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| Former Awesome Comps of Miles |
Just a quick update on Miles! He is living in Franca and loves his new comp, a super hardworking missionary from Cape Verde, Africa. I think Miles called it Capo Verde, and they also speak Portuguese there.
Miles has had a lot of hardworking comps but this guy is next level. He has a cool story. The missionaries started teaching him when he was young, but because his parents weren't members, he wasn't allowed to be baptized until he was 18. But he continued to attend church all that time, on his own. He is very motivated to share the gospel with others because of the way it has impacted his own life.
Franca has a population of 250,000, so it's a pretty big place and he has multiple companionships in the city, which makes p-day more fun. He got a new Settlers of Catan expansion pack. So he likes to have missionaries over for tacos or bbq and play Catan. Franca is the shoe capital of Brazil, and they have a lot of really nice shoes there. Also it's the basketball city. That is fun since most everywhere else people are obsessed with soccer.
It's interesting to talk to Miles these days. He is so engaged in the work and also being a zone leader. We ask him a gospel question and he has great responses. It's funny to think of how hard it always was to get a serious answer from him during home church and covid!
He was able to go on splits with a guy last week from Idaho. This elder was struggling. And Miles told him he could be the senior comp for the day and he'd go wherever he wanted. So this new trainee wanted to go to a certain area that was an hour walk away. Miles said sure, and they ended up teaching 17 good lessons. This new missionary said it was the best day he's had on the mission yet.
Miles loves taco seasoning. They have a lot of ground beef there and meat is very cheap. But they don't use a lot of seasoning. So we are sending him loads of taco seasoning and he's making tacos for everyone who misses that flavor from back home.
The other hot commodity is maple flavoring to make syrup. He made German Pancakes a few weeks ago and really loved that.
It's fun to hear him speak Portuguese when we call. It's so casual for him now and he doesn't miss a beat when he switches from English with us, and Portuguese with his comps.
He's learned so much from serving a mission. Miles is a thoughtful kid. He has seen so many things and made so many connections that he just wouldn't get back home. One person they taught struggled with depression, another was a single mom with two children who both had autism. He's taught multiple people with no family at all. Another guy who had his semi truck stolen and lost everything because that was his livelihood that he worked decades to purchase. Another guy who literally built his home with bricks he collected and carried home one at a time. I think its has given him a better sense of how different life can be for all of us. But especially those who are living in places where it can be hard to get ahead. They don't have all the support we do in the US, and especially within the church.
It's been very rainy in Franca and its a little cold there! He's making good use of his rain jacket, although it looks like he'd need a full body suit to stay dry there.
