October 21, 2013

"And now, my beloved brethern, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have no come thus far save it were by the world of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of hum who is mighty to save. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. And now, behold, my beloved brethern, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen."

- 2 Nephi 31: 19-21

Can you believe that it is already my 2 month mark?! It's days like this where I realize how precious time really is, and there isn't time to slack off and mess around. 

Erin in the rain

We had a pretty good week; we only had one new investigator, but we are working with a lot of people right not. Unfortunately, we had to drop Cornell... There are just too many problems that he can't get over, and we have done everything that we can to help him; now he just needs to help himself. We had to break the news to him last night that the Elders and us Sisters weren't going to be able to go over there twice a week anymore because we no longer are helping, and he no longer is progressing. We have been putting this off for a week now, but we had to break the news last night. :( It is so sad to get attached to someone and you can see them dressed in white, and then they're no longer willing to go down that path anymore. Hopefully another set of missionaries will be the exact people that he needs to hear from!
We taught Emerald Wilkonsin a couple of times this week, and she is really feeling and recognizing the Spirit in her life. She has realized now that it is important that she comes to church, so she has decided to come more faithfully. We set a date for November 9th, and she said that she thinks that it is still too soon but will work towards that. She is such a great lady, and I love her to death. Hopefully she continues down this path! :)

Erin with Emerald Wilkonsin

We are also teaching a girl named Nicole Robinson. She is 20, and we were talking about repentance this week. She has mentioned to us that she is trying to change her life around because she realizes that she has made some mistakes in her life. We talked to her about the repentance process, and we gave her a "homework" assignment this last time to help her realize the importance of repentance and how the atonement plays a huge role in it. We demonstrated repentance with food dye and bleach (she is a visual learner), and we told her that when we sin, our sins are as red as scarlet. So we poured bleach into the red water, and it became "as white as snow" exactly how the Lord our God will remember our sins no more. It was a great visual, and it helped her out a lot!

Zone Conference at the Temple

So we had this great idea this week! We have a lady in our ward that lives in an apartment complex where older people are, and they LOVE the piano. Sis. Hyer is super good at playing, so for our service this week, we went to the apartment complex. In the common room, Sis. Hyer played the piano. That got a lot of people out of their rooms, and they sat around the tables. My job was to go up to these people and talk to them about the gospel. IT WORKED!!! We got 3 potential investigators out of it. Two came to church, and one is taking us out to dinner tonight! It’s funny how things like that work out! :)

Erin with Sherri who was recently baptized

We did a tally of all the less-actives that we have in the ward, and it amounts to 86 less active families which is about 170+ people... We missionaries are coming up with a plan on how to get the members more involved in going out and helping their brothers and sisters that have already entered into sacred covenants keep those promises that they made by coming back to church. We are working with the ward mission leader to put this plan into action.

Erin and her companion, Sis. Hyer

I want to finish with a scripture that has been on my mind. 2 Nephi 31:19-21..... The Lord asks if all is done? and he responds Nay... meaning once we have entered into the waters of baptism we have just begun a lifelong process of making and keeping commitments with our Father in Heaven. It is our job as members to help those who have entered into covenants to keep those promises! To keep them close to the Savior and to befriend them. Think about entering a room where you know nobody... it’s hard, scary, difficult, and you just want to leave. That is exactly what these investigators are experiencing. We are asking them to enter a place where they know three people at the most and then to stay in that place for three hours. It is our job as members to befriend them. Show them that they are loved and cared for. We are all family- act that way!

Erin with Sherri's Family

I have such a testimony that it is the missionaries’ job to teach the lessons so that those who are lost can come to find truth. It is up to the members to help those people feel welcome ALWAYS! It is not a two person job; it is an everybody job. Always find ways to help and serve because the work is moving along, and we need to ride the wave rather than ignore it or watch it flow by. Ride it!!! :)

I love you all so much! I miss you all so much!!! But this work is true and needed especially now because the last days are here and happening. Work with each other because the Lord is sending out all that he has. I Love My Job!! :)

Love, 

Sister Gale

Questions with Sister Gale


1. How often do you use the scripture masteries? 

Not all that often... One day, you will have to see the candy land that I made in my scriptures. It is hard to explain over email, but when I get home, you will see what I mean. We use a lot of chapters more than verses. Those are the assignments that we leave with people in regards to whatever questions or problems they are going through. I have a whole list of them because we give them out so frequently.



2. What is the most important concept you have learned in Preach My Gospel? 

Listen! A lot of people are looking for the response before they listen to the whole questions that the investigator has. I have been teaching Sis. Hyer about doing that because she'll start talking before they finish what they are saying. I like to hear what it is that they have to say, think about it for a little bit, and then answer it to the best of my knowledge. There have been many times where I have said, "I am not 100% sure. Let me study it, and I will let you know next time we meet." They really enjoy that because they know that I care about their questions and that I want to answer them to the best of my ability. Most of the time I give them a scripture chase so that they can read from the Bible and Book of Mormon and find the answer for themselves.



3. What was your favorite part of this past week? 

This past week I think I laughed a lot more. I was really active in what was going on with the ward, and we got more members out to teach with us. The members really enjoy coming out with us, and we enjoy their presence. That has made the week a lot better.



4. Where do you go to access your emails on P-Day? 

On P-day we have to go to a public area. We go to a library, and we get one hour to email. Then we go grocery shopping, shopping sometimes (though hardly ever), and then I go home to make a nice healthy lunch and write letters while Sis. Hyer sleeps. Haha! We were going to play volleyball with Sis. Whitted today, but she hurt her calf in a 1/2 marathon that she ran the other day, so we put it off until next week.