Week 52! June 20th, 2016

LAHBRAN JAMES.

Just another good week up here in the North! Kind of. We had 6

appointments with investigators this week, all of which fell out:))))

Typisch Deutschland but it's all good. Elder Spangenberg and I are

still having fun regardless! The European Meisterschaft is going on

right now and it's pretty big. I forget what the tournament is called

in English but it's the one in France. Are people watching that in

America? It's everywhere you go. They have a big tv in the mall that

streams the games live so Elder S. and I try to find an excuse to go

in there just about as much as possible to catch little glimpses;)

Tuesday we had had Zone Training Meeting and we had interviews with

Pres. I got to see my old pal Gliss which was fantassticc. I called on

him during our lesson to read a couple verses in D&C and he read the

wrong ones😂 Zone had a good laugh at that. For our interviews

President had us fill out obedience papers.. There was a list of rules

and we had to mark that we followed them, or that we didn't. I was

pretty solid. But one of my "no's" was "effectively planning every

day”.  When I come home at 9pm I'm exhausted. I have 0 motivation to plan

so I need to work on that. And Pres pretty much talked to me about

that for 30 minutes.. Kinda bummed afterwards that that was the main

focus of our interview but what can you do.

Wednesday after our fallen out appointment we went to the Mattiesens

and had an awesome lunch like normal. Sister Mattiesen was walking

through the hall and noticed a couple bugs and she started freaking

out. MAGGOTS. They were falling from a light in the roof!! All the men

in the house stood a fair distance away while sister Mattiesen got a

ladder and tried to solve the problem hahah it was hilarious. On our

way home we stopped at this farm place where 

we had seen a bunch of cows at the fence on our way to the 

appointment. I wanted to see if I

could get them to come back so I just started yelling at the cows

about 200 yards away. The next thing I know they are hauling across

the field running towards me! I got pics to prove it - it was awesome!

Thursday we did a bit of finding. Elder Spangenberg told me to get

some inspiration and pick which neighborhood we should door. So I did

my best to get some inspiration and picked! We left at 6:00 when the

best time to door here is and started going at it! To make a long

story short I'm making Elder Spangenberg get the inspiration next

time. But it's not all bad, earlier that day we were walking down the

road and a lady stops her car and yells "Hey Elders come here!" So we

ran over, she hands us 20 euro and says go get a nice dinner tonight!"

What?! Turns out she is a member from Pennsylvania here visiting her

sister. So after that, honestly, nothing could ruin our day. We went on

a nice Indian food date later that night:)

Feeerrrriidayyy we had an eating appointment with Familie Krienke.

They live clear way out in the middle of Texas and the bus only gets

you half way there. Then it's about a 5km walk:))) I actually really

enjoyed it, it was gorgeous. Then yep, you guessed it, with about a

mile left I felt a nice cool little rain drop on the tip of my nose. I

looked back, saw the dark clouds, heard the thunder and just

immediately started laughing because I knew we were about to get

wrecked. Not a thing we could to about it in the middle of the country

so we showed up about a half hour later to the appointment looking

like we were fresh out of the shower:) Sister Krienke was devastated

and got us all dry clothes hahah but I kid you not, the

food that she made us was the best food that I have had

since I have been on my mission so far so it was

way worth it.

Saturday a couple more appointments fell out so we went by some

members. Did a little finding. Nothing too crazy.

It's crazy that so many of my homies are just about done with the

mish. I'm so proud!  It's way weird. That just means time is ticking

and ticking quick! I'll see y'all shortly in a quick 10:)

Dad happy Fathers Day and Birthday, I hope you had the best week. You

deserve it! Thank you for all you have done for me and continue to do

for me. You are the best example of service and hard work. Anyone who

knows you a little bit can attest to that. I'll be lucky if I can

become half the Dad that you are! I love you!

I hope everyone is having an awesome last summer without me! It seems

like the weddings have slowed down just a tad within the last month!

Either that, or nobody's shooting your boy deets anymore.. Hopefully

the first one.. Good, just wait till I get home:)

Love you🇧🇪❤️🇺🇸

Bis spääätterrr

Noah

Pics

1)me having good time before rain

2)Me still having good time in rain

3)Cows

4)Zone

Week 50 June 6th, 2016

Gucci Greetings from Neumünster!!!

Wow what a first week here! I love it so much already. How do I begin

to describe this place..? If the city of Compton and the projects of

Brooklyn had a baby, it would be Neumünster. Elder Spangenburg was not

lying when he said it was ugly. The only nice part of town is by a

mall a little ways from our apartment and it lasts for about 20

yards:)

On Monday we had our last pday in Bremen with the district. We just

kinda hung out and enjoyed each others company for the last time.

Played a little ping pong, (I have not lost a match of ping pong in

the year 2016;)) ate lunch, and yeah. When we came back to Bremerhaven

we went to Bruder Daniel's for my last family home evening. He cooked

a ton of steak, wurst, chicken etc. and we ended with some games

before I said one final Tschüss. Really going to miss that family and

going over there every Monday night!

Tuesday was the normal weird feeling stage the day before you leave

your area. I was excited to go, but I also started to get really sad

thinking about some of the people I was about to leave, especially Oma

Tants! I went over there for one last time and tried to keep it cool and

normal as possible. I did the usual and drank pretty much all of the

poor old ladies Apfel Schorle, and things were going smooth! But we

shared our spiritual thought and I bore my testimony telling her how

grateful I was for her and then it was game over. Oma Tants was

shedding tears:( She says "Du darfst nicht gehen, du bist mein

Taufer!" I said not to worry because we will be staying in contact for

sure! And I invited her to my wedding and said that we would pay for

her ticket mom sorry:)

Wednesday transfersssssssuhhhh. Hopped on the train to Hamburg with

Elder Matis and Sister Ellis and our 15 bags of luggage and took off!

Got to Neumünster and just unpacked.

Thursday we did some street contacting! It was so so so hot. We

stopped at the store and bought an 11 pack of Popsicles. I ate 5 and

Elder Spangenberg ate 6.. We went to Familie Matthiesen afterwards, a

family in the ward and they fed us! They will be the fun family of the

the ward I can tell:)

Friday ehh weekly planning

Saturday we had a ward activity at the lake. We played a bunch of

games, threw around a football and BBQ'd ja wohl:)

Sunday first Sunday:) it was a conference thing and only two hours.

But that didn't stop the ward from making me get up there and

introduce myself unfortunately.. I was nervous.. I'm used to a

branch of 20-25 people not 80! The building is way nice. It's a stake

center so it's pretty big. I feel like I'm in America on Sundays

because of just the building, all the people, and there's a ton of

little primary kids running around causing havoc. I honestly love it! I

could have stayed there all day.

It's going to be a fun transfer! Elder Spangenberg is awesome and were

going to see some miracles out here I know it!

Love you guys - have an awesome week:)

Elder Miller

Week 49 May 30th, 2016

Dear friends and fam,

Alrighhttyy 7 week transfer is in the books! And I will be heading

too........ Drum rollllll drum drum drum drum drum drum NEUMÜNSTER! I

can't get out of the North.. My new comp is Elder Spangenburg and no, he's

not a native. I've heard good things about him so I'm way pumped! It's

been a rough last couple transfers. I love Bremerhaven and I always

will but it is my time. Elder Spangenburg says Neumünster is very

ugly! Yay! But he also says the WARD, yes WARD, not branch is amazing

and the members are so good and that makes me so happy!! 70-80 people

every Sunday... I'm like a giddy school boy over here thinking about

that! Unreal! My main Elder Glissypoo has been transferred only a few

cities away as well!! I'm going to miss this district though. Love

everyone in it and it's always hard to say goodbye for who knows how

long.

Anyways, lets get to the natty gratty. Wednesday night we were

dreading having to wake up at 5 to catch a 6 am train to Hannover for

zone conference. *Ring Ring Ring* "Hallo hier ist Elder Miller" " Hey

Elder Miller it's Elder Kreutz, yeah so you actually were one of the

missionaries picked to have an interview with Elder Adler of the 70!

Can you be in Hannover an hour earlier?" "JAA MACH ICH" So we went

down to Bremen, spent the night there so we wouldn't have to wake up

at 3am, and caught a yoga class with the sisters and their ward before

heading to bed. 

Zone Konference was good. My interview with Elder Adler was something

I needed. It was short but the opportunity to talk with a 70 one on

one ANYTIME is an amazing opportunity that I will always remember! He

told me never to forget in my testimony, to know that Jesus lives.

Many people say that, but do we actually know what that truly means?

He is literally here. For us. He wants us so bad to choose the right

so we can live with him again. This life is not easy but he is

constantly stretching his arm out for us to grab. He wants to help us.

And the knowledge of that alone can be SO powerful. 

It was good to see my MTC comp Elder day again. He's a good AP and he takes care of me;) I

texted him on transfer call day and I said "You call me first." And he actually did it! 

What a stud😂

Fast forward to my last Sunday yesterday... Wow, so tough saying goodbye to

people you love. The branch was not too happy with me and the fact

that I am leaving. I made a lot of good friends here and have had a

lot of good times on the Nordsee. I will for sure miss it and I won't

soon forget it. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to serve here.

I still have things planned with the Daniels and Frau Tants so I

haven't had to say goodbye to them yet. Not looking forward to that..

But I'm so excited for this new and upcoming opportunity in my new

city. Thank you for all the continued support. I love you all so much!

See ya'll in Neumünster:)

Elder Noah Miller

Week 48 May 23, 2016

Guten Tag meine liebe Freundchen:)

It was an awesome week this week. Awesome awesome awesome. I learned a

ton. This is the last week of our extended transfer and I'm sad but at

the same time I'm excited. I'm ready for a change, but I'm not going

out without a bang here.

On Wednesday/Thursday we had the normal district meeting and our ZL's

came. They gave a thema and it was way needed. Haven't been this pumped for

a long time but they did a really good job on exciting us. They

exchanged with Elder Rogers and I afterwards and I was with Elder

Hopkins for the day. Such a stud. We talked a lot about the mission.

It's is in a little bit of a funk right now. A lot of missionaries

aren't exactly motivated. It's a long story and there are a lot of

factors involved BUT WE JUST ALL GOTTA BUY IN OR NO ONE IS GOING TO BE

HAPPY AND WERE NOT GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL.

Friday we went over to Frau Tants', ate her famous currywurst and had

Deutsch Kurs. She reads to us out of a book and we have to write down

what she says with correct spelling and all and then she corrects it:)

Your boy got like a 92% this last time with only a couple spelling

errors.

Saturday turned out to be really good. The branch had their annual

"Frühlings Fest". I was absolutely ticked at the beginning because

they had Elder Rogers and I carry down all the tables and chairs to

set up. Now I'm all about helping, but when we are doing all the work

while everyone else is watching and talking that's when I start

getting a little testy. Plus these chairs and tables weren't just

plastic little things, they were big heavy wooden tables and chairs.

And we have a 4 story church. Two of the seven tables came from the

4th floor. But everyone helped clean up and it went twice as fast so 

Elder Miller was a happy camper:)

In our appointment with the refugees, We taught them about the word of

wisdom and law of chastity. Afterwards Mohammed typed into google

translate and showed us "I believe in this religion because it is so

pure." That was a really cool experience for me. I thought a lot about

his comment throughout the rest of the day and week. It makes so much

sense. Christs' true church on the earth would be nothing short of

perfectly pure. And that's what we preach very boldly as Saints. To do

nothing that would have the potential or opportunity to harm our

bodies. Even if it might not be bad in "moderation" or "just once or

twice". Don't even make it a possibility. I'm grateful for that short

short sentence that really grew my testimony for these two

commandments.

I love you guys!

Elder Miller

Week 47 May 16th, 2016

Hi friends and family!

Not a lot of time again today so this is gonna be a short one:)

It was a quiet week for us but it was still good! We had our refugee friends at church on Sunday and they loved every second of it. I love those people. We taught them about the Holy Ghost! Sometimes it's hard but google translate did a good job this week:) We are going to Cuxhaven again to meet with them tomorrow.

I went on exhange with Elder Staley on Wednesday! He's so sick! He is from Oregon and we had a way good time. Finding and.. Yeah we pretty much just actually found the whole day. But it surprisingly went fast because we chit chatted in between about everything you could pretty much chit chat about:) Found a couple people that we are going to go by later this week and see if we can make something of it!

We had another Straße Ausstellung (Street Display) on Saturday. It was a little scary because it rained the entire morning leading up to it. Amazingly,  as soon as we got there it stopped! Went for 3 hours and as soon as we were finished, what do you know, it started to down pour again;)

The Elders from Oldenburg spent the night with us last night and we met up with the Sisters to go to the beach today to find that it was closed:( No beach volleyball for us, but it's all good, we found the last floating German U-boat from world war 2 and we toured that thing! Way cool!

I had a few more things but I am out of time so I will write more next week! I am sorry! I love you guys so much!

Elder Miller

Elder Jeff Gordon???

Hi!

Sorry I'm on late today! I don't have a lot of time either so it's gonna be

a quick one:) We traveled to Bremen yesterday and met with

the district and Go-Karted.. I'm a bit bruised and sore and really

feeling it today but it was worth it. Honestly one of the

funnest p-days on the mission... It was a parking garage and they used

the top two levels as the track, so sick. Elder Rogers, Elder Staley and I

were BATTLING the first few laps constantly passing one another. I was

sitting pretty for a while. All of a sudden Elder Staley, the clown, side

swiped my back left corner, spun me out, and gave me a look as he

passed me, all in one swift move. Miller was out by a cheap shot. But I

didn't let it get me down. I was like Jeff Gordon out there -

clearly the best driver;) haha just playin!

Anyways it was so good seeing the fam! Mom I love you and hope you had

an awesome Mother's Day!

It was a good week! On Tuesday we traveled to Cuxhaven and had an

awesome lesson with our refugee friends! I can say like 4 Persian

words now so holla atcha boi one time:)) It was way good

other then when we had to leave... We planned to catch the bus at a

certain time, but 15 minutes passed and the thing did not come.. So we

thought, welp looks like we're walking 45 minutes to Banhof. 5 minutes

into our walk THE THING PASSES US:)

Fast forward and on Thursday it was a German holiday "Christi Himmel

Fahrt" - the day Christ ascended into heaven. Cool right? Nope.

Apparently it's dangerous so the mission created "Book of Mormon day"

where we got to stay inside away from all the drunk Germans outside

and read the book or Mormon all day. 

Hmmm another highlight, on Saturday we had a street display. I usually

dread street displays but this one was good. Talked to a lot of people

and handed out a couple books of mo mo's. It's cool to see people

approach us for a change when they do!

Sunday was a little bit of a bummer because no one could give our

refugee friends a ride to church so they couldn't come:/ I'm so

grateful for the church in Arizona. To have one on literally almost

every street corner is unreal. But the day changed to good as soon as

I got to talk to you guys:)

I have some pictures to make up for so I'll send a few. Love you guys so much! 

Have a good week!

                    

Week 45 May 2, 2016

Alriiiiighty folks! Happy summer! Enjoy your last one without me;)

Sorry I have been down and out the past two weeks but I am here now with a comeback!

This last week Elder Rogers and I were extremely blessed to see some awesome miracles for ourselves after a couple of long weeks with almost nothing. At the beginning of the week, it looked like it was going to be another long one of doors, and street contacting. And it kind of was at the beginning, but on Thursday we got a call from the Bremen Sisters saying that a couple of really strong investigors have been moved to our area. The Sisters came to Bremerhaven and we took a train to our new friends house for a pass off lesson. They are two refugees from Iran who speak no german and extremely little english. But I kid you not they are the two sweetest people I have ever met. I have never been a fan of teaching people through google translate. I always saw it as a waste of time. But as they typed their questions and I did my best to respond in english or through google translate the spirit was so strong. They would read our replies and nod their head with big smiles on their faces. They were worried when they were transferred that they would not be able to go to church anymore but that of course is no problem because we have a beautiful building for that right here in Bremerhaven:) We are lucky and for Sunday school they can join through Skype to a Persian class so they can hear lessons in their own language. It's incredible!

On the other side, I don't know what it was about drunk people this week but one guy heard me speaking english and then started talking to me. He was fascinated that I was from America and he said he visited but he couldn't remember where. Either New York or LA.. hahahah. We then walked to the other side of banhof to try and kind of get away from him but he followed us! He then proceeded to offer me his beer and of course I said I'm sorry we don't drink alcohol but this man REFUSED. He was not having no as an answer. Finally, I accepted the alcohol and rushed it into my backpack so no one would see while the other elders and sisters were laughing... The next one was on the bus. Out of the 50 people on the bus, I sit next to the drunk homeless guy. He asked me for money and I said I didn't have any and he then asked me to step off the bus with him, so she could smash in my face.. He put his fingers really close to my face and mumbled something. After a couple minutes of awkward silence he pulled out his cross necklace and apologized...

It was a good week. All things aren't going to go our way. That's just not how it works. It's not suppose to be like that. In times where everything seems to be going completely opposite of how we want it to be, it is the best time to show our faith. Work harder, pray more, SERVE more. We will receive so much more in return than if we lay down. 

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

I love you guys!

Noah

PS: HAPPY MUTTERTAG MOM I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Week 42 April 12, 2016

Whats good friends and fam!

Sorry I'm on a day late!

Well transfer calls came and.......... Looks like I'll be spending a

3rd out here in Bremerhaven! Rogers is staying as well and it will be

a 7 week transfer. That's a long time but I'm excited. Our entire

district stayed the same except of course Elder Peterson and it was

way way hard to see him go. But all is well because I will be seeing

him in just a short year:) My boy Gallacher is gone too. So dang sad,

it's honestly unreal. I'm officially one of the older ones on the

mish... And in a couple more transfers I will be the oldest. Crazy

stuff. THE NEW AP SHOUTOUT TO MY MTC COMP AND MY BOY ELDER DAY! I

CALLED IT FROM THE BEGINNING! I know he is gonna hook me up with all

the good benefits:)))

Anyways, not much this last week. Met with a few people and played some

soccer in Oldenburg again. The transfer calls were changed to Sunday

night instead of the usual Saturday night/ Monday morning which I have

no clue why and I can't think about it too much because I get mad. We

can't say goodbye to our ward because we don't know who or if we are

going... And it makes it hard to plan things because if someone goes

that changes your entire schedule. But what can you dooooo?? ANYWAYS...

Today was kinda crazy because of multiple things that I don't have the

the energy to write but we got to play laser tag which was way fun.

Killed it the first round and then the second round this 14 year old

kid with a pierced ear walks in and talks about how he's the best

laser tag player in Germany... Supposedly he was in the Guiness Book

of world records. He was good but he wasn't that good. Your boi stuck

close. Jokes on him actually because he brought HIS OWN laser tag vest

and gun. I didn't even know you could do that.. Who does that?

Honestly, who is that serious about laser tag? He brought his own vest

and gun....that is just unreal...

Auf jeden fall we have lots of good goals this next transfer and were

planning on seeing some big miracles out here. I love you guys and

pray for you everyday!

Have a good week!

Elder Miller

Week 41 April 4th, 2016

Hey everyone!

Well this week was... Interesting... But conference was great as always. Loved it all!!

Well let's get to it!

Monday started off with a BANG. Elder Peterson and Matis spent the night because we were gonna do an exchange the next morning. Now, here is where things get crazy. I normally let Elder Rogers cut my hair, and he does a good job, but Peterson has been bragging ALL WEEK about how many good hair cuts he has given. So I said what the heck why not.. So I am sitting patiently throughout the haircut and we are near the end. The next thing I know is: "Oh my gosh!!!" I thought it was a big joke at first, however after seeing the facial expressions of Elder Rogers and Elder Matis, I knew it was far from a joke. I hopped off my stool and sprinted as fast as I could to the closest mirror and I saw it.... ONE. HUGE. SHAVED. LINE. RIGHT DOWN THE SIDE OF MY HEAD. I was honestly speechless... If it weren't for Elder Petersons hysterical laugh, I would be outraged. But when you hear it, it just makes your day 100x better gosh dangit. And it's too short to cut all the way around still. So I have been wearing a hat all week and taking lots of fish oil pills. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise because I heard those pills are mega healthy.

ANYWAYS! Tuesday we went up to Oldenburg and played indoor soccer. I miss soccer so much. And being in shape because I was absolutely dying. 

Wednesday we had our last district meeting of the transfer because next week we have zone training meeting. Crazy how fast these last 6 weeks have gone by! Hopefully our district won't change too much..

The rest of the week we tried to get the work rolling but its tough. Not a lot happening right now so we really need to figure something out. I am grateful for conference this week, I really needed it. I felt like so many of the talks were directed for me specifically and how I myself can be better for now and for the future, as well as helping these members and people of Germany as best I can. I feel like sometimes these people just simply aren't doing the simple things that can make big differences in their lives. Huge example, coming to church. COME. TO. CHURCH. This is where Elder Miller is learning patience. Regardless, I love these stingy, cranky people, and just like Elder Mervyn B. Arnold said, I will never give up on any of them, no matter what:)

LG,

Elder Miller

Week 7377!!,!

What's good everyone!

Sorry, I seriously have not a lot of time today but I hope you all had

a fantaaasstic Easter!

Work was a little slow this week but we're staying on the grind! I'm

on exchange with Elder Matis right now. He's 4 weeks fresh and a stud!

He's kinda struggling like everyone does with new adjustments in the

beginning but I swear this kid is future AP.

On saturday we had a ward Family History activity and it was way good! My

old pal Sister Seare from Spandau got to come up and be in charge of

it cause she's the geneology sister. Our whole district came and afterwards

we took some pday time out to go visit the Clima House. It's a big

bean shaped building with a ton of different rooms modeled after

different countries and their climates. Way sick. For example, they

have an Antarctica room and it's -10 in that place!

Anyways, conference this weekend! So pumped! I love it. I love you all.

I really do!

Keep on keepin on:)

Elder Miller