Emails from Opah & GG
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8-30-2022
---------------------------------------------------------- 9-15-2022
-------------------------------------------------------------- 9-25-2022 Miles: Happy birthday!!! Since you have already started the (Nativo), total immersion, method of learning Spanish. Let me give you some practical ideas when you feel too shy to admit you don't understand what is said or know the correct word. People are very kind they understand you are making your best effort at speaking Spanish. Actually, I have found it is a good way to introduce your self and actually opens lots of door to a real conversations. It is OK to accept their help. Sometimes just inserting the English word they may actually know it and may be able to help you. I increased my vocabulary this way. The key here is to stop thinking in English, but to start to think in Spanish. After about 6 months I found I could dream in the language and no longer needed to translate word by word. Also, pray in Spanish. further, languages have many dialects which have a local flavor., i.e,, their filler words. They may not use "como", how? or "che" what?. In Mexico they use "mande" send it again. in Aruba they may use a Dutch word. or say I, UND,, JA, HAU or MMM. Enjoy the experience and be able to laugh at yourself. Sometimes because we think we can read and pronounce the words correctly only we say a "dirty or funny" word. Language is like music if you have good hearing it will be fun. It is like learning a new song. Opah Glavinic -------10-23-22------------------------------------------------------------- I purposely have wanted to let you describe your life as a missionary for atleast 3 Weeks to see if you had gained any perspective yet. The answer to that is YES!!!  . Only after 4 weeks you sound like a seasoned missionary, ride in a car is better than riding a bike. The key to being bold & a great missionary is rendering selfless service. It begs the question why would you do that? The GOSPEL is all about LOVE. Once we understand and implement that as your motivation people will become open and trust you. Yes, I know easier said than done. Thanks for sharing the culinary tips, I will start eating more otter pops and I know I will be in Aruba. FYI, your aunt Jennie Youngquist and family will be in the Caribbean ( cat key) for thanks giving. It is an island about 100 miles west of you. The Youngquist’s go there once a year. Dr Scott Youngquist plays doctor in exchange for free logging and food. Not a bad deal except when there are hurricanes. Keep up the informative weekly inspiring emails. Opah Glavinic _______________ On Sun, Feb 5, 2023, 10:04 PM Larry G <ljglavinic@yahoo.com>
wrote: Elder Miller, I have been remiss. So here is a little
update. All the teacher calling in church are team taught. A guy, Mike Connelly
and I teach the CTR 5, 5 year olds in Primary. This is week 4. I taught today.
I almost couldn’t do it. I was prepared, hurt my back working too hard moving
dirt to solve an erosion problem at a rental yesterday. I went home and
tried to fix it and only made it worse. I could hardly walk. This morning it
was better. By noon I was back in bed with a heating pad wondering if I
will ever get better. I may see a doctor tomorrow. So why am I telling you this. It is to help me
relate to others with difficulties Sympathy is better than empathy. On
my mission it was very hard. The Swiss were too well off. They had no need for
God. I believe the poor have a need to be to have faith that there is a
better way, the LDS view is nothing more than a better way an eternal
one. Enjoy the challenge it is your challenge to
help others. Getting a new companion is part of that journey. Continue in your
faith Elder Miller. Opah Glavinic On Feb 6, 2023, at 3:45 AM, Miles Miller <miles.miller@missionary.org> wrote: Hey Opah! Thanks so much for your email! I am
so sorry to hear about your back pain. That must be the worst and slows
everything down. Please know you are in my prayers and I hope you recover soon.
I loved what you said about the humble being receptive to the gospel. Its very
true and I see that everyday out here. I wish it wasn't the case though because
a few well off members could really help this branch out. But itll be what and
who the Lord wants it to be. I love you Opah! Rest up! Love Elder Miller 2-9-23 My back is lots better. Living the WofW helps
with quick recovery. Opah Glavinic _________________________________________________________ I have been meaning to write for weeks now. I was reading 2 Nephi 27. It talks about the coming forth of the B of M. And the “experts” saying how or why can I not read a book with part sealed? This time it simple said you / we are not ready !!! That is right I continue to struggle with the east stuff. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”  I sounds to me Aruba is filled with good people and they are blessed already because they live that standard. wow!! Your e-bike accident reminded me of my own 2 years ago. I was unconscious for 30 minutes and in the hospital for 2 days. I still not totally recovered, but I can fake it. When the weather warms up some I will go and see if I can surf again. The trick is to get to your feet quickly. At 83 years old that is a real challenge!!  Sounds like you got enough of the language(s) mastered. Or can fake it. I used to say if I can learn a new word or phase a day I am fine. I keep praying for you Love you, Opah Glavinic ************************************ One from GG: 3-15*23)
Dear Miles... It is so fun to read your letters and share your mission a little bit! I'm sorry I'm not better about writing. I guess I use the excuse that you probably have so many people writing to you that you won't miss it if I don't write! I know, bad attitude, and I apologize! I also don't have anything inspiring to write about...nothing missionary-worthy!! We are doing the same old stuff here in Carlsbad. We decided to rent out our granny flat, so I no longer have a vacant guesthouse to offer visitors. They'll have to be content with a guest bedroom!! We've had a lot of rain for the past couple of weeks. The latest trending phrase is "atmospheric river". I guess it refers to cloud formations that are blowing through carrying lots of water. We do need the rain, but it makes it cold! I have babies again...it's that time of year! Baby chicks   that is! We haven't had any for a year or so since the coyotes got the last flock. Time to try again with a taller, hopefully stronger fence! And I suppose I will need to not be lazy and go down the hill to close up the henhouse every nite and then open it up each morning.The San Diego temple is closing now for our annual 2 week hiatus. I will miss going there for two weeks. That doesn't sound like such a long time, but since I don't have any work or school schedule to help me keep track of the days, going to the temple on Tuesdays is my weekly guide! I hear the rumor that the temple here will be having an extended closure for construction repairs sometime closer to the end of the year, maybe as long as 6 months! I like working in the temple...can't tell you any specific stories or spiritual significance, but I feel good about the time I spend there! We'll probably do a trip to Mexico while the temple is closed. Haven't been for awhile. We'll have to check to make sure everything survived the rain! The last time we were there was about a month ago during a time when another storm was moving through. The ocean was wild...tide was high and the waves were crashing over the tide pools like crazy! Lots of "blow holes" all up and down the coast! My computer crashed back in December and I've never been very good about backing stuff up, not a fan of "the cloud". I lost a lot of stuff and it took me about 2 months to recreate all my property management business things and bookkeeping files and systems, learn a new computer and new software. Frankly, it's been a mess but I'm just about back together again! However, there were files of personal stuff that I couldn't recover and I feel bad about that...recipe files, thoughts, stories, talks, etc, things I had been saving for a long time. So learn a lesson from me...when you get back from your mission, anything that you want to save that you care about, if it's on your computer, back up backup backup!!! As much as I use a computer, I still like to have paper copies of stuff! But that can get to be a mess all of it's own if you aren't an organized person!! I'm looking forward to conference time. There always seem to be messages that hit home with me. I need to do better at noting which talks are really meaningful to me, so I can find them later and refer to them. We had a talk in Sacrament meeting a week or so ago. He talked about the importance of writing down spiritual highs/experiences that we have and then referring back to them when we are low or doubting our faith. I like the philosophy that says, "Feed your faith, starve your fears. What you feed will grow, so choose carefully what you feed and where you expend your energy." I hope your transfer goes well. What language do the speak on the B island? And how are the languages coming for you? Such a great experience you are having! All that time dedicated to your Heavenly Father and serving Him with no other life stuff getting in your way. Another thot that I really like and is a good guide and is exemplified by missionaries as they spend their time in service to others... "When you are feeling bad about your circumstances or yourself, instead of thinking less of yourself, think of yourself less." Love you lots and am proud of you, GG ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 5/4/23
Playing sports (basketball, baseball, or soccer) was a great non-confrontational way to meet people. I had friends join the church here in the states that way. I liked you photos especially the street seen. It says it all. Lots of people walk ,no mountains, few cars, and local attire. I loved the seen of the ocean with small waves. It reminds me of being in Dubrovnik, Croatia when we took our family there for a vacation 25 years ago. Also a little like Baja California, Mexico. Opah Glavinic Thanks for the email Opah! I agree! Sports open up so many doors and have gotten a lot of people comfortable with us missionaries! The beaches where we clean trash remind me of the mexico house coast too! Really rocky, and so much trash it is crazy. I find all sorts of things like little army guy figures to bike helmets.crazy! Hope you are doing well! Say hello to GG for me! Love Elder Miller ♥♥♥♥ 5/9/23  it is hard for people to say no to someone who rendered unselfish serviceOpah ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ To GG from Miles 6/26/23 Hey GG! I hope you and Opah are doing well! Yesterday reminded me of you so much...  Then she did something that reminded me of a funny experience I had with you. So we pulled up to this inactives house and all the houses have these big sliding gates. We knew this lady was home because her windows were wide open. So we called into her home a few times from the gate but no one came out. Tphen this member who reminds me of you (Yvonne) cracks the gate open and says I'll be right back and goes into this ladies property (kinda a no no for missionaries) and goes up to the window and calls in to this Inactive member. It totally worked and the lady was so happy to see Yvonne. I thought to myself that is totally like GG! "Miles, get out and move those orange cones; we are going in!" Hahah just a funny thing I was reminded of yesterday. I love you GG! I hope you are well! I can't wait for the day I can see you both again! Thanks for all you do for me! Have a great week! P.S. this is a picture of us with Yvonne yesterday doing missionary work! I was bummed she took off of her head her sunglasses for the picture though. ♥♥♥♥♥From Opah 7/17/23 As you probably know your folks funded an Alaskan 7 day cruise for us land your family to celebrate our 51 years of marriage. It was awesome good food, being with your family. It was our first time to Alaska. We were at a small coastal town , Sitka population of 15,000 it was the 3rd largest city in Alaska. We eat some good Halibut fish dinners. Beautiful country and the weather was exceptional no rain and mild temperature 60-70 degrees. Had an interesting connection with Aruba. One of the rental properties we manage had a tenant who upset the landlord. The tenant who has little children killed a large red rattlesnake near their rental. The landlord as opposed to being happy was mad. And feared he might be sued because the snake was an endangered species. Many island in the world have no snakes, in Aruba a rattlesnake species like this is also endangered. Have you killed any rattles snakes lately? We have been blessed 3 days ago my wife Susan repeated what she did 6 years ago. That’s right Totaled her car. That number 2!! Good news was better than the last time only a few bruises as evidenced by us going to the San Diego Temple the next day. As you may know I teach the 5 year olds in Primary. I was able to tell My favorite story in the Bible after Jesus Christ. the story in Acts chapter 9 about Saul who became the tireless Apostle Paul. He didn’t need to be told twice!! He is my other role model. He being a zealot knows when you do what is true & right and ultimately blessings come after all the “hard work” are worth it. Opah Glavinic ♥♥♥♥♥♥ 7/31/23 to and from GG
Your email meant so much to me! Thanks you so much for taking the time to write me! I loved hearing how much you loved the cruise! All of the pictures were amazing! So many memories! Thank you for sharing that relief society lesson with me. That was so neat to read. That girl sees the big picture! I can't even imagine the faith she must have. Super neat. Often times the mission does not feel like a breeze, but building on my relationship with my Heavenly Father, everyday like this is something I cannot take for granted. Thank you for reminding me of that. Right now I have a comp who is a different dude, and hard to work with. But just like you said, I should be more focused on what the Lord wants me to learn from him, and how I can build him up! I love you GG! I cannot wait for the day I get to see you and Opah again. But right now I am going to do the best I can at soaking up this experience I am having! If you see Uncle Adam anytime soon would you tell him that Elder Miller is thinking about him. He is on my mind often. Love you tons GG! Love Elder Miller On Mon, 24 Jul 2023, 11:45 pm Susan Glavinic, <soobeegee@yahoo.com> wrote:
8/13/23 Got it. when you are off your mission , ask about a struggle Susan and I are having. It is not with us but extended family. We are keeping the covenants, going to church, & rendering service, but the struggle continues. I believe we have had heavenly intervention in an interesting way. We enjoyed the photos you sent. Please continue to do that, and sending a scriptural thought. The whole notion that the ward is your family as expressed by the young Indian Doctor is very insightful . FYI, you are learning the important lessons of a good life patterns. It will help you now & In the future. Opah Glavinic ♥♥♥♥♥♥ From GG 10/9/23
****************************************************** 11/19/23 Sorry for not replying sooner. Our property mgt business got crazy busy. We have a tenant who want 1 1/ 2 month notice to enter a property where there are 3 separate tenants. She keeps breaching terms of the rental agreement and acts like she owns the property and know the law. The law is we give only 24 hour notice. She is also a member of the church. She can aware like a “drunken sailor” oops  . So yo got back to Aruba OK and will confirm to their governmental standard? You also mentioned you just lost some good elders by the name of Packard. We have a ton of Packard’s here in Carlsbad, CA. They are good members of the church. FYI our grand daughter, Ruby Watkins, just left for a mission in Chile. She has been the one month now. It has a climate just like Carlsbad , CA. I just saw a video of you bearing you testimony in Pagimento. I could understand it just fine. It was about 80% Spanish. I am teaching in Primary for about 6 months now. I really enjoy it. I have never done that before. 5-9 kids. They are 6-7 years old. They know the Gospel better than many adults. Although there are bad thins going on in Israel/Palestine I don’t think it quite the 2nd Coming of JC The big question for me is, are the enough “good people “ yet to warrant JC coming?? . FYI , I appreciate you working on it.  . I could be wrong. All I know is ,if you need to repent do it SOON!!!Opah ************************************ Miles response: Thanks so much for your email! I am glad your work is keeping you busy! Hope things get resolved with that tenant. I'm glad you could understand my papiamento testimony! I'm excited to have a conversation with you in it when I am home. Hope GG is doing well too and you have some fun plans for the holidays! Love you Opah! -Elder Miller   What is your hourly weeding rate? Your resume is perfect. You have an open offer to work for me. Opah Glavinic ******************************************************************** 1/25/24 Wow , not many get to meet an Apostle !! We had a former Brazilian missionary meet a group of teenagers/ almost gang like. He had great success with them. maybe that is your calling to do the same. Loved the picture of the doves in the coconut tree. But that dinner plate of food made me hungry. Keep the pictures coming. I had an impression after reading the B of M. It answered the question is it fiction or nonfiction? Nephi 6-10. It is true because it is a perfect description of family dynamics. Laman & Lemuel vs Nephi. If you were a liar, you would have never put that story in the beginning of the BofM. This story makes us exercise our faith enough to have hope. Miracles do happen! I’d like you to pray for our son Adam. He is going thru some trials now. With a divorce and alcohol. He needs to get off alcohol. Can you include him in yours prayers? Prayers  will help him changes his path Opah Glavinic Response back to Opah 1/29/24) Hey Opah thanks for your email this past week! Hope you and GG are doing well! I love your thought about the story in 1 Nephi with Lehi and his family. I agree, they had big faith. Uncle Adam has been on mind a lot lately and he will be in my prayers. I still remember just a few weeks before I left for the mission me and my little siblings were in carlsbad with you and GG. I got to go on a fun temple trip with you and on the way Adam was living pretty close and we got to stop by and I got to say goodbye. I hope I'll be able to see him again when I get home. I know God is aware of him and all he is going through. I know it hurts for you and GG too and you'll both be in my prayers too. Love you opah! Talk to you soon. -Elder Miller *********************************************************************** 1/30/24 Oh my! I guess I have to make a confession after your admonition to read the Book of Mormon....I really don't like reading it!! Why? Well, it's because it makes me angry and frustrated because the people are so stupid and unfaithful! The Lamanites and even the Nephites had so many witnesses of the truth, so many miracles, and they continually fell away! I mean, having the Savior appear to you in flesh and blood...can you imagine how that would fill you with wonder and make you tingle? And then a few years later, they fell away again and became wicked and terrible to each other. Time and again the people were blessed, protected, saved, and lived in peace; and yet they still forgot what it felt like to have that love and peace and also what it was like to have contention and war and slavery and continued to make bad choices!! I guess that's a testimony to how coniving, deceiving, and powerful Satan can be. I guess that is one of the great lessons of the Book of Mormon. But it's frustrating to see the people make the same mistakes over and over again!! How does Heavenly Father stand it??? There's nothing like adversity to shape people up! I'm not a fan of the principle of agency. I think I understand it and know the purpose of it and that it is necessary, but I'm not a fan. And it definitely isn't free!! I'm afraid that if I were God of this world, we'd have floods once a month, just to whip people into shape. Guess I'm a control freak!! I do know that while we are free to make our own choices, we are not free to choose the consequences of those choices. But it is by the consequences of our choices that God teaches us...ahhhh - some of us are slower learners than others! Be a fast learner, Miles, and a cultivate a long-lasting memory, so your life will be filled with peace and joy, not misery and hard-knock lessons!! So you will remember when your mission is behind you to make good choices and always keep the Savior in your life as your guiding light!! Speaking of memories...how are you coming with your journaling? Have you recorded the feelings you had when Elder Soares was visiting? Get them written down so you can go back later and remember!! Love you much, GG response: Hey GG! Thanks so much for emailing me last week! It meant a lot to me. I hope you are doing well. I was sad that you weren't able to make your trip to Idaho but I know you are a big help amd stability where you are and its neat how selfless you and Opah are being about it. My journal is up and down, but I made sure to write about elder Soares and I keep recommiting to be better about it. I'll be good about it this week. I love you! You both and Adam are on my mind often and in my prayers. I hope to be able to see him when I get home. I know you already know but God is so aware of him and you. I agree agency is so hard but at the same time it is so vital, it has to be on us. Miss you like crazy! Love, Elder Miller **************************** ************************************** 2/19/24
For the first and only time I got to go to the temple in Panama this past week as I travelled to Guyana. It was so special and I'll treasure it for the remainder of my mission. I want you to know there is a prayer roll box in the Panama City temple that now has Adam's name on it. I am praying for him and both of you! I love you, thanks for your examples to me! -Elder Miller *********************************** 2/20/24 Cool. I thought I was the only one to go on a mission to multiple counties and learn multiple languages. If anything you learn is, you were blessed to be born in the USA... I liked the picture of the plates of food. . keep up doing good. Opah Larry Glavinic ********************************************** 3-7-24 Sorry, life is crazy sometimes you have to drop what you are doing and fix or try to fix something else. We are healthy and warm, however it has been raining here a lot. We usually get 8-9 inches of rain. We got 5" in storm and another 5" followed by yet another. We have total about 20" now.. I guess the LORD has some other plans for us. Love all the pictures, people, landscape, animals, & food. The cow reminds me what a blessing to have fresh milk! Opah Glavinic **************** 3-12-2
You've got to be the best missionary. Your love of the work, the people, and the Savior shines brightly through your letters! Makes me happy reading them. Keep up the good work! So sorry to hear about being sick! No fun there. And the fishing? Looks like you were fishing in an irrigation ditch? Did you eat any of your catch? ***************************** 6/24/24 And speaking of remembering... how are you doing with your journal upkeep? So you can remember later all the faith-promoting experiences you've had while on your mission? I loved hearing the story about all the missionary ties! That guy is a "hoarder" in the making! We love you and love reading your emails...I suppose that the emails you write each week is one way of keeping a journal because I'm sure they are being saved somewhere for you, either by your mother or some technological way!! Nothing much going on here, just the same old stuff. We're still doing property management stuff and just maintaining here at home. I'm not sure I'm a fan of this season of my life...nothing exciting going on. I keep wanting to travel, but Opah can't think of anywhere he wants to go...! So we just go down to Mexico every couple of months. That's easy and doesn't require much planning! And when you live in a tourist destination like Carlsbad, why would you want to go anywhere else anyway?? Keep up the good work...suck everything possible thing you can out of the experiences you are now having. It's so great to hear about the experiences you're having while serving the Lord and spreading His gospel! Love you much, GG ********************* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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