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