January 26, 2015

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." 

- Henry Martyn

“I hunt snakes and slay dragons.” - Elder Valdez
Snake: a teenage girl who likes to flirt with missionaries.
Dragon: A fairly old lady who likes to flirt with missionaries.

So... as the tale begins, we were coming home later than usual. We were rushing around the last corner to get to our apartment, and the same snake as told of in ancient writing, (2-3 weeks ago) suddenly appeared with a group of her little goblins (just a gang of friends). We, the noble knights, tried valiantly to hunt her down and leave the premises but to no avail. We were the ones who had fallen helplessly into her evilly devised trap, and now we had to fight with all we had. (We actually had a great conversation about the gospel and what we believe, but it didn’t really go as planned.) Then, we went for a final charge (saying we need to go) and started to leave, but as we felt we had left triumphant and had slayed the snake, we got bit... again. One day soon, I will be triumphant and not need to worry about getting attacked.

This Sunday was interesting. One of the people who was supposed to give a talk in church didn’t show up, so the bishop called me to give a talk. I only had like 5 minutes to prepare, and I feel like it went really well. I got to choose my topic. I decided to talk about the progression of a testimony. It doesn’t take a moment, but time, lots of time. You can have one, and it continues to grow and grow. Suggested reading: John 4 and Alma 32 (the lady at the well starts off not really thinking much of Christ, but at the end, it has grown to her knowing he is the Christ. Alma 32 is about faith, but you can switch the word faith/tree for testimony to show how a testimony grows). But anyway, it is a process. We actually had a really great week, and we had a member who brought a friend to church this Sunday. She wants to know more! We got her address, and we will be visiting her with the member this Wednesday! She seems like a nice lady, and we will be able to visit her soon. I’m actually really excited for our visit because she was super excited about all we taught about this Sunday.

So, the rubber band wars... my companion´s parents put some things inside of his luggage. When he got here, he found some rubber band slingshots. Well, for preparation day, we decided to have a slingshot war between the two different sectors: El Valle “A” versus El Valle “B.” Needless to say, we have the “A” for a reason.

That is all for this week. It was great week, and I have learned so much out here. I love it here, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

A little side note for people sending letters and packages, we had a small change of address. All mail needs to be sent to:

Elder Michael Gale
6824 Cristobal Colón
Las Condes, Santiago
Chile

- Elder Gale

January 19, 2015

"God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him." 

- Hudson Taylor

The day passes by like dreams… I am not even trying to be funny. It is so true. I have been out here for a good amount of time, and I can honestly say that I am starting to feel like I’m dreaming. This week went by so fast! It can’t be real!! I have had such a blast this week, but I can’t even think about where to begin.

So, I have finally been able to locate a good store here in Chile that sells something that I have been looking for: honey. I found honey here in Chile. I now have a small storage of peanut butter, honey, and bread. The bread isn’t hard to come by, but the peanut butter and honey is difficult to find. I am starting to go on a diet so I can lean out even more, and I’m starting to eat more healthy with a broader range of foods. My comp and I started a rigorous workout program this week, and we decided to do a leg work out that left us almost unable to walk for a day and a half. It hurt a lot, but it was so worth it! Yeah, that’s the boring stuff, but for me, it is so amazing!!

So, we have been trying super hard to prepare ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually through our crazy schedule of waking up and working out, reading the scriptures. When we come home at the end of the day, we are out cold. I love working so hard that I can hardly stay awake while walking home for about 30 minutes. I love being here. I really do. I will admit that I miss my family, but, I know that they will be there when I get home. I miss my friends, but they will be there too. I miss being in the states and speaking in English because I realize that my grammar is really bad when I talk with my companion, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The sun here is so strong, I put on 50 SPF sunscreen every day multiple times, and I still get burnt. But I love it! I’ll come back a mixture of red and tan. Like I said, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have realized that I am growing more into the person I need to be in life. I love it here. There are just so many things that happen that I don’t even know where to begin.

I just want to say for like the millionth time that I love it here. What we do is like a drop in the ocean, but if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less. I just want to extend a small challenge to all of you. Strengthen your relationship with God. Pray like it all depends on Him, work like it all depends on you. I love you all.

Elder Gale

January 12, 2015

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light."

- John Keith Falconer

Well, I cannot even begin to describe everything. We have had a very busy week with a lot of hard work and success out here in Chile! I have received my new companion. Well, I have been having a great time. Time seems to just fly by. The biggest thing that I’m trying my hardest on right now is to understand all the slang that they use here. It is a pain in the rear, but it must be learned. So, I have learned that I have been walking más que kungfu (more than A LOT) and just little things like that. And yes, that phrase does say kungfu. 

Elder Gale's new companion, Elder Valdez.

We have had some really weird experiences this week with dogs starting to attack us more and more. I got attacked by a snake, and yes, I did get bitten. I met a possessed lady, met someone who moved countries and has nothing, and had a slingshot war today!

I’ve started to realize that people here use a ton of slang, so I’m trying to learn it all. I want to understand the people even better. I got attacked by a dog for like a half mile. It just kept following us and drooling on the ground with its rabid mouth. I don’t want to have a dog anymore. They are not a good pet for me. I think I don’t want to have a pet anymore.

In the mission field, if there is a girl about our age who starts to show emotion towards us, they are called “snakes” because they are dangerous. So, Elder Valdez and I were walking home. We were about to turn the final corner where we basically got surrounded by a group of about eight 12-15 year old kids. Well, they started to ask us questions like where are we from, why are we here in Chile, do we speak Spanish easily... (the normal questions.) So, when people meet or leave here they do so by touching cheeks and kissing. I was standing there with my arms folded in front of me and leaning back saying NO when one of them comes up to me, tries to do that. When it didn’t work the first time, this girl JUMPS up and full on smacks me with one on the cheek. It was so weird. I thought people would take a hint... I guess not. So yeah, I got bit by a snake...

The next night, we were in the exact same place, and we said a greeting to this lady. She turned and was just full on possessed or something!!! I’ve never had more fear in a distraught lady before, but as she stumbled away in a possessed like walk, we took a different way home, got inside, locked the door (all the way), and got in our room and began to blast church music from the Mormon tabernacle choir. We could NOT sleep that night. It was way sketchy.

That is about it for a week in the life of a missionary: full of dog and “snake” attacks, possessed people, and loads of walking and teaching people. But, I would not trade this experience for anything. I love it out here. I really do. I KNOW that this work is true. That is why I’m here.

Elder Gale

January 5, 2015

"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by 'I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in."

- Mother Teresa

Well, it is now 2015, a time for us to reflect on what we have done the year and realize what we can do better to become better people. My #1 goal this year and always is to NEVER let a day go by where I do not read my scriptures. I plan on not only reading them, but learning from them AND applying them to my life. I have realized this past year, more than ever before how a consistent study of the scriptures makes for us to receive more and more direction in our life. A favorite quote of mine is, "Wise people learn from experience. Super wise people learn from OTHER´S experience." Let us not fall into the same mistakes over and over, and let us see where others have fallen so as to not allow ourselves to make the same mistakes...

This week was an adventure! I didn’t get my comp until halfway through Wednesday, and it was interesting to not meet him until we were about to leave to go and work. But, I will tell you what... I have had such a blast with Elder Valdez. I can’t even begin to describe it all. I can’t think of a moment where we haven’t been joking, laughing, telling stories, sharing experiences, or just plain having a good time! He is amazing! I’m learning so much from him. He was home for 6 months because of medical issues with his back. He forgot some Spanish, but in just 3-4 days, he has remembered just about everything.

We have been trying to basically start from scratch here in this sector because some missionaries have not been really good at keeping records, so we don’t know where people are. We are trying to find new people and to try and help them to come back to church. Here in our neighborhood, we have somewhere around 870 listed members, but not all live here still or it isn’t their real address or they just got baptized and haven’t really understood WHY they got baptized. There is a lot of work to do here in my sector, and I just love it. This week was probably one of the three fastest weeks that I’ve had so far. I absolutely love everything out here and how much I am learning by the experiences that I have and those of other people.

I truly wish for each and every one of you to have the best gift that one can give: my personal witness of the power of God in our daily lives. I can tell you all that I have seen miracles. I have personally seen miracles: the miracle of Change, the miracle of Love, the miracle of Service, the miracle of Healing. I get the miraculous opportunity to see these every day. I have seen people change. I’ve seen relationships be healed. I’ve been able to serve the people here; I have seen people feel love for the first time in their lives. I believe that all these things must be done through people who are willing to do it. Those who are willing to reach out, to help, and to love. But, it will only be done by those who are willing to embark in the service of God. We can NOT be truly followers of Christ unless we are willing to first take that step forward and reach out. Some ways are simple; some are less simple, but either way, it helps to lift another.

Embark in the service of God... The blessings for you and those you help are INNUMERABLE. Don't give a moment to think. Only serve. You never know how hard someone has been praying to be helped. And you just might be the one that God has chosen to bless a life.

Watch the link below, then tell me what you thought and what you will do to put this into practice.

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/embark-in-the-service-of-god-2015-theme-song?lang=eng

I love you all! Happy 2015!!

Elder Gale

December 29, 2014

"Family: where life begins and love never ends."

- Unknown

So, I had a very interesting week. I had a lot of dinners with people and ate so much... I had at least 2 dinners every night this week. And here in Chile, they eat so much! We would walk out of the first one having eaten a lot and then walk away from the second clutching our stomachs in pain. Then we would walk away from the third one just praying to not die on our 30 minute walk to our apartment… I don’t know if I could make it through another week like this one.

On the 25th, so Christmas, we had the opportunity to play fútbol, and that was awesome! I have been able to see that I am progressively becoming a really good fútbol player! We came back to our apartment and cleaned it, and then we went to Skype home to our families! It was so amazing to be able to see my family again after 6 months already!!!

I can’t believe it... 6 months already done with my mission. The time is flying by. It was really hard for me because at first, while we were walking to the place where we would be Skyping, I had no idea what I would say to my family. I had forgotten what my brothers both sounded like. And then, when I got on... it just all worked out perfectly! It was strange at first because we were trying to get the whole Skype thing worked out, but then it was great! I saw my family, and in that moment, I knew, even more so than before, how important a family is.

A family is more than just a group of people who all live under the same roof. A family is a group of people who are together here on this earth, to learn and grow together. When we return to our heavenly home, we can be together again! I felt such emotions in the course of 5 minutes, when I saw my dad, my mom, my sister, and my two brothers, and got to talk to my other sister that were stronger than anything. I felt so overjoyed to see them... I can only imagine what it will be like if we didn’t have a strong family who all have the same goal to return to our Father in heaven; when we are there, but missing one or two members of our family... how sad will that be? I don’t want that...

Well, today, I dropped off my companion to send him on his flight home to Mexico, and my new companion wasn’t there. He won’t be here in Chile until tomorrow. It was interesting to go home with a member of our ward and have to go on splits as a trio all day today.

My final two quotes for everyone are: “Gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair.” and “Usted tiene mas valor que cree.” (You have more value than you think.)

I love you all. Thank you for everything including the gifts and letters and emails and prayers. It helps.... everything helps!

Elder Gale