Good Day Family! Well I will find out if I am transfered next weekend so I am sorry I cant deliver any news but stay tuned for next week! It is going good here in Houston, the weeks are flying by! I hit 6 months this friday and I am puzzled when it comes to thinking that.I got the burgers dad sent me last P-day and enjoyed them all week! It brings back so much memories and I am so thankful for that generous gift you gave me dad. I am grateful for all the support from you all at home. I read from an old conference ensign in the 80's a speaker talks about service, the speaker quotes President J. Reuben Clark Jr., the quote is great, "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines." Here are pictures from the temple attached to the email, with me and elder boyle as well as grilling some CAB's. Well Family, I appreciate the letter you sent me and the great love and words of encouragement you send me each week. I have felt your prayers every hour of every day. I have felt my heavenly father's love for me because I know this is his work and his glory. I am an instrument in his hands to do his will and never look back with regrets. The savior lives and his sacrifice is the greatest gift to us if we exercise faith in him to the end of our days. The book of mormon is the tool for us to know of how our eternal path is paved for us through being obedient to the laws and ordinaces of a restored gospel through a boy prophet Joseph Smith. This time in Houston is the best and I cherish it every moment. I am so blessed to know my family is forever and that you all are safe and are working to help others. Love everyone, everything, and every opportunity in your lives. Be safe my family, pray always and testify often of the savior and his gospel, it will bring you closer to him. Love always Your son, brother, grandson, and missionary

Well It was good to see my brother barbequeing, I can't recall ever seeing him cook like that in his pre- mission life. I am excited that he will reach his 6 month mark this week. Personally I feel like he has been gone FOREVER! I am counting down the days till I get to talk to him ! Woo hoo for Christmas!

10/26
Well Good Day Family! Well you might be getting this letter earlier than normal, but its all good, just tell dad to send me an email soon. The week has gone by so fast and it was one of the most successful weeks in my mission. We are teaching a lot of people now and have a couple of solid investigators. Elder B is the man, he just goes out and does the work with out any complaints or anything. He is pretty quiet, but it is all good, he works hard and loves to study. I guess I have become a big talker this transfer, my mouth goes dry pretty quick. But the weather in Texas has chilled a lot! Remember those saturday mornings in optimist football at the end of september, thats how it is here now. It is pretty nice, 75 degrees all day. I actually read the Proclamation to the Family to a Inactive member and her daughter the other day, it felt great. I indeed get the ensign, I will definately get a conference edition, and get the conference talks on cd of the whole conference from the distribution center. My plans for Halloween are to find and teach people all day until 7 pm! haha our president says that we have to be in by then. I think we might just hang out at the apartment and study or something. I am going to the temple on wednesday, I will take a lot there, and its most likely I will get transferred in november, transfer day is the 18th. I have definately been doing a great job on journal writing. I have kept a journal, and like what President Kimball says “Keeping journals reminds us of blessings. Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity". Elder B was an avid Journal writer, I learned from him that journals are important. I also am almost done with my first journal book! haha I write a lot! I got another journal book that I have waiting in the wings. The mission has been flying by though! I almost at 6 months! Every week gets faster, pretty soon I will be at 9 months then a year then... oh man I cant even think about that. I guess I have grown up a lot as a missionary the past month because I have gained a lot of experience. I am very focused and more determined and I am bold with people. I am obedient to the mission rules and I strive to have the spirit with me. Preach My gospel needs to be implemented more, but oh well. I am really happy mom and dad, my choice to serve a mission is the best decision I have ever made. I wouldnt change a thing! I love the people and the work which is involved. It is hard but worth it! I love the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets. I am blessed to have such a great support group at home! The lord knows us, he knows our hearts and desire. The desire to become disciples of christ will break the temptations satan throws at us. If our hearts are centered on the gospel others will follow. I ask you to pray and always ask for the guidance of the holy ghost, be humble and loving to everyone. I think if we all had love towards each other, the world would be a different place. The gospel is the foundation necessary to the gates of heaven and the kingdom of the highest glory. The book of mormon is proof of the saviors love for the whole world, it is proof that Joseph was a prophet and that the message I share with people is true. "...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. " -Doctrine & Covenants 122:7

10/19
Well its cool down here in the Lone Star state, it was 65 the past few days and its a cold front now. Only 2 months till Christmas and we can talk on the phone! The mission has changed me, I am not looking forward to the movies I missed or the songs I havent heard while I have been gone. But I look forward to the books by apostles and others of the church I want to read. I love reading books about the gospel that are full of insight and doctrine. The book of mormon has become part of my DNA, I love it and cant put it down. The prophets of this dispensation and their testimonies of faith in the savior is what I treasure up as well. C is great, he bought a quad off the LDS distribution website, without us telling him abouit it, he said yesterday in sunday school, the teacher asked him how he got to know the gospel, and he said "elder Miller". I was really humbled at that moment, he should get the priesthood in a few weeks. Well family, I love you and I miss you and hope that Heavenly father still guides you in all your dealings. Ask for the holy ghost to be there , and pray for it, it is the tool given to us for our eternal happiness to become more of a reality if we follow its promptings. I am blessed to know I have a great and wonderful family in Idaho and to know that the heavens are open and we will be together forever. But oh well, I am great and healthy with an eye single to the glory of god, this is the greatest miracle in my life:my mission. I love you and testify that god's son, Jesus Christ, is our master and the redeemer. Remember to love everyone, no matter who they are and what they believe. Thanks for the prayers I feel everyday answered by the father which is in heaven. Love always, Your son, missionary, and brother Elder Loren James Miller

Well I edited where Loren mentioned that he wanted people to write to him. If there is anyone that would like his address I would be more than happy to give it to you. Just leave a comment and I will get it to you. He has not got much mail lately and everyone knows the excitement you feel when you receive a letter in the mail. Loren seems to be doing well. We are all looking forward to hearing his voice and talking to him on Christmas, just about two months left!

October 5th-
Dear Family! Well transfers has come and gone during this beautiful conference weekend where I will never forget the heart warming messages of the leadership in the church. I am staying put in my area, I am getting a new companion though!! His name is elder B, he has been out for a year and a half and Its weird because a lot of missionaries think me and him look a lot alike and we are built alike. But I am excited to continue to build this ward up which it needs desperately. Conference was soooo good, I would have to say that you all need to watch Elder Hollands talk and Elder Christofferson off the church website. Please do it! Also Elder Bednars talk blew me away and so did Elder Ballards talk at priesthood. I found that talk by GBH in a conference ensign from 1977 i think at our apartment. But the church website has so much talks from the past if you search them. So everything is great here in Texas, The weather here is cooling down and it rains hard here. This is the best thing ever, I am grateful the father and the son's appearance to the boy Joseph Smith to restore the fulness of the gospel to the earth. I testify that the restoration is the foundation of missionary work, think of all the blessings that have came from that event in mankind. I am so grateful for the saviors loving gift to all of us, and allowing us to return to him and the father. God loves us all so very much and I am grateful to be an instrument to him. Things are good here, I miss you all so very very much, and pray that the holy ghost will fill your life with experiences that will testify to you the saviors love. Be safe and love one another at all times. Love always Your son and missionaryElder Loren James Miller

Well my Mom asked me to add my own personal thoughts and opinions to Loren's letters. And well I have to be honest I have avoided doing this because of how emotional I have been over the past few months whenever I think of my brother, am reminded of my brother, or think of how long it has been since I have seen him or how long it will be until I see him again. About a month or two after he left I picked up my phone several times to call him or text him, when my kids did funny things, or I wanted to laugh with him about one of our inside jokes. And quickly I put down the phone felt sad and went about my day. So to make a short story long- I miss him. Even though I never thought I'd ever miss my frustrating, irritating, annoying,impatient, difficult, stubborn, little big brother- I do.
So now I will try to add a little of my thoughts- I think Loren is doing great. I am impressed with his knowledge and testimony of the Savior. Also I was just discussing with my mom today how my brother has never been much of a reader or a lover of books. His list of books read in his life consists of the Captain Underpants Series- and thats it. But how proud are we of him that he can now add to that very impressive list- The Book of Mormon. He has read it now more than once- yay for Loren! I will write more next week. - Elder Loren's big sis

9/21
Hey Family! Well its almost the end of september here in houston and the weather hasnt changed that much! Its a little cooler but all is well! It was a good week we have a lot of potential investigators but it is very hard to get a hold of them to set up appointments. We are working hard to find the people ready to change to have the gospel fully bless their lives. Next sunday C will be baptized and his ready as ever, he has met a lot of the ward and is fitting in really well. Also K got to bless the sacrament as well on sunday and exercise his priesthood. It was very exciting to see that happen. Also this week I had an opportunity to go on exchanges with the Assitants to the Presidents. Also this past weekend I had the privilege of hearing Elder Claudio R.M. Costa talk to all three Houston missions. He talked a lot of about being better prepared as missionaries as far as studies and planning goes. He said that "if we as missionaries prepare ourselves, the Lord will prepare us for his people". I think that is absolutely correct, and he also said that the key to success as a missionary is to be a Preach My gospel Missionary. Mom and dad, family, I am becoming a preach my gospel missionary no matter what. I am focusing on that right now, I know if I do that I can do amazing things. I am changing a lot and I am grateful that a mission can do that to a person. I am working so hard to be obedient and diligent in the work so the lord can help me in bring more souls unto him. Well mom and dad, I love you all so very very much and I am grateful for the support and love you give me. I miss each and everyone of you so very much but I know that in 20 months That we can pick up where we left off and enjoy being altogether and having fun. I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the Miller family here in Houston. I am also blessed from on high because of the great love I have felt here even though you are in Idaho. I am extremely grateful for the Atonement of our savior jesus christ and that through him we can be made clean. Through faith in the savior, our life can be blessed for eternity if we exercise that faith. I am blessed to know that we have a living prophet and that he leads us. I blessed to know that if I honor my covenants that I have made that the Lord will be with me every moment of this journey. I am working hard mom and dad and never letting up, I am striving to be better everyday and I will never ever let you down. I testify that Jesus is the son of god, and that Joseph Smith was visited my him and the Father which is in Heaven, that spring day in 1820 and that the priesthood was restored to its true order and that God loves us all so very much. I love you family and thank you for your help in preparing me to become a better person and a child of god. The mission is the best thing in the world, I do not ever want to come home, maybe in may 2011, but definately not now. Thanks for all the support and the prayers, I have felt them deeply imprint my days here. Keep going strong and have faith in all things, even the small things. I leave you with this scripture that elder costa gave us that is true about missionaries and being prepared to prepare the way. D&C 138:53-57. Love your son, uncle, brother, and missionary Elder Miller
9/14
Hello Family! Well its been an up and down week, pretty good with the weather and had a great zone conference. I am looking skinnier, i guess its my diet, I havent been eating bad things at all. I enjoyed your letter and pictures, I really want to go to Nauvoo and see the things that you saw. You can do anything after reading the book of mormon, its that powerful. I know i sound like a broken record, but its so important! can share the gospel with anyone, be not afraid of rejection, be happy that you are doing your duty to share the gospel and give everyone their voice of warning that the truth has been restored. Joseph Smith was a prophet and sealed his testimony with his blood. I am excited for c to be baptized! he is way excited and way committed. Tracting is alright, but it doesnt help us at all, it shows the lord that we are working, tracting is not the way to find people to teach. we are trying to find the elect, look up election in the bible dictionary. K, who just was baptized, recieved the aaronic priesthood yesterday, it was really cool. We have been helping people move in and out and stuff lately for service. I love you my family and want to let you know that I have testimony of the restored gospel of jesus christ. I know that we are all children of a loving heavenly father and through Christ we can be cleansed. I testify that god still speaks to us today through prophets. I bear witness that the priesthood is restored and that Joseph Smith restored the same church that Christ established during his ministry. I testify that salvation is only through the messiah, and that we can become closer to jesus christ through our obedience to learning of him, the book of mormon is so powerful, i love it. Please read it, pray for missionary opportunities for our family. I know that I am in the right place at the right time. I love you all so very very much, Please pray for me and the people of houston. Until next time I leave you these things in the name of the Jesus Christ, Amen. Love alwaysElder Miller P.S.- buy the book or cd of Henry B. Eyring's "to draw closer to god" its amazing.

Sep. 8th
Hey Family! Well It has been a good week the past 7 days, I have definately felt your prayers in the area in which i serve in. I heard about the boise state game from members in the ward, Boise state is going to go undefeated again probably right? I was shocked to hear that BYU beat oklahoma, like completely shocked, How did the media respond to that?
Missions change people into better versions of themselves. I testify that it is true, im so different now, but I am a better person because i have different desires and a different attitude about things. Moving on, that is good that Utah State is doing well. I went to the Astros game yesterday and it was the funnest thing ever! the Ballpark is huge!!!! They played the phillies and it was a great game, i saw so many all star baseball players. It was a great P-day, i had to pay for my ticket with my capital one card because my mission card didnt go through. But it was a great environment! Well I thought that the BYU game would the big shock of the week for me but hearing that you guys have moved makes me even more shocked! But mom and dad you guys made the correct decision, through the power of the holy ghost you will know the truth of all things and will know what is needed to happen. I am so proud to know you guys involved our heavenly father in your choices. The house looks like the house that fits you and fits our family. how big is it ? how many rooms? How old is it? But you are right about lexie, she doesnt need to change schools, she is doing so well! I am so happy for her! I miss her so much because I know that she is turning into a great girl and will do good things. I really dont mind where you guys live as long as you are there when i return. As long as our whole family is there it will be still considered home. I have prayed a lot lately in what things i could share with you guys and its something that my mission president asked me in my interview with him last week. he asked me, "how is your studies"? I told him great, i love the book of mormon and I have been growing so strong in knowledge. I testify mom and dad that if you read the book of mormon consistantly and make it a priority you will be blessed more beyond belief. I know that to be true because I have felt it. I have read the book of mormon from cover to cover twice so far, and i am not stopping. I am telling you this because I love you and I want you to know you can do it. put 20 minutes aside everyday for book of mormon study with a pen and paper, and right down thoughts and feelings, read the chapter heading, do whatever, but start with a prayer and read to come closer to God. My mission means the world to me, I am enjoying every minute of it. That is one of the most influential changes I have made since I have been out, scripture study. So the game was so fun yesterday I will send you some pictures over the email, its not a lot but my camera batteries went out! C will be baptized sept. 27, he has been prepared by the lord to recieve the great blessings of the gospel. That right there is pure faith. I am fine, my meds, my shoes, my clothes, and my bike are all good. . I love Houston, downtown is so cool! Well I love you guys more than anything, but I testify mom and dad the lord knows of each and everyone of us and he knows our needs and our desires. If we allow the holy ghost to enter into our lives, God will direct our way back to him. I testify that Jesus is the Christ and that we have the truth restored by a prophet called of god. Time is flying by and serving a mission is the best thing ever to happen to me. Thank you for raising me in the truth. Share the gospel with everyone and build your foundation on christ. I love you all so very much and hope that you are improving and progressing everyday. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. with love always -Elder Loren Miller
P.S:-buy from deseret book to draw closer to god by henry b. eyring either on book or cd, i bought it on cd last week and it is amazing!
-Pray for families for the missionaries in the world to teach.
-oh and one more thing GO BRONCOS!!

August 31st-
Howdy Family!! Well I am sure grateful to have this opportunity to read your guys emails and hear about the great experiences you are all having. First off K was confirmed and it was an awesome experience to perform that oridinance. We are working hard to gather the flock, and to help others hear the good news of the restored gospel.I am eating a lot healthier these days, I eat carrots for snacks and have totally cut out soda and ice cream. I am more into fruits, i always have a banana and yogurt and a protein bar for breakfast! I eat light mini meals. Well mom what stake president M said is 100 percent right! that is what members need to realize is that we should love one another and be like nephi support our brothers no matter who they are. I think that if you step up and set the example people will notice and our heavenly father will notice the efforts in the work of the lord.Well my new companion is elder C, he has been out for 16 months. We get along good. It has been a hot one, of course it is texas, but by the end of september things will cool down and we will have a texas winter,It has been awfully hot, be grateful for having a real winter and fall and being able to have leaves and watch football on tv. I am gonna miss BOISE state games big time! but oh well its not like they will fall off the face of the earth anytime soon. We taught C twice last week and he is solid, he has been looking for the truth for a while now. He has read all the scriptures we have assigned for him from the book of mormon. We showed him the restoration dvd that is 20 minutes long and afterwards we asked him how he felt about it. He said that he can relate to joseph smith when he was a boy looking for the truth. my heart was full with the spirit when he said that, he is a good guy and I know he will be baptized by the end of the month, because he has already taken that big leap of faith by coming to church. Everyone in the ward is really nice to him as well! Well family I hope you know that missionary work is the best thing for me to be doing, i am so blessed to have a family like you all! I love each and every one of you! Thanks for all that you do and I know that Jesus is the Christ and that the plan to return to our loving heavenly father is through him. Remember your covenants and have full faith in our savior. I testify that joseph smith was the prophet visited by the father and the son and was asked to restore the truth back to the earth. I would like to committ you my family to read all of joseph smith history once a week. Thats what i do, and I have benefited from it, please do it! We all need to be familiar with the restoration no matter how much we know of it. I love you all so much, this is the real deal and I am so blessed. Keep praying for the work! Love you all! loveyour son, brother and missionaryElder Miller
August 24th-
Howdy Family! It is great to hear from you all! I am very very happy that you had a great trip mom and dad. The baptism was really good, I will confirm him next sunday. But it was a great moment to see this great guy enter into that covenant with god. Well last week we helped one of my favorite members move into their new house down the street. We helped them 6 hours one day and 6 hours the other day. It was good because I got a great work out and they are great people. Well another good thing happend yesterday, we found a potential investigator, he just was sitting there before sacrament, his name is C, He is 31 and said he checked out LDS.org and found the building and wanted to see what our church was like. He is really nice guy, he stayed for all three blocks and the baptism! me and my new comp are gonna teach him on thursday. Man its so cool just to have someone just show up to church and want to learn more. Well Nauvoo looks awesome, I really want to go on a church history tour someday. But thats in 20 months or so! The pictures of the stadiums are just beautiful! I rode my bike past football practices by the near by high school and it brought back memories... i still get in a center stance once and a while.. Well the other day we were doing service at the thrift store and i bought a tie there, it is a awesome tie that is really sharp, i looked on the back of the tie while determining whether or not to buy it. The brand of the tie is Luis Vuitton! haha I got it for 1.50 and it is my favorite tie now and it is probably worth like 150 bucks. But moving on from that moment. I am so happy you two returned home safely from nauvoo.Well family I love my mission and I am buliding and becoming a great person. The mission is the best thing I have ever been called to do. I believe I was foreordained by god to serve a mission. Well I want you all to know that I know that I am doing a great work and that we are living in a time of greatness. We know that the lord has restored the truth through a living prophet. And that a curious young boy acted on his desire to know the truth and that he was visited by the father and the son to bring in the last great gathering. I know that jesus is the christ and he is the redeemer of all mankind. I know that he was sent by a loving heavenly father who knows us personally. I testify that the book of mormon is the word of god and that Joseph Smith was chosen to translate the plates. I bear witness that Jesus Christ did perform the atonement and did set the example for us to become like him to get to the father. I know this is true and say it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Okay so for all of those who read this I am sorry I am a little behind on Posting this. This will be the last two weeks of letters.
Aug. 17th 2009-
Happy 25 mom and dad! Well I am glad you got your package. I'm really am blessed to have the gospel in our family and to know that we are sealed together for all time and eternity. Well dad, i am shocked that Mcnabb would want him but Donovan is one of the good guys of the league, not a T.o. or a Chad Johnson. Ian johnson will be the third down guy for the vikings, he is a weapon. Fresno eh? that must of been cool. Yeah football season is starting down here in houston, the high schools around here share a football stadium that is at the school district offices, it is in ground and it is sweet, it is like a mini- college stadium, press boxes that are outstanding, and it is football country! One of the members in our ward , he is in his sixties, he joined the church 12 years ago and is very active and very awesome, he played fullback for RICE in the sixties. He drives and 06 mustang and he took us out to dinner the other night. I feel way older now out of high school because i am not going to school next week like everyone else, I am a different person already and when I get home i will be a better Loren James. The mission is an eye opening experience, i mean we walk by drunk people on the streets and knock on apartments that are not safe. Thanks for all your prayers, i do feel them as I go about serving the lord. Read the book of mormon and pray about it dad, go slow, just do it! i love you so much! your my hero, thanks for honoring your priesthood and showing me the way! Well mom, i hope you forget about everything and have fun and enjoy the spiritual and exciting journey this week. You deserve it! Missionaries are some of the reasons why people come back, we are working with people here that have fallen away. I love the work I am doing and the scriptures that i have encountered, this week will go by fast and it might be my last week with Elder G, or maybe my last week in Spring Branch, well at the end of the week we are having a baptism on sunday after church, his name is "K", 30 years old, and ready for the steps toward becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He was prepared by the lord to recieve the message that we share. Elder G is baptizing him, and I am confirming him the next sunday. I am excited to see one of the lords children start the journey back the right way. I am way interested in genealogy and want to get into that after my mission, like get way into it! I do emailing at a community college, it is like a SLCC with different campuses. Mom and dad and lexie and emily and josh and stellar and rainy, i love you all and wish you the best on all your separate journeys this week, love everyone as thyself, never be afraid to share the unique message that we know is to be true. I know that a young boy in new york in 1820 was called of god to restore the priesthood keys and christs true church on the earth, and the final piece to the fulness of the gospel, the book of mormon. I love everyone, I love you mom and dad for starting the thing i love the most, the miller family. I am grateful to know that we have a loving heavenly father who has consecrated the family as the most important social unit in the world. Our family is special because of the way we follow the teachings and apply them to our life. We are different because we rise above the rest to be a family of the lord. 25 years down, eternity to go! Thanks for everything! happy birthday JOSH! and be safe Hemming family! Tell all my friends on facebook to write me ! I want some info on how everyone is doing! My family be safe and prayerful and pray for faith in all things! I love you Your son, your brother, and missionary Elder Loren James Miller
August 10th 2009-
Hey Family! Well its been a good week this week even though its been tough with a lot of people out of town to teach! But I got some exciting news, we are having a baptism on Aug. 22nd! We met him last sunday, his name is "K", he lives with a member family that is way active and are converts themselves of like 18 years. "K" is 30 and has had a rough life and is a very smart person and very committed to the gospel, he reads the book of mormon and watches the book of mormon cartoon movies with the family and knows all about whats going on! its crazy, the members truly made a difference by teaching him things while we werent there. He loves coming to church and really wants to be baptized by that right authority, so it is very humbling and exciting to see one of gods children be baptized. What grade will lexie be in? 4th? geez its so crazy that school is starting and I have been out here for 3 months?! Thanks for sending the package! and i will be sending something to you soon in the mail. The heat has been awful because its august, on saturday we went to every member home that lives near us because our area is spread out. and nobody was home, so we were in the sun all day! yikes we drank water so dont worry. well transfer date is August 26, it is a wednesday and thats when we move around to our new areas if we are being transfered. we find out where we are going through calls from our Zone leaders, on the saturday before hand, so the 22nd! so you will know where I am going, I think its 50/50 if i am staying or going, Elder G is gone he will move to a new area because he has been in this area his whole mission. There is rumors flying around that my area will combine with the other two elders so there would be only two elders in the ward. Take lots of pictures in nauvoo, and send them to me! I want to go on a church history tour someday, I will someday do that. Elder G's family just did it and sent pictures of it, it looks really cool. I hope you two have the best trip ever, you both need it! What picture do you use for my plaque? Who is going to be starting for BOise state this year dad? How is tampa bay? Anything you guys want from houston? I know that this is the restored gospel and that things are going up for me and the people here as long as i teach with power and conviction. I love the restoration of the gospel and teaching it. I would ask you to continue to pray and read the book of mormon and to love one another! I will send you that package soon and I love each and everyone of you! I truly am blessed to be the son of a great family and to serve the lord for two years! Dad I will always be your best friend! Mom I love you and miss your food! Lexie go to bed on time and read the book of mormon and get ready for school! Well I gotta get going ! Until Next time! Take care and god bless Elder Miller 1 NE 10:18-21