December 30 2013, Sweetwater, FL

MIRACLE BAPTISM!!!! It was the best thing ever! So let me start at the beginning...So once upon a time there was this lady and she was watching the Shaytards on youtube and she loved them so she decided to look up there religion and calls the church in her area for their church service time and comes for three months STRAIGHT (She might have missed one but she had a good reason) She truly came to love the church and loved coming with her daughter. We were able to see her testimony grow as she came each week and see her make friends. She was the best!  We had asked her to be baptismed and couple months before but she had told us that she couldn't bring her self to be baptized again. This Sunday though was a miracle. Sacrament meeting had such a great spirit to it and then when we were in Sunday School with her my new awesome boss companion gave a great lesson about Jesus' life and ministry and we felt the spirit so strongly. After class she and I are talking and she askes me, "So are you guys having that baptism thing this week?" and I said, "No, I don't think anyone is getting baptized today." And then she says, "I think I am ready to be baptized." Which of course is music to any missionaries ears. I wish I could have seen my face! I must have just looked like she had just told me she had a million dollars for me! Hahah:) and then I stuttered out, "Well we can do one just for you?" and she said, "Okay." My eyes where so big! I was in shock. So while she goes to relief society I ask the District Leader if he can do her interview today and he says yes. So I go over to my companion who is sitting next to her in class and whisper to her, " Ask her if she wants the interview right now." and my companion looks at me weird because she hadn't heard the conversation that we had had and she didn't realize what was going on, so she just looked at me weird. So I said, "Ask her" For sternly, then again "Ask her!" haha my poor companion was a little confused asked her, "Would you maybe like to do an interview for baptism?" and she gets right up and says, " Okay" and my companions mouth drops and shes shocked in amazement and probably thought, ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! hahahah:)) It was so funny and it was the best!! Her baptism was great and we are so excited to see her receive the Holy Ghost! I know that she is going to be a great member! Someone definitely has to email the shaytards now and tell them that they just got someone baptized!! Sorry if this email is a little confusing haha:) How was your guys Christmas?? It was so nice to see my family on skype and to talk to them!! I just figured out that I will be spending two Christmas' from home but thats okay:) I spent Christmas with a family in our ward and they were so nice to us! and I also got to spend Christmas eve with a great family!!! We were so blessed this year! I hope you guys had a great Christmas!!This week I was really able to study and to understand the true purpose of us being here on this earth and to understand that we all just want to return back to our Heavenly Father who is waiting for us with open arms! I love you guys! Thanks for reading my blog and for sending me Christmas cards! It was so great to see all of you guys!! I love you! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL

Love Hermana Miles

P.S. I slammed my finger in a door trying to run away from a dog ( I know it doesnt really make sense) and I like almost sliced it off. Blood was everywhere and I had to go ask our investigator to get me some first aid supplies!! But at least it got us into the house!:)) yay for more miracles!!!

December 23 2013, Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys!! 

Can you believe that Christmas is only two days away!!! WHAT DID YOU GUYS GET!!??? Anyways! This week was Crazy!! So my trainer went home and so I got a new companion! I also have to take over my area and I was so nervous about it! I think it was the most nervous that I have every been in my life! I was shaking and I felt all jittery and I couldnt eat and felt like I couldn't even move! I think just the fact of all the responsibility being on my shoulders and feeling like I couldnt let anyone down really got to me. But! I got over it really quick! My new companion is awesome!!!! Her name is Sister Johnson and she is from Brigham City, Utah! I am already loving her! I am really excited for this next transfer with her. She seems excited and ready to get to work which is great! So we were running out of miles for our car (We only get a certain amount of miles each month and if we use them all up we have to go on bike) and guess what? We are on BIKE!! At first I was like AWESOME!! This is going to be so much fun! I am going to love it! I am going to be talking to everyone on the street! Yeah!!!...30 minutes later I realized the horror of being on a bike...in florida...in a skirt... on a bike that is too tall for me...GUYS I ALMOST DIED!! So as I said before the bike is a little too tall for me and so I kind of have to jump on the bike to get on and so we were on the sidewalk on this really busy street and I am jumping on my bike but I suddenly feel myself tipping over INTO THE STREET!! and I see this car coming right towards me! I saw my life flash before my eyes! I fall in to the street! Skirt flying every where and thankfully Heavenly Father saved me and the car swerved in to the other lane! Oh man!! So I am lying on the floor and then I hear this ambulance start its sirens and I think "Oh man they probably think I am hurt" and I jump up and scream "I am okay!" haha but...the ambulance wasn't for me but no probably everyone on the street probably thinks I am a lunatic. But At least I now know that I still have work to do because Heavenly Father saved me:) hahaha  Oh the joys of bikes! Who knew they could be so exciting! Anyways So we found this lady named Mayda she seems so ready for the gospel. She has been having a really hard time because a lot of bad things have happened to her in her life and she is feeling really lonely at this time. She was so kind to us! She even gave us a huge candy bar for Christmas!! She was truly prepared her son had died a couple of years ago and she was feeling really lonely and she said that when we knocked on the door that she knew that we were truly sent from God. It was really a blessing to feel like I was able to bless her life in some way and feel like a true instrument in God's hands. MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!!!

Love Hermana Miles

p.s. For my Christmas gift you guys should send me letters...just saying...or an email just saying hi...you know

p.s.s TWO MORE DAYS!!

p.s.s.s Hurrah for ISRAEL!!!!

Our Christmas tree!

My companion and her two trainees. 

A tracel buddy from the MTC.  

Our ward christmas party. 

December 17, 2013, Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys so I don't really have a lot of time this week but I will fill you in next week:) This week my companion is leaving home:)!!! And I am getting a new companion!!! I am super excited to see who I am getting. I am also getting to take over my area and I am really nervous about it! But we will see how it goes  and see how my new companion can help me out. My companion is freaking out a little bit but she will be okay:) hahaha This week we went to a christmas party of my ward and it was a blast. A new investigator came and he had a blast and then we had a whole bunch of nativities in the relief society room and you could really feel the spirit in the room and he really felt the spirit there so it seems to really be progressing:) We will be going out to the everglades soon so I will send you guys pictures of it! I am super excited about it:) I love you guys and I sent you a picture just because I didn't write a lot this week:)) Merry Christmas!!

December 9, 2013-Sweetwater, FL

So this week was really amazing! We were able to meet with Brandon again ( the guy that said yes to baptism last time we were knocking doors) and He is such an awesome guy! He seems so prepared for the gospel and he said that as we knocked on his door that as that exact time he had been contemplating some things and when he saw that it was missionaries offering a prayer he said to himself that God really does answer prayers!! It amazes me how many experiences like this happen and how we think that we are doing all of this on our own sometimes but God shows us that he places us in the paths that he needs us to be in order to help others. He came to church this last Sunday and he was awesome! He loved it and he even called his Mom and his Daughter to tell them that he had gone to church because he was so excited!!:) We are so happy for him and are excited to see the progress that he will be making:) Another miracle that happened this week was crazy:) We were on the street trying to apply some principles that we had just been taught about OYM's (Open your mouth; Basically just talking to everyone) and we had passed him a Mormon.org card and told him that he should look it up and it would change his life and we bore testimony to him. Now, this is a normal thing and we do this a bunch of times everyday and I have never really ever seen these people again but the next day this guy comes up to us, we didn't even recognize this guy and might have just passed him another card but he says to us, "Hey I looked up that website you told me to look up. I really liked it" My companion and I just kind of stood there for a second in amazment while our jaws dropped! It was crazy we were so excited we just smiled really big and said really!! and then we remembered that we should probably get his information before the leaves so we could set up an appointment with him.;) Also another exciting thing happened this week! :) We were in a lesson with Brandon and we come out to see that our car is blocked by a person that had parked right behind us... Turns out that we had accidently parked in the apartment parking and not in the visitor parking and this guy decided to park right behind us to show us a lesson I guess. So it is 9:00 at night and we have a curfew at 9:30 and we just don't know what to do! We started knocking on doors and then my companion said "hey we should just push it out of the way, it isnt that hard I have done it before". So you see these two sister missionaries in skirts trying to PUSH a car. Then my companion suddenly remembers that the car has to be in neutral in order to move a car   -_-...  So by this time I am starting to panic thinking that they are going to tow our car and I am going to have to pay a lot of money and then I am going to have to bribe the tow truck so that we dont have to walk home, that I just start laughing my head off which my companion did not appreciate too much. Hahaha but! I all turned out okay! We said a prayer and then a lady comes out and tells us where the guys apartment is, we knock on the door and this mad Latin man comes stomping out with his car keys. We jump in the car after he moves the car and drive off before this angry latin man has a chance to rear end the sister missionaries...but! moral of the story, God answers prayers!! (also we might or might not have ended up being 30 minutes late after curfew and having to call the mission president leaving him a voicemail telling him how dumb the sister missionaries are) But its okay! I love this work and I love these experiences! I have been laughing ever since!!  

God is great! and people are crazy;)

Love

Hermana Miles

P.S. We found this bakery a couple of blocks from our house and they have these delicious little cake thingies I don't know what they are but they are made from heaven! HEAVEN!! pastelitos de guayba I think is what they are called. Everyone has to try these. Put it on your bucket list right now!!

December 2 2013-Sweeetwater, Fl

GUYS!! GUESS WHAT!!!

I am driving now!!!! It is so crazy! The people here in Miami are kind of a little bit crazy drivers but maybe that will help me fit right in:) How was your guys Thanksgiving?? Mine was crazy!! We ended up getting invited to eight Thanksgivings and we ate at five of them. Guys...never eat five Thanksgiving dinners...never. It was kind of bad at the end of the night. I felt like my stomach was going to explode! But it was really nice to be around all those families and to see the love that they all have for each other! It was really nice just being in a family setting during Thanksgiving! It really felt like the holidays. And also I will probably not eat turkey until next year. Five turkeys was enough for me:) My companion goes home in two weeks so that means that I will be going to take the area over when she leaves! AHH!! Its crazy! It's a little stressful but hopefully everything will work out:) One miracle that we had this week was finding this guy named Brandon. We had been knocking on doors for a while without much success and we had decided to go home. My companion and I were about to leave when we felt that we should knock on one more door and this is where we found Brandon! He was super open to everything and accepted Baptism! we were really happy to meet him! It is becoming more and more apparent to me how much we need the gospel in our lives and for our families especially just being around all these families during Thanksgiving. Each family was different but they all had this special feeling and that is definitely something that I want in my own family:) I love you guys! I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving and I am sorry this post was a little short.

Love Hermana Miles

P.S. We were at the mall earlier today and this salesperson asked if me and my companion were BFFL's (best friends for life) haha :D SUCCESS! WE LOOK LIKE WE ACTUALLY LIKE EACH OTHER:) haha just kidding I love her:)

November 25-Sweetwater, FL

Well Guys nothing much this week! My companion and I are super excited for Thanksgiving. We now officially have five Thanksgivings to go to so we are super pumped! This Sunday a lady from our ward gave a lesson about families and the family proclamation. It was such an amazing lesson and kind of like changed my life forever that's why I am writing about it. This lesson just showed me how important my family is and why I am even out here as a missionary. I am trying to show people how important their family is to them and how important the gospel is to families and how blessed families, especially my own, have been blessed by this restored gospel. Nothing really exciting happened this week, sorry. We have been having a lot of fun just knocking doors and doing the Lords work. You know, the usual:) I hope everything is going well with you guys and everyone is okay:) I hope you guys have the best Thanksgiving ever! Love you lots!

Love 

Hermana Miles

P.S. We were at the grocery store the other day and this lady just came up to us and hugged us. My companion and I were like cool a free hug:) but it turns out she is an inactive member and we had a really cool chat with her:) Members really are all over the world:D

November 18-Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys:) 

How are you doing?? Well, me? MY SISTER HAD A BABY GIRL!! Her name is Siena Ro! how cute is that! So no matter what, this week was the best because of that beautiful baby girl:) So this week was crazy! We had exchanges on Friday and it was so stressful because I had to take charge over my area for the first time but it all worked out in the end. It just really made me appreciate my companion so much! I missed her a lot and was so glad she was back home! I never realized how much pressure is on her on a daily basis but taking charge of what would happen in the day was so stressful! I will never take my companion for granted ever again!! haha:) So this week we were knocking doors and we came across this guys named Alejandro. He has social anxiety and gets really nervous around people and also he has a problem with his retina so he is partially blind. His desire was to have help talking to people. I was able to see how much Heavenly Father loved him and his sweet spirit. It was such a wonderful experience because I was able to testify to him that Heavenly Father loves him so much and that he can help him with anything! I am almost finished with the Book of Mormon and at the end it talks about how God gave us weaknesses so that we can be humble and that if we follow God he will make our weaknesses become strong! Its amazing!! Anyways:) So there is this eternal investigator his name is Roberto and he says he wont get baptized until my companion goes home which is in December and he will get baptized like a going away present for her:) haha he is so funny and we know that he is just scared so we are really just trying to help him. Every time we go he feeds us and then he will give us a bunch of food to take with us. I seriously think he gives us like all of his food that is how much food he gives us but I think he gets blessings for it so thats why he keeps on doing it:) haha We heart attacked his door and wrote on one of the hearts "The angels love you for feeding us":) Also we meet this really cool lady her name is Kristy and she just really wants help to know what is the true church of God! I love her so much!! She kind of has a little problem with pretty much everything on the Word of Wisdom but with God all things can be done! Also there was this creepy guy that my companion and I were teaching and he was sitting in the middle of us (I know so awkward) and he kept on inching towards my companion! and I was like, "No homeboy! get away from my companion!" So I prayed that Heavenly Father would send us a text so that we would have an excuse to leave and guess what!! THE ELDERS TEXTED US!! A MIRACLE!! I hurried and panicked and said "oh man! I am so sorry but the elders have an emergency we have to leave right now! Bye!" haha:) GOD IS REAL THE CHURCH IS TRUE! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL! :) Love you guys! Hope you guys have awesome experiences this week too! I have a brilliant idea! why dont you guys write me about these experiences and then it would be like we were Each OTHER! Isn't that such a great idea! anyways...haha :)

Love Hermana Miles

P.S. #Miracleshappeningeveryday

P.S.S. Lets go do some good

P.S.S.S. I know I look a little crazy in the picture. Or maybe I just look like that all the time...

November 11-Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys:) 

This week was awesome ( do I say that every week?) So this week my companion and I witnessed a miracle! We hadn't really been having any success finding new investigators lately so we were really struggling but we were harvesting one day and we knock on this door and this guy opens it. At first he seems a little hesitant to accept the prayer. He was scared we had a gun or something and we were going to rob him. ( everybody always tell us this, do we look that scary?) So once we finally convince him that we are not gangsters or thieves he lets us in and invites his mom to the prayer. Once we say the prayer miracles happen!:) His whole countenance changed! It was like nothing I had ever seen before. He was so happy that we had come and he told us that he never invites anyone in and he told us that he is a retired cook. AND THEN HE INVITED US TO THANKSGIVING!! YAY!! Only like minutes after meeting us! We told him we had not been invited to any thanksgivings of course even though we might or might not have three thanksgivings to attend but it doesn't matter I can just stuff it all in I don't care haha:) Also we were able to serve a lot this week and a loved it! I really love helping these people because it helps me to love them even more:) Its like a never ending cycle of love! We were helping this lady move and she had some book worms in her old books! I NEVER KNEW BOOK WORMS WERE REAL! WHO KNEW!! I am learning so much! haha:D

 Some of these people have nothing but they are so willing to give of everything they have to each other and to us because they understand the love of Christ. Just being here I have learned so much of how I want to change my own character and how I want my household to be and how I want my children to act and how to raise them. I am so happy to be serving my loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!:) Hurrah for ISRAEL! :) haha maybe that was little to much:) oh well

P.S. Do you guys remember that line in God's Army where the senior companion always says "Lets go do some good" before they go out the door everyday and then at the end the Junior companion says it:)?? Well I say it everyday now, and when I train I am going to do it to my trainee and then wait till she says it and then my life will be just like a movie!! ...Anyways I love you guys with all my heart!:) I hope you don't think I am too weird!:D

Love Hermana Miles

Servant of the Lord.

November 5 - Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys!

So this week was the best! Halloween was a blast! The people here in Florida decorate their houses and go all out for Halloween its kind of cool to see. I love it! Especially since I love Halloween. We had a ward trunk or treat and My companion and I had a blast! We handed out candy to little adorable kids and we dressed up as witches so it was fun! So this week we visited a lady from the ward that just got baptized a few months ago. She is the best I love her! She has a bunch of animals though. I think that she has three dogs and three cats and she was having some trouble with them so she decided to get rid of them but she was having a hard time letting go of the dogs and needed some help. So my companion and I went over to help her and we ended up having to take two dogs and a cat to the animal shelter. It was the craziest thing ever. The poor dogs were so scared and the lady was crying! I felt so bad, my companion and I ended up just having to drag the dogs ourselves over to the shelter and they were like peeing on the way in because they were so scared. It was crazy! The things you do on a mission. Anyways, I made Enchiladas!! And Rice!! It was actually legit! It was so good! I was so surprised that I actually know how to cook. I guess all those years of watching my mom make stuff actually payed off. So this week we were having a kind of rough time finding new investigators so we were harvesting all the time ( which is basically just knocking doors and asking people if we can share a blessing with them) and we had some really cool experiences with it. We were harvesting at the end of our day one night and it seemed like almost every door we knocked on people in those houses needed a prayer. They all said stuff like, God sent you here or I needed this blessing. It was a great experience and the last house we knocked on was a totally random house and we had such a great experience with her because she was saying that her husband was sick and she really just needed a prayer for comfort and to help her husband. I love this work just for the fact thatour Heavenly Father is able to use me to help others and to comfort them. Its amazing how well our Heavenly Father knows us and knows our needs and knows when to answer our prayers:) So this week was transfer week and one of the sisters that I live with is transferring so soon there will be another sister! EXCITING!!  I love you guys! and I hope you are all doing well:)

p.s. GUYS I ATE A CHICKEN HEART!! A LEGIT HEART!! IT was crazy, we went over to this Brazilian family for dinner and they fed us like the best barbecue in my life! It was AMAZING:)

Love, Hermana Miles

October 28 - Sweetwater, FL

So guys it's that time of the week again!

 

Once again not much this week sorry:( So I went on transfers this week and I went up to Pembroke Pines! It was fun! I was also able to see the temple. It is GORGEOUS you guys!! You wouldn't believe! So do you guys remember that part in Dirty Dancing (the movie) where the sister is singing that song for the talent show and she is singing about a pretty baby?? Well if you haven't go watch the movie. We have that song sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on a cd since obviously its like the best song ever! Me and my companion have been listening to it on replay this WHOLE WEEK! I may or may not be getting a little tired of it, But it is pretty awesome that I can now sing the whole song by memory even with the little music solo in the middle. Okay enough of that haha sorry. So this week we had district training and my District Leader talked about the Book of Mormon. GUYS read 2 Nephi chapter 33! It changed my whole perspective on the Book of Mormon. It talks about how if you believe in Christ believe in these words. I can see Nephi right now in  my mind saying these words and it is just amazing to me. Anways...we had a Ward talent show for the Spanish ward and we were invited and it was like the funnest thing ever! Who knew you could have this much fun at ward activities. It was so awesome to see the talent that these people had and it just makes you love them even more for them willing to not be afraid and show others their talents. Also another really cool experience that I had was with opening my mouth and asking people if we could say a prayer with them. There was this couple across the street and I like ran across the street dodging cars, and practically yelled " Hello! I am Sister Miles!!!" So that they wouldn't run away from my companion and me! Haha it was the best. But even better after the prayer the guy said, "I asked for you guys" It was so special that our loving Heavenly Father is allowing me to be guided to help his children that he loves so much! Anyways, I love you guys! whoever is out there reading this! I will try to take lots of pictures and send them your way next week:) 

P.S. TODAY IS MY MOMS BIRTHDAY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! I LOVE YOU

P.S. LAST WEEK WAS MY BROTHERS BIRTHDAY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!!:) YOUR THE BEST!

October 21 - Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys!!:) 

This week wasn't that excited. I got to go to Chile's! An investigator took me and my companion. OH! and there was a wedding and a baptism of a couple called Rena and JT! They were the cutest! I loved it so much! I had never been to like an actual wedding so it was really cool to see! It was like just in the movies!! WHO KNEW!! Anyways their baptism was really special. They are awesome. So my companion and I go play basketball every morning for exercise and I am getting pretty good guys! Watch out WNBA! WOOH! Just kidding you guys should already know that I am like the absolute worst but it's okay it's really fun to do instead of just running. And plus we have become like best friends with the guy that opens the gates in the morning so we don't have to jump the fence anymore...not like we did in the beginning...Haha:) Anyways. This week has been awesome! We had a mission conference with Dallin H.Oaks! It was so awesome. It was like a celebrity was here. It was so cool I got to shake his hand! I GOT TO SHAKE THE HAND OF AN APOSTLE OF GOD! It was crazy! anyways...There was an investigator that started coming to church because she watches the SHAYTARDS on youtube! It was really cool! Someone should go email them and tell them good job on the missionarywork:) Well that's pretty much it guys. This week wasn't that exciting. Maybe next week will be more exciting. So SHOUT OUT TIME!! WOOT WOOT!! AMY (not my own cousin  but the other amy) WROTE ME!! Maybe I shouldn't shout out everyone who writes me, maybe that will encourage them not to write me, hm... haha oh well. Love you guys!! WRITE ME!

Love Hermana Miles, Doing the Lords work one knock on the door at a time.

p.s. Dogs are evil.

October 14 - Sweetwater, FL

MAN OH MAN OH MAN!

 Ladies and Gentleman this week has been insane craziness! Its crazy what has happened! Okay here goes. So first off I have officially been chased by an angry ( really angry) Dog! It was so scary! So we were in the trailer park and there is always this stray dog there and it was night and we where walking from an investigators house to our car and this dog started barking and running towards us. Of course me being me and I run for the car leaving my companion to fend for herself ( hey survival of the fittest right?) and then I like take my bag off my shoulder while I am running, put it behind me so that the dog would bite my bag instead of my ankles. My companion jumped on top of someone's car and screams. It was so scary! Finally this guy took pity on us and started yelling at the dog to stop but I thought I was going to DIE!! So anyways...next we had this golden investigator that seemed really cool and we were so excited. Turns out the next lesson we had with him he had researched all this stuff online and got anti-mormon stuff and was telling us all this stuff about how we should research our own religion and about polygamy and we need to search these things on our own and all this crazy stuff, it was so sad!:( It really broke my heart but just talking with my companion really helped me through it and helped me to see that we just have to testify of the spirit and of the truthfulness of the gospel that we believe ourselves and that is all that we can do for these people. Next, we where harvesting again (we have to harvest for an hour every day) and we where praying with this kid that seemed like 15 and he seemed like he was really liking the prayer and accepted it and everything and then like in the middle of the prayer this lady shows up yanks the door our of this kids hand says no! and then slams the door in our face while my companion was in the middle of the prayer. It was intense! It was really disheartening and I almost cried a little bit I will admit but it all turned out okay because listen to this guys! I GOT MY FIRST BAPTISM! IN TWO WEEKS!! I was James! the kid I told you about last week! It was so amazing he is like such a little kid its so cute! I will send pictures. They had to dunk him twice because his knee came up the first time. He kept on saying he was scared that the missionary that baptized him was going to drop him. I was so happy for him and how much his life has changed. He said he felt stronger after the baptism and felt like an NFL player. How cute!! anyways. I love you guys. Shout out to Colton for saying "sup" no one else is emailing me -_- I see you guys, reading my blog and not writing...it cool...no worries. Haha Just kidding :) Love you, Hermana Miles.

P.S. My sister got married on SATURDAY GUYS!! Isn't it exciting!! 

October 7 - Sweetwater, FL

Okay guys I am so excited about this week!! 

So this week we went on exchanges with the Sister training leaders and it was such a cool experiance! I loved it. I left my area and went to pember pines( i think thats how you spell it) for the day with sister bean! she was so nice and she was so outgoing and cool I loved her!!:) Her area is full of like really really wealthy peopel so we went harvesting in her area and people where a little mean haha but its okay it just made me really gratefull for my area. Also we kept on having really bad luck knocking on doors everyone kept of saying no and closing there door but sister bean was like "we prayed about this area and we are here for somebody" so we kept on going and then we found this one guy, Carlos Lopez. It was crazy he was an inactive member because his second wife had asked him to leave the church so he did but he still read his scriptures and everything and he still had the book of mormon so he really still seemed to believe in it. the crazy thing was though that he didnt even live in that house. he was just doing some construction work there. Its crazy how our heavenly Father works. Also later that day we had dinner in a members home. the food was so good!!!! The father of the family isnt a member and he used to not talk to the missioanries at all he like hated him but the sister missionaries in that area have been working really hard and he now loves them  and has them over all the time. he was so funny and he was such a cool guy and i know that he would make a such great member of the church so i am excited to see what happens with that. So I went back to my area that next day and it was just like miracle day. there is this thing where we try to talk to as many people as possible and its called open your mouth (OYM) and we set goals of how many we are going to try to get that day. It so crazy we met this guy this one day from the OYM and his name is Israel he is so cool!! He is on probation and he went to jail for 3 months but he had such a great attitude about it. He was saying that being sent to jail was good for him and changed his life. He just wants to get closer to christ now. He had such a laid back personality and we was so sincere about it! He also has the most beautiful eyes ever!!!!! Everyone here has gorgeous eyes! its crazy they are like blue, green, grey they are all so pretty! anyways we also met this other guy from OYM's named james. He is a18 years old and had been smoking and for the past  couple years and he seemed like he really wanted some help. We were able to help him stop smoking cold turkey ( i think thats how you say it) and he came to general conferance and i think he really like it. Also we have this guys named Elio, he seems to be really interested and really wants to get baptized. I am so excited for all these people and how much there lives are going to change! Well thats all i have for you guys. 

But seriously if you are reading this PLEASE EMAIL ME!!! (darla.miles@myldsmail.net) don't leave me hanging!!

Love you guys:) 

BYE

P.S. I think me and my companion seriously heard gunshots outside our window last night. No big deal right? haha GOD LOVES US! AND EVERYONE ELSE!:)

P.P.S. My companion got bit by a dog!!!! It was crazy we were praying for  a lady and then her dog was trying to get out and my companion was trying to keep it in and she got bit on her finger! It was crazy she was bleeding a lot but thankfully it wasnt like so horrible that she is going to lose a finger. but yeah I was like in shock like did that seriously just happen! It was crazy. missionary life right here.

Pictures from the MTC.  Sorry they're late!

September 30 Sweetwater, FL

Hey guys so I dont have that much time so this will be short. So in my mission we are harvesting which is kind of like proselyting and its is something else. One lady just opened her door and said "no." and closed the door. I just stood there in shock. Also we ask people to be baptized the first time we meet them even when we are just knocking doors and it surprises me so much that they say yes! It's crazy I just keep in thinking I would not say yes if I were them I would be like who are these two crazy girls. Anyways. This sunday was really nice. the chapel has a problem with the AC so its like FREEZING! I was so cold during relief society that I was shivering. NO JOKE! Also I am in a place called sweetwater Florida. I think that its like just right outside of Miami. It is defintaly interesting. Everyone here speaks spanish and they are also Cuban. Cubans are so pretty! they are blond and have colored eyes! Their eyes are so gorgeous! I got placed in a really small ward so me and my companion are really trying to get new members. I feel like I am turning into a whole new person. I don't think that without the help of our Heavenly Father that I would be able to go up to people houses and say "Follow the example of Christ and BE BAPTIZED" its crazy how I am doing this but I am so excited for the experiences that I am going to get from being here. The members are so nice and they have been feeding us so we had two dinners in a row and I was so full I felt sick but I didnt want to refuse the food because that would be rude so I just stuffed it all in. I was thinking, I am going to die and then they are going to do an autopsy and then all this food is going to come out and then I will finally have relief. Hahha Too gross?? Sorry:) Anyways whoever is actually reading this you should email me or send me letters!! My address is 

Sister Miles

Flagler West

710 SW 114 Ave C-3 

Sweetwater, FL 33174

Send me a letteer!!! DO IT!!!

p.s. I hope this doesnt come back to bite me but my Zone Leader is such a Cutie! I think I'm in love. Just kidding guys my heart is locked for a 18 Months;)

Love you,

Darla

September 23, 2013 Provo, Utah, MTC

Hey guys!!! I am having a blast here in the MTC I just sit and eat and then sit again and then eat and then sit some more! yay!! but no, really it is pretty great here. The food is really good! I like love it. Yup that would be me, concentrating on the food haha but anyways. So we heard a talk given by Elder Holland  yesterday on Sunday and it was great!! I loved it. He had his whole family with him because the talk was given on Thankgiving Day. He was talking about how lucky we are to be living in this dispensation. Also he was just so cute with his wife! It was so adorable. So much LOVE! ahh!! anyways...I have been seeing all these senior couples walking around holding hands so excited to go on missions it is the cutest things. This has now offically been added to my bucket list, walk around with my Husband holding hands when I am old around the MTC. ;) I leave tomorrow at 2 in the morning and I am so nervous! I can feel myself tense up every once in a while. I got to meet some people yesterday though that are going to be traveling with me! I was so excited since I haven't met anyone that is going to Fort Lauderdale Florida so I was super excited to meet my travel buddies! They are going to be speaking French Creole (sp?) I am the only person going that is going to be speaking Spanish so thats exciting. Also Grandma Miles sent me a box full of Snickdoodles and Chocolate covered cinnamon bears. They were so great!! I wondering how she knew that snickerdoodles are like my most favorite thing in the WORLD!! I shared them with my whole district and they now will love me for all eternity so THANK YOU GRANDMA!! so much!! Your package was the first one while I am on my mission. I will always remember that!:) Anyways I have taken a couple pictures but the computers at the MTC don't let you put pictures its like such a hassle so I will post some when I get to the field (campo missional, I am learning so much spanish!) anyways I love you guys and p.s. AMY LAGARDA IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU NEVER SENT ME THE CUPCAKES! YOU WILL BE DOOMED FOR ALL ETERNITY! anyways love you.

So one of my teachers had to leave early so we got a sub and her name was Sister Keller and she served in FORT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA!! WHOOO!! I was so excited I was seriously feeling so alone. haha We were actually in a meeting and they were calling all the missions out by state and country and you would have to stand up and there were like a 100 missionarys there and they called Florida and I stood up all alone like a loner and the mission president was like "Okay, one sister going to Florida" and there were like to elders that stood up a second later but I felt so alone!! but it was cool I feel kind of speacial that I was the only one in that meeting. Anyways back to the teacher that served where I served I was so excited she said that It is the best mission and that it was so cool to meet all these different cultures it was like a big melting pot and she showed me pictures of her investigators that got baptized and they looked so awesome! and also she spoke great Spanish! so there is hope for me!! yay!! she said everyone speaks spanish so I will have no trouble learning.

Love, Darla

September 17 from Provo, Utah, MTC

Hey everyone!! Everything is going great here in the MTC. I have had so many different experiences! I have been here only for a week now but I feel like I have been here for a month! I don't even remember that there is a real world out there. My district is great! I love them so much!!! I have grown to love these people so much in the last week more than I thought I would ever be able to love someone in such a short amount of time. My companion is Hermana Garcia! she is great!:) I love her so much. We complement each other really well like a ying and yang relationship. She is more outgoing and I am more quiet but it works really well when we are teaching or roleplaying with investigators. Learning the Gospel in Spanish has been so hard but I am learning so many word and I have memorized the first vision in Spanish! yay!!!:) Yesterday we had to go to the TRC as a district and it was really difficult because we were going as a district with all 12 of us trying to teach him and he was being a difficult investigator himself, but in this lesson even though he was arguing with us and I knew that he was acting I felt such love for him and I was able to feel a little bit of the love that our Heavenly Father as for him and the love that Jesus Christ has for him. I am finally understanding a little bit more each day was Jesus Christ really did for us and how much he must have loved each every one of us to be willing to do the Atonment for us. I am feeling more and more grateful for his love everyday and am just excited to go out into the field and help others understand that JESUS LOVES YOU!!! not in a creepy way of course and hopefully I dont yell it at them but I just really want to get out there. We heard on Sunday a talk given by David Bednar titled the Character of Christ is was so good it really changed my view of my whole entire life and it helped me to be at peace with my calling and going to Florida and now I am just so excited. I would recommend it to you guys! or not its cool haha:) anways my teachers are cool one is native and went to salt lake on his mission and the other is not native and went to Spain so he talks with a weird lisp its kind of weird anyways! I love you guys! whoever reads this!:) I have run out of time ( I finally understand what this means) BYE!! 

Love,

your Darling Darla

yeah! 

Hermana Miles

This is just a blog for my letters while I am on my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.