I'm absolutely sick of eating corn. For about the last two weeks I've had corn on the cob for almost every single meal. Apparently Taylor is famous around these parts for their sweet corn. It was really good the first three or four meals, but it's gotten a little ridiculous. We have a bag of old corn cobs sitting in our apartment right now. We really need to throw those away...To top things off, this past weekend was the annual Taylor Sweet Corn Festival. I guess it was pretty fun to have the parade go right by in front of our house. The theme was "How Sweet It Is". We got about a dozen free frisbees and an entire bag of tootsie rolls. The only downside to the festival was that just as the whole corn thing was dying down, everybody got reminded of it, so we're eating even more corn now than we did before. It was fun to see everybody come out for the festival, though. They had a rodeo, which usually is a pretty big deal for the people here. We live right behind the rodeo grounds, so it brought a lot of excitement to Taylor.
I'm getting better at riding my bike! It doesn't take me 10 minutes to go up each hill anymore. We usually go at least 10-15 miles every day, and it's finally started to build up my endurance. In addition to all the biking, I have to exercise 30 minutes every day. That's way more than the 0 minutes I did back at home. Surprisingly, I'm getting a lot better at it. I still make a complete fool out of myself every time that I play basketball, though. I'm no Jimmer.
The people down here keep getting more awesome. Teaching Patty and Benny is always the highlight of my day. Every day they get funnier, happier, and more spiritual. I can't believe all the things that they keep teaching me. I never get tired of hearing about their faith in Christ and how dedicated they are to Him. They're such a great example. I feel like I'm a pretty stubborn person and that it takes a lot for God to get me to change. When Patty and Benny know something is true, they change. They don't need somebody to push them along, but they show so much trust in the Lord. It continues to amaze me.
The other Taylor elders had a baptism this past weekend! They baptized Kayla, a teenage girl. It was awesome to see all her family come out for such a sacred experience. I love baptisms. I especially love the account of the baptism of Jesus in the book of Matthew. "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." I love what it says about the Spirit. I definitely felt that as Kayla was baptized, taking that essential step to coming unto Christ, and I know that Heavenly Father was pleased in the decision that she had made.
So things are going pretty awesome so far. I haven't been deported to Mexico, so that's always a plus. (Especially considering how much darker I've gotten since getting down here.) I love this work. There's nothing that I'd rather be doing right now, and I really mean that. Tying into the theme of the Sweet Corn Festival, I'm thankful for how sweet it is to be able to work with the people of Taylor, and how sweet it is to be able to see the light of God in other people, of all faiths. I love the Book of Mormon's account of Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life:
"And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen."
I know that God has sweeter blessings for us than we can even imagine, and it truly is wonderful to come unto Him.
Thanks for your letters and all the support! Sorry I take so long to write all of you back. You're all in my prayers, and may God continue to bless you.
Love,
Elder Miller
Navajo Word of the Day: Shi-kiss (Brother/friend)
