Super Mega Bien

Howdy howdy amigos!
I'm writing on my phone right now, because I couldn't find a computer. I
also don't use spellcheck on my phone so please forgive any spelling
mistakes lol. I hope my lack of spelling doesnt stop you from reading the
email haha! Jokes aside, its been a good two weeks. I didn't have a pday
last week so this is the first time that I've had time to sit down and
write an email. My pdays will also usually be Monday but because I went to
the temple this week it was changed a bit.
I guess I'll start with a scripture:
D&C 122:5-8
5 If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils
among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in
perils by land or by sea;
6 If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine
enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father
and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine
enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and
thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy
garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us?
O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall
be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine
enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of
murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into
the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds
become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements
combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall
gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that *all these
things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.*
*8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?*
This and D&C 121 are probably my favorite sections in the Doctrine and
Covenants. They came at a time when the early church was at a very
uncertain time. Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail under false prestenses. I
can definetly imagine how Joseph was feeling during those long months in
Liberty. He felt alone. His plight, as well as the tribulations of the
Saints, felt a burden almost to much to bear. Joseph had but one person to
turn to. Jesus Christ. The words of Christ probably conforted Joseph the
same way they comfort me. The son of man hath decended beaneath all things.
The Lord's atonment is infinite. There is no wrong he cannot right, no
wound he cannot heal. Y'all. I don't feel the spirit any stronger than
after I read those words. Jesus Christ is beneath all things, and by
experincing that low He is the only person capable of saving us. Put your
trust on Him. He will save you, all he asks for is your trust. No matter
our trials, he can pick us up and help us be better. I also really like
that verse because it also helped me with my personal testimony of Christ.
The lower your foundation is, the stronger it is. Jesus Christ isn't just a
good foundation for your testimony, He's the best (and only) foundation.
Ok, pues. Houston has been AWESOME!!! I've been here for basically a week
now and I've loved every minute. My week stadted bright and early on
Tuesday so I could catch my plane (3:00 AM) and its been go go go ever
since. I met my mission president, President Schmutz (rhymes with boots),
and his wife. They're both awesome people and I'm super excited I get to
serve under them. I spent Tuesday night at the mission home, after some
yummy Texas Barbeque.
On Wednesday, I got to meet my trainer Elder Ostler. He's from Utah too,
and He's been out here for about a year. We were assigned to the Texas East
zone of our mission, to the Park Place and Broadway area. That's basically
the south side of Houston. Our area border is actually also the mission
border which is neat.
My comp also lost his driving privileges, so I've had to drive everywhere
which is... interesting. People drive pretty aggressively here in Houston
so that's been a bit to get used to.
Our apartment was kinda messy when we got there, but according to Elder
Ostler is was actually pretty clean by missionary standards. I still spent
some time cleaning up the place, it's kinda funny how much a clean
environment can help you feel the spirit. Must be why temples are so clean
haha!
We "whitewashed" the area, which means we were both brand new to the area
and had to start basically from scratch. The past week has been a lot of
visiting people and building relationships with members so be can have a
strong support network while we're finding new friends. We've found new
friends and tried to follow up with friends of the old missionaries, too.
It's been a week full of miracles too! I've noticed that a lot of miracles
have happened right when it's almost quitting time. If you're willing to
keep persevering till the end, so is the Lord! I have a few examples. The
first one that comes to mind is a family we visited in an apartment
complex. We had knocked on their door like 4 times, and it seemed like no
one was home. I said a prayer in my mind, and just as we were about to walk
away, the door swung open, they invited us in and seemed pretty interested
in what we had to say. They were Guatemalan, and spoke a dialect of Spanish
that I had never heard of before called Ket'chi or something like that. We
have some Books of Mormon in that language back at our apartment so the
next time we go over there we're gonna leave one with them haha. They also
invited us to a birthday party which was a first. They also served us some
rice milk which was very interesting.
Another miracle this week happened when we went to Walmart at like 10:00.
We needed some stuff to eat and we were coming straight from the field so
we still had our white shirts on. Two separate people stopped to talk with
us about our beliefs. One of them seemed super duper interested, and we
tried to contact him again but I don't think we ever heard back from him
:(. Oh, well. "seeds planted" as they say.
Another miracle happened last night. For my birthday (oh yeah yesterday was
my birthday! I'm 19 now!) my comp wanted to take me to Whataburger for some
shakes. I accidentally missed our freeway entrance to go to the one we
wanted to so instead we pivoted to another one a bit closer to home. When
we got there, we ran into a woman who lived in Houston and was baptized,
but had no idea where any meeting houses were in the area. We were able to
direct her, so hopefully she can start coming to church again! It's amazing
how something as simple as me missing my freeway entrance was enough to
(hopefully) cause someone to start going to church agbrother!
Another miracle happened today, when we got to go on our once-in-a-transfer
temple trip. I got to see one of my good friends working there, a friend I
haven't seen in like 3 years since we went to Peru together for HEFY! I
didn't get to talk to him for a super duper long time, but it was amazing
to see him. He got his mission call to Brazil, and I think he's leaving
pretty soonish so it was super fantastic that I was able to talk to him for
just a second.
The prevailing miracle this week has been my Spanish, haha. The gift of
tounges is real! I still can't really understand people or teach super well
but I still feel the progress I've made in this week has been amazing!
Miracles are always around us, sometimes you just gotta realize they're
there.
So yeah, all in all it's been an amazing week! Definitely a great birthday
week this week too haha.
Shoutout to my boy Eli who's opening his mission call tonight! Love you bro!
That's about all I have for ya this week. Thanks for reading my super long
email and enjoy some complementary photos:
Elder Mauchley and me in the SLC airport

Elder Ostler and our apartment

Soccer in the morning ⚽️

Perro Arriba

Zone Leaders accidentally locked their keys in the Clerk's Office :(

Temple Time!

Here's my whole photo album too:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LvH1u7A88T9LSwoS8
Thanks, Y'all!
Love ya,
Elder Miller
\[T]/