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!