8-19-13

Family and Friends,
Thanks for the letters, I always do appreciate them very much. This week was so so good. My new area is huge so we walk a ton and in the refinery there are always huge fires going up into the air, I think that's why it’s so hot here. We had a baptism last week, and we have another this week. We are currently teaching like 6 investigators at the moment so we have a goal of 5 baptisms this change, which would be awesome because the normal is only 1 or 2 a change. I am keeping myself in shape and being healthy. Every night I work out because of the lack of food and the amount of sweating I have lost a little weight and think I weigh probably around 155 right now. I eat only healthy stuff here when I can. I’ve stopped drinking the soda here because there is just so much here. Soda and beer are cheaper than water here ha. Um my Spanish is better but still needs a lot of practice, I can understand most things if they are speaking slow or if it is something I know a lot about. But there is still quite of few words I do not know. This week beats the record with gun shots heard this week was 7 each when we were walking home ha. This week was kind of cool because we got to go into another ward in our mission to do interviews because my comp in the DL(District Leader) so we crossed the big river in a ferry into Veracruz.  Veracruz is almost half of our mission. But anyways at first it was a little nervous getting into that little ferry because those rivers are infested with crocs and every year people die from big crocs knocking over little boats and what not haha, but don't worry I made it just fine. On the other side of the river is more of the country and jungle, kind of like my one half of my area next to the beach.  The area is really really poor and more of the country. Tons of Dogs! EVERYWHERE! On the way back we were waiting next to the dock and I saw a bunch of ropes hanging from this HUGE bridge, The bridge goes across the river to connect Tamulipas and Veracruz. It’s real big. So I asked my comp whats up with the ropes, and mom stop reading because you won’t like this, But I guess when a narco, or one of the cartels catches a soldier or another cartel, or anyone who messes with them, they.... ya hah I guess it’s a pretty regular thing. They do it to scare the people because in the morning everyone sees it on the news. Kinda crazy. Well I gotta go! Thanks for everything, Tell Anthony congrats from me on his graduation from BYU. I would write more but don't have much time. Thanks for everything. I will try to send some pictures.

Elder Vince Miller

8-5-13 Madero Mexico

Hey Mom,

How are you? Thanks for the letter as always. Today is the change, and today I got a new trainer and new area. It is weird because I am the only trainee to being moved after 1 change. I guess president decided that I needed a new trainer.  Elder Fig went to the city of Victoria.  I got moved into the area of Madero. It is basically Tampico.  It’s about 25 minutes from my last area but actually hotter because my area is the area closest to the beach. We live like 5 minutes from the beach. Ha so I might get to see the ocean finally.  It was sad to say bye to our area in Lomas. I was just starting to get to know the people. But I know it is for the better. My new comp is way cool. He is from Mexico City and is the district leader here and is really a good missionary, he is my new trainer.  It is cool because this Saturday the next and the next we have baptisms and the last 2 Saturdays the same.  So there is a lot of work here. It is sooooo hot here!!! When do you leave for Missouri? I have friends in Missiouri maybe you will see them(; ha I hope Ian is doing good. Get pictures and send them to me. Tell the Cousins to move to Utah! My Spanish is improving little by little. Some of the other missionaries today I saw at the bus station and at the mission home thought I have been here a lot longer than 6 weeks. I can understand most everything when I want to. Talking is still kind of hard. I’m glad everything is going good. When you send the package make sure you put pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on it. It has a more likely chance of getting here safe.  Well I don’t have much time! I hope everything is good. Diga la familia y todas que les amo, buena suerta mama con todas sus obras. adios  translation,  Tell the family and everyone that I love them, Good luck mom with all of your works. 

Elder Vince Miller

July 29, 2013

Family and Friends,

Hey this week nothing really happened. It was super hot this week. We didn’t have very many lessons because every day we had to take a big chunk out of the day to do other things. Like Monday is Pday so we only had a couple hours, Tuesday we waited for 4 hours while these guys tried to fix our air conditioning, but to our sadness they couldn’t fix it so Tuesday we didn’t have very much time. Wednesday, we had our weekly district and zone meeting at the stake center then the night we had a meeting with the bishop, so not much time either. Then Thursday we had a meeting at the institute building with all the trainers and new missionaries. That took all day but that was great because I got to see Elder Tipton and all the others I knew from the MTC.  I was able to talk to them about their stories and then ate at the mission home which is always awesome. Then Friday we went on divisions again. This time I went with Elder Rosado who is Elder Hancock’s comp, ................I got to help an old guy with some work on Tuesday, that was cool. So it rained real hard this week and his house is at the bottom of a hill so a lot of dirt gets built up around his yard.  So I took his shovel from him and did it for him. That was really kind of fun, I did a job that would have taken him 2 hours and I did it in 15 minutes.  I just blazed through that mud, so that was cool. but ya nothing really this weeks. Looks like the reunion went good! That's great, I prayed for that............thanks for everything.

Elder Vincent Miller

July 22, 2013

Family and Friends,

Hey! Wow this last week has been crazy! So I haven't really wrote very much because the first couple of weeks were really kinda tough adjusting to the climate and culture. But its coming. So this was a really good week. I haven't said very much about my adventures since Ive been here. But just the basics is my comps/trainers name is Elder Figuroa. He speaks pretty alright English because he is a HUGE gamer and has been playing Mario Cart since he was 5 all in English, so he knows all is English from video games. He is really really smart and know how to teach really well...................................

Lesson wise we are KILLING it! We have the most in the zone for 3 weeks in a row! Last week we hit like 31 lessons which is like way good. My comp says before me the most he had every had on his mission was 27 and he has been here for 1 year. So we are working really hard with lessons. I teach about half the lessons, and as long they don't say difficult Spanish and don't speak to fast I can usually do the job. But its still really hard. I am different than most gringo missionaries. Most understand first then speak, I speak better than I understand. So that's kinda weird. 

So on this week was a week of blessings! On Tuesday we gave a blessing to a sister . My comp gave that one but that was cool. Then Weds we went on divisions and our district leader Elder Hancock came into our area while my comp went to his for the day. I like Elder Hancock alot, he helps me out with alot and is the only other gringo in the zone, he is from Manti. So we had a great time! Our free time at night I taught him how to juggle, and he taught me some cool pen tricks. But while I was with him, I gave my first blessing in Spanish to this lady who was really sick, then our last lesson for the night a man kept having a dream about crazy stuff! Like equivalent to the tree of life! We gave him a blessing because he didn't know what the dreams meant so we did a Joseph of Egypt job and helped him with his dream. I gave him the scriptures about the tree of life for him to read, not thinking he was actually going to read them. We visited him again a couple days later and he said after we gave him the blessing he felt peace and strength to help him with what he needs to do and he said he read all the chapters I gave him! Which I was kind of surprised because they never read and if they do its very little. He said the chapters really spoke to him and I am not going to go into detail about everything but after our second visit he asked for another blessing and asked if I would give it. So this week I gave 2 blessing in Spanish which was really cool. We gave 4 altogether. 

On Friday I got bit by a dog. I threw one of our members a tennis ball and he didn't catch it, so I went to go get the ball as it was rolling along a fence and picking up the ball, outta nowhere this hound stuck its head outta the fence and bit my forearm, I instantly retracted my arm from its mouth and I only got spit and some bruised, Good thing it was only that because that would of really hurt. 

I will talk about Tampico a  little  a bit, it is really hot, green and humid! Most people have air conditioning in the room where they sleep but we don't because a couple months ago the old elders in the house broke it. So I thought it was normal to soak your garments and wake up sweating 3 times night and have to re soak, but talking to some other elders in the zone say our house is the worst to sleep in because our rooms are on the top part so heat travels up and it is all cement so it literally is a furnace where we sleep hah! So the last couple of nights we had to sleep where our kitchen is on the bottom part cause the last couple days have been sooo hot. We walk everywhere! I haven't walked so much since training! My thighs have stretch marks because they are getting bigger cause of all the walking ha! 

Everyone one here has fences that have either broken glass on the top or knife like things so people don't break into the house. Everyone one here is so uptight, I had it explained to me today the full reason, so I guess the new president of Mexico got elected a couple years ago and wanted to stop some of the big cartels in the other states and I guess he cleared them all out of some states but the bad thing is they all ran into Tamulipas, I guess a year ago it was WAY worse. The member said everyday there were gun fights outside their house. But they have moved the Army into Tampico and now it is a little better, But thats why everyone is so uptight is because Tamulipas in currently the craziest state in Mexico. 

Next week we get to go to the beach on P Day so that might be cool! I am very excited for that! So I have to jet but thanks for all the support. It is hard here but it is worth it and the language will come. Thanks for the letters! Tell Ian I think about him all the time! and pray for him constantly! ........... But love everyone so much! ..........But give everyone my love! 

Elder Vince Miller

July 9, 2013

Hey mom!

Thanks for your letters every week. I really look forward to them. So this week was a little better. The Spanish is still really really hard. If you could remember that in your prayers. So yesterday was the last day of the week, and we had our week goal of 27 lessons for that week. So we needed 7 more that night cause we couldn't start till after six because we had church then we ate dinner with a family then didn't get done till six. That gave us 3 hours to find 7 different people to teach and give lessons. Our mission president told everyone to be home no later than nine yesterday because of all the voting going on right now the streets are dangerous. So we ran all over town finding people and giving a quick lesson. We finished our last lesson at 8:55 and ran home and made it home just past nine. So that was like unheard of 7 lessons in hours. The norm for a whole day is about 4 so that was cool. It’s raining a tons here. It rains hard, and makes it more humid. We played volley ball this morning as a zone that was fun................Sorry I can’t write much this week, we have very little time today. But know I pray for the family every time. You guys can send me stuff if you feel. The mail 80 percent of the time doesn't get messed with. But give everyone my love! Gotta go bye!

Elder Vincent Miller 

June 25, 2013

Hola Friends and Family

Wow what a crazy couple of days! So yes i am in Tampico Mexico right now at the moment! Man it is HOT here! I though South Carolina was hot! haha at least we got AC in our barracks haha! Everything is going good though. So over the last few weeks have been a couple of mixed emotions, all with leaving the MTC and arriving to Mexico, i know i will for sure miss my district and what not in the MTC but i was ready to get outta that place. It was a great experience. So our last testimony meeting was a good one! A ton of picture taking and crying done by the hermanas in our disticto. It was kinda sad to be leaving all them and what not. But on Monday morning we woke up at 4 and carted our luggage to the travel office, where we ended up waiting to leave at 5 thirty because the travel office was confused. So then we left to the Salt lake airport and waited and got some last Cafe Rio before we hit Mexico then our plane left at 10, then we flew to Houston, there i got to talk to my family for a little which was good, I did not have much time because i ran out of minutes, i even had to barrow some already from another missionary. In Houstan we meet up with the other group and some of us had some last minutes American Chineese food at Panda Express! Then off we were to Mexico were it is always a laugh sitting next to Elder Anderson because he hates planes! and at the smallest amount of turbulence he freaks hahah. So then we arrived, right when we walked outside I felt like I was back south but worse haha. Soo hot at all times hah. After we got past the security and the armed soldiers that guard the airport, we met our Misson President and his APs they were way cool. They drove us to the mission house, which was way nice. There we had a amazing meal of something haha. Then we had a quick little meeting with all the elders that arrived on our plane. All of them except me and Elder Stoor are taller than 6'2 so everyone looked like giants. There were 12 of us shoved into 1 tiny tiny house with no and only 6 beds so we had to get creative, there is no AC here so it was way hot all night, but at least we had a fan for every room. I remember last night i took a cold shower and came out and felt the same way in the shower haha thats how humid it is here. Surprisingly I slept alright until at the crack a dawn i heard it seemed like 20 roosters all decided to start crowing at the exact same time. I swear every other person here has a pet rooster, and everyone here does have a pet dog. So when we woke up. Me elders Stoor and Smith Walked across the street to the Tampico Temple to have a morning study. That was really nice. The Tampico Temple is very beautiful! For sure the nicest building in Tampico. After we had some study time, we all drove to the institute building where we went to meet our trainers and have a couple classes. It was all Spanish, so....I didn't understand alot of it haha but i got the jist of things, after, we had an amazing dinner back at the mission home with everyone, then we all got assigned our companions and zones. Elder Tipton played sweet hour of prayer and i played another hyme for everyone after. They asked were i learned to play because they were impressed and i said me madre, go mom hah. Im assigned to a zone right inside Tampcio. I’m so excited! My companion is a little native elder who knows hardly any English so its kind of hard. It was hard to say bye to my comps from the MTC especially elder Tipton. He is such a great friend and missionary. After we all piled into a couple cars it was cray cray! not Joke in the mission presidents van, we had 16 elders haha! The drivers here are kind of crazy, The taxies are allowed to run red lights, and its free go on the roads cause there are like no cops. One bummer is that i am not allowed to play any soccer, kinda sad about that. but on P days we can go on the beach and play sand volley ball and play basket ball. The houses here are unlike anything ive seen in america, is its super green and tropical almost a jungle here. Ive seen Mexican soldiers everywhere with their faces covered with mask

s its a little different. I would seem as if they were expecting trouble at any second ha well i gotta peace out. Thanks for everything feel free the email me or write me at anytime! i would love it!

June 12, 2013

Hola!

These last couple of weeks have been pretty great!  Well every day is great! The Spanish is coming along really great, it is still hard and will be for the first couple months but I know it will come really fast when I am there. Everyday Elder Tipton and I teach 2-3 lessons, it is pretty fun and we never go in with notes and just let it flow. The last lesson we had with Paublo went really interesting because he is doing everything we told him but he isn't praying and receiving answers the way we want him. So our lesson with him consisted of us asking him if he had received an answer concerning the decision of baptism, and he was still unsure so we asked if we could pray with him right there, so after he prayed we asked him how he felt and he said good but didn't think he had received an answer so we had him pray 2 more times and then we said a prayer. We literally were on our knees the whole lesson and finally he yielded to the spirit and said he would be baptized so that was interesting. One other lesson that went good is where our whole district taught this one lady and then she gave us all feed back, and she told Elder Tipton and I in front of everyone that we did the best because she said she felt that we were the only ones really listening to her and trying to figure out her needs .  I thought that was cool because even though Elder Tipton and I didn’t know much Spanish, she could still feel our spirit I guess.  Our zone got 2 more districts the last two weeks and they are all awesome! It is sad cause the district one week ahead of us, leave on Monday, and I’ve became really really good friends with them and I will miss them very much. They are all going to Chile though. We leave the Monday after woot woot. So last week the Tampico Mexico missionaries flew to Vegas for the day to get our visas. It was so weird because the fly there and back, since we did not gain very much altitude, I could see our drive way and basketball hoop in Lehi, as we flew over, we honestly flew right over my neighborhood. Even the drive to the airport, driving through lehi was kind of cool. I took alot of pictures. Vegas was awesome! We all ate real food and some guy in a wheel chair bought all of us missionaries Cafa Rio at the airport, that was cool. We all got to hand out pass along cards and I gave mine to this guy who came up and started to talk to me because he "used" to be Mormon, but obviously not anymore.  He had just broken up with his fiancé in Vegas.  I talked to him for a bit and gave him our card saying if he had any questions here's our number and website, he put the card in his wallet, and that was it. It was good to get out of class and be in the real world finally. Yesterday was the first time in MTC history that we had our devotional in the Marriott Center because we can’t fit everyone, the MTC is growing so fast. The normal amount of missionaries is 500-600 a week, we have been receiving 950 a week now.  They had to open a new campus about half a mile from the MTC cause of how many are coming in.  Right now there are 65,000 missionaries out and by the end of the summer there will be over 100,000

 crazy. They actually have been reassigning people like crazy because the original missions are to full. So every night Elder Tipton and I bear our testimonies to 3 different groups of people, that's been way cool. So I still lift everyday, Everyone has started to call me muscle Hamster recently hahah its kinda funny.  I am finally getting stretch marks on my arms hahah. I weigh in at a solid 170 and no one here believes I use to wrestle 125lbs.  They all think I wrestled 160s or 172s. The MTC has records for some physical events that have been up for a long time.  I do not know how long but, I beat the male push up record with 171 push ups without stopping, it was really hard, my name should be up on the MTC record board today actually. So there is a big devotional on the 23rd of this month, the day before I  leave. There is going to be a big choir of missionaries and I will be in there somewhere. You can watch it.  It is being broad casted.  All the general authorities are supposed to be there. This is supposed to be a big deal. They won’t tell us what it is, but they said they are going to announce something that will go down in history for missionary work.  So it may be worth watching just saying.....  My companion Elder Tipton sprained his foot really bad yesterday so we've been walking really slow and I have had to carry him places so that's kinda fun.  I love all our experiences here.  It is so great! Well I think that's everything.  When anyone gets Ian’s address, tell me asap! So I guess,  hasta proxima ves (until next time) thanks so much.

Elder Vince Miller