June 14, 2016

"Some missionaries may wonder whether they are in the right place, in the right mission. It is no accident for them to be where they are assigned. The Lord knows the missionaries. He knows their mission presidents. I think He knows who their companions will be. I don't know the detail to which He knows the future, but my impression is He knows a great deal. He calls missionaries to the places they are assigned. So, even when it's difficult, you can have confidence that the Lord knew the difficulty in advance, and just as He assured Nephi that He wouldn't give a commandment save He prepared a way for it to be accomplished, missionaries can have that same assurance, tough as it may be, whatever the situation, that the Lord knew the difficulties would be there. He has prepared a way. Have faith. Go forward."

- Henry B. Eyring

Wow.... here we are, at the end of a successful two years of hard work and growth. It has been crazy to now that this time is already about to end. I can't believe that it is already here. I have learned many things. I have changed a bit, and I can say that I am a different person yet also the exact same. It is so weird to know that this has already come. After today, I will have only five more days to enjoy here in Chile, and I can hardly expect to be home so soon. I feel like I still have months left to go, but I think that it's the tender mercy of the Lord that I don't feel focused on getting home already. It will be interesting to be home. 

This week, we baptized a man named Jose. He is the husband of a member in our ward, and he has been able to see many miracles while learning about the gospel and applying it to his life. At his baptism, it was beautiful to see his wife give a short message about the importance of baptism. As she was bearing her testimony, she began to thank my companion and I for all the work that we had done to teach Jose. It was so touching to hear this thanks from her. She was so grateful to have us here to teach, to give up two years of our lives to serve the Lord and to proclaim His gospel. 

I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. Now that this is the end of the mission, I can tell all these stories. Mom, if you are reading this, you can stop now. I have had many things happen to me while I was here. Everything from drunks trying to rob me, a man coming at us with an axe, being yelled at in the face that I'm a liar, being attacked by dogs, being threatened, having people lie to me, people rejecting us, being attacked by people in the street, having four ingrown toenails, being super sick for an extended period of time, feeling alone, literally passing through the fire of affliction, and I have come out intact, stronger, and more refined.

All of these hard moments I have had are nothing compared to the feelings of finally hearing a yes, a please come by and teach us. I love hearing everything from a "Elders, what do I have to do to be baptized?" to a "Please tell me more." The moment when one sees another person making covenants with the Lord fill the soul. It doesn't matter what anyone else has said or done because when one sees this, those pains are gone. 

Wow... two years. This time could have been used to study, get a job, start a family, but what I have done here saves families, helps others get a job and learn how to study, and helps me as I've learned how to have a solid foundation for a family. I've been able to do much more here in two years than I could have ever done in the USA in two years. I feel so much more accomplished and so much more filled with joy knowing that I've done this not only for myself, but for all the others I've helped have this same joy I have. This makes me feel even more joyful. Service in the name of the Lord is truly the best. Being His representative, called by Him to serve here... there is no feeling to compare. I'm so glad to be here.

The greatest moments one can have is to know that they said what the Lord wanted them to say or did what He wanted you to do. It is so great to have the feeling that what you are doing is not the best or that what you say isn't sufficient to help a certain person continue to desire the gospel, but then you learn that the person who is there at your side needed to hear those very words. I am so glad to be here, and I know that the Lord, even our very Savior, Jesus Christ, called me here to serve. This work is the work of the Lord, for if it was not, I would not be here still.

I know that this is THE church of Christ, for I have studied it out. I have prayed many times to ask if it is His church, and I HAVE received an answer: that it is true. I know that The Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God here in this time. I know that and so much more because I have worked to obtain these answers from our Heavenly Father, and I know that you can too. 

Well, here's the final sign-off:

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu, goodbye!!! 

Adios mi querido pais de chile. Siempre estara en mi corazon. Nos volveremos a ver. "Y la misma sociabilidad que existe entre nosotros aqui, existira entre nosotros alla; pero la acompañará un agloria eterna que ahora no conocemos." (Doctrina y Convenios 130:2)

[Goodbye my dear country of Chile. You will always be in my heart. We're going to see each other again. "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:2)].

Hasta vernos con el rey para siempre Dios esté con vos. 

[God be with you 'til we meet again.]

Elder Gale

June 07, 2016

"Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination."

- Louise Brooks

Well, this week.... just a bit crazy. I don't have time to write, so I'm just going to say that a lot more is to come when I write next week! Love you all! Blessings DO come!!!

Elder Gale

May 31, 2016

“Greatness is best measured by how well an individual responds to the happenings in life that appear totally unfair, unreasonable, and undeserved. Sometimes we are inclined to put up with a situation rather than endure. To endure is to bear up under, to stand firm against, to suffer without yielding, to continue to be, or to exhibit the state or power of lasting.” 

- Marvin J. Ashton

Elder Gale's District

I don’t have many words because this week is already behind me... I can’t begin to describe my gratefulness for the influence of the Holy Ghost as a missionary. We have several people who are willing and able to be baptized these next few weeks, and we are beginning something new here in this sector which is to baptize weekly! We have two people set for baptism on the 11th, two more for the 18th, and now two more people for the 25th of June! We are going to keep working to make it like a stone that rolls forth and keeps going faster and faster! We are seeing many miracles here, and we love the work as it just keeps coming and coming!

A normal missionary lunch when money gets low: some cookies and juice.

To share a quick experience, we had a night that was just full of cities of people who had told us that they wanted us to come on by. As fate would have it, we went, and no one was there. We talked with people in the streets, and it was a night that was really hard with lots of people not wanting to talk with us (typical). We kept going strong, even as it was raining, and we were pretty dang wet. We spent the last bit of time looking for more investigators. As we passed a house, I had a feeling to talk with the people there. The lady came out (a member) and her 15-year-old son. We talked for a moment and were able to find out that her youngest son hadn’t yet been baptized, and they wanted us to come by and begin teaching their son so he too could be baptized! A true miracle!!!

A baptism that Elder Gale was able to participate in this weekend!

Elder Gale

May 24, 2016

“Don’t count your days—make your days count.” 

- Jay Jensen

This week, as always, we had some great moments and some sad moments. some moments to rejoice, some to be frustrated with, and some to just have confidence in our Heavenly Father, 

For one, we did not have the best numbers like the week before. BUT, we did help many people to start/restart on a path towards our beloved Heavenly Father. We had a cool experience yesterday that I'd like to share because I'm really short on time. 

We were walking towards a lesson we had set with an investigator to help him progress towards a baptismal date and to re-set a date with him, but as we got there, he wasn't home... surprise as a missionary. So, we went to another investigator who actually lives just right across the street, and we were able to go right in. We taught and they committed to come to church (not this week but the next) and to come to a baptismal service that we will have in the chapel this weekend. We finished the lesson and left. As we walked out and were going down the street, we ran into our other investigator and had a 5 minute lesson with him there in the street about faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Right there, he accepted to be baptized on a new date. We were able to answer all of his questions and doubts in a flawless manner (in my opinion), all in 5 minutes!! It was amazing! 

We then went to another lesson we had planned with a member and her daughter who had not been baptized. Another member came with us to teach the little girl about baptism, and it was so great. She said that she wanted to be baptized because it is what Jesus would want.

It was a great day for sure! I can't believe all the miracles that I get to be a part of as a missionary! It has been amazing, and I love this work so much! I hope you all have a great week and strive to follow the savior as He would have you do. I know that Christ loves every single one of you, and I know that His church has been restored through a modern-day prophet. I'm so glad to be here, and I love you all!

Elder Gale

May 17. 2016

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

- Calvin Coolidge

Wow... this week was awesome! We worked and saw many miracles!!! For me, this area has been pretty consistent in us finding someone and being able to teach every week, but this week we broke down barriers and broke records for our mission! We have never had so much success in one week! It was awesome! We worked hard, placed our faith in the Lord, and had an amazing week with so much happening! 

Miracles of the week:

1. We had a prepared lady tell us she wanted to come to church and be baptized.

2. We had an opportunity to paint a house.

3. I learned a special rule.

There was one day where we were a little down. We worked hard and loved the success we were having, but then that success just seemed to have stopped for this day. We were working, had faith that we could find more people to listen to us, and we had some time until we traveled to our next city. So we talked to people in the street. It just all seemed that no one wanted to listen to us. We had people who would look at us and shout, "NO I don't want anything to do with God. He doesn't exist. You can't know that He does. You're nothing but a couple of little children" and the like. We kept going, believing that we could find someone. We walked close to a place in our sector that is always closed and locked. We had gotten in only one other time in my whole time in this sector. I had an impression to walk by and see if it would be open, and it was! We went up the stairs, got to the door, and out came someone. We spoke with her, and she said that she wanted to come to church and wants to be baptized because she knows it to be the next step that she has to take in her life! HOW AWESOME IS THAT??

We have a less-active member who is coming back to the church, and she just had surgery not too long ago. We were asked to help her paint her home because she can't. We went with a member and painted, and it looks great! It was great to have the opportunity to paint and do something a little different for once. We enjoyed our time there and were able to talk with her about how her experience has been with coming back to church. She was so grateful for our help!

All the success we had this week came because of a special rule that I learned here. The rule is simply this: just one more. As we have been doing that, we have seen how great are the works of the Lord in this sector. This rule has helped us to see people who are willing to hear from us, and we have been able to help them come unto Christ. It has been awesome. 

This week, I'm happy to say that I'm so glad to be here in Chile. It is a great life here working in the service of the Lord, learning through His spirit, and being able to be a witness to so many miracles. I'm glad to say that I'm here. I love this work. I love my savior, and I love you all!

Elder Gale

May 10, 2016

“No missionary can determine the lasting effects of his or her labors.” 

Richard G. Scott

I am still here in my sector. It seems like it shall be my last sector. Unfortunately. my companion has left and gone far away to the mountains and will most likely be there for a while. It is great to have my new companion, Elder Mires, from Peru. It looks like I will come back unable to speak English, so it will be fun.

This week was interesting. We tried to contact all the investigators we have, and they all seemed to have just vanished into thin air. That was difficult since we walked a lot this week. We did find a few new people to talk with in the future, and we are trying to find even more!

Something awesome happened this week! We contacted a door, and the person who answered started talking openly with us. We set an appointment to come back and visit him. It was a great conversation! We did our best to try and tell him all about the restoration of the Gospel and the Church of Christ in such a short time.

Other than that, not too much happened, but we are definitely enjoying all that is to happen in this week to come. I will tell you all about it. I love you all!

Elder Gale

May 03, 2016

"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."

- Doctrine and Covenants 4:2

Wow... I'm already here again. This week, we had so much happen so fast that I feel like I was just here the day before last writing home to you. I cant believe it!

This week's miracles:

1. More people with a date working towards baptism!

2. A less-active returns to church after years of not wanting to go to church!

3. Recent converts armed with power!

The elders in Elder Gale's area moved to their own area, so now Elder Gale and his companion live alone.

We have really been working with those who have a date to be baptized, helping them reach their goal of becoming clean from sin by repenting and coming unto Christ through baptism for the remission of sins so that they might gain the gift of the Holy Spirit to be their constant companion in this life and guide them and help them have the peace they need!

A Catholic cathedral Elder Gale visited thus week.

We had a miracle happen this week! Well, we always have miracles happen, but another one specifically... this less-active member and his family haven't come to church for a very long time because they don't feel comfortable there anymore. As they were about to leave very quickly after the services, my companion and I went speedily to them to greet them and tell them how grateful we were to see them. He was obviously not too convinced because we are the missionaries, and people get the idea that we are "supposed to say that," but the miracle was that a whole bunch of members came and started to share with them how glad they were to see them there in the chapel. It was great to see the ward come and show such great love!

This week we were able to visit our recent converts. Each one of them has grown significantly in their testimonies and their willingness to follow Christ and progress in the gospel. We had a convert who was sharing the gospel at her work in the metro system. She gave us a reference for other missionaries. Our other convert was so overjoyed about receiving the priesthood. He told us how grateful he was to receive it! And our other convert was helping her sisters to learn about the gospel so that they will also get baptized. Such amazing progress with all of them! Definitely an amazing week!

An amazing statue of Michael the Archangel defeating Satan!

I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you all, and have a very happy Mother's Day to all you mothers! Especially mine!! I love you all!

Elder Gale