Εβδομάδα 51: anddd that's a wrap
Our pday was spent in IKEA taking pics in as many mirrors as we could... the things you find entertaining as missionaries haha. We hung out with the elders again tho and had lunch together while playing some card games so that was fun.
This week was like a sandwich of good, some bad, and ended good :) On Tuesday we had another great lesson with Jhoe with the help of Elder Anderson and Elder Nye again. This time they taught the gospel of Jesus Christ! Again, Sister Vennerholm and I kinda just listened in and put in our comments and testimonies when given the go so it was really good. And then the Elders asked if we would extend a baptismal invitation so we said sure and went for it. I asked Jhoe in what I thought was pretty simple English and then we were all quiet waiting for an answer. And then after a kinda intense/ awkward pause, Jhoe said something in Bisaya to the elders and they start laughing. Sis V and I were way confused and then the elders informed us that Jhoe had asked, "what did she say?" Haha so good thing we're having him taught in his native tongue because then the elders were able to translate and extend the baptismal invitation in Bisaya. And Jhoe said YES! So that's exciting! But he won't be able to get baptized for a while because he can never got off the ship he works on and the odds are better of him being able to be baptized when he returns home to Cebu. It's kinda funny because Jhoe literally just says yes to everything and really never asks questions. But then I remember Llhyne, my favorite Filipino recent convert I taught in Cyprus, and she never asked any questions either and continues to be a rock solid member so I guess some people are just prepared and receptive! At one point this week I had sent a scripture to Jhoe to read and he responded with, "the scripture is a part of my body and soul" haha, man he's great. Also, my cousin James is gonna try and get in touch with Jhoe's family in Cebu and start teaching them as well if he can!
Middle of the week I got sick so that wasn't any fun. Plus I felt bad because we had a pretty busy schedule with lots lined up so Sister Vennerholm could say bye to everyone. Thankfully she was able to go on a split with one of our powerhouse members, Sister Chapi, and I was able to rest and recover at the senior couples place so I could get back to work asap. Being sick while being a missionary really sucks. We did still get to visit with a bunch of members including the Stillos again. I wish they'd come back to church because they need the blessings. We continue to share uplifting spiritual messages and just want to remind them they have a Heavenly Father who loves then and is mindful if their situation no matter how much they feel He isn't. One funny thing that happened was right before we headed out, Sis Vennerholm was saying the prayer, and I drank some water right before she started, but then the water went down the wrong pipe and I started choking in the middle of her prayer and Γεωργία and Μαρία thought that was the most hilarious things and we all ended up laughing and Sister Vennerholm had to start the prayer over.
We planned a quick last minute baptism for Kourosh and Nafas on Saturday and it was perfect! For some weird reason it's been in the 60s all week with ideal warm, sunny weather. No complaints there. We all met at the beach and had a little service there and I also got to give a talk on the Holy Ghost! Kourosh and Nafas asked Sis V and I to be their witnesses so that was, yet again, a really spiritual experience. The water was a little cold but Kourosh and Nafas both came out of the water warm and beaming with joy. We think Sister Vennerholm may have gotten stung by a jellyfish so that was funny. We didn't realize how many were around us in the water so I'm glad I somehow dodged them. I was thinking about it and how funny we must look riding to the baptism site in our white jumpers on bikes. Anyways, following the baptism I had a cool experience. Everyone had left and we were just talking to the elders and Κωνσταντίνος (a RC), and this older guy was looking at all our bikes so I said hi to him. He asked what was going on and I explained 2 of our friends just got baptized! He asked which church and we got talking. He got to the classic question of "so what makes your church different from the Greek Orthodox church." My favorite way of answering this is by explaining that we have a living prophet and that God continues to speak to His people as the bible tells us, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." He was intrigued and asked to see a picture, which also had the 12 apostles. When I told him the church of Jesus Christ is organized the exact same way as Christ established his church, with a prophet and 12 apostles, he found that really interesting and continued to ask more questions. I called over, Κωνσταντίνος (who honestly could be a Greek God if you just heard his voice haha), and he was able to relate to this man since they were both from Thessaloniki and he basically explained the whole Restoration. The man was actually really nice and accepting and said he was very impressed by what we were doing as missionaries and especially impressed by our ability/desire to speak/learn a language as difficult as Greek. I gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to church so hopefully he comes around one time and we can continue with our discussions. Then right after another man came up to us and asked us what we were doing since he says he's seen us out here before in white clothes all looking so happy haha. This convo ended in us getting a service opportunity to clean up the beach with him because he's sick of seeing all the trash everywhere. Like President Anderson told Sister Baird and I in Cyprus, "you baptize when you find and you find when you baptize" haha.
Love,
Sister Gale
This week was like a sandwich of good, some bad, and ended good :) On Tuesday we had another great lesson with Jhoe with the help of Elder Anderson and Elder Nye again. This time they taught the gospel of Jesus Christ! Again, Sister Vennerholm and I kinda just listened in and put in our comments and testimonies when given the go so it was really good. And then the Elders asked if we would extend a baptismal invitation so we said sure and went for it. I asked Jhoe in what I thought was pretty simple English and then we were all quiet waiting for an answer. And then after a kinda intense/ awkward pause, Jhoe said something in Bisaya to the elders and they start laughing. Sis V and I were way confused and then the elders informed us that Jhoe had asked, "what did she say?" Haha so good thing we're having him taught in his native tongue because then the elders were able to translate and extend the baptismal invitation in Bisaya. And Jhoe said YES! So that's exciting! But he won't be able to get baptized for a while because he can never got off the ship he works on and the odds are better of him being able to be baptized when he returns home to Cebu. It's kinda funny because Jhoe literally just says yes to everything and really never asks questions. But then I remember Llhyne, my favorite Filipino recent convert I taught in Cyprus, and she never asked any questions either and continues to be a rock solid member so I guess some people are just prepared and receptive! At one point this week I had sent a scripture to Jhoe to read and he responded with, "the scripture is a part of my body and soul" haha, man he's great. Also, my cousin James is gonna try and get in touch with Jhoe's family in Cebu and start teaching them as well if he can!
Middle of the week I got sick so that wasn't any fun. Plus I felt bad because we had a pretty busy schedule with lots lined up so Sister Vennerholm could say bye to everyone. Thankfully she was able to go on a split with one of our powerhouse members, Sister Chapi, and I was able to rest and recover at the senior couples place so I could get back to work asap. Being sick while being a missionary really sucks. We did still get to visit with a bunch of members including the Stillos again. I wish they'd come back to church because they need the blessings. We continue to share uplifting spiritual messages and just want to remind them they have a Heavenly Father who loves then and is mindful if their situation no matter how much they feel He isn't. One funny thing that happened was right before we headed out, Sis Vennerholm was saying the prayer, and I drank some water right before she started, but then the water went down the wrong pipe and I started choking in the middle of her prayer and Γεωργία and Μαρία thought that was the most hilarious things and we all ended up laughing and Sister Vennerholm had to start the prayer over.
We planned a quick last minute baptism for Kourosh and Nafas on Saturday and it was perfect! For some weird reason it's been in the 60s all week with ideal warm, sunny weather. No complaints there. We all met at the beach and had a little service there and I also got to give a talk on the Holy Ghost! Kourosh and Nafas asked Sis V and I to be their witnesses so that was, yet again, a really spiritual experience. The water was a little cold but Kourosh and Nafas both came out of the water warm and beaming with joy. We think Sister Vennerholm may have gotten stung by a jellyfish so that was funny. We didn't realize how many were around us in the water so I'm glad I somehow dodged them. I was thinking about it and how funny we must look riding to the baptism site in our white jumpers on bikes. Anyways, following the baptism I had a cool experience. Everyone had left and we were just talking to the elders and Κωνσταντίνος (a RC), and this older guy was looking at all our bikes so I said hi to him. He asked what was going on and I explained 2 of our friends just got baptized! He asked which church and we got talking. He got to the classic question of "so what makes your church different from the Greek Orthodox church." My favorite way of answering this is by explaining that we have a living prophet and that God continues to speak to His people as the bible tells us, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." He was intrigued and asked to see a picture, which also had the 12 apostles. When I told him the church of Jesus Christ is organized the exact same way as Christ established his church, with a prophet and 12 apostles, he found that really interesting and continued to ask more questions. I called over, Κωνσταντίνος (who honestly could be a Greek God if you just heard his voice haha), and he was able to relate to this man since they were both from Thessaloniki and he basically explained the whole Restoration. The man was actually really nice and accepting and said he was very impressed by what we were doing as missionaries and especially impressed by our ability/desire to speak/learn a language as difficult as Greek. I gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to church so hopefully he comes around one time and we can continue with our discussions. Then right after another man came up to us and asked us what we were doing since he says he's seen us out here before in white clothes all looking so happy haha. This convo ended in us getting a service opportunity to clean up the beach with him because he's sick of seeing all the trash everywhere. Like President Anderson told Sister Baird and I in Cyprus, "you baptize when you find and you find when you baptize" haha.
Sunday morning we found out we had yet another last minute baptism following church for Babis. That one was actually kinda a hassle to organize but it all worked out and we got all the members down to the beach after church for that. The weather was still stellar and it was a wonderful service. Babis had to be baptized 3 times tho because his foot kept popping out haha. afterwards he goes, "I had to be baptized 3 times for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!" We thought that was a funny comment.
Don't think anything else too crazy happened this week. We did have a massive riot/strike in the center one night that was pretty scary. Sister Vennerholm and I were in the church apartment and heard tons of chanting outside and look out the window to see the center being flooded with motorcycles and tons of men dressed down in black. It was like a movie scene where a building gets stormed in and we were just waiting for them to break through the church apartment door but luckily we were good ;) We also had 5 leaks in our bathroom ceiling so our entire bathroom was flooded all week so that was great. not. The landlord finally called in someone to fix it after bugging him enough but then we didn't have hot water after that. Well, we still don't so that's awesome. Cold showers for the win I guess.
Found out some not so exciting news when we unexpectedly got a transfer call from President Anderson. Originally Sister Kruger was coming to finish her mission in Thessaloniki with me buuuut not anymore. Apparently something happened in Athens and now we won't be serving together again because, "there had to be a change" as President sadly informed us. We were both pretty devastated by that spin on our next transfer but trying to have a good attitude about it all because ultimately the Lord is in charge and it's His work not ours. All will work out how it needs to be :) I'm definitely gonna miss Sis V tho, serving with her sure has made 3 months fly by. But I can't wait for all our fun adventures we have planned back home! She's for sure one of the "best friends for life" kinda companions and I'm so grateful to have been able to serve with her.
We had our last district council together as this district and we all reflected and shared 3 things we had learned these past 7 weeks. So the 3 things I talked about were 1) my personal study about the second comforter and what it takes to see Christ face-to-face. I am far from having a perfect knowledge about this still by my studies have really made me think about and analyze my life. Where I'm at now, how I'm doing, and what I can do better. 2) Faith is a series of decisions we make that can only really be understood in reverse. We must always try to be positive and less critical of our lives. We're all trying to do the best we can and that's all Heavenly Father asks of us. As long as we're doing the right things, living worthy of the Holy Ghost, we can be satisfied where we are. Plus it's just always better to try and look for the things we're doing right that putting ourselves down for our faults. 3) Personal Conversion. My mission has been the biggest trial, faith builder, as well as the greatest joy of my life. I have never felt closer to my Savior and I never want to lose the relationship I have with Him now. We are all on our own personal path to discipleship. I know sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to other missionaries or people and picking out my faults but ultimately, that's not what we should be doing. If we are going to compare, we should compare our past selves to who we are today...or even what our future is looking like. The only real opinion that matters of us is Heavenly Father's. I have already recognized how I've changed and know that I won't be going home the same Kaylee Gale as I left. The tag really does something to ya lemme tell ya. In all good ways. A quote I absolutely love that hits home for me is from President Heber C. Kimbal when he says, "The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?… If you don’t have it you will not stand; therefore seek for the testimony of Jesus and cleave to it, that when the trying time comes you may not stumble and fall." That sure made me realize how significant a personal conversion and testimony of Christ is.
Alrighty, love you people!! Have the greatest week! :)
We had our last district council together as this district and we all reflected and shared 3 things we had learned these past 7 weeks. So the 3 things I talked about were 1) my personal study about the second comforter and what it takes to see Christ face-to-face. I am far from having a perfect knowledge about this still by my studies have really made me think about and analyze my life. Where I'm at now, how I'm doing, and what I can do better. 2) Faith is a series of decisions we make that can only really be understood in reverse. We must always try to be positive and less critical of our lives. We're all trying to do the best we can and that's all Heavenly Father asks of us. As long as we're doing the right things, living worthy of the Holy Ghost, we can be satisfied where we are. Plus it's just always better to try and look for the things we're doing right that putting ourselves down for our faults. 3) Personal Conversion. My mission has been the biggest trial, faith builder, as well as the greatest joy of my life. I have never felt closer to my Savior and I never want to lose the relationship I have with Him now. We are all on our own personal path to discipleship. I know sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to other missionaries or people and picking out my faults but ultimately, that's not what we should be doing. If we are going to compare, we should compare our past selves to who we are today...or even what our future is looking like. The only real opinion that matters of us is Heavenly Father's. I have already recognized how I've changed and know that I won't be going home the same Kaylee Gale as I left. The tag really does something to ya lemme tell ya. In all good ways. A quote I absolutely love that hits home for me is from President Heber C. Kimbal when he says, "The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?… If you don’t have it you will not stand; therefore seek for the testimony of Jesus and cleave to it, that when the trying time comes you may not stumble and fall." That sure made me realize how significant a personal conversion and testimony of Christ is.
Alrighty, love you people!! Have the greatest week! :)
Love,
Sister Gale
PICS!!
1-3 our fav little girls
4-8 Kourosh and Nafas' baptisms
9 we could get used to this water
10-11 Babis' baptism
12-13 lit district
14 lesson with our fav fillapino Jhoe and the Cebu missionaries, Elders Anderson and Nye
15 "big family problem" dinner
16 Thess sunsets are real pretty
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