Northwest Tucson

This week has been pretty good. Transfer calls were Saturday night and both Elder Lamb and I will be staying in Northwest for the next six weeks. Sister Spencer, on the other hand, got some big news; she'll be opening a new area in St. David Stake as a Sister Training Leader!
Our teaching of the family of eight continues. The whole family was there for church on Sunday for the first time as Bobby - the dad - got the day off of work. In regards to being baptized, the dad said that they will need more time to read and learn before they can make a decision on that. President Browning as been pretty curious about this teaching opportunity and told us that he wants to come to a lesson with us. So we'll be taking him with us to our next lesson with them a Thursday. I've never taught with the Mission President before, so this will be interesting.
We've been trying more and more to find new people we can teach. Going tracting is an option and we've done a good amount of it this week, but the results just aren't showing, unfortunately. This kind of takes me back to my second area is southeast; it's evident that working with members is going to be essential to get things done. We went to visit a Brazilian family in the ward who we thought would be good to work with last night. It turns out the husband and wife both have people they've been thinking of inviting to church. We helped them set a timeframe to do it and they seem excited to give it a go.
You may have heard about the eclipse going on this morning. In fact, at this moment I believe it's reaching it's maximum visibility in Tucson, which is like 65%. I was thinking of trying to see it, but kind of forgot to find some special glasses, whoops.
Will go for now, but I'd like to wish you a good week!Q
Elder Miller

The Temple is Dedicated!

This has been a very great and special week. Just two years after seeing the dedication of our beautiful Indianapolis temple, I can now say I've also witnessed and celebration and dedication of the temple of my mission as well. After years of preparation, beginning long before I ever got there, the Tucson Arizona Temple is finally read for use. President Uchtdorf is the one came down to watch the cultural event and give the dedicatory prayer. I simply love him; he has always been one of my favorite General Authorities. He's always so lighthearted and optimistic. He is still in Tucson meeting with President Browning today. I probably won't get to meet him or anything like that, but that's okay. Seeing him enjoy himself with the youth and listening to him address us as a community has been a wonderfully enough of an opportunity.
I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that the first Temple President and Matron are from Tanque Verde Ward, one of the previous wards I've served in! The Moellers are a wonder couple, I've been to their house for dinner a number of times. They gave great addresses for the dedication.
Saturday was cool, because I got to go on exchanges with my District leader Elder Hugh (yes, his name is Elder Hugh). He is in what is called an ASL area, which stands for American Sign Language. We had an appointment with a deaf less active, and before hand I asked him to show me how to introduce myself and bear my testimony at the end of the lesson in sign. To my amazement, I actually remember all of it and used it in the lesson! I told President in my email today that if he needs any more Elders to learn ASL, I'm up for it. We'll see what happens with that.
I love being here in Tucson at this time. I couldn't think of a greater place to be or a better time to be there. I love and miss you guys and hope you enjoy your week.
Elder Miller

Going on 14 Months!

Hard to believe I'm over half way through this transfer (and going on 14 months tomorrow). Time certainly does fly when you're having fun. It saddens me to say we did not repeat the success of last week by finding seven more investigators, but the seven we already have are doing great. We read through the Book of Mormon with them and extended the baptismal invitation, but they said they'll want to learn more before committing to anything. They're continuing to come to church, so it's good to know we haven't scared them off just yet. I'm sure as they all continue to have the positive experiences they've been having, that desire to follow Christ will grow in them.
In other news, we had our first personal interviews with President Browning on Thursday (no I'm not in trouble, everyone got one). President Browning is certainly every bit as loving and inspired as President Passey was. There's over a hundred of us missionaries, but in the moment I was being interviewed, he cared for me and wanted to know all about me. It always feels good when you know the people in charge are really mindful of you. It's a wonder how when calls someone to direct His work, they immediately totally look like they know what they're doing.
On the first we got to celebrate Swiss Nation Day (as does everyone) with the Psotas - a family in Ranco Vistoso who moved in America from Switzerland about a year ago. They had us for dinner, and it was certainly one of the more fun dinners I've had on the mission. We had this special type of sausage I can't quite remember the name of, but it was kind of a one time deal to have it since Swiss meats can't be exported to the US.
The Cultural Celebration and dedication for the Tucson Temple is finally happening this weekend! It's been really fun seeing the angel Moroni going up, going to the Open House, and now getting to witness the dedication of this beautiful house of the Lord. Especially after getting to do the same with the temple of my home state just before. I feel very much blessed for this opportunity to serve in Tucson at this time.
I hope you all have a good day/week,
Elder Miller

New Investigators!

Very excited about this week since we've got new people to teach for the first time since being transferred - seven people to be exact. That is a record for me personally on the mission. It is quite a blessing. How it happened was we had an open night for dinner last Tuesday and a less active we've never met from La Canada signed up for it. When we go over there, she tells us she has a friend who wants to have the missionaries come over to teach her and her kids. Plus Sis. Beauto - the less active - has a daughter who is participating in the cultural celebration for the Temple, but she hasn't been baptized, yet! So we taught her (her name is Sierra) along with the family who's friends with Sis. Beauto together on Thursday. The family's names are Melody (the mother), Bobby (father), Janea, Lalony, Andreas, and Lorenzo (can't use last names, sorry). It was a good lesson, and we gave them a chapel tour on Saturday, too. And guess what? They actually came to church yesterday! They received a very warm welcome from the ward (and by that I mean they were completely mobbed by members after sacrament meeting). They had to run right out after the block meetings (I hope we didn't scare them), but from what our ward mission leader told us they seemed to have a positive experience. We'll go back to teach them again on Tuesday.
This is the first time this area has had new investigators in at least two transfers, so it's quite a blessing to be a part of all this that is happening now. We now have a completely new non member family, an unbaptized child, and a less active who wants to come back to church to teach!
Elder Miller

Fourth Area

I don't think I have sent a mass email since I've been transferred out of Central Ward (I probably have, just have bad memory). Anyways, I'm in Rancho Vistoso and La Canada wards in the community of Oro Valley - pretty much still Tucson. We live a twenty minutes drive out of our area, so we get a pretty nice monthly allotment. The area we cover is pretty much all housing additions - half of which are still being developed. The church building is super nice and was built less than ten years ago. The ward members are incredible as well and very eager to help us find more people to teach. They even hold a stake class once a week, focusing on helping members learn how to share the gospel to others.
The work here is pretty slow right now, as it is summer. Our recent converts and investigators are all out of town/country until next month (I haven't even met any of them yet). The one investigator that is still around has been coming to church for over a year now, but still doesn't feel ready to be baptized (incredible). We're going to begin going over the lessons with her again with one of the priests in the ward to give him some teaching practice. Hopefully, we can make something of that. We're planning on a fair amount of tracting this week, but I'm just fine with at. The people in this community are very kind (and normal). We haven't had any takers yet, but everyone will at least have a good conversation with you for a little while. Everyone you run into knows a member in one of the wards, too, because they are literally everywhere! The space we cover is not big at all, but still makes up two wards.
My new companion Elder Lamb is tons a fun; he has a great sense of humor (and is a They Might Be Giants fan - what are the odds?). Will go for now, but I hope you all stay safe and have a good week
Elder Miller

July 10, 2017 - Getting Transferred

Just got some surprising news on Saturday night: I'm leaving Central
Ward already! I'm going to Tucson North Stake - La Canada Ward
(pronounced keen-yadda).This was only my second transfer here, which
is a rather short time to be in an area. I wasn't expecting that kind
of news to be honest. It's too bad to; we have so many things that are
coming up for us with all the people we saw this last week. Just on
Saturday when my companion and I were on exchanges, Elder Lorenzen
invited a new couple to church they ran into, and they actually came!
Not a normal occurrence, by the way. The lady who we gave a Book of
Mormon to last week wasn't there, but we're keeping a close eye. We
also got a referral from other elders in Tucson. The people they
referred us to turn out to be ex-members. The wife had her name
removed and the husband got baptized into a different church that she
was going to - thus getting his name taken out, too. He was a
bishopric member in Michigan years ago, and he really wants to get
back into activity. His wife on the other hand, doesn't really believe
in our faith, but she is very nice and said she would go to church to
support him. So that's a start. We're finally getting referrals from
the Temple Open House as well. They've just started coming in. Elder
Lorenzen gets to contact them with his new companion while I have to
leave:/ My new area is more affluent like my last area, so the work
probably isn't going to be as good, but that's alright - just have to
look up.
I love you and miss you all. Will go for now,
Elder Miller

Central Ward South

No crazy adventures this week, but things have been moving along
pretty good. We had a good lesson with Russ and his daughter Audrey on Friday. They had bedbugs the past few weeks, so this was the first time they were able to meet with us in a while. We reviewed the baptismal questions with them and had a really good discussion about various points of the Restoration. Russ is definitely going to be ready for his baptism on July 29. Audrey is slowly opening up to us more (she's eight and very shy), and she even gave the closing prayer at the end of the lesson.

I went on companion exchanges with the North Central Ward elders twice this week in their area. On Tuesday we taught a very good lesson of the Restoration as well. On Saturday, I not only was on exchanges, but also on splits with the zone leaders. I went tracting with one of the zone leaders for an hour that day to help the North elders find a new investigator. We went to an apartment complex and were going nowhere for a few minutes, but suddenly we can across an apartment with a bunch of Catholic stickers on the windows. We knew it was going to be a good one; an old lady answered the door and invited us right in. She was alone, so we just talked on the door step for a good while and had a good conversation about our beliefs and set a return appointment.
She's probably just going to try to convert the North elders when they go back, but finding someone like that while tracting is a rare and exciting occasion.

I'll go for now, it have a good fantastic week guys

Elder Miller