“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.
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
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
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