Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's day again! :D

 

I wish I would have had more time on the phone! My mission truly has taught me just how much you do for me, and the rest of the kids. And honestly, I can't thank you enough! I can't remember if I told you or not, but while I was in the MTC there were multiple times where I needed a little extra money, needed to ask you a question, etc... and I would reach for my phone to call you, only to find that my phone wasn't there (: haha. And this past week during our leadership meeting we had a small "get to know you" activity, and due to mothers day coming up, the question was "how has your mother influenced your life?" ..... that's an intense question! So many Elders and Sisters stood up and said, "my mother is really patient, and taught me patience." "My mom is really proactive, so she taught me to keep busy." And on and on. But with you, I couldn't just narrow it down to one thing. I went through chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel while I was awaiting my turn, and went through all the Christlike attributes, faith, hope, charity, diligence, patience, obedience, humility, etc. and realized that you exemplified each characteristic, and at that moment I realized just how Christlike you truly were. So needless to say, I bragged about you to 30 other missionaries or so just how great you are (: That it wasn't just one way that you influenced my life, but that you truly were the most Christlike person I know in my life, and how you have set an amazing example for me to follow. I was going to tell you that over the phone, but I didn't want to "crunch" it in at the end. I love you mom (:

 

We had a great week this week! We saw so many miracles along with the rest of the zone! 5 out of the 10 companionships in our zone taught 25 or more lessons! We truly have been blessed! We had a great zone meeting where we extended a committment to the missionaries in the zone to teach at least 25 lessons this week, and to teach 40 lessons next week. We are so excited! One companionship went above and beyond and they went for 40 this week, and ended up teaching 41 altogether. Miracles happen (: We just need faith!

I got to go on a mini-exchange for an hour with Elder Navarrete this week. It's so amazing to see just how much he has grown since I had been with him! And It's great having him around!

We had a great lesson with our investigator Scott Neeley on Monday about prayer. He came to the ward's family home evening and he had a fun time, as we had a nacho making contest (: We had our lesson afterwards along with a couple members from the ward, and it was a very powerful lesson about prayer and how we can use it to get through trials. He shared some of his experiences with prayer and we promised him that he could have those same types of experiences as he prays about the Book of Mormon.

We taught our recent convert Desiree Rodriguez the Restoration this week for her new member lessons. It was another really powerful lesson and we feel she benefitted a lot from it! She really is such a blessing in our lives!

We also taught our investigator Brandon Dawkins. Unfortunately he is leaving in a few weeks to go away to college in Arizona. We are going to try to get his information sometime soon to send the referral over to Arizona. He is a really good kid and he would be a great addition to the church.

We had  a great lesson with one of our investigator, Jose's, sister, Erica. (My grammar has taken a nose dive, hasn't it? oh well (: ) She is really open to learning and we talked to her a lot about prayer and committed her to pray every night before she goes to bed. We followed up with her the next day and she said she had a great experience with it. She said she also prayed that morning and that she felt a lot more calm throughout the day! It's so amazing to see the Gospel take effect in other people's lives! I love being a missionary!

I had the privilege of interviewing an investigator being taught by Elder Atkin and Elder Fridal for baptism this week. It was a great experience! She is ready to be baptized and that baptism will be taking place this Saturday at 4. We are excited for them! During the interview she was telling me about her life experiences, and it reminded me of Hymn 270, I'll go where you want me to, so I sang it to her before we started the actual interview, and it turns out that song is actually on her baptismal service program. So that was

In my studies I learned a lot about humility, and how the scriptures are her to bring us reproof. I saw evidence of that this morning as I read from the scriptures and I am excited to apply what I learned! I love the reproof I get from the scriptures and I love seeking for ways to improve! The scriptures are such a blessing in my life and I love learning about my savior Jesus Christ!

Well, again it was good hearing from you yesterday! I love and miss you so much! I will keep the family in my prayers, especially dad in his this trying time and Jax with his stomach problems. Have a great week (:

 

Elder Teeples!