July 29, 2014

"A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands."

- William Lyon Phelps

I can’t believe how fast the time goes. I feel like I can’t catch up with the months... 

Yesterday, I got my planner ready for the next transfer; that was interesting. I always record some birthdays, events, or fast Sundays that are coming up in preparation for when I’m planning, and I wrote, "Year mark day"... WAIT WHAT?! August 21st is my year mark... I can’t believe that I have been away from home that long and that I have been in a different state for that long. CRAZY!!!

Sis. McIntyre and Sis. Gale showed up for service one day without noticing that they were wearing the same color shirts and same color shorts not the mention that both shirts were OSU shirts!

This week was very eventful to say the least. We got to help move people, contacted a referral, had dinner with an investigator and her family, had exchanges, painted, and we ended our day yesterday with Toronado sirens going off! I tell you, everyday is such a wonderful adventure!

The Mullins Family in our ward moved out this week... that was very sad! We drive past their house frequently and have to remind ourselves that they are gone for good... Luckily they moved out West, so I can go visit them when I want to after I get home! :) We also went to go visit a lady who we were referred to via media referral. We were so excited because she was referred by "relatives," so we figured that it had to be someone that talked to her about sending missionaries over. It seemed really promising! When we got up to the door she opened it and claimed that she doesn’t know anybody from the Ukraine... except we swear she is from the Ukraine... We might try back in another month or something. We may have just caught her on a bad night.

The Mullins Family

We also had dinner with one of our investigators and her family. It was so delicious! They asked us to have the lesson right before dinner. So we did, but it did not go as well as I had planned. I was thinking that we would watch the 20 minutes of the Restoration video and bring the spirit into their home... Totally didn’t think that they would be cooking food and preparing food all while we were going to be watching the video. Our investigator listened intently, but the mother and other daughter were too busy cooking... Dang it. Before we left we shared another spiritual message off of Mormon messages called "Lessons I Learned as a Boy" by Gordon B. Hinckley. It was so great, and I encourage all of you to watch it as well! :) You may even remember the talk that he gave.

OH! We painted! That was a funny story: Sister McIntyre and I had been out teaching all day, and then we went to a member’s house to go and paint. They had plastic laid down to cover the carpet. Our feet kept sticking to the plastic, so it was quite a show seeing us walk around to help them finish their basement. It was a lot of fun!

And then to finish our wonderful Sabbath day yesterday... we had tornado warnings going off for a long time. It was so intense. We were unsure about what to do. We were talking to a lady in our ward because her husband is a doctor. We have this saying: "It’s the doctor’s orders." Well, yesterday we received the "doctor's orders" that we needed to come to their house and stay in their basement because a tornado rotation thingy was heading our direction. It was so scary because we didn’t know what to do. After staying in the basement the rotation changed courses and headed another direction, so we were safe. But it was so crazy... Sister McIntyre and I were like, "We have never heard of this happening in all of our years of watching the news." It was so intense. But we were able to have a great rest of the evening.

I am so grateful for my time out here and for all the things that I am learning. Sister McIntyre and my theme song for this week is, "Mountains to Climb." I love it because of the chorus says: "Give me mountains to climb because it making me stronger than I’ve ever been before." It goes on and on, so I just decided to develop this mindset of, "Throw it at me because I know that it’s going to make me stronger." I know that that’s how it is for each and every one of us. We can take on anything in the world, and as long are we rely on our Savior, we will become stronger and make it through the tough times. I love this gospel so much, and I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned because I see a little glimpse of who my Father in Heaven is trying to help me become.

I hope you all have a great week and that you enjoy the weather... I’ve heard that it’s been a little hot lately, so stay cool! :)

I love this work so much, and I love my job!!!

-- Sister Gale

July 21, 2014

"Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that the love of work is success."

- David O. McKay

Just an update... today is my 11 months... WHAT?! Where has the time gone? I sometimes think about it and can't believe that I have been away from home that long, and then there are times when I look back at the beginning and think.. "Umm, ya. It's been THAT long!" Haha Missionary time is way weird! 

Beautiful flowers in a member's front yard in Dublin

Everything has been going great this week. It was Girl's Camp for our ward, so it was not fun having all the young women gone. But, there was so much to do this week that we really couldn't have had them out with us that much. 

A cute letter to Sis. Gale from one of the primary girls in the Dublin ward

We had interviews this week with our new mission president, President Daines. That whole day was stressful because we were helping a family move (we have a lot of that happening here in Dublin), and then we had to go home, get ready super fast, and then meet with our mission president for 15 minutes. Afterwards, we went to our dinner appointment, then came back to the church to pick up Sister Daines (MP's wife), and then she went out with us for the rest of the evening. Now why was that so stressful? Well, the interview went over time which caused us to move around some other appointments. When we found out that Sister Daines had "requested" to go out with us, all our appointments with investigators had cancelled for that evening, so we made more back-up appointments on top of our back-ups. It was really great though! President Daines is awesome! Completely different than President Nilsen, but he is going to bring a different kind of work to the Great OCM... and the kind of work that we need. Sister Daines is awesome as well. She carries such a great spirit about her and is so ready to jump in and share her testimony! I really hope that she comes out with us again!

Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre dressed up for the Zone talent show.

We also went around and met all our new move-ins. Dublin ward is a turn-around ward. There are a lot of doctors that come through for residency and then leave, and when they leave, others move in. So we constantly are getting to know new people. It is really funny because a lot of the new move-ins are impressed that we know where everyone lives... We quickly inform them that we have both been here for 6 months, and then they become impressed that we have not only been here for that long, but that we have been together for that long as a companionship. It is great to see their expressions! 

The missionaries with the new Mission President and his wife, President and Sis. Daines.

I also went to the doctor this week, and all is well. I just needed to get a check-up, and everything came back normal. The only thing that we are waiting to hear about is my sugar levels. Hopefully that comes back normal as well.

Yesterday, Sunday, was amazing! We had been helping one of the youth in our ward with his talk that he was asked to give about sharing the gospel, and he was super excited about it. Well, he got to church and decided that he didn’t want to do it, so as a substitute, they asked Kacie to give a talk about her experience at Girl's Camp. She isn’t even a member, and she talked in sacrament meeting! So many people came up to her and told her that she did a great job! One member said that they thought she was a member! She quickly responded, "Not yet!" It was amazing, and the Spirit was so strong! You probably thought that she was going to be baptized this last Saturday... we thought so as well, but her mother had a couple of meetings come up that postponed the baptism. We are working with Kacie on talking to her mom about meeting with us. Hopefully we can get that meeting in the near future... maybe even begin teaching her whole family! That would be great!!! :)

All of the Sister missionaries in Sis. Gale's zone at a Zone picnic

My time is coming to an end, but I want to say that I am so proud of my brother, Brandon, aka (Elder Gale)! He left this week for his mission. I am so glad to know that he is out sharing the word of God with people and helping them recognize the restored gospel. I love it so much, and I am so grateful that I get to wake-up every morning and go out and meet people and testify to them of the gospel and that it has been restored! Sister McIntyre and I were given the opportunity here in the library to invite someone to church. We are hoping to begin teaching him. It is truly everywhere. "People are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." Invite people to hear and find it because it is that great! 

I love you all so much, and I love my job!

-- Sister Gale

July 14, 2014

"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and be understood."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

I tell ya, this was one of those weeks for the books! It was filled with service, service, teaching, service, a road trip, and more service. I'm not even joking! What all did the service entail? Let's just say I have come to the conclusion that I could work for Bishop Organ when I get home because I can practically build a house now! There is a family in our ward that had their house flood about 9 months ago. The house was supposed to be finished in 3 months, but it hasn't even come close. The owners of the house that they are currently staying at need the house back by tomorrow, and so last week, the Selph family went into "get it done" mode. We were there to help. We did taping, sanding, mussing, painting, caulking baseboards, and so much more. It was some hard work that we did, and it was so great. We got so much work done, and it was so fun because the youth came to help. We also had some of our investigators come and do some service with us. I think that was the best part! We also helped out some other families with some house chores that they needed to get done. We always offer a helping hand because it is so hard during the day to contact or even tract, so we do as much service as we can. It is great!

Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre in the Cave

Moving on to teaching- we taught fellow missionaries and also our three investigators. We taught some missionaries on how to work with members. We have a five-phase plan that we have implemented with our members so that they start working with their friends and family members, and it has been working so well for us. Our zone is one of the richest ones, so we always have missionaries ask us what to do with members so that they don't have to spend their days tracting. We talked to a few of the girls, and we are now going to be doing a training for the zone on how to work with members. It is going to be so great, and we have already starting preparing.

Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre

We also got to teach our wonderful teenagers. They are so great, and I love their desire to serve God and follow Christ's example. We had some heart-to-heart conversations with Emily and Hailey, and they will not be getting baptized like we had planned. There are some complications with family, and we don't want to break any relationships. We are going to keep teaching them and then give the missionaries in their school's area their teaching records and have them keep working with them. Then we did some more service!

Sister Missionaries Exploring the Caves with the Mission Zone

Now for our road trip. What we try to do with every investigator is take them to a baptism so that they can see what it is actually like. I had all the plans drawn out. We received the text message Friday night of the baptisms that would be happening on Saturday and Kacie was finally able to tell us that she was able to go to one at 1pm. We got a bunch of youth to come with us, four total. It was a great car trip! We hit the road and were super excited! After a 45 minute car trip, we finally arrived in Reynoldsburg. Upon arriving, we noticed that there should be so many more cars than there actually were. I had this thought pop into my head that we came to the wrong building. I pulled out the phone and realized that I had misread the text message and that we should have been at another building 30 minutes away. There was no way that we would have made it there in time. I then realized that there was another text message that I hadn't noticed the night previous and there were two baptisms happening at 2pm. We looked at how much time it would take to get there, and we had exactly 1 hour to get to Lancaster. We got there with 1 minute to spare, and it was so funny how it worked out. The girl getting baptized was actually the same age as Kacie, and Kelton Barr was performing the baptism. It was great! We did have to leave a few minutes early to get Kacie back in time for work, but it was so great! Getting back to Dublin is a whole other story, but it was a crazy car trip! A 2.5 hour trip turned into 5.5 hours. Our Saturday was basically gone, BUT we did make it back in time for dinner! :)

These are two of the girls that always go out with Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre. The blonde-haired girl just left of the Mexico MTC last Wednesday.

I loved this week, and I am so grateful for the fun that we had with our youth and the fact that we got to know them better. It was great to have one of youth return from her two week trip to Japan. She told us a great story yesterday: While she was there, she got to have dinner with the mission president, and from my understanding, he was asking her about effective ways for youth to be involved. This is the same youth that introduced us to Kacie. She shared her story and said, "If I hadn't been friends with the sister missionaries and if I didn't know that they really cared about me, I would not have shared the gospel with my friend, and she would not be getting baptized." The mission president liked her story and advice so much that he asked if he could share that in their next training. She came up to us in Church yesterday, told us the story, and exclaimed, "Our story is being shared in Japan!!!" We just laughed and thought that was the greatest thing!

The Entire Zone in the Cave

I have such a testimony of friendship. That is the only way that the gospel will get out to the world. The only way that people will care is if they know how much you care about them. As we share the gospel we need to find ways that it will help them in their life and find ways to show how much we want this for them. I love it so much, and I love the happiness that it brings to everyone. I challenge everyone to go out and show people that you care this week! I love you all so much, and I love my job!

-- Sister Gale

P.S. The BEST missionary is being set apart this evening at 8:30pm. Brandon, go and get them in Chile! I love you buddy, and I'm grateful I got to talk to you last week! :)

July 07, 2014

"True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right."

- Brigham Young

Fourth of July Parade in Dublin

Before I say anything I want to say that Dublin KNOWS how to celebrate the 4th of July!!! I think that it is crazy that there are different holidays in some states that are huge and in other states they are small... well here it is a BIG deal! They start off the day with a huge parade down in Old Dublin where all the streets are shut down for a good 4 hours. We did go to the parade and got our names and faces shown. There is not much success in contacting because people just want to be with their families and want you to just be on your way. But once someone asks you a questions or strikes up a conversation, you jump on that opportunity. It was a lot of fun!

Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre all dressed up for the Fourth of July!

We were then asked to go to a member's house for a picnic with some recent converts and investigators. We definitely enjoyed the food that was provided. It was so great for Cynthia to join in with the adults; our investigator and her family were there, and we just played games with them. I will say that I am so grateful for Girl's Camp games because we can't play board games as missionaries, and we learned how to play games without boards at Girl's Camp so it was a total blast. What was even greater was the adults could tell that we were having more fun, so they came and joined us a little later. 

Zone Conference

To finish the night we went to the church. The high school is right across the street from the church, and that is where all the fireworks go off. A ton of people park at our building, so we have the right to put pass-a-long cards on everybody's car that parks at our building. I thought it was awesome because Hailey, our investigator, was spending the evening with us, and she went around and put cards on the cars and even handed out cards to people that were trying to find a parking spot. I just laughed, and by the end of the night, she said that she could see herself being a missionary! It was so awesome! :) All in all, our 4th of July was so awesome! It was a late night with very little sleep because fireworks are legal in Ohio, so everyone is lighting up what they want and shooting it into the air. We heard popping noises all night long. Mixed in with our 4th of July was also a plethora of rain/thunder storms.

So if my typing is horrible it's because I am functioning off of very little sleep! Haha We had some wonderful lessons this week with our investigators and have been able to make some wonderful progress with them. We are kind of in limbo because we are waiting to meet with their parents. All of the parents want to learn a little bit more about the religion before they allow their children to join, so we have set times to meet with them before anything moves forward. We had to tell Kacie that we had to postpone her mission, and I thought she was going to cry. I am so glad that she didn't and that she is totally excited for her baptismal date. But it is important for the parents to know what their child is doing. And who knows, we may even have the opportunity to teach the whole family. At least, that is what I foresee happening because who wouldn't want to join this wonderful gospel?!?!

Sisters in the Zone Conference

Sunday was such a great day! I woke-up to a text from our ward mission leader asking us to teach the lesson in gospel principles today. It was such a great opportunity because we have a lesson tonight with Hailey and her mother. Her mother hasn't heard the restoration yet, so I taught that for the lesson on Sunday. BAM! Used time wisely! Haha It was a great lesson because I learned so much! In the manual, there is a section about the Church in the former times and how it is the same in the present times. I love it, and it definitely clarified even more about the truthfulness of this church. Man, I tell ya, it is GREAT!!! We also had a great opportunity this week to help a wonderful recent convert. She got back from her trip, and she was going through a hard time. She was stressing out a lot, and when we were planning, we had a thought to go and visit her. We decided that we would come with some ice cream to cheer her up. That was exactly what she needed. She told us over and over and just texted us a little while ago that she is still so happy that we came by to cheer her up. I tell you, the Spirit knows who needs help. We must always be willing to listen to His still small voice and answer the call.

Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre with a few investigators on the 4th of July.

I am so grateful for this wonderful gospel and for the opportunity that I have to go and help those who have fallen or who feel lost. I know that this is the true church on the earth today. I know that we are led and guided by a prophet. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it will lead us, guide us, protect us, and do what it teaches us to do. I will forever be grateful that the Lord has called me and trusted me to help His children come back to Him. I hope and pray that we all will do as our Lord and prophets have asked us to do, that is to go a "cry repentance unto this nation." It will bring a change of heart, and a change of heart brings a willingness to submit to the will of the Father. I know that as we submit to His will and do as He directs us to do, then we will live with Him and our families again. I love this great and marvelous work, and I love my job!

Love, 

Sister Gale

June 30, 2014

"I know of nothing which gives us a greater love of all that is good than teaching this gospel of Jesus Christ."

- Heber J. Grant

Well it has only been a short 4 days since the last time that we emailed, but it has been awesome. In that time we have had a roller coaster of a ride!

We have been able to put another person on-date. I mentioned Emily in my
last email home, but since Wednesday's email, we have been able to teach her the Plan of Salvation, give her a chapel tour, introduce her to many of the youth, and she came to church and loved it. She is so awesome and is excited to learn more. We are meeting with her on Tuesday and going to finalize July 26th as her baptism date. The only thing that she said that would hold her back from that date is whether or not she is going to be out of town. If that is the case, then we will either move it up or push it back. But she is so awesome and so excited to have religion in her life!

Sis. Gale and Sis. Ure Together Again!

Also we taught Kacie this week. We had a lesson with her on Wednesday. The family history lady walked in on our lesson at the church and was like "come visit me after your lesson." We explained to Kacie who she was and Kacie really wanted to go talk to her. After the lesson Karen, the family history lady, sat with Kacie and helped her find her family. We had to leave for another appointment, but Kacie ended up staying with the family history lady for 3 hours and found out so much information about her family. It was awesome! We also had an unexpected appointment with her on Thursday because Kacie's mom got a hold of some false information. Kacie is still strong in the faith though. She said that she went to work a little early and just sat outside and prayed and read the Book of Mormon. She said that an overwhelming sense of peace flooded her heart, and she knew this church was true. We are going to be working with her mother, and through prayer, we have been able to set up a time to meet with the mom and give her a chapel tour.

Sis. Gale and Sis. McIntyre just Relaxing,

We also had our 5th Sunday lesson which went really well. It was about missionary experiences and how the ward members should be finding people for us missionaries to teach. It was great, and it was led by our ward mission leader and the assistant. The members shared experiences and then at the end, Kacie stood up and testified of the importance for members to share the gospel because if Kristen hadn't shared it with her, she would still be lost. It was amazing to hear her testify of that and to solidify the point that we wanted to get across.

Super Yummy Comfort Food from the Members in Dublin.

I am so grateful for this gospel! I know that it is true. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and was translated by our beloved prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith. I know that through the priesthood authority that was given to him by an unbroken chain, he was able to translate it and restore this church to its entirety so that we would be able to live with God and our families again. I love the fact that we can be with our loved ones even after this life. That is because of God's plan for each and every one of us. I know that He is a God of miracles and a God of mercy. I know this because He provides many chances for us to learn and to grow in this life and in the next. Baptism is essential for the living and for those who have passed on; that is why He has provided a way for that to be so. I am SO grateful for this knowledge and for the chance that I have to share it with others. I know it to be true because I have felt the Spirit testify the truthfulness of this gospel to me. All we need to do is ask, and we shall receive. I love this work, and I love my job!

-- Sister Gale

June 25, 2014

"Eighty percent of success is showing up."

- Woody Allen

WOW!!! I have only a little less than 8 months left on my mission... I have received the call about transfers and... WE ARE BOTH STAYING IN DUBLIN!!!!! I am so excited. I started getting things ready to pack because I thought that I was going. I had a lot of the members thinking that too because I have been out longer, and they think that I need to "help other wards get back on their feet and work." I took it as a compliment, but I don't know if that was them saying go away or not haha.

Sister Ashley Dowell from Gilbert, AZ and Sister Hyer with Sis. Gale

So this week has been incredible! We have extended to Kacie and have her on-date for July 13th. She is so awesome! We asked her to pray about the date, and she said on Tuesday, "I think that Sunday, July 13th would be better for me to be baptized because that is right before Girl's Camp, and I will have the Holy Ghost with me which will help me learn more while I am at Girl's Camp." We just said, "THAT IS GREAT!!!" She is so awesome! We are meeting her on Friday, and then she will be there on Sunday! She is the best!!! :)

Sis Gale and Elder Kelton Barr, her buddy from Gilbert, AZ

We also had another miracle this week. The zone leaders blitzed our area last week. They said that they found this girl who is solid and that we should teach her fast. Well, we called her, and there was no answer. Well two days later, we were sitting in a specialized training, and we received a text message saying that we had a media referral. That night, I connected the dots that it was the same girl and that she had requested a Book of Mormon. After looking at the address I realized that we have two other members who live on that same street. Out of those two members, one of them knew her and her family really well. We went to the member's house and talked to her about the girl, Emily. After talking she said, "Why don't we just go there now." So we went, the member knocked on the door, introduced us, and we got an appointment with her and are now teaching her. She is so prepared and knows that she needs to come closer to God. We have another appointment with her on Friday and will be extending baptism to her! We are so excited and know that she is ready to embrace the gospel! I love seeing people come closer to the Savior!

Another thing that I have been doing lately is reading Jesus the Christ. I must say, if you have never read that, pick it up and start today! It is amazing, and I love learning more and more about my Savior. I have learned so much, and I have been able to receive a stronger testimony about the power of God and what He has done and will continue to do to help others along the path! It is amazing, and I am grateful for all that I am learning!

Good ole' Sis. Ure and other sister missionaries with Sis. Gale

I would report on more, but I am running out of time. I love this work so much. I know that there are people being prepared. As we are willing to invite all to learn more, we will be able to gather those who are lost back into the fold. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He provided His Son to help us all return to live with Him again. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for the testimony I gain each and everyday. I love this great and marvelous work, and I love my job!

Love, 

Sister Gale

June 16, 2014

"Our birthdays are feathers in the long wing of time."

- Jean Paul Richter

Happy Father's Day to Papa Gale from Sis. Gale!

I am officially 21... How do I feel? Old. I feel like I am so close to being 29 and then it's just down the hill from there. BUT I am done thinking about it until I turn 22 next year. Then my mom and dad will just have to wipe my old tears away!

DAD: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Sis. Wernli and Sis. Gale on Erin's Birthday

Anyways, we had to return our mini-missionary on Saturday. It was so weird to be in a trio in the beginning, and then after a week it was weird not being in a trio. I find myself looking in the rear view mirrors and freaking out a little bit because no one is back there, and then I quickly remember that it is just back to Sister McIntyre and I. "We're all alone..."

All of the gifts and letters for Erin's Birthday! Thanks to everyone!

I don't remember if I mentioned in my last email that we were teaching this last Sunday. Well, we did, and we had a less-active teach with us. What was so awesome is that our investigator got in from out of town and was only able to come for the 3rd hour. It was perfect because we taught about baptism. It was perfect having her apart of it. We were able to kill two birds with one stone! What was even greater was that we were able to set up a return appointment with her after the lesson. It was a little hard to get an official time, so she went home, talked to her parents, and then texted us, Kristen (her friend), and Saydi (a girl that she knows) to set up the entire appointment. I have NEVER had an investigator set up the appointment and invite everyone to come. It was so funny but so awesome! We are going to extend baptism today for July! :)

Birthday decorations from Mom!

So I know that I am running short on time, but I want to finish with one more miracle that happened this week. We have been working with an individual and his family for a majority of the time that we have been here in Dublin. He has had a hard time feeling the Spirit and had moments where he wanted to feel it and then others where he just didn't care. Well, after a lot of behind-the-back planning, his mother signed him up, packed his bags, and sent him on the mini-mission. Yesterday was the greatest thing I have ever seen: he stood up and bore his testimony at the mini-MTC that some of the youth leaders have been putting on, and he was so different. He had this glow about him. He said that he knew that this was the true church, and he would do anything and everything to prepare now for his mission. Now that is a very short explanation of what he said, but I was almost crying. The promises that we told him came true, and now he knows.

Erin's Favorite Meal for her 21st Birthday at the Wernli's

I completely testify to all of you that this IS the true church! The Spirit is real and can manifest himself to anyone and everyone and bring a change of heart and mind. I testify that we all can promise happiness as we share this gospel because I know that Heavenly Father's desire for us is to "have joy." I know that miracles happen and will continue to happen. I love this gospel so, so much! And I completely love my job!

-- Sister Gale