Wednesday, February 23, 2011





Paranoid Mother of Mine

Hello Famiglia,

This week has not been the most exciting but it has been fun. I have received your letter, thank you Lexi with the advice...I was so excited to see Kaitlyn’s letter in there as well.......

But yes thank you for the package I am glad to hear Anziano Mendel is doing much better it pleases me very much. I am sorry my grammar is absolutely terrible! I read my last letter I wrote to you to see what I wrote and well let’s just say- I know that my writing is terrible.

Mom, stop worrying about the heater... and things in my house. I am glad Jack Bickmore and Wendy Pistorius know that you are a paranoid mother. It is quite amusing to me that you can still get a hold of me even when you are not aloud to.....
Thank you for the information on Pompeii. My companion and I are planning to go to there sometime in the next transfer. We are going to be together for another transfer. Which is good because I because learn a lot from him and we get along very well. He is a hard worker so we are always exhausted by the end of the day. I am so glad I have this experience with him. When our president called he talked to us about how easy it was to keep us together which was awesome to hear. Our president is an amazing man he is always thinking of you and the members.

As for Cache Guzy’s mission call I think it is wonderful and that he will see why he is called there. They do play soccer and it is Cache’s favorite world team. I will be able to speak with him maybe when he comes back. Portuguese is very close to Italian there has been a lot of Portuguese people who have come to Italy and speak with Italians in there language and they can understand each other but I am not sure if Americans can do that... we will see

Do me a favor... dad probably has an opinion on this, ask him what he thinks the volcano erupted in Pompeii from a biblical point of view. I am not sure what he will say but I am sure he has an opinion. That’s something that I miss a lot, is always being able to go to dad and ask him what ever is on my mind. Some times it is ridiculous, but dad would always have answers and an opinion in a way that no one else in this world can imitate. Thank you Dad

Mom I do not know what you have done but the DeMartino Girls love you! They always say Meeeleehr tuo mamma e sorrella e troppo gentile e FORTISIMO.
So you have done something that makes you stand out or something that they really like about you. They are not like that with a lot of Anziano, let alone there families so thank you for giving us a good rep.

It was a fun little experience I had this week and that I do not think I have shared with you is that people do not know Italian here. Only the younger people and sometimes old people, its hard to understand and learn. Most of people here speak diolect and its a whole different language and everyone speaks it. The only time they speak Italian is when they know someone who does not speak there diolect. So in the home little kids only know diolect and learn Italian at school. Being said I will probably learn a diolect while I am on the mission but I don’t know depending where I go next. There are a lot of different diolects too. They change from city to city but the most common is Napolitano... so when Americans get mad they go off with swear words and yell. When Italians get mad haha they go either half Italian half diolect or when they get really mad they just go off in diolect it is so funny for me because I go from understanding quite a bit to understanding close to nothing.

This week we were doing house an old lady answers the door and she does not speak Italian... and we were somehow able to still communicate with her even though I did not understand her. I knew what she needed to hear at the end she was really touched and we told her we would pass by soon. It will be really difficult to teach her and she would have to put a lot of trust in us because she can not read. Hopefully it can turn into a good experience.

I am sorry I do not have as many cool stories as last week but I hope you enjoy this letter I will write a couple people this week and send it off...

I love you thank you for everything

Anziano Miller

Pictures!!!!!
ps don’t let me forget to tell you what fufu is

These pictures are from Amalfi. The castle is the one in Battipaglia.

People thought we were insane out in the rain with just shorts on... literally thinking we were insane

The castle in this picture is in Amalfi


ps I cut my Hair with Anziano Hansen how did he do? It’s the one that I am pointing at the door bell

I hope you are putting these emails into some kind of book mom

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Paranoid Mom

February 17th, 2011 Yes, it is on a Thursday!

OK so I will write my letter now this week. We have done a lot, did I mentioned a lot! I will send it on the voice recorder. I hope you like when I do that because I like doing that because it makes me think that I am actually telling you the story, other then that you are not on responding to my cool stories and my awful jokes. I like sharing all the fun things we do.

Anziano Rogers he is an amazing man he is going to go home in six days so when he returns to BYU he will take my watch that I bought for really cheep. I give it to Kaitlyn it is way sweet, it is a soccer team here in Italy. They are not my favorite but they are defiantly cool. I bought it because a lot of people like Napoli in Battipaglia so I hope you like it. Kaitlyn if you do not like it or if it doesn’t fit you just put it in my room and I will wear it when I get home but it is too bright for me to wear on the mission.

District meetings are really awesome, I love to talk to the people that have been here for a while.... they talk about some awesome investigators and converts that they have in there zones and everyone really likes to talk about Italy. There are some goofballs in my zone also they really stand out that is probably what they want to notice about them too:) but other then that we have an awesome zone! People are focused and ready to just go to work. I am so grateful for the companion I have he is awesome and I get along with him very well even though I have to look up to talk to him all the time....

We have had some really cool experiences this week we have had one investigator Carrie who is praying about baptism. She is pretty legit and so dedicated and wants to know the truth. She basically gave herself the challenge to pray to ask when to be baptized. So hopefully she will know when... the night after she had an episode with some medical problems she has not had a problem for the past two years. She had a blessing from the other Anziani who where here two years before us.

We have had a lot of success lately with finding people and talking to them about the church... everyone is really interested ... well they look interested but I have faith that they are interested.... lots of people let us in and listen to us... it is so cool how nice the Italian people are. I hope we can come and travel here some day... there are many beautiful things here!

Some other cool experiences I have had, when I was with Anziano Rogers we were able to give a way sweet blessing. We had the opportunity to give... Anziano Hansen and I where tracting we found this family that was crying and we knocked on there door and it was a young girl (about Kaitlyn’s age) she looked... upset we were there but she called for her father. Her father came in and asked us if we had the priesthood and we said... yes. We found out he was a member in Battipaglia who goes north all the time but we did not know this. We has a sweet conversion and a story but I wont go into that right now. So the next day Anziano Rogers and I had the opportunity to go give a blessing in the hospitals. Only 2 people from your family are allowed in at one time. We had to wear full protection, an apron thingy... I do not know what it is called in English. We also had plastic things around our shoes... everything... we have never met this man and he did not know us. We found this man and gave him a blessing. When I say found it is because there are about 15 patients in the same room. Anyway... the spirit was there the man had no idea if he would live. This man had to be zapped ( I do not know what it is called... when you say "Clear" then they zap you with two iron lookin things)... But we were there and after all these things you could tell this was sograteful for this blessing and that he was trying so hard to lift up his hand to thank us but he did not have to strength to do so. He could not say it either because he had a tube in his throat but you could see it in this old mans eyes that he was grateful for what we did.

Another cool experience was with this polish lady.... so the same time me and Anziano Hansen where doing house and found the crying family we found another lady who was polish and wanted to know more about what we believed in so we gave her a book of Mormon in Italian. But she wanted one in her language... so Anziano Rogers and I went back to her apartment and the other person who lived with her said she didn’t want it...... only because she didn’t want to give it to her. So we had a book of Mormon in polish and went to the train station the next day and we were waiting for our train this young lady in her late twenties came over told us that the train was switched in English?? which was already weird enough... I ask her were she was from and she said ... Poland... Anziano Rogers and I where really shocked and knew why she was at the train station at the same time we were... we sat by her talked with her about family. She loves her family, we talked to her about our families and told her we are going to be away from our families for two years. She started crying and told us about how much she loved her family and why our message was important to know because she has believed the same for many years. I then pulled out the Polish Book of Mormon and said, I was wondering... this would be a great time for her to read Morni 4 and 5. I asked her if she could read some sweet Polish for us. So to turn Moroni ten and she read the right side of the page, she looked up at us and handed us the book and told us she already knew how the promise is true... She was sweet I really hope she calls us, it would be so cool to help her remember more of what she already knows.

Oh and last but not least today has been really interesting Anziano Hopper and I have been on splits and we both know zero Italian.. It has been really fun... hahah I have enjoyed it.. so far more people have listened to us because we struggle with the language...hahah last night we had correlation with Fertello Mondelli and he is such that he doesn’t know a lick of English but we were able to communicate about everything we needed to... I am able to understand and speak now but it sound like I am 2 years old. I only understand so much but on a good note I am getting better!


It was really funny Anziano Hopper and I got into a house today and the poor guy... had to decipher what we were saying... he really like our message and we have a pass back for Friday afternoon so we will see


Guess who forgot his camera with all the beautiful pictures on it ..... me yah and I am sorry but next week I will send it to you... yesterday we went to Amalfi it was awesome! It was raining but it was so beautiful, its right on the coast and just a crazy cool place. Everyone thinks we do not know Italian language but .... we do a little. It was fun to hear them speak English.


That is my week in a short lovable letter I hope you enjoyed it!


I love you so much and I hope you have a great week this week


Anziano Miller

PS MOM you better be sorry, everyone laughed at me because, first of all the OFFICE called us in a panic and was wondering why the heavens I have not emailed my mother and then twenty minutes later I got a calls from members asking me when I was going to write my mom... and if everything was OK... but I guess it was ok, because everyone wrote in there journals that Anziano Miller’s MOM loves him. I will most definitely be remembered when we all go home............ Joy.



Love you mom I hope you are ok at home without me... because... yah. I don’t think I will be home for a while but I will be home sooner then you think here is a hug from me.



hahhah Tell Lexi good job with her Italian!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Lemon Tasting Flowers

February 9th 2011

Happy Birthday Sandy!

Well this week has been a big one we have not done a whole ton but this next week is going to be insane!!!! We had a whole lot of bidones... those are when someone drops you and they just don't show up to an appointment so yah we have had a lot of those this week but this next week we have a lot more sure opportunities to bring our investigators closer to Christ.

Yesterday was really depressing because there is this women who is different I don't want to say crazy because it might be an understatement but she has dreams and asks us to interpret them and she has a bunch of things that are just different... but that is not the depressing part... she has been meeting with the TJs which isn't bad because it should be her choice to be were she thinks the truth is... anyways its depressing because she has now asked us about a whole bunch of TJ doctrine in revelations and junk like that... stuff that we can answer but things that should be searched out with much thought and through the spirit. Also we think that she has been giving one of the Anti Joseph Smith things from the TJs but all we can do is teach her the restoration of the gospel and ask her to act.... so that is the depressing news for the week but ps. she has been investigating for 8 years.

We passed off Donato this week man oh man he is amazing. he prayed to know if the church was true... and basically told us he will be baptized... here is his story he told us. I was really nervous before I prayed because of the effects that could come from both sides of prayer but after I prayed i felt at peace... I went to bed and after I woke up I no longer had the desire to smoke or drink coffee... the thought of it makes me very sick...

But then he told us that he cant go to church until June so after that he told us "so I will have to wait and be baptized till then" he is awesome.

We have the family that you are talking to the DeMartinoes... they are awesome to they told me last night they only understand about half of what you said.... remember they do not know a lot of English use really easy terms:)... but they are not stupid so find a good happy medium... haha other then that they told me they loved it:) they were way to excited to tell me about it when I got to English course... also its really funny because sometimes I communicate with them in English and they speak to me in Italian... its so funny because they understand what I am saying and I understand them but it only happens when I do not how to say what I need to in Italian...

Anyways the somewhat sad thing with them is that they are so flaky we can never schedule an appointment with them but we can never stop by either... i do not understand and i do understand at the same time... but i do not want to think like that... we have been trying our best to befriend the dad and the kids in everything we do so we can bring them closer to Christ.

We also met with Maria this week every time we meet with her she is progressing... momma mia she seems to be happier every time we talk with her she applies everything into her life.. her family is a bit different but other then that she is fantastic .

Sorry I do not have any pictures for you this week bu tI will take more pictures over the course of my stay her in Italy. I will take picture of our church and well just all the things I can think of.... also yes that is my house it is really big for two people I thinkI didn't send you the picture of our study but we have that as well we also have another bed room that we do not use ...we try to keep our house as clean as possible... my companion and i have the same problem with making our beds but we are working on it. my bed is the purple one because my companion is 6foot 8 and his feet hang over the bed by a good six inches so i get to sleep in it:) I do not complain.

We had a wonderful district meeting this week next week i will go on splits with Elder Rogers we will go to Battipaglia and Anziano Hansen and Anziano Hopper will go to Castlelamare. it will be funny to see them together because Anziano Hopper is a Whopping 5 foot 3 so it will be a great experience Anziano Rogers is a way diligent and amazing missionary he dies in 2 weeks so hopefully I will see him when I get home. He will be going to the Y when he gets home


That is to bad to hear about Vodoo I am not very happy about that...
and Tanner I don't like that either I hope he is doing well.

OH my heavens its a good thing i didn't forget but... we made some seriously good food here Anziano Hansen has taught me the ways of the Italian... and i could cook a lot of different pastas now also we have made some sweet chicken... ps I don't think many Americans can make chicken here because then skin it but lets just say they do not do the best job... haha so we made some chicken and other things like pasta al forno oh heavens that is amazing hahaha the mozzarella in Italy is much better then the stuff in America and very different

Anyways sorry it was not as long this week and that it was not very organized but I hope you have a wonderful week love you

PS dad you get another b- you will not watch TV or play with your friends until your grades are better

LOVE you eternal family and eternal friends
I am praying for you everyday.

Anziano Miller

Wednesday, February 2, 2011