Merry Christmas

Well Merry Christmas everyone!!!! I hope y'all had a great time celebrating the birth of the Savior! And also getting some gifts!

I love this place out here!! Even if it does get to -13 at night!!!! Coldest morning ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not okay!!!! I like dry Christmas's I think? It's a lot warmer down in Arizona that's for sure!!  thats for sure! But thats okay! Even through the cold and snow we had a Great Christmas!! 

On saturday, because I almost died driving last week, the elders in our house took me out to practice in the snow! We went up and down the streets in Ely practicing in the snow! It was a lot of driving and it seemed to have gone pretty good! At least we haven't died yet, so that's really good! Saturday night we were able to sing Christmas Carols in McGill. Thats a town about 11 miles north of Ely. We sang as a whole zone/district. It was super powerful!! I felt like what maybe the angels felt like who proclaimed the birth of the savior all those years ago. I was able to sing and bear pure and simple testimony as i did so. I was able to feel the warmth of the spirit despite the snow storm we were in and the fact that we could no longer feel our hands nor our feet. The spirit was poured out on us and we had a lot of fun!! We also sang some funny baptist songs haha.

I have loved this time we've had to remember the savior. He is the reason I am on this mission. He is the reason for why we are able to keep going on day by day. He is the Prince of Peace and the Light and Life of the World. Without him we would be in darkness. We wouldn't have a purpose. But He is here.

And I testify that he was born 2016 years ago. He lived and died in the lands around Jerusalem and Galilee. He died for us. As great as it is that He was born, we wouldn't have much to celebrate if He didn't die. But He lives again, and because He does, we can too! I love Him

I love all y'all and each y'all too! 

Elder Miner

Elder Miner and Elder Rivers with Christmas stockings from members!

Talking with the family!!!

So cold-- -15degrees.

Elders in the Apartment

I almost died

hello everyone! 

So I may have made a slight mistake this week by telling my parents about how I almost died this week by going off the road twice on the way to Elko......But the good news is that we felt the spirit while it was happening! 

So we were on our way to Elko right? We left at 6am and at about 7:30ish we encountered rain. And then we hit a wall of ice and snow!! It was cool at first! But me being a not intelligent Arizona driver, I didn't think to slow down from 70 miles per hour. Then we started to fish tail and so i stopped accelerating and then i started to over correct one way. Then the other way. Then next thing we knew, we were facing the wrong way off the opposite side of the highway! Narrowly missing a guard rail by about 2 inches. God really does look out for us out here and makes sure we are okay. We felt totally calm as it was all happening and it went as well as it could've. Elder Gamble offered to drive, and I said "once it happens again". So about a mile later it starts happening again. This time my canadian companion talks me through what to do, and since there was oncoming traffic, I gently took it off the side of the road. After that Elder Gamble drove. And there were no more incidents! SO it was good!! God really does watch over us. And then at zone conference in Elko I had been assigned a talk on Peace in this Life. So i was impressed to share that experience and it really illustrated the point well. That the savior can bring peace even when your care is falling off the road. I love the Savior!!!!

At zone conference we heard two very exciting bits of news!!!

The first one: on January 14 and Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ will be coming to our mission with two 70's! We don't know who yet, but we are so very excited for it!!! The ENTIRE mission will be gathered into Reno!!! That means a 5 and a half hour drive for us in Ely!

The second but of news: There will be another worldwide missionary broadcast on January 25! 

January is a busy month because that is also when i hit my year mark!

January is just a really good month!!!!

Well now that I've scared everyone, I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Merry Christmas!!!!!! I love all y'all and each y'all!!!

Do good things!!!!!!!

The savior looks out for that. I am a living witness of that. By the fact that I am still alive I mean. The church is true. The gospel is truer! And the Book of Mormon is the word of God! I give my name unto the world as a witness of that. And may God bear record of that. I lie not

Love y'all

Elder Miner! 

This is how close Elder Miner came to going off the road.

Just inches

Short letter

HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you y'all!!!!

This week has been more or less a standard week. Except for one thing. 

This week we've been starting what we call the book of Mormon Challenge! This is a mission wide thing. This is the way that we are going to get the work moving in the ENTIRE mission!

The thing about it is that we are giving every member a book of mormon. A fresh copy. Unmarked and ready to be read. We are asking every member young and old who can read, to read this copy and mark and study it for the next year for another person. So that when the year is up they can give it to that person. Think about it, a personally marked Book of Mormon from your friend. The hope is that this will make a difference! The hope is that this will change their lives. We will be keeping track of everything to do with this all. And we are going to be personally inviting the members to doing this. And so I am inviting y'all from Nevada. Pray who to study for, get a copy of the book of Mormon and read and mark it for someone else. I know it will come! And I know that it will not only help them, but it will help you too! I know without a doubt in my mind!! 

I love all y'all and each y'all! 

ps my companion ate a pound of bacon for lunch! 

Cold cold cold cold

So out here in Ely, I haven't been warm in about a week and a half! It is quite cold. All the time. And even in the house it's cold because we don't have insulation in it? For whatever reason? 

But anyway!! This week was super great!!! President definitely has a sense of humor since he put the Canadian and the Arizona missionary together! Elder Rivers is super cool! He is an awesome missionary! And he is a spanish missionary too! So we are working on teaching in english haha. But we have been having a lot of fun serving together so far! 

We are seeing miracles out here in Ely! The ward members is really where it is at! THey are the way to get the work moving forward! We have had some really spiritual dinners with the members these past weeks. Having the missionaries over for dinner is great and all, but the dinners are supposed to be super spiritual experiences. So I challenge all of you to have the missionaries over for dinner and to try to keep the conversation focused on the gospel. It will make the experience that much sweeter!! 

The Christmas devotional yesterday was super cool! I had never seen one before, so that was really neat to see! I loved every moment of it! The hymns were super cool and powerful! The testimonies that were born were all about the savior and it was really neat to see. 

The past few days I have said 2 Nephi 11 17 a ton!"And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."       

Mostly because When someone asks me a question that I don't know the answer to I answer with that. But It really is a great thing to know.That God loves his children. If we know nothing else, at least we know that! I love it a ton!!!!!      

Make sure everyone knows that God loves them. We are all his children. The Love of God is Christ. He sent he son for a reason! 

I love all y'all and each y'all! 

Elder Miner 

Posing for their Christmas card

This is the one we went with!