December 22, 2014

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will not find it under a tree."

- Roy L. Smith

Well, Merry Christmas everyone! I sure hope that you have all enjoyed your time waiting to open gifts and be with family! But more than that, I know that I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again... let us remember Christ. For him, we have this whole season. I was able to truly learn a lot today about a thing called the condescension of Christ. Simply put, it means how He came down from on high to help us. It means He came from a place above us to become like us, and He decided to help us.

I have a few scriptures that I read today that helped me a lot to understand what it truly meant for him to "condescend."
1 Nephi 11:16
Philippians 2:4-8
Moses 1:32-33
Moses 7:30
Isaiah 53:3-5
Mosiah 3: 7-9
There are so many others and I’m not sure if I got them all correct because I did this all from memory...

However, what does all of this above even mean? It means that we had Jesus Christ descend from on high, to leave all He had up there, from His creations to His reputation and everything. He left it all without a second thought just so He could help us. His sacrifice is what has helped us and will continue to help us to become like our Father in heaven. I’m not sure if I am describing this all perfectly, but all I can say is how glad I am to have had Christ come and help us. He came to save us, and He did it without hesitating. How blessed are we to have Christ helping us?

I wish for all of you to take a moment and think about what ways in your life you change to have a better relationship with your savior. Truly think on that, and you will be surprised at what you will see that you need to do. For some, it is not a lot, but for others, it will be a lot. Either way, it is WORK. CHANGE is WORK. in the words of Elder Derrick, "Vale la Pena" (value the pain). I hope you are all able to enjoy this time of the season and remember who you truly are as sons and daughters of God. Joy to the world; the Lord is born!

Elder Gale

December 8, 2014

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.”

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

This one is more of a joke than anything because this week flew by like a dream. So, my “list of 2’s”

1. 2 baptisms
2. 2 broken shoelaces
3. 2 blessings given
4. 2 blister covered feet
5. 2 hours proselyting in the “feria” (a cheap market)
6. 2 drunks that asked money from us
7. 2 mil pesos that another elder got taken from him by a drunk
8. 2 years serving the Lord

As you can see, it sure is really weird to be here in Chile... the baptisms were on the 30th and the 7th; they were so amazing to watch people enter into a covenant with God.

The broken shoelaces happened as I began to tie my shoes, and they just snapped in two pieces... it sure made for a really interesting experience. The second one happened this morning.

The blessings, one for my companion who got super sick the other day, and we had to return back home. The second was given to someone who was really sick and was at the church on Sunday and just asked us for a blessing. Both of which remarkably healed rather quickly.

The blistered feet just come with the territory of walking a lot each day... nothing too bad, but it sure does makes for a hard time. Just a little reminder of how far I have walked to try and help people.

The 2 hours proselyting in the feria was an activity that we had to find people to teach. It went really well, and it was amazing to watch how people had so much time to go somewhere to buy cheap junk, but no time to learn about Christ their Savior and Redeemer.

We have a lot of drunken people in my area. I've seen drunks who can’t talk, I've seen drunks who can’t walk, and I've seen drunks fighting one another... but today, we had one who came up to us (we were in a group of 4 missionaries), and he said to us, “You guys are great. You guys leave your families, your homes, your jobs, your country, and y'all do a great job teaching about Christ. But can you guys give me some money?” We don’t really have a lot of money and we know that he is going to just buy more beer with it, so my comp and I both say no. I really didn't have any, and the guy asks the other 2 missionaries with us. One says no, and the other one takes out his wallet looking for coins. The guy sees a 2 mil paper bill (like less than 4 bucks) and says that he saw it. The elder didn't want to give the guy the money, and the drunk reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a big beer bottle. The elder gave him the money. Then, the guy takes of his jacket and shows us his scarred body to say how he is a fighter. He says, “Grab my hand.” We didn't. He then says, “One of you on each side of me.” We didn't, and we just walked away. The guy was crazy, and we were all ready for if he were to use the bottle on us.

The last one I know is the best. I get asked a lot how long I have been out in the mission. I get asked a lot how long I am away from my family. I say 2 years. But you know what; it is truly a great thing. I get to learn so much about the doctrine of Christ, and I learn about the plan of salvation that God has placed for us. Many people don’t know where they are going after this life, and many are unaware of why we are here in this world. I can’t even begin to describe how overjoyed I am that God has a plan for us. God knows that we make mistakes and fall short sometimes, and that is why He has the plan for us to return to Him. The love of God for His children, that would be us, is so great. It is more than we can imagine. There is no such thing as "conditional love" for God. He loves us no matter what.

That is why I am here. I love you all. If you are not getting responses to your messages, I can’t see the ones that are all attached to the mass email, and I’m sorry. Try to send me a personal email, and I will respond. I love you all and am so very grateful for the support that I get from all of you. I wish you a merry Christmas, and remember why we have this time of year.

Elder Gale

December 1, 2014

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

- Calvin Coolidge

We all know what this time of year brings, feasts with family, shopping all day to get the best prices on gifts, trying to finish a semester of school, rushing around trying to get our family together time all set up and planned. This is great. However, let us THIS Christmas Season rather than trying to buy and receive, let's slow down for a few minutes and remember WHY we have this time of the year. What is the true purpose? What does Christmas really mean anyway? As a seminary teacher once said, "It means 'más Cristo.' It means that it is a time to let Christ even more into our lives." A less than 3 minute movie that the church is releasing this time of year is called, "He is the Gift." It can be found at christmas.mormon.org. I encourage all to watch it and then think about it for a little time. What are the 3 things that you can do THIS Christmas season?

Well, this week was amazing. We had a baptism this week of a wonderful little 11 year-old girl. She has been such a pleasure to teach. We found her due to the baptism we had like a month ago or so. She came to us and asked if she could be baptized too because she said that she had felt something very special about the baptism we had. I have loved every appointment that we have had with this little girl. She has been such a pleasure to teach. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to be able to teach her.

This week, I had the wonderful pleasure of becoming legal again in Chile. I went to get my visa renewed, and it was really interesting to have that happen. I went to bed at 11:30 like normal here in Chile, woke up at 4:30 to get ready really quick, donned my white shirt and tie, placed my name tag which bears the name of Christ on my shirt, and headed out the door. We arrived to the area to start the process at about 7 in the morning and began waiting. This is after about an hour of walking, taking the subway, and just getting around. We got there and waited for about an hour, and then we went to get the visa renewed. We got that done and then walked about 15 minutes to go and get registered with the police. Then, we went to the main building to get my fingerprints taken and get my ID card for Chile. Well, I’m finally in the system. I've never had my prints taken before.

I have had such a wonderful time here in Chile. I love going to help other people. I have never felt such a thrill to help serve other people. I know that this work is true, and I know that I’m here for a reason... that is to help share the news that Jesus Christ IS our savior and is both WILLING and ABLE to help us. I love you all and look forward to hearing about how YOU shared the gift this Christmas Season.

Elder Gale

November 24, 2014

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

It takes a long time as you are planting. You spend a lot of time working to start something. You only see the work you put in, and you don’t see the effects of it. All you see is the work. This week was really hard as we went out and worked all day long with very little success. I guess that another missionary will be able to come along and harvest the crops. I have been out here for almost 5 months, and I sure love everything that I have done. I have met so many people that all have a lot of problems or had a question in their lives that could not be answered by the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my opportunity to be here in Chile. I have never felt so great. I love being here. I have said it before, but I have been weighed, I have been measured, and I have been deemed worthy to come here to Chile to share the gospel. I have been tried, I have been tested, I have been stretched, and in the end, I have come out a better person. I have seen changes in myself, and I know that they are only possible through the help of our Heavenly Father.

I have had a few hard weeks since I have left my home and family. I have been working since I made it to Chile. I have gone to bed with literally no strength left in me, and it feels good to leave it all in the field. I have a no regrets since I have come out here.

I love you all so much for what you have done for me. Thank you so much. I have such a strong testimony of the power of God to change lives. I have seen it and I cannot deny it, for I know that God knows it.

Elder Gale