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
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