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