There Are No Accidents

Let me start out by saying this week was pretty maravilloso. I quite enjoyed it and saw lots of little milagros. Way too many at the exact right time for them to have been accidents.

The biggest miracle this week was that our friend Rodrigo got baptized! He's the 9-year-old younger brother of the four boys that just got baptized, and man was he ready and excited to get baptized! (We'd been thinking he might need another week to be ready, but he really made sure to be home so we could meet with him more, and his brothers helped teach him as well.)

This week I also got to finally attend the temple in McAllen! It was my first time going to the temple in over a year, so it was such a special experience. Not only that, but I got to go twice this week! On Wednesday, with a couple of other zones of missionaries for an endowment session, and on Saturday for a ward trip to do baptisms with some recent converts. It was amazing to be back in the temple, be able to do ordinances in the McAllen temple, and also do the ordinances in Spanish. The spirit was so strong, and I'm continually grateful for the opportunity to go to the House of the Lord and remember my Savior.

Last but not least, we've been able to invite a lot of our friends to be baptized! One of them is Jerimiah, the 17-year-old cousin of Rodrigo and the boys. Definitely wasn't an accident that he picked now to come live with his cousins and that lately he's been wanting to grow closer to Jesus Christ.

The other one that really touched me was a guy named Robert. A week ago, we met his son, Robert Jr., after the sisters reached out to him on Facebook. He came to church and told us to come by that evening. On our way there, he called us and said he wouldn't be home, but his dad would be and that he wanted to meet with us. As we met with Robert Sr. and taught him about the Restoration, the spirit was so strong. He told us about how he has family that are members of the church, he met with missionaries years ago, and how this church was the only one that he felt truly comfortable in. As we talked more, we asked him if he would be baptized to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost so he could continue to have that feeling. With tears in his eyes, he said yes. It was probably the best first lesson of my mission.

All that being said, I definitely had my fair share of tough times and struggles this week too, but I've come to see more and more that trials come because of what we're doing right. The important thing is remembering the Lord through it all.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
Psalm 23:4

Always remember that when you face trials. Outside circumstances may get difficult, but the Lord is aware of us and there for us.

¡Dios es sobretodo y nos ama!

-Elder Teeples

Last week's email: Thank you Chuck Norris
Movie: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - Chuck Norris makes a cameo as one of the judges of the dodgeball competition.

Pics:

Presenting at MLC
Temple time
Turtle
Pen exploded so I handprinted notebook
Rodrigo's baptism!!
More temple









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