Ay estamos, mis queridos!

Ay estamos, mis queridos.

It is good to hear that from ya’ll (those who email me)! I am glad to hear that things are still normal.

My last district in Huitzilzingo

I know how great and rich the blessings are for praying. First off I have never prayed so much in my life and I can see such a difference. I just felt the need to say that. 

I pray a ton! And due to that I feel so much closer to the Lord, crazy right? Close to the Lord in Mexico, but it’s true.  I feel his love and I receive his guidance! 

I have been working and working and surprisingly it doesn’t seem that difficult anymore.  The time is crazy fast, last week was literally a blur, and I feel like I am in a movie.  I wake up and everything is on fast forward. 

We have a pretty big area and sometimes we have to walk like a full hour to get to some appointments.  But I have seen some pretty sweet miracles lately.  We went to the house of a family,  we sat down to talk and to one of the daughters wants to get baptized but her husband won’t let her talk with the missionaries, and he was there this day but he went and hid outside in his car when we got there.  We sat down and that amazing little nudging from the spirit came, and it was telling me that I should get and go invite him to join us. So being the person I am, I ignored it. 

It came back stronger and I couldn’t ignore it anymore, so I went and talked with Victor, the husband, for a little bit and he joined us! He liked it a lot actually, and ever since then he has loved listening to the missionaries and is super excited to go to church.

We also asked a reference from this family and they gave us on of their other son Jose Antonio and we went, and he accepted us! He wants to listen and still wants to get baptized! Miracles right??  

I keep praying for y’all! 

I think of you while are working and all that.  I always pray for you, so that you can do well on the job, or in whatever things you guys normally do! It’s all about faith or thinking positively!  I know it’s hard, but God gave us of the hard and the bad so that we know of the good. 

Well I am actually getting a lot more familiar with my area.  I like my comps!  They’re super cool guys and we work hard together!  My area is big but it’s awesome! 

We are able to see miracles here, and I am confident that baptisms will come again soon! 

Here's what I wrote to my President: 

Presidente!

Primeramente me arrepiento por decir que íbamos a dividir nuestra área, no lo vamos hacer.

Solo requiere diligencia y un planeamiento eficaz, entonces, me gustaría quedarnos así.

Mucho éxito aquí en Lomas de Real, hay muchos miembros muy muy dispuestos a trabajar con nosotros y estamos progresando como consejo también.

Me gusta mucho por acá y no hace tanto calor como me decían.

Siento que hay que aplicar a como comenzar dejar con algunos investigadores nuestros.

Toda esta muy bien con mis compañeros, y encontramos que enseñando en trió es mucho mas eficaz cuando haya plan de lección o bosquejo.

Hemos puesto muchas metas y y planes a llevarlas a cabo.

Siga orando por nosotros.

Gracias por todo Presidente.

Elder Galbraith

I love you so much, and I can testify of the blessings that come from obeying the commandments, going to church, praying, and reading of the scriptures. I live it, I breathe it, and I love it! 

This is what God wants for us, he wants happiness, and this is the way that we find the greatest happiness available in this life, 

I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Me and Elder Antonio 

With Love,

ELDER GALBRAITH 

VIVA MEXICO

January 11, 2016

Well… I would like to let you know that all is good here in my hood, and trust me, that am where I am at...

Me and my new companions

Ha-ha nah just kidding!  I actually upgraded areas! The mission changed limits! We gave up 2 stakes in Ixtapaluca and Iztapalapa.  So where I spent 6 months in my first area is no longer part of the Mexico City Chalco Mission!!!  But we won 3 stakes in the state of Morelos, it’s another state. It’s a lot hotter here and a lot cleaner!!  Its super cool here!  But my area is HUGE!! It’s insane; it’s bigger than all of my first 2 areas put together! Crazy right?  It’s called Lomas de Real, and it’s been real. They sent me back to the hills! ha-ha! I will be getting back into shape now!  My new companions are My new companions Elder Avery, from Plain City Utah, and Elder Costeño from tlaxcala Mexico.  Can you tell which one is which?

We don’t have a ward, it’s just a branch and not many people attend.  I think yesterday there were about 40 people.   But they are a strong people, I have never felt more welcomed and more supported, they want to help a lot. So that makes me happy, It’s kind of confusing trying to know the area again, but this time my area is enormous!

Oh and guess what???? I am District Leader.... Trust me, I didn’t see it coming either... they told me… my jaw hit the floor when they announced it in the reunion of the changes. 

My district is PURE SISTERS.... ha-ha this will be super fun!! 

We have talked about the WHY here so many times in the mission, to focus on the why and the how and when will be taken care of.  I like to think that the basics are like the building blocks, and everything else is like the mortar, it just falls into place!  It’s not hard to place brick and if we do it right, then placing the mortar is super easy and we don’t have to work as hard. 

I have learned many things but overall lately I have been thinking a lot about a scripture in Alma 7:20.  It talks about how God can’t walk in wrong paths or something, it’s different a little in Spanish, but what i learned is that Heavenly father does NOT MAKE MISTAKES.  He cannot sin, nor make a mistake.  He is perfect and everything he does is for a purpose, for our better good!  If we have something difficult that is happening to us, it is because we need it, and God has not messed up, not put us in the wrong place, nor given us the wrong calling, what he does is perfect, in his time and in his own way. 

I complained a little bit when I first found out about having to open another area, to have to be in a land super far away from everything, to do something new and waaaaaaay out of my comfort zone, I complained.  But I realized I needed to repent and understand more about myself and try to focus more on what God wants from and for me. I needed to be humble and accept that I am not the best person to determine my destiny.  So I have decided, once again, to devote myself to what my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want from me.  I testify that if we put our faith in them, we cannot be scared, broken, defeated, nor hurt, because they will strengthen us, protect us, heal us, and sustain us. Because He loves us, more than we can imagine! 

I am super glad to be a missionary because the things I have learned in my short time here in Mexico would have taken me a lifetime to understand in the world.  I have learned and grown so much and I know that all of it is for a purpose and it literally fills me with joy to be able to know it. 

I love you all!

Love,

ELDER GALBRAITH 

Our House

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