"For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out."
-- Ezekiel 34:11

Sunday, October 12, 2014

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

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