Weekly Email # 47 - Starting Anew

Hello!

We had a good week at church today! R.T. and I got some matching
floral ties. That's all you need to achieve happiness.

Haha not only did we have matching ties, but we have been getting people to church too! Sarah enjoyed church again! Again, we are excited to help her as July 16th comes around. And we got a new guy named Russ Weber. He has been taught by missionaries before and decided to take a break from them for 6 months before he called us up and asked if we could come by sometime. We greatly obliged and had a great first couple lessons with him. He believes that God hates him because of all the stuff he had to endure over these past 40 years. But now he's starting to come around to believe that God has mercy on us and he learned a lot about that at Church yesterday. He was only able to stay for Sacrament because his back was causing him a lot of pain but he had a great experience at the same time.

We started last week off with a couple of long tracting sessions. We've had to start anew because our cycle of the old investigators has become dry and we've had to go searching for some more. We got a lot of return appointments for this coming week, so I'm excited for those future visits.

We also got to go to the temple this past Friday and that was really great! Got to put some names in the temple, receive personal revelation, all that wonderful goodness. The mission has helped me appreciate the temple and all that it has to offer for us people here on Earth. Since we are able to only go three times a year, you really cherish the opportunities of when you go.

From those who have read my previous weekly emails, you know that I like to quote different prophets and apostles. And I found this quote the other day in my studies. It's become one of my favorites now.

“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature" - President Ezra Taft Benson

Another brief email I'm sorry but know that my testimony has been strengthened through the work we have been doing out here. It's the Lords work, therefore, we are entitled to his blessings and his love. All we gotta do is do it.

Love you all, hope you all have a splendid week! More pictures down below.

Elder G

When you do service all morning, you gotta enjoy some Burger King and feed the fries to the ducks. Duh.

Dinner with Brian Gaumer (Bry, for short because he's the homie) and Don Williams, both are really good friends! They say the mash potatoes were gross, but they were absolutely heavenly to me!

I would like to call this the "Amish Haystack" hahaha thank you Sister Weaver!

Last day before Elder Blanchard departed Mount Vernon.

Sent from my iPad

Weekly Email # 46 - "Going up to the house of the Lord"

Hello Everyone! I don't have much time today because of our temple
trip that is occurring later on this morning, so I'll update you
really quick.

-If you read my email from this past Monday, you know I am still in
Mt. Vernon! I really do love this place and it's crazy that I'll have
been here for 6 months at the end of this transfer. Who knows, I might
end up staying even longer, which I really wouldn't have a problem
with.

- I also got a new companion! His name is Elder Larsen from the Logan
area. He's a dairy farmer. Now I can say I've had a rancher and a
farmer as two separate companions. Haha but he's cool! We have our
commonalities and I'm excited to get to know him over these next few
weeks!

- Cool Experience for the week! Yesterday, we were teaching our
investigator Sarah. After we said an opening prayer she immediately
says the following. "So I've been thinking about my baptism. And it's
kinda crazy but I was hoping that I can be baptized on July 16th.
Would that be possible?"

"Yes."

Okay, I lie. I didn't just say yes, I said, "ABSOLUTELY! Here's what
we are going to do!" Hahaha I was freaking out! Sarah is a wonderful
person and she's really gained a testimony of the Gospel just from
simply asking questions. She's basically converted and she's still a
few weeks from her baptism. Absolutely awesome.

I've gotta head off now, but know that Gospel is the only way you can
achieve EVERLASTING happiness. I find so much joy from just doing the
Work than I would if I was doing anything else in my life. And
especially when those hard days come, it's very comforting to know
that I believe in "Good Things To Come". That's the hope our belief as
Mormons can bring and that's freaking fantastic.

Thank you all for your love and positivity! That sounds like a hippy
statement but it's totally true, you help me carry on the work! Have a
great week.

Your-Almost-11 Month-Old-Missionary,

Elder Galbraith

Sent from my iPad

Weekly Email # 45 - Transfer Hurricane

Hey Everyone!

Craziness.  Elder Blanchard will be leaving Mount Vernon and I will be staying.


My new companion is Elder Larsen, from Logan, UT.

Disclaimer: one of the members sent this picture to my mom so of course she had to post it on the blog. :)

However, the current apartment we are in (the really nice one. With a garage, very clean apartment, etc) will be taken over by sisters. :(  Sister missionaries... Pff.... :) which means me and my future companion will take over the other Elders area. I'm excited though. Alot of mixed feelings, but they are all for the most part, good. I love Mt. Vernon and hope to do my best for the next 6 weeks! Nothing quite like getting doubled out and then doubling in to the area right next to yours.

This last week was fun being with the mini missionary and showing him the ropes of what missionary work is like. Graham, you're a pretty cool kid and it was pretty fun working with you.

I haven't had much time to type a lengthy email today so I'll leave you guys with some more pictures and a cool quote. Thanks for all your love and support.

I really need to slim down this suit.....

 The Zone and the mini missionaries.

Weekly Email # 44 - Mini Missionary Week!

Hey everyone! Quick update on everything.

Investigator Update - Still working with some of the same investigators we've been working with in past weeks and trying to get new ones at the same time. Our Ward Mission Leader has asked everyone in the Ward to give one referral that they know would benefit from seeing missionaries and it's been helping us out a lot. And we got some more help..... From.....

Duh duh duh! A mini missionary!!!! You don't believe me? Look! I caught him sleeping after 20 minutes of personal study. Hahahahaha!

Haha he's cool, his name is Graham Fordham from the Delaware Ward, just north of downtown Columbus. He's 16, a convert of only four years. He reminds me of Foster Harvey (oops, meant ELDER Harvey). He's really determined to do missionary work and he'll be with us until this Saturday! I'm freaking excited! One thing, though. I thought Mini missionaries were supposed to be.... Well..... Mini. Hahaha he's 6'2. Like c'mon. Haha! I can't avoid tall people, I swear!

To continue with the weird highlights this past week I learned how to stack hay bails (probably butchered that spelling but whatevs) for the first time last Monday. Look how much fun we had! (Hint the obvious sarcasm).

Wednesday, I learned the true power of hay... We were doing hay in a barn similar to this one. There was one main entrance to let the air flow in. That's it. There was a ton of dust and we were only stacking hay for 10 minutes when I couldn't take it anymore. My allergies kicked in really bad and at times, I felt like I couldn't breathe. My eyes were watering really badly, itchy skin, all that wonderful stuff. Brother Weaver, the Mormish member that we were helping, saw I stepped outside and rushed me to his home because he said I got the worst reaction out of anyone he has ever seen. Well of course I live to tell the tale. Thank goodness. After receiving medication and a Priesthood Blessing from Brother Weaver, I stopped getting worse. And this whole week, I've been trying to recover from it. Most of it is gone as of now, just a very redundant cough that nags me quite a bit, but not as bad as it could have gotten. Yes mom, I've been resting, taking care of myself and trying to get better.

This week especially, I have come to see the blessings that come from people that pray for the missionaries. I'm grateful for all of your desire to help me on my personal journey out here.

I sincerely wish I could tell you more of what's been going on. This email could go on forever. Love you all! Have a great week! Thank you again.

Elder G


Sent from my iPad

Weekly Email # 43 - #PositiveAttitude

Hey everyone!

Sweet quote of the day.

"However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines." - Jeffery R Holland.

It's starting to get hot again! Nothing like mid 80's with 85% humidity. Time to pull out the short sleeve shirts. Later today, we will be bailing hay for a member so he can get his farm set up for the summer. Ready or not, here comes tanning season!

When I first came out, my uncle sent me a talk titled, "Beware of Pride " by Ezra Taft Benson. After analyzing this talk for the third time now (because it is that amazing and awesome).

I stumbled across Elder Holland's talk, "Pride and the Priesthood". I've never seen two talks go hand in hand as they do with these two.

In Preach My Gospel, it says that, "The opposite of humility is pride, which is condemned in the scriptures. To be prideful means to put greater trust in oneself than in God or in His servants".
I've personally been trying to apply this as much as I can so I can focus on the work and not have to worry about the little things.

This weeks been another hard one, but quite a few lessons have been sent from heaven to me. For me to learn, the first thing that I need is humility. Otherwise, I'm going to get offended by what someone is trying to teach me. And I've also learned that that's how the investigators feel sometimes.

My goal this week is to be more Christlike. I need to focus on the good in people instead of the things that make them human.

Short email this week so I'll send pictures.

Love you all!

Elder G

Sent from my iPad

Me and Elder Blanchard at a cover bridge.

Some buggies that Brother Weaver used back in his Amish days.
He takes them out every now and then.

Brother Weavers furniture shop. Oh. And a big chair that he made.