Weekly email # 8 - SURPRISE!

Hello once again! I have A LOT to talk about this week, but first,
let's start off with a sweet quote from one of my favorite apostles.

"Some might say, 'I know a member of your Church who is a hypocrite. I
could never join a church that had someone like him as a member.'
If you define hypocrite as someone who fails to live up perfectly to
what he or she believes, then we are all hypocrites. None of us is
quite as Christlike as we know we should be. But we earnestly desire
to overcome our faults and the tendency to sin. With our heart and
soul we yearn to become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ." -Elder Holland

I love Elder Holland. He's pretty much the best.

And to carry on from that note, MATT GOT BAPTIZED!! Yes, he was
supposed to get baptized on my birthday, Oct 10th. (Don't worry, he
got the message). Let me explain.

We had our last lesson with him last Thursday and JOKINGLY, my
companion brought up the fact that all he had to do now is get
interviewed and be baptized this Saturday. Matt and his wife, Ashley
both had a good laugh about it then silence filled the room as they
both looked at each other. Matt tends to ponder what we say a lot so I
didn't think anything of it until I heard him say the words, "Alright
let's do it."

What?

We both thought he was kidding, but then Ashley boldly reaffirmed,
"Yeah.. We can fit that in the schedule." I couldn't believe it. So we
returned to our apartment that night and made SO MANY phone calls and
texts. We wanted everyone to know about the baptism and it was one of
the most stressful experiences trying to set up a baptism that is
supposed to happen in the next 36 hours. But it happened.

I gave a short 5 minute talk on baptism and Elder Bunker baptized him.
After everything was done and the closing song was about to begin,
Matt asked if he could bear his testimony. It was powerful. It was
inspiring. He saw how much the Gospel had changed him and his families
life and was so grateful for everything. He shouted me out, by saying,
"Elder Galbraith shared with me a talk called 'The Power of
Gethsemane' and I grew so much more appreciation for Jesus Christ."

He turned and looked at me and he said, "Thank you not only for that
but being apart of this experience with me. And thank you for being so
loving to my family." It touched my heart. I didn't know I was such a
big influence to him. I'm so honored to be able to teach him the
Gospel. And his family is so awesome. Even though 8 kids can get
pretty crazy at times, I love them to death.

I confirmed him a member of the Church in Sacrament Meeting the next
day and I was so scared I wasn't go to be able to say all the right
words correctly. Ironically I messed up on his name the first time,
the easiest part of setting apart someone, but it was still a very
spiritual experience. And later that day he asked for another
conference talk to read. Why can't all investigators be like him?

This is Matt and we were able
to baptize him last Saturday! I love this guy and his family. They
want to go to the temple and be sealed together. Such an awesome
experience!

Speaking of Conference, I am so excited for this weekend!!! All the
missionaries are freaking out because we might get 3 new apostles, and
that only adds to the General Conference hype! My goal is to write 3-4
things down from each speaker, which shouldn't be too bad because I
won't have a comfortable, sleep-worthy couch to distract me.

Transfers are this week. I'm pretty sure I will still be here in Canal
Winchester with Elder Bunker tomorrow  but we will see. We are supposed
to find out whether or not we will be leaving by the end of today. I
definitely wouldn't mind staying another 6 weeks.

 Just got the official word that me and my companion will be
staying for at least the next six weeks. My District Leader (Elder
Brandt) which I am sad about, is getting transferred and one
companionship in our district is becoming a trio. Everyone else is
staying which is great! I love every missionary here (most of the
time) and I'm excited for these next 6 weeks.

We know we are getting transferred or not the day before transfers.


Love you all! Have a good conference weekend! Have a question in mind
and pray about it, and I'm sure you will receive an answer!

Elder G

Sent from my iPad

Week 7!! First transfer is almost complete!

Hello again! This week went by SUPER fast. It's already Monday and to

think this transfer will end on Oct 1st is so weird. P-days are such a

huge stress reliever even though sometimes (like today), it's not

because we have so much to do.

I'm writing this email right before we head off to our Mission Wide

End of Summer event! Half of the mission will be there and we'll be

playing sports, getting a free lunch, and other activities. Now this

would be totally fine with me if it didn't last from 10:30 - 3:30.

I've still gotta do laundry, grocery shopping (I haven't had milk in a

week. I'm changing that ASAP), and clean up around the apartment

before 6pm. Oh and it's a 45 minute drive both there and back. So

excited :)

Since this week was a shorter week, I don't have too much to talk

about but I wanted to bring this up.

Is it really that hard to pronounce Galbraith? Or have I just never

noticed this before? Probably 85% of the time we knock on doors, there

is always this typical conversation. Here, I'll quote it for you.

Missionaries - Hello! How are you?

Home Owner - I'm good!

Missionaries - Great! What is your name?

Home Owner - My name's (      ). And your names are?

Missionaries - Elder Bunker and Elder Galbraith

Home Owner - Elder Bunker and Elder Who?

Elder Galbraith - Galbraith. *Sighs*. Like a Gal's breath

Home Owner laughs

Literally. Every. Time. You don't know how sick I am of that joke. I

think my companion wants to punch me every time I do it.

On a lighter note I want to share a scripture. It is Mosiah 2:17 and it says,

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that

ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye

are only in the service of your God.

This scripture I find very interesting because sometimes when people

think of missionaries they think of two teenagers that just knock

doors all day. Thankfully, that isn't the case. Since I've been a

missionary, I can't tell you how many service projects I have done,

how many Bishop Storehouse visits I've attended and helped with, how

many times I've helped members and non members move, the list goes on.

Yes, the purpose of a missionary is to invite others to "Come Unto

Christ", but more times than not, the way you do that is by helping

that person, instead of forcing a message on them.

I'm not saying tracting is a bad thing. Tracting is effective in some

aspects but in others, not so much. I love service because it shows

that you love the person your talking to. No one is going to do

service for someone they hate, it simply doesn't make sense. And

that's why I love being a missionary. Not only are you sharing this

amazing message with people who need it, but you are a representative

of Jesus Christ. My parents will agree with me when I say, I don't

wake up at 6:30 every morning just to do it.

We also got to teach seminary for the first time this week. Though I

was absolutely terrified at first, once I started teaching the lesson,

I realized that these people that are just a few years younger than

me, can really benefit from this lesson. I've never been around a

group of teenagers that were just completely quiet the whole time.

Maybe it's because it was 6 in the morning, but I'll take it!

I'll send some pics with this email to show what's been happening

lately. I can't wait for you to see our district pictures. This group

is pretty funny.

Love you all!

Elder Galbraith

This is from our district meeting. We wanted to look like a family on

those really old pictures where they look scary and serious.

These group of missionaries I consider family. They are my first District, and I love them to death. District meetings are always super fun and very spiritual with these Elders and Sisters. Even if some of us (Elder Taylor) like to be more jokesters than usual.

From left to right : Sister Rodgers and Sister Bradford (Sister Training Leaders), Elder Bunker (companion), Elder Brandt (District Leader), me, Elder Taylor, Elder Carroll, Elder Levitt

This guy has a "Bee Beard". Last weekend, we went to the Honey Festival and the featured event was this man that would put the queen bee on his beard, and the rest of the hive would follow wherever the queen would go, hence this... Guy.

A pic from our temple trip. This is the whole zone and I love this group of missionaries. And of course, most of the sisters are taller than me so if you see me, that's because I'm on my tippy toes.

These are the Chans. We have dinner with them every Wednesday and they

feed us Chinese food every time we go over! And if there is leftovers,

they give us the rest for us to take back to our apartment. They are

so nice and kind. We talk about Filipino's alot. Don't worry, I've

only said good things :)

Aww, adorable. This is Ashley Weddle and Matt Seagar and us at their

wedding reception. They got married last Saturday and Matt is the one

that will be getting baptized on my birthday in the next couple of

weeks. One of Ashley's kids will also be getting baptized at the same

time too. They are so awesome and their 8 kids are even more great.

It's one of the sweetest feelings whenever one of their kids calls

out: "Elder Galbraith, I got your name tag again!"

Week 6 - First Temple Day!

Coming to you live from Downtown Columbus is Elder Galbraith. He has
the inside scoop on anything Mormon, Missionary Work, weird stuff, and
more!

"Elder, we hand it over to you. What's happening?"

"Thanks Jim! Now I don't know too much about downtown as this is the
second time I've ever been down here. But imagine have the size of
Salt Lake City and had a temple there that is shrunk to 1/10th of the
size of the Salt Lake Temple. That is not a false statement. Well it
could be but trust me, the Columbus temple is TINY!"

The experience and the endowment session were great! I've
only ever been in the Payson and Provo temple to do sessions and to do
it in a whole different state was awesome. It makes you appreciate the
large scale that the church is operating in, and how many lives it is
affecting.

Since we had our temple day today, they switched our p-day to today as
well. I've got to stop apologizing for my short emails. I want to be
able to write so much, and I only have a limited amount of time to do
so.

The scripture I wanted to share today is Mosiah 2:41.

In it, it says:

41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed
and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For
behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual;
and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into
heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of
never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are
true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

It's such a unique promise that if we obey the commandments, we can
'dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.' As I've had the
privilege to study the scriptures for an hour each day, I have gained
a more personal testimony with the Book of Mormon. It gives us
personal revelation and it has helped me SO MUCH on my mission. It
helps me simplify what I say to investigators and it helps my
knowledge of the scriptures grow as well.

Yesterday I went on my first exchange with our District Leader, Elder
Brandt. If you didn't know, an exchange is when you switch companions
with another pair of missionaries for 24 hours. I joined Elder Brandt
in his area and it was so fun! It's interesting the way missionaries
have different ways of contacting and teaching lessons. Even though
they do teach the same principles, it comes out in different ways and
it was really cool to see that. Elder Brandt has been a huge example
to me ever since I got out in the field.

In our District Meetings, he takes charge and tries to teach us
something new and has a good time doing it. We had this particular
meeting yesterday, and we talked about obedience and following the
guidelines we are given as missionaries. Though they may be hard,
these rules and regulations are there to bless us, not restrict. You
can say the same thing about the Commandments and how if we follow
them, we can become happier people.

Love you all! Thank you so much for your individual support.

Elder G

Sent from my iPad

Weekly Email #5 Bap' Em

Hey everyone! I officially hit my one month mark two days ago! Crazy to think I've been away from home that long and that I will be saying

that 23 more times.... It's so weird.

Anyways some of the many highlights we had this week were pretty rad.
We have an investigator that is getting baptized on the 10th of October (My Birthday) . His name is Matt; He is an awesome individual and is very family centered. Every commitment we give him he goes
above and beyond. He's spoiling me. He listens to EVERYTHING we say to him. He makes my job so easy. We have zero concerns with him and he
loves the Gospel so much. I'm so excited for his Baptism.

This week was our first week we were on bikes and it was... Fantastic!
We have a lot of country roads and our area covers.. well ALOT OF AREA. During this week my companion got a flat tire and we got rained
on three times, two in one day. Don't worry, pictures have definitely been taken and sent so you can observe my embarrassment.

Last Thursday night around 7:30pm we were biking across town from Columbus to Canal Winchester to talk to a less active member and right behind us, a
ginormous rain cloud was sandwiching us between it and another huge cloud. Let's just say we got stuck in it. We got stuck in it BAD. From where we were it should have only taken us 5 minutes to get to our apartment. Instead it took us 20 minutes and that thunderstorm lasted all night. We were biking into the wind and the rain was coming down so hard, I couldn't even look up and it became a combination of heavy breathing and complete exhaustion.

But I'm blessed because before this incident we didn't know what to do or where to go so we followed the promptings that were given to us.
God knew our situation and knew that if we stayed originally where we were at instead of biking across town, it could have been a lot worse. I never thought I would have such an experience and it humbled me a ton.

We also went to Buffalo Wild Wings with a member who paid for me, my companion, and two other elders meals. We got 60 wings between the 5
of us and we got 10 of their hottest wings, the Ghost Wings. I almost chickened out of eating one but decided that death is a good thing. I finished my wing in two bites and it was the most hot, spicy,
electrifying thing I've ever tasted. What it lacked in flavor, it made up for in spiciness. My Filipino family would be proud.

Like I mentioned, a local church member payed for our tab that day.
And just a couple hours ago, we ran into another member at an Arby's. He immediately said hi, gave me and my companion $30, and left with
his family. That $30 payed for our meals and our grocery shopping for this week. I'm so grateful for all the great people I have met on my
mission. And especially for my Heavenly Father for his tender mercies he has given me.

I have been so blessed in the short amount of time I have been in Columbus. There is so much goodness in this world, sometimes you just
have to be willing to create it. Instead of looking at all the worlds problems, I would invite you to have the hymn "Have I Done Any Good"
in your hearts and make our world a better place. People are struggling. So help them out. And when you are struggling, our Heavenly Father is waiting with open arms. We just have to act.

1. Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

2. There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
’Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

[Chorus]
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

Oh and for those that have sent me mail, thank you so much! I'm trying
to find time to answer those asap. Thank you all so much for your love
and treats. Love ya!

Elder G

P.S. Of course I heard about the BYU game. Next, is the OSU game ;) GO COUGARS!


Some pics of our apartment: