Good times at Moorpark College

Hello Family! (:

This week was awesome! We kept really busy, and we've got another busy week ahead of us. We get to watch Meet the Mormons tomorrow! We are stoked! You should go see it (: I'm sure it is showing in Utah. Then we have President interviews, a temple trip, setting up tables on Moorpark College Campus, and a few other things. We are so excited! 

  The area is doing really great. We got to proselyte a quite a bit this week and we had a good time at Moorpark College participating in the club rush there. (Where all the clubs set up a table and get people to sign up) So the institute there had a table up, and we talked to a lot of YSA's and it was really successful! We are excited to follow up with those people. Ryan is doing good, he came to church again yesterday, and we had a pretty good lesson with him this week. Ben bore his testimony about how he wants to share the Gospel with ALL his friends! He is so great (: I love him to death! He also received the Priesthood which was amazing. Such a great example of what Elder Bednar talked about in conference. We taught a new investigator this week, who's name is Ryan B. He has really been prepared! He's had a lot of friends get baptized within the past year, which is a great influence on him. We also had a couple really intense lessons this week with people who just wanted to debate, but it all turned out alright. The bishop of the Thousand Oaks 3rd ward invited their daughters friend over for dinner last night and had us over. Their daughter is on a mission in Honduras, and we were celebrating her birthday although she was gone, and we got to teach her friend, Colby. She committed to read the Book of Mormon last night, so we will follow up with that. 

   My testimony was definitely strengthened this week. During one of the "debates" we were in, one of the people we were teaching, John, asked this question: "If God really wanted everybody to believe in Him and follow Him, why doesn't he magically show up on all the TV channels, or appear into everyones' mind and tell them straight up?" I've thought about that question a lot, and there are many answers that people could come up with. We then asked him, why would you remember that? What would be so significant about that experience? Then we discussed how we forget what things look like, and we forget what things sound like over time, but we will remember our feelings for much longer. If God were to appear to everybody, it would be a great experience, so much that we would remember perfectly how we felt. But why would God do that, when He can give us that same exact feeling through the Holy Ghost, and through prompting others to do good? That way we have the choice to follow Him by faith which causes us to grow in the process. I know that the Holy Ghost teaches us all truth and it can be just as powerful as a knowledge as if we saw God Himself. 

Sorry this is shorter than usual! Thanks for all your love, prayers and support (: I love and miss you lots! Talk to you next week! 

Love,

Elder Teeples! 

PS Brother Leatham, thank you so much for being such a great example to me of humility and charity. It really has changed the way I act and respond to many situations. I always appreciated your willingness to go out of your way to minister to me and my brothers. I will always consider you as such a great friend. A new missionary just moved into our apartment with us, Elder Alexander Harper. I was looking at his pedigree chart and I think his grandpa or greatgrandpa's name was Alexander Leatham. So maybe you're related? Pretty cool though! I have definitely learned though that the Lord's Will will always be done. Whatever happens is for our good! Thank you again for your stellar example of love towards me. Love ya! 

God be thanked for our dear prophet...oh how I love him!

Hello!!!! (:

Wasn't general conference amazing!?!?! It was sooo good! I feel at multiple points the speakers were looking into my eyes and talking to me and saying exactly what I needed. It was truly a great experience (: I loved every second of it! I'm sad, though, that it is my last general conference of my mission.... I will miss watching these as a missionary!

I should be hearing back from President about my departure date soon. I have been keeping myself surprisingly focused and I don't usually think much about it during the week, but yesterday in between sessions I was talking about it with Elder Gerber, because I couldn't get it off my mind during the first session of conference. Then in the afternoon session, there was a talk given and it was an answer to my prayers. I can't remember his name, but he is the one who spoke in Portuguese. He talked about receiving answers to prayers to make important decisions in life! I also learned that if we can take care of it ourselves, Heavenly Father will trust us to work it out on our own. So that was cool!

 
The area is doing really well. We saw Ryan this week, and he is doing great. His pet lizard died this week and he was really sad about that... but a few days later, he bought a new pet chameleon and he loves it! He just thinks its the coolest thing in the world when it changes colors. We weren't able to see Ben because he was busy with school. We had an exchange with the assistants this week and it was amazing! Elder Lee and Elder Gerber worked so hard. They went on Moorpark College campus and talked with soooooo many people! Elder Wallace and I worked really hard too and we found a few really great people, and we saw some great miracles! Answers to prayers truly do come (: One girl named Hailey we found is really great! She has truly been prepared and we are trying to follow up with her.

Elder Gerber is still awesome. We are still getting along super well and I learn a lot from him. I really admire his desire to apply what he has learned from conference, and basically any instruction he receives. He's really humble in that aspect!

My testimony has definitely been nourished after general conference! I was just uplifted all weekend by the spirit. It's such a great privilege for us to hear from a living prophet! I love general conference! I definitely learned a lot about receiving and recognizing answers to prayers, especially in important decisions that we all have to make, like I mentioned before, so it was very helpful. It was so good to hear from President Monson! There are some rumors around that he isn't doing too well, so we are keeping him in our prayers.

We don't usually have any big service opportunities, but last night we were walking through and apartment complex, and we saw this young married couple trying to juggle their 16 month old boy, loads of groceries and a stroller out of their car. So after some persistence they let us help them in carrying in their stuff. It was great! They seemed to be really appreciative afterwards, and they had smiles on their faces as we walked out the door, so we feel it made a positive impression on them! It just felt so good to help out even in a small way!

Thank you for the shirts! They fit great and they are WHITE! They look great (: thank you sooo much for that! I hope all is well back home! Love and miss you lots! Talk to you next week (:

Love,

Elder Teeples!

2473 Visa Wood Circle #13

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Best Week Ever!

Hola! (:

This week was soooooooo great! Ben got married on Friday, baptized on Saturday, and confirmed yesterday!! It was such a great experience! It all went so smoothly, our ward mission leader was such a huge help, and we couldn't have done it without him! He truly is the best ward mission leader ever! So helpful in everything. Ben is doing great and he said that he felt "glory" when he came up out of the water. He had a lot of his Asian friends come with him to his baptism and to his confirmation at church yesterday! It was such a cool experience finally seeing him make that step! Elder Garns, the area seventy for this area, was at our sacrament meeting and he stood in on Ben's comfirmation. All in all, it was just a lot of tender mercies from the Lord all right in a row. (:

Ryan came to church yesterday as well. We had a lesson with his mom this past week, and she let us know that her therapist told her to not make any big family decisions until next year... So since we are treating Ryan as a minor, we have to do as she asks, but we are going to see if we can maybe dig a little deeper on that, if the spirit directs. So we are going to move his baptismal date to next summer. 

We spent a lot of time this week working on goals for the zone to work on, and we put a lot of thought and prayer into them. It took up a lot of time, but we feel really good about them! We also met with William, the guy who came to church not yesterday, but last week. We are excited to start working with him! 

Elder Gerber is so great! I'm so glad that we are staying together for another transfer! We really work well together I feel, and we get along, which is great. We've become really good friends, and we are unified in most things, which is great. He is very humble in seeking out the Lord's way in all things, which is something I need to work on. He is a great leader! 

This week, my testimony was strengthened a lot. During one morning of studies, I was meditating and I took a "trip" into my premortal life, traveling through my life in reverse until I got there. It was a really cool experience, and I even imagined myself there supporting, in spirit, dad while he was on his mission during the hard times he might have had. It really made the premortal life feel more real, which was a really cool experience. 

I'm still working with President Felix on my departure date. I'll let you know as soon as i know! Have a wonderful week (: Talk to you soooooon! Love and miss you! 

Elder Teeples!

I'm staying...hallelujah!

Hello! So this week was sooooo busy! But it was sooo good (: so many great experiences! 

I survived transfers! Elder Gerber and I are staying!!!!!! (: We are so excited! Especially with Ben's baptism coming up this Saturday! It will be so great (: We are so excited! His baptism was announced yesterday in church and that was so cool. We had a lot of people at church yesterday! We had Ben and his girlfriend, Anna. Then we had Ryan, which was great (he smooched this girl right on the cheek while we were walking to sunday school!) Then William came. We met him last Monday and invited him, and he actually came! That was a miracle (: Then we had a couple less actives show up. So it was a successful Sunday! 

We had Mission Leadership Council this week, with Elder Malm, the general authority who is on the missionary board! it was soooo good! We also went to a fireside by him, and we had a zone conference with him. It was such a busy week! So many meetings! But the spirit was so strong all week! I was definitely humbled by the things Elder Malm talked about it. I definitely know a lot of new things I can work on! They are basic things too... So it'll be great (: After zone conference Elder Malm picked a few people to interview, and Elder Gerber and I were 2 of them! It was a really cool experience! My interview was really short though... everybody was in there for like 10 minutes and I was in there for like 3! He asked me how many months I have been serving, and I had to think about it... I really didn't know! It was so weird! I have just been so lost in doing the work that I hadn't even thought about that for a while! It was a great experience (: I also accompanied Elder Navarrete in a musical number at the fireside... and it wasn't the best I'd ever done, but that's okay! Definitely a learning experience (: 

But yeah it was a great week. We are so excited to be staying! I know this church is true! My testimony was really strengthened this week (: Love and miss you lots! Talk to you next week! 

Love,

Elder Teeples (:

Elder Gerber and Elder De Costa, one of our roommates.

Another day in paradise...103 degrees....ouch

Hello (: 

This week was a great week! We got some good work done. I also got sick a couple days... Fever, fatigue, etc... It wasn't fun, but I feel better now!! (: It has been sooooo hot yesterday! It was 103 yesterday when we got to church. We went on a couple exchanges and for one of them we walked all day because their bikes weren't working. So we just drank lots of water and walked in the sun all day (: It was great! Both exchanges went really good. I went with Elder Kanenwisher last Tuesday. We just seemed to be busy all day doing things. It was cool going on a second exchange with him! I really like Elder Kanenwisher! We just worked hard all day and we were really effective in our efforts. I went with Elder Walker on Saturday and that was when it was blazing hot... that was when we walked all day so I got to talk with him about a lot of things. He is a great missionary. He is really good at connecting with people! I was really surprised. We spent the morning talking to this guy at a garage sale, who was in his 70s or so. After listening to a couple of his stories he brought us into his home and showed us pictures of his family. It was so great! We really felt like we made a friend. It was cool (: 

Ryan is doing great! We saw him a few times this week. A couple times he was really distracted but it was pretty good. He is just as funny as ever though! He likes to link arms with Elder Gerber and I when we walk around at church haha (: I've really come to love him a lot! It's so interesting too, because I never really spent much time around people with special needs. I have really come to love being around Ryan though. He is really great!

Ben and Anna are doing so great! I love every chance we get to teach them. We taught them about Priesthood and Auxiliaries, which was a long lesson, but it went really good! They had so many questions, but we did our best to answer them. We moved his baptismal date to September 27th so he has time to work out his marriage papers before he gets baptized. Thats the Saturday after transfers, so I reeeaaaalllyyy hope that I survive transfers here! We have a lesson scheduled with them this week, and we are excited for it!

Elder Gerber is doing awesome! We've gotten along so well this transfer. Things are going smoothly and we are coming up with ways of how we can be more effective in this ward. We seem to be spending a lot of our time in neighborhoods where there aren't many YSA's... We thought about it a lot. We are thinking about spending a lot more time up by the institute in Moorpark, and around the restaurants by the campus. And around apartment complexes. It should be really good. We also have a chance to proselyte on Moorpark campus with a student so that should be so awesome! The member just got off her mission and she is so excited to proselyte again!

Well have a wonderful week! Thank you for all your love and prayers (: Talk to you next week! 

Love,

Elder Teeples (:

I love Chinese!

Hello! (:

So... Crazy story for this week!: It happened last night. We had like 6 more minutes to walk around our apartment complex before going in at night, and we saw some Chinese people cooking food on their porch (they were on the second floor of the building) and we told them that it smelt good, and one of them said, "Come try?" So we went up, and another Chinese guy who spoke more english came out and invited us in. They gave us chopsticks, and a big chicken wing, and sat us down at their table They had soooo much food and soooo many people in their apartment! Apparently it was the "mid-autumn celebration" Then they placed this soup in front of us.. It was water that had dates, lotus seeds, and this clear leafy stuff in it.... It was somewhat bland, but after eating almost the whole thing, we asked what the clear leafy stuff was, and one of the Chinese people put it into a translator on his phone, and showed us. It was FUNGUS!! So that was a new experience... Then they gave us a brownie thing that had a dried out egg yolk cooked into the middle of it.... needless to say it was quite the experience. But we had good conversations the whole time with the Chinese people (: Elder Gerber and I were like teaching two different lessons. I have come to really like Chinse people! They are so humble and super nice. We are going to start teaching one of the YSA Chinese people we met last night (:

This week was really great! We were really busy with with some paperwork and also with preparing the stake report for our meeting with the stake presidency yesterday. So we didn't get too much done this week. The meeting went really well! It is so good to see that the stake has a lot of support towards our hopes and causes as leadership. 

This week we went on an exchange with Elder Lee and it was so great! He really set a good example for us on how to preach the gospel and talk to everyone at all times no matter what, even if it is super awkward. I used to be like that, but I seem to have gotten out of the habit. So Elder Gerber and I are doing our best to talk to everyone, no matter what happens. This was my 3rd exchange with Elder Lee, and I was so happy that I got to go on another exchange with him! He is so humble and he sets a great example. We have really become great friends, and he is from Lindon so he's not too far away (:

This week we saw Ryan a few times. He is so funny! At church he kept telling me that I "looked good for my age" and that he "likes my hair" haha. He didn't really want to come to church yesterday, but ended up coming anyways. We had some good lessons and he seems to be retaining a lot, and he is really progressing. 

We saw Alonso last night. Finally got a hold of him! He didn't come to church, but we are hoping to establish daily contact, so we don't lose contact with him again. 

Elder Gerber is doing awesome. I really love him as a companion. We are getting along really well! We have really good conversations, and he is helping me to start meditating (: Which is something I have really come to need. I need to learn to relax my body. I feel as if California is rubbing off on me in that aspect, of just being chill and hippy-like (: While being Christlike as well. My mission has been such a blessing to me! I love this Gospel and I absolutely love being able to share it with everybody that I can! Thank you for all your love and support! It truly is a blessing to me in my life, and I will forever be grateful for it (: You are in my prayers! Have a miraculous week! 

Love,

ElderTeeples 

Busy busy busy. Sign up for justserve.org

 

Hi (: 

This week was really good! We seemed to be really busy with administrative things and such. We had a zone conference and that was sooo good! We talked about becoming a zion zone, and how that could be possible. Elder Gerber and I are still seeking for a vision of how we could do that here. But we are launching a program called JustServe in our mission. It can be accessed at justserve.org. (You should register!) It is a website the church came out with to simply aid in finding community service activities. So we will hopefully be giving up to 10 service hours every week! I am way excited (: People who need projects worked on can post them on the website and missionaries, members and non members can all sign up to go to a project of their choosing. It seems to be starting out slow, but it should pick up soon! 

We saw tender mercies at church yesterday! Our special needs investigator, Ryan, came to church! We were excited to have him there. He is sooo funny! He only wanted to stay for the first hour, but everybody encouraged him to stay the rest of the time, so he did. He told me that I looked good for my age (: haha. He is hilarious! We should be meeting with him tonight. 

We also had Ben and Anna bring one of their friends to church yesterday. His name was Glen. He was so happy to have him there! And he wanted missionaries to teach him so badly. We found out that Glen lived in the other Elders area, so we told them to talk to Elder Robison and Elder Miller. Ben was apparently really excited for Elder Robison to pop the question of, "is it alright if missionaries come and teach you?" Haha Ben is so great. Our Gospel Essentials class was about missionary work, and we had him give his input on how to bring people to church, and he just said something along the lines of, "promise them that they will feel good if they come to church, and be patient with them. Promise them that they can come to feel God." It was so cool! We taught them about Tithing and Fasting earlier in the week and they understood it really well. It was such a great lesson! 

I also went on another exchange with Elder Rasband and that went really good. It was cool being able to go on another exchange with him! We taught some good lessons, and had a good lesson with their investigator Jacque. She is planning on being baptized sometime this month and is planning on going to BYU-I. So that was cool! 

We have a BUSY week this week coming up.... A lot of paperwork, and we have a leadership training up in Santa Barbara! so that should be fun. We also get to prepare for our meeting with the stake presidency this next Sunday. Wish us luck! (: Thanks for all your love and support! You are in my prayers always! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Elder Teeples