Greetings From San Jose

Guten tag!

Well I've made it to my last week. I'm not sure if I'll e-mail the Monday before I catch my flight so this is probably my last address. I better make it good. This past week we went on two exchanges. So on Thursday I had a pretty new missionary in my area and in the morning we went over and helped out doing service for Habitat for Humanity. We mainly helped one of the regulars as he put up these soffett like eaves. We had had an appointment with one of our former investigators for 2 o'clock and so we meant to finish up with service at 12:30 to make sure we had plenty of time to travel and change and travel to the next appointment. Every time I've been to this place of service they have lunch time at 12:00 on the dot just about and I was counting on that so then we could eat lunch and then take off like we usually do. Lunch didn't come as usual so the next time I looked at my watch it was 1 and we had to go. This younger missionary I was with was complaining about not having any lunch and I was pretty annoyed with him cause he was going to make us late to this appointment we had in which we intended to get a new investigator and invite them to be baptized. It's like the best set up lesson that a missionary can hope for and this guy is going to make us late while he's whining about lunch. We're walking back to our car when we get a call from the lady we're supposed to meet next and she reschedules for the next day. So then we had nothing better to do but help out some more at build site. Long story short I got a wicked sunburn on the back of my neck. It's weird how sometimes you don't realize that you're getting burned. I recall the night before I went into the MTC we were up late talking to my brother in law and a friend of his and they were giving me advice or just stories from their missions and the MTC. The friend told about a time that he went golfing on his Preparation day and just wore a t-shirt and got such a bad sunburn on his neck, a part of his neck that is usually covered by the collar of our white shirts. He said that the pain of his white collar on his neck for the next two days was unbearable. Well mine wasn't that bad but it reminded me of his story. It was painful at times but it was bearable. We didn't have any aloe in our apartment either. I was just looking for any sort of lotion that might help and the only thing I came across was neosporin. I think it's mainly to prevent infection but on the tube it said that it also relieves pain a little bit and it was the best stuff I had so I walked around for the rest of the day smelling like neosporin.

The next day I was actually on exchanges with a companionship serving in San Jose and I went there so this was the only time that I have ever served in the capitol city of my mission. We did service as well and luckily it was indoors and we were helping a less active man mud the ceiling of a house he's working on repairing. Later though we went street contacting in downtown and at times the sun was at my back and that was hard. I tried to scrunch my neck down further in my collar to protect it from the harsh slap of the sun rays. At one point it felt like my ear might catch fire. I checked around to make sure there wasn't some random person standing behind me holding a magnifying glass on me. But the exchange was good.

It's getting kind of annoying having to tell everyone my plans for after the mission. When you first get to an area they want to get to know you so you recite about your hometown and family and hobbies and whatnot but after a while they either remember and don't ask anymore or they don't remember but realize that they should know and are too embarrassed to ask anymore. So I've been in this area for almost 7 months so not many people ask me the newcomer questions anymore but now I have to endure the repeated, "So what are your plans after the mission?"
I'm not really that annoyed with it. I'm sure every missionary goes through it almost like a right of passage. Perhaps it's designed that way just in case a missionary hasn't really thought about what they're going to do after the mission, this process guarantees that they will have thought about some plans.

Well we did get a baptismal date with the same woman who has had many in the past. She just never comes to church. We're set to teach her more regularly though so that should be great. This week should go much like the others I expect which will be good. This has been "a most excellent adventure". This Month and transfer have probably been the best of my mission. Just as far as pushing myself and doing well fulfilling goals go.

I thank all of you long time subscribers out there (if there are any) seeing as this is my last edition I just want to thank everyone for their prayers and letters and support in general. I have greatly enjoyed my mission and just want to let everyone know how grateful I am for this Gospel and the knowledge that is available to us. Christ surely did come and fulfilled the plan that allows us to change and make possible our future admittance into the company of our Father in Heaven.

Sincerely, Elder F. Miller