June 14, 2016

"Some missionaries may wonder whether they are in the right place, in the right mission. It is no accident for them to be where they are assigned. The Lord knows the missionaries. He knows their mission presidents. I think He knows who their companions will be. I don't know the detail to which He knows the future, but my impression is He knows a great deal. He calls missionaries to the places they are assigned. So, even when it's difficult, you can have confidence that the Lord knew the difficulty in advance, and just as He assured Nephi that He wouldn't give a commandment save He prepared a way for it to be accomplished, missionaries can have that same assurance, tough as it may be, whatever the situation, that the Lord knew the difficulties would be there. He has prepared a way. Have faith. Go forward."

- Henry B. Eyring

Wow.... here we are, at the end of a successful two years of hard work and growth. It has been crazy to now that this time is already about to end. I can't believe that it is already here. I have learned many things. I have changed a bit, and I can say that I am a different person yet also the exact same. It is so weird to know that this has already come. After today, I will have only five more days to enjoy here in Chile, and I can hardly expect to be home so soon. I feel like I still have months left to go, but I think that it's the tender mercy of the Lord that I don't feel focused on getting home already. It will be interesting to be home. 

This week, we baptized a man named Jose. He is the husband of a member in our ward, and he has been able to see many miracles while learning about the gospel and applying it to his life. At his baptism, it was beautiful to see his wife give a short message about the importance of baptism. As she was bearing her testimony, she began to thank my companion and I for all the work that we had done to teach Jose. It was so touching to hear this thanks from her. She was so grateful to have us here to teach, to give up two years of our lives to serve the Lord and to proclaim His gospel. 

I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. Now that this is the end of the mission, I can tell all these stories. Mom, if you are reading this, you can stop now. I have had many things happen to me while I was here. Everything from drunks trying to rob me, a man coming at us with an axe, being yelled at in the face that I'm a liar, being attacked by dogs, being threatened, having people lie to me, people rejecting us, being attacked by people in the street, having four ingrown toenails, being super sick for an extended period of time, feeling alone, literally passing through the fire of affliction, and I have come out intact, stronger, and more refined.

All of these hard moments I have had are nothing compared to the feelings of finally hearing a yes, a please come by and teach us. I love hearing everything from a "Elders, what do I have to do to be baptized?" to a "Please tell me more." The moment when one sees another person making covenants with the Lord fill the soul. It doesn't matter what anyone else has said or done because when one sees this, those pains are gone. 

Wow... two years. This time could have been used to study, get a job, start a family, but what I have done here saves families, helps others get a job and learn how to study, and helps me as I've learned how to have a solid foundation for a family. I've been able to do much more here in two years than I could have ever done in the USA in two years. I feel so much more accomplished and so much more filled with joy knowing that I've done this not only for myself, but for all the others I've helped have this same joy I have. This makes me feel even more joyful. Service in the name of the Lord is truly the best. Being His representative, called by Him to serve here... there is no feeling to compare. I'm so glad to be here.

The greatest moments one can have is to know that they said what the Lord wanted them to say or did what He wanted you to do. It is so great to have the feeling that what you are doing is not the best or that what you say isn't sufficient to help a certain person continue to desire the gospel, but then you learn that the person who is there at your side needed to hear those very words. I am so glad to be here, and I know that the Lord, even our very Savior, Jesus Christ, called me here to serve. This work is the work of the Lord, for if it was not, I would not be here still.

I know that this is THE church of Christ, for I have studied it out. I have prayed many times to ask if it is His church, and I HAVE received an answer: that it is true. I know that The Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God here in this time. I know that and so much more because I have worked to obtain these answers from our Heavenly Father, and I know that you can too. 

Well, here's the final sign-off:

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu, goodbye!!! 

Adios mi querido pais de chile. Siempre estara en mi corazon. Nos volveremos a ver. "Y la misma sociabilidad que existe entre nosotros aqui, existira entre nosotros alla; pero la acompañará un agloria eterna que ahora no conocemos." (Doctrina y Convenios 130:2)

[Goodbye my dear country of Chile. You will always be in my heart. We're going to see each other again. "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:2)].

Hasta vernos con el rey para siempre Dios esté con vos. 

[God be with you 'til we meet again.]

Elder Gale

June 07, 2016

"Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination."

- Louise Brooks

Well, this week.... just a bit crazy. I don't have time to write, so I'm just going to say that a lot more is to come when I write next week! Love you all! Blessings DO come!!!

Elder Gale

May 31, 2016

“Greatness is best measured by how well an individual responds to the happenings in life that appear totally unfair, unreasonable, and undeserved. Sometimes we are inclined to put up with a situation rather than endure. To endure is to bear up under, to stand firm against, to suffer without yielding, to continue to be, or to exhibit the state or power of lasting.” 

- Marvin J. Ashton

Elder Gale's District

I don’t have many words because this week is already behind me... I can’t begin to describe my gratefulness for the influence of the Holy Ghost as a missionary. We have several people who are willing and able to be baptized these next few weeks, and we are beginning something new here in this sector which is to baptize weekly! We have two people set for baptism on the 11th, two more for the 18th, and now two more people for the 25th of June! We are going to keep working to make it like a stone that rolls forth and keeps going faster and faster! We are seeing many miracles here, and we love the work as it just keeps coming and coming!

A normal missionary lunch when money gets low: some cookies and juice.

To share a quick experience, we had a night that was just full of cities of people who had told us that they wanted us to come on by. As fate would have it, we went, and no one was there. We talked with people in the streets, and it was a night that was really hard with lots of people not wanting to talk with us (typical). We kept going strong, even as it was raining, and we were pretty dang wet. We spent the last bit of time looking for more investigators. As we passed a house, I had a feeling to talk with the people there. The lady came out (a member) and her 15-year-old son. We talked for a moment and were able to find out that her youngest son hadn’t yet been baptized, and they wanted us to come by and begin teaching their son so he too could be baptized! A true miracle!!!

A baptism that Elder Gale was able to participate in this weekend!

Elder Gale

May 24, 2016

“Don’t count your days—make your days count.” 

- Jay Jensen

This week, as always, we had some great moments and some sad moments. some moments to rejoice, some to be frustrated with, and some to just have confidence in our Heavenly Father, 

For one, we did not have the best numbers like the week before. BUT, we did help many people to start/restart on a path towards our beloved Heavenly Father. We had a cool experience yesterday that I'd like to share because I'm really short on time. 

We were walking towards a lesson we had set with an investigator to help him progress towards a baptismal date and to re-set a date with him, but as we got there, he wasn't home... surprise as a missionary. So, we went to another investigator who actually lives just right across the street, and we were able to go right in. We taught and they committed to come to church (not this week but the next) and to come to a baptismal service that we will have in the chapel this weekend. We finished the lesson and left. As we walked out and were going down the street, we ran into our other investigator and had a 5 minute lesson with him there in the street about faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Right there, he accepted to be baptized on a new date. We were able to answer all of his questions and doubts in a flawless manner (in my opinion), all in 5 minutes!! It was amazing! 

We then went to another lesson we had planned with a member and her daughter who had not been baptized. Another member came with us to teach the little girl about baptism, and it was so great. She said that she wanted to be baptized because it is what Jesus would want.

It was a great day for sure! I can't believe all the miracles that I get to be a part of as a missionary! It has been amazing, and I love this work so much! I hope you all have a great week and strive to follow the savior as He would have you do. I know that Christ loves every single one of you, and I know that His church has been restored through a modern-day prophet. I'm so glad to be here, and I love you all!

Elder Gale

May 17. 2016

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

- Calvin Coolidge

Wow... this week was awesome! We worked and saw many miracles!!! For me, this area has been pretty consistent in us finding someone and being able to teach every week, but this week we broke down barriers and broke records for our mission! We have never had so much success in one week! It was awesome! We worked hard, placed our faith in the Lord, and had an amazing week with so much happening! 

Miracles of the week:

1. We had a prepared lady tell us she wanted to come to church and be baptized.

2. We had an opportunity to paint a house.

3. I learned a special rule.

There was one day where we were a little down. We worked hard and loved the success we were having, but then that success just seemed to have stopped for this day. We were working, had faith that we could find more people to listen to us, and we had some time until we traveled to our next city. So we talked to people in the street. It just all seemed that no one wanted to listen to us. We had people who would look at us and shout, "NO I don't want anything to do with God. He doesn't exist. You can't know that He does. You're nothing but a couple of little children" and the like. We kept going, believing that we could find someone. We walked close to a place in our sector that is always closed and locked. We had gotten in only one other time in my whole time in this sector. I had an impression to walk by and see if it would be open, and it was! We went up the stairs, got to the door, and out came someone. We spoke with her, and she said that she wanted to come to church and wants to be baptized because she knows it to be the next step that she has to take in her life! HOW AWESOME IS THAT??

We have a less-active member who is coming back to the church, and she just had surgery not too long ago. We were asked to help her paint her home because she can't. We went with a member and painted, and it looks great! It was great to have the opportunity to paint and do something a little different for once. We enjoyed our time there and were able to talk with her about how her experience has been with coming back to church. She was so grateful for our help!

All the success we had this week came because of a special rule that I learned here. The rule is simply this: just one more. As we have been doing that, we have seen how great are the works of the Lord in this sector. This rule has helped us to see people who are willing to hear from us, and we have been able to help them come unto Christ. It has been awesome. 

This week, I'm happy to say that I'm so glad to be here in Chile. It is a great life here working in the service of the Lord, learning through His spirit, and being able to be a witness to so many miracles. I'm glad to say that I'm here. I love this work. I love my savior, and I love you all!

Elder Gale

May 10, 2016

“No missionary can determine the lasting effects of his or her labors.” 

Richard G. Scott

I am still here in my sector. It seems like it shall be my last sector. Unfortunately. my companion has left and gone far away to the mountains and will most likely be there for a while. It is great to have my new companion, Elder Mires, from Peru. It looks like I will come back unable to speak English, so it will be fun.

This week was interesting. We tried to contact all the investigators we have, and they all seemed to have just vanished into thin air. That was difficult since we walked a lot this week. We did find a few new people to talk with in the future, and we are trying to find even more!

Something awesome happened this week! We contacted a door, and the person who answered started talking openly with us. We set an appointment to come back and visit him. It was a great conversation! We did our best to try and tell him all about the restoration of the Gospel and the Church of Christ in such a short time.

Other than that, not too much happened, but we are definitely enjoying all that is to happen in this week to come. I will tell you all about it. I love you all!

Elder Gale

May 03, 2016

"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."

- Doctrine and Covenants 4:2

Wow... I'm already here again. This week, we had so much happen so fast that I feel like I was just here the day before last writing home to you. I cant believe it!

This week's miracles:

1. More people with a date working towards baptism!

2. A less-active returns to church after years of not wanting to go to church!

3. Recent converts armed with power!

The elders in Elder Gale's area moved to their own area, so now Elder Gale and his companion live alone.

We have really been working with those who have a date to be baptized, helping them reach their goal of becoming clean from sin by repenting and coming unto Christ through baptism for the remission of sins so that they might gain the gift of the Holy Spirit to be their constant companion in this life and guide them and help them have the peace they need!

A Catholic cathedral Elder Gale visited thus week.

We had a miracle happen this week! Well, we always have miracles happen, but another one specifically... this less-active member and his family haven't come to church for a very long time because they don't feel comfortable there anymore. As they were about to leave very quickly after the services, my companion and I went speedily to them to greet them and tell them how grateful we were to see them. He was obviously not too convinced because we are the missionaries, and people get the idea that we are "supposed to say that," but the miracle was that a whole bunch of members came and started to share with them how glad they were to see them there in the chapel. It was great to see the ward come and show such great love!

This week we were able to visit our recent converts. Each one of them has grown significantly in their testimonies and their willingness to follow Christ and progress in the gospel. We had a convert who was sharing the gospel at her work in the metro system. She gave us a reference for other missionaries. Our other convert was so overjoyed about receiving the priesthood. He told us how grateful he was to receive it! And our other convert was helping her sisters to learn about the gospel so that they will also get baptized. Such amazing progress with all of them! Definitely an amazing week!

An amazing statue of Michael the Archangel defeating Satan!

I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you all, and have a very happy Mother's Day to all you mothers! Especially mine!! I love you all!

Elder Gale

April 26, 2016

"And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do."

- 2 Nephi 31:12

We had a lot of rain again this week. It has gotten really cold here, and we love the change of climate! It's been great for us to work in, and we have really been enjoying the change. It seemed like everything this week clicked! We were able to get four more people to accept baptismal dates, and we're working with them towards that goal! In fact, two of those people who accepted baptism are relatives of the little girl who was baptized. They were very interested about all that happened in the baptism and wanted to know more, and now they both want to be baptized. One of them is her own sister, and the other is her cousin. 

This week has been rather good for us; thankfully we haven't gotten sick, and we have been able to enjoy all that is coming our way. We have found many people who are willing to listen, but as for progressing towards baptism, there are few at the moment. However, we are looking for those who are willing to do so now. We are searching for those who are ready to be baptized and are truly willing to follow Christ in the way that He has shown us. We have a lot of people who have told us recently, "I follow Christ, I love Him, I do anything and everything that He will tell me to do," and then we ask them if they are really willing to do something. Sometimes, we ask them if they would be baptized again if Christ himself asked them to do so, and many say no. It has been interesting to talk to many people who aren't really trying to follow Christ. They are happy where they are at in the moment and don't feel the need to progress in life. 

We have been so blessed to know the path that the Lord wishes for us to take, and I know that He has done so through a prophet. Just as He has done in olden times, He called a prophet to help us to follow him. How blessed are we to live in a day and age in which we have prophets! Moreover, how blessed are we to have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to follow Him and to be happy in this life! 

Have a fantastic week all of you. I love you so very much!!

Elder Gale

April 19, 2016

We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

We had a moment this week where we thought about all we were doing and how to better our area, and as we did that, we came to the realization that we needed to get back to the basics, meaning, going back to how we were when we first came out here.

This week, we went on splits with the CCM missionaries, had some crazy rain and flooding which led to us having no water to drink, and we set people with dates! 

We had splits with the new CCM missionaries, and it was awesome to be with a brand new missionary from Provo, Utah, who only had like 5 weeks here in Chile. Working with him was what I imagine it must have been like when I did the same thing all that time ago. We contacted in the streets and the sprinkling rain. It was so much fun to show a new missionary what missionary work is really like! This young missionary has such great desires to learn and to be the very best missionary he can be, and he is a great kid. He will do great things in his mission. 

This weekend, we had a lot of rain, and I mean a lot. With all the rain, we had our water poisoned, and therefore, we didn’t have potable water for about three days and counting. We had a water cut citywide for two days which meant no showering or anything. Thankfully, someone who watched the news thought about us and told us about the cut, and so we were able to store up water to drink. It all went rather well for us. The water is now turned back on, but our mission president hasn’t approved it yet for us to drink straight from the tap without boiling it for the necessary time. We weren’t able to shower for a few days, and all that comes with a water cut.

We were able to teach several people, and they accepted a baptism date this week! This means more people making covenants with the Lord!!

Basically, with all the craziness that happened, this week was awesome. I so enjoy the mission, and I love all that happens here and all the people I get to meet. I love this gospel, and I love the knowledge that we have to know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He loves us so much that He is able and willing to give us all He has AS we are obedient to His commandments. 

I love you all so much and hope you all enjoy your week! 

Elder Gale

April 12, 2016

"How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in his plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings."

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

It seemed like everything just fell into place this week, and we were able to work and get results according to our efforts! 

Miracles this week:

1. A baptism!!!

2. Placing lots and lots of appointments! 

3. Exchanges with the Zone Leaders

As you can see from the picture below, we had a baptism! She is a little young woman of 11 years, who decided to be baptized. We began to teach her, and we are trying to teach the whole family now. As you can see in the photo, there are a lot of them! It has been great getting to know this young lady, see her grow in her conversion, and watch her help her mother come back to church. It has been great to know them. 

We have been working on teaching repentance and baptizing converts while we are in the streets; we talk with lots of people, so why not talk to them about our purpose as missionaries to lead them to Christ through the waters of baptism? The results have been great! People are more receptive, and we can see who is willing to follow Christ and who isn't. The work is beginning to progress! 

As we were working on our purpose to invite in the streets, we went on exchanges, meaning we each went with a different elder and worked in their sector for a full day. It was really awesome to go and see how we can better apply the vision we have to bring all people to Christ through inviting them in the streets, and it has been a great success! The mission is great!

To close up about this week, we have been enjoying everything that has come our way while we have worked in the service of God. It’s going great! Love you all lots. I know the message which I bear is true, and I know that God exists and loves us!

Until next week.

Elder Gale

April 05, 2016

"Decide now to make General Conference a priority in your life. Decide to listen carefully and follow the teachings that are given." 

- Paul V. Johnson

We had a great time working in the sector this week! In fact, the climate has flip-flopped a full 180 degrees! It went from warm days to us having a giant thunderstorm! I’m so glad to have the rain because it cleans the air.

This week’s miracles:

1. We had General Conference!!

2. We had a great lesson with our recent convert who is going through a rough experience but still doing a great job keeping her faith alive!

3. There was a stranger who gave us cookies! 

4. We found a less-active member in a miraculous way.

Elder Gale with two of his companions. Both are named Elder Johnson.

General Conference has always been something that I loved! It is a great time to be together as a family and enjoy hearing the words of the modern-day prophets and apostles of the Lord. As fate would have it, here in Chile and during the mission, I can’t be with my family... it is sad to say and experience that. But this year, I thoroughly enjoyed General Conference. It was great to listen to it in a different language! I had to watch almost all of General Conference in Spanish. It wasn’t hard, but it was different. I’ve always watched it in English, and this was the first time I got to watch it in Spanish! It was great to feel the spirit and to know that the gospel is still true even in a different language! I was able to see, hear, and feel a lot of things that I have already been using and sharing with others who don’t know much about the church! It was definitely a great experience!

A city block in Chile.

Our recent convert is going through a rough moment as her spine is aging faster than she is. She is 48 years old, and her spine is the equivalent of a 90-year-old! She has some hernias and some badly rubbed down disks, and she just found out yesterday that she cannot get it operated on for a long time. That was hard for her and us to hear. She has a lot going on in her life seeing as how she already had a surgery and is having a lot of difficulties; but, even with all this, she knows that she is going to be okay. We talked with her about the gospel of Jesus Christ, how she had taken the steps of faith that our Heavenly Father requires of us to take, and how she has changed as a result of it. She is doing a lot better, and she was able to feel the spirit tell her that as she continues to do that which is right, she will be blessed. She knows it, for she has already been blessed. She can see all those blessings, and she knows that more are to come as she stays worthy of the Holy Ghost in her life.

A text message from Elder Gale's mission president's family.

We were walking in the street one night towards the home of a family we hadn’t seen in a few weeks, and as we were approaching the home, a woman from the other side of the street called out, "Hola! Tienen hambre? Quieren comida?" (Hello! Are you guys hungry? Do you want food?) Well, it was about 9pm, and we hadn’t had much food that day. So, jokingly, we said, "Yeah," and she called us over and gave us a bag of cookies! That was great! We were able to talk with her, and we tried to set an appointment to begin teaching her. She told us that she already has some brothers and sisters who are members and have served missions. "So", she said, "I’ve heard that you guys don’t have much to eat." Then she disappeared. She didn’t want to have us come by unfortunately, but she does have a big heart and is willing to share with some missionaries. 

We were searching this week for some members who hadn’t been coming to the chapel, and we stumbled upon a name of a member on our list who lived on a street that we haven’t been on in a long time. We went there and found this member. She came out of her house, looked at us, and asked, "How did you find me?" She hadn’t gone to the chapel near where she lived before, and when she moved here, she didn’t attend either. When we came to her home that day, it was the only day that she was going to be there for a few weeks. It was crazy how great of a miracle it was!

Elder Gale

March 29, 2016

"How wonderful it is to be able to write someone a letter! To feel like conveying your thoughts to a person, to sit at your desk and pick up a pen, to put your thoughts into words like this is truly marvelous."

- Haruki Murakami

This week’s miracles and important occurrences:
1. A lady came to us and asked or a Book of Mormon
2. A lesson with a less active
3. My 2nd companion left to finish his mission. 

This week I ran out of time because I poorly managed my time by misreading a clock, but I want you all to know that miracles do still happen. This is just a VERY short and abbreviated list of everything. I love you all and hope you enjoy this week. I promise I'll write more!

Elder Gale

March 22, 2016

"Sometimes we let life guide us, and other times we take life by the horns. But one thing is for sure: no matter how organized we are, or how well we plan, we can always expect the unexpected."

- Brandon Jenner

Here's the list of a few miracles this week: 1. our recent convert came to church again!, 2. her son listened to us for the first time!, and 3. we had exchanges with the assistants to the president.

We have a recent convert who wasn’t able to come to church for a few weeks because she has to be on absolute rest for a full day. Even though she is way over her head in debt and has to work a lot, she decided to work from Monday to Friday, rest Saturday, and then come to church on Sunday. It went really well for her this past weekend. She said that she hasn’t felt as great as she did on Sunday! That was definitely a miracle!

This recent convert has a son who is my age. Last night, we were able to get him to stay for a while and listen to us. It was awesome to see that he was listening. He doesn’t quite understand so much because he claims to be atheist and doesn’t believe in God, but, we had a pleasant chat and were able to hear him ask us to come by again and tell him more by the end of the contact. 

In the mission, we have a supervisor of sorts who helps us with our work and is known as the mission president. This week, two of his assistants came to our area, and we did exchanges with them. We had a great time as we were tried new things and saw many miracles in our sector.

Well, time came and passed quickly. I have to go, but I love you all so much!!

Elder Gale

March 15, 2016

"Samuel the Lamanite identified five basic elements in becoming converted unto the Lord: believing in the teaching and prophecies of the holy prophets as they are recorded in the scriptures, exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repenting, experiencing a mighty change of heart, and becoming 'firm and steadfast in the faith.'"

- David A. Bednar

We had a lot to do this week! Things really picked up, and we saw a ton of miracles which is not too out of the normal for missionaries... but, to sum up:
1. I saw one of my converts;
2. I had an investigator from heaven;
3. I walked through some small city streets; and
4. I had a recent convert make some big decisions.

1. In this mission, our mission president does devotionals! This means that, depending on where the devotional will take place, I can be a part of a choir. (Yes, I am very aware that I don’t sing well.) I got to participate, and as we were starting the devotional, we sang the hymn "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today." As we were watching the devotional, I saw one of my converts come in that I hadn’t been able to see since I had left my first sector! I was so overjoyed to have seen him! His wife caught sight of me and began to cry... it was a little funny. After we had finished, I spoke with him and his wife! It was such a great experience to see them again and see his great spiritual growth! I included a photo below of the family. 

2. Even though I’m still slightly sick, I’m out working.  As my companion and I were working diligently this week to find a less active member who we haven’t seen in a long time, a couple came up to us, and the lady says, "I'm a member; he is an investigator. He has a baptismal date, and we just moved here TODAY." (all in Spanish obviously) We just were a little overwhelmed, so we took down their information and set up an appointment to go and see them for today. Talk about a miracle!!!

3. I attached a photo below of this next one. We are walking behind the apartment building here (they are called "blocks"). I’ll have to send a picture next week so you can see what a block is, but it was cool because it was just a little tiny street that we were walking through to find references from other missionaries.

4. On to the last miracle of this week. We have a recent convert here who has been going through some rough times. She just had spinal surgery just before we knew her. She was doing so much better but found out that she has to get operated again in a different part of her spine. She has been struggling with the first one due to debts, stress, and her new job. She hasn’t been able to come to church because of her need to take a full day of rest, meaning no moving or anything. She has now made the decision to take a day off of work (Saturday) so she can rest that day, and then go to church on Sundays! I’m so proud of her for putting her faith in the Lord even though it is a huge decision and a difficult one especially when we can’t see the blessings in the moment. But, I know that the blessing will come for her. 

This week was full of many things. I can’t begin to describe all my many blessings this week such as still being sick and being able to go out and work which is a great blessing for me!!! I’m here to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim that Christ lives and that He paid the price for our sins, that he loves us, and that He died and was resurrected for us. I know it, for I have learned it for myself, and the Holy Spirit of God has made it manifest unto me. I invite all of you to hear this glorious message of truth and love. Christ lives! Come unto Him... He is waiting for you.

https://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_SU_3-13-2016_dMIS_fSPC_xLIDyL1-A_

Elder Gale

March 08, 2016

"Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

- John Wooden

This week was interesting. We were working, but it just seemed like we weren't getting any results. Last week, we went to an appointment that fell through, and we contacted them to no avail. The next day, we were with the zone leaders; the day after that, I felt incredibly sick. Then we had planning and therapy. We had an appointment the next morning, and the people were there. Later that day, we couldn’t find anyone to contact until late and had stake conference part one. We then went home after practicing for the choir. The next day, we had stake conference part 2. Then, we had an appointment at night that worked out well, and then another to finish the day. Yesterday, we had district meeting, therapy, and then two appointments that night. Yesterday was a good day actually, but we couldn’t find any new investigators the whole week. I felt like we were failing because we are, but we are also working. Yesterday, we left to go and work even though I felt like junk, and we had a really good day, and were able to see someone accept a baptism date! As we were walking, I was throwing up a bit and felt like junk, but it all worked out in the end.

So, that was the quick version:

I’m still sick but getting better though. The mission is still amazing, I don’t regret anything, and yes, I AM THE HAPPIEST MISSIONARY IN THE WORLD!! 

We had stake conference this week, and we found out what each of the ward names means because some of them are in a native Chilean language that a group of Indians here called the "mapuche" speak. We are in a stake called "Alicahue" and that means "hot place." We are situated in a ward called "Macul" which means "oath and promises" according to what we were told. So if someone learns that the translation is something different, don’t get mad at me. Anyways, in the stake conference, we learned a lot about several things such as; enduring to the end, baptism, repentance, temple attendance, faith, the Book of Mormon, service, joy in living the gospel, Sabbath day observance, the Holy Ghost, and coming unto Christ. The meeting was filled with the spirit. I was so glad to be there. It was a real testimony builder.

This week, we had a lot of time to work. It was great. Unfortunately, it didn’t come out to be what we wanted, but, I know that the Lord often makes something better for us than we could have ever wanted, even if it isn’t exactly what we wanted. I know that. This place and the experiences aren’t all what I wanted, but in the end, I know it is the best for me!

Elder Gale

March 01, 2016

"And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do." 

- 2 Nephi 31:12

We had another baptism this week! It was in my second sector and for a young man that I had never taught, but I got to know him really well. He asked me to baptize him, but then I moved to another sector; I got to travel to go baptize him! It was a great experience to see him again and to have been able to help him take this important step in his life. I was so glad to have been there!

This week was a slow one for me because I was sick and had to stay inside my apartment for the most of it. I’m sorry that this email is so short, but the four of us missionaries who are living together are sharing one computer so there's much less time. If I wasn’t able to respond your email or write you, I will do so this next week. I love you all, and I’m so glad to be here in the service of the Lord. It doesn’t matter where I am. I can share the gospel in a bus, in a subway, walking down the street, waiting in line to buy medications... anywhere. Isn’t the gospel just so great? It is something that could only be created by our loving Heavenly Father. How could something that can change and benefit the lives of someone anywhere from Mongolia to Chile, the US to China be created by a man? It is impossible. I am a believer of this. I know it to be so. I ask for all of you to ponder this week and throughout your life about how you can further follow our Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all, and I hope that you all have a great week.

Elder Gale

February 23, 2016

"When we understand our baptismal covenant and the gift of the Holy Ghost, it will change our lives and will establish our total allegiance to the kingdom of God. When temptations come our way, if we will listen, the Holy Ghost will remind us that we have promised to remember our Savior and obey the commandments of God."

- Robert D. Hales

This week was amazing, and we had a miracle happen. Actually, we had several miracles. There was a baptism this week in my ward, and the lady we had been teaching asked me to baptize her. Dang! Did I have a "best two years" moment of, "Wait, you want me to baptize you??" It was so much fun to have it this week. The miracles with the baptism were, first off a baptism itself... it’s a miracle to see someone with the desires to be cleansed from their sins and enter into a covenant with our Heavenly Father. Second, we had the miracle of the person who wanted to do a special musical number get sick before the baptism, and then go from losing her voice to having it again and singing wonderfully to then losing it again right after... talk about a miracle. Then, we had the miracle of having just everything go smoothly. We were stressed out because as we were setting it all up, it seemed to go horribly, but then it ended up perfect; there were just a lot of miracles that day. 

This week, I was saddened to watch two members of my district get sent home as their time here in the mission finished. They were great missionaries and finished their missions with honor. They will both be missed. 

It was great to have a random stranger in the street ask us what planet we were from and that turned into a contact which turned into him asking us to enter his home. That then turned into a lesson as he asked us to help him overcome his feelings of sadness from having murdered someone in an act of self defense. I’m so glad to have the word of God here on the earth today to allow us give and receive peace and save those who need it. I invite all of you to read the scriptures more often so you can receive the peace that you need. That peace will come. I tell you this as a representative of Jesus Christ. 

I love you all; have a great week!

Elder Gale

February 16, 2016

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny."

- Paulo Coelho

This week sure was a great week for change seeing as how my companion and I had to make the long journey to the mission office. Then I got tortured with something called "therapy." For anyone who reads this, I'm sorry for what I've said about therapy. I always thought people were being over-dramatic about how therapy hurts and makes one so tired. I had a great time with the doctor. During therapy, I get to have an ultrasound machine passed over my knee to help me heal of the muscles in my knees, and then we do some stretches and exercises. It is pretty rigorous but worth it because my knees are feeling better.

We had a great baptismal interview this week, and she is going to be baptized this coming Sunday! She is such a wonderful lady and was so prepared to receive the gospel and make changes in her life! She is a wonderful lady and is doing so much as she sees the hand of the Lord in her life! 

Other great things that happened this week:

1: I have the coolest district of missionaries ever! 

2: We have a dryer in our pension (something I haven’t seen since the day I left home in 2014).

3: Crazy anti-American who was drunk, high, and crazy go off and insult us (always a great classic).

4: Therapy.

I sure love the mission with lots of miracles everyday and lots of blessings that I see in my life and the lives of others.

Elder Gale

February 09, 2016

"The hastening of the Lord's work requires His followers continuously to learn, to change, and 'to press forward with faith in the Savior.'"

- David A. Bednar

This week was so great! We were able to have many lessons and talk with so many people. We had a great time trying to put something to the test: talk with everyone. We left for one hour to contact, talked with literally everyone, set four baptismal dates, got seven new investigators, and had a few references sent out! It was really cool! We preached repentance and baptism, and it went really well. We found those people who are really prepared to receive the gospel. All the people we set a baptismal date for are references who we are sending to other areas. The work of God moves forward unhindered!

It was great to share the gospel with so many people and also so many missionaries! For those of you who don’t know, I am a district leader which means that I help out other missionaries who are right around my area. I gave a presentation yesterday along with six other missionaries to a group of about twenty missionaries. I felt so great in the presentation. It was truly a great week! 

Elder Gale

February 02, 2016

"I have often said that one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people, and he will be happy. Work, work, work--there is not satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work."

- Ezra Taft Benson

We had a great adventure as we went to get my legal papers done for me to stay legal here in Chile. It was, as always, a long trip. We had to leave early in the morning, and we came back after being in lines all day long and traveling for at least an hour to get there. But it was fun! We had some good experiences there. 

While we were waiting in line for one of the steps in getting the papers done, a young man sat down next to me while I was reading the Book of Mormon. As I read, I could see that he was reading it as well. So, I asked him if he had seen it before, and if so, what he knew about it. Come to find out, he had spoken to missionaries before, and he was VERY interested in learning more about how he could come closer to Christ. We wrote down his address, and I gave him the copy of the Book of Mormon. I'm sure the missionaries there will be able to find him. It was a great experience to have been able to talk with him!

We also had a great experience where we were teaching an investigator about the commandments that God has for us to bring us joy. We challenged her to be baptized, and she accepted!!! She will be baptized the 13th of February. It will be great to see that happen! 

The church is true. I have had so much time here to ponder, think, and meditate it. No one can tell me that it is false because I know it to be true. I know that this is the church of God, the church of Jesus Christ. I love you all and hope that you all have an amazing week!

Elder Gale

January 26, 2016

"Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

This week, we finally started getting to know more about the sector and area. It was really great to be less lost and surer of where all the streets finally are. We still get in a few rough areas, but it isn’t too bad.

We also had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a world-wide broadcast to all the missionaries in the world about how we can better teach repentance. It was a broadcast that hasn’t been seen for about ten years, and for the first time in ten years, we had a worldwide broadcast. I really liked we learned about simplifying the teaching process and taking everything down to the basics. The way Christ taught was simply that we must repent and be baptized. That's not a bunch more than the basics. I find it simply amazing to take part in this wonderful opportunity to be a missionary. 

I’m grateful that we have this opportunity as missionaries to talk to our families and do something I love which is talking about the truth. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He loves us and has commanded that all people repent and be baptized in the name of His beloved Son. I love you all, and I hope that you have a great week!

Elder Gale

January 19, 2016

"The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become--because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be... It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."

- C.S. Lewis

This week was a lot of fun. In fact, everyday has been an adventure! Starting off with last Tuesday, I found out that I was to be moved to a new area and a ward called Macul 1. I packed up, and the next morning, we went to the metro and changed areas. As we did so, we had a lot of fun trying to find my new companion and drop off old companions. It was a great adventure! We had to search for the metro right next to our new home because we had no one to tell us where it was. We eventually got there and walked in. 

It is a great place here in Macul 1. We love the work! We are in what is called a whitewash; this is where the missionaries that were here before us all leave, and the new ones (us) come in with basically no working knowledge of the area. So, we have spent this week searching for those who the sister missionaries before us were teaching. This has been actually a great delight. Lots of talking with people and walking up and down the same street a few times because we aren’t too sure where everything is yet. But, it's all fun, and we're loving it as we go. 

This week, we were privileged to have received the great blessing of having lessons which is the ability to go into someone`s home and invite them to baptism! I love the work here, and I love seeing someone change and how they accept baptism. It is amazing! The miracles have never ceased!

Elder Gale

January 12, 2016

"Coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him places perfection within the eternal journey of our spirit and body--in essence, the eternal journey of our soul. Becoming perfect results from our journey through physical life, death, and resurrection, when all things are restored 'to their proper and perfect frame.'"

- Gerrit W. Gong

This week sure was a great one. I was so happy to have been here in Nuevo Amanacer because I found out today at 1:00 AM that I am getting changed to a different area. I'm really sad, as always, since I have to leave an area that I've come to love. This sector has been my shortest lived one, but it's one that I've put a lot of love and countless amounts of prayers into trying to serve. 

I had the wonderful opportunity during the week to have a spiritual lesson where I didn't even feel like it was my words that came from my mouth. I was doing exchanges with an elder who I live with who actually came out with me. We had a great moment of teaching a family that hasn't gone to church in a long time because of simply being a little lazy. As we were talking with them, it became very apparent that one wanted to go back to church, and the other not too much. We asked as to why, and they told us that they always try, go for a few weeks, but then they stop. Then they go again.... and then they stop. And it just seems to be a never-ending cycle for them. We ended up talking about the temple. Both of these people have gone through the temple before. As we talked about it, they started saying the same things (we tried to go back... but it didn't work...), so we shared with them a scripture which is my favorite scripture in the whole world. It is found in Moroni 10:32 and reads as such: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

As we were sharing this, a few things came into my mind to share with them concerning this scripture. The first thing was come unto Christ. This is an invitation. To sum it all up, it is an invitation that does not have any parameters concerning the distance to which you may be from Christ, but the direction in which you head to him. Christ wants ALL to come unto him, so it matters not if we are near, or far. All He wants is for us to come. The second thing I thought was for us to strive to be perfected in Him. This is a process. Becoming perfect is a long process, but He is always there, willing and ready, and He is able to help us as we try to come to Him. He always wants us, so it doesn't matter how many times we fall but how many times we continue to try.

I love you all, and I hope you all have a great week!! Until next time! 

Elder Gale

January 5, 2016

"I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul."

- Psalms 121:1-2, 7

We had a great time as the new year came along with a few surprises. At first, we couldn't believe that there were fireworks on the 30th, so as we were about to sleep, these fireworks start going off. We couldn't see anything. There were only really loud bangs and explosions. We thought that Argentina had come through the mountains and that we were about to be caught in a war zone! It was actually pretty funny when we all realized that they were just fireworks. We all were given a run for our money, and it was a really good laugh after words.

Today, we ended up going into the mountains to do a hike. Right in front of our apartment, we were looking directly at the mountains, and we started walking towards them. Fast forward about an hour, and we leave the smog levels as we are hiking up the mountain and leaving behind the "city suburbs." We had a great hike because we walked up during a cool breeze and nice, thick cloud coverage. Long story short, we walked about halfway to Argentina... just kidding! But, we walked probably a good 12-15 miles there and back. It was a lot of fun! There were a lot of beautiful sights, cleaner air, good company. What more could one ask for? 

I'm sad to report that there were not too many opportunities to share the gospel this week. With all the festivities, people were running (quite literally) everywhere, but it sure was a great time to learn about the application of the gospel in our lives. I have been able to learn a lot here in the mission. What I have learned is quite simple: that President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve said that basically, the end of everything we do in the church is to see that a man and a woman are sealed in the temple and are happy at home with their children. That first step involves the temple. I know that temples are an important part of our lives. Truly, the temple is an important center to our lives as it reflects the love that Christ has for us. I hope that you all are able to make the temple an important part of your life. It will change your life as it has mine. If you don't understand it yet, that's all right. It takes time.

Until next week! Love you all!

Elder Gale