September 23, 2013

"Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world. And now, if the Lamb of God, he being hold, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!"

- 2 Nephi 31: 4-5

Well this week was awesome and depressing all at the same time. The only depressing thing is that we had 4 people lined up to come to church. We called them Saturday, and they said they were coming, we took them breakfast, and then they no-showed... UGH!!! I already called them though, and we have a meeting with them this week to discuss what happened. :) 

It was great because on Tuesday we had interviews with President Nilsen, and that is always a great time! We also got trained by the assistants to the president, and they are so awesome and give so much information. They gave us a lot of cool ways to approach people at the door, and that was very helpful. :) Later that evening, Sis. Hyer and I had exchanges with the sister training leaders. I got to learn a lot from Sister Webb, and we came back that night with 2 new investigators! We also met with Ivory and her mother who fed us dinner. A 36 SLICED PIZZA... Ya! We still have leftovers in the fridge... But I found out a lot about my companion and that we needed to have more fun, so we have been working a lot more on that. We have a lot more potentials because her spirit has been lifted! 

On Wednesday, Sis. Hyer and I found this trailer park and met with 5 new people who became investigators. We have an appointment to meet with them again today, so I am really excited about that! We also met a less active man whose name is Bart Katsenbach. Apparently, nobody in the ward has heard of him, and the few that have tried to meet with him, he wouldn't open the door for them. But he did for us! He gave us some OSU shirts and is buying us OSU jerseys. He told us to come back because he wants us to teach him the lessons. He's coming to church this next Sunday! 

So Saturday... I'm definitely skipping days but this is the most important! Sherri got baptized!!! It was such a great experience! 

She came and we had a difficult time all week making sure that the dress fit her... That's a whole different story, but we got it to fit, and then at the baptism she began to have a panic attack. She is terrified of water and because she is on the heavier side, she was worried that she was going to be dropped and drown. Well, she asked for Melissa, her daughter, to get Sis. Hyer and I, and to talk to her and pray with her for comfort. It was a great blessing to sit in the bathroom all holding hands and praying that she would feel comfort and peace. We were able to have 4 missionaries in the font at one time to help her. All of them were previous missionaries who have taught her. She wanted Sis. Hyer and I on the side of the font, to be there with her. It took her 3 times before she was fully submerged and then it was like a race getting a chair in the font for her to sit down. We had to get her oxygen to her because she has a very hard time breathing, and then once we got all of that done, we talked and she just cried because she felt so close to the Savior. 

Afterwards, we talked to her because she was feeling a little embarrassed that it took 3 times to baptize her, but we reassured her that we are all brothers and sisters and she could have gotten baptized 100 times and everyone still would have loved her regardless. She got dressed and I was lucky enough to be asked to speak about the gift of the Holy Ghost. I did that and then we had refreshments. It was a great day and then to see her confirmed on Sunday was just awesome! 

Speaking of Sunday, Sis. Hyer, Elder Peterson, and I were asked to bear our testimonies, and that was a fantastic experience. Sis. Hyer and I also taught Gospel Principles, which was on tithing and fast offerings. It was a great lesson, and the investigators that the Elders brought are having financial situations but were all for starting their tithing and fast offerings. That was a neat experience. 

Bishop asked us to work with some specific people yesterday in the ward after sacrament. Some of the families have some children that aren't yet baptized so that's going to be exciting! :) We have a list of people to work with and the ward members give us referral after referral so we are pretty busy! But it is awesome! 

Nobody yelled at us this week or slammed the door in our face, so I would say SUCCESS! :)

I will testify to you that I know this church is true and I know the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I get the opportunity to read it everyday, and it truly does help me in whatever situation I am in and whatever conflict may be going on. I have a testimony in Joseph Smith. I get to testify of him everyday, and I know that he was called of God to be the first prophet of this dispensation. Don't let anybody tear you away from what you already know about the Gospel because this is the true work on the earth. I know it because I live it, and I most definitely love it! 

I miss you all everyday and pray for you daily. I love you and love the letters! :) 

Love you, 

Sister Gale 

Questions and Answers with Sister Gale 

Tell us more about your companion, Sister Hyer. How are you getting along and what are your companionship goals? 

Sis. Hyer and I are complete opposites! We honestly had a rough start, and on Wednesday she just laid everything out on the line. She is my trainer but she doesn't feel up to training yet, and feels that I am more of a leader, so we kinda switched roles... She thinks that in the next 2 weeks I am going to be training, so we shall see. I've realized the importance of having fun because she was not having fun, and fun to me is being organized and knowing the plan. Sister Hyer hates that I always want to “get to work”, so I have to work with her, but help myself at the same time. She loves the way I do my hair so she’s starting to use my hair stuff.... But I just breathe it off! Proud of me? :)

During your personal or companionship study, what is something new or interesting you learned/discovered? 

Umm... we are working on that still... I am trying to implement more discussing what we figured out for ourselves, but she just likes to ask questions. And I am trying to show her the importance of planning a lesson rather than just showing up to a lesson and going with the flow. So we are still working together! :) 

When is your next Zone conference/training? How often do you have them? 

We have zone conference/ training once a transfer, and it has been going super well. The last one they had, I won the best door approach contest. Don't know how I won, but I beat the sister training leader who I was going against! :) That was pretty legit not going to lie! 

What are you doing personally to prepare for General Conference in October? 

I can’t wait to get spiritually fed, and we are working on bringing an investigator. I am reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and let me tell you... I am finding new insights everyday! It’s crazy that you can read the same book over and over and get something new each time. And really, it’s been helping me in what ever situation is going through my mind. 

How are your investigators progressing? Any neat insights? 

We are having a difficult time with our investigators, but we have an appointment today and this Thursday with people who only listen if you are blunt.. Well welcome Sister Gale over because that is my forte! :)