7/26/11

Que transita por sus venas familia y amigos?!!!!!!!! ok back to english, so this week has been so crazy!!! We have found so many people who are prepared to hear the gospel!! It is so incredible!!  so the new address is

1315 W. Alleghany Ave. 2nd Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19132

That is where we will be hunkered downfor a while!! I wont be moving from this area for probably 6 months!! I willl be training after elder de leon and i are comps for hopefully at least 2 transfers the minimum!! So it is really going to be sweet! I am getting to know the area bit by bit and i am doing well with the knee, just really sore because we have no car, but it has been getting the strength back!! I am so busy and so just PUMPED that i dont even think about it!!!!

SO, we have been eating great, elder de leon has been teaching elder cook and i how to cook. Hahah elder cook learing how to COOK.....we make fun of him all the time :) i love my comps we laugh like non stop, and the members just love us here!! Apparently so does everyone else!! We have about 7 people already...yeah talk about preparacion from the lord, that will be getting ready to recieve the saving ordinance of baptism!!!! It is so awesome!!!! I love finding prepared people!! So we have Jose Martinez, who is probably the funnies dominican i have ever met, the guy makes himself die laughing, and it reminds me a lot of how i die laughing at myself too...haha anyway, we have Yuriana, Nancy, Maximo y Carmen, Feliciano, Iris, and 3 kids of a less active that willl be all getting baptized within the next transfer!!! We are hoping to have maximo and carmen in the water before elder cook leaves in two weeks!!!! So we will see!! Make sure to pray!!!

This week just seems so fast already, its so nice to be back into the mode of "busy" on the mission!! For a while there,it was slow and the Hardest period of my life, but i am now recieving the blessings all over again, and just like i always have said, Doing the 3 simple things brings the greatest happiness!!!! I sure am happy here, and am enjoying of the blessing of bringing others to the knowledge of the Truth!!!! It has really been super hott here, broke some records!!! It has cooled down a bit, haha but i did have a really funny thing that happend this week.. i have been sleeping on the ground hahah they arent going to give me a bed because elder cook leaves in 2 weeks so i am sleeping like a baby!!! And im serious!! Couch cusions are awesome!!!!

Tomorrow i get the opportunity to teach the libro de mormon clase and i am so excited!!! Im going to do it on Faith, and how the libro de mormon testifies of christ!!! It is all about faith!! ALso, the teacher for the sunday school class asked who wanted to learn more spanish, so i of course told her i did!! So she then told me that i had to teach the class next week because she would be gone...REAL FUNNY!! made me just smile really big, and they were all laughing at me. It seems like im just the one to be made fun of!!! Elder Gallego is just a bit JOKE!! :) thats fine with me, i sure do love this area and the mission!!! The church is true, the book of mormon is the key to finding happiness in this life, and the savior lives. Thats all there is to it.  Se cuidan!

Elder Gallego

7/18/11

ok so some big serious sweet news!! I am in north philly now, the erie area, which is the MOST ghetto, and i am with elder cook, and the native i wanted from oaxaca, mexico, elder de leon heras!!!!! I am super excited and i am so pumped for a new comp! I learned so much from elder freeman, but i wouldnt recommend doing it again! I did my job, and he left happy and he really changed a lot! Taught me a lot about patience, charity, and love. I am so glad to have a new comp, area, and fresh start!!!

So i think the coolest thing is that we speak only ESPANOL!!!! it is so much fun!!!! also, we are in a walking area, finally!!! i hated having a car!! it makes it so that you cant be outside sweating all the time!!!! i love it! We use the SEPTA, and the train that runs underground here, so its way more exciting, and its right where ALL the hispanics are!! LOve it!!!

My knee is still attatched!! haha i fell down the stairs this morning leaving my old apartamento, but its ok, just hurts alot!! But the pain is worth it!!!! i am so excited for a fresh new start!! it is such a blessing to be a missionary!!! I am now much stronger spiritually than i have ever been in my entire life!! it is just amazing!! Yesterday, in sacrament, Yura Flores, a 16 year old honduran girl gave a bomb talk on Apostasy, personally, and generalmente! I was amazed at how confidently she talked about what it really was, a personal state of apostasy! As missionaries, we always teach this stuff, but man, the members normally dont! She did though, and i realized how little it takes for us to begin to fall into an apostasy. Not reading, praying, going to church when we want, that all is just the beginning!! Satan is trying so hard to tear apart our lives, and we have to understand that he has no power over us and that we have to keep enduring to the end, if we want to recieve all of the blessings the lord has in store for us!

Also, a member of the stake high council, hermano hernandez, gave a great talk on forgiveness, man that hit me so hard. The most important thing that we have to learn about this life, is that we are not perfect, nor anybody else walking the face of this earth. So when people offend you, it may take time, but you will be responsible for it in the end if you dont forgive that person! Think of Jesucristo!! He forgives us always!!! as long as we make the sincere desire to complete the steps of repentance. That is so importante!!!! I really had some forgiving and asking of forgiveness to do with elder freeman, for my lack of patience at times, and everything, and we left on a good note.

I know without a doubt that the lord answers our prayers, families are ordained of god, and that the priesthood power is REAL! This church is restored, it is perfect, and we are called to labor in HIS vineyard for the last time! Jacob 5:70-75!!

Like Nike- JUst DO IT!!

Les quiero mucho!!!

7/11/11

well, this week was rough, the knee isnt looking too good, and i will be finding out what happens from the MRI that i had this morning!!   

 We have been really struggling to find people to teach the past 2 weeks, and this area will be most likely getting closed down because of the lack of hispanics. We are still going to the end though! Transfers are this week, and so i have no idea whats all going to be happening still...

I have learned a lot this week though, even when we dont have success, we have to keep our heads up. When trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the lord feels that you are prepared to grow more. I know that if we look at them in the face, we can overcome them. Many times a particular challenge helps prepare us for something vitally important. Growth cannot come by taking the easy way. We have to go through it with the knowledge and firm testimony that we can do it!!

I like to think of President Hinckleys advice, to stand a little taller, and raise the bar. Always be of good cheer, and always remember, to SMILE!! You look so much better that way!! I sure do love being out here, i have faith that everything will work out according to the lord will, and i know that i am in his hands ......i know that this gospel is true with all of my heart, and i know that through small and simple things, great things cam come to pass. I love you all!!!

Elder Gallego

7/5/11

Well, this week was totally nuts!!! some really crazy stuff happened this week, and man!! Being a missionary is just so awesome!!! It has really started to be such a great learning experience this transfer, and i have really come to love my companion!! Hes got 2 weeks left as of today, and we are doing so good! I am glad that i have had the oportunidad to serve with him!!

My birthday was awesome!! I ate an 18" long cheesesteak!!! total gutt bomg but man it was so good!!!! We had a blast, and i also got DQ!! Tradition!!!! it was awesome! I was on the exchange in philly again, so it was way fun!! I was also on an exchange with my district leaders companion, and we got rained on again!!! It was so worth it though!! THere were so many prepared people that we ran into and they really were excited to hear the message of the restored gospel! I a so grateful for the oportunidad that i have to share this wonderful message with others!! It really is so much fun!!!

Our ward had a ton of activities this past week! We had a great family home evening, where we played a game trying to recite the 13 articulos de fe and man!! The members here really do know them!! It is insane! Im making it a goal to memorize all of the 13 before i come home!! We also had a great class on the book of mormon like we have every week, and elder de leon heras talked about the things that we need to do in order to return to live with our heavenly father in his presence! The spirit was so strong, and i know that if we complete the 5 simple things, that we can complete the rest!! It just all takes a decision to have faith!!! we also watched legacy for our movie night, which was on my birthday, and Edgar and his family showed up and totally surprised me for my birthday!! It was so awesome!! I was so excited to see them, and they wanted to take me out to eat, but my comp didnt want to go, which was so rude, and so we just said we would do it another time. well, yesterday we had the ward picnic at a big park, and edgar, moroni, mahonry, and alfonso all showed up with their entire families!! La banda de wilmington!!! man it was so awesome!! I was playing volleyball when i heard somewone scream Venancio!! I looked and there everyone was!!!! THey are so awesome!

Also, crazy thing found this lady on the side of the street with this big huge gash in her forehead and she was going into shock, pregnant, and just blood everywhere! I was trying to calm her down and figure out what happened, but she was high on something so she wasnt responding! The ambulance came and got her, dont know what ever happended to her, but man it was so scary!!!! 

This place is really just barely going over here. I was told that this area will most likely be shut down, because of the lack of hispanic people, but we are still trying, working as hard as we can! We have still been working with sam torres, and he is progressig great, reading and praying and seeing the difference in his life!!! I know that when we read the book of mormon, we really have that spirit with us, specially in our times of trial. It is so important also to read the words of the living profets as well! Inknow that if we do this, the spirit of the lord with testify to us, the truthfulness of this church. What a great plan our heavenly father has for us!! I love you all, stay strong, always have faith, and always remember to be that example!!!

Elder Gallego