December 16, 2013 & December 23, 2013

“The reality of loving God is loving him like he's a Superhero who actually saved you from stuff rather than a Santa Claus who merely gave you some stuff.” 

Criss Jami

December 16, 2013

Erin with the Whitted kids doing service at the Bishop's Storehouse

This week was one for the books! Not only did it hit the lowest of 10 degrees during the middle of the day, but it snowed, it's icy, and the hot chocolate does not heat up the bones. The cold here freezes you to the bone. Not even a hot shower will warm you up. I just sit in the apartment at night and shiver. It's great ... 

We have continued teaching Emily Walker. She was able to come to church yesterday, and she brought two friends with her. She is learning a lot and has a lot of questions. We love all the questions, but the late night phone calls are really starting to show! We are learning a lot of sign language and hopefully on Tuesday we can bear our testimony to her in sign language. I don’t know how well it will turn out, but it’s a work in progress.

We are still teaching Theresa. She loves the gospel! We had the opportunity to call her son just to make sure he brings the slip that authorizes him to baptize his mom. He was grateful for all that we have done, and he is looking forward to meeting with us! I am so excited to meet him. He sounds like a great person! Her baptism is scheduled for the 28th this month. 

Erin with Sis. Ure at their apartment with their little Christmas tree that a member bought for them

I felt like we had a slow week. Although, we had a lot of appointments, there were some that fell through. Its always heart breaking when you prepare a great lesson and the anxiety/adrenaline is pumping, and then they don’t answer the door or they don’t come to church... It was so sad! But we keep pressing forward!

I had a couple of really cool experiences this week! 

1) Our car: Whenever we were driving around (from the day I got here in Ohio) the car was making a thunking noise. I didn’t know what it was, and when we talked to our vehicle coordinator, he just said to not worry about it. So we didn’t. Well, one day this week the car was really sliding around, and I didn’t know why the traction was so bad. One of the Elders in our ward is from Utah and understands the snow and everything, so he said to leave the car at the church for one of our appointments so that they would come and check it out. So we did. He felt the traction was off... duh! And, he said that the rack and pinion in the steering consul was making the thunking noise. I know what that is... so, we set up an appointment to go to the Ford dealership, because the car is still under warranty. We drop it off at 7 in the morning on Friday, and a member in the ward allowed us to come to their house to do weekly planning and to be out of the cold. We were told that the car would be finished at 2 which was perfect timing because weekly planning ends at 2. We were waiting, and no call came. We called them, and they said that they still hadn’t looked at it. We were able to do some service, so we said that we would call back in a couple of hours. We did, and they still hadn’t looked at it. I told them that I needed the car because we have no way of getting home or doing our job. Come to find out that the pinion was broken, and the mechanic was surprised that we were able to drive it and that the steering wheel was working at all. The car is still in the shop, and the vehicle coordinator gave us a car to work with in the meantime. I’m just so grateful that the steering wheel didn’t give out on us! 

Erin with Elder Kelton Barr (her friend from Maplewood Ward who is serving the same mission)

2) We were driving with Sis. Erikson to pick up an investigator for the Christmas party. Here in Ohio, there is a bunch of open fields, and it was late at night. I am very cautious of the surrounding places because I have seen one too many deer. Well, just our luck, on the way to our investigators home, there was one deer that crossed the road right in front of us. Something I have noticed is that the deer here seem to travel in twos, so I started looking for the other one. Sister Erikson didn’t see it, but it started running across the road. It stopped in the other lane right beside us while we passed it. The deer stopped running on the road! Who has ever seen a deer stop when a car drives by?! That's not all! On our way back from the ward Christmas party, I was being very alert and attentive looking out for deer. I saw something moving in the distance far in front of us. I told Sis. Erikson that I thought a deer was ahead and then nothing moved, so I though I was just crazy... I continued to drive, still feeling like I needed to drive very cautiously, and the deer started moving quickly towards us (now this is in a brief 10 seconds). Then, all at once, this deer also stopped as we passed by on the road. Oh my gosh, twice in a row!!... Both instances were crazy, overwhelming, scary, yet peaceful experiences. It was amazing to see that the Lord is truly watching over us and protecting us from danger. 

I just want to bear testimony that this is the Lord's work. God, our Father, is truly at the head of this church. There is not a doubt in my mind that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know it because I have read it, and I have studied it diligently. We are asked to "search the scriptures" countless times in the Book of Mormon. Why would a false book tell us to search the scriptures to find out for ourselves? Why would a false book testify that Christ taught the people how to live in the presence of our Father again? Why would Joseph Smith leave his family and lose child after child for a false book? IT’S NOT FALSE!!! I could preach until I'm blue in the face, but instead I will just say that we need do what the scriptures say, "search diligently", "ask, seek, knock", "cry unto the Lord", and lastly, "ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith". We can become even more converted to the Savior and learn how important the Atonement is by learning more about the Book of Mormon and abiding by its precepts.

I love you so much! 

I hope we can all remember the real reason for the Christmas season. Many people have decided that Christmas is a time to receive. Remember, Christ was born for us so we could be forgiven of our sins and return to our Father in Heaven. I love this gospel! Thank you for all that you do, and don’t forget to give to others... What gift will you give Christ this year? Think about it. I love you again, and I love my job!

Sister Gale

December 23, 2013

Well this letter is going to be very short because we only have 30 minutes to email this week. We got the most exciting news that this mission has ever heard... WE GET TO SKYPE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At first it was only a phone call but now we get to see our family and hear their voices... Oh I couldn't contain my excitement when I first heard the news!




Other then that... this week we had exchanges in Mt. Vernon where I was 
able to learn a lot from the sister training leaders. We had a ton of fun, and it helped make the week great! Because of exchanges and also the meetings that we had everyday, I felt like the rest of the week we were just trying to catch up. Our days were filled with appointments and people to see... And we still weren't able to get to everybody. But those we weren't able to get to, we called and will be seeing them this week. 




Erin and Sis. Ure enjoying the snow in Ohio



We were able to put Emily Walker (the deaf girl) on date for January 11th. She is a wonderful lady, and we actually taught her a whole lesson in sign language because we couldn't get any interpreters out one night. That was fun but I will say very stressful! We came home,planned, and then went right to sleep.




THERESA IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!! My, oh my! She is a 
wonderful lady, and I love her to pieces. We are going over her program 
tomorrow and are going to be able to meet her son! I have been so excited for this, and he called us last week to say Thank you! For Christmas she gave me the copy of The Book of Mormon that we gave her with her testimony in it. It was the sweetest thing to receive! (Her son bought her a quad).









I am loving the mission, and I am so grateful for the time that I get to
spend here. There are so many stories that I could share and also so many experiences that have shaped me to who I am now, but time is short. I want to say that I know this church is true. I know this gospel changes lives, for the better. And I know that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. Let us all remember His birth this Christmas season and know why we celebrate this special day. I love you all so so much, and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Keep up the wonderful missionary work.




Merry CHRISTmas!




-- Sister Gale

December 09, 2013

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” 

- Mahatma Gandhi

Sis. Gale with the Whitted Family

This has been a great and interesting week! Starting off, Theresa is SOLID!!! She is getting baptized December 28th and has not smoked for a whole 9 DAYS!!! Man, I am so proud of her. She is holding out strong and making every ounce of effort to come unto her Savior. She said the sweetest thing yesterday that showed me why I am out on a mission. We were sitting in church, and she leaned over to me and said "I am so happy to be here". What sweet words to hear. She even said in Relief Society that this is her time to follow the Lord. It was great to hear those words. I wish I had a tape recorder just so that I could replay that over and over! 

Emerald, I don’t know what to do with her. We had a really spiritual lesson with her, but we just don’t know what to do... She knows that the church is true but won’t come to church. Why? In her words "because I am lazy and am not able to break this bad habit". We have called and showed up to her house, but on Sunday she just doesn’t want to come... it’s too cold. I’m from Arizona, and I still go!!! Well, I love going... I guess what she is missing is the love of going. But anyways, we talked to the zone leaders about her, and we are trying to figure out what to do with her so that we can help her.

We met a great little couple and were able to teach them yesterday. Their names are Matthew and Madison. They told us yesterday that they were praying to know what the truth was and that they wanted to follow the Savior and whatever He wanted them to do, and then we came knocking on their door. We taught them the Restoration, and although they said they "aren’t totally convinced," they are willing to come to church and read to know what it is they need to do in their life at the moment. The spirit was so strong during the lesson last night!

Oh! We are teaching a deaf girl!!! Her name is Emily, and she is so sweet. She grew up Catholic, but she doesn’t know if that is the truth. She is searching, and she met another deaf couple in our ward. They talked to her about the gospel, and she wants to learn. So, we had a lesson with her the other night. How? We are one of the 2 deaf wards in the nation. We have some interpreters and what is even better is that one of the interpreters is a ward missionary, and she likes to come out teaching with us. This is very difficult though because we have to talk slower and remember where we left off when we pause to let her finish signing. Hard but rewarding. We also gave her a chapel tour, and she loved the pictures and what everything meant. She is not able to come for the next couple of Sundays because of work, but she is going to be making it a point to come in the next couple of weeks. We teach her again this Tuesday!

Amish Horse Cart Crossing

I love the members in our ward. They are starting to get more involved by allowing us to bring investigators into their home to teach and also by bringing their friends to church. Isha, a single lady, brought a friend to church, and we will be teaching him this week! How cool is that???!!! I love our ward members!

While Sis. Gale is in Ohio being taken care of by Sis. Whitted, Elder Jakob Whitted is in Arizona being taken care of by Mama Gale

So we had some exciting news this morning, but first I need to give some background. As a mission, we had a goal of having 500+ baptisms for this year. Well, we have 446 to date with 48 on date. We only needed a couple more, so our whole mission fasted. Our zone alone has 11 on date for this month. (More than any other zone!) We met and exceeded our goal, so we are rewarded with another FUN DAY!!! I love fun days because they are fun! ;) Ha-ha More details to come!

Well, there is the summary for this week, and I want to close with my testimony. Being a trainer and all is great, but there is so much that I have learned with this responsibility. My trainee is way ahead of me and is training me and helping me become a better person. I love every moment that we talk to people about the gospel because we complement each other so well and help each other out! It has been great to feel the presence of My Savior in my life more prominently, and I can testify that He lives and this is His work. I know that I could not be teaching the way I am without His help and without the Spirit. I know that this is the way, and there is no other way! I pray for each and every one of you each night. I know that He can help us because He knows us. If you have ANY doubt, turn to Him, and He will lift your burden because "His burden is easy, and His yoke is light". I have relied on Him, and He has strengthened me; He can do the same for you. Read the scriptures; they are His holy word. I know this, and I love the stories found within the pages of the scriptures. They truly relate to all of us no matter what we are going through. I love you all so much, and I love this work. I love my job!

-- Sister Gale

December 02, 2013

"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."

Alma 34: 32-34

Sis. Gale and Sis. Ure Helping Sis. Whitted decorate for Christmas service

Well the news is out, I am training!!! It has been so fun! Sister Ure is her name, and sharing the gospel is our game! ;) She is awesome and is a lot like me, so we get work done! She is fresh off the plane; in fact, she reminds me of myself because she asks the same questions that I asked when I was first out here. We have worked really hard with her memorizing the appropriate scriptures. We study them in the car, as we're walking, and then every morning and night. She has already passed off 3 of the 5 things. I told her that I am going to make sure that she is ahead because it will pay off in the end. She works really hard! She got really sick on Thanksgiving, so we had to call it an early day. Then we went out later on Friday because she still wasn’t feeling all that well. But she is doing a lot better now. She is from Saint George, Utah. She actually lived there with her sister most of the time. She is the youngest of 11 kids and the 9th to go on a mission. Her mother died when she was 10, so she moved to her sister's. 

Sis. Gale and Sis. Hyer the night before transfers. Sis. Gale is the new Senior companion and trainer, Sis. Hyer will be a trainer.

The baptism service for Sherri’s daughter this past Saturday was great! It was awesome to see Elder Merkley and Elder Peterson again. I miss them... isn’t that sad?! Elder Merkley pulled me aside and said that that baptism only happened because of me. I thought that was the sweetest compliment. I love seeing people enter into covenants with the Savior. The light of Christ begins to shine through their eyes. It’s a cool transformation to witness.

Sis. Hyer and Elder Peterson are being transferred; the other two are staying.

This week was actually pretty slow. As much as I love the holidays, it puts a damper on things. People are so tired and not really wanting to meet or even talk. Almost all of our appointments fell through, and a lot of the member’s weren’t able to go out with us. I don’t blame them, but it just made missionary work this week that much harder. 

Sis. Gale and Sis. Hyer with the Whitted children the night before transfers.

We were able to teach Theresa this week. She is enjoying everything that she is learning and reading about. She is almost done with Alma and is working super hard to finish the Book of Mormon before she is baptized. I told her that that was a great goal to strive for! We got her on the no smoking plan, but unfortunately she wasn’t able to complete it. She smoked on Thanksgiving... we started the program over on Saturday, and we meet with her tomorrow to help cheer her on. Hopefully, she can put her mind to it and put off the bad habit. She wasn’t able to come to church yesterday because she got really sick... I really hope that Satan doesn’t get to her since she wasn’t able to partake of the sacrament and be spiritually fed... But we plan on meeting with her 3 times this week to help her out.

Sis. Gale with her new companion, Sis. Ure from Utah. They are getting along great!

We also taught Emerald. She didn’t come to church yesterday because she was just feeling lazy... It’s sad to see someone who knows the truth but doesn’t put it into action. We brought a recent convert over with us, and she helped out with explaining the feelings that Emerald has felt and explained the importance of coming to church. We read Alma 32:16-22 with her and also Alma 34:32-34. You could tell that she was really thinking about what it said. Hopefully, when we meet with her again she will have felt her answer regarding baptism and obeying the commandments (keeping the Sabbath day holy). 

Sherri's daughter got baptized!

OH!!!! There was this couple that we have been trying so hard to teach. Every time we went over there, we just knew that there was something about them, and we needed to keep asking them if we could teach them. Well, Sis. Ure's second day here I told her about them, and we went over. WE GOT IN THE HOUSE!!! WE TAUGHT THE FIRST LESSON!!! WE GOT A RETURN APPOINTMENT!!! I told Sis. Ure that is was her mad skills and that it was because she was here that we finally got to teach the wife. We actually teach her this evening, and I hope that goes great!

Unfortunately, Tia dropped us...for now. She said that with her cancer treatments and everything that is going on she just can’t meet with us. The treatment is breaking her body down, and in her words "she is getting worse and worse every week". I didn’t know what to say except for "you'll be in our prayers". I hope, when the treatment is over, she knows that we will always be here to continue to teach her so that she can come closer to her Savior. Sis. Whitted (a lady in our ward who is her friend) will be staying in contact with her in case anything changes.

Other than that, I have just been working hard and trying to take over the role of training. It’s a whole new experience, but I love knowing that the Savior and my mission president have faith in me to know that I can do this and help someone learn the ropes so that they can be successful also! ...We decided to be the first sister assistants to the president!

We taught gospel principles yesterday (Sunday) regarding the spirit world, and it was a blessing to know that this time on earth is a learning time. I already knew that but I love to know that every piece of knowledge we gain in this life will be used to help those in the next life. I know that we are here and have this gospel to learn and to grow so that we can help those who are on the other side of the veil learn and come closer to their Savior. Jesus Christ made this whole plan possible. He made it possible for us to be with loved ones for eternity. He made it possible for us to help gather Israel. I know that we need to always turn to the Lord because He is just waiting on us to call upon Him. He will lift us through the trials and hard times and will forgive us. This I know and testify of.

Because it was just Thanksgiving not too long ago, I want to thank my family for all that they do and for making it possible for me to come out on my mission. I would never have known the scriptures this much, nor would I know how much My Savior truly loves me if I had not been out on my mission. I am thankful for my friends that are or have served missions. The work they have done is truly inspiring, and I know that this is the Lord's work! I love my job!

Love,

Sister Gale 

November 25, 2013

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”

Paulo Coelho

Sis. Gale's zone on Fun Day

Yesterday was 17 degrees outside... Today is 19 degrees outside... I’m from Arizona... Not a great mix... But I will say that the moments that the Spirit is at its high, I feel warm and fuzzy and no longer cold. So, I strive to have the Spirit testify through me and to me more often! It’s a great goal! The spirit = warmth for the Arizona girl! :) 

This is the first solid week of no tracting, and it went great!!! We have had so many appointments and have been teaching so many people. There are so many potentials that we have gotten in contact with that are ready to learn and to grow in the gospel. We taught a total of 10 lessons this week (was just a little shy of our goal), but it still made for a busy week. We had exchanges this last Tuesday, and we went up to Mt. Vernon (Amish country). We visited a ton of less-actives and didn’t get to really teach anybody, but we had a successful day talking to all the less-actives. Some of them even committed to coming to church. I got to meet a couple of the members over there, and I love them all! I wouldn’t mind being transferred there.

Sis. Erikson and I... she fed us breakfast for dinner last night :)

Speaking of transfers, we are all waiting for our calls today... Transfers are tomorrow, and we have no idea what is going to be happening here in New Albany. Sister Hyer has never stayed in an area longer than 12 weeks, and she has already been here for 12 weeks. Elder Peterson and I came in at the same time (which was 12 weeks ago), and then his companion has never stayed in an area longer than 6 weeks. So we all have a pretty good chance of leaving. A lot of people have been asking us what we think is going to happen, and we have no clue. 

(Side note from Mama Gale: Sister Gale found out that she is NOT being transferred and will stay in the same area as the new Senior companion.)

Sis. Chadwick and I... we helped decorate her Christmas tree for service

I want to share the most exciting news we had this week! We came back from Mt. Vernon on Wednesday and went straight to our appointment with Theresa James. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and extended baptism for the 28th of December. She said yes!!!! Oh my gosh, Theresa is getting baptized!!! She is an amazing woman with a lot of potential! She comes to church every Sunday and is reading the Book of Mormon every day! She is already half way through the book! It is awesome when she calls us to tell us all the things that she has learned! Her favorite prophet changes every day. What is even more exciting is that she called us one day and was super excited. We asked what was going on, and she said that her son, who is a recently reactivated member, has been talking to her and is so excited for her baptism. His boss (who is LDS) bought him a round trip ticket so that he could fly up here for Christmas and her baptism and will be baptizing her! She hasn’t seen him in 5 years due to money issues, but it was great to hear her excitement! He has already bought her her own quad (scriptures) and has her name engraved in it and everything. It’s been a great week!

We also have been working with Jayne Chadwick, who is a less-active member. She came to church last week, and when we met with her this week, the Spirit was so strong that she asked us, "What do I need to start doing to get temple ready?" My heart leapt for joy!!! A less-active is now willing to come to church and make changes in her life to come closer to the Savior and go to the temple. It has been a long time since she has been to church, so we are going to be re-teaching the lessons, but she is on her way to becoming temple worthy! I am soooo excited for her!

Now don’t get me wrong... this week has had its challenges, but I am loving the work! I can’t explain the joy that I find in the members and the investigators that are willing and able to make changes in their life to come closer to the Savior. It is a testimony builder to me, and makes me want to be a better person. I love this work, and I love the Book of Mormon. I know that whoever reads it WILL gain a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. I have already finished it once on the mission and will be finishing it for my second time by December, and I hope to keep going. I can’t believe all the truth that it holds. Our Savior lives. He loves us and would do anything for us. Hold to the faith and help others find the peace and happiness that we all have!! :)

I love my job, and I love you all!!!

Love,

Sister Gale

November 18, 2013

"Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to study, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save."

Thomas S. Monson

Getting ready for a BBQ

No Tracting? 

So you may be looking at my subject and think: she didn’t do anything this week... That’s what missionaries do is tract, right?! WRONG!!! We had a sister specialized training this last Thursday, and one of the challenges that were given was to not tract. We could go through the people that we have previously found and try them again. Also, we are to focus on part member families, visit the less-actives, and find out who some of their friends are. This challenge has led to a pretty successful week!

We found 5 new investigators that seem pretty excited about the gospel. We are meeting with them throughout this week and working on gaining more. We were able to meet with a less-active member, and we got her to come back to church. 

Ready to Compete

Something that was great about this particular less-active is that, ever since she has moved into this wards’ boundary, she has never come to church. The bishop has been over there, and over 20 sets of missionaries have gone. And then there were sisters :) We told the bishopric that she was coming this week to Church, and they said that she was not going to show up. She did, and we gained more respect from them! She will even come next week. I am so excited for her to come back to church and partake of the sacrament. She said that she loved it and that it was great to see new people. That is just one of the successful cases that we have been blessed with because of the “no tracting” challenge. We would have never gone and visited her if that challenge wasn’t extended, and now she is on the path of reactivation. It is super exciting to see the light enter back into her eyes! 

Quick Picture with Sis. Hyer

Thursday night we also had the missionary fireside. It was a HUGE success! We had 50+ members show up, and they are still talking about how great it was and that they have never seen something put on like that in regards to missionary work. After the fireside, we found out a lot of the members have been working with their friends, and a few of them said that they were going to invite them this week to learn from the missionaries or come to church! We are excited to see the enthusiasm in the ward all because of a simple fireside! 

The Elders carried all of the food

Sunday we were expecting a few people to show up but only 1 investigator did and Sis. Chadwick. Unfortunately Emerald did not... We talked to her Saturday night about teaching the lesson with us, and she gave us the biggest NO I have ever had. We talked with her about it and then it led into the church. She said that she didn’t know if this was the true church... We talked with her, and I asked her, "Are you reading The Book of Mormon?", "No", "Are you praying?", "No", "Are you coming to church?", "Not for the past 2 weeks.". "Then you are never going to know if this church is true." I told her that we have taught her all the lessons, and she just needs to read and pray to know if it is true. I told her that there is nothing else that we can do because it was between her and our Heavenly Father. We left her with a prayer and then went home for the evening. We will be talking with her tonight, and it will probably be a sad session BUT I am hoping and praying that she has read and prayed! 

Erin's Bomb.com Zone

Theresa came to church! She is progressing rapidly and has a lot of questions. I love questions!!! We are meeting with her this Wednesday and hopefully another time this week so that we can help her progress and enter into the waters of baptism.  

Mormon Meatloaf. The lady that made this swears it tastes better since she joined the church.

Sis. Hyer got really sick last night... She was up all night throwing up, so it made for a long night. She seems to be feeling better this morning. We got permission to go on splits if she needs to stay home and get sleep so that I can go teach at least the 2 appointments that we do have today!

I loved this past week and learned a lot! It’s amazing how much I constantly learn everyday! I love this work, and I know that it is true. The hastening of the Lord's work is going right now and we need to be a part of it!

At the Sister's Specialized Training... Everyone is dressed in stripes!

"You and I, Today and Always, are to bless all people in all the nations of the Earth. You and I, today and always, and to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the restoration. You and I, Today and Always are to invite all to receive the ordinances of Salvation. Proclaiming the gospel is not a part-time priesthood obligation. It is not simply and activity is which we engage for a limited time or and assignment we must complete. Rather, missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage. We were foreordained in the premortal existence and born into mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to Abraham. We are here upon the Earth to magnify the priesthood and to preach the gospel. That is who we are, and that is why we are here, Today and Always."

This is my testimony! I love my Job!!

-- Sister Gale

November 11, 2013

"People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy."

- Tony Robbins

Okay so bear with me... our weeks seem like months, and since we get the opportunity to share the gospel all day, everyday, we had a ton of wonderful experiences that I have to share! 

So first, Emerald; she did not accept the November 16th baptismal either. We were able to take her to a baptism this last Saturday, and she really enjoyed it. We also got her to eat dinner with us at a member’s house, but baptism just isn’t really ringing a bell yet. Sister Hyer and I are praying about her and just trying to figure out what God's timing is. We are meeting with her tomorrow night with the bishop. Our plan is to ask her the baptism questions and then say that she passed! haha We will see how it goes. But I think this next visit will be good!

Oh, in regards to teaching Tia last Monday, we extending baptism for the 21st of December, and she accepted! :) Good DAY!!!!

This week we did a lot of tracting. We had hardly any referrals, so our next option was to visit potentials or formers. When that is done, tracting!!! This week really paid off! We met some pretty awesome people! 

Church on Sunday

First, Kristie. We knocked on her door and when she opened the door she exclaimed "I know those name tags!!!" Sis. Hyer and I were thinking that she was a lost less-active member or something. Well come to find out, she moved here from California, and when she was in California, she was a travelling nurse. One of her close friends was a member of the Church; not only was she a member, but she was a return missionary. Kristie was able to get a lot of her questions answered and then got the opportunity to go to church a couple of times. After she moved here, she never had a missionary come to her door. (She’s been in Ohio for over 5 years.) She said that we are the first ones she met and asked us for the address to the Church. We gladly handed that over, and we are going to start teaching her this week. She has some pretty awesome members that live by her, and we got the opportunity to introduce her to one of them yesterday. This week we are going to bring another lady with us. We are so excited for her to progress! We are lucky that that sister missionary left her with a very good impression of the church!

Second, Teressa. This name may sound familiar because she is a lady that we met 2 weeks ago, and she freaked out on us because she said that we baptize dead people and 100 other different things. Sis. Hyer felt prompted to go back and visit her. We went, and when she opened the door, she invited us in. We had the first lesson with her. Her son is a member of the Church in Salt Lake City and called her and told her that she had to call us back after our last visit and meet with us. So when we dropped by, she said that she was "willing to get re-baptized" and "was willing to go to church every Sunday for all 3 hours" and "that she will even wear a dress." I was shocked but so excited! I could definitely see that the Lord had been preparing her even during this short 2 weeks that we haven’t talked to her.

Third, is Mical Mueller, and she was a referral. We know this girl named Alex who is her daughter. She decided to be a member, and her mother, Mical, kicked her out of the house. For about a year now, Alex has been trying to talk to her mom about the church, but her mom just won’t have it. Well, Alex told us where she lived, and we went and knocked on her door. We talked for 45 minutes about so many things. She is a Paralegal... well HA! that’s what I want to be after the mission, so connection right off the bat! We invited her to church. She had plans already but said that she would consider it. We made some heart softening cookies for her yesterday, and we are going to go back this week and teach her. Alex is so excited. Hopefully we can help her mother learn of the Savior and then help Alex and her mom bond again before Alex leaves on her mission!

Bro. Benton in Westerville, OH dresses up Veteran's Day

Fourth, John. He is an excommunicated member, but we were asked to go see him. He loves the church, was an assistant to the president, and so many other things. He just went through a rough patch and… ya. We have been talking to him, and he seems really open in talking to us. The biggest barrier we need to get past is his wife. Well heart softening cookies are coming her way this week! :)

So the Missionary fireside is this Thursday! I will try to take pictures, but it may be hard because I will be in charge of a class. But it will be good. I hope you enjoyed your invitation although you can’t come. 

So we met our zone goal last month of 120 new investigators, 90 at church, and 8 baptisms. Today, we are having a zone fun day where we are all going to a park and playing games! I am so excited! We are also having a BBQ in honor of breaking the mission record of having 38 investigators at church! Our whole zone had 38 investigators all in attendance yesterday! :) Pretty awesome I must say. I was asked to bring the dessert because every district meeting I bring something (what is a meeting without delicious refreshments at the end?!) Well, I guess they like it so much that I am asked to bring the dessert today… haha.

Well last story, we went to go visit the Kyees in our ward last night. We are still trying to see when all the women are able to come out and teach with us. Well come to find out, Sis. Kyees is less-active. Her husband is a counselor in the single's ward, and he gave us a tour of his house. He has a gymnasium in his house!!! He has an Olympic size pool in the backyard; they have a dance studio in their basement. They totally have a trophy case. Their daughter does hair and nails for Rhianna, Brittney Spears, Katy Perry, etc. And to top it off, they had 2 baptisms in their hot tub in September. Holy Cow!!! I was in shock by the end of the tour. That was our little adventure yesterday. New Albany is pretty crazy!

Well, all in all this week was long but awesome! I am so glad to be out on a mission. There are some pretty crazy things that come up but also some amazing miracles that happen. I love being out here and growing closer to my Savior! I’m grateful for this opportunity, and I love you all so much!!! Keep up the great missionary work! :) I love you!

-- Sister Gale