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

November 4, 2013

"Who the Lord calls, the Lord will qualify."

- Thomas S. Monson

This week I have learned that as a missionary, we always have to be ready. 

Story time: It was our P-day and we had a member driving us around because of the confusion regarding miles. So we were at Wal-mart buying our groceries and Sis. Erikson (the lady who was giving us a ride) wanted to pick up a drink at the McDonalds. We were waiting in line with her when a man came walking up to us with a purpose:

Guy: "Are you all from that Mormon Church?"

Me: "Yes, we're the missionaries" (my thoughts: we got ourselves a golden investigator)

Guy: "What is this I hear that the blacks can't hold the priesthood?"

Me: "They most definitely can and do hold the priesthood"

Guy: "I heard that they can now, but there was a time period where they weren't allowed to... why is that?!"

Me: (not so golden)

Sis. Hyer: "Well in 1979... etc."

Guy: "You are the first missionaries that have been able to answer that question. My name is Bro. Williamson from the Big Walnut Creek Ward”.

I thought that it was so interesting that he was a member and was just seeing how we would react. It really brought to my attention that as we bear the Lord's name on our chest, people are always watching us, and we need to be ready at any moment in time.  

This week was another slow but great week! We did a lot of tracting, and we found some pretty promising investigators. A lot of our appointments fell through this past week due to the holiday, but they are willing to meet with us this week. Which, come to find out, here in Ohio the mayor decides which day Halloween is on. It’s called Beggars’ Night, not Halloween or Trick-or-treating. I thought that was a little odd. 

We had zone conference this last Wednesday, and they talked a lot about getting the members involved and also how fear and faith do not go together, neither does courage and doubt. This conference was exactly what I needed to hear. I know there are times when you go to the door, you see that they are Catholic or Muslim, and you automatically assume that they won't listen to what you have to say. "If you think they are going to reject you, they will. If you think that they will accept you, they will." I know that with that mindset, more people are willing to listen. We found three potentials in one hour because we knew that we were going to find people who were ready and willing to learn more. I am so excited to start teaching these people! 

We had two awesome lessons this week: one with Emerald and one with Karlene. Emerald is progressing, and she is practically ready for baptism; she just needs to make the leap of faith. We visited her with the Relief Society President, and we moved the date to November 16th. We feel that she will be ready for that, but we are having her pray about it. We are checking in with even more than before. I know that this is all in the Lord's timing, so we are keeping her in every thought and prayer. 

We also taught Karlene, and we extended a baptism challenge to her. She said that that is her goal, and she is searching for further light and knowledge. We were so excited to hear that! The only set back we have with her is that she hasn't told her husband that she has been meeting with us. She said that she wants to learn everything without any opposition and then let people know what she is doing. We told her that we think that it would be better for her to tell her family because this gospel is for families and to help families grow together. She said that she would think about it and let us know next time we meet.  

At church yesterday, Emerald did not show up... She told us that it would be hard for her to make it, but that she would try... Sadly, we missed her. We had a surprise investigator show up, Jennifer Young. We texted her yesterday morning and invited her to come to church. We figured that she wouldn't come because we texted her the day of and this was her weekend with her daughters. To our surprise, she showed up, and her daughters went to their Father's this weekend. She came and LOVED it! She told us that she wants us to come back and visit her and talk to her some more about the church. We were so excited for her!!! :)

All-in-all this week was a tough week. Tracting all day and having appointments cancel on you is not ideal, but you learn so much both from those you talk to and about yourself. I know that I have become closer to my Savior as I have turned to Him for help and guidance. I know that He lives. I know that He loves us. And I know that this church is the one and only true church on the Earth today. The priesthood has been restored, and the power of the priesthood is incredible. I love it! I love this gospel, I love my job, and I love all you. All the support and love helps tremendously! I love you! 

-- Sister Gale 

For those of you wanting to write Sister Gale, her address is: 

Sister Erin Gale 

5191 Cambria Way 

Westerville, Ohio 43081