October 6, 2014

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

- Isaiah 41:10

Well, I have made it to a month and a half in the field! So much has happened in this first transfer of 6 weeks! I have learned so much and done even more than one could believe! I truly love it here! I have learned to trust in my Heavenly Father more, and I have learned how to recognize when He is speaking to me even more than I knew before! I have read the scriptures everyday for hours on end, trying to find something to help my investigators and trying to help them come unto Christ. I have learned the Spanish language really well, and I can communicate with the people here. It is still so amazing to me that I get to see people´s jaw drop when they hear me speak. I have learned so much about the culture here, and I love it here! I have seen more dogs on the streets and chasing me than I would ever like to see ever again. I have had people get angry at me (because they are drunk), I have had people feed me (even though to some of them, I am a stranger), and I have felt the love of God for all the people in this world. I know that He loves us. Why else would we even be here? I can’t even begin to comprehend it all. But I do know that we are here because of a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to succeed. I know this because I came here to Chile. How many times have you heard of Chile before you left high school? I know that I didn't. I came here, not able to speak the language, with only my testimony and our God behind me, pushing from behind. I KNOW that He is there. I have heard His prophets speak to me. I KNOW the words to be true. I watched General Conference this weekend, and I couldn't leave my seat, I was writing so many notes because I know that they are the words of GOD. I have felt the spirit before, but to feel the power of God, to hear His voice... that is even better. I encourage all to read, listen, and watch the words of the prophets from this past weekend. "YOU HAVE TIME. And if you don´t, YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR PRIORITIES."

Some of you are of the same faith as me. Some are not. It DOES NOT matter. I invite you all to read the words. lds.org. Go there. If you have questions in your life that you would like to have answered, they are there. I am not even beginning to kid you. I am here teaching the same things that have been spoken of. If you don’t believe me, if you don’t even have a desire to read these words, pray for the desire to read them. Many of you have laptops. You can put it on and listen to it as you work around the house, as you clean, as you relax. Do it, you will find what you are looking for in this crazy world.

I have been tested, tried, and stretched. I have been pushed beyond my limits, teaching as I am dead tired. I get up around 6:30 in the morning and back to bed at 11:30 at night. I do that because I know this work to be true. I know this gospel to be true. I am in a different country, on the other side of the world. We are getting out of winter right now, and it is becoming spring/summer here. I would NOT do this if I did not know this gospel to be absolutely true. There is so much that I want to say here in these emails, but I couldn't. I would be here forever. The biggest thing I have left to say is that I walk a ton. I really do. I eat a lot here but less than I did back home most of the time. I feel the ground beneath my feet as I walk, and you know what? Each step is a constant reminder that I am on the Lord's errand. I am walking where He wants me to walk. I hope that you can get what I mean to say in this email and all the other ones before and after. I speak Spanish all day, and I am having such a difficult time with English.

I love you all, and I just want you to know that I write my testimony on all these emails because it is my gift from God, and I want to share it with everyone. That includes you. :) If you have any questions, I would absolutely love to hear from you! Please write me back. I would love to hear from you and every little thing that goes on in your life!

-- Elder Gale