December 23, 2014

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others."

- Bob Hope

Time is really flying by, and I can’t believe how fast all the time goes! I hit my 16 months on Sunday. It was one of the weirdest things ever! Time is flying by, and Sister Hansen and I don’t like to talk about it.

Anyways, we had so many miracles happen this week. I want to share them all, but I have to have something to talk about with my parents on Christmas so I can’t write them all right now. One of the greatest things that I want to share is that the Malone's both decided to get baptized this Saturday!!! We are so excited for them, and we know that this is the best decision that they can both make.

Last Sunday, they had their interview. Since then, they have been posting all over Facebook that they are going to be getting baptized. The ward is so happy for them and super supportive. Even though it is so close to Christmas, a lot of people are still going to make it.

I just chuckle at the thought that this is going to be two Christmas' in a row where I get the opportunity to witness the true meaning of Christmas as someone decides to enter in the waters of baptism!!! There is nothing better than that!

We have had a lot of meetings lately, but yesterday we were able to gather as an entire mission to have our Christmas Devotional. It was absolutely wonderful!!! We did a new thing this year where the last hour was open to members and investigators so that they could listen to the story of our Savior all in song and through Mormon Messages. It was absolutely beautiful and brought in the Spirit so strong!

This morning we had some wonderful members drop by our house and gave us a big stocking for the each of us. The ward members went out and bought gifts for all of us missionaries!!! It was so thoughtful, and we were shocked by the selflessness of our members to make our Christmas that much more special! There are so many things that I want to share about this week, but I can’t go on because I want to tell my family all about it in person.

Family- Sister Hansen and I want to talk with you together so that we can tell you all about the experiences that we have been having together! It sounds better coming from two people. Also, did you get my flash drive in the mail? I sure hope so! I am sooooo excited to talk to you on Christmas! Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mamma Hansen- I want to thank you so much for your daughter! She is my best friend and basically my sister. I am so grateful that she came out on a mission and that we have been able to be companions. I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to type up all your stories so that she can tell them to me for our bedtime stories! I can’t wait to come and get to know you! We have been talking about a cabin trip. If she hasn’t told you already then we will talk on Thursday about it! Love you!!!!

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to spend this Christmas as a missionary. It is the greatest time to spread the gospel to the entire world and to let them know about our Savior and how He was born and has risen again. I love that we are able to know for ourselves that the Church that He established is back on the earth again. I love how we are able to know that and how it shows God's love for all His children. He is not done speaking to us, and He is not done guiding us so that we can get back to live in His presence.

I love that there are many that are waiting to find that truth and that we are simply the instruments in helping further His work. The field indeed is white and ready to harvest. Shall we not go on in so great a cause? We totally should go on in this great cause!!!! I love this work so much, and I love my job!!!

-- Sister Gale

December 16, 2014

"I will prepare, and someday my chance will come."

- Abraham Lincoln

So to give an account of last Monday to Thursday, Sister Hansen and I got really sick... We would go out for a couple of hours here and there, and in between the times that we weren’t out working, we were sleeping. I don’t really know what happened; Sister Hansen got a really bad cold, and then I got the stomach flu/food poisoning. We were out! And it was horrible. We told stories, watched the testaments, and slept... We both were taking care of each other, and we were quite pathetic!

But things got better! On Friday, we were able to get up and work after weekly planning, and we also had our Ward Christmas Party which was a huge success! Saturday was an awesome day! We took it really easy and slow because we were both just barely getting better, but we went over to the Malone's to do some service for them. While we were doing service, Sis. Malone told us that she was thinking about getting baptized after Christmas. We were all in shock, including her husband. She had not talked to him about it, and she said that she thought it would be great timing because all of her family would be in town and they could see it and support her in it. We thought that was a great idea and left it at that.

Then Sunday came around, and that was a crazy day! We were asked to speak in sacrament meeting because one of the speakers had to stay home with her sick kids, so we were naturally asked to talk for 5 minutes each. The topic was keeping Christ in Christmas, and we were asked if we could share a story from our missions. Well, I instantly thought of last Christmas (it being my first time away from home), and I had a wonderful gift given to me—meeting a dear friend, Theresa and witnessing her baptism. In sacrament I told the story of how we met and how she was my Christmas gift and how she reminded me the true meaning and reason for the season. It was great!

That evening, we had a dinner and a lesson planned with the Malone's and some members in our ward. It went so great! We talked about the Creation, and then Sis. Malone said that she was thinking about getting baptized—she brought it up all on her own. It was fantastic! We thought about it and laid out what all has to happen because she decided that she wanted to get baptized on the 27th of December. We are now going to be working on her baptismal date!! It is another Christmas miracle!

Yesterday we had a mission tour with Elder Perkins... I don’t really know what a mission tour is because it was more like a specialized training with an area 70. But anyways... it was pretty crazy how it all worked out. We learned a lot about obedience, Preach My Gospel, and treasuring up the doctrine of Jesus Christ. It was a really great meeting, but the crowning point was role playing. I wanted to share this story for Christmas, but I can’t help it. I will just share the minor details:

So we were asked to come prepared to this meeting with a 3 minute talk and a 10 minute lesson plan for the Restoration and The Plan of Salvation. Out of the 100+ missionaries that were there, only 2 companionships were picked, and of course Sister Hansen and I were one of them. I always get picked, so I knew it was coming. Also, Elder Perkins' sister lives in Sister Hansen's homeward, so she no longer was flying under the radar. It was pretty hilarious! So we both knew that it was coming, and when we got called up, we were told to teach the Restoration in 10 minutes. I cannot tell you how amazing that lesson was. We both thought that we had been sitting up there for an entire hour, but it was only 10 minutes. The Spirit was so strong, and as we taught one of the senior couples that we had never before met, we had this abundance of love for them that was indescribable. I absolutely felt the Spirit testify through us. I also was able to receive a confirming witness, yet again, that this is the true church on the Earth today.

We have been extremely blessed to have with us a member of the Godhead to lead us, guide us, and testify through us for the benefit of those who want to know that truthfulness of the restored gospel. I know that this unique message that I am called to spread here in Ohio is true, and we have evidence that we can hold in our hands to know for ourselves. It is the Book of Mormon, an additional witness to the Bible to tell us that Jesus Christ lives and loves us so, so much. We have the authority of God on the Earth today known as the priesthood. I can’t wait for the day when all truth shall be known and every nation, kindred, tongue, and people will profess to know the Living and Loving Christ. I love you all so much, and it is my prayer that you all will look for the opportunity to share the gift of Christ with all those that you love and cherish! I love this work, and I love my job!

-- Sister Gale

December 13, 2014

"Being busy is better than being bored. Bored left a long time ago. Busy is always around for me."

- Tabitha Robin

This week was super fun and also super crazy!!! I love being super busy because there is never a dull moment where we ask each other "now what?!" We are always on the go, and I love being that way and being productive. The best part about it is most of our events that take place are unplanned. Who would have thought that I would ever be okay with varying off of what is scheduled and planned? But I am, and that is because I have come to know that it is all about what the Lord wants versus what I want or plan. Sometimes things get in the way, but I know that we can make any moment a gospel/teaching moment!

Now, before I get carried away I want to mention something amazing that the Church is doing this Christmas season. There is a new Christmas message that the church made and launched Thanksgiving Day called 'He is the Gift'. All you have to do is log onto christmas.mormon.org to see this wonderful short message and be reminded about what the true reason for this season is and also to be reminded what the greatest gift we all have been given. I truly love the video! 

The Church is also putting up billboards in places such as Time Square so that many people can be reminded. It is incredible, so I want you all to go and look at the clip RIGHT NOW! Also, in your Ensign this month, 9 pass-a-long cards are going to be provided so that we can hand them out to our friends and family that will act and watch this message. It is used to invite people to be reminded about the true reason for the season and also to see if they are interested in the church. It is an amazing thing that the Church is doing, and it will only be successful if EVERYONE is involved in this great initiative!

Ok, so can you all believe that we are already in the month of December?! Yeah I can’t either, and it is crazy because it is like 64 degrees here!!! HECK YES!!!!!!

Anyways, Thanksgiving was incredible! We were able to spend it with an amazing family and get to know a lot of people. We also were able to go around and take treats to families and show them the Christmas video. So, funny story about the treats... They are the pretzel, Hershey, M&M treats, and I burnt the first batch. Sister Hansen, who never made these treats before, ended up making them after we went to the store to buy some more Hershey kisses. It was so funny and such a memorable experience! We experienced a lot of Thanksgiving... one with Lesbians, another with a few drunks, and one that was so peaceful and loving. It was an unforgettable experience.

Then on Friday, we came up with this amazing idea!!! There are going to be so many people out shopping on Black Friday that it would be a great time to go contacting and tell people about the new Christmas video. WELL, We were wrong! In 2 hours we were only able to give out 1 pass-a-long card. There were so many people that would not take a card and also a majority of people who would not stop to even talk or look at you in the face. We determined that it was completely unsuccessful.

We also had wonderful teaching experiences this week! We are learning a lot about God and why Christ is often referred to as God in the Bible. I have really come to know that truth can only be discovered by prayer. It is so hard for some of the people that we are teaching to grasp this concept, but I am so grateful that I have such a firm testimony of it. Without it, I don’t know what I would do.

We also had a crazy experience last night. We were in a lesson with some members and our investigators, and as we were getting in our car to leave, I looked at the phone and it was blown up with missed calls: 1 from Sister Daines, 2 from the Assistants, 2 from the Dayton YSA sisters, and 3 text messages and 2 voicemails. I looked at the phone and didn’t even know where to start. After a few seconds I started making some phone calls, and we got things squared away. The Dayton YSA sisters stayed with us last night because they have a neighbor that was creeping on them. There are now changing apartments today, and we are going to help them do that! I love always having things to do.

I want to testify real quick that I know that Christ is truly a gift that our loving Heavenly Father gave us so that we could return to live with Him again. I know that He is the way, the truth, and the light. Because of Him, there is such thing as new beginnings, second changes, and hope. I know that He is my brother. Because of this knowledge, I am fearless in sharing the love that I feel from Him with others. I can’t wait for the day when we will see Him and just thank Him for all that He did and does for us. I love you all so much, and I completely love my job!

--Sister Gale

December 12, 2014

"Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone."

- Charles M. Schulz

On the first day of Christmas my mission gave to me, moving sisters in an apartment that smelled like weed! 

On the second day of Christmas my mission gave to me, Mission Leadership Council for an entire day! 

On the third day of Christmas my mission gave to me, an opportunity to do an all-day training!

On the fourth day of Christmas my mission gave to me, exchanges with some sister missionaries!

On the fifth day of Christmas my mission gave to me, a yummy dinner with 2 non-members families!

On the sixth day of Christmas my mission gave to me, a funeral and a call from the mission presidente!

On the seventh day of Christmas my mission gave to me, Sunday service in a different building!

On the eightieth day of Christmas my mission gave to me, another sick companion...

As you all can see, this Christmas season is going to be one heck of a ride for Sister Hansen and I! There is a lot that happened this week that is definitely note worthy, but to save the time and to spare you from reading for hours I figured I would relate to you all the highlights of this week: 

We were able to have a terrific dinner with a family in our ward that has 2 friends that she runs with. She wanted to have them meet us, and this Friday presented a wonderful opportunity for her to do so. She invited us over to have homemade pizza and to make some gingerbread houses with all the kids that would be there. We were told to keep it casual because one of the friends has been going through a hard time with her church that she is currently attending, so we kept it really low key and answered whatever questions they had. Before we left, we shared the new Christmas video with them and talked about Christ and how He is the reason for the season. They really loved the video and appreciated us coming and helping them out with their kids. Even after we left, they asked questions and said that they really liked us! :)

Later that night we were able to get in with a recent convert who our Relief Society President asked us to go and see. We were able to present to her the new and returning member sheet and asked her if we could begin teaching her. She said that she would love that and that she would like us to come every Friday AND that she wanted to start coming to church every Sunday. We told her that that was a great step for her to take! Things were working out great! :)

We also were able to have dinner with a part member family this week, and that turned out great! We told the less-active member that we wanted to start coming by to teach him about the lessons to refresh his memory. He said that he would love that, and his wife (who isn’t the member) said that she would be fine with that also. She was also able to come to church on Sunday. She already signed up to feed us again, and it is terrific to see the change in her as she has been meeting with us regularly!

I absolutely love it out here, and I am grateful for the day to day events that have been happening. I love how much closer I have gotten with the Lord and for the guidance and direction that He provides for me as I talk with His children. I know that there are many great things to come and to happen as Sister Hansen and I go about His work. I love you all so much, and I love my job!

--Sister Gale

P.S. Transfers are this week... Pray that Sister Hansen and I will get to stay together again! :)

November 17, 2014

"Happiness is only real when shared."

- Jon Krakauer

As Sister Hansen and I were walking around talking to people before sacrament meeting yesterday, we were told over and over again to watch out for the snow. "It’s supposed to snow 5 inches tonight!" Well, we didn’t believe anyone, and when we woke up this morning, we had the wonderful privilege of having a WHITE backyard!!!! It ended up snowing 6 inches, and everyone is shocked that we have this much snow so early in the year. I am too because I don’t really know what to think or do about it all. Luckily I am not the one driving at the moment!

This week was incredible. We were able to have zone conference and learn a lot from our mission president. We talked a lot about families and also the Plan of Salvation. Sister Hansen and I walked away with many goals and things that we want to work on; one being getting more acquainted with Preach My Gospel. It is amazing to see the difference in mission presidents, and even though we have been out awhile, we still need to adhere to the things that our new mission president wants us to do. We have been working extra hard on all the changes and things have been going great!

We also had a miracle happen to us. We were in the Relief Society room practicing a song that Sister Hansen was going to be playing for 2 elders in our zone. While we were there, a member walked in the room and told us that a man named Dusty called the church building. Apparently, he wanted to meet with the missionaries. Sister Hansen and her previous companion had tracted into him the day of General Conference, and he didn’t keep his return appointment so they never went back. We were able to get his phone number, and we called to set up an appointment with him. In talking to him, he wanted to come check-out the church building. On Saturday we were able to give him and his daughters a chapel tour. Well, they didn’t end up coming to church, but it was great to be able to witness this man’s enthusiasm to come see the church and check it out. If anything, he was able to see what we do, who we are, and we were able to explain to him how we worship. I would still count it as a blessing!

Something that Sister Hansen and I have needed to work on better is teaching with the pamphlet. That is the direction that a lot of missions are changing to, and we have had a hard time with it. Lucky for us, we have had a missionary return home, and they had this going on in their mission for awhile so she sat down and helped us more with it earlier this week so we would become better at it. We are so grateful for her time because our mission president has asked us to train the missionaries on it when we are on exchanges. Sister Hansen and I were dreading it because we didn’t know how we were going to teach something that we ourselves were 1) NOT good at and 2) did NOT like. After a couple of hours and a lot of prayers, we were able to get a good handle on it and know that this is what we were supposed to do.

We were also able to hold another exchange this week that didn’t go as well as we hoped but we were able to see where we are needed and how we can help other sisters in our stewardship! We were able to have a wonderful teaching appointment with one of our member’s neighbors. Apparently, she is looking for religion and how to develop a stronger belief in God but has not been able to find a church that accepts her life style- she is lesbian. We told her that as missionaries we answer people’s questions and help them develop a stronger testimony of their Savior. She said that that was something that she wanted to do and develop in her life, so we met with her and helped her with some things. We are going to meeting with her again this Thursday and hopefully begin teaching the Restoration of the Gospel! :)

OH!!! During Zone Conference we were challenged to dedicate 3 hours a week to Family History and fill out a booklet that the mission would be providing for us. WELL, Sister Hansen and I already had one at the apartment. We got started right away, and we found out that WE ARE RELATED!!!! It may be very distant but still, it’s awesome! We are going to start implementing finding by introducing family history, so I am working on getting that all figured out again and then implementing it into those that we are teaching.

All-in-all, this week has been great. We have another exchange coming up this week and already a full week planned. We are leaving out of the mission tonight to go visit a recent convert who is suffering from cancer and is basically on his death bed. He only had the church as family, so we were given permission to leave the mission to go and minister to him and help him keep the faith. It is sad, but he is remaining strong and should be getting his patriarchal blessing soon.

I know that that is not the best note to leave on, but I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have been given to help people in all circumstances of life. I know that I can do anything through the Lord who strengthens me because I am weak. I was telling my mom how it is has snowed here so much yet I am warmer than I would anticipate, and I know that that is a blessing of the Lord. I am grateful for Him, and I know that He can do all things. He has blessed us so much, and I am so grateful for the blessing of having the restored gospel in my life. We were talking about how great it is to be missionaries and that is the reason... there is truth on the earth. WE HAVE REASON TO REJOICE!!!!! I love you all so much, and I hope that you remember to give thanks to the One who deserves it all! I love this work so much, and I love my job!

-         Sister Gale

November 10, 2014

"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays."

- Soren Kierkegaard

Ok, so this week has been one for the books, but what is really sad is I have been slacking on writing in my journal so this is all coming from memory!

Monday we spent our day meeting with Matthew who decided that he wanted to be baptized this past weekend. So we spent the week getting that approved and all organized. It was a miracle baptism. His father attended, and it was just all around super great! We had a great turn out of people from the ward, and I just want to say that this ward is fantastic! They are so involved and on top of things. I absolutely love it!

On Tuesday, we had Mission Leadership Council, and it was great! The training was spectacular, and it was great to see everyone. Sister Ure was there. It is soooo funny when we get put together again. We had so many great laughs, and then everyone wanted to hear all the stories that we had. We went off about all the great memories. I think that only reason why people laughed is because we were laughing so hard that we couldn’t tell our own story haha. It was great though. We took many notes because the information that we receive in this meeting gets taken back to our respected zones the following day. That evening we went to the appointments that we had and then met with the zone leaders to go over the plans for our meeting on Wednesday. It was great, but it was a LATE night!

The following morning started out early because we had to meet with the district leaders and the zone leaders to go over exchanges and how everything was going to work, and then we had to get the meeting started. So being on the other side of this meeting, it is a little stressful but also exciting. It’s fun to be in the know and to deliver the message to our elders and sisters in a way that will apply to them and their areas. After the meeting, we did some debriefing and talked about what we could do better. Luckily, we will all be together for another meeting so we can have the ability to perfect our teaching together.

We also had to go on an emergency exchange this week with some sisters. We were doing some service and then received a phone call. One of the sisters was in tears because she is going through some anxiety and an all around stressful time. We ended up going on an exchange for about 2 1/2 hours. We talked, set some goals, and then, to properly end it, went and got some smoothies. The day was kind of shot because we weren’t able to go and do some finding, but we were able to help one of our sisters out which was a blessing that she trusted us enough to ask for some guidance.

Sister Hansen and I made a goal that I would meet all the investigators this week and be able to teach them, and we were able to fulfill that goal. It was super great. We now know how to gauge all these investigators, and we know where we want to go with them and how we want to help them. It is going to be great because every one of them is ready for the step of baptism, but they just need to come to that conclusion for themselves.

It is so weird how easy it is to fall in love with these people. We have one cute couple that we are working with, and they have already taken both of us in and make sure that we are doing well and all is going good. It is such a tender mercy that these people are here to help us and guide us as we do the work of the Lord. I am so grateful for prayer. I feel like I bare my testimony a lot but have never expressed the love I have for prayer and the significance of it. I absolutely cherish the gift that we have to communicate freely with our Father in Heaven and allow Him to help us and guide us. I know that there are many things that happened this week that would not have happened if we were not following the council of our Father and the direction that the Holy Ghost has given us. We would not have been able to be on the right street at the right time to talk to an elderly man who is going through some difficulties at his church. I personally would not be able to talk to this particular sister that was going through a hard time and be able to help her if I was not prompted, guided, and led by the spirit to say the things that I needed to say. I would not know where to go or what to do if I was not able to communicate with my Father in Heaven. I know that He loves us and is waiting for each of us to talk to Him. Yes, He already knows what we are going through, but just like a parent, He wants us to come to Him and express our thoughts and our feelings. He will help us. He will guide us. He will tell us the things that we need to be successful in this life! I know that to be true. I am grateful for this opportunity and calling. It is a tender blessing and mercy of the Lord! I love you all so much! I love this work, and I love my job!!!

--Sister Gale

November 9, 2014

"We must endure to the end; . . . We must so live as to acquire the attributes of godliness and become the kind of people who can enjoy the glory and wonders of the celestial kingdom."

- Joseph Fielding Smith

So I have to start out by saying how wonderfully great this past week was! I can’t believe how much success we are having here in Mansfield. When we first got here, we had no records, no teaching pool, a dirty apartment, and not really anything to work off of. Now we have so much going on that we don’t have time to do everything that we need to. It is such the greatest feeling! 

My companion gave me the kindest compliment this morning; she said, "I have never worked this hard on my mission!" I can’t believe how many people we have been able to help because our Heavenly Father has put His trust in us to help His children come back into the fold. One of the parables that has been on my mind a lot this week is the parable of the lost sheep. I think that it is amazing how Heavenly Father wants us to worry about the one versus the 99 that are together and can work together and help each other. We need to go after the one that is alone and easily tempted or in danger of falling and being captured/attacked by 'wild beasts'; We have had a lot of success these last couple of weeks with a few of the less-actives in our area. 

We have been working with Sis. Mills, and she is the cutest thing! She finally came out to the baptism last week (as you all know), and she decided this Sunday that she would come to church. It has been a long time, and there were so many people that were shocked to see her. She told us this week that she wants to start working on going to the temple... something that has sparked since she went to the baptism and was able to remember the feelings that she felt when she was entering the waters of baptism. She is so excited that she is inviting others to hear the gospel as well. She carries a Book of Mormon with her all the time, and she invited her great granddaughter to come to church with her! The great granddaughter is 8 years old, so we are going to start teaching her and helping her as she really enjoyed church and getting to know so many kids her age. 

We also have been working off and on with Sis. Lizzie. She expressed to us the same day as Sis. Mills that she too wants to work towards going to the temple. She knew that she needed to give up smoking and coffee. The day she told us all of this, she said that she had smoked her last cigarette. She came to church and apologized to everyone for the way she smelled. She said that she had no idea that she was living in that smell and that she had been deep cleaning and doing a lot of laundry in helping herself achieve this goal that she has set for herself. Again, on that same day, we were eating dinner with Sis. Price, and while we were teaching her children about the gospel of Jesus Christ, she jetted in when we were talking about enduring to the end, and she said, "Sometimes we fall, but thank goodness the Lord is merciful and allows us to try and try again. I decided that I am giving up coffee." We were both shocked that she too, on her own, knew what she needed to do to draw closer to the Savior and more fully keep His commandments! 

There were many other people that we were able to meet with this week, and each of them is progressing on coming back to church and rejoining the 99. This week we have been able to take Treyvon and Ak'elee out teaching with us, and they are amazing! They are unafraid to share their testimonies, say the opening or closing prayer, and just talk to get to know people. They have been helping us with her mother as well. 

We were able to teach Tracey the Restoration again this past Saturday, and the kids helped us tremendously with the lesson. Tracey mentioned to us that she completely felt the spirit and knows that this church is true. She has felt the spirit many times in her life as she has experience many trials and troubles throughout her life. Each of these trials (including almost losing her daughter due to a diabetic coma) has helped her now recognize the spirit and realize the power of the priesthood. She knows when she feels the spirit and is completely engaged in our lessons. We do have her on-date for baptism November 8th, and she is supposed to be married this weekend. Oh, the fun and exciting times of being a missionary!!! 

We also had a great experience this week following the council of our bishop. During our missionary meeting this past Wednesday, he asked us to go visit a specific part-member family. Sister Dana and I have tried to see them about every week since we got here and have had no luck. We had already tried to see them earlier that week, so we didn’t want to go again. We told the bishop of our efforts, and he asked us to just try one more time. Well, we went on Saturday during an odd time of the day, but that was the time that we felt that we needed to go. As we pulled up, the garage was open, and the whole family was sitting outside preparing a float for the Halloween parade. We just looked at each other, laughed, and then had an amazing contact with them. We didn’t feel that it was the right time to set up an appointment to come back again, but the wife (who is the nonmember) told us that she really enjoyed us dropping by and said that we are welcome back anytime! It was such a testimony builder to me that we always need to follow the council of our priesthood leaders because they are inspired by God! 

All of us missionaries sang in sacrament meeting yesterday. We sang 'Called to Serve.' First, and probably last time, I will do that! Haha we got a lot of compliments, but we don’t sing. 

An amazing experience that we had this week was that we got to go to the temple! It was amazing, and I was soooooo happy to be in the house of the Lord. It’s been 8 months, which is the longest that I have been away from that Holy Place, and it was just like coming home. The member that took us asked us to do some of her family names, and it was such a spiritual experience for us all! I can’t wait for when I am home and can set the pattern of attending every week! It truly is an amazing place where we can draw closer to our Savior, learn more of Him, and help each of us learn what patterns to establish to start living in harmony with the way that God intended. 

And lastly before I send off this letter, I received a call this morning from my Mission President where he asked me to become a Sister Training Leader. Everyone in the zone keeps texting us saying that "they called it." I am very excited for this experience and nervous. I know that it will take time away from proselytizing, but I know that it will make me work that much harder to find the children of God that are searching for the truth. I am so grateful for the many trials and tests that the Lord puts us through in our life. I know that He has a plan for each of us and is striving to make us better people. I know that this next adventure will help me become who He wants me to be. I pray that each of us will always look to Him as we go about our days so that we can become the servants and disciples that He needs during this last dispensation, to help rejoin the one that has fallen away with the 99. I love this work so, so much, and I absolutely love my job! 

-- Sister Gale

New Mailing Address for Sis. Gale

"To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart."

- Phyllis Theroux

Sister Erin Gale

2448 Kewanna Lane

Beavercreek, OH 45434

I would love to hear from you all. I love you so much!

October 21, 2014

"A testimony is spiritual knowledge of truth obtained by the power of the Holy Ghost."

- David A. Bednar













This weekend we were
able to witness the baptism of 4 sons and daughters in the Mansfield ward. It
was truly a great experience!  









This week has been great with preparing the kids for their baptism. Their
mother was so excited and was inviting everyone that she could send a text to.
It was so great to see her excitement for her children. Although none of her
family was able to come to the baptism or confirmation, the baptismal service
looked like a sacrament meeting; there were so many people that came to support
these wonderful people in their decision to follow Jesus Christ and take upon
themselves His name. 









We were able to have a lot of less-actives come, one including Sis. Mills. We
decided to go and check on her Saturday morning, and she answered the door
frantically exclaiming that she "wasn’t ready yet." Sister Dana and I
looked at each other confused and just listened to what she had to say. She
then proceeded to ask what time the baptism was at and then all things started
to make sense. We told her that it started at 6 and that we just wanted to
check up on her but that we would be back later to pick her up. As we were
leaving, we both were laughing because we had totally forgotten that we have
invited her to come. She has not been to church since the 80's and when she
walked in the doors, many members who were there when she was baptized were
shocked to see her. It was a great experience for her though because it
reminded her of her own baptism.












After the actual ordinance took place, Tracey, the kids’ mother, was crying. We
had talked to her earlier this week about a goal for baptism, and she said that
she wanted to shoot for November 8th. Well, Saturday night sealed the deal!
Everyone was asking her when she was going to get baptized, and she would say
confidently, "November 8th!" A member in the ward hosted an "after party" to celebrate the choice that these individuals made, and
it was a great opportunity for these new members to meet and mingle with
members in the ward; it was also great for the less-actives to get more
acquainted with the members.  









We were also able to talk to Tracey last night about working towards her baptismal
goal and some of the things that she needed to do before then, and one of the
things was get married. The Spirit guided our conversation, and we were able to
set a goal for her to be married on November 1st and then be baptized the week following.
We are so excited for her and have a plan in place to get things started going!  









There is so much more that I want to talk about this week, but there are a few
things that have been on my mind this week as we have helped God's children
enter into the fold and also as we were asked to help teach Relief Society
about pass-a-long cards. I really want to encourage you all to think of one
individual, friend, acquaintance, or even a colleague that you know that could
benefit from the treasured truth that you cherish and know. Each of the 4
baptisms that took place this last Saturday were not done by missionary
efforts; they took place because members of the church OYM'd (Open Your Mouth).
Treyvon and Ak-elee started coming because their neighbors invited them to cub
scouts. Merilyn was baptized because a member struck up a conversation with her
in line at the dollar store about family history. Cheryl was baptized because a
member in our congregation started befriending her and slowly but surely
started getting into some gospel related topics that led to coming to church
and ultimately becoming a member. All of the instances happened because someone
held to their baptismal covenants, all because some members were an example of
Christ. All because some members took the initiative to invite. Friends and
family... it is truly so simple. For those who are not members, you really need
to learn of this! I urge you to ask questions! That is how the gospel was
restored to the earth. I know this to be true! I know that the covenants that
we make are true and sacred. We truly can show forth our love for God by "keeping
His commandments" every single one of them. Again, I strongly encourage
you all to OYM- Open Your Mouth. There are many people around you that are
looking and waiting. Post things on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (if you know
how to). Tell people what you are doing and what you learned at church. I
promise you that you will find someone who is anxiously waiting and looking.  









I love this gospel so much. I know that it is the one true church on the earth
today. I have the blessing to see firsthand what peace, light, and happiness it
brings to individuals and families lives. I know that it can bless you all so,
so much. I know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today and that he is called by
God to lead this church during these Latter-days. I love you all so much, and I
love my job! 









-- Sister Gale

October 14. 2014

"On the other side of that veil there are angels riding with their chariots of fire to be a protection for your child." 

- Jeffrey R. Holland

Let me tell you, for those that have not served a mission, there is no such thing as "normal;" in fact, "normal" is just a setting on the dryer! 

We had our serious talk with Tracey on Monday night, and it went so great! Sister Dana watched the kids while Sister Anderson and I talked to Tracey about how we weren’t going to go through with the baptism unless she was going to be there to support them and help them every step of the way. Sister Anderson even laid it out there saying that she wasn’t going to take them to the interview unless Tracey came with them. Well, I will tell you that the Spirit definitely guided that conversation because we were able to be bold but also super loving. There were tears shed between Tracey and I, and we were able to talk to her about the importance of baptism, how this step will change her children's lives forever. She finally understood, and every day this week she has been there for the lessons, she came to the interview, she came to church, and she is now inviting everyone to their baptism this Saturday. She is awesome, and I know that the Lord needed her to hear specific things that evening. I am grateful that Sister Anderson and I could be the instruments that he used that evening.

We also were able to have a great lesson with Sister Price- two actually. She always signs up to feed us, and when we share our messages with her, we are helping the kids learn in a different way and help her as she brought herself back to church. We shared a really powerful message about visions that pertained to General Conference, and that led to the importance of knowing God's Plan of Salvation. She told us that she had forgotten about this Plan and asked us to re-teach it to her and her children. We are going through everything using the scriptures as reference for her and the kids. It has been great and has given me the opportunity to do a lot more studying on it all!

Wednesday night was a great night but also a little scary. The previous Wednesday at our missionary coordination meeting, I was asked by our Ward Mission Leader to make sure that both he and the bishop were adhering to the guidelines in Preach My Gospel. I was so happy that he gave me that responsibility but I also was a little nervous because I know that there were some changes that NEEDED to be made. So I talked to the other missionaries, and we decided that if questions were asked, we would all support one another and I would bring it up by saying, "May I return and report on an assignment given to me last week?" They were responsive to it and really grateful that we all brought it to their attention! 

The next day was a little crazy! ... I went to Marion on exchanges, and we had a great day planned with lots of appointments! Well, I will tell you that the reason why missionaries are so exhausted is because they experience EVERY type of physical exhaustion known to man! Not only is there physical, spiritual, and mental exhaustion but also emotional. In one day I was angry, happy, mad, excited, sad, patient, glad, frustrated... and the list can go on and on. It was a day that I will never forget because we had one member who is a recent convert that is literally losing her mind! She was yelling at us because the care home that she was living at was not answering her questions. We had a 6 minute appointment with someone because she pushed back the time, and it took us forever to sit down and get started. We got anti's super bad! (I’ll get to that story in a minute), and we met a lady who also is a recent convert. She started smoking again, and she asked why she shouldn’t be allowed to? What else is there after baptism? We told her that there is the temple to work towards, and she responded, "Oh ya..." Haha it was so funny! Needless to say, she is going to quit smoking and work towards that!

So the anti story... we had to leave our 6 minute appointment on time because we had this appointment planned with someone at the church. Right when we pulled up to the church, we got a text from the investigator saying that they couldn’t make it anymore to which we responded, "Well the member is on his way to your house right now." He texted back saying that he will follow the man to the church then. So when he pulled up, he had two other men with him. Sister Nalls decided that we should give them a chapel tour and everything was going great! We were in the chapel explaining what all went on in this part of the building and then they just wanted to talk in there. Well, we decided that it would be more respectful to go into the other room and talk, so once we got all the chairs set up in a circle we sat down. Within one second they went crazy! I swear they planned to just come in and disrespect the Prophet Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, and everything else that we believed. They jumped to so many conclusions and then would ask questions but not give us time to respond. They also kept quoting things from the Bible, and finally Sister Nalls said "What is the greatest commandment?" They responded, "To love the Lord thy God." And right after that, she said, "And what’s the second greatest commandment?" They just looked at her, and she said "Do you love me right now?" And they just went off saying that she is choosing to feel offended and how the guilty take the truth to be hard... blah blah blah... Sister Nalls said that she wasn’t offended but that she felt completely unloved at the moment. It was getting intense, and the Spirit was completely gone. We are commanded that when the Spirit isn’t there, we shall not teach. I finally had enough of them and said, "You know, this is completely uncalled for. We didn’t invite you into our church building to tell you that you are wrong. We invited you in here to learn about what we love and know to be true. If you don’t agree, that is totally fine and completely your choice, but it is not okay to talk like this or act like this in our church and in front of us. It is time for you to leave." I probably could have said it in a lot nicer way, but I was sick to my stomach of how satanic the feeling was in the room. It was crazy! It was not the greatest experience, but I really felt so sad because I completely love them still. It is so hard when people choose to act like that!

On a brighter note, I got back on Friday, and we had Treyvon and Ake'lee's baptismal interview. They passed with flying colors!!! When they each finished with their interview, they had the brightest light in their eyes. Even Tracey noticed a difference! It is going to be a great baptism this week especially since each companionship will be having a baptism. We have the elders with one, the other sisters with one, and then us with Treyvon and Ake'lee! It is going to be so special and so awesome!

We finished off this week with having interviews with our mission president and then being instructed by his wife. I think that it all went well, and President Daines told me that I would be a great lawyer! YES!!! Haha I really enjoy him as our mission president because he is strictly adhering to Preach My Gospel, and that has made things so much easier!

I completely love this work, and I am so grateful for all that is going on! I know that "all things are done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things." As we constantly follow the Lord's example and do as He instructs, we will not be led astray, and we will do as He did... serve one another and treat others the way that we would want to be treated. I am so grateful for my amazing family! They are truly wonderful and do so much good in this world! Keep up the great work! I truly love this work, and I love my job!

-- Sister Gale

October 6, 2014

"No cause, no force in the entire world can stop the word of God."

- Thomas S. Monson

Holy smokes... it has been a full week! It is starting to get cold; it is already in the upper 40's lower 50's. I am not sure where it came from but I guess that’s what it means when everyone says, "A cold front is coming in." I don’t know what I am going to do, but I have already had to break out the tights... I am NOT looking forward to this winter especially here in Mansfield. Its closer to Canada so it’s colder than the Columbus area. I think I might die!

Anyways, where to start with this week... we have had so many great opportunities to serve and then a lot of disappointments all at the same time. Before I get started, on Tuesday we had a specialized training all the way in New Albany, and I was richly blessed to have a dear friend from there meet us for lunch! The training threw all of us missionaries for a loop... We thought that it was going to be about Ipads because the leadership had training about how they were going to be used, but that is not what happened. WE GOT TO WATCH ‘MEET THE MORMONS’!!!!!! It is a church movie that is being released super soon, and it was so great! It is truly inspiring and really brings to focus what we believe and who we are. In fact, it’s been said that there are more people that are open to having missionaries enter their homes because they now understand just from watching the video. I want to challenge you all to find someone who is not a member to go with you to the movie when it is released in theaters. It is so great and really brings into perspective who we are! Also, there is a tender moment in it that really was a tear jerker for the missionaries. I love it so much, and I thought it was great that we actually got to see a movie out on the mission! :)

Now, today, the reason I am emailing so late is because we had a zone fun-day. We had it outside even though it was in the 40's. We ran around playing tag, ultimate Frisbee, soccer, and then to end it we had a huge water balloon fight! It was so fun but definitely a cold ride home. Luckily, no one got sick, and everyone had a great time! I love that fact that we get to run around and just get out all of this energy and be around people that need to do the same thing! Also, I am going to be soooo sore again... probably this whole week!

We were able to help a recent convert/less-active in our ward move this week and that turned into an all-day event. It was sad to see the living situation of this member’s son, but it was great to move them into a new house where they can have a fresh new start! We had a lot of fun doing it because all the sets of missionaries were there, and we wanted to be done by a certain time so we were on a mission to get it done quickly! It was awesome!

So a frustrating thing that happened to me this week was not being able to keep morning schedule due to a dose of Benadryl and some nights Tylenol PM (not taken together though). Sister Dana and I went to visit a less-active, and the whole time we were talking with her, I could feel my legs burning. When we got to the car, I could not stop itching. I went home right away to shower, and I had bites everywhere! I thought they were just mosquitoes, but they were not like anything that I had had before. I had to mark them and make sure that they didn’t get worse or bigger. Then there was one morning that I woke-up and had 10 different bites leading from the end of my shoulder all the way up to my neck. A member thought that it was fleas... I felt like a disgusting person because people thought I had attracted fleas into the house. Well that wasn’t the case, thank goodness! I don’t know what bite me or anything, I just know that it is now gone, and after much medicine, I am back to normal! It definitely made for a crazy and itchy week though! Besides that encounter, we have had a lot of fun teaching all the people that the Lord has placed in our paths!

Unfortunately, teaching an entire family of non-members is so difficult that we have had to drop some of the people that we were teaching because of lack of commitment and some just having a lack of desire. We had a couple of our investigators decide to drop us, and there is a part of us that feels like we are back at zero. We still have 2 people on-date for now... they weren’t able to come to any session of General Conference because they left and would not answer any phone calls or any messages. We are hoping to see them tonight at dinner, but we are not sure what will happen. Today may be the deciding factor of whether or not they get interviewed for baptism this week, or if we have to push it back... I really hope that we don’t have to push them back, but we don’t want to bring people into the church and set them up for failure; they need to know everything that they are getting themselves into! I have such a firm belief and testimony about that!

General Conference was so great, and I am so grateful for the wonderful speakers that spoke and the light and spirit they so willingly share with the world. I am so grateful for the many people that we were able to get to come and listen and for the spirit that they felt. It led us to find 3 new people that are interested in learning more! :) I completely agree that there is so much we as members of the Restored Church need to do as we decide to walk as our Savior did when He was here in mortality. He set the example for us so that we could become perfected in Him and become like Him. He is the only way to reach eternal life and salvation. I am so grateful for a prophet that is here on the earth today, just like in old. God truly is "the same yesterday, today, and forever," and I know that He is "unchanging". Having this knowledge is truly a blessing, and we want to share it with everyone so that they too can experience this lasting happiness that we are able to have! I love this gospel so much! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to wake up every day and share the light that I feel and know! I pray that we may be willing to share that truth with all we know and with all we love - our brothers and sisters! I love this work so much, and I love my job!

-- Sister Gale