9 months. Which is great, but thats not the point, im not trying to brag. he told my where im lacking right now isnt my ability to speak the language... its just that I dont have enough confidence in myself right now to talk to people. which is totally true!! I realized this week the reason why im not talking to people very much is just because I dont have confidence in myself.. Self confidence has always always been something really hard for me, and its even harder to have self confidence in foreign language, but ive been trying really hard this week just to oblígate myself to talk more, and the misión has been getting a Little better. im starting to see more progress. So my focus this week is just to be bold, have courage, ask people questions, and just talk more to people.

this week my relationship with Elder Nava got a lot better. ive been trying really hard to just talk and joke with him all the time, and our companionship has been getting better. We had a talk on thursday for about an hour in our free time that night, and he told me all about his family in mexico and how its really sad how poor they are and how they want to find Jobs and money but there really is just nothing there for them to do and they cant do anything about their situaion. Its was really sad, he started to cry. So that was better this week, we are starting to have more unity.

Other than that, nothing much else has changed. We are just trying to focus ourselves in finding new investigators this week by tracting all day, and when we arent tracting we are visiting our recent converts in this área. all is good here, im learning a lot everyday. Im really excited for transfers. Im just taking it day by day, hanging in there !

Im really happy for the time that I have here to serve the savior.. I know the Savior lives, and im so glad that I get the chance to sacrifice my time to serve him. I hope you guys are all doing great and you have a good week! Chau!

Love, Elder Miles

Oct 27

Hola Family!

This past week was better for me, I hope everyone is doing good too. It was basically just the same old as the other weeks, I just feel like we knock houses all day everyday and we arent really finding any lasting investigators. A lot of people will let us in for the first time and let us share something, but after that they dont want to let us come back and we dont really ever see them again! So we dont really have any real solid investigators right now, we only have the Aquino family, a big family which we have about consistenly 4 people listening to us, but nobody in the famly can read really and they want keep any commitments we leave them. Enrique, the person that we were going to baptise, has problems with the Word of Wisdom and he thinks that God is telling him that he should keep smoking marijuana. Haha. So we have to stop having lessons with him because he takes up a lot of our time and he doesnt want to quit smoking. So other than that, I just feel like we contact all day everyday and we arent having much success. Ive heard from a lot of people that this is one of the hardest missions in South America. The church isnt very established here, we dont get very much help from the members, and nobody really wants to talk to listen to us. The dont call it Resistencia for no reason! It means resistence in english, and its true, the people here are very resistent. 

I dont really have anything new to say, its super hard right now but im sure it will get better soon. A lot of the time I just feel super lost, walking around in Argentina all day with someone that doesnt speak english, and a lot of the time I dont feel like im progressing in the language, spiritually, or in any way or form. Its super discouraging and tough right now, but I know if I stick it out and keep trying my hardest everyday, the Lord will bless me. I know trials are for a reason. We need discomfort to be able to progress, its just the way of life, part of the Lords plan. Right now im super uncomfortable, so I sure hope that means that a lot of progress is on the way! Its like working out a muscle.. Yes, during the work out, you hate it, but in the end, it really is worth it and its the only way to have progress in strength building. Its the same way spiritually! Trails are good, im trusting so much in the Lord that he knows what he is doing and he is in control. Im still pretty homesick, but its getting better. 

Last night was Elder Navas one year mark, so I bought us hamburgers and our neighbors made us pizza and smoothies, and we partyed. Within missionary standards. It was very fun, our relationship is improving, im learning how to make him happy and how I can serve him, even if sometimes it is the last thing I want to do. Haha. We have more unity and its getting better!

Tomorrow im going to have transfers with Elder Miles, im so excited!!! We are really good friends and its going to be super nice to spend a day with him. The only hard thing will be that neither of us can speak spanish yet, so were going to be lost, all day. Its getting to be really hard, but really fun. Its really going to force me to take inciative and talk for a day, so im excited for it, I think it will help me a lot.

I hope everyone is doing good, im sorry my emails arent very happy and missionary like right now, I probably should give myself more credit for the progress I do make and the things that I am able to say and do, but its hard to focus on the positive sometimes when its all so hard! But I really am doing good, im pretty happy here! I hope you all have a good week, thank you for your emails, they help me a lot every week.

Love, 

Elder Miles

Oct 20 2014

Hola!

I´m not going to do a general email this week because I already talked to my family last night via skype because it was mother´s day in Argentina. And anyway, nothing too excited or new happened this week, just the same old grind, same old struggle. It got super super hot this week, I found out that the providence that i´m in, Chaco, Argentina, is the hottest, most humid place in the entire world. They had the hottest day out of every other place in the world last year. Not even Africa or Australia beats it! So, we started to get a small taste of what´s to come.. January and February will be when it is the worst.

Talking to my family was really great, it was so nice to see and hear you guys. I´m going to focus my email time this week more an individual emails! I hope you all have a good week!

Elder Miles

Oct 13 2014

Hola todos-

This isnt going to be a very long email this week. I get really really homesick this week and really stressed out, It was definitely the hardest week of ever. I try hard not to think about home and I try not to stress out but it´s super hard for me right now. Nothing very big happened this week. Just still stuggling to understand conversations. My companion and I grew a little closer together this week, but he still treats my kinda bad and that´s tough. I´ve been neglicting telling you guys that because I dont want to complain about my companion but yeah, he´s a real butt head. 

One thing that I want to highlight that I really learned very strongly this week and that I will always cling on to:

Elder Holland said something along the lines that he firmly believes that no evil could write the book of Mormon, and no good man would. I love the way he says that. It is so true. If you read the words of the BOok of Mormon with real intent, you will find that WERE NOT written by some fraud of man. They were written by real prophets in the ancient americas. Even though I cant speak spanish all that good yet, I do testify to people with all my heart that I know that the B.O.M is true.

Okay, I´m going to take more time this week to do individual emails. Sorry for the glumy news this week, I really hope the mission gets better soon for me. I hope you´re all doing great!

Elder Miles

Oct 6

Hola!

 

Hope everyone is doing good. Thanks for your emails. This week was good and bad for me! Conference was amazing, I loved it so much. I actually got to watch it in english. In the stake center, they set up a room for the american missionaries where they had a TV playing it in english. So not only did I get to watch conference for two days straight, I got to be with american, english speaking missionaries for two days. I LOVED it. The missionaries here are so much fun to be around. Conference was so relaxing and nice, and it answered a lot of questions that I had and was praying for. I want to explain a little later what I liked about conference.

 

So Sat. and Sun were both really good because of the conference, the rest of the week was really hard though. I always have really good days towards the ends and the beginnings of the week, and the middle of the week is really hard. I didnt make much improvement from what I said I wouldnt to do last week.. I didnt improve much in talking to people like how I want. Its so hard  to understand people, its so frustrating. And its really hard to get the courage too when you know youre not really going to understand them or make sense. But, talking to a lot of the american missionaries this weekend, they told me that about 2 months out is when you can understand basically everything in a gospel vocabulary, and 4 months until you can understand everything else, normal, everyday vocabulary talk. But, I basically already can understrand almost everything in gospel vocabulary. In sacrament meetings, during lessons, whenever its centered on a gospel vocabulary, I can basically understand everything. For example, the two native spanish speakers that spoke during conference, in the english room we turned off the english subtitles, and I understand almost everything they said because both of them used simple words and only gospel words. So I know that im on my way, I know that im going to get there sooner or later. Its just really hard to be an outgoing, talkative, successful missionary when you cant really talk to the members or anyone else thats not about the gospel. Argentines have a really weird accent too that is really hard to get the hang of, and a special kind of verb conjugations, so thats a big part of why I could understand the 2 native spanish speakers at conference.

 

I also get really home sick in the middle of this week . I miss Utah, Riverton, my family, friends, how much fun everything was all the time, how easy it always was, everything. It was a rough week, until conference. Conference was SO NICE: We have another new promising investigator, his name is Cezer. We found him contacting, and I think at this point in his life he is really looking for God in his life. He is 18 years old, has a construction job, and has his own small little home all by himself. Crazy, huh? But the 2nd lesson we had with him, right before we were about to give him the bautisimal invitation, he asked us, How can I be baptized? Haha. So his date is the 25 of this month, we are really excited to keep progressing with him.

 

I dont have a lot of time, but a few things from conference that I want to share. David A Bednars talk and Boyd K. Packers talk really helped me understand some things that have been hard for me on the mission. For example, in the past, I havent liked how persistently uncomfortable we are with our investigators to try to do something. Because we really do make ourselves and our investigators feel terribly uncomfortable at times to do things or commit to do things, and I havent like it. And the talks of Bednar and Packer really helped me understand why we are so persistent and at times uncomforable. We do it because we know how incredibly important and the gospel is in our lives. The atonement of Jesus Christ provides us with uncomprehensible joy in our lives. And the reason LDS people are so persistent to do things is just that.. we know how much it will bless their lives and we sincerely LOVE the people we are extending the invitation too and we want them to have that in their lives. Yes, its uncomfortable to share the gospel and boldly commit people to do thigns at times, but its because you love them. Its not something easy to do, not for me at least, but I will do it for the Savior. Something else I understand a lot better was my purpose for serving a mission. I have been given the gospel in my life. I live in Utah. Probably the best place in the entire world to be born into. My life is truly absuolutely perfect in every way. I love where in the world I live, I have a perfect family with loving parents, everything I have been given is truly amazing. And because the Savior has given me so much in my life, I will sacrifice 2 years of my life. I will make myself really uncomfortable at times to help bring his lost sheep home. I will do anything that the savior asks me and in the exact way that he wants me to do it because I am so blessed. I really dont think that us, who have the gospel, who live in Utah, USA, can even begin to understand how tremedously, uncomprehensibly blessed we are in our lives. Another thing that I really started to understand is how great of a testimony I really do have of the prophet Joseph Smith. But more importantly, the reason WHY I believe that he was a true prophet. I believe he was a true prophet because the words in The Book of Mormon, to me, are undeniably true. The words of the prophets of the ancient americas scream truth. A person only needs to read the words of the prophets to know that they are sincere, true, honest words that came from real people. I dont believe a liar of a man could make up words like that. I feel a deep Spirit when I read the BOM, I know its true with all my heart. And for that, I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and I know that this is Christs church on the earth today. That was something that I really needed to know, that I really do have my own burning testimony, and im so gratefully for this conference to help me understand that. I was super spirtually recharged, I really needed it.

 

I am sincerely really happy to be a misionary at this time serving the Lord. although, it is really hard. Some nights when I lay in bed I cant not smile and its the happiest ive ever been, and so nights I basically almost cry and I think I cant make it throught the next day. Like I said before, a mission is a really coaster. For me at least, foriegn speaking. But the happy times definitely outweigh the hard times, they really do. Im so happy to be here, I know im on the right path. I know that a life devoted to following the Savior will be a life filled with happiness.

 

I hope everyone has a super good week, thanks family for everything.

 

Love, Elder Miles

Oct 6 pics

​Hola! Here are some photos. Those are my new scripture cases for my spanish scriptures. Theres a man in my area that makes these scripture cases out of leather and he engraves images in them. My spanish scriptures were getting beat up without cases, so I decided to buy some. They are super cool. The Book of Mormon cover is a picture of John the baptist and Jesus hugging after the baptism of Jesus. The backside is a picture of Jesus holding one of his lost sheep. The bible cover is a picture of the Draper temple because its my favorite. The backside is a picture of a mountain/nature because I <3 nature. They are really nice, I love them a lot. And then the other photo is a picture of a big lagoon that´s in our area. Its not as fun as the Lagoon in Utah, but it´s still really cool.