January 27, 2013

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

Winston Churchill

Well hello family, friends, "and everyone else not sitting on a cushion"!!! Sister Ure and I have been quoting movies all week, so forgive me if I add a lot in this letter!

Some interesting things happened this week. It has snowed a whopping 6 inches in New Albany. It was so snowy yesterday that we only had sacrament meeting. They cancelled the rest of the meetings because they wanted to make sure that everyone got home safely. It was really nice because I was talking and there weren’t that many people ;) Just kidding... I was really sad with the bad weather... We had a lot of people lined up to come to church, but they were scared to drive in the snow and decided not to come. We were going to get them a ride, but we were more focused on getting Emily a ride to church because she was supposed to get confirmed yesterday. 

Breakfast at the Whitted's House 

So that now the cat is out of the bag, EMILY GOT BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!! It was an amazing service. Because she is deaf, we did the entire service in sign language, and it worked out perfectly. She was literally glowing when she came out of the water. I have never seen her smile so big! On Sunday, she was scared to drive in the snow, so we made a bunch of phone calls to get her a ride to church. She looked beautiful! She was in the dress that we bought her, and when she got confirmed, she told Sister Ure and I that she has never been so happy. It has been such a great privilege to teach her because she is a choice daughter of the Lord. She will be a huge instrument in the Lord's hands! And we got to learn sign language! We hope that since we know so much that we won’t be transferred out of this area! :) 

Emily's baptism with Sister Benton who helped us sign to her.

A couple letters ago I mentioned that we had a family from Napal move to our ward from Salt Lake City. Well, only 2 of them speak English, and you can hardly understand a word that they are saying. Fortunately there was a lady in the Westerville ward that has a friend from Napal. She knows and speaks English very well and wanted us to meet her. When we walked into the house, there were a total of four of them there. They are Hindu, and they want to learn more about Christians and The Book of Mormon... Well you came to the right people! :) We are now teaching them which leads into the funny story of our week:

So we met with them on Friday. It is part of their culture to feed or give their guests something to drink. Well they made us black tea... Because it is against the Word of Wisdom we had to deny the offer. I can't tell you how bad we felt... I literally almost broke The Word of Wisdom because I felt so bad... But we didn’t, so all is well. Before we left, I felt that it was important that we went back the next morning to talk with them before the baptism. We went with Sis. Whitted, and we warned her that they will make us something to eat. 

Well they did.... and it was pasta... Sister Ure is gluten intolerant. I looked at Sister Ure and she was like "I’m just going to eat it." Sister Ure is literally in bed sick when she eats something with gluten, and I don’t want to be stuck at home. So I shoveled down my plate of pasta until there was just a little bit left. Sister Ure and I then secretly traded plates as if she ate hers and I still hadn’t eaten mine... Yes, I scarfed down 2 whole plates of pasta. On the way back to Sister Whitteds’ house, I was laying in the back seat so sick... Oh my! The things you do for your companion. It’s a good thing I love her!

They are SO Cold!

Yesterday we spent a lot of time with a part-member family. The wife is not a member but loves Sister Ure and I. She signed up to feed us yesterday and wanted us to come to her house and cook with her, so we did. We made so many things: caramel, applesauce, hobo stew, corn bread, and strawberry custard pie. While the things were cooking and cooling, she taught us how to knit. Yes grandma... I am knitting now! :) It was a lot of fun, and we had a wonderful gospel discussion at the end. She said that she wanted to invite us back over. We broke the ice... we more or less shattered the ice! We had the distinct impression that there was HUGE potential with her! :)

Just a typical snowy day in Columbus, Ohio.

Out of all the events that have happened this week, I can honestly say that I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He is real and that He loves us all. I know that The Plan of Salvation is true and that we all can reach the highest kingdom of glory. All it depends on is our personal conversion to the gospel, and our own willingness to obey the Lord's commandments to our full capability. I hope with all the energy of my heart that we strive to live the gospel with exactness. Always strive to be like your Lord and Savior in every thought, word, and action. I know that as I have tried to incorporate that more into my life, I have seen a change (for the better) in myself, and there is more joy in what I am doing. I know The Book of Mormon is true, and I know that we can learn more of the Savior as we read it over and over. I love this gospel and I love my job! 

Love, 

Sister Gale

For anyone wanting to write Sis. Gale and isn't sure to get a hold of her, here is her address:

5191 Cambria Way 
Westerville, OHIO 43081