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