CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 15TH

WEEK 56

Is it true that time goes by faster as we get older? If so, why is that? I am almost at awe that we are a little over a week away from Thanksgiving. Being new to California (and reminiscing about home a little bit), I remember during Thanksgiving lunch talking about how I was at the mid-point of one Thanksgiving and had only one more to spend in California. Someone jokingly replied, "Yeah, and you have about 11 months that follow that." While I still have a long road ahead, realistically, if the hourglass were to measure a two year period of time then that which has past outweighs that which is remaining and quickly going from the present to the past.

 

Well it's the eve of another transfer. I've had a lot of great experiences here in Dixon, most of which I hope to share at another date. I would not mind staying another 1-1/2 months at the very least. While there isn't anyone at the moment who we are teaching on a consistent basis, we have been able to teach and help a lot of interesting people. Unfortunately, my e-mail time is shorter today than it is most days. Our day off today has actually been cut in half since we're going up to Sacramento to see the temple on Thursday. Not to mention that our ride for grocery shopping took an extra twenty minutes to complete their shopping and we didn't get to the library until close to lunch time.

 

May this little note let you know that I'm alive and well. I'll let you all know next week whether I have a change of address or whether I'll be ringing in the New Year here in Dixon. I also hope to fill you in on any new people we may teach in the coming week. Thank you for the cards, e-mails, and packages. My thoughts and prayers are with you all constantly. I hope you work to make your week a great one! Stay warm. :) 

Week 54

Hello, everyone!

 

I hope that all is well with each and every one of you. It's been a while so I am glad to be able to drop you all a note. If candy and dressing up is your thing then I wish you a Happy Halloween. I'm going to be a missionary for a second year in a row. However, we are told not to go door to door or to stay out late so we will be indoors tonight getting things around the house sorted out. We got a new fridge today, because our last one would leak. Our "new" fridge came with a funky odor so we have Arm N Hammer powder and an open bottle of vanilla on the inside of the fridge while Elder Stevens decided to spray the outside with Axe body spray and Febreeze. Hopefully that will do, but if not then we will be cleaning that up later today.

 

The church did a Halloween activity, which had a really good turnout. There were games, candy, and even a magician. Seth helped us out in setting an obstacle course booth that even had a leader board. It became competitive in a fun way as the kids wanted to better their score and wanted to be in the highest rank possible. On the candy side, one family went above and beyond in decorating their car trunk by parking it behind an inflatable Halloween entrance way with spooky music and all. It definitely was an attention getter, because after we mingled for a bit and allowed the kids to get their candies we went car to car and that specific car was all out and had nothing more than a giant witch pot full of popcorn.

 

On the missionary side of life, Carol was baptized October 15th. She's doing great and is looking forward to doing genealogy work and hoping to know more about her family from her mother's side. I apologize for the lack of pictures. The computers at this library read some flash drives and for whatever reason it will not detect my camera. Branda was doing well and she still is since she reads and comes to church almost every Sunday, but we haven't been able to teach her as much. She has been spending time with her family especially after her father had surgery on his foot and has been laid up in bed for a few weeks now.

 

We have been finding a lot of great people to begin teaching. The one climb has been getting a set return appointment with them. They either get called to work, have a court date they forgot about, or have to watch grandchildren at the last minute. However, we're staying hopeful and working hard. There are definitely some experiences within the last two-three weeks that I would love to share but time is short.

 

In closing I'll leave you with an experience that happened just this last week. As it gets darker earlier I become a bit reluctant on knocking someones door unexpectedly even if they have talked to us in the past. So unless we have an appointment or someone who has specifically said that after 5 PM is best we will walk around and talk to people. We did a lot of walking on Wednesday night. When Thursday morning came I noticed that my name tag fell off within a couple seconds during our hour walk.

 

Thankfully I had a replacement so I wasn't really worried about it but I kept a prayer in my heart that if it's meant to be that I'll find it or a good person will find it that won't go around posing as me on Halloween. :X Well after knocking some doors Thursday afternoon Elder Stevens and I were wondering where to go next. He wanted to knock some houses that were on dead end small streets off of the street we just talked to people on. I insisted we keep walking and maybe go to another street or go talk to some people walking by.

 

The first person we see I say hello to. I introduced myself and I was confused by his confused look. He made mention that he found a tag for an Elder Gallefer or something like that and he put it on top of a stubby pole, because he was thinking it was from a baptist church or some other church in town but he didn't have the time to go and return it since he had to return to work. He took us to the pole and..yeah...you guessed right, it was my name tag. We thanked him, talked briefly, and let him go about his way. It just so happens that he shared the experience with someone who attends the church in Dixon. The good news in all of it is that he welcomed us to stop by and speak to him again this week so we will see how that goes.

 

If there's anything to get from all of that, never give up on the power of prayer. If a plastic name tag can be returned, many greater things can happen through prayer. Well it has been fun catching up. That might be enough to last until my next letter five weeks from now. I hope not. :P I hope to write more constantly especially since time is just going on by. I hope to get pictures to you all as soon as possible. I think about you all constantly. Again, feel free to write me or e-mail me at any time. Although I wish to be able to write you all, I cannot. However, I DO read every letter that comes in.

 

Make it a great week, everyone!

 

- Elder Gallegos

WEEK 51

Hello, everyone!

 

It's been some time since I last wrote due to time constraints. I intended to write last week, but just as I was about to start writing a lady asked me to read something she was writing up and from there it carried into a conversation. I figured she'll look at her screen and talk while typing and I could do the same but as I glanced over she faced me as she spoke so I made eye contact and talked. The conversation carried on and while I really wanted to write and fill you all in with the latest happenings, the conversation with Marilyn was of great benefit and was a great use of time. I could write about the conversation, but because of my lack of e-mails in recent weeks there is a bit to fill you all in with.

 

I'm still in Dixon! I will be here 'til at least late November. Elder Merrill went to Fairfield and I am now companions with Elder Stevens. I'm glad that I get to stay here, because we met a lot of nice people with great potential in the last couple weeks and I'm looking forward to being around to see how we can help them and how they will progress. Carol's baptism did not go through as we had originally planned, but she did make a goal to work towards this Saturday. We're excited for her! She really enjoyed General Conference, she's retaining a lot of what we're teaching her now, and she enjoyed hearing my companion and I speak in church this past Sunday.

 

It's amazing to stop for a second and look to see where time has gone. Next Thursday will be a year since I left to start my journey to California and it will be close to a year from when I come back home. I just think of all the people I met, all the experiences, all of the down days, and everything else and wonder what will come during the next year. The time is indeed going faster than one can blink.

 

Well, I'm happy to be in Dixon. Aside from Marilyn and our conversation, there have been a couple people who we met within the last week who I look forward to becoming more acquainted with. Walking home last week my companion stopped to give a card to a young lady that was throwing out her trash. We talked and it just so happened that she has a degree in Graphic Design! :) Finally, someone I can relate to since many peoples hobbies consist of fishing, hunting, and camping. Being interested in seeing some of her work I asked if we could stop by and she told us that we're welcome to stop by and that she might also be receptive to hear more about the message we share since she minored in religion.

 

Missionaries believe that there is at least one person we're specifically assigned to an area for. Someone we can relate to, help, or touch. Whether it be Carol, Marilyn, someone spoken to in the last six weeks, or someone we have yet to find I feel as though we may soon find out.

*SIGH* Again, time has come and gone. There is more I wish to share with you all, more I wish to write, but we have to keep moving forward. Know that on days I may not write, I still think about you all constantly. I hope that you're all doing great and that this year has brought many good things your way as it comes to a close. I send you all my love. I hope to have more time and more experiences to share with you all next week. Take great care!

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 48

Hello, everyone!

 

Because my e-mails have not been as consistent I don't know if I let you all know how Dixon is, aside from the fact that there are 40+ places to eat out at within 1-1/2 miles. We did not have many people to teach when I first got here but with working hard and working smart comes results. We will be planning a baptism for Carol this week and the best part of it all is being able to attend it. That has been the high point of the last three weeks and it might also give me reason to e-mail you all some pictures next week.

 

I also spent 24 hours in Davis, the bicycle city of the world, with Elder Jenkins (from Cardiff, Whales). There were some good experiences there and from the past couple weeks that I hope to share with you all soon. My e-mailing time is pretty much up. I'm sorry if this e-mail is more of a teaser than anything, but know that I am well, in good health, and my thoughts are with you all constantly. I wish you all a great week! :)

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

ZONE CONFERENCE

WEEK 47:

As the middle of September approaches, not only do I get a smile on my face thinking of how soon it will be before the weather cools down in Dixon but I also think about a lot of family and friends who have or will be celebrating a birthday in September, October, November, or December. Something that our Mission President talked about last week was to love our mission. But what about the hard days where your back aches and you don't want to wake up at 6:30 AM or when it's 98 degrees outside and there's no body home or when times get difficult in general?

 

Some simple wise words I once read continue to pop into my head and they are, "Come what may and love it." I hope that the last year has been great for a lot of you and I would wish nothing but better things to come in the coming year 'til the time of your next birthday, but I am certain somewhere along the road we hit hard times. It's not natural for one to love times of heartache, sorrow, pain, or trials. As I come close to the midpoint of my mission I have yet to ever hear someone pray that they might lose their job, that their family may get sick, or that they can be lonely and sad in life. However, it is a natural part of life that challenges do come and they will.

 

To those of you celebrating a birthday in the coming weeks, months, or even if it's almost a year from now, be grateful for the good things that have happened in the last year and when hard times do come or if you're currently going through them then I would suggest that you approach them wisely. When we overcome our challenges they can become a time of great growth and happiness. Also, be sure to eat a small piece of whatever you may celebrate with on my behalf. :) I look forward to joining you all towards the end of the coming year.

 

Well my e-mail time is up. My time in Dixon is going well. About 14 missionaries got together this week and went out to visit a lot of people in Dixon hoping to find some more people to teach. Good results came from the time spent and I am looking forward to my time here (whether it be another 4 weeks or another 4 months). I wish you all a great week! Take care. ^_^

WEEK 46

Hello everyone!

 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. This is a short and quick e-mail to get you all up to date. Yes, I am in Dixon now. It's a small town--if we travel 2.5 miles in any direction we're pretty much out of our area. The town has a lot of good people in it. The members of the church here are great people (not to say they're not in all parts of the world) but they seem to go the extra mile to help the missionaries out. What is extra sweet is that everyone around the town is extra nice to us. Even when they choose not to listen to what we have to share they'll acknowledge we're doing a good thing or we'll get thumbs ups and hollers of cheers and encouragement by passerby. There's even a guy who invited us to stop by at any time if we ever want a free coke.

 

The work is going slow but at a moderate pace. We have a few people we are working with that are looking very promising and we're excited for what is to come in the next couple of weeks. How I wish there was more time to share all of my experiences and the experiences of those I meet with you all. My time is just about done and again, I hope to share more with you all next week. One thing I have been doing better is writing in my journal so that everything I don't get to share I will be able to do so with you all soon enough. :)

 

I leave you all with this until next week. Take good care of yourselves and each other!

WEEK 45:

Hello, family and friends!

 

This e-mail is a rather short one since my e-mail time is just about up. I just wanted to let you all know that I am on the move again. My journey has continued and I am now in Dixon serving with Elder Merrill--I am going back to teaching people in English. Although my time in Winters was short lived it was not in vain. I am grateful for the people that I was able to talk to and teach; for the chance I had to have brushed up on my Spanish a little bit; for the amazing members in the area of Winters who not only have great stories to tell about themselves but also about the history of the church in Winters which went from being in a small space around the 1970s to an actual chapel that is expecting an expansion in the near future; to even the ostrich I saw. :)

 

Well I look forward to having more time to share more stories with you all next week. Take good care. I love you all!

WEEK 44:

Heeelllllooooooo, everybody!

 

I apologize for the absence of e-mails. The library usually opens at 12 PM and we tend to e-mail at around 4 but situations such as last week where we get to the library at around 4:30 and with a few obligatory e-mails to send out, I'm left with no time to write all of you with the happenings of the past week. However, with school starting back up the library now opens earlier. So what's happened in the past two weeks? I've had a birthday (^_^), which by the way I thank you all for the cards, e-mails, and love; Elder Bittner and I have had the opportunity to teach some great people; we got a food storage of potato chips going in our apartment (thank you to you know who); and (roughly typed) 'Ejercisio bendice la vida de nosotros' or 'Exercise blesses our lives.' ¿Que?

 

Well the last bit was what my companion claims were my exact words as we were speaking to a guy in a new set of complexes nearby. Rather than the gospel (evangelio) blesses our lives and our family, I came off telling him how exercise brings blessings. Despite my blooper and thanks to his knowledge of English, we got to carry a more fluid conversation with him and he did invite us to come by another day, which is good. Aside from that blemish and a couple bad Spanish speaking habits I have, such as using the word 'siempre/always' as a filler word (another story for another time), my Spanish has been improving and is coming along well. I do not know how long I will be here though since next Monday is transfers. I will find out if my Spanish call will go on an extra six weeks or if there's a more permanent place awaiting me in Northern California.

 

In regards to my birthday there is not much to write about. Yes, it was neat that the bishop of the Winters ward and his family signed up for the 12th not knowing it was my birthday but he found out after coming out with us to an appointment the night before, which unfortunately fell through. They made us a big meal and even made me a homemade cake which I'll have to send pictures of sometime soon. I know that I haven't been sending out pictures as much as I would like but I do look forward to sending some soon.

 

Before I sign off I will share with you one lesson that we've had in the last week with Jose. Jose is a member of the church but he hasn't come for about a year now. We even went by one Sunday to help wake him up and do whatever we can to help but his sister answered and then we heard them talking and then she came back and told us that he was sleeping. V_V So we taught him the importance of the Sabbath day and towards the end he said he knows what he needs to do and said that he would come to church when God wanted him to. My companion told him plainly that if there was a reason why he wouldn't have been expected to attend last week which he gave no answer to. Unfortunately, he did not make it to church again this past Sunday, but we're still hoping for the best with him. He's a very admirable guy and he even gave us a piece of cactus to take home and cook. I passed on trying it but my companion says that it's delicious, needle-free of course.

 

Well I'm down to 40 seconds. This e-mail cannot fill you all in with all of the events of the past two weeks but I look forward to share more next week!

ANTHONY WON THE CONTEST FOR BEST RECORD KEEPER

WEEK 41

Hello, everyone!

 

It is the first of August and I can definitely feel it in the air. Yes, I have arrived safe and sound to the town of Winters, population: circa 6000.The temperature for yesterday at around 7 PM was around 87 degrees. I'm left to assume that the town is named after one Winter family rather than the usual weather here, especially since Winters is said to grow good oranges and it has many rice fields. It is definitely the hottest city I have served in thus far. I am excited for the chance to help the Hispanic families in the community and to work with them.

 

The Peterson Lane area of Santa Rosa was definitely enjoyable although short. Not a whole lot has happend during the last week. My first church service in Peterson Lane was one which had few people in attendance. While we figured that a lot of people were out on vacation being that it is summer and school resumes in two to three weeks, we decided to check up on people within our boundary to see if there is any way we can help them or be of service to them.

 

We had another great lesson with Brian where we taught him about tithing.Just like our lesson the week prior Brian had a lot of questions and as we answered them he was simply receiving confirmation that he's on the right path and he is always willing to commit to do the things necessary to help strengthen his relationship with God and with his fellow man. Brian is a great guy, he did not show up to a baptism service put on for someone else this past Saturday and he didn't make it to church on Sunday but he is excited for his baptism.

 

We also visited with Doyle, a short and bashful guy who the missionaries have visitied with for a few years now. He loves movies and we decided to watch a video with him about the life of Jesus. He loved the film and continues to come to church every week. He always invites us in when we stop by and we're just continuing to reach out to him and help him any and every way we can.

 

These are just two of the few people I was able to work with in Peterson Lane. I look forward to having an extended stay in Winters. I look forward to giving you all a full report next week. My time is just about up. I wish you all the best!

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 40

Hello, everybody!

 

I hope that you all are doing great. The last week was two days short for me but in it there has been many great moments. For one, I appear to be mucocele free. The procedure was quick and painless; the healing stages are going smoothly. It also appears that the last 4-1/2 months of being on bike have been beneficial. Last Monday I finally came into an apartment that had a weight scale. I weighed myself at 218 lbs. I figured that was good since I haven't really cut back on portions especially when energy is needed to pedal throughout the day, but I assumed I was just burning off whatever I put on. However, when I went in for my procedure on Wednesday they weighed me in at 206 lbs. I am somewhat sceptical since I was weighed at the hospital with a digital scale, but I have found within the last month that I seem to have to tighten my belt a bit more when getting dressed in the mornings.

The work in Santa Rosa is going well. I have two great companions in Elder Bacon and Elder Johnson, there are a lot of great people we are teaching, and Santa Rosa appears to not only be the heart of the Santa Rosa mission but a spot for a lot of celebrity sightings. In the last week we have become familiar with a man who owns a dog which recycles and was featured in the newspaper at one time, a certain guy off of the Food Network was spotted, and we spoke with "Jesus."

 

Well, I cannot really validate that last one with the exception of talking to a man named Ricky on the streets the other day. We got to vaugley know him and talk to him about his beliefs, which he then tells us "I am Jesus." Confused, Elder Bacon asks "Well what makes you think that?" He replied, "I feel it, I...I just know it." We then offered him a card and his response was "You want to give me my card?" I then encouraged him by telling him that being Jesus he will probably travel many places and see more people than we will so if he'd be willing to give the card to someone he feels is in need and can use it. He then says "Ok! I can do that. That's a great point." My companions did try to withhold their laughter from the second he stated to be someone other than Ricky but we were not sure how certain he was with what he said or how silly or facetious he was attempting to be. With all that said, he seemed like a great guy.

 

In regards to serious people we are actually teaching there are quiet a few working towards a baptism date. One is named Brian. We had a great lesson with him this past Friday. I would go into detail about it but I am short on time. However, Brian emigrated here to the US, he's been to Fort Lauderdale before (^_^), he is excellent at making sushi, and he's very sincere and humble in wanting to learn. The only hold-up is that he had a date originally set for this coming Sunday but we still have so much to teach him and there are a lot of activities going on that day so we will more than likely have to push his date back. I will not be able to be apart of his baptism since I will be heading over to Winters next Monday. I am not being changed over to a full-time Spanish speaking missionary but I will be working with the Spanish congregation over in Woodland for the next month and we will see how that goes. The summers are pretty hot there but I am thankful that I will be in a car over there and September is nearing.

 

In closing, I hope that each and every one of you are doing great. I happen to be bouncing around a lot but letters and e-mails are always welcomed and encouraged. I look forward to hearing great things and I look forward to sharing more with you all next week. Take good care!

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 39

Hello, everybody.

 

I apologize for not filling you all in with the events of last week. The last four weeks have indeed been like a jump rope: up, down, up, down, up. The good news is that things did end on a good note and it will only get better from there. For one, I will be having a minor procedure done this Wednesday on my lip. Seven months ago I thought I had a small cold sore or fever blister. However, after two months and no progress I figured it had to be something else. It happens to be a lip cyst, there is no pain and it is not a hazard to my health but it is certainly a nuisance. The procedure will only be an hour and everything should be fine after that. Thank you all for the thoughts and notes.

 

As far as the missionary work goes, I was caught by surprise this past weekend when I received news that I would be transferred from Petaluma. I will be in Santa Rosa for a couple weeks and then I will be moving over to Winters, which is around Woodland. I do not yet know what assignment awaits me in Woodland but I will let you all know once I get word. For the moment I am in a triad or tri-panionship with Elders Bacon and Johnson. I will certainly miss the cool breeze of Petaluma especially during the summer months, but I am excited to see what work will come forth with Elder Bacon, Elder Johnson, and I in the town of Santa Rosa.

 

Since I have left Petaluma I will also be missing Jack's baptism, but I am happy to have been part of his journey. It will also be something great for the Elder who is taking my place to be part of. By the way, I received word from the Elders in Kelseyville that Rex, who I began teaching, was baptized this past Saturday. So that is just how missionary work goes.

 

The past week has been slow so there are not many experiences to relate. There are a few photos I wanted to share with you all but it will have to wait for next week since my camera is packed away. I hope that all is well with each and every one of you and may it continue to go well. I look forward to writing you all again next week minus the lip cyst. :)

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 36

Hello, everybody!

 

I hope that most of you have the day off because of the 4th of July, but wherever you are and whatever you're doing I hope that you're enjoying your day. Our day is off to a good start. We're sending e-mails this morning from the Cox family's home because the library is closed. It's good to not have my e-mail interrupted by a timer but I will not be able to include any pictures today as I intended. My camera cable is in my bag at the church. We left our bags there yesterday because we intended to come back later in the day to finish some planning we had to do. We wanted to lighten our load as we had to bike and see a few people right after church. However, after our visits and after dinner the Spanish Elders needed to do a quick exchange since they both had to be at two places at once. We ended up finishing at around 8:30 and haven't yet had the chance to make it back to the church. I'll be sure to include some pictures next week, which will be the week before we get news on transfers.

 

As I said though, the day is going well. The Cox family invited us over to breakfast and it was good since a missionary's breakfast consists of cold cereal, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or pancakes on occasion. They prepared hashbrowns, eggs, and meat for us. They're a great young family with a 4-year-old, Enoch, and a 2-year-old, Oakley. As I type, they're making homemade ice cream which is a sweet treat for the weather here in Petaluma.

 

We also had a few good experience this morning. Between breakfast and e-mail time we had to go meet the Spanish Elders to give them our key so they can get into the chapel to play basketball. On our way there we met the nice guy-who still wishes to remain anonymous-that gave us some money at the pizza restaurant. He jokingly asked if we're getting fed well, because he says that he called the church headquarters and he talked about how hard working we are and that we should be fed so much that nonmembers shouldn't have to feed us. Of course he meant it in good humor and he then wished us a happy and safe fourth of July.

 

As we were heading back to the Cox's home we waved at a guy named Gregory. We just kept riding when he suddenly said "Are you from a church?" We stopped to talk to him for a moment. He just returned from serving overseas and he says he is looking for a church to go to. He wants to put his past behind him and he wants to overcome his addiction. He also offered me a pair of sunglasses he said didn't fit him, because I have been riding around the last two days with glasses that were missing an arm, because they recently broke but they do protect from the sun, dirt, bugs, and other things as we're riding. We met him at his house and he thanked us for allowing him to help us. He appreciated the service we give and he was glad to be of help and we're looking forward to meeting with him again soon.

 

As for the rest of the day, we have dinner with the Dixon family and we're more than likely going to watch a firework display from our house. As for the people we are teaching and finding, we have been meeting quiet a few people but they have been hard to get hold of but good things will happen in the coming weeks. We have been teaching a young adult named Jack Bartley. He is dating a member of our church for some time now. He's going to school to be an EMT and he does canoeing and spends a lot of free time with his sweetheart. His biggest challenge has been talking to his parents about his desire to be baptized. Yes, he is old enough to make his own decision but it is something he has wanted to share with them out of respect for them. We simply continued to encourage and support him and text him a scripture reading assignment each week.

 

Jack came to church yesterday and while he was talking to us he asked "So what are you doing on July 27th?" We told him that we had nothing planned yet for that day and he then asked if we wanted to come to his baptism. He finally talked to his parents and they had a good talk and they're supportive of him. He's happy and rightfully so his girlfriend is happy for him too. They're looking forward to making the plans together such as who will give a talk, what songs he would like sung there, and so forth. Again, I haven't had the chance to meet with Jack much because of his schedule but he has definitely made a lot of positive changes in his life in his life and we are happy for him.

 

Well that's just a brief overview of the happenings here. I hope that everything is going well with each and every one of you. It's unreal how fast time goes by. 2011 is already halfway gone. Soon enough I will be looking forward to hearing about all of the latest happenings with each and every one of you. Take good care of yourselves and each other.

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 35

Summer time is a time to sit back and unwind. The sun is out, pools across the city of Petaluma are open, and the Marin/Sonoma County Fair was in town for five days. Mmm, funnel cakes and cotton candy. Unfortunately, my companion and I were not involved in any of these activities but we still kept ourselves busy throughout the week. For the most part of our week we have been busy trying to get in touch with the people we teach regularly. A lot of people have been hard to find at home or to simply call and schedule an appointment with.

With it being hard for us to schedule appointments or meet with people, last Monday was an unordinary day as we noticed many people were coming to us. It first started at 5:30 when our dinner appointment had something come up and to compensate they decided to give us a giftcard to a pizza place here in Petaluma. We entered the small pizza shop and realized that it must have been cooler outside. My companion wanted to leave because he could not put up with the heat; while my stomach was growling and I was hoping to get some food, he was more worried about how stuffy it was and how "icky" it felt in there. While we were sitting and deciding whether to eat there then or at another time there was a guy who was placing an order and he too also seemed bothered by the temperature of the pizza place.

 

After he received his order, he came over to us and began to talk to us. He mentioned how his foster son was a member of the church and he admired our service and example although he himself was a Roman Catholic. Before he left he threw down some money and told us to add it to our bill. We insisted that he keep it, but he refused saying that he knew that we would be better off with it. Shortly after he left we decided to put the giftcard aside for another day and split the money to eat from any fast food chain's value menue.

 

As we peddaled around and came to a red light a man named Tom began to ask us questions. We engaged in conversation and he found our answers to be enlightening and uplifting. He asked that we write down some of the things which we shared for him to refer to later on and he was grateful to have came across us. He shared how he was on his way home from work and he had a prompting to pull off of the highway exit and come to the spot he met us at, which he visits a couple times a week. Tom attends another organized church down in Novato. What he will do is sometimes stand at this spot with an American Flag and a banner which reads, "In God We Trust." You have to admire Tom for what he does, especially in a place like Northern California.

 

Well these are just two of the four experiences we had last Monday. I also wish to share more about Crystal but I am just about out of time. We have not seen her around town during the last week which gives us the impression that she arrived safely to Garberville where she plans to start a group founded on similar beliefs and interests and where she plans to start her own business which would make and sell fairy dresses. She's a nice girl and it we were glad to see her a second time where we were actually able to help her set some long term and short term goals for her to get her life to where she wants to be.

 

That's all my time for now. I wish you all the best. 'Til next week.

 

With love!

WEEK 34

Hello, everyone.

 

I wish I knew what to write or had a lot of time to write it. So many ups and downs happen during a week that it's always nearly impossible to include them into one e-mail, especially one that is written in about five minutes. While a lot did happen in the last week I would say that the highlight of the week was Crystal.

 

And thus I am down to 30 seconds. *SIGH* Her story will have to wait until next week. May you all have a great week. Take good care! Stay cool or dry (depending on the weather).

 

Love!

WEEK 33

Hello, everyone.

 

I hope that you are all enjoying the weather wherever you may be reading this. A lot of people in Petaluma are happy to finally be having Spring-like weather, but it's not so fun when the obstical to going to church is a 20 minute bike ride in the sun. I personally prefer the rain but the weather has been crazy enough that it would not surprise me if that is what came in the next couple weeks.

 

Well not a whole lot of exciting or out of the ordinary things happened in the last week. I have a new companion, I am on the other side of Petaluma, and we have a lot of interesting potential people we are teaching. However, our week consisted of trying to make set times and days to visit people.

 

I don't know if I mentioned it, but Elder Fifita's last companion was moved to Santa Rosa after battling allergy induced asthma for three weeks. It became too much for him though and he was sent home. :( Whether he will come back after recovering or whether he will go to entirely new mission is not yet known. In whatever he does though, we are hoping he stays strong.

 

I am pretty much out of time. I hope that the few pictures I sent make it up on the blog, thanks mike, and that you all enjoy them. Know that I think about you all often. I hope you are all doing well. I look forward to sharing more with you all in the coming week. Take good care! 'Til then!

WEEK 33

Hello, everyone.

 

Short e-mail this week and no inclusion of pictures. I did receive quiet a few e-mails to read through and I am thankful to those who have written and continue to support me with your thoughts, good vibes, positive energy, and anything else you (respectively) may practice. I did get moved and thankfully it was not so bad to packed. I am now on the east side of Petaluma. Elder Weiland went to Fort Bragg and Sister Missionaries will now be in our former area.

I am now companions with Elder Fifita--he is born in Utah but his parents are Tongan. He says that there are a lot of promising people that are being taught in this area so I am looking forward to it. I hope to include in my e-mail next week some pictures of the people I have taught over on the west side of Petaluma. I don't have pictures of all of the great people I met but I look forward to sharing a bit about them.

That's all for now. I wish you all well in the week to come. Bye bye!

WEEK 32

Hello, everyone!

Being a holiday, the library is closed today so we are e-mailing from the church. Unfortunately, I got the computer that has been constantly freezing so I don't have much time. I do hope to share a few experiences from the past week. For one, Bo and Ashley O'Keefe were baptized yesterday! For the past two months, they have accepted a date to work towards, because they wanted to be baptized but they continued to face challenges and trials. Afterwards, we encouraged them to pray about a date in which they did. We then went to their house a few days later and they told us that they received their answer and wanted to be baptized May 29th.

Things have went well for them the days before their baptism and they did have their baptism service yesterday. Bo had been looking for work and he was hired a few days ago. His job is not exactly a dream job but he does get to make his own hours and the job does have potential to help them provide for their means.Ashley told us that her mom and dad called her on Saturday and they each told them that they loved her, which she said was rare for them. Their baptism service was a very special experience for them and I hope to share pictures from it next week. Elder Weiland and I got there early to set up and when Bo and Ashley arrived she had seen four rows with twelve chairs in each row and said "Uhh, I don't think we will be needing all of these chairs." While only a few members from Bo's side of the family came to support them, it was good to see a lot of members from the church come to be part of that special day for them.

Bo and Ashley O'Keefe are very awesome people. I know that their life and the lives of their children will continue to be blessed and good things will continue to happen to them. Unfortunately, my companion Elder Weiland is still hoping for a miracle to come within the next week. Last week I was teaching with Petaluma Spanish and Elder Weiland was with Elder Hatch. They were eating lunch and teaching a homeless man outside of Jack In The Box. When they were done, Elder Weiland jumped on his bike and rushed to someone's house he had an appointment to see, thinking the whole time that his backpack was on his back.

After the appointment he rushed back to Jack In The Box but his bag was gone. He believes that the homeless guy, Dennis, has his bag but we haven't been able to find him in the last four days. Our adventure has led us down railroad tracks, to a homeless shelter, and even through a large field of tall grass and large mounds of dirt where small homeless dwellings were set up in certain spots. No one was at the spots, but Elder Weiland left a note at each one. Our adventure brought us a few memorable experiences. One unfortunate one was where we talked to a guy who happened to know Dennis. Elder Weiland asked him if he knew his phone number and the guy thought he had it somewhere.

So here we are along a dirt road behind some train carts and there is a guy kneeling down on the ground going through his wallet trying to find Dennis' phone number. Some other homeless people were walking towards us and I knew what was going to come before it happened, but one of them shouted in a joking way, "Hey, I thought you all were supposed to be good Christians. Now you're pulling people over and asking for ID?" The bag had a lot of papers about the people we teach in this area, but Elder Weiland is anxious to get his memory card for his camera back.

Elder Weiland brought it up to David whom we are teaching and he told Elder Weiland to let it go and maybe whoever took that bag needed more than he did and something in that bag would change their life. Indeed maybe it will. One thing that's comforting to know is that my companion will stop approaching anyone on the street who may have a beard or be wearing a big bag and ask them "Do you know a homeless guy named Dennis?" :)

Well I wish to share more. Unfortunately my time is up. I hope that each and everyone of you are doing well. I'm sorry that there's not enough time to write each and every one of you. It will be soon enough though that we speak again. Another transfer is ending next Monday and a new one will begin. By the way, if you read this and are ever in Petaluma and you love Mexican food, go to Mi Pueblo. I wish I had my camera on me that day to take a picture of the burrito I got for $6.00. Well I'm signing off! 'Til next week.

Take good care of yourselves and each other!

WEEK 31

Hello, family and friends.

 

The eight minutes I have left to write may be all I need for this letter. Not a whole lot has happened this week, but then again a lot has. For one, the world did not end. :) Hurrah! Yay! Cool! Whichever you prefer unless you were unaware that the the world was supposed to end on May 21, 2011 at 6 PM throughout each part of the world according to an Oakland, California Christian radio broadcaster. If you are now wondering about December 2012 or any other dates that may come before that I would suggest reading chapter 24 in the book of Matthew.

 

While we don't really get to read the papers, watch TV, or listen to the radio, we were told that a lot of money went into putting billboards up across the United States in preperation to this event. I do hope that you are all safe and continue to do well though. While the end of the world is no time near, a lot of natural disasters do continue.

 

Other than that, the O'Keefe family may be baptized this Sunday. I will be glad to speak on that more next week along with any other occurences during the week. My time is short. Take good care of yourselves. 'Til then!

 

With love!

WEEK 30

Hello, everyone!

 

Again, the time has come where the middle part of what is called a "transfer" has come and gone. A transfer is basically a period of six weeks; after six weeks the Mission President and his assistants receive inspiration as to who to make companions and where to put them. I find it as a good point in time to evaluate how the people we visit with and teach are doing, how we can help them, and how we can do our best if I was to leave.

 

When June 6th comes, my companion would be in Petaluma for 7-1/2 months now. Where he thought he would stay no longer than six months, he is for certain that he will not be in Petaluma for 9 months. I thought that this would be true and I do not mind it. Because of time, I have not been able to share details or experiences with all the people we talk to and teach, but we are working with and helping some very wonderful people. There is a lot of work to be done in Petaluma and if I were to stay another month and a half with another companion then I would certainly look forward to it.

 

This past Tuesday, I was able to spend the day with a Spanish missionary (Elder Hatch). For the day I taught and spoke to people in Spanish. We had an All Mission Conference this past Saturday where we were visited by some guest speakers. What happens before this conference is that the Mission President, his wife, and the guests will stand up front and rows of missionaries will come up at a time and shake their hands and answer any questions they might ask. My companion was behind me and overheard the Mission President say "Como estas," which I replied "Muy bien." He then said "Hablas bien Espanol."

 

My companion later talked to me asking why he would speak to me in Spanish. I believe that the Mission President simply does it because of my name. For some time though, missionaries have been suggesting to him that I be a full-time Spanish speaking missionary. If that did happen then my companion would more than likely stay another transfer. This is all speculation though and I will be sure to let you all know what happens in the coming weeks.

 

Because I am short on time I would like to share a quick experience that happened to us last Monday. We were going to Subway for dinner and as we were going in a homeless guy told us to wait outside as he went into the convenience store quickly because he wanted to speak to us. He talked about how he served in Vietnam where he seen some good friends of his blown to pieces and he had another experience five years ago where he was sleeping until someone threw lighter fluid on him and set him on fire. He claimed that for him to live such experiences and then to see us walking around and trying to teach people about happiness and God was all hypocrisy and malarkey.

 

As we were going into Subway he shouted "You won't buy me a sandwich, would you?" Elder Weiland said sure, which caught him by surprise. We gave him the sandwich and all of a sudden his attitude towards us changed. The simple act of charity seemed to have humbled him and he apologized, mentioning he only asked for the sandwich to see if we would really do it, but he was grateful for it. While some people such as Fredrick may sometimes think that Missionaries are out to convert people to one certain way of thinking or filling up the church membership, it's a misunderstanding of simple acts of service. We may or may not see Fredrick any time soon, but I hope that what he learned that day sticks with him.

 

I am doing well as I hope each and every one of you are. I would be happy to hear from you all. I wish you all a great week. Take care!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 29:

Hello, everyone!

 

I hope that every one of you enjoyed Mother's Day whether you are a mom or you celebrated it with your mom. Without going into detail, living in Petaluma for two months has definitely confirmed to me the importance of a mother. I certainly enjoyed calling home and while I wish I could have spoken to each and every one of you reading, I was happy to speak to those I did.

 

While on the subject of women I'd like to share an experience that happened last week. We had someone we are teaching attend our church service. During the service, the father of a recently born baby and a few other men in the family gave the baby a blessing. When we went to the home of the person to see how he liked the service and how he was doing, he asked why it was that only men gave the baby a blessing and why the mother of the baby was not up there.

 

He mentioned that after church he went home to have a garage sale and a women came by and they got into a discussion of how many churches today only put the men in power and the woman felt that it was misogynistic that there are no female priests. We did our best to explain that women already play an important role in our lives and that such ordinances, like the baby blessing, aren't given to those that are of higher power or better than anyone else but they are opportunities to serve and for us guys to learn to be kinder and more caring. Yes, the bible says that Eve was created from the rib of Adam, but I feel that Sticky Fingaz put it best when he says something along the lines of "he came from she / woman, man came from you."

 

Other than Mother's Day, my week consisted of meetings and teaching a few people. My companion and I did go back to the Petaluma Bounty and help them irrigate more land for vegetation. We also were part of the Petaluma City River Cleanup. I hope to send pictures next week or the week after. Mike, if you're reading this, you will soon see the cause of what happens when you litter the earth with your water bottles, lawn mowers, and refrigerators. I wish to add more but I'm down to 30 seconds. I wish you all a great week. Take good care of yourselves. 'Til next week.

 

With love,

Elder Gallegos

WEEK 28:

Hello, friends and family.

 

With the 20 minutes I do have, I truly hope to say everything which I hope to say this time around. I find that my e-mails have not been able to include everything that has occurred each and every week. While the hot topic at the moment seems to be the Royal Wedding, I do not know too much about it to comment (which might be a good thing). What I did want to speak about was something that I had to abruptly end last week, which is hope.

 

Adding to my letter last week, I wrote about David who we are teaching and the reason for that is because I admire his example. As I have met with him for the last 1-1/2 months, it is evident that as sure as the sun will rise and bring a new morning, we can change. David has been battling some addictions and at the moment is celebrating 14 days free of those habits. He continues to thank us for not giving up on him when he seemed to have given up on himself. He has since been making an effort to replace those old habits with positive things and it has been working out for him. I can't think of anything else to say other than how it's a joy to watch David progress and turn one degree a day until he makes that complete 180.

 

The work here in Petaluma is continuing to go well. People here are definitely diverse and unique as much as the weather is. About three days ago we had what felt like hurricane-like winds blowing. We did our best to travel on bike against the wind rather than towards it, but there came those times. On the plus side, the wind was refreshing since the weather here feels as though it may reach the mid-70s or low-80s by the end of the week.

 

This past Saturday we were also able to lend some voluntarey hours of service to a place called the Petaluma Bounty. We smoothed soil, laid down the hoses to water the garden, and planted some onions and dahlias. It was enjoyable and we may head back down there in the weeks to come to continue to support them and their good cause.

 

As my time ticks down to the final 30 seconds, know that I think about you all constantly. I hope all is well with each and every one of you. I wish you all a wonderful mother's day (whether you be a mom now or in the future)

 

Love!

WEEK 27

Hello, everybody!

 

Another week has gone by and a new one is beginning. My e-mail last week ended a little prematurely because of time restraints and while a lot has happened, a lot is staying the same. For one, I will be staying in Petaluma for another six weeks and I am still companions with Elder Weiland. I know that while we as people have our own unique personalities, we also sometimes share common interests or idiosyncrasies. However, I seem to find that while on the opposite coast, I am coming in contact with people who remind me of those I already know. While Elder Burns reminded me of Michael in some ways, I can't help but think of Greg after spending six weeks with Elder Weiland. For all I know though, it could be a mental thing where a separation from these people causes me to find the slightest thing and relate it to someone or something I am familiar with.

 

Regardless, Easter was good. Towards the end of the day my stomach felt like an inflated tire. I had a small soup in the morning for breakfast and we went without lunch, because we were invited to attend two dinners. Towards the end of the second one, I jokingly apologized to the family for cooking so much and us not being able to keep up with everything they had prepared. It was still a great day though and the church service was enjoyable. There were special musical numbers from the ward choir and from the younglings of the church and many people enjoyed it. We also had a very interesting class discussion towards the end by an instructor named Aaron Josephs. Aaron is just so full of knowledge and it was an enjoyable class discussion to say the least.

 

As I have about two minutes left of internet time, I wanted to speak a little bit on hope. As most are familiar with, Easter is a time where we celebrate life (because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ). One thing I have witnessed this past week was an investigator named David and how hope has impacted his life. I'll have to share more next week since I'm down to 20 seconds.

 

I love you all! Have a great week. Take care of yourselves and one another.

WEEK 26

Hello, everyone!

 

How are you all doing? I am well and things in Petaluma are going good. A lot has happened in the past week -- which I will review shortly -- and a lot lies ahead in the week to come. For one, we were hoping to have a baptism service for an awesome family (the O'Keefes) who we have been visiting with for the past week. The family is facing a few challenges that they want to address before they make the commitment to be baptized and they have not yet come to church. Three people in the family of four have a simplex in which skin blisters develop in response to minor injury. Basically, they have three layers of skin while the average human is said to have about seven.

 

They are an amazing family though and they came across the church through its website. The mom was searching for a church that her and her family could attend, which had similar beliefs to her. They then ordered a few materials and we have been visiting with them since. They love all that we teach and I know that they will be prepared in time to reach their goal of being baptized on May 7th.

 

Yesterday, my companion and I were actually able to watch two people be baptized. I cannot go into much detail about Della Mae and Cheryl since I did not teach them, but the services were great to be part of. What was most impressive was to see Della Mae's contribution to her own baptism. The service was at 6 PM and the people from the previous baptism ended up draining the font, which meant that time and preparation was to needed in order to prepare for the next service. Well, miscommunication happened somewhere and there was about 30 minutes to fill up a font that usually takes 45-60 minutes, chairs to set up, and a program to make copies of. While everyone was frantically working, Della Mae kept filling up a big bowl and running back and forth to the kitchen in order to help fill up the font. It was inspiring to say the least.

 

As for Jeremy, we are still working with him but we will not see him for a couple weeks. He is traveling to Ohio to spend a week with his father for the Passover celebration. We simply continue to challenge him to truly commit and be serious in "testing his theory" as to whether God is there and to assume that what we say (as ridiculous as it may seem to him at times as an agnostic-atheist) may conceivably be true.

 

And my time is just about up. I was hoping to share more, but I'll end on wishing each and every one of you a Happy Easter. I'm sorry that I cannot spend it with you all, but I hope that however you spend your time and those you do spend it with bring you much hope and happiness. Take great care! I wish you all well, have a great week.

 

- Elder Gallegos

WEEK 23

Hello, everyone!

 

So it has been four complete weeks in Petaluma and for once I have more than ten minutes to send a letter out and I also was able to include a few pictures. Petaluma has been quiet an adventure thus far. I told you all a little bit about Jeremy Cooper last week. We have met with him again and unfortunately he was not yet able to watch General Conference, but we did have a great discussion and I was better able to understand a little more about him.

 

Jeremy is a very intelligent young man. He speaks five languages, two of them being Hebrew and Greek. He is part of a musical band and during the day he is a White hat (computer security person). He wonders why God, if He were there, wouldn't give us an easier way to find His existence through evidence. I can continue to write about Jeremy and our interesting discussions, but that would take away from the many other great things happening here. Jeremy is making subtle progress though and he is showing a desire to want to know of a God. For he says that the time he would spend here on earth in worship is definitely worth an eternity of happiness.

 

We are working with David. David is a heartwarming guy that has been struggling with an addiction. When we go to visit David, sometimes he will not answer because he feels ashamed. When we do see him though, it always happens to be at the right time when we need him most. Recently, his dog of nine years passed away from an unexpected tumor and it has definitely taken a toll on David. He has been a wreck and doesn't really know what the next step is. We don't give up on him though and he greatly appreciates it.

 

On a more uplifting note, it was three weeks ago when my companion and I were going to check up on someone. When we knocked on the door, we were invited in and surprised to see that a bible study -- put on by the 360 church -- was going on. There was pizza, sodas and waters, and about seventeen people. We sang as one gentleman strung an acoustic guitar, we read a chapter out of the bible, and then went in a clockwise motion around the room sharing thoughts and comments. I enjoyed it but my companion had some different thoughts about it. I think what did it for him though was an unrelated experience at another denomination's service, which I may go into detail another time. I found them both to be great opportunities to better understand one another.

 

As my minutes remaining tick down to the final few seconds, I will summarize Petaluma as a great city. The city offers a lot in terms of people, ideas, things to see and do, and especially places to eat. :) There is a soup kitchen and a library here in which we offer service some times. I haven't yet volunteered at the soup kitchen, but we did work at the library a couple of times. I was able to be part of a funeral service this morning for a member of the church named Gerald Leighton Jr. And we're teaching many other great people I hope to tell you more about in my next letter.

 

My time is about done. I hope that all is going well for each and every one of you. I wish you all the best! Have a great week.

 

- Elder Anthony Gallegos

WEEK 22

Hello, everyone!

 

Well, I finally have more than three minutes to write so I thought that I would let you all know how things are going in Petaluma. This past Saturday and Sunday was General Conference. The messages were all very uplifting, inspiring, and thought provoking. I would like to share an experience from the Friday, April 1st, that made it all the more better.

 

I had the priviledge of meeting with an investigator named Jeremy Cooper. He's been taught for some time now. His hangup is that he considers himself to be an agnostic-atheist. Jeremy wants to know whether God is truely there or not. The problem is that he does not want to be "fooled" by his feelings or emotions. He has an experiment, which would take some time to explain, as to how he may come to know the truthfulness of our message.

 

As our appointment ended, we promised him that if he were to watch General Conference that he would receive some guidance as to how he can take the next step forward in coming to know God and that he may even receive some inspiration on what he may want to include or subtract from this experiment of his.

Three people at conference spoke on our relationship with God in one way or another. Some spoke on how a witness rarely comes instantaniously or miraculously. We will meet with him on Friday and better understand what might have inspired him. We are also meeting with some other great people I hope to tell you more about next week.

 

Again, my time is short. Those 11 minutes I once had are now down to 30 seconds. I love you all and wish you all a great week. Take great care! 'Til then.

 

- Elder Anthony Gallegos

WEEK 21

Hello, everyone!

 

Sorry about not e-mailing last week. I cannot promise much out of this e-mail either. I have about five minutes of library time remaining. If there are a few things I would want you to know it would be that Petaluma is a great area. Kelseyville was wonderful but you multiply it by 9 (because of the size difference of the two areas) and you have Petaluma. My companion, Elder Weiland, and I have many opportunites to talk to many interesting people each and every day. These people have interesting views on life, God, and religion. We are also teaching a few interesting people who I hope to tell you more of next week. Lastly, I have to unfortunately say that you will all have to wait for pictures until next week. My time is down to 30 seconds. I will be sure that uploading pictures is the first thing I do. :)

 

I love you all! I hope everything is going well with each and every one of you. 'Til next week!

 

Love,

Elder Gallegos

Group Picture

Happy Halloween

My ideal pet

Missionary Power

New pictures

week 21

Hello, everyone.

 

So it's been a fun 18 weeks since I have arrived in California and on Sunday I had to say goodbye to those who greeted me nicely and invited me into their homes. I have left the small town of Kelseyville and have been moved to Petaluma. Elder Burns, Elder Vasconcelos, Elder Knowles, and myself spoke in church this past Sunday. The bishop had a feeling one or two of us would get moved around and he asked us to speak.

 

I had spoken a little about something that I have pondered about since our last mission conference. I love advertising/design because everything in the world around us has a story to tell. Whether it's an insurance agency, your favorite ice cream, or a comfortable bed. In the same respect, each and every person has a story to tell; most have no interest in sharing theirs, but it is enjoyable when you do get invited to come into peoples lives and make a difference. As an advertising agency would bring out the best of a product with either a commercial, new packaging, or excellent campaign, we as missionaries try to see where these people we meet are at in their lives and how we can help bring out the best in them whether it's helping them with service or overcoming a vice.

 

It was fun to work in Kelseyville and I will definitely miss those I left. Kelseyville now has Elder Ricks and Elder Burns. Both of them began their mission at the same time so I am sure that they will get along well and that the people of Kelseyville are in good hands. Being in Petaluma though is a great opportunity to continue to see new places and meet new people. I was in awe to see buildings, grocery stores, fast food shops, and people walking around the street. I left my camera at home, but look forward to sharing some of the photos I have with next week's letter.

 

My new companion is Elder Weiland. I've only spent a few hours with him so I can't say much more than he's a bright 23-year-old with a good sense of humor from the state of Texas. He's been in the Petaluma area for 4-1/2 months and the church has really helped him change his life for the better. He was in Kelseyville before he got transferred so we were able to talk about a few families and how they are progressing. Elder Weiland and I were also able to go visit and teach a few people on my first night here so that was pretty exciting.

 

My time is just about up. I was going to share an experience in Kelseyville where we were without hot water for about four days, but I may save that for another time. Then again, there's not much more to say other than bathing by boiling water in pots on the stove was an interesting experience, but not one I hope to relive any time soon. I hope that all is well with each and every one of you. I wish you all well and hope to continue to hear good things from you. Take care of yourselves and each other.

 

Love,

Elder Anthony Gallegos

WEEK 20

Hello everyone.

I apologize for this rather short note. I was having some issues with my e-mail where I couldn't read anyones letters and I got caught up with a few other things. It's now four minutes from our preparation day ending. I do have some bits of things I'd wish to share with you all but it will have to wait 'til next week. I'll also let you all know whether I will remain in Kelseyville or be transfered next Monday.

My thoughts are with you all! I wish you the very best. Take good care of yourselves and one another.

Love,

Elder Anthony Gallegos

02-28-2011

Hello everyone!

Not only has another week came and went but so has the month of February. Two weeks from today I'll know whether I'll be relocated or will end up spending six months in Kelseyville. It's crazy to think of spending six months in one area especially when there are so many cities in the mission, but the people here are great and the work has slowly been picking up.

A lot of the people we regularly teach have still been on hold because they have been occupied with many things, but we're beginning to find new people to teach. The kid, Tim, who I've written about an e-mail or two ago actually got a taste of missionary work with us yesterday. The most interesting thing is that he ended up knowing two people on the street we had planned to go visit. His friend's dad was outside splitting wood and he admitted that when he seen the three of us coming up to him dressed in suites he put his head down and his hand out saying "No thank you" but he realized it was Tim and he ended up opening up.

I feel that he got a feel for the work since we invited someone to read the Book of Mormon, we got yelled at, we taught a lesson, we got fed by a family, and we also had an appointment cancel at the last minute. Tim told us that he would want to serve in Russia, but he'll be a great Elder wherever he is called to and it will be unfortunate to have him gone from Kelseyville for two years since he's a pretty cool guy (and a great cook) and knows many people.

Our trip to Oakland got canceled because everyone was predicting some massive snow storm to sweep from northern California to San Francisco. The caution is definitely smart, but we at the apartment were bummed to see the snow end by 8 AM and melt away by noon. We are definitely going to reschedule though for sometime in the coming weeks and we're also having a conference this Wednesday. There should be some experiences and bits of enlightenment to share from that experience.

I'm short on time so this will have to suffice for now. I hope that this week brings great things to each and every one of you. Take good care of yourselves. Til next time!

Love,
Elder Anthony Gallegos

P.S. Mike, thanks for the books. :)

02-21-2011

Hello, everyone!

 

Sorry that you didn't hear from me last week. It seems as though e-mail time comes and goes as was the case last week. Along with that, there was quiet a bit to be done. We are heading into week four of this transfer. This is usually a good time--being the midway point--to look at what my companion and I have done and what could be done in Kelseyville, because before we know it another three weeks will pass by and we will receive information on whether we will be transfered or if we're staying. There are no baptisms on the horizon but a few things have happened in the last two weeks.

 

We now have Spanish speaking missionaries that cover Lake County. We do have quiet a bit of Spanish people in the area which is good and our Bishop is hoping that they could find enough work to keep them here since it has been about two years since Spanish missionaries have last worked in Lake County. They live with Elder Burns and I and they're great Elders. The two Elders are Elder Knowles from Utah and Elder Vasconcelos from Brazil. Elder Vasconcelos was an exchange student and not only had to learn English for the year that he's been in America but is also learning Spanish since his native tongue is Portugese. While it's great that people now have the privledge to hear the gospel in their own language, which will make my companion happy as he no longer has to knock a door and not know what to say, but they also lend a helping hand to clean up the house which is never a bad thing.

 

We got snow again during last week. It was fun but also a burden. We were hoping to go see an older lady named Dotty, but our car couldn't go up the hill. My companion ended up getting the car stuck and as we went to the store to see if they had chains, we realized that they were closed because of a power outage and they had no generator. The road was eventually plowed and we were able to get back to work at around 2. Some other missionaries organized a snowball fight up on a mountain today, but we couldn't make it since today is a 1/4 day off for us since we are going to drive up to the Oakland Temple this Friday. We also found out that a young man in our ward, Tim, had put in his papers to serve a mission. We're pretty excited for him. His family are great members, always supportive of missionaries, and Tim himself has been an example to many of his friends in the neighborhood that are not of our faith.

 

Other than that, Elder Burns and I are just continuing to find. A lot of the people we regularly teach have not been returning calls or at home when we stop by. We're praying for them that they may soon continue to progress. We are also continuing our efforts in finding. We've actually handed out our first Book of Mormon in many weeks. Ashley, whom we talked to, is more 'spiritual' than 'religious' but her mom was baptized into the church and she was willing to read and happy to have us again over this week. We also had some members bring a friend to our service yesterday. Her name is Marietta and she is from Cebu, Philippines although she has lived in California for around 19 years. She did enjoy the service and the warm welcoming and friendliness from everyone. We also had a man we've been trying to teach, John Thorn, come to church with a friend and they both enjoyed the service as well so that was exciting. :)

 

I hope that all is well with each and every one of you. Yesterday was the four month mark since I started the journey from Florida. Time goes by fast, a lot has seemed to happen in that time. My thoughts are with each and every one of you on a daily basis. May you all strive to continue to do well. You are all welcome to write me by handmail or e-mail at any given time. I hope to hear of many great things for all of you and hope to continue to share many great experiences with you as with four months down there are many more ahead. Take good care of yourselves and each other.

 

Love,

Elder Anthony Gallegos

02-09-2011

Hello everybody!

Since I am short on time today and batter power for the laptop I thought that I would share a brief message. It is one that was mentioned at an All Mission Conference last week and that is to "be of good cheer." This was first mentioned by Sister Bunker who mentioned that she was done with her chemotherapy. We were then asked to read out of Acts 27 in the New Testament. The story is of Paul who travels to Rome. The commanding officer of the ship ends up having the ship navigated into a violent storm. Once the storm had let down, Paul continued to advise the men and counseled them to be of good cheer not once but twice (see verses 22 & 25). Because of Paul's comfort and encouragement, it is written that Paul's "good cheer" spread to two hundred threescore and sixteen souls in which they were all able to receive his promise of them making it to land safely without one of them perishing.

This past week has definitely been a challenge. First and foremost, I was saddened to hear the news regarding Nan. I could take days to write about her, but I will say that I am glad for all the time spent with her (I only wish there was more of it) and I am comforted at the least to know that the pains and all else she bore are no more. My thoughts and prayers are with the Mayberry family during this difficult time. Secondly, my companion and I had a rough time teaching people this week. So rough in fact that we got a couple phone calls with people wondering how we've spent our time. Indeed many people have been helpful to us the last few weeks, but we're just striving to continue to be of good cheer in hopes to see the good outcome sooner than later.

We were happy to be part of the Katie & Nikki's baptism though. I did not bring my camera today but do hope to include pictures next week. I do hope that all is well with each and every one of you. If you're facing a challenge, may you be able to be of good spirits and know that good things are to come. If you're burden free at the moment, I encourage you to seek those out who can use your comfort and encouragement. May you all have a great week! I look forward to writing you all again then. Take great care!

Love,
Elder Anthony Gallegos

02-01-2011

Hello, everyone:

 

So this e-mail is a day behind. We got a call in the middle of last week that we were going to have a visit from an Elder who is part of the Quorum of the Seventy, his name is Elder Patrick Kearon. So we made a trip down to San Rafael and had an All Mission Conference. It was definitely uplifting and time well spent. I also got news that I would be staying in Kelseyville another six weeks at the very least. That is good news since we have a baptism for this coming Saturday for Katie and Nikki Hall.

 

Regardless of how the next six weeks goes these two things have definitely allowed it to start off great. Our teaching has still been a big slow since we haven't been able to find many people interested in our message. A lot of the people we regularly teach are still occupied with various things, but we're definitely staying patient.

 

To sort of keep us in that positive mood we've been having support from various people we come across. While we were knocking doors on one street, a lady was walking by heading towards her home. I briefly talked to her, she knew who we were and wasn't quiet interested but as we made our way down the street she invited us in quickly to help her stack some wood. We decided to help her and she told us how she had met missionaries in Lakeport (another city) and she was familiar with how they don't accept pay. As we finished stacking the wood she was kind enough to serve us chili and she also gave us quiet a few groceries to take home.

 

Another incident happened as we were walking to a man named John who we have been teaching. He recently came back from a vacation in PA and he's been busy working so we haven't really been able to meet with him. We were able to catch him home and talk with him briefly and as we were walking back we talked briefly with a man named Vincent. He was very familiar with the missionaries, but really not interested either in us speaking to him about the church. He did honor the work we do though and said that we could get in touch with him if we ever needed a ride anywhere around the area we live in.

 

It is the start of a new week though and we look forward of many great things to come. My e-mails as of late have been shorter than normal, but we have been having difficulties finding a computer to use since there are no libraries in the area. I do hope that next week I can share many more things that have been happing to the Kelseyville area and to us as each day goes by as well as a bit of what was shared in the talk by Elder Kearon.  I hope that all is going well in each of your lives. Take great care of yourselves and each other.

 

Love,

Elder Gallegos

1-24-2011

Hello everyone!

This e-mail may be rather quick since our time for Preparation Day is just about up. I didn't send an e-mail last week, because we went to a city called Clearlake (Highlands) and we spent the day in a park playing Ultimate Frisbee and Kickball. The earlier part of our day was spent cleaning the house since we had apartment inspections last week which went rather well.

This week we went back to Clearlake. The missionaries wanted to gather for lunch and we did. We decided to try out a local place, which served good food but almost an hour and a half was spent there.We then played a bit of basketball which helped me burn off some calories. Since I've been sick off and on the last couple of weeks I haven't really been doing my daily exercise.

On the other hand, we have been walking quiet a bit trying to find new people to teach. It's funny how things work because we have had little success with knocking doors. When people are ready though you happen to find them. One lady who was working in a grocery store we were in walked up to us and asked if we were "Mormon." She then told us of what she's been going through and how the missionaries stopped visiting her -- possibly since they got moved to a new area -- and she hasn't seen them since.

I also told you about the mother and daughter that just came to our church service and enjoyed it very much. We've been able to teach them this week. They have been very receptive and we feel that they will greatly benefit from the gospel and from the fellowship of the church here. We have two baptisms scheduled for February 5th. I'm just not certain if I'll still be in Kelseyville since transfers will occur next Tuesday. I'll know by next week if I will be staying or going to a new area. There are defenitely a lot of people here I've enjoyed teaching, but a change may be nice. We'll see what the future holds.

I'm looking forward to writing you all next week with the details on where I'm going, who we've been teaching, and a few other experiences. I hope that all is well with each and every one of you. Thank you all for the e-mails, letters, and cards you have sent thus far. Take good care. 'Til next week!

Love,
Elder Anthony Gallegos

01-2011

Hello everyone!

Unfortunately, there was no opportunity last week to e-mail. A lot of the day was spent cleaning the house and car. Afterwards, we drove down to Clearlake. I had but a few minutes to use a computer since my companion scheduled a teaching appointment at 2 PM. The worst part was that our appointment stood us up. We then just sat around the home doing a few other things before dinner.

We haven't visited many people since people are just beginning to come back from being out of town while other families are taking breathers as they just sent the kids back to school this past week after the winter break. We did not stay up until 12 AM on New Year's Eve, but we did wake up to about four inches of snow and more falling at the start of the new year. My companion, being from Utah, didn't really want to make a snowman or have a snowball fight. :( However, I am glad that it's now about 65 degrees since I've been battling a sore throat for almost five days now.

The last couple weeks have been a bit slow still, but I am staying positive. There is an investigator named Rex who battles with psoriasis and takes quiet a few medications, which has been keeping him from attending church. Whenever we visit him though, he always welcomes us in warmly and tells us of some experience he's had in the last days or weeks where he's living a quality life. There were also two ladies who attended Lakeport church services (in the same building as ours). They told the missionaries of that church that they enjoyed the service much and wanted to know more. Fortunately enough, they live in our area. We look forward to following up with them, visiting them, and helping the learn and grow.

I am also happy to say that Tammy, who I've written about in past e-mails, was baptized on January 8th. She is indeed happy for the change in her life. She has went through a lot and even faced a few trials right before her baptism, but she said that in her heart she knew this was the thing she needed to do. Her husband, Pete; and son, Anthony were also able to attend. They are not really interested in the lessons at this time but they were very supportive of the decision which she made. We know that she will be key to keeping her family strong and helping get through the things which they are facing at this time.

This e-mail may be a tad shorter than most but my time is almost up. I look forward to having many more things to write about next week. I hope all is well with each and every one of you. Take good care of yourselves and each other.

Love,
Elder Gallegos