WEEK OF DECEMBER 20TH

Hello, everyone!

 

Well, Christmas is but five days away. I hope that it's nice and cold in Florida (or whatever part of the world you may be reading this from). :) May you have the tree and lights up and most importantly that peaceful and tranquil feeling of the spirit of Christmas in the home.

 

A lady, Leanne, which we are teaching gave us a tree which is no more than three feet tall. I'll take a picture and send it over soon. I know that I promised to send pictures on this day but I forgot the camera at home as I was rushing out the door. One thing is for certain though, I will be able to call you (Mom & Dad) on Saturday. I am thinking of calling when it's somewhere between 1-4 PM in Florida. It feels weird in a way to be calling when I have only been gone for two months but the whole journey will end on a nice note to be home for the big holidays when that time comes.

 

A lot of the people we have been teaching have been making slow progress while those we have been striving to see have been having their struggles with colds, sick pets, or other challenges. My companion, Elder Millett, will be going to a town called Fairfield. As for me, I will be spending another six weeks here. It's good in the sense that I can get to know everyone better and help those we're teaching progress better. The members here are all excellent and the home which we stay in is nice. Yet I will be another six weeks away from any Targer, Wal-Mart, big shops and downtowns. Regardless, I am certain that the work here will be just fine for another six weeks. :)

 

This message will be rather short but I hope that we all do our part to make Christmas as best as it can be for each of us. I met a man who Christmas is a difficult time of year for him because of circumstances with his family. That may be the case for some people and I hope it's people like that which we can reach out to and cheer up if possible. The lady, Leanne, which I mentioned has also had her share of challenges this year. However, she has a tradition of helping someone less fortunate during this time of year and regardless of everything that has been happening to her, she still carried out her traditional kind deed to a family she pondered about.

 

In Leanne's example of being good toward one another is what brings that 'peace on earth.' I hope you all have that warmth and happiness in your families and yourselves during this time of year. May that also carry out through the next year, which I hope may bring great opportunities and chances of growth to you all. Take good care of yourselves. May you all have a Merry Christmas!

 

Love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK OF DECEMBER 13TH

Hello everyone!

Quick note, I think that I accidentally titled last week's letter "Week 5" when it was in fact Week 7. By next Monday it will have already been two months since this journey has started. I guess that it's natural though to lose track of time along the way.

Either way, surprisingly, not a whole lot has happened this past week. I was with many different missionaries throughout the week. I spent Tuesday in a small place called Lakeport. Not a whole lot happened, but I guess I brought a bit of luck to the area. :) Elder Gregory and I went to visit one person and they were not feeling well so that teaching lesson didn't happen. However as we were leaving a guy was driving his car close to the curb where we were standing. I thought he was going to put something in the home's mailbox but he just greeted us and handed us a box of cookies then said "Continue doing what you're doing" and drove off. I asked Elder Gregory if he's ever seen the guy before and he said no.

We then went to teach a lady named Debbie, but she was busy with other things and just didn't have the time to sit down with us. As we were leaving the small community there was a lady sweeping her porch. We had the chance to briefly chat with her and she said she would be interested in being taught and her mom would possibly want to be taught as well since she felt her mom may need something like that in her life at this moment. So that was a good opportunity as well.

Now these are just small little things: teaching appointments. However it just shows to never be discouraged when things don't seem to go the way we would have hoped even if we planned something out and thought it was right and it should have happened. Granted those people could have simply allowed us in to teach them and maybe the lessons would have been just as amazing or better than the things which happened, but things happen with a reason. And sometimes good things don't immediately come as in these examples but if we are patient and optimistic those things can come in the right time.

On Friday, Elder Gregory, Elder Skidmore, and I were in a trio and were in Lakeport too. We had one appointment with a lady named Randy. She has been going through a lot and spent the last couple days in the hospital -- she alleges that her roommate put Ammonia (a pinesol of sorts) in her drink and she drank a bit of it and became ill. It was her birthday the day we went to visit her. It felt good to leave her with a spiritual message, fix her TV for her, and also leave her a Christmas DVD. 

On Saturday, the church held a little potluck with a theme titled A Night in Bethlehem. Many people came dressed as people during the times of ancient Jerusalem. There was a dinner and they also had songs and a little performance at the end of the show. It was good. They even played a part where they had a tax collector of sorts ask for people to pay their taxes in order to get into the area. The taxes were canned foods and other non-perishable items which in turn will be given to the needy during this time of year.

This coming Wednesday the Santa Rosa mission and its 150+ missionaries will be there for a Christmas party of our own. That should be fun. I'll be certain to send some pictures next week for you all to have during the Christmas season. I hope all is going well with each and every one of you. I send you my love and best wishes. Until next week!

Love,

Elder Anthony Gallegos

week 6

Hello everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. We did not really take any pictures on Thanksgiving but ours was great. A couple families invited us over for dinner, we were fed well and taken care of.

Since you (mom) adopted Harley the turkey I stuck with the green beans, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. On Thanksgiving we got together with about six other missionaries and played horseshoes and croquet while the food was being prepared. There I told one of the missionaries how you all adopted a turkey and he chuckled for about a minute and said he never heard of such a thing. I'm still grateful that you all did that. :)

Well this week was a bit slow with it being a holiday. A lot of people were either out of town or had family over. One appointment that stuck out to me was with a man named Glenn Smith. He has a background in farming but is also an anthropologist, he has a degree in studying human origins. A couple special people to him have passed away but he believes that the idea that he will one day see them again seems like nothing more than a dream.

He is a very intelligent guy and very welcoming as the first time we went to visit the home it was raining and he immediately asked us, "Aren't you cold? Come inside." He shared an experience with us about him once having to take a test of some sort to become a part of a church/religion. He recalls failing that test and I believe that is holding him back somehow.

He told us that we're always welcomed over to have discussions and whatnot, but he does not appear to want to progress in his knowledge of religion at the moment thus my companion suggested it was best we probably stop by no earlier than a month. We gave him a pamphlet to read and I really hope it gets him thinking as to what's after this life.

On a more upbeat note, we had an experience about a week and a half ago but my e-mail last week was too short and I could not include it. Anyways, we were driving down this one road and for whatever reason my companion decided to drive towards the dead end and then circle back around to head back the opposite way. Well as we were beginning to make the circle, four dogs (various in size) ran up to the car. They did not seem threatening, but it was just a funny yet bizarre experience.

We began to take the turn and drive at about 3 MPH because we wanted to be sure not to harm any of them. The biggest dog of the bunch would also continually jump up and look into our windows and start to move its head around as though it wanted to be petted. They continually would run off a few feet then come back to the car. It may have taken three to five minutes just to make the U-turn and head the other way.

We had about three people come out to church this past Sunday, which was really good too. One we had just met and taught the day before, her name is Tammy; the second is Kevin Krohn, the husband of a member; and the third one is Rich Scroggins, who seemed to recently upset my companion whenever he begins to joke around telling me of his experience when aliens abducted him. Don't be alarmed, he has a strong spirit but sometimes Brother Scroggins humor can exceed that spirit, which isn't a bad thing.

To end this e-mail, I just want to let you all know I was volunteered to be part of a Christmas Choir. We will be singing Christmas carols with people of many other faiths this coming Saturday. I didn't write about it in past e-mails because I never really knew how serious it was. Especially when I told them that my singing experience goes about as far as singing in the tub or inside of a car with some '80s music or love songs playing. I'll let you all know how that goes and I also hope to send a few more pictures soon.

I'm about over with my e-mail time, which is the troubling part since uploading and saving pictures means less writing time. I will be sure to take pictures when appropriate though and share them with you all soon. Take care of yourselves and each other. I love you all!

Sincerely,
Elder Anthony Gallegos

week 7

Hello everyone!

I hope all is well with everyone. The Festival of Music went well. Our choir was able to get it all together at the last minute and our songs came together nicely. We sang: Mary's Lullaby; Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains; and This is the Night. While the performance went well it was a young man named Matt Weiss who stole the show. I don't know if he has any videos of himself up on YouTube or something, but he did an amazing piano solo titled the "Christmas Medley" in which he received a standing ovation.

We have taught a few people in the last week and may have a baptism or two this month but I will let you all know how that goes. One is named Tammy Guardino. Missionaries have tried to meet with her for about six years now. She has had a lot going on and she says that she's been seeing blessings work in her life during the last few months. I may have to take a photo the next time I go over. She has about ten toy fox terriers and it's a sight to be seen. :)

We were out eating Subway today and a man from England came to talk to us. He has no interest in the church, but talked about how his father was taught by David O. Mckay. He also talked about how one of his family members was involved with the building of the first church in Blackpool, England. He also said that he came here from England, because he was told to be rich he had to move to Utah with a shovel and dig the streets for gold. Well he said that he came to Utah and there were not even streets to dig let alone gold. He was quiet an interesting character as there are many here in Northern California. I tend to run into about one or three of them a week. I make note of them and hope to one day share about them when appropriate and when given proper time.

On a random note, I have become a fan of mini churros at Jack in the Box. It's your usual fast food joint, but I recommend mini churros for anyone who ever comes across one and never had the chance to eat there. On a spiritual note, with Thanksgiving past I feel that there's nothing to be more thankful for than health and loved ones. I sat next to one of the people's grandmother at the dinner. She had a fine sense of humor and was a joy to converse with. It was only two days after November 25th that she passed away though. I hope all is well with each of you and that you continue to take care of yourselves. Know that I think about you all regularly and send you all my love. I wish I had the time to write them, but that is not the case so:

Happy Birthday, Booper! Have a great birthday! Happy Birthday, Crissy! Have a great birthday! I hope to hear how you both individually spent those days.

May you all take care of yourselves and one another. 'Til next week!

Love,

Elder Anthony Gallegos