Teeples, Dallin

Transfers tomorrow! I'm staying in La Joya, which I'm actually super excited about because it's the promised land! The only change in my district is that Elder Dahl is going to become Zone Leader up North, and I'm getting Elder Preece as my new companion. It's crazy that I'll finally be able to drive and that I'm not in training anymore. For the email title, Elder Dahl, my trainer (the person who trained me), is leaving, and I'll be on my own. It is both a happy and sad day. As for my many exchanges this week and having to lead my area three days in a row, it definitely helped me prepare for having a new companion and improved my skills a lot in just three days. Especially since we had a lot of success in finding new people to teach and helping our people progress. It really goes to show that the Lord helps us through our trials and helps us grow because of them. I know it sounds like I almost die every week, but it's kind of true. This week it was b...

¿Qué onda? This week we got to see Border Patrol in action. We were teaching on an older lady's front porch in a small border community called Cuevitas. All of a sudden, a truck zipped by, hit some train tracks, and crashed as their front axle broke and the tire came off. We then saw two Border Patrol SUVs speed toward them with their sirens blaring. Then at least 10 people jumped out of the crashed truck. Four of them ran toward the woods, while the rest put their hands behind their heads. The Border Patrol officers all got out, yelling for them to get on the ground in rapid-fire Spanish. We heard guns clicking, kids crying, more patrol cars pulling up, and even a helicopter nearby. Reach for the sky indeed. You're probably thinking that story is exaggerated, but I promise it's not. Elder Dahl and I were freaking out, while the lady we were teaching was calm and told us she's lived there for 50 years, and this wasn't out of the ordinary. Finding this week was slow ...

I seriously can't believe how packed this week was. It definitely felt like a month! From getting stranded on the border, not being able to stand up straight after a bad headache, and having a baptism for the Jimenez family—it's been quite the ride! As for the title of this email, on our way back from Walmart, we saw a minivan speed by, being chased by four police cars with their sirens blaring. This was right by our apartment, and we just saw the massive crime scene with the wrecked minivan and cop cars. It sounded like there was a quick shoot-out too (which is why I mentioned it in the email title). All I can say is, ladies and gentlemen, they got him. This part doesn't really relate to anything else I've said so far or anything I'll mention later, but I was getting some heartburn while we were studying in McDonald's, so I fixed it by getting and eating a Happy Meal. I can honestly say that I medically took a McDonald's Happy Meal. In case you're wonde...

To add some context to the title, I've eaten more Little Caesars pizza this past week than I ever have before. For whatever reason, the members all seem to have this idea that because we're young white guys, we must love pizza. (Which, to be fair, is kind of true.) I really appreciate the members buying it for us, and it was yummy, but the issue is we now have 5 pizzas in our apartment that we have to try and eat. Oh well, at least we have food. Side note: I was almost hit by a car 4 times this week. First, by a teen who wasn't looking and was going too fast in a neighborhood. The second time, I had to jump back into the car to avoid being hit by a Ram truck right after I got out. The third and fourth times were while we were carpooling with the other Elders in our apartment. But I survived each time, so Elder Teeples: 4, Cars: 0. On a more serious note, this has been a week of really high highs and really low lows. Our friends Hermano and Hermana Jiménez are progressing re...

This week started off rough when I got super sick, and then so did the rest of the apartment. We got stuck inside under doctor's orders so we could recover and stop the spread. I thought it wasn't that bad at first, but then it turned into one of the worst colds of my life. Despite all that, we still got 3 people on baptismal dates!! Hermano and Hermana Jiménez accepted baptismal dates after receiving an answer to their prayers. The Jiménez family has been wanting a church where they feel the love of God and really feel accepted. They've been so receptive to the gospel, and it's been amazing watching them progress. Our other person who accepted a baptismal date is Eduardo. He had been taught in the past and wants to change and be better for his kids. He knows baptism is the way to do it and is excited to work toward it. New Year's was kind of crazy because the culture here is to shoot off guns as well as tons and tons of fireworks. We were hearing and seeing firewor...