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!