7/16/12

Hola q lo q mis amigos/primos/familiares!

okkk so this week pass by SUPER Rapido! it was so intense! Rain, windstorm, getting soaked, MIRACLES, and many blessing of the Lord! First off, we had a BOMB leccion from presidente Schaefermeyer on Repentance and the gift that it is! he teach us about the principle of it, how the lord will always forgive us as many times as we repent, but that do not mean that we can keep making the same mistake over and over. and just saying that we can repent later, that is Apostasia. we have to be sincere with the lord, and i know that it is hard, and takes much time, but the lord will bless us in our efforts!

so to think back, this week was just Busy man. We are teaching Yanela, she is a friend of a member, and as we teach her the first leccion on tuesday about la restauracion, she feel the spirit very strongly, and we were able to testify to her about the greatness of god and how Jose Smith was only a tool in God hand to help us have these very special blessing! she had tears in her eyes, and was very impacted by the spirit. She wants to get baptize and we will be setting a date with her soon, she has been to church 4 times now and love it! she is making other friends as well, and Taty (the member) is being a great example to Yanela. It is increible how FAST sometime the lord prepare people to accept the gospel of jesucristo! i love it! my companion and i were so amazed!

also, as we have been praying for a familia to teach and baptize, we found one! :D it was so cool, they are guatemaltecos and they are SO ready! edwin, marisol and Alex :) edwin is working to support the familia and his wife is sick with a rare muscle problema that is making her muscles be all tense ans stuff, and has been in hospital por like 2 month!! so we are going to start teaching them there, and it will be great! Edwin was telling us about the desire he has to be an eternal familia and we testified of the plan of happiness and that familia eterna is part of that plan, and i tell you the spirit hit SO hard, i was grateful as my companion in that moment testify of the familia and how he knows that God loves us and wants us all back to him, FOREVER! i was able to share my testimonio of the sealing of the familia, and how i still remember the feeling that i had as we were sealed as familia. Edwin got SO hooked, and we are going to help them progress, and pray for Marisol that she gets healthy to be able to come to church!

I was able to do an exchange too with elder Allen, he is from utah and is very excited to be out here, just super quiet, i realize i have SO much energia jaja. We talked about the importancia to be unified as companionship and have the love for them at ALL times. he is super quiet so his comp feels like well, i imagine Bored, so he make a goal to be more alive and fired up! it was great!!

Yesterday we went after sacrament to do visits with Hno Moore and Presidente Payba and Hno. Romero, we were able to visit Miguel Barrientos at his All-Star Game just down the street, and when he see us comin up after he Roped a hard line drive for a triple, his face lit up like a lightbulb! it was awesome!! even though he has not been the last 2 weeks cuz of baseball, he LOVES the church, and commited to be there next sunday. so we will see, it was raining and stuff so we were able to stay for just a short bit and i played some catch with his kids, that could have come but didnt so they watch him! but we will get that familia back in church, we need them!

The work continues, Martin Juan and Yolanda are preparing for the baptism on the 29 so pray for them, that martin can stop drinking coffee, and that yolanda will get married!! i know that prayer works. it is our biggest tool!! we have to use it and we have to have faith. I know that this work is true, the preisthood is real, and the power is there. We just have to be worthy to excersize our authority worthily and the lord will make miracles :) Alma 32 :) 

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Elder Gallego

7/9/12

MANN!!! allentown is NUTS on the 4 of julio!! so they be lightin off fireworks for like 3 weeks here, but on the 4 they LIT THEM OFF COMPA!!! ORALE it was so tight!! they lit off so many that they started a huge fire but i think it was put under control!! but that was really cool!! so Feliz Cumpleanos Alec!! espero lo pasaste bien :) preparate para cumplir anos en la mision....jajajja :) ESTILO HISPANO!!

so i have think a lot lately about misionery work and the importancia to really serve your hear out, but then you can forget to do what you learned out on the mision! it is so importante to apply what we learn for the rest of our lives! the lord has chosen us to be his servants and we have to really be dedicated for the eternidad!! i have had many experiencias that have help me to really appreciate my savior, my familia and the friends that i have. But i tell you what, i will give my life for my religion. that is not to say that i am numero uno and nobody else could do that , and to say look at me....no. simply i just feel so deep in my heart that i can do this the rest of my life, and have my familia and friends with me :) but we have to think, in the last day, we have to stand firm and strong and withstand all the temptation and it will be much stronger becuase satanas will be locked down for a thousand years, so make sure you know on who side you on. There are no middle grounds. I know that the savior lives, and through him, we live. he is always there for us and will always guide us a love us no matter what we do, he always has his manos extended to us, and WE are the ones that push him away!

in 1 Nefi 21:14-17 it talks about that. Jesucristo will NEVER forget us, pues, he has us engraved on the palms wrists, and feet of his body. How can he ever forget us? he did that for you, and he wants you back. but how bad do you want it? it is personal the salvacion, claro, pero we are more than one person so we can help out one another! so be the good example, Do your best in everything and the lord will bless you eternally. i testify that through the atonement we are cleaned of our sins and we are then able to look up and walk strong and have much faith in all that we do. the lord is our light and our love!

as familias you have to read, DAILY of el libro de mormon, pray DAILY together, and obviously go to church every sunday! the sacrament is what cleans us from the sins we commit during the week, so as we take of it, it is literally a re-baptism. so for those that want to be baptized again, just be worthy and take the sacrament and that is seriously the ONLY ordinance that can continually purify us and will save us in the last day. The taking of it Worthily makes us pure and we renew those covenants we made at baptism. i know the cleansing power of the sacrament. it is REAL!  also, young men, do the Duty to God. i know and have a testimony that it works and changes our lives. you have it easy. heck i had 3 diferente pamflets to do, yours is all in one! you can do it all right now if you want! (i think) and you have it easier! but the blessings are obviously much greater! so be the priesthood holder you should and go out there and GIT-R-DUN! and the young women, well i dont know much about it, just complete it as well, becuase i know that watching my sister Alyssa do it, i saw how much she changed and the many things she learned :) she is a great example of the virtuous woman that is made from that program! i love you sis!

i am so glad to be a misionero! we were able to have a branch picnic and well, the young men got the best of me....i nailed them with water balloons, and me with my bum leg couldnt run in time to get a HUGE bucket of water JUSTO in the back...so it looked like i peed my pants for like 2 hours...that was interesting! jaja, but we had many activities this week, painting the house of a member, interviews with presidente, i had an exchange with elder Schneider and he is AWESOME! and the district meeting was awesome! i taught about the importance of the language as a misionero and how we have to BE HISPANIC to understand truly what it is like and to really grasp the great meaning of the reason we are learning a new language :) and then we ate Arroz con leche y canela to finish :) so AWESOME! the elders teach me so many things and i am so bless to be here at this time :)

When you read tonight, read 2 Nefi 2 together and study how special we are :) we (human Beings) are the only ones of ALL the creaciones of God that have the ability to Act and not be Acted upon....ONLY if we follow the commandments. in the end, if we dont choose the right now, our agency to Want to go to the celestial kingdom is taken, and we get put out one of the others. and there we have to choice but to except it for the rest of eternity....which means NO END! so think before you act. that is what my parents always tell me and it works :) if ou have to think about whether or not you should or should not do something...you prolly should not do it :) now if it like about college, your future wife, and serious stuff, obviously to think is very importante...but you know what i mean :) i love you all, and just remember, if you dont think positive...nothing good will happen :) 

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Elder Gallego

7/2/12

ORALE! Por FIN tengo 21 anitos!!! :D pues, i want to thank all you for the birthday wishes and the love! you are all (nacho voice)..."De Beeesss :)" Man, i have so much things to say in this email! this week went by SO SLOW and it was so AWESOME!! time has not slow down for a long time, and so it was nice to finally have week like this one that we could get out and work our buttocks off! it was so fun!! we got tan, walked like every place on earth, had some super sweet miracles happen, i got cake smash in my face 2 times, and it was simply awesome!! so i am going to just get to business cus there is a lot!

ok, so last sunday, we were ask to give the priesthood class about helping the youth COMPREHEND the importance of the Gospel. i look back and can truly say that my padres teach me how to comprehend but seriously, i dont feel like my brain was near close to be able to do it. i know it is funny to think about that, but with ADHD life is hard sometime and we just lost like 3 screws in the existencia premortal. so the comprehend parte is very dificult, now with youth that are learning, Are they really understand what they learn? it is cool because as we think about it, the answer is found in the acciones. the acciones that we take as people, really help us answer that question. not with just youth but as adults too! (i can now say that cuz i have 21 years) :)  thats wierd..

anyway, our branch is really focus right now on getting everyone back active! Hno. Moore from the high counsel spoke last sunday about how importante es to share the gospel with our friends and families that are not members! as a misionero, he went to Boliva. it is a pais en South america and when he got there, they not able to wear ties, nametags, not able to carry scriptures, backpacks, NOTHIN! because a week before 2 misioneros had been killed and Elder Ballard went down there to tell them they could only wear dress shirts and slacks blets and shoes. No materiales to teach. so they had to memoriziar everything! scriptures, questiones, answers, everything. and then he tell us that during the 4 months they need to do all of that, they become the Highest baptizing mision en the WORLD! with 150 misioneros, they baptized over 1,000 people a MONTH!! Ridiculo right? (our mision not even baptize 700 last YEAR) just so you can see the diferencia que hay entre ellas. so is it about numbers? absolutamente no! but, it is a milagro that happen becuase they had nothing! they COMPREHENDED i think the gospel to such level the spirit could help the members, and misioneros teach the people. they didnt knock ONE DOOR either. that is how it got to be dun! GIT-R-DUN!!!

so as we apply this leccion to our live, if we truly comprehend the gospel, we will try to share it with everyone! so we have to preach, no. "share the gospel at all times, and if necesary, use words" . so how? our EXAMPLE! the example the youth see is the one they will follow. i know and testifico that this is true. no matter how much you teach them with words, it all has to do whith what you DO! and it has to be out of LOVE! i love my savior. i love my familia so much! i know that we ARE an eternal familia. through the time i been a misionero, i have come to understand a bit about the gospel. i am not perfect, so i dont say that i Know it, but i understand many parts, and they are the simple parts. The principles are what is important. Faith, Repentance, Bautismo, Holy Ghost and Persevere to the End. everything you can think about goes under one of those. I know that this is true i know that as i apply all these things, i become happy and i feel the love of Jesucristo en mi vida.

so how do we get faith? we have to pray. Read Eter 3:9, the brother of jared was very favored of the lord. Why? Eter 1:33-37; eter 1:43- HE PRAYED! Eter 12:6- you cant recieve witness until you have your faith tried. we do that through prayer! and like it say in eter 1:43 it was after a long time that the brother of jared was answered by the lord, and it was because he did it! he didnt just do it once, it was a long time! so Alma 37:36-37 or maybe it Alma 36:36-37? i cant remember it is the one alma say to consult the lord in all thy doings....anyway, we have to do that personally and AS A FAMILIA!! that is something that really make my testimonio of pray real!! my familia always do it, and i know that it really help me in my trials, and it is so that as you pray together, you can hear and understand what is really on the mind of the others and how you can help. i know that this brings much love and much blessings from out father heaven! Just remember, Miracles dont produce faith, but Great Faith produces Miracles :) It is always Better to Look Up :)

This week, we had many tough time getting to our investigators, but many are progressing so well! Martin is for sure good to go on 29 Julio 2012, and we are rollin wit him! he is reading with his wife and praying with her EVER DAY! we has come to church the past 2 weeks, and loves it! he also has ask me to bautizarlo so that will be so cool :) yesterday i was able to share my testimony, on my birthday, like one chance in a life thing! it was so strong and the spirit really was my guide. as i see him sitting there, i started to almost cry and i was able to hold back, but i see that their familia is so much more united, the love you can SEE in their eyes, they really are becoming an eternal familia. I am so grateful for my companion and i to be able to help them in this. We are working so hard with the spirit and my companion and i just look and smile becuase the great change Martin has made. Everyone tell me before that it would never happen when i say to them that before i leave martin will be bautizado and well look what is happening! (it not because of me) the Lord has help Martin know that now is the time, and he is sharing the gospel with EVERYONE! Remember Jeremias and Rosalyn? well their dad, Guzman, is not a member, and we have been trying to teach him, and sabes que? Martin and he are GRAN AMIGOS! they are both Dominicanos, that is really good just so you know, and Martin is going to brind Guzman this sunday to church, and soon Guzman will be a member, with a great Familia that we just baptise like 2 month ago! i tell you, it so amazing the miracles that come from prayer :) i tell jeremias and rosalyn all the time that their dad WILL accept the gospel soon, and they all say ahh no her is not like that he doesnt like church, well now look :) Martin is the MAN! the Lord is ready to make things happen, so Are we Prepared and worthy to make it happen? that is the key!

Also we were able to make a coneccion with Julio y Nora, our other investigadores that have baptismal date for 29 Julio. for the first time Julio open el libro de mormon and read Alma 32:16 and the espiritu just fill the room. he say, wow this is very interesting. we left him with chapter 32 and when we came back we brought Hno Orellana, he own a pizzeria and always give us free cheesteaks :) anyways, we get to julio house and come to be that they are like awesome amigos! crazy right!! so now we have an amigo for julio and nora, and they are getting the ball rollin and will hopefully be at church this next sunday! we talked about repentance- it is a decision. the decision to repent is deciding to close the doors of all other direcciones, with the determinacion to follow FOREVER only ONE WAY, the ONLY way that leads to Eternal Life. I know that this is true. Repentance is a proccess, not somthing we do just once. there is no such thing as 10 hail mairy and accepting the savior and being forgiven. it is not that easy. Jesucristo didnt get it that easy, so why would we? he is the example, he suffered everything your little brain can possibly think about, he has feel it! he know how it is and i know that it is true. to be like he is, we have to follow the Only way that give us eternal life...Jesucristo! La Iglesia de Jesucrist de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias is the only true church on the faz of the earth. i testify that you can also know that through prayer and faith! Alma 32:21- i dont know about you, i never seen God, Jesucristo or Jose Smith, or the plates, but i KNOW without a doubt, they live, the plates are real, we are part of the gospel restored to the earth by Jose Smith, and that it only takes a desire to Belive, in order to Know :)

As a district, we have been focusing on the spirit a lot and my district is awesome. i really do love all of them and i know that they are great misioneros. i learning so much and they are a great example to me. i was so amazed at the great dedicacion they put in to their work. we are getting better as a district in getting investigadores to church, the lord is guiding us through the Espiritu Santo and the Miracles are coming from the Excersizing of our faith. i know that God loves and lives. He is helping me guide these misioneros, and they are guiding me :) when we pray for inspiracion en our prayers, it is necesario to also ask for a confirmacion of our answers that we get. the Holy ghost is the testifyer in all that the lord and God have set out. we have to pray and realy desire that he is with us 24/7. i know that as we do this, the lord will bless us and the many struggles that our district has will soon become a little better :)

i want to tell mi hermanito Alec Gallego how proud i am of you, i love you more than you even imagine. i am so excite for you to go to the templo and recieve the great blessing the lord has for you. You are a chosen one, you have been called, and you have to give it your all. dont worry about comprehending the things you learn in the temple, that will come over time, trust me. just sit back, and FEEL the great spirit in that place and really just soak it all in bud. you will be a great misionero, i know that as you put all you have to him, he will take care of you. no matter how long it is before i see you again, just always remember that you have a big brother here, always ready to listen and help if i can. i cant explain how deeply sad i am to not be with you, but i can explain how deeply proud i am to see it from a diferente side of view, i am super happy, and i know that soon you will feel the great spirit the lord has bless me with for this mision i am serving. just always remember, LOVE EVERYONE, stay humble, and have fun cuz if you are not having fun, You are not doing it right. :) 3 Nefi 5:13 :) te amo hermanito. ya pronto te vere y podremos compartir el gran Gozo y felicidad por ser misioneros a la vez, en otras partes del mundo :) hechate galleta y tenga presente Siempre Mosiah 3:19 y Mosiah 4:9-12 :) Camara banda!

Los quiero mucho!!

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Elder Gallego

6/19/12

pues, felicidades a todos los padres que lean este correo electronico, gracias por todas las cosas que nos ensenan como hijos, y pues mando felicidades y mucho amor a mi propio padre! te amo mucho y te agradezco por todo lo que has hecho para mi en mi vida y por tu gran ejemplo :)

wow this week pass by so fast, and so many thing happen! i will just start from monday until now!

monday we have a noche de hogar with a familia, the new relief society presidenta share a leccion with us about the importancia of covenants and the blessing we recieve from making them! there are so many thing that we do as members of the church that are not coventant, but as you think about the many blessing that we recieve, from making a big covenant- baptism- we then get the confirmacion- the holy ghost guide us and help us do what is right, and all the blessing we recieve are consecuencias from those two covenants! we then make more important and bigger covenants and those we do in the temple!! i want you all to know that the temple need to be your goal! that is the most importante place in the world, and we have to make coventants in there so that we can be happy familias por la eternidad!! i know that i am part of a eternal familia and that the feeling i having that day i cant ever forget!! i know that it is the most special place to me and that my familia is the thing most importante to me and that i will be so grateful to be with them forever!

i learn too that we have to give up our will for Heavenly Father will. Mosiah 3:19 is a great scripture that tell us about that! as i finished the libro de mormon again on sunday, i recieve the answer like in the exact momento that it is true....it is so true, and has forever change my life! i want to be like alma the hijo, and i want to be able to have a testimonio so strong that the depths of hell have no power over me. i know that through the constante reading of el libro de mormon, studying it, and praying about it EVERY DAY! we will recieve a strong testimonio and we will be prepared to do many things! it will help us have faith, and faith is what moves us! it is also bringing us much love and help us realmente understand what we have to do in order to recieve the blessing we need to continue learning!

if we think about jesucristo, we forget that even HE was surprised and the dificult it was to suffer the atonement! and just think, he did it for YOU! so that YOU can be here and learn and become like HE is. that what it all about! as my companion and i said bye this morning, i really feel his love and his grateful for the time we had together. from a familia so hard and with many problemas, he has come so far, and i really know that it is for his humility and for the many things that he has, one being a lot of faith, and love for others. he teach me that we have to really have to think about how others feel and how importante it es to make them feel worth it, and make them laugh, smile, have fun, learn and become like Jesucristo! i know that this is the way to have success! look in the mirror, and think to yourself, What do you see? what are your talentos? what are your defects? what do you need to change? or want to change? do you love yourself? if not, why not? and that is many good things to help you understand what you REALLY think about others. if you dont love youself, how can  you love others? it is imposible.

the rest of the week was a blurr! my companion and i talked in sacrament about the importancia of setting goals, and how to set them. he did great, his first time talking en espanol in church so it was great! i was very happy for him, and he made the peoples smile and laugh! they miss him a lot as he was here for 7 months! my new companion is Elder Wright! he is from Utah, and he loves baseball!! perfecto!!! we is going to have great time, and will learn and do many great things! i have also be called as the district leader again, and am very excited as i we are a district of 6 so the other 4 live in Reading, PA like an hour away, but they are cool and we will have a lot of success! the lord has many thing in store for us, i have 4 month left, and wow, time need to slow down, proque we have so much to do, but my companion will learn very fast and he will be a great asset :)

prolly the coolest thing yet...yesterday we went to a BASEBALL GAME!!! it was awesome! the phillies double-A team! the game started at 9:30 in the morning so we had to be there early, and we stayed the hole one! i got a ball too so that even made it better!! i miss the feeling of playing baseball so much, and i hope that i can play soon! the rest of yesterday we spent visiting like the whole world!! man! i drove all day it seem and when we get back at 9:15 i was just pooped man! but it was a great day! we had many great lessons, and had a great FHE so things are going good!! i just know that whatever comes, it will be in the lord hands :) i love this work, i cant wait to share in person all the many experiences i having here, i only ask that all you young dudes get yourself prepared and ready to take on the world! it is like the lord teach to peter- he didnt call him to leave his nets for a little bit, he called him FOREVER! if we are truly dedicated and want to serve the lord, we will do whatever it takes, and i testify and bare witness that HE will provide :) he lives, dont ever forget it. Many are called to be leaders, but ALL are called to be followers :) follow him, and you will become a fisher of man :)

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Elder Gallego

6/11/12

OYE PRIMO!! q lo q ta pasando por alla! espero q to' 'ta bien por ahi! (acento dominicano) :) i love dominican!!!

ay, this semana pass so fast!! SANTA VACA!!! i cant belive that we are in the las week of a transfer again!! there are so many things going on and not enough time to do them, pero ahi anda la obra del Senor! we are so very bless be be born in the dispensacion de la plenitud del tiempo so we can have the Gospel Restore to us and to be able to be part of the great and great work of the Lord!! i love this work, and the people are so very kind to us. we have found many success through the great members lately, we are really try to get in touch with the presidentes(as) of the rama so we can get working all together in the help of getting more people to asist the church!! they are almost done with the reorganizacion of the rama and we now have a BOMB relief society presidenta. Hna Rebecca Rosa is the new one, and we are work with ella to help all the people in the ward, mainly the less active. as we have talked with her, she asked me to make a list of all the members acitve and inactive and make them in groups so that the way to do visits to the members wasnt so bad! so we have made 5 groups and now the visits people have to do will be within a 3 mile radius of where they live!! it was very fun! as i did that, my comp helped them with their ingles and how to speak correctly...he is also trying tohelp me write again...it is coming along :))

we had a great Conferencia de Zona this week, we saw elder De Leon, he is awesome, speaking very good ingles now, and it is so cool to see him again! the 6 week we had together was way to short! but he want to come to AZ and clean pools with me so we will see!! presidente talk about the importancia de use the miembros of the church, something that we have been focusing on and have great success! Yesterday 9 investigadores can to church, and it was great cuz all have friends and they are helping them and they are members! M&M's!!! (Members and Misioneros!!) that is what it all about!! i was ask to translate for a high couselor yesterday too, and it was so funny becuase as i would translate it, i hear myself, and i see all people just like smiling and some laughing, and i realize i am jus goin off like PURO DOMINICANO jajaa, it sounded so dominican and i didnt realize it until i stopped, and he was like, "well look like the elder here has become one of you"! i was really embarased but it happens :) it would be so cool to be a translator or a sports analyst for Futbol!!! they all talk so fast!!

we had some very funny moments this week, on monday it was super humid, and i squatted down to get the dryer sheets that fell, and the croch on my suit pants exploded jajaja, me moria de risa!! it was so funny, my comp just look at me, "i was going to tell you your butt getting bigger like soon, but i just do it now i guess!" we been runing and excersizing a lot!! so, i got to get Hno Beato (he is a pro dude at sewwing stuff) so i got to get that fixed!! also, on wednesday, we helped a member put new door handles on, it was so cool cuz we went to HOME DEPOT!!!!! :D wow, that store is like PARADISE!! it smelled so good!!! remind me of my dad, all my life i grow up in construccion sites, cleaning, i really hated it but now i miss it so much...anyways, we fix her two door handles...she locked herself out and so Hno. Cruz, he decide not to use his brain and just put like a hair pin and twist it to open it, or even wait for us to get there, he decide to get a sledge hammer and smash them off....i had nothing more to say, jaja and then we could not even get the old one out, just crazyiness...next time just be patient or just wait to you dont haveing to spend money!! but it was fun!! also we clean the home of ansolny, and his family. it took forever to do, and i so glad my mommy teach me to clean, cuz i went to TOWN!! that Jawn is SUPER LIMPIO ahorita!! :) it was a great service for them, and it was good to do some servicio!!

when you get the chance, go watch the new video of Jose Smith the profeta de la restauracion on the church website...a member showed that to us as we had a Family home evening, and it is so much better!! so simple and many new parts, and the spirit is so strong. i am eternally gratefull for him and his sacrificio he did for us, un hombre tan obediente and for his obediencia we are here enjoying the blessing of the gospel restored to us in the world. in 4 Nefi 1:2 it talk about how ALL the nefitas y lamanitas converted to the gospel! how cool that be to see that!! MAKE it happen, your testimonio is the most importante thing you can posiblemente posess as a member of the church, use it and share it with EVERYONE!! i know that as we strive to become discipulos of Jesucristo that he will allow us to enjoy so many blessing and that as we follow the profeta in all he tell us to do, the holy ghost will help us and guide us. he is your companero constante :) just remember.... HE LIVES :) enough said!

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Elder Gallego