9 September 2008

Hello everybody,
This week was absolutely wonderful! While there were no big events out of the ordinary, it just went by rather smoothly and everyone seems to be rather happy.
I've also received tons of good news from all of you across the ocean and that definitely makes me extremely happy. I was overjoyed to hear about one of my great buddies decisions to serve a mission, I also received a wedding announcement from one of my best friends and everyone just seems to be doing well.
I love being able to see the world from a missionary point of view, while that often times can bring heartache and sorrow while seeing others in darkness, there definitely comes an increased gratitude for the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. An ability to finally recognize the joy that comes by living the Gospel and applying it's principles. I think it would do us all a bit of good if we'd pause for five to ten minutes and just reflect on the Gospel and all the blessings we receive thanks to it. How grateful I am to my family and there dedication to the Gospel and their love for the Savior and His work.
I love you all and thank you for your support.
Love,
Elder Miles Marsala
P.S. I appreciate the increased amount of emails this past week.


*Be sure to keep checking in... new pictures will be posted soon. :)

2 September 2008

Hello everyone,
This last week was pretty good, we had a good zone conference. As a mission, we will all be rising at 6:15 to read from The Book of Mormon each day so that we can finish it before the end of the year, we have also instituted a few days as mission-wide fasts, and a daily prayer at 6:30 as companionships. We are doing this in order to increase our faith and unity so that we can reach our baptismal goal for 2008.
We got the call yesterday that Elder Knowles will be leaving the bureau today to continue his mission in Montpellier. I'll be sad to see him go, Elder Knowles and I have gotten along very well and have enjoyed each other's company these last nine weeks. He is a great friend and a wonderful missionary. I wish him the best of luck as he heads back out. It'll now just be Elder Gysler and I flying solo, it'll be interesting to no longer be in a threesome, but nice.
Thanks again for all your love and support, and don't hesitate to write, I promise it won't offend me if I receive some letters or emails.
Much love,
Elder Marsala

26 August 2008

Bonjour tout le monde,
Wow, so it's been quite a ride with the cars in the short eight weeks that I've been here. My first week in the bureau there were four accidents, no injuries. So I figured that's about all that could happen...I was wrong.
The Zone Leaders in Cannes received a brand new car, which in the first week of owning it, was keyed, then the Assistants’ car was in Bagatelle and when they came out of their lesson they found nothing where the window should of been and a lovely rock on the seat. So they started to use the bureau car instead. We took in our utility van and had its check-ups done and that the same day we discovered that on another car, a tire was completely dead; we got it fixed. We finally got the assistants’ car an appointment to have the window fixed and I began to breathe a sigh of relief as things started to work out....I shouldn't have; I received a call that the bureau car the assistants were using had the kind pleasure of having two of its tires slashed.
In the end I find this all rather amusing and I just hope that all will run smoothly next month.
I love all of you and I thank you for your support.
Love,
Elder Marsala

P.S. I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to my dad who will be 53 this Friday

20 August 2008

I recieved rather sad phone call yesterday from Périgueux informing me that Purevsuren "Surène" Sharkhuu passed away yesterday morning at age 79 due to complications in her liver. I was informed that the week after she was baptized that she was diagnosed with cancer but no one told me the seriousness of the problem. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know her as I spent my time in Périgueux. She is with out a doubt one of the most faithful women I have ever met and I can still remember the joy she felt at her baptism, it was such a beautiful day. I'm also grateful that she is no longer in pain and that she was baptized and received the Gospel in her life before she was called home. I'm also happy that now she will be able to learn and better understand what was taught to her but possibly lost in translation, considering we don't speak Mongolian. I will be very happy to see her again and to express my love for her.
I love you all and I thank you for your support.
Love,
Elder Miles Marsala
P.S. I would like to congratulate my little brother Quinten who recently made the BHS Golf team as a Freshman
P.S.S I would like to wish my mother a Happy 50th Birthday this past Sunday and to wish a Happy 28th Birthday to my brother Nathan this upcoming Friday
P.P.S. Congratulations to Soeur Turner and her husband on their third wedding anniversary


(**Purevsuren "Surène" Sharkhuu is the woman in the photo with Miles by the baptismal font a few posts below this letter.)

12 August 2008

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Hello everyone,

This past week was quite interesting for lots and lots of reasons, but after all is said and done it went pretty well I thought.I would say that the highlight of the week came last night. Elder Knowles and I had the privilege of going to eat at the family Caplin's home, it was so good. They live about a 35-40 minutes outside of Toulouse in a very small town, which was typically French, quaint, charming, and beautiful. They have a sweet home and a lovely family, they were just so happy to have us over and there was just a loving excitement radiating from them. The father is an excellent cook and who has a passion for cooking and food similar to that of Dennis Larsen, it made me laugh.

So this week starts again a new transfer, they just come and go so quickly it's ridiculous. Obviously I'm staying in the bureau but I still had to pack my bags. Elder Knowles and I have moved into the apartment above the bureau with the other elders that work here, and our proselyting area has been slightly modified, but will still be in the same ward. We will also still be in a threesome because Elder Gysler from Switzerland is coming to replace Elder Knowles after this transfer. It's rather hectic around this place during transfer week but it's fun anyways.

I love you all and thank you for your support.

Love,

Elder Miles Marsala

5 August 2008

Bonjour tout le monde,

This has been a pretty great week! We had Zone Development meeting and our first interviews with President Carter and it was wonderful. This upcoming week will be the transfer but we know that I'll be staying here which I'm quite excited about so that's good.

This last weekend was great! Brice Wilson was baptized! He has been an ami for more than a year, he was originally being taught by the Assistants and then he moved into the Zone Leaders area, he's so awesome! The baptismal service was great and he was so proud to be a Latter-Day Saint. During his testimony afterward he sung a couple of songs and it was fantastic. Sunday he went to his ward at 9AM and then stayed for all of our block as well which ended at 5PM never leaving the church. He bore his testimony in both wards in which he also sang, he's so cool. He came to family night last night and gave the lesson on Prophets, Apostles, disciples, and missionaries and he did a wonderful job.

As of next week I'll finally have a dead companion, meaning he'll have returned home. All my companions are still living but for the next four transfers all my companions that I've had to this point will be leaving except for Elder Knowles, who is my first companion younger than me.

Well as of this past Friday, August 1, I've officially lived in France for a solid year, pretty neat I'd say.

I love you all dearly and I thank you for your support.

Love,

Elder Miles Marsala

Pictures from Perigueux, France

June 28, 2009

Miles baptised Hongova Sandag (the young girl in front)

Below:

Elder Marsala with his companion and the youth in Perigueux