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