Teeples, Dallin

Hey everyone, This email is going to be a bit longer. I got concussed this week, and I’m going to go into all the details. This week started off with a bang when I was getting ready Saturday morning, and all of a sudden, I passed out. The last thing I remember was tying my tie, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up on the ground with a massive headache that turned out to be a concussion. My companion, Elder Kuzmic, and my other two roommates helped me up and gave me a priesthood blessing before Elder Kuzmic helped me over to the information desk so they could call a car to take me to the hospital. They did all kinds of tests, including but not limited to: an interrogation to test my brain function, a CAT scan to see how badly I was concussed, a heart monitor test with wires all over my body, a light sensitivity test, "gently" poking and prodding at the impact site on my head, and a quick blood test. I’m halfway convinced they turned me into the Green Goblin, and I now...

Hey everyone, hope you're doing well. I'll get right to it—this week has been pretty good, even though the food is iffy, and our stomachs often feel iffy after eating it. It's such a running joke and a topic that we often talk about in Spanish. As much as we make fun of it, though, we strive not to forget that, as Nacho Libre says, "...they were the Lord's chips." I'm going to be honest, this week started out a bit rough. On Sunday, I was really discouraged, felt inadequate, and even wondered why I was really here. I prayed to my Father in Heaven to help me through this difficult time because I knew that there was no way I'd be able to get through this alone. It wasn't answered immediately, but after sacrament meeting, we had an activity called Go and Do, which was time to ponder, pray, and study the scriptures. I know it sounds like any other day as a missionary, but trust me, it was different. I started to feel that the doubts I was having were ...

Hey everyone! Apparently, my p-day is still Friday, so I guess I'm sending another email already. I definitely thought it was going to be Wednesdays from now on, but oh well—it just means I get a p-day after only a couple of days. My first couple of days at the MTC have been pretty good! I've run into a good number of people I know, and it's been really fun to catch up. My district has been busy trying to learn Spanish, and so far, it's been OK. I know we'll get there, though. It's nice to know they're not just a simulation and I haven't been talking to computer programs. My first morning here, the elders in my district and I got up at 5:30 and went running. It may sound crazy, but it was so much fun and a great way to make sure I was actually awake. We saw a whole family of deer run past us, and it was super cool but spooked the senses out of me at first. It was a good time, but apparently too good, because we found out that it's technically again...

Hey everyone, Currently writing this email when I should be packing, but I’m lazy. Although I’m excited to do in-person MTC, I must say it’s stressful packing all my stuff for the next two years. (Also, the plan is for all my email titles to be various movie quotes; could be a fun game to try and figure out which movie it’s from!) But I feel like I’m becoming homeless because I’ll have to be ready to take all I own and go at a moment’s notice. This week has basically flown by as I’ve finished up online classes. My classes have shifted to completely in Spanish, and I’m doing well, but all that thinking makes my tiny brain hurt. Three hours of translating is quite a mental workout; hopefully, my brain can get more swole as time goes on. As difficult as it’s been and seemed, it’s also been such a blessing, and I’ve seen the Lord helping me to remember the lessons and learn and understand Spanish better already. On Sunday, for fast and testimony meeting, I was actually able to bear my t...

Howdy y’all! Can’t believe I’m sending out my missionary emails already! So far, I’ve done a week and a half of online MTC, and it’s been pretty dang good—except for the fact that my body despises me for sitting for so long (hence the Spider-Man quote for the title of this email). But I really can’t complain; being able to do home MTC has been such a blessing, and I’ve definitely seen the Lord helping me learn the things I’m going to teach and learn Spanish. It’s definitely been weird only seeing my district on a screen. At this point, I’m not sure they aren’t just a simulation like in The Matrix, but we’ll see if they’re actually real when I get to the Provo MTC. I really hope they are, because I have quite the perfect district. I know everyone says that and says their district and companion are the best, but I really mean it. (Insert cheesy shrug here.) My companion, Elder Kuzmic, is super fun, and it’s not even awkward to talk to him. It’s definitely been by divine design that we’...