July 28, 2015

"But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."

- Francis Chan

This week was amazing! We had a baptism in the ward, and through crazy circumstances, I was able to teach the young woman who was baptized! I felt included in everything, and I felt even better to watch her get baptized!! It was amazing, and she is truly an amazing convert to the church and living proof that God prepares souls.

This week I said goodbye to my companion, Elder Lima, because he had to go home to Brazil. It was sad to say goodbye because he is such a good friend, and I will miss him. He helped a lot in this ward to help it grow and become stronger. He will be missed.

We had an activity this week called "cine Mormon" (Mormon movie theater) which was a great hit in the ward! We had such a large amount of people come and enjoy the movie "17 Miracles" and be able to feel the Spirit. It was great. All the members and investigators that came loved it and were able to share their feelings with us. This activity was just one of the many activities that we have planned for this ward to become more unified.

I also had a great lesson last night! We were expecting to receive our calls about changes last night, and it was really crazy in our apartment. Everyone has been telling me that I would be training, and I really don’t want to because the idea of doing that scares me. I was so nervous, and the other elders would call me every now and again to scare me because I was so anxious. So, I began to pray. I was praying for peace in my soul and in my heart, and strangely I found myself beginning to pray saying, "Everything following thy will" (translating from Spanish). I was actually really surprised that I had said that in my prayer, but I took it to be what I needed because after I said that, I felt the peace that I needed. I still don’t know if I’m training, I assume that I’m not, but who knows? I am so glad that I learned the lesson that when we put the problems that we have into the trust of the Lord, He will carry us. I am reminded of a Mormon message that I saw a little bit ago called "The Will of God" (http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/the-will-of-god-2), and I really begin to remember that everything IS following the will of God. Even when what happens to us may be hard, when we put our trust in God, He will guide us and help us.

I love you all so very much, and I hope that you all have a fantastic week!! I’d love to hear from y'all again! And did I mention these 2 important things?? 1- Our day to write in now on Tuesdays... and I completed a year in the mission a few weeks ago?

Elder Gale

July 20, 2015

"And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."

- Moses 7:18

Bueno, decidí para escribir en español ahora. porque es difícil a escribir en ingles. Estoy hablando cien por ciento en Español en estés días porque vivo con 3 Latinos (Well, I decided to write in Spanish now because it is difficult to write in English. I'm talking one hundred percent in Spanish these days because I live with 3 Latinos)... but, I guess I'll switch to English so you don’t have to throw it in the translator. This week was great! I learned a great lesson from the spirit about unity. 

Elder Gale walking in the street at night in Chile and coming home from a successful day at work.

This past Sunday, I was assigned to talk, but I was able to decide what I wanted to talk about. I had no idea what I was going to speak about, but, as I was studying the scripture masteries (the 100 scriptures that we should have memorized), I came across one in the book of Moses 7:18. I read it, and I knew that it was what I needed to speak about. So, I broke it down into 3 parts, and I used those for my talk. I used the first part that says, "And the lord called his people Zion..." I took that to talk about the stakes of the church which is made of wards which are made of the members, or US. So, this scripture talks directly to us as members.

A picture of a lighthouse Elder Gale found to remind everyone to be the director towards a safe harbor for those that need comfort.

Then, I took the second part "and they were one in heart and will" (I’m translating from Spanish and in my head...), and I took that to mean that they were one, because if they aren’t one, then they are like the people in 4th Nephi who became separated and were not able to work together. I used the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 1:10 and D&C 38:27 to expound on that idea, and it really focuses on how we need to be one, or unified. I don’t remember what I talked about really because I was speaking by the spirit, but my comp recorded what I said. I will have it soon. But, it was amazing for me to speak because as I began, I was filled with the spirit and I was able to speak even better than I’ve been able to do before. I felt scriptures leave my mouth, and I could see the words the spirit directed me to say have an impact on people.

The final part of the scripture is my favorite... "that there were no poor among them." I take that to not mean poor as in without money, but as in poor in spirit, or poor as in feeling like they don’t have much self-worth. It truly hit me, and I loved it. It was a great experience for me to speak by the spirit, and I’m glad that the Lord blessed me in that moment to speak directly to the hearts of the people. But, to continue about the "poor," I related it to the members to do their visits, to serve, to help, and to love so that there would not be poor people among them.

Well, that was my talk, but it was amazing. I loved it, and I’m so grateful to my father in heaven to help me to speak to these people. My invitation to all of you would be to visit the poor. not just the poor in money, but those who are poor in spirit, those who feel alone, those who need comfort, that there may be no poor among us.

I hope that you all have a great week, and I love and miss you all.

Elder Gale

July 13, 2015

"Healing rain is a real touch from God. It could be physical healing or emotional or whatever."

- Michael W. Smith

This week was interesting. We worked hard, really hard. We found lots of people and relied on the Lord to help us in the work. Everything this week was crazy. We had predictions from members about us not getting any more rain and that it would just stay dry, but thanks to the fast we did last week, it rained for about 2-3 days straight. Now, there is plenty of snow up in the mountains, and the temperature has dropped to about -5 degrees Celsius here. I’m wearing a sweater, a jacket, and a scarf which is something I’d never have to do in Arizona. I’m only doing it so I don’t get sick here because getting sick is the worst thing ever in the mission field. Thanks to the rain, this country can have the pollution level lowered almost to 0%, and I can breathe a lot easier! Therefore, it is a week of healing.

Also, this week we had to do exchanges where I was with another missionary for 24 hours, and I had to do it twice. So for two days I was in a different part of Chile!! It was a lot of fun to learn from my mission leaders and to be in a different part of the mission. For me, it was a time of healing because I was able to try new things in a sector and be able to meet all kinds of people who want to change.

This week was hectic... but oh so worth it.

Elder Gale

July 06, 2015

"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."

- Doctrine and Covenants 82:10

This week, we had a lot of progress in the area!!! We had many meetings this week to get the ward activities started up again. We came up with many ideas to unite the ward and encourage investigators to come. It was amazing to see all the ward participate this week and to see the change in their hearts! It was a great week. 

We said goodbye last week to our old mission president, and said hello to our new mission president. He is a great guy, and we all love him!

This week, we had a miracle. We had a promise that if we fasted, we would have rain here in Chile. Well, we fasted, and we had rain!!!!!!!!! Just goes to show that GOD WILL NOT LEAVE US ALONE! He will bless us if we do what he asks! (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

I’m sorry this one is so short, but we had a week that was basically encapsulated in a few sentences. But not even all the books in the world could hold the feelings we had this week.

It was great for me to hear about an investigator that I had in my old sector get baptized this past week. It truly filled me with joy. I’m glad to be here, and I know this work to be true. I have no doubt in my heart, mind, or soul of the truthfulness of this church and its teachings having been restored by Jesus Christ through his prophet Joseph Smith. I would not be out here still if I did not know this singular truth. God loves us, and He will and is supporting us in our trials.

I love you and hope that you are enjoying life wherever you may be.

Elder Gale