Elder Jeremy R. Teela

Elder Jeremy R. Teela

Monday, August 25, 2014

Week 53-- Hola

Hello again everyone! 

I guess you all want to hear back on this so I'll start by saying that I am staying state-side for the rest of the mission. It's not %100 set in stone yet though, Pres. Weidman still needs to talk to all "the brethren" and they will pray about a re-assignment. I've said that I'll stay though if they agree with that. I talked to Pres. Weidman about my language study and when I asked him about studying Spanish he paused for a second and said "That's a good idea Elder Teela.", haha. I'm so gonna be a Spanish missionary. Even if not, I'm happy to finish out here. This place has pretty much become home now. Thanks for all the prays/support/advice and anything else you've done, but I'm sure the Lord has great things in store here.
So some cool stuff from this week that happened... Oh! I got my mom's hump-day package. It was fully of camel-themed post cards from the ward back home which I kinda missed at first because I was running a bit slow, haha. Thanks to anyone who sent them out, it was fun to read em' all and realize just how fast the past year has gone by :). I still got quite a bit of time left though, so let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
We had a good lunch with the sweet sister who taught us how to make pies on that day too, so that was really fun. That night we also had dinner with another sister who is just the nicest most helpful woman ever. She made us some crab, some shrimp and some Filipino something... There will be some fun pictures of that at the end here. It was a great way to celebrate the day. The rest was weekly planning day so we made a few pies and talked missionary stuff for the rest of the day. It was pretty fun :).


The next day we had a trip up to the visitor's center and that was sure fun to get set up. We had 4 or 5 people we wanted to ask give our friend Emily a ride up (she's being baptized Saturday) so that we could make it. And all 5 of them said they couldn't. 3 of them don't even have jobs or school and they still couldn't! But luckily someone at the last minuet was able to help us get her up there and we had a great tour. The spirit was strong and the sisters were friendly, so all went pretty great.
Sunday was super good though. We went to he normal family ward for an hour or so, then we took off to Downtown again to confirm an old investigator. We got there a bit early so we got a chance to say hi to everyone and they all seemed to be doing pretty great. I got to see all my old friends there and the people who'd been baptized while I was at the ward. It was really cool and a great experience. The sister was confirmed and we got some pictures taken and it was all fun. Elder Richeson was still there too so we got a chance to be all reminiscent and stuff.


After that we were going to take the buses home but ended up getting a ride from a less-active guy named Saul (but the Spanish way Sa-ool). Pretty much this thug-looking guy pulled up in a beat up car and asked us if where we were going. We told him and he said to jump in.... so we did, ha ha. I know it sounds super sketch but in LA people don't ever do that, so when they do, they know just how creepy it seems I figure and are pretty sincere. So we hopped in and drove us 40 mins and took us home. He was a great guy.
We finished up Sunday night at a Japanese pot-luck with the bishop of the YSA ward and it was pretty fun. His wife is Japanese and has a ton of friends and they all sat around and spoke and we had no idea what was going on basically. It was super good food though and we had our little pack of people that only speak English so it was fun still. We also planned out the baptism for Saturday and it looks pretty much good to go! It looks like a good week ahead.
For my little thought at the end here I've had some lyrics to a song I listened to on before the mission running through my head a bit. It goes a bit like this:
Out on the front line
Don't worry, I'll be fine
The story is just beginning
I said goodbye to my weakness
So long to the regrets
And now I see the world
through diamond eyes.
It's not really about missionary work but it fits the theme out here so well doesn't it!? I really like the middle two lines "I said goodbye to my weakness, so long to the regrets" and that is what we really try to isn't it? Put everything behind us and over come it to serve the Lord. It can different things to different people I think but I like to thing of it in a missionary-ish way of course :).
Well, have a good week everyone, hope everyone is having fun starting up school!
Un en le exercito de Deus
-Elder Teela

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Week 52-- The One Year Mark

Well, I didn't even imagine writing this email still here in LA, but it's pretty amazing anyway. It hasn't technically been my year mark yet but there is less than a year left on my mission (I came out August 21st but go home August 11th), so I count it. It's weird too because I was with Elder Phelps when he hit his year mark and now I'm with him as I hit mine..... weird stuff. It's kind of conflicting feelings. I'm happy I've made it this far, realize I still have a while to go and am still wondering why I'm in LA. I'm a cocktail of strange happenings I guess you could say :).


Biggest news I think is that Pres. Weidman popped the question on me.  He asked if I wanted to stay in this mission or not. I'll have to give it some thought but I'm still not really sure. It's really hard discerning on these kind of things. I'm leaning towards staying though honestly..... We'll see.



Oh! A super cool thing happened this week! We met someone in a park while contacting and she told us she didn't speak good English. She also seemed really closed off and not really interested in the message. She didn't look Hispanic so I asked her what language she spoke and she said German! I flipped over to German and explained to her that I had studied it for 5 years but hadn't practiced in a while. Her eyes were about as big as dinner plates as I started talking to her about the church in German. It was pretty rough at first but after about 30 mins of talking I had remembered most the things I learned. She said I spoke pretty well too and asked how I was able to speak that way with out having learned it natively. I told her it was the power of God to help me talk to her and she took a card from us. We haven't gotten a call yet but I am hopeful :).
So for this special little email I want to share with you all some things I've learned over the past year out here.
1. It is HOW you serve, not WHERE you serve that matters. When I first got out here I treated this mission like a rehearsal before the show. I thought I'd be in and out of here in now time, but then one of my trainers shared something pretty profound with me. He read in D&C where the Lord tell the saints in Missouri to "act on this land as if for years". He said that that verse applies to all of us in the mission, no matter where we are.
2. Do something productive every hour of every day. This goes along with planning I guess too. Pres. Weidman is a business man and I think that's where he's learned this principal. Yes, there is need for rest but while you are out and about, don't waste time. The difference between the good and the great is how long you can keep going. I always knew that in sports but it's a life lesson too, one that I'm sure my parents would have been much happier if I'd known before the mission :)
3. Trust God. No matter what, put Him first. No if's and's or but's. If you want Him to help you in this life you always need to put Him first and make sure you are doing your CPR (Church, pray, read). It's the same basic steps to anything, even the president of the church still does them.
4. When God speaks to you, act. God will only talk to you if you actually listen to Him. It might not make sense and it might seem just like a random thought, but just do it.
5. Don't steady date before you are ready to find a spouse. I say that because I did it before my mission and it is a hard habit to break. It took me a while to get used to kicking those kind of thoughts out of my mind as I tried to worry more about the spirit than finding my next date. It's a powerful force your playing with there, so don't even mess with it before a mission (that goes for you too, coolio).
6. Be thankful. One of my favorite scriptures says "He that receiveth all things with a thankful heart I, the Lord, will make glorious". That is the truth. Thankfulness is such a better way to live your life than greedy and envy. I used to look after worldly things a lot. Money, cool technology and what not, but then we are never really satisfied. It always gets old in the end. You know what never gets old? Talking with people, feeling the spirit, learning and refining yourself.
7. Let things go. Forgive and forget. Jack R. Christenson said there are 2 things that drive out the spirit, pornography and contention. If you deal with either you will never have the spirit very long.
8. Feast on the scriptures. I don't mean a chapter a day or a verse a day. I mean really get into them. I have a goal that I will finish the Book of Mormon 4 times a year every year for the rest of my life. What Nephi 32:3 says is really true "feast upon the words of Christ; for they shall tell you all things which ye shall do". Not only the BoM or Bible either. Some of the best things I have every read come from general conference and CES firesides. Get into them, and you will have so much more faith and wisdom than you can ever imagine.
9. Learn to not be competitive in everything. I learned in sports you need to be the best. You need to claw your way to the top and work your butt off to get there. Now that I'm here though I realize not everything is so competitive. Missions are really a team effort. Just because someone get a few more baptisms or gets a call to leadership doesn't make them any better or worse. You are all here to bring souls to Christ and in the end he values us all equally. If you want to be a good missionary, forget the numbers and callings and just do your best.
10. Be happy, no matter what. Nothing is ever so bad that complaining about it will make it better. Happiness comes when we realize no matter what happens if we are righteous God has our back and that we are just as good in His sight as the best and brightest of humankind. Let his love fill you soul and you will be happy no matter what :).
I think that is enough overload for now. I hope you all have a good week and enjoy this new school year! God bless!
- Um no exercito de Deus
Elder Teela

Monday, August 18, 2014

Week 51-- Friendship is about pizza

Hello everyone again! This week has been a really good stepping stone from where we were to where we are going. Pretty much every way possible our numbers (not that it's about numbers but reporting 1's and 0's is no fun) went up and we have so many more people to teach! Which is good because we've been working pretty hard on finding and teaching. In a YSA area it's hard to find such a specific age group really. The good news is that the Lord knows that and the other Elders and Sisters have sent us some really great referrals which we teach now, so it's all great to us.
 
So some fun stuff that happened this week.... There was one time we went over to a recent convert's home and were helping him study and whatnot and he was getting a bit down. When we asked him why it's because he felt like he had no friends in the church. We told him that that was ridiculous seeing as this is the singles ward and everyone loves everyone. He told us that he really had nothing to offer to them though and that he felt like he wasn't giving back to his friends. We told him that is not what friendship was about when he turned, looked me dead in the eyes and with a completely straight and serious face told me "Friendship is about pizza." We just about died laughing and he did too as soon as he realized what he had said just then. It's weird what happens out here....
 
Oh, we also made some more pie this week. We gave a strawberry pie to a part member family that gives us dinner a lot and then learned that one of them was diabetic... It was funny though because they ate and loved it anyway and seemed to be fine. On my year-mark and her birthday we'll be going to Olive Garden to celebrate. It's kinda cool I came out on her birthday, and Thomas S. Monson's. I bet you didn't know that did you? Thomas S. Monson's birthday is August 21st according to Elder Phelps. Great day to hit the field :).
 
Speaking of which, next week is the year mark! That'll be cool. Hopefully someone I taught in downtown will be baptized Sunday as well! Hopefully I can make it to that but we'll see what happens.
 
So for spiritual things this week something that has really hit me profoundly isn't actually too profound. I look around and I see people around me how just aren't happy missionaries a lot. I know why people around us can be sad or disheartened but as a missionary we really should be pretty happy. I think one of the biggest causes of this is because some missionaries are somewhat like the Pharisees back in the bible. People get caught up so much in the rules and so much in trying to be exactly obedient to the law that they loose focus on why we are trying to keep all these rules. Dan Jones, Alma and Amulek, Wilford Woodruff,  Lehi and Nephi III... All these people never had a white handbook and yet they baptized more people than our mission will for the next 10 years combined.
 
I'm not saying that we should get rid of the white handbook here. It's inspired and I actually think without it we'd be in a ton of trouble, but we should never forget why we keep all these "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not's". In the end it's all to have the spirit, and if you get too worried about following rules than the spirit just won't be with you. We need to all realize we are imperfect here and that we can't follow all of God's commandments perfectly, it's impossible for now. So just try to keep the spirit and smile a little bit for heaven's sake.
 
I think it's also a problem in the church as a whole sometimes. We set ourselves extra rules and try to be extra good and follow every commandment, which is honorable. But if we make ourselves miserable then we are missing the point. 2 Nephi 2:25 says that "man are that they might have joy" and the fruits of the spirit are peace, joy and love (that's somewhere in Ephesians, haha). So yes, be obedient in everything you can, but also be happy and don't drag people down around you if they mess up, we're all just trying our best here. Don't take life too seriously, no one ever gets out alive anyway :).
 
Anyway, that's my rant for this week. Have a good one you guys! See you all in about a year!
Quase um ano no exercito de Deus
-Elder Teela

Monday, August 11, 2014

Week 50-- The Zone loves us

Hello again everyone,
 
Well this week has gone a lot better than the last one, we're picking up the pieces of our areas and everything is going a bit better. Numbers are going up and the teaching pool is getting bigger!
 
So we spent Wensday and Thursday on our bikes in our HUGE area. It covers two stakes.... I think we probably covered over 20 miles easy that day. Spent probably 2 hours or so biking and sweating it out. We ran out of miles since we had to dive really far for about 4 days. It ate up about 250 of our 950 allotted miles. We had just enough to make it to the church and back the last night of the month so we drove that and when we got back we had used 950.00 miles, haha. That was pretty funny to me.
 
Friday we made pies for the zone. We met to do it for just the district but good ole Sister Green got a bit confused and gave us a double recipe and we ended up making 4 pies instead of 2. So now the zone loves us (as if they didn't already :P) and we all had some good fun with that. They turned out pretty good too, especially because we found half the apples in the fridge and had no idea how long they had been in there....
 
Saturday was really fun. We had a ward picnic at a park and did a lot of fun picnic-y things with the ward. They soaked the bishopric, ate a lot of hot dogs and water melon and did all the good stuff. We got pulled aside by the ward mission leader and for an hour talked to a man that was at family reunion. Bless the man's heart but the ward mission leader jumped from subject to subject and I'm surprised the man wasn't completely confused all together. Bro. Le'i is one bold and fearless missionary though for sure, no doubts about that. We got an address and the man wants missionaries over so it was a job well done.
 
Yesterday we had a good "break the fast" with the YSA ward and a good time at church as always. It's always good to hear people bare their testimonies. Some of the most powerful ones come from the people you really least expect.
 
So this week I've been thinking about goals and diligence and such. We've been helping a recent convert out a lot with some stuff but the thing is that he has almost 0 motivation. I mean literally none. He says he wants to do things but every time he tells "I want to I just have no motivation". This is obviously an extreme example but it made me realize something, we'll never get anything done unless we really want it. It's why people don't lose weight, it's why people never learn to play an instrument and it's why unmotivated missionaries don't get baptisms. If you want something bad enough you will find a way to do it. If you don't have that desire to do it then you never will. You desire needs to be so much that you're almost obsessed I'd say.
 
Going back to one of my favorite talks, M. Russle Ballard quotes a man and says:
“The longer I live, the more weight I attach to a man’s ability to manage and discipline himself. The longer I live, the more firmly convinced I become that the essential factor which lifts a man above his fellows in terms of achievement and success is his superior capacity for self-discipline.
“Education is a priceless aid to success, of course, but education is not the difference. The educated derelict is a common sight, and so is the man who has achieved resounding success without the opportunity for, or the advantages of, a formal education. It seems a valid conclusion that while formal schooling is an important advantage, it is by no means a guarantor of success, nor is its absence a fatal handicap.”

“For my part, I have concluded that the quality which sets one man apart from another—the factor which lifts one man to every achievement to which he reasonably aspires while the other is caught in the slough of mediocrity for all the years of his life—is not talent, nor formal education, nor luck, nor intellectual brilliance, but is rather the successful man’s greater capacity for self-discipline.” (Woodson is the man's name)
So there you have it. I know this work is the work of God. Have a good week and I'll write more then!
-Um no exercito de Deus
Elder Teela