Hogs, Kids, and Chicks {February 16, 2015}

Dear Chandlerites and whoever else read this,

 

Hey! So….I’m going to just get right into my photos.

We went to someone’s farm and saw a bunch of happy animals. LOTS OF PIGS.

​….some adorable little calves….pretty little guy.s…

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And geese and curly feathers,

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and scary chickens,

​

 

and I drew myself as a student of hogworts for Sister King…I know. I’m a professional artist. 

​

So today is my last P-day. That’s weird. But we’re going to have an AWESOME WEEK. I would tell you more, but I guess I’ll probably be emailing next week in the mission home? I don’t know. But I have to save some cool stuff…

 

My scripture I’d like to share is 1 Nephi 19:18…but I’m going to change it a little to have my name in it because that’s fun….

 

 

And I, Sister Gale, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.

 

I guess that’s the entire point of writing these emails. I mean yeah the stories are good to tell and all but really I’d like you all to just come closer to Christ. That’s my purpose as a missionary anyways.

 

Well, I don’t have much else to say this week! See you soon!!!

 

Love,

Sister Gale

Good Mornin’! (TobyMac!) {Feb 9, 2015}

Hullo Wurld! 

 

Hhhhow are you?! I’m doing fine and dandy here in Arizona…I mean Idaho….There has been a CRAZY heat wave. Highs in the 50s. What the. We’re using AC in the car. 

 

Photos:

 

Chemical burn from whitening strips…ew

another one of the photo things my parents asked for…

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Me with a bone at the Teton Dam sight…ew

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annndd an envelope from Sister King….I would show you the drawings she sent but my camera died.

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This week we had Korean food (it was good. Not like Takamatsu back home, but for Driggs, Idaho? Not bad!)

 

We lost two investigators due to parents not wanting us to teach them anymore, but we gained one back due to parents wanting to come back to church! Wow!

 

I’m happy and doing well. My thought this week is more of a reminder to myself than anything…

You see. I know that my time is ticking, I know I will be home soon, but that doesn’t really matter. There’s a reason I have these last few weeks left on my mission. There’s someone I need to talk to for a life to be changed. Maybe I just need it. Maybe I’m the one that needs the last weeks. Or maybe someone needs me. I don’t know. All I know is I can’t slow down or give up just because I’m nearly there. 

 

Have a great week everyone! I love you!

 

Love,

Sister Gale

Hey Hey Heyyyyyyy {Feb 2, 2015}

Dear Mouse-Pads and Keyboards,

 

How’s it going? Good? Gooooood. 

 

This week was good n stuff. We had interviews with our Mission President. That’s always cool. He reinvited my companion and I to commit to meeting the Standard of Excellence before I go home, which means at least two baptisms. We know we can do it. It’s just going to be way hard. But that’s okay. Missionary work is not suppose to be easy. 

 

But really. These last few weeks are going to be a roller coaster. We had dinner with this RM girl and she said that she was pretty much bi-polar the last few weeks and the a couple weeks after getting home she got way depressed. Yayyyyy. Exciting! Can’t wait! (That’s sarcasm if you couldn’t tell)

 

Here’s a couple of photos….

Cow with the Tetons in the back again. The sun was hitting the Tetons all cool, but it didn’t capture it liked I hoped it would in the photo. Oh well.

​And a selfie, because I haven’t done that in a while. Long while. I think. I’m not sure. Don’t really remember what I write each week.

 

But my thought this week I wanted to do something about moving forward. Kind of for me, but also for everyone else. I don’t really have a scripture for this but I’m reminded of something one of my young women leaders said about the iron rod. She said she liked to envision it being a vertical rod instead of horizontal. Having it vertical reminds you that you have to keep moving up otherwise you will start to slip down. If you are not progressing then you are regressing. This is something I need to keep in mind for my last few weeks, but also just in life in general. After my mission I can’t just stop. I have to keep moving forward. My mission has been one of the best, most spiritual times of my life up to this point, but it can’t be the best, most spiritual part of my entire life. There are things to come that are going to be even more. 

 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Gale 

Forever is Composed of Now’s {Jan 12, 2015}

Dear Littlefoot and….Petrie,

 

So this week was a week of service. We painted and helped at a food bank. But let me tell you about the food bank. It was creepy! It was at an old Girls’ Reform school thing. Had solitary confinement and everything. 

 

Also, we’ve had a lot of deer. Well. Deer jerky and roast. I liked the jerky, but the roast was meh. 

 

Also, I’ve discovered my “bubble” is terrible now. It freaks me out when a dude stands near me. I’m like whoa. I’m a Sister. 

 

Anyways, to the photos!

 

A cool panoramic of the top of a hill (someone’s house)

 

Beautiful mountain thing….dirt road adventures

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SHEEP.

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Sunset over the snow (it looks like waves)​

Bullet holes……? Is this the Goonies?

And the price photo of the week….it was SO foggy yesterday. BEAUTIFUL!

​And for my thought this week…

​

haha…now for real…

 

Something that my District Leader (he and I go home the same time) said this week…

 

“Sometimes it’s hard to trust the Lord’s timing because it’s not always what we want, but when He reveals His timing to us we should rejoice that He is opening new doors to us. Now is the time to go through them.”
​

Elder A. Simmons 2015

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

 

Oh! And I’m staying in Sugar with Sister Latu for my last transfer! Death by Sugar….hahah

 

Love,

Sister Gale

Gobble Gobble! {December 1, 2014}

Dear Turkey Tom,

 

So, as I told y’all, I was doing the turkey this year. AND IT WAS AMAZING. To quote the men,

 

“This is delicious!”

“…best turkey I ever had!”

“…10 times better than yesterdays!” 

 

I was proud. I know we shouldn’t have pride, but oh well. The men were hovering over the bird like a bunch of vultures. It was great! 

 

We also relocated a cat this week. She was bothering some of the people in Teton so we moved her to Sugar. Someone adopted her, but we named her Adele (because she was smoky and I thought of the song I Set Fire to the Rain…I don’t know). 

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OH! And we got transfer calls this week! I’m staying in Sugar and I’ll be getting Sister Hancock!!! YES!! You read that right. My sweet MTC companion from my singles’ ward back home whom I went on a trip to Mexico with. YEAH! That one! This is going to be FUN. Our area is now part of the Yellowstone Zone, but that’s okay because I have friends up there. I’m getting Elder Simmons as my District Leader AGAIN. Ohhhh man. This is going to be a party transfer. I’ve been giggling all week about it. And Sister Brough will be in my old stake down in Pokey. I wrote the Stake President for her to let him know how great she is. Wheeee! 

 

Comp selfie! On Thanksgiving!

​This photo is going to take some explaining. You see, Sister Brough’s thyroid has been bothering her so she called the mission doctor. He told us to meet him at Burger King…..as then he took her blood…in the restaurant…one of the workers came up to us when he was nearly done and told him he couldn’t do that. I’m pretty sure he was confused (the worker). It was great. Oh. And the doctor gave us a dozen farm fresh eggs.

 

Here’s a drawing I did of the situation:

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Yup. hahaha.

 

 

Anyways! This week for my thought I’m going to share the new Christmas video:

 

He is the Gift

 

I love this video! Love, love, love. It’s a great reminder to the “reason for the season.” This year, why don’t we all remember Christ more? (or….have “mas Christ” get it? get it? I’m smart)

 

I love you all and I know that He loves you. Take care and have a great week! 

 

Love,

Sister Gale
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Is It Winter Yet? {November 10, 2014}

Hello Olaf and Sven! 

It’s starting to get chilly here in Idaho, but it’s not all that cold yet. I think this week it’s suppose to get cold. I don’t know. But anyways…I sound like an Idaho person…talking about weather and all…what the…

 

Yeah!

 

So it was a good week. We set a baptism date (!!!) with a girl named K’leigh (you might see her name spelled like “Kaylee” or “Kailey” or “Cailey”). She’s awesome. She told us her mom and sister were baptized recently so she wants to be baptized here in a couple of months. So we asked her about January, but she said “How about December?” UH. YEAH. So her date is for December 13th. Please pray for her. Thanksss!!!!!

 

What else?

 

Oh. Well. We have a TON of appointments this coming week. I think Sister Brough said we have eleven appointment! YEAH! We have so many appointments that we weren’t sure what to do yesterday because we pretty much have an appointment with almost everyone we’re teaching. That’s crazy! Ahhhh….blessings….

 

We had some Mexican food this week. And it was SO. GOOD. It was some random place right outside of Sugar. It was called….Taqueria or something? I don’t know. All I know is I want to go back. I got some chicken and rice plate (I asked the lady what her favorite dishes were, and this was one of them). It had mushrooms and it kind of reminded me of curry. YUM. I miss Mexican food. haha….Y’all back home need to have some today for me…

 

So funny story…well..it’s not much of a story…but! One appointment we had this week was with a girl that is a recent convert. She’s about 12 years old and LOVES Monster High. She started to show us her dolls and let me tell y’all. They’re actually pretty cool. Sister Brough and I are half tempted to get one, but then we’re like nahhhhhh. We want food. Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually 21. Probably not. I look like I’m 15 apparently. Oh well!

 

Photo Time!!

 

So this is a little blurry, but it’s a photo I took from our area of the Rexburg Temple. It’s pretty cool that we can see it all the time in our area.

 

And an elk that’s chillin’ on an elk farm…They’re kind of creepy sounding…

So I colored my hair again (by request of the Mission President’s wife). Here is a before…

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Anndd after…It’s just darker and less red…I actually used Dollar Store hair dye…it’s not half bad! I mean it didn’t cover completely but I think I needed to leave it in longer than I did. Oh well. Good enough for me!

 

And the moon was lighting the clouds cool last night…

 

This week my spiritual thought is a little Disney. I love Disney. It’s great. Back in the Sister King-Era we were listening to some Disney stuff and Walt Disney’s voice came on. Both of us gasped and I said, “It’s like listening to the prophet!” 

 

I know. Terrible. But he’s like the prophet of the Disney faith (I don’t know what I’m talking about anymore). 

 

Actually. I change my mind. This was going to take too much explaining. 

 

Um..

 

Well here’s a good one from Nephi! (1 Nephi 11:17)

 

 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

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I love Nephi. He’s a great teacher. He starts with what he knows and goes from there. Nephi had a lot of trials. I mean goodness! His brothers tried to kill him! But he learns from his trials because he knows that Heavenly Father loves him. 

 

I’m going to copy something I found on LDS.org about this verse…

 

Early in the Book of Mormon, an angel asks Nephi a tough question,“Knowest

thou the condescension of God?” Nephi answers, “I know that heloveth his

 children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things”

(1 Nephi 11:16–17). 

 

Nephi’s answer is a perfect statement for us to remember in times of trial. We

don’t know the meaning of all things. We don’t have all the answers to explain 

all the tragedies in the world and in our own neighborhoods. However, we 

know, we are sure, that God loves His children. Something wonderful happens when we really know, without a doubt, that God loves us our questions completely change. Instead of asking, 

“Why did this happen to me?” or “Why doesn’t God care about me?” we say,

“Well, I know God loves me; I know that. So what can I learn from this

 experience?”

 

Sometimes we think our trials come because we did something wrong.That’s not always true. Adversity is simply part of earth life. From it we can grow and 

progress if we choose to. Yes, some trials come because of our own disobedience, but many trials are simply part of life.

The scriptures contain many examples of righteous people who suffered:

Abraham, Abinadi, Joseph of Egypt, Joseph Smith, and even Jesus Christ.The

 fact is, bad things happen to good people. Brother Truman G. Madsen once 

asked President Hugh B. Brown of the First Presidency (1883–1975)

why the Lord would put Abraham through the experience of being asked to

sacrifice his own son. Obviously God knew that Abraham would be willing to do anything God commanded, and if that was so, why did the Lord put him 

through such a test? President Brown answered, “Abraham needed to learn

something about Abraham” (Joseph Smith the Prophet[1989], 93).

God already knows what we’re made of, but perhaps He wants us to learn what we’re made of. I think we would all agree that we learn more from our tough 

times than from our easy times. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We don’t know the meaning of all things, but we know God loves His children! 

And because He loves us, He will never desert us.

​Well. I know for myself that my Heavenly Father love me and each of you. He’s our Father! Don’t forget Him. 

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Gale

Something-something Sugar {October 6, 2014}

Hey Pizza Pies and Cakes! 

 

SOOOOO THIS IS GOING TO BE FAST. Fast, fast, fast. Soooorrrrry. But we have a busy Pday and so YEAH! 

 

 

Lots of deer heads….(plus a bonus moose and elk)

 

Carmen SanDiago or Little Red Riding Hood? You decide!!

 

I took another picture of the Tetons because they’re is snow on them BUT it was kind of blurry so I didn’t want to send it.

 

This week we:

 

-set three baptismal dates

-watched General Conference 

-WATCHED MEET THE MORMONS.

Okay. Can I just take a moment right now for Meet the Mormons? IT WAS SO GOOD. You need to see it (well, it’s not a commandment, but it was amazing!) All of us Sisters were crying in the last story (and some of the Elders, but they didn’t want to admit it very much). Y’all really need to go see this movie. It even has clips from The Simpsons and South Park. I KNOW. The church is so cool.

 

Okay. My thought today is pretty simple…It’s Moroni’s Challenge (Moroni 10: 4-5)

 

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

So there are things and it. What are the things, and what is it? Well well well. The things are the scriptures, the Book of Mormon to be specific, and it is the Plan of Salvation because the Book of Mormon teaches the Plan fully. So when you know the Book of Mormon is true, you also know the Plan of Salvation is real. How comforting to know we can be with our families for eternity! I know it’s true. It is all true. I love the Book of Mormon.

I love you all! Sorry for the quick email…

Love,

Sister Gale

Don’t Head Butt without the Full Armor of God {September 1, 2014}

Dear…..Eh….Galatians and Ephesians,

 

Happy Missionary Monday! 

I’ll have one and a half thoughts today. The half is just to explain a picture. That’s what  I’ll start with I guess.

​This is Siera and Cailey dressed in their Armor of God. I got this idea from my former companion, Sister Jacobson. As we were reading in Ephesians 6, about the Armor of God, we had the girls find the different parts for it. Bonus points for Siera for the shield of faith in the form of a OneDirection kid cutout and bonus points for Cailey for her bowls as her breastplate of righteousness.

 

Ephesians 6:13-17

 

 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Yeah. It was fun. We were laughing up a storm. So much fun 🙂

 

Let see what other pictures I have today…

 

OH! I’ve been decorating envelopes. I got some Disney-Pixar stamps and let me tell you. Those are the best thing of my life. And I have a few Harry Potter stamps, but I can’t draw those as well. BUT DISNEY. I think my favorite is my Mike Wazowski or Boo. I’m pretty sure I didn’t color Dory right. Oh well. I think I did a good job on Flick too, but it’s kind of a boring one. But look at that hand! Dang.

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Annnndd…My companion running on her bike…

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Annnd huge cinnamon rolls from Mrs. Powell’s…

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And of course…a selfie…

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I was looking at old pictures when my hair was darker. I’m going to have to color my hair soon. It’s not quite cool enough to do that, but it’s going happen before too long (I know, my dad won’t be too happy about that. Oh well!).

 

Okay. This is going to sound ridiculous but I had the BEST olive oil and balsamic vinegar I’ve ever had in my life this last week. Holy cow. The olive oil was like….Persian Lime and the vinegar was cinnamon pear. So. GOOOOOD. I could have had a whole loaf of bread dipping it in that mixture. I really had to use self control that night. Man I love olive oil.

 

This week is another video thought. This video is probably my new favorite mormon message. It is pretty artsy in the videography, but it looks cool. And the story is amazing…it’s called “The Hope of God’s Light.” I love this video. It just reminds me that God is there, He does listen to our prayers, and He just wants to hear from us and for us to be closer to Him. I love being a missionary because I just help people on the path that this man found. I get to help them know our Father. How cool is that? I get to know my brothers and sisters. I get to know our Father better. I get to feel more love for them and see them as what they can become. Have I said how much I love that word? “Become”….it signifies growth and learning. 

 

Anyways. 

 

We get transfer calls this week! I’ll let y’all know what’s happening. I love you!

 

Love,

Sister Gale

Not Much to Report {August 25, 2014}

Dear Pinkie and the Brain,

 

I’m sure I say this every week, but there’s not much to report. I’ll post my pictures buutttt that might be about all I’ll be talking about this week. Sorrrryyy.

 

Holding a fat cat yesterday….

The hills east of where we live looking all cool and stuff…

Post-temple shameless selfie…

Anddd at the temple with my companion…

There was a crazy hail storm and lots of rain this week. Not the best weather for biking. Luckily we were able to get rides when it was hailing. It was bad. Ummm. And my companion broke her toe. We were about to go out and do service so she went to walk over to the window and see what the weather was doing…and she kicked the couch. Now her toes are all black and blue and she’s limping around like Igor. Fun fun fun.

 

Our new investigators the Elders’ gave us is AMAZING. She believes everything. She used to debate with nuns about the catholic church and the things that she didn’t believe in. Even things that normal people would question she accepts (word of wisdom, tithing, etc.) 

 

Sorry I’m not talking much today. It was a pretty boring week haha.

 

I’m stealing the thought that the mission sent this week in their newletter. It says…

“The difficulties which come to us present us with the real test of our ability to endure.  A fundamental question remains to be answered by each of us:  Shall I falter, or shall I finish?  Some do falter as they find themselves unable to rise above their challenges.  To finish involves enduring to the very end of life itself.”

Thomas S. Monson, “I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee”

Whatever you are doing in life, do not give up. Life is hard. It’s suppose to be hard. There is no learning, no growth, no change, in the comfort zone. So embrace the trails! Come what may and love it! Have a great week! 

 

Love,

Sister Gale

 

Idaho cows :)

Me making dumb videos with Becky’s pics