Family, Friends, Esteemed Colleagues, and others...

Family, Friends, Esteemed Colleagues, and others 

First off, please forgive my poor English; I do not speak my own language very good anymore.

Indeed it is true that I have transfers!! Goodbye Huitzilzingo! But here’s the problem... I am not totally sure where I will be going! The mission has changed its boundaries, and I get to go open an area out there in the new part of the mission, actually in another state! State of Morelos! It’s going to be a new experience for the whole mission.... ha-ha I am super excited though, I get open my third area in a row... It’s what the Lord wants for me! 

The baptisms went good! We exceeded our own expectations and we were able to baptize 4 people on the 31st of December! Gabriel, Adriana, Patricia, and Yolanda! 

We were blessed big time here! I have been praying to be able to baptize and we did it! I know of the Lords love for us, I know it’s real, real powerful, I have felt very strongly of the spirit in these times! It’s truly amazing! They all got confirmed on Sunday and I felt so happy, they felt happy too, They have told me on several occasions that they have felt the spirit through feelings and to hear that, makes me feel so happy, that the Lord is working with this people, that the Lord loves them and wants them back with him, they told me to find them, to put up with them, and to baptize them before this life, and that’s what I will do.  I feel very content leaving Huitzilzingo in E. Rods hands now; he gets to stay here in Huitzi.  

I went on divisions and look what I found!

I have seen the 2 sides of life, those who live the commandments and those who don’t. We all know why we should obey them, we all know why we should live the gospel and so I say DO IT. It is so much better to work hard in the gospel, to obey, to seek Christ and to have him on our side, or better said to be on HIS side. 

I feel so happy when I see families living the gospel, when they take those steps, and feel this joy, and unfortunately it brings me sadness when I see people, that choose not to live that way, and fall away. 

If we strengthen our faith, we will not have to worry about falling away, we will be taken care of, we will have the strength and what is necessary to endure and accept what comes with smiles. 

Here is what I wrote to President Crickmore today: 

Presidente!

Pues este es todo, E Rodriguez ya creció alas y esta casi a punta de volar, no puedo creer que tan rapido es el tiempo a veces...

yo me esforzé con el y espero el mejor por el.

Presidente nosotros vimos muchos milagros aquí en Huiltzilzingo 1, pudimos llevar 4 almas a las aguas de bautizmo el 31 de dicimbre! yo siento muy contento dejándola con Elder Rodriguez, ya sabe que yo me voy!! a quien sabe donde pero a Moroni!

Y se que mi padre celestial tiene algo muy especial planeado para mi.

Pero mi vacuna hoy no fue algo que esperaba, y la hermana Alvarado es mas fuerte que yo pensaba!

Gracias por todo Presidente!

Aprecio todo lo que hace por nosotros, en verdad!

Elder Galbraith

I truly know that Jesus lives.  I know he is the Christ and that he loves each and every one of us! 

Keep doing what you know is right! 

Elder Galbraith 

Mexico City, Chalco Missionaries 

CHRISTMAS...and...

MERRY CHRISTMAS…and…

I just wanted to say that I love you all!!! 

Me and my nephew from the mission Elder Cuamani

The mission although one of the hardest things I have even done, has brought me more joy, than almost any other thing in the world, the only other thing that brings me more joy is my family! You guys!  The love of God is real, the love of our big brother Jesus Christ is real, and I feel it!!!  

 This week has been something weird, for Christmas we couldn’t really work all that much... But we got to sing in Chalco with a bunch of missionaries on Wednesday, we contacted a ton of people and gave out Books of Mormon wrapped up like presents! That was cool!  Christmas is kind of weird in Mexico!

Elder G taking advantage of Little Caesars Pizza

We found out that a Little Caesars Pizza opened!!!! So we took advantage of that opportunity! 

We have been working hard this cycle, working very hard, and we have seen the blessings and I can honestly say that we will baptize here in Huitzilzingo!  This is officially my last week with Elder Rodriguez... that went by waaaaay to fast, pray that he can have a good second comp, and that My new comp can be someone that will help me to progress. 

Missionaries on Christmas Day!

Not much changes here... Work, work, work,  but the work is amazing, it is the best work in the world.  It’s not really work, it’s more like helping. We help more than anything, we are refining ourselves and we are refining others too. I am glad that my testimony could touch your heart, I have felt my testimony grow so much here Mom, and I know that I couldn’t have done anything better to build my testimony than serve a mission. I feel so close to the Lord, I feel bad when I don’t obey, I feel amazing when I do obey and like I said I feel very good with my life, with who I am now! 

I would like to share my testimony with each of you...

Testimony of Elder Galbraith 

I know that this church is true, I got on my knees, and I asked the Lord if this is true, and HE ANSWERED.  He told me that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ that this is the church that He established, and this is where he wants me to be, so this is where I will be.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and it blows my mind the things he was able to accomplish, and he did it with the Lord.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true, I have read it and I have come to the knowledge that it is the word of God.  I know that we are not perfect and that we are nothing without God, but we are EVERYTHING with Him.  He has changed my life and continues to do so, because I let Him. I love this gospel and I love Jesus Christ and want to do everything I can to obey and follow him, so that’s what I will do. 

Now that Christmas is over, here’s a new year’s resolution for ya: Remember Jesus Christ every day.  Do it and I promise you the blessings from heaven will rain down!! 

I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Love,

ELDER GALRBAITH 

I Testify of His Love for You!

I am super jealous of all the snow you are getting... I miss it so bad, it’s super-hot here, cold in the morning, but hot all day.... it doesn’t feel like Christmas, that’s for sure! We work all day long and it makes the time FLY.

My week went good, we have been running like crazy getting ready for the festivities and all that.

We are preparing 2 people for baptism this week; we have 2 baptism dates for the 26th of December. We will be working hard for those baptisms. We are this close! I feel it!! 

My weeks are super, super busy and super, super fast!  Things are good with my comp and I.  We are rapidly approaching the end of his training! We only have 2 more weeks together. We are getting along good.  He’s a good kid, with lots to learn but he will do great things in the mission. 

Well here for Christmas they sing weird songs, the Catholics walk around the streets in the night asking for food as part of some ritual... the members don’t do much, Christmas really isn’t all that big here, they put up lights and all that but I haven’t seen too many trees and they don’t really give gifts! And like I said, THERE IS NO SNOW!  Oh and they work all day long, so they don’t really do anything different on Christmas. 

I have really learned the importance of Christ in Christmas this year. I have come to understand a little bit better about who he was and what he did.  I read a talk that Jeffrey R Holland gave and he talked about his first Christmas away from home in the mission, and I can relate to it.  I learned that Christ gave us the greatest gift of all, his life.  He loves us so much that He would suffer, bleed, and die, so that evil, death, and hell would relinquish their hold on mortality. 

He loves us, he loves me, AND HE LOVES YOU: I do not have words to explain the love I feel towards each of you, and if you can imagine how much love you feel for me, and then times that by a million or a billion, that’s what our big brother Jesus Christ feels for you and me.  In this Christmas season I want to remember Christ more, and have a stronger relationship with him, and that’s what I will do. 

I testify of His love for you!

Merry Christmas!!

Elder Galbraith

#SharetheGift
#ASaviorIsBorn

The Mission Rocks!!!

First of all the mission rocks!! Life is good, I am good, God is great, what more could ya want!? I do need your prayers; my investigators need your prayers too! Very much in fact, we have to baptize this cycle, and I am kind worried I won’t be able to. 

I was able to realize that baptizing isn’t everything, and we cannot measure our success by how many people we baptize! We have to realize what it is that God really wants for us. 

This week went by lightning fast, and I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas! Loco verdad?  

I hope that you are enjoying the snow, are scary as it is, because I miss it! It’s still hot here sometimes....

I will be honest the Christmas season isn’t the same here in Mexico, it’s very very different!! It’s kinda cold here, and there aren’t very many lights, not very much Christmas music either. 

I will never forget the 12 of December though, that’s the day of the Virgin Mary here in Mexico.... ALL and I mean ALL of the Catholics come out of their holes and party HARD. We didn’t have that much success that day, it was a challenge for sure, we stuck it out and worked but it was rough, I had to repeatedly pray for strength and forgiveness that day. 

It was definitely an experience of a lifetime!  

I did come to realize that this people are slightly confused and all I really wanted to do was help them!  They need our help and that’s why we are here.  We are not here to preach to them the same lesson over and over, nor are we here to mess around.  This is serious work here, these people told us to visit them in the life before and they are waiting for us!!

But let’s see here best thing that happened this week: we had a cultural event for the dedication of the Tijuana temple ad we invited an investigator and when we passed by to take him to the church he wasn’t there, and he wasn’t answering our calls, so we thought he wrote us off, but when we got to the church, there he was!!!

What I like most about being a missionary: speaking Spanish, hearing someone pray for the first time, and the food... oh and of course the spirit!!

I testify that Jesus is the Christ, he atoned and died for us, but he lives!

I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ the son. The Book of Mormon is real, I have read it, and I asked and I got my answer! It’s the truth! 

Love

Elder Galbraith

Mis Amados!

Mis amados! 

Let me start off with this... 

I have truly grown in this week, I learned a ton! 

 First off, I applied Alma 22:16 to my life. This scripture has changed my life, and since I have done that I have felt the spirit fall upon me like no other. It truly has become a privilege to have the spirit in my life! 

I have also learned that we need to be willing to listen to the Lord, to his spirit, and to put his spirit as priority, we should always pray, and then listen always willing to do exactly what the Lord says!

We need to have the spirit in our lives, we cannot navigate this life without it, ¨by small and simple things, bring to pass the greatest blessings of God

I want to share with you what I wrote to President this week! 

Presidente

Esta semana fue muy bien, trabajamos duro pero también mas eficaz, pudimos subir nuestro logro de lecciones con MP.

Y vimos milagros, nuestro investigadora esta progresando sigue con su fecha y hablamos con su esposo sobre su matrimonio y el si quiere casarse! Solo nos faltan a conseguir la fecha y hacerlo.

Otro investigador nos dijo que el sabe que esta iglesia es la verdadera, pero tiene dudas en cuanta a la virgen. Pero si quiere unirse con la iglesia de Jesucristo! 

Este mes verdaderamente es el mes de milagros! Se lo es. 

Siento muy animado.

También hoy tuvimos la oportunidad hacer divisiones con los asistentes! Elder Reidhead me dio algunos consejos bien bien buenos, y los voy a aplicar. 

Esta es la verdadera Pres, sin ninguna duda en mi mente! 

Le amo mucho y no puedo esperar a ver que mas es Señor tiene para nosotros! 

Elder Galbraith 

You will need to translate it...=) 

I went on divisions today with one of the AP´s and he is a great friend of mine, and he taught me something super powerful today, I have been worried lately because I haven’t been baptizing like I did before, and like I mentioned in my letter he told me that there is something that the Lord wants us to learn, something that will make us stronger, something that we need in order to push on, something that we cannot live without! 

The Lord wants me to be a man, he wants me to leave my anger behind and to be more humble, and right now that’s more important than baptizing, but don’t be confused, I will baptize this month, we have baptism dates and we will baptize this month! But only because Heavenly Father permits me to be successful like that! 

…and I want to know that I am loving this work.  It has been the best decision I have made in my life. I don’t have words to explain it. 

I Love you!

Elder Galbraith 

First Week of the New Cycle

This week was the first week of the new cycle, E. Rod and push on together! 

  

Well let me tell you how my Thanksgiving was... I completely forgot.... It was on Wednesday I am pretty sure and on Saturday i realized I missed Thanksgiving.... so that’s how it went for me, ha-ha pretty lame right??  I am glad that you had a good thanksgiving!

Anyways in this week, we worked hard again, we found new people, taught lessons, walked a lot, and worked hard to change lives. 

Elder Bramble (one of the Elders in our apartment) got sick this week, like super sick.  He had a seizure or something like that one day and we ran around town looking for medicine and we took care of him for a bit. He is better now!!

We played soccer today in the church, and I finally scored some goals again! This is progress! I am still by no means good at soccer but I am improving! But the thing that I am dying for is lacrosse!! I miss it soooooooooo much! I wanna play so hard sometimes! But I will have to wait! 

Pics before changes with Elder Riedhead and Elder Vazquez

This week I have been super focused on the rules, I know that one could easily say that it’s okay not to obey all of the rules and one could easily do that, but then there is always the question of ¨what if¨?  I hate this question, it always leaves people with doubt, and it always leaves regrets.  Now we come back to this speech, Live Without Regrets, and I could preach about living without regrets all day long, but all I am going to say is this, Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf has a talk in the Liahona of October and it’s called Finish With Your Torch Still Lit. It talks about finishing a race with you torch still lit, talking about Greek runners that ran a marathon with a torch and it’s not a sprint, they won by finishing with their torches lit.  We need to understand this profound lesson.  Dieter says, we need to acquire the faith to work hard, give our all, leave behind fear and do what the Lord wants us to, to finish strong, and if we do so, WE WILL NOT HAVE REGRETS: 

I am positive that if we apply this in our lives we can be servants of Heavenly Father with faith so strong that it won’t matter what trials we have, we will have our torch lit, and burning brightly! 

I love you all

Elder Galbraith 

Hoorah for Israel!!!

It is good to hear from you all! Well...HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL... we will work Thanksgiving day, they don’t celebrate it here... they’re all ready for Christmas here! Santa in the mall, Christmas trees, ornaments and all that jazz (GO JAZZ) 

Anyways the changes came again, every 6 weeks! Fastest 6 weeks of my life! Elder Rodriguez and I stay. There are no changes here. Ha-ha I get to train my son for the full 12 weeks!! Boom! 

We painted the house, it was white inside and super dirty, so we painted, now it’s nice and pretty.  We rearranged our rooms and the kitchen and all that, not that amazing but still cool! 

All the missionaries of the Huitzilzingo Ward

This week was good. December is the month of miracles here in Chalco and this week started that month, we found new people, dropped old ones, taught people, helped people, made a difference and worked hard! 

And finally we had 3 investigators in the church! 2 for the first time!  One of them, a guy named Mauricio said that he felt something different, is was a change for sure, he doesn’t really know how he feels still about it but he said it was different, so that sounds good to me.  The other Elizabeth came and didn’t really say much but she definitely wants to keep having the lessons!! 

SUCCESS! 

Another investigator that we were going to drop said he wants to get baptized... so the challenge will be to give him a date! 

We worked our little bums off this week, and we saw results!! 

I have seen a great change in me. I don’t want to brag of myself, but Pres. Crickmore told me once that God is always willing to mold us and change us IF WE LET HIM. I have decided to let him. 

I have been praying for humility and patience and the attributes of Christ and I have seen such a change in my life because of that, I always pray for more help, I will never be able to do it on my own, so i have to pray and always humble myself and accept his advice and the advice of others that want to help me. 

I have a temper but I am not going to return to the states with my temper. It stays here in Mexico, so I will be a changed man, and that’s what God wants for me! 

All of this is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Just a little part of my testimony that has grown recently. 

I read in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 this week and it really helped me to understand more about charity, about how to be more charitable. Maybe it can help ya'll too. 

I also read in Alma 5:38 and I also learned a lot, I love that Scripture! 

I am listening to Jeffrey R Holland talk right now while writing and he says when we have trials or personal problems, come unto Him, all ye that are heavy laden and I will give ye rest. 

Those words touched my heart. I love this gospel! It’s true.

You are all in my prayers and will always be! 

Hoorah for Israel!!! 

Elder Galbraith 

My brother of the mission!