Hey everyone! How's the world outside of missionary work doing? Not like I care, I'm in Cali for heaven's sakes, haha. It's been a slower week out here but that doesn't mean there aren't good things to write home about!
The first fun thing that was cool was a miracle we saw on Tuesday. We were out trying to meet with a referral which went terribly. We were on our way out and in search of a public restroom for Elder Watts when someone said "Hey Elders!" If you want to hide from us, never do that. We talked to the man and turns out he was headed home from some lunch and was a less active member! He wasn't even on the rolls for the ward, which means he hasn't been to church in at least 5 years. He invited us over and we got to know him pretty well for the next hour or so. He's actually really cool and tries to help the homeless get on their feet and recover. He also had a bathroom to Elder Watts' relief, haha.
Just a quick update, we went to the mission office for my visa stuff this week and the new date to be in Brazil is April 5th. We also have the application tracking number so we can check up on it now.
The next cool thing that happened was on Thursday night. We were weekly planning for the next week and had an impression to set a goal for how many people we would invite to be baptized this week. We set it for 15 and were ready to meet that goal. The next day at Zone Training Meeting (ZTM) they asked us to set a goal for the baptismal invitations we would set, how cool is that? We feel like that it was an inspired goal to set.
To continue on the subject of ZTM we had a really cool thing that we did to kinda rally the troops. The zone leaders had us get rid of our chairs and sit on the floor for and asked us our favorite primary songs. It was a bit embarrassing at first but we all got into it and had some fun. Only in the Church do you find 20 year olds doing this... They then asked us to all sing "I hope they call me on a mission". After the song we went around and they asked us to tell why we came out on our missions. This spirit was strong in the room as most of us started crying and sharing those sacred few moments of our lives. It was powerful and it really helped pull us back to the real reason we were there. It made us all realize that everything that we done in the Church, maybe even in our lives, up to this point had been for this moment. It's like the spiritual state finals for your sport. All your blood, sweat and tears come down to this moment and we only have one short shot to get it right. It was a great experience.
On a lighter note we ran into a drunk man on the street that night who called out to us. He said that most his family were members and asked us how we could help him stop drinking. We began to tell him right as he took another shot right in front of us.... seems real determined to me. We talked to him for a bit when he said all of the sudden "How old are you?!" and turning to Elder Watts told him "You are a strong man, you know this?" and then turned to me and yelled "Oh! This one must get all of the gir-els! You must be quite the ladies man! I have a daughter who is 19 you know!?" We laughed it off and then told Elder Watts he is John Ciena in the WWE. It was a real weird night all right.
I forgot to mention that earlier that day we ran into another guy that blew our mind with his strange statements. He called us aside, started his story and then requested we go somewhere "Not on an incline, my body is sensitive and I can't talk like this". He then told us that he was part of the biggest man-hunt since Osama Bin Laden and that the CIA, FBI, police, gangs, 16 aircraft and a trained bird was following him. He then asked us for the bishop's number, which we didn't give him, and asked that we "talk to the authorities". Finally after about half an hour he asked us for some cash because he can't work because he can't stay in one place. We told him we only had cards and he walked off. Seems like a likely story, right? People here are crazy....
Saturday we had two awesome dinners. One was with the district and one with Chino. The one with the district was first and when the 6 of us got there the host asked "Is this everyone? I thought there would be more..." and promptly pulled out 10lbs of BBQ'ed ribs and chicken! It was ssssoooo good. And that wasn't all. there was 7-layer dip, potato salad, cake, cookies and rolls. All in great abundance. Chino's was fun but we didn't eat too much there, haha.
I know this week has been kinda short but like I said, it's been a slow week. Almost all our numbers and appointments went down sadly. But I did have one really cool miracle happen this week. Because I am 19 and don't do so well sometimes I was kinda broke for groceries this week. I planned on this and bought some extra last week but it still seemed like slim pickings for this week. I didn't want to spend any more personal (really mom & dad's) money, so I prayed for a miracle so that I would not need to spend any. As we got out of ZTM this week I got a package from my grandpa stuffed with food! It was great and I had no idea it was coming so I felt super blessed, but that wasn't even near the end.
We got a call last night from one Jared, a man from Colorado who's uncle is in USC medical center awaiting a liver transplant. He asked us to help and we agreed on a blessing this morning. As he picked us up he turned out to be super cool and a medic in the army. We blessed his uncle and as we were driving home he offered to take us shopping. At first we declined but he insisted and said "refusing me
this service is refusing me the blessings I would receive for it" and was very determined. Not wanting to test the man, we agreed to let him buy our groceries. After we had gotten about $40 worth of groceries he looked at us and said "Is that all Elders? Come on, splurge a little!" He walked around till we put more in the cart and then ended up getting us $100 worth of stuff! He then took us to El Pollo loco for lunch and then home. All from a guy we met last night! We are truly blessed and I firmly believe the Lord used him to answer our prayers. He really is aware of us and will help us if we need Him.
this service is refusing me the blessings I would receive for it" and was very determined. Not wanting to test the man, we agreed to let him buy our groceries. After we had gotten about $40 worth of groceries he looked at us and said "Is that all Elders? Come on, splurge a little!" He walked around till we put more in the cart and then ended up getting us $100 worth of stuff! He then took us to El Pollo loco for lunch and then home. All from a guy we met last night! We are truly blessed and I firmly believe the Lord used him to answer our prayers. He really is aware of us and will help us if we need Him.
Well, that is all for this week. I love you all and hope you have a good week! My God bless you all!
- Um no exercito de Deus
Elder Teela
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