1/17/12

Hey everyone!! ok this week was super nuts! the weather has gotten

just tremendo with all this winter thing and no snow! i dont like it!

but we just keep working! it got super cold this week, i have been

sleeping in pj pants and a lava lava wrap like normal, and am still a

bit cold! but we are surviving.

i just got out of the dentist and got my teef all fixed up and my face

is in a great amount of pain i dont like the dentist, anyways, we have

2 more people ready for baptism, Victor is 10 and his sister vivian is

11 they will both be baptized on the 12th of febrero which is the last

day of the transfer! time is seriously just flying out here, and i

know that my emails have been super boring lately with all the things

that are on my mind and all the things to do, it just super gets hard!

one thing that i have learned this week is the rehabilitating power of

prayer, and how it helps us no matter where we are at and what we are

doing! i have so much faith in my savior jesucristo and i know that he

is there for me and helps me whenever i need him! have the faith to go

to him and ask him for anything, he wants to know!

i also learned something really cool about a testimony, that

testimony- real testimony said by the spirit and confirmed by the holy

ghost- changes lives! it is so true and it is so real! one time, my

mission president just got up and bore his testimony by simply saying,

"He Lives". one of the most powerful experiences with the spirit i

have ever had in my entire life! i feel that my testimony is strong

and firm and founded on jesucristo because i feel his presence in my

life, and i challenge you to do the same. there is nothing better than

this feeling, and that is the truth! he loves us and no matter what

the case is, wants us to know that before anything else.

as we have been looking for more people to teach this week, we set a

goal of getting 4 references de los miembros, and then having 5 new

investigators, well we got the 4 references and we had 9 new

investigators this week! totally insane! the lord blesses us when we

want it and are doing what we need to to get it. i know that he lives,

and because he lives, i live and i live to learn how to get back to

him, and will help as many people as i possibly can in order to do

that, this is his work, i love being an instrument of that work, with

my companion, we are helping change lives, and the blessings are

indescrible.

la obra del senor es grande en si mas si nosotros pensamos que el

adversario se nos pueda controlar- es falso! los quiero muchisimo!

Elder Gallego

1/9/12

Que onda!

this week flew by like no other!! the time out here seems to go by fast and fast every week! we are having a lot of success and have found lots of new people to teach, also something i realized that is my english is getting really really bad, i dont know why, but i am really trying to get a grip on it, it hard when you talk spanish all day long!!

this week, we had about 200+ people in church! pretty insane! we are having success with the less actives, and our retencion with our converts that are new was really good, 11/12 came to church!! oh, happy anniversary mom and dad!! we found 9 more people to teach, 5 of are referencias de los miembros!! the members are the key to having success as a misionero!

also, the new elder in the district, elder flake is so tall!! but he is from AZ and it was so cool to talk about muddin and all that cool stuff, az people are so cool :) oh! so maximo, yeah studd!! he got called as the new ward mission leader in our barrio so we are super stoked about that, he is going to help us a lot, and we now have someone who actually likes their calling! always magnify your calling to the best of your ability, only YOU are called to that posicion and it is because the lord wants to help you learn something! 

there is still no snow here, have no idea what is going on with the weather, but we are just going to keep working hard! it was cool to see all the missionaries on tuesday at transfers, i saw my old comp elder de leon, he is doing good, and i realized the my soa and i are the only companionship that has stayed together for 4 transfers in a long time! my comp is going to be training soon, i know it!! he is a powerhouse!

as for more bautismos, we got the 3 fransiscos preparing, yuriana and jorgito, isaias, and possibly a couple other new ones. THe lord is just pouring out blessings and it is so cool to be a part of it! i love this work, i know that it is true, and that as a missionary i have been able to grow by serving others, and i know that is the part most important because we are instrumentos en las manos del senor! hope everything is good back in AZ and wherever you are!! i love you and thank you for your prayers and support!!

Elder Gallego

1/2/12

Well, here we are in a new year!! philly is crazy on new years!! haha everyone had fireworks!! totally nuts! we had a great time together as a district and it was really cool!!

this week we worked our butts off and had a lot of success with finding new people and working through the new and less active members in our ward but we also had a really amazing sunday! first of all, we confirmed maximo and luis and they were really touched by the spirit! maximo told me that he had never felt anything so strong!! it was so cool and we had a great experience with him and luis!! luis turned his papers in to the bishop and so they will start all of the doctors appts that he needs to get him ready for his mision!  

i also was asked by manny butler, the father of alessandra who we baptized in oct, to bless his brand new baby girl in church!! what a crazy powerful experience!! i have no idea what its like to be a father but i love that little girl (alyanna) like she was mine :) it was such a strong experience with the spirit!! also, they arent moving me yet so i will still be here!! with the same companion too!! this will be our 4th transfer together!! totally crazy!! we are really excited!! 

sorry this is so short we just have no time!! gots to go eat in an hour!! but the new direction to the mission office is

721 Paxon Hallow Rd. Suite B 

Broomall, PA 19008

i love you all and i hope you have a happy new years! make sure to make new goals and write them out! 

Vision-Goals-Plans-Actions            thats what its all about! i love you all!!

Elder Gallego

12/19/11

HEYY!!! que onda mi familita?! estoy tan animado para hablar con uds esta semana!! orale chale calcetin bandita!!

this week was really super busy, we had a ton of stuff that went down!

tuesday was zone conferencia and it was so BOMB! the testimony meeting was so powerful, and i had the oportunidad to compartir mi testimonio! i felt the spirit so strong, and i was able to testify of the reality and the power of love. We have been super blessed to love everyone, and its really hard, but as my soa and i have talked, we have narrowed our success down to love. Its all about LOVE! AMOR! jesucristo es nuestro ejemplo perfecto! i sure do love my family and friends, and i am so glad that the salvador has given me the oportunidad to be a misionero! we watched the movie, 17 Miracles, it made me want to cry like 20 times, i hope i never see it again! bromas, solo hasta despues de la mision! it was super good, so sad, and the reality and sacrifice of those pioneros por nosotros, wow it is so increible!

On wednesday, we didnt have too much, just normal teaching and getting the people prepared for their bautismo! Jeamie was so prepared, and her baptism on saturday was amazing! she was confirmed yesterday, and we really felt like we had done something so good for that familia, the lord worked through us and we were able to accomplish what we had planned, and she will be strong! Also, this sunday we will have 3 more bautismos, Luis, john will be baptizing him! then fransisco borrero (the colombiano) i think im going to, not sure yet haha, then Maximo Saldana (the 52 year investigator) and mi soa will be baptizing him!! it will be so sweet!! we had a sweet christmas party on friday night, had a ton of people show up, and we were able to get in touch with some more new investigators, with some serious potencial!

On thursday, district meeting was awesome. it never goes as i plan it, but man the spirit sure does a lot better haah, we found scriptures that apply to each one of the 10 how to begin teaching points in PMG. great spirit was felt! then we moved, in the rain! it was awesome!! i love getting dirty!! we packed like hillbillies but thats all good we didnt have to go too far! the new apartamento isnt bad! new painted walls, heaters, and its so good! under john too!! awesome! oh, we started the papers for luis to go on a mision! they are going to make an exception for him because he will be 26 before he leaves but its ok, he is willing and will be ready to serve!

saturday, we met an old man in the street, his name was jim, and he said as he saw us he immediatemente felt something different, like what he called an ora of the love of christ as he saw us, great guy he really was so cool, so sincere, i love meeting people like that! its all about love!! he was given a card by mi soa and he let us grab the bus to get to our baptism, ill never forget that comment though, always helps me remember that there is power in our example!!

Yesterday we were able to have 11 investigators in church, i had to leave with elder zegarra, to give a blesssing to a member , and my comp got his jacket stolen out of the church, philly is so ghetto. 2 weeks ago, 4 guys came in with guns and were just walking around the halls, its so dangerous here!! nothing bad happened though, the police were called, but of course they never came. barbaro. Anyway, i hope you all have a great christmas! i got to bless the sacrament with john for his first time yesterday! it went great! he is so excited we live under him! anyway, im out of time, i love you all and Feliz navidad!!

Elder Gallego

12/12/11

hola bandita!! como estan?! espero todo vaya bien por alla y que se esten pasando un buen tiempo en Arizona!

pues, everything is good here, this week has been off the hook but we are super super swamped this next week! we will be moving so my new address is : 110 E. Roosevelt Blvd. Apt.#1 Philadelphia, PA 19120..we will be there on thursday! totally stoked! john is super excited for christmas, and so are we, it doesnt feel like christmas yet, because there is still no snow :( its just been raining a lot and its super cold, but hopefully we get something soon!!

i was able to have a sweet exchange with one of the elders in my district, elder lopez, man it was great to speak with a mexican, haha, they pronounce everything, it was hilarious he told me that my acento changes depending on the people im with, like dominicans, boricua, centroamerica, suramerica, it was hilarious, and i have now gotten to realize that he is right!! people always look at me with a confused look and a question like what is this gringo doing talking to me like he is dominican, it is hilarious!! We talked a lot on the reality of change, and how we have been called for eternity, not just two years, but eternity! it's  so important to be dedicated to the lord, he will help us accomplish what we want if we follow his will!

during the exchange, my comp and the other elder were able to extend an invitacion to alguien para que se bauticen! and she accepted! Jeamie Velasco will be baptized this saturday!! so we got a ton of things to do, i dont know how, with zone conference tomorrow, then district meeting and moving and correlacion, and libro de mormon clase on thursday, and so we really only have Friday to teach and half of saturday and sunday! so this week will be a little slow! but we are going to work as hard as we can!

Luis Roas, has told us that he wants to serve a mission! he is 25 but they are going to make an aception so that he can go! we are going over to his house today to help his start filling the papers out! he will be baptized on christmas day!! so awesome! also fransisco borrero the colombiano will be baptized on the 25th, maximo saldana the 25th and yuriana y jorgito the 25th as well! we are hoping that yuriana can get a photo id somehow to get married, if not we will have to wait :/

this week, we saw a rat the size of chico! my little doggie!! i kid you not this thing was a BEAST!! my soa saw it and just was like, "WOAH what the heck(didnt say that) is that!" yeah we're working on the swearing part haha, in his culture its normal, but were getting there :) poco a poco!! 

church yesterday was great, edgar hernandez, from wilmington, decided to show up! jaja total surprise i was so stoked to see him!! he brought his familia and we had a great time! they are doing great, only that they say the missionaries there arent doing a whole ton, so we talked about some things to tell them to do! its all about LA members!! i love it!! I was also able to finish el libro de mormon yesterday, and it is still true :) every letter in there is revelation, we just have to study it :) the great mysteries are all there!! i love learning and i love being a misionero! i love you all!! have fun, and make sure to read, pray, and go to church!!

Elder Gallego

12/5/11

holy cow i dont even know how to start or where, but things here are absoltely NUTS!!!

so this week, haha we doubled the standards of excellence in our numbers!! it was so cool to seriously be 100% packed!! we ended up teaching 47 lessons and we even had a zone conference, our p day, and sunday which were all short days!! the lord is literally just on fire with us here!! i know that through obedience, daily prayer, and reading the scriptures that the lord has prepared miliones de personas para nosotros aca en esta area!

so before i forget everything i want to say, i just want everyone to know that el libro de mormon es VERDADERO!! it seriously changes lives! john completed the meta that we gave him the day of his baptism to finish the libro de mormon before el dia 30 de noviembre! he did it!! it was so cool!! i was so getting excited for him about it!! he is seriously going to be a great misionero! we also are going to be making some good progress with a lot of other people for the preparacion del dia navidad when we will have at least 6 bautismos!! Fransisco borrero, fransisco chut sr, and fransisco chut jr are really close, just have to comit them to a date, and luis, he wants to serve a mission, so we are definetely set for that, and youre not going to believe this but we will be having another surprise bautismo with two others, i cant tell yet though i promised i wouldnt!! :) we are just seriously so filled with the love like elder farr explained. It is seriously all about LOVE!1 not romantic pasionante or anything loco like that, but real amor sincero del corazon!! i know that i have gained a lot of love for the people that i serve, and i have felt the love of them through the great support and help that they give us!

We had a great zone conferencia this week, president and his wife told us all about him, and man he is so hilarious! his wife waited for him on his mission and she didnt write him once! he only had a lilttle picture of her that he carried in his military book of mormon haha just such a crack up!! we had a great testimony meeting after, elder ammon dana and i and elder aaron allen represented MESA AZ YEAH! and bore our testimonies, it was a great spirit, ammon is doing so good, and just eats like a horse! they need him in spanish!! haha speaking of eating like a horse, i ate a ton last night!

SO i was also wanting to say that i love m savior, and all that he has done for me, he loves me and i bear testimony that he lives. he lives for us, he is waiting for us, and he is callling out our names. We need to go to him. There is no other way, no other person, no other name that can save us. i know that, without a doubt that the love he has for me is making me so happy, and i am so glad to be serving him. The example he set for us is what we need to follow. the world isnt worth the time, nor the money for the things that the celestial kingdom will give us, eternal happiness with the loved people in our lives. I know he lives, i know it... :)

Elder Gallego

11/28/11

ok so this week has been so filled with just craziness and a ton of work!! we have been able to start and see the blessings of missionary work throughout the whole district here, and it is really cool to see how the members are so involved in it all!! i am so excited to be here in philly for the holidays, the people here are so crazy!!

so this past week we had a ton go on...we were able to participate in a 6 stake service project of picking up trash at the temple site here in philly and it was good, i met a recent convert of the zone leaders, she is from brasil and she was speaking to me in portugues!! it was so cool, we were able to comunicarnos and it was super cool!! there is so much similarity in the language, its like a mix of french and spanish!! i like it a lot!!

Also this week we were able to really see the huge blessings of the book of mormon! no matter what the doubt is about the church, it all falls back on the book of mormon, and i know that in the end, of course it all has to do whith jesucristo and that he is the savior. I have grown to literally love that book. I read it everyday, and i know that it is so true! as we search and study the scriptures, we are able to understand the many misteries of god, and wow, it just makes life so interesting and it all makes sense! he has made everything that we have and to know that it all has order, and it all is literally based upon obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel and heavenly design and the veracity of inteligence, haha it just makes me laugh every time!! i love the gospel so much it never keeps me hanging waiting to learn something! i know that if we have this desire to learn, he will give us the capacity to understand!

Thanksgiving here was awesome! we had the turkey bowl and it went well, also played futbol and beisbol and it went really well!! i gained 8 pounds and ate a ton of pupusas and turkey and rice, its so diferente how they do it en la cultura hispana! haha ok so we were out with this member the other night, and im looking at him, and he has like 5 eyebrows like 5 inches long!! so i told him to just hold still, and bite on something...i went at those things!! it was so hilarious, he was like oh elder, i trim those, and so i said well, not anymore!! haah it was so funny, thry looked really painful, and i couldnt stand to look at them!!

well, i dont really have much more to say this week, was pretty busy like normal. we are doing great here, and appreciate all of the prayers, i really feel it! Thats crazy to hear that lexi is engaged, felicitaciones!! life...just changes :) i love it!! anyways, have a good week, and hechete galleta camarada!!

Elder Gallego