Organizing & the Autobody Shop!!

Well, this week -just like last week- has been a little insane!! Monday we spent all day (and almost all night) getting packed, our apartment cleaned and everything ready for the Elders to take over our area. Tuesday was transfers and I left for S, Kentucky, with Sister Jn as my new companion! As a greenie myself once, exact obedience didn't always click. I missed my old life and tried for a bit to be two places at once. It took time for my heart to be completely in my work, but it came with diligence, obedience, prayer and sacrifice. I know this Sister will be a powerful missionary. She is already very bold.  

New Companion

Things here in S have been crazy. The area book here is updated, but it's not very organized. We have had trouble finding direction for our days because our tools aren't great. So, we've spent a lot of time organizing the area into sections as well as organizing the area book and former investigators. My companion has only been out for 6 weeks, neither of us have a GPS, and I haven't really driven in who-knows-how-long, so there have been many adventures this week! And about 303,947,933 U-turns as well! :) But, despite that, we have seen many blessings this week. It really makes you realize how much missionary work is the Lord's work!! 

Last night, for instance, we were driving and decided to turn down this random street and do a little tracting. Finally, it was about time to go and we decided to knock one more door. A girl answered the door, and her grandma invited us right in. We sat down to say a prayer with her and as we talked, she shared with us some of the trials she was having in her life and with her family. The Spirit was very strong and she shared with us that four years ago almost to the day, her grandson was killed. I know that Heavenly Father loves His children and is so acutely aware of each of His children. It was incredible that Heavenly Father led us to her door the night before the anniversary of his death. 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that the Atonement has the power to heal us. As we rely on Christ and ask for His help and His strength, He will give it to us.

Driving has been terrible. I love having a car, but let's be honest: I do nothing for women-driver stereotypes. The roads are SO narrow!! They are not like roads out West. There are two lanes, one going one direction and the other going the other direction. And did I mention they are very narrow? AND there are ditches on both sides of the road in most of S. It's terrible. Here is something that I learned this week though: When you turn, you have to wait for there to be no traffic in either direction because the roads are simply too narrow to turn and not go into the ditch. I almost put us in a ditch. Thankfully we didn't. But, I did put a dent in the car :( So we have to get that fixed this week... It's terribly sad. The people at the autobody shop recognized us. :( The last Sister hit a dog last transfer and split the bumper. The roads are crazy and on top of that, I am not excited for winter weather driving. P R A Y for this Arizona girl to be able to drive in snow and rain. :p

Transfer Meeting last week

I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas, and taking time to not only remember Christ this season, but to show our love for Him by following His example. What things have you done to serve God's children this week??

Love,

Sister Galloway

Curveball!!

Well, this week has been a little crazy, to say the least. First off, we had to finish teaching J and then get everything set up for the baptism. That kept us busy. Then, Wednesday at 2:30, we got a phone call from the mission president. I couldn't fathom why he'd be calling. I answered and he told us that our area was going to be closed as of Tuesday, Dec. 9th. It was a sad day and week!! There were a few nights I woke up and was wide awake. I just laid there and thought about things and prayed. One of the Elders gave me a blessing Wednesday and that was really nice.  I am so heartbroken to leave, but I know that this is Heavenly Father's will for us and for the area at this time. The Elders in our branch are taking it over. 

The silver lining, though, is J. H. Looking back, it's amazing to see what a miracle it was that a) we were able to find him and b) that he's getting baptized on the last day of the transfer!! He was our area's first (and last) baptism since it was opened a year ago. Sister J and I sung "When I am Baptized." It was great to see him walking down into the font and think about the first time I met him :)

Happy, Happy Day! 

I know that Heavenly Father has a bigger plan for each of us than we can possibly imagine. He loves us and he looks at what is best for us in the eternal perspective -not just here and now.

Saturday, we got a call and found out where Sister J will be transfering to and I will be follow-up training in S. I met the Sister I will finish up training a couple of weeks ago. On the bright side, we'll both be in cars in our new areas. Yay!!! :) My time is short today because I have to pack and clean everything. 

Love y'all,

Sister Galloway

Note from Jana: Sister E (from Henderson, KY) texted me and told me that she really loved Ashlyn and appreciated her testimony and her inner strength. She said she wanted to get Ash a gift and asked what she liked. As it turned out, I sent her our family's favorite Chocolate chip Cookie recipe. She made them for Ash and delivered them to her right before she was transferred out. 

Ashlyn said, "That was probably the nicest thing any member has done for me on my mission. It was PERFECT!" 

Sister E delivered her favorite cookies to her!!

Miracles, Listening to the Spirit and Toilet Water

This week we saw a big miracle!!! We have been teaching J. H. and he has been living the word of wisdom the past few weeks. We've talked a lot with him about baptism. He said that, although he feels good about it, he needed to pray about it and receive that witness from God. We have been praying a lot for him and continuing to teach him and supporting him in living the Word of Wisdom. This week at work, he had a co-worker offer him a cigarette. Automatically, he reached out to take it. However, as soon as he touched it, it broke in half!! It's amazing how when we put forth our best efforts, how Heavenly Father will intervene on our behalf :)

I also had a neat experience that strengthened my testimony of prayer and personal revelation. We were planning for J H's lesson and had prepared a lesson on tithing. However, as we were doing our weekly planning, we knelt down to seek inspiration on what we needed to teach him. As I began praying, mid-sentence I had the very distinct impression that he needed to understand the Restoration of the Gospel more clearly and completely. I had two pages from PMG pop into my mind. As we read those pages after the prayer, we knew both why we needed to review it again, and how we should teach it. Our lesson wasn't perfect -not by far- but the Spirit was there and he had a lot of related questions that had been on his mind the past few days!! I know that Heavenly Father knows his children. He knows what they need and how to help then progress. 

Also, this Sunday we (in addition to the Elders in our branch) taught the Fifth Sunday lesson on the topic of conversion. We had planned to have certain members share their testimonies, but as we were planning, I felt impressed that we needed to ask J. H. to share his testimony. He did and he bore a powerful testimony of how The Book of Mormon has helped him to understand Jesus Christ better than anything else. He also testified of prayer and of it's vital role in him receiving his witness that the Book of Mormon is true. The spirit was very strong and THEN, he continued on to say that he had been praying about baptism and had received his answer that it was right!!!! He wants to be baptized next Sunday, the seventh!! It was a very powerful experience and I'm grateful that so many other members were there to share in that.

Sister B in KY sends my mom pictures of me whenever I see her at conferences! 

Oh! And Thanksgiving was 2 different meals with members. We had a training meeting in New Albany (by Louisville) for new missionaries and their trainers. For part of it, we were split up and Pres. B did a Q&A with the trainers. After some of the questions and concerns some of the trainers brought up, I wanted to raise my hand and brag about how awesome Sister J is! It's surprised me how easy this has actually been, comparatively. I like that we are both very real with each other and I'd say pretty equally yoked. Heaven knows that I cannot do this by myself and from day 1 have needed a "companion," not just a sidekick. Sister J is a wonderful, proactive missionary.

I saw this at the Homeless shelter we volunteer at.

I had some bike issues this week again. I had a staple in my tire tread so it had to get patched. Then it went flat again (thankfully, not too far from home) and I bought a new tube, but it was the wrong size.  Then, I took it to the church for district meeting for the Elders to do it.  They found the rest of the staple. BUT, to find the hole and patch that one, they needed a bucket of water, but they didn't have one, nor did they want to look for one, so they just stuck their hands and the tube in the toilet.....  My bike is working well now.

Responses to the generic "Happy Thanksgiving" text we sent out:

-"Fo'sho"

-"I will but my girl lock'd up and I am goin' to try to get her out."

-"Right at you"

Missionary life is so much more exciting than normal life! 

Love,

Sister Galloway

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Dear Family,

This week has been good! Very busy, but it was nice to get lots of work done since this next week we won't have as many proselyting hours, between the Thanksgiving Holiday and an extra meeting we're going to.

This last week we had Zone Conference and went on an exchange. Zone Conference was all on planning and goal setting. Something that was discussed that I've also been studying in chapter 8 of PMG is accountability. It was really enlightening.

Sunday, Sister J and I had to teach the RS lesson on Sister Esplin's talk from conference on the sacrament. It occurred to me how the sacrament and being accountable to Heavenly Father connect. In PMG, it says that the principal of accountability doesn't just come at the end of your mission. It's the same thing with us here on earth. We know that one day we will stand before God to be held accountable. That is a pretty daunting thought!!! However, as we take the Sacrament each week, we are able to fully repent and find spiritual renewal. In essence, we are exercising the principal of accountability each week as we partake of the Sacrament and thus use Christ's Atonement to become better and to heal ourselves from sins and misdeeds. I know that the Sacrament can prepare us to stand in Heavenly Father's presence with a clear conscience. On a different scale, it allows the Atonement to work in the small and simple parts of our days and weeks.

This week had some interesting weather conditions!! Yesterday was rainy all day and  I felt like I was swimming, but on a bicycle. However, it's been a bit warmer which is a HUGE blessing!! 

The RAIN!!

I got a flu shot today because, as President B put it, "the First presidency has ENCOURAGED you all to get flu shots." Just like they ENCOURAGE us to go to church, keep the Word of wisdom, and ENCOURAGE us to pay our tithing." :( Ugh. So, needless to say, I went -kicking and screaming-to  get that today. (Okay It wasn't bad at all, but I'm still going to heavily complain about it.) My arm's sore.

JH is doing awesome. He hasn't smoked in a couple of days. We talked to him about what day he should be baptized. He doesn't think he'll be ready by Dec. 7th. He is just unsure of himself. It warms my heart because he is the same age as K (a man I taught in Jeffersontown) and he is also working to overcome a cigarette addiction. He also spent some time in jail as a young adult. It's so neat to meet people at certain stages of their life and see how all the events, trial and mistakes have, through the power of the Atonement, culminated into their being ready to receive the Gospel. It's amazing to think about who they were vs. who they are now. I feel so fortunate to have been able to teach them. This is God's work and it's a privilege that He allows us to be a part of Him "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." 

Being at this place in my life has helped me to recognize and appreciate many blessings that I have been given. I am so thankful that I have a warm, dry place to come home to every night. I am thankful for my companion and how good natured she is. We can laugh together about anything. I am thankful for one of our Branch members, who, when our lesson fell through AND our back up lesson fell through, still wanted to come out with us. I'm grateful for wonderful family and friends. I am very grateful for the people here in KY and for the strong faith and respect that they have for Jesus Christ. More than anything else, I am so appreciative of my Savior, who loved me enough to come to earth and carry my burdens and suffer for my sins, so that I can return to my Heavenly Father one day. I am grateful for prayer and for the many times that I have felt Heavenly Father close as I've prayed and asked for his help. I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He lives today. I will always be grateful for all that He has done for me and for the things which He continues to do for me from day to day.

Love,

Sister Ashlyn Galloway

Many Blessings!!

Hello!!

This week has been very cold! And it snowed last night, so this morning we got to bike in the snow for the first time, which was an adventure for sure.  Even though it's been very cold, it's beautiful to see the snow, especially at night. Also, we have seen so many blessings this transfer!!

JH is doing well. This week he struggled with the Word of Wisdom, so won't make his baptismal date for the end of November, but he is praying not only for help to live the Word of Wisdom, but for guidance to know when he will be ready for baptism. AND, he's doing AWESOME because he hasn't smoked in two days!! It's amazing to me how powerful the Atonement is, how thoroughly it can change not just our behavior, but our very natures. The power of the Atonement can be accessed in our personal lives as we exercise obedience to Heavenly Father -or in other words, keep our covenants. Another really neat, faith-promoting incident was that earlier, when we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he heard about coffee, he was disappointed. However, he so easily and  readily submitted himself to God's will. I know that that was a sacrifice for him, but it's amazing to see how much trust he has in God!!

Another tender mercy from Heavenly Father this week, is K. For a Relief Society activity, we went to visit a women's shelter. We got to cook for them and eat with them. One of the RS sisters befriended K and ended up bringing her to church on Sunday! It reminded me think about the "go about doing good" section in Preach My Gospel (Chapter 9). Truly, when we have a sincere desire to love and serve our fellowmen, sharing the gospel is simply a natural response. After church, she had many questions about the Plan of Salvation and we are going to teach her with Sister E this week!

And yes! I got my brakes fixed. Phew, that was stressful and definitely worth the $20.

My greenie, Sister J, is doing great and is so adorable. 

I just have mixed feelings right now about being on a bike in the bitter cold. There is no way I could have done this last winter. I have to remind myself that Christ understands and He isn't asking me to do anything that He hasn't done. I know I have to give it a good, legitimate try. So this week will be interesting. But, Heavenly Father is blessing us and I see His hand in this part of my life.  And there is a specific kind of satisfaction that comes from doing really hard things. So I'm confident we will see many blessings, tender mercies and miracles this winter. I just will have to pray a lot and be extra positive. "He lives to hear my soul's complaint" right? It will be good. And, Heavenly Father tends to bless me with a lot of good food when I am having a rough time. :) ♥

I know that when we simply love, serve and do our best, whether we are a full-time missionary or a member, that Heavenly Father will consecrate our efforts and bless us a hundredfold. We didn't have much success this week with finding on our own, but as we continued in faith, Heavenly Father opened up a way for us. He also blessed our Branch member with the opportunity to share the Gospel as she made the effort to be "anxiously engaged". :)

Have you seen the muffin man?

Love,

Sister Ashlyn Galloway

Fourteen point five Months

     It's so interesting looking back at the past 14 months and how much I've learned and changed as a missionary. At first, I was so excited to be here, so ready to be a missionary. I also felt very impatient with my weaknesses and felt just such a disconnect from "Ashlyn" and "Sister Galloway."  I realized I was homesick and that I was burying a lot of things instead of acknowledging and trying to healthily improve myself. I had to really use the Atonement and decide that I wanted to be where I was. That kind of sums up my first area of Corbin. I had some amazing experiences there and will always treasure my time there. That's when I decided that I wanted to be a missionary. During my first two transfers in Jeffersontown, I realized that I could do it, that I had changed quite a bit, and was doing well. Then, my last two transfers in Jeffersontown were a little rougher. Heavenly Father really humbled me. Though I had many blessings, it felt like no success or victory came easily. And when they did come, they were very small. I had to work diligently and hard and learn to have faith with seemingly no results. If I didn't do everything in my power, nothing would happen in the area. When good things happened in missionary work, I was so aware of how much it was really God, not me. A big lesson I learned there was to have gratitude. I was trying so hard to have faith, but it felt like there was just no foundation for it and it felt like I was grasping at nothing. Acknowledging the blessings in every day helped me to really strengthen my faith. Because  when I looked at the evidence of The Lord's hand in my life, I could have the hope and faith that I would continue to see that.

Missionary Artwork.  The green ones are my favorite ones right now.

Learning that lesson really helped me here in Henderson, last transfer. Again, it felt like running on a treadmill -doing the same, hard things over and over while seeing little to no results. Then, I found out that this area may get closed and I had to choose to have faith and diligence. It didn't get closed and I am still here. And I am working hard to train Sister Jarman. Things are definitely picking up. Our investigator, J. H., is doing SO well and is a huge blessing! He has a baptismal date for Nov 30th!! We pray that his baptism will happen because it will be the 1st baptism since this area opened 1 year ago.

One of our investigators who came to church!

Cool experience of the week: We decided to go to this little hole-in-the-wall burger and fry place. When we got up to pay, someone had payed for us!!  I have no idea who it was. There are so few members here, especially in the city limits, that most likely it wasn't even a member, which is doubly nice. I love that there are so many good, good Christian people here. #warmfuzzies

The breaks on my bike are NOT working. At all. Well, my front breaks do slow me down a little. The good news is that we have Zone Meeting tomorrow in Evansville. I called the Zone Leaders and asked them to please ask/beg Elder F to fix my bike. Hopefully he'll be able to. But if not, there's a bike shop we can stop by.  I'm very excited to have breaks again!!

A small kitchen catastrophe on my part!

I am so grateful for all of the lessons I've learned on my mission and know that there is still so much that Heavenly Father will teach me. I am so grateful for the Atonement. There really is never a point where you're "done." Repentance is meant to continue throughout our lives. The Atonement is not a one-time thing and I'm grateful for the ways it has changed my life and that it will continue to change me!

Have a wonderful week :)

-Sister Ashlyn Galloway (And I am now the same person!)

1st Week as a Trainer

Sorry for the short email today! This week has been good, but has felt very long!

Tuesday was transfer meeting. We drove to Louisville and I got my new companion! Her name is Sister J from Utah. She is great. One of the struggles we've had in this Branch is getting the members involved in Missionary work. Sister J's grandparents used to live in this Branch, so they all the members just love her! This will be a it will be a good opportunity to get the members more involved. However, I do feel like I am training a celebrity! Training a new missionary is a lot of hard work, but it's fun too. This is an area that needs a lot of building up. We will have to work really, really hard with much diligence. I feel like it is Henderson's  time to bloom. I do feel bad Sister J didn't get assigned to a booming area.  However, in the end it's more valuable for her to learn how to build an area up and work with the Branch. That is probably what the rest of her mission will be like anyway.  Fun Fact: As trainers, we don't let our new missionaries unpack on 1st day in the mission. We just jumped right into missionary work and tried to get as much done by working non-stop on that 1st day. It was great! 

Me and my greenie, Sister J with our Mission President and his wife

Brother H is doing fantastic! It's so cool to see someone read the BoM for the first time. Last week, he got so excited about 1 Nephi 4. He thought Nephi obeying the Spirit and killing Laban was the coolest thing ever. (It is because the BofM rocks!) He has a baptismal date for the end of November. He's solid and I think he will be Henderson Bike's first baptism. Please pray for him & us. 

I got to see and say goodbye to Sister J, my "mom" who is going home! 

We have seen a lot of blessings this week. We got a really exciting referral for a 17 year old girl who is super excited to read the Book of Mormon.  When we are obedient and diligent to the things that the Lord commands, he truly is bound and will bless us -even in ways we may not expect!

Sister J meets her "granddaughter" Sister J, right before she left!

I hope that everyone has a GREAT week!

Love,

Sister Galloway

Transfer News

Sorry if this is short. We have lots of cleaning/packing/getting ready to do today!

Autumn with Sister W and me! I love the fall colors.

Tomorrow is transfer meeting and we found out that Sister W is leaving and I am training here in Henderson! This was kind of a surprise since the last time I'd talked to President B, he was considering closing our area. I'm really excited! I'm getting a greenie!!!!! I am so nervous, too. Do you and Dad have any advice for me this next transfer? I would really appreciate your counsel. I fasted for her yesterday because I really don't know what else I can do. In my heart, I know it will be fine. I've been out for awhile; I know I can do this. I've just never done anything like this before. Heck, I've never even been senior comp and now I'm going to train!? It'll be wonderful! There will be a brand new Elder in our branch, too. So, not only is our area staying open, but there will be a brand new Sister Missionary here! Just pray for that poor, poor sister who will be training here this winter on a bike. I am thrilled I will get to see Sister J at Transfer Meeting tomorrow. (She was my trainer who is returning home to Utah this week.) Yes, if I had to describe her in one word, it would be "spiritual." 

So, earlier this week, I was pretty sick with a cough and my eyeball was really red, like I told you last week. But, this week we have seen a lot of blessings. I told Sister W that my family must be praying for me because of all of it. For instance, we normally get 1 member dinner a week from a recent convert and her recently reactivated husband, who feed both sets of missionaries each week! However, this week we had 4 member meals. And then some of the members were worried about me and bought me Tylenol, Claritin, Robitussin and some allergy eye drops! Then one member let me use her phone to send a picture of my eye to our area medical guy. He told me I have uh... "epicileris" (or something that sounded like eucalyptis and celery, combined)!! Don't quite remember the exact name! So, he  called in an eye drop prescription for me that cost a mere $4. It was great. I told Sister W (as I've told other comps in the past) "I can tell when my mom & family is praying for me because I get a ridiculous amount of good food" and lots of medicine too, this time! :) My cough is now much, much better and doesn't hardly bother me. My eyes are looking a lot better, too. {I told Ashlyn that the Lord needed her to be healthy and well this next week for her to train the new Sister Missionary and that is why she was so blessed!}

This week has been good! We have been teaching Brother H, one of our investigators. He is doing very well and it is such a neat experience to watch him progress in the Gospel. He gets so excited about his Book of Mormon reading and I love hearing his insights. He is really feeling the Spirit work in his life.

It's so hard though to explain what a mission is like. During the first few months of my mission, I remember sitting in Sacrament Meeting daydreaming about home. I was thinking about my family, college life, and other terribly trunky things that I should NOT have been thinking about. Back then, my mission was something nice, some thing good, but temporary. But now, it is my life. It is who I am. Choosing to go on a mission was hard, choosing to stay on a mission was a lot harder, but choosing to BE a missionary was the hardest of all. In fact, It's a choice I have to make every day of my mission! 

Truly, the Gospel blesses families and helps us draw closer to each other and closer to Him. It doesn't matter how far away you are from your family, because when you're close to the Lord, you're close to each other. (You should tell H to post that to her Moroni 10:32 Instagram account. That's very quotable!!)

Love y'all!!

-Sister Galloway

It's Fall, Y'all!!

Hey!!

This week fall is in full swing and I love seeing the different colored leaves everywhere! It's getting cooler too.

Monday turned out a little unexpected! We were getting ready to leave for an appointment and we got a text that there was a tornado warning. Then, tornado sirens started going off! Of course, with both of us being from out west & both from dry, desert areas, Sister W and I didn't know what to do! So, long story short we just chilled in the bathroom for a bit. There were also some severe thunderstorm warnings. We decided going out on our bikes was pushing our luck. So that was an interesting day.

Waiting out the tornado sirens in the bathroom.

This week we taught a new investigator K. He had committed to church this Sunday, but sadly didn't make it. Another investigator we have is R. He is funny. He's Catholic and always emphasizes that to us, but he is so sweet and really needs a big change in his life right now. He is reading the BOM and promised to come to church this next Sunday!

We also have been trying to help out some specific less-active sisters in the branch. We have been working with the RS president and it's neat to see how much progress has already been made. I know that there is no way we could have done that as missionaries alone. Members and missionaries working together really is vital to the success of the work of salvation. When we were meeting with the RS president, there was just such a good feeling in the room. That experience and the progress we've seen already has strengthened my testimony that this is all one work and we all -full time missionaries, ward councils, and members- need to also be unified and help Heavenly Father "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life" of his children whether they're in or out of the church, living or dead.

Sister W and myself! 

 Sister W and I went tracting in the nicer areas of Henderson.  Definitely, we met some great people, but not much success. I have done more tracting here in this area than my other 2 areas. Last night we tracted some old, beautiful Victorian houses. And I met the nicest lady ever! But she wasn't interested. It's fun because we got to ring some sweet, vintage doorbells. Ones that are attached to an actual bell inside the door, and you twist a handle, pull, or lift something. It's really fun. I felt like I was in the Great Gatsby. Cool doorbells= Compensatory blessings?? lol! Sidenote: Of all my areas, I think you would like the town of Henderson the best. It's just a cute little place....with some very interesting people. 

Just to inform you, mom, because I forget that you don't know things. I have a pretty bad cough and the left half of my right eye is red. I don't know. It doesn't hurt--it's just red. Today is day #3 in my glasses--blech. I feel so drabby in glasses. :P  So, I've been sucking down the cough drops and using all the toilet paper on my nose/throat basically. I am bracing myself for winter on a bike.  Now, I'm glad I HAVE to wear a helmet because between biking (on ice, soon) and the flight of metal stairs to our apartment, it makes me feel a little safer! haha!

The longer I'm a Missionary, the more grateful I am to be here. I love the Gospel so much and I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and his Son. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's Prophet today. It is truth and the Spirit will always bear witness of it if we prayerfully ask him. The truth really does set us free.

Love,

Sister Galloway

Rely on God!

He​llo!!

This week has been good. It's always ​hard to​ sit down and​ email because I try and think back over what has all happened that week and so many different things happen each day​.​ ​I​t's difficult to try and accurately represent everything in a short email!

One thing I have learned is how totally and completely dependent we are on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Last week​,​ it felt like NO ONE wanted to hear what we had to say. It was hard because we hadn't changed anything we were doing, just everyone was using that lovely thing we call ​"agency.​"​

​T​his week ​was better and it's made me realize (again!) how much every contact, every investigator, and every lesson is truly a gift from Heavenly Father. Our efforts are insignificant. However, when we do act and become "anxiously engaged" Heavenly Father blesses us. Even when things don't go how we want, just like Lehi promised Jacob, we have the promise that Heavenly Father will "consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain".

One example of that, is a man we contacted. We were going to go teach him, but he had given us a fake address. (I'm always impressed with people's abilities to confidently give us fake addresses​!​) Anyway, we went to the address.​ While we were in the parking lot, we contacted a man whose wife was a member and wasn't on the

​ church​ rolls. Also, we knocked on the apartment number he'd given us, and although it was the wrong address, the woman who answered the door, was a former investigator​ whom we'd lost contact with. What are the chances? It's neat that no matter how others choose to use their agency, when we use ours righteously Heavenly Father magnifies our efforts and more good is able to be accomplished, than if we had done nothing, or simply given up.

Missions are incredible​! It's the hardest thing I've ever done. Sis​ter​ W and I were talking about it last night and how there are those few ​times​ on your mission that you realize "​It's me. It is 100% me and I have to change​," ​which is not something ​I realize​d before ​my mission. I have had some really humbling experiences that made me realize how utterly dependent I was on God and not on myself. Sometimes​, we unconsciously give ourselves WAY too much credit. Reminds me of King Benjamin's address "​Of what then, have ye to boast?" I love my mission though. If I knew everything I would experience as a missionary, I'm not sure that I would have had the courage to ​do it, knowing that I didn't have to. But​, now that I know what I know, and have felt what I've felt, I will be so, eternally grateful for this time. I wouldn't give it up for anything. I know my ​Savior so much better than I did 13​+​ months ago and that is worth any "price.​"​

Have a great week!!!

We were about to knock on this door until we realized
it had a tree growing in it! 

​PS: President B told us that our area won't be closed this next transfer, afterall. I have work to do here, so I was thrilled/relieved to hear that.

Note from Mom: Ashlyn reported that during her hour of family history time, she discovered that John Galloway, one of the founders of Henderson, Kentucky, is in our family history line! It's interesting that the Lord has her serving in Henderson where there might be some Galloway kin and that she can testify and teach about the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them! 

Happy Conference Weekend!

Hello Family!

Literally, it was just one of those weeks where you almost just have to laugh and wonder what else could possibly go wrong! I named this week "The week that everything fell apart: Part 2."

 Here are a few examples:

-Within the first 18 minutes of Monday night after Pday: our appointment canceled because he had hurt his ankle (2nd investigator within THREE days to hurt his ankle!)

-Also, the first person I talked to that night was super rude. He interrupted me by yelling "I HAVE A TASER!!" It was kind of funny. From now on, whenever something bad happens I can say "Well, at least I didn't get tased." (Don't freak out, Mom. It's totally fine. The Spirit told me I was totally safe when he said that! :))

-New mission rules that made us adjust to get to district meeting. It almost meant not being able to go anymore.

-Many of our Less Active friends didn't care for us so much this week.

We got this note this week.

-Up until Thursday, we only had ONE new investigator and she called and dropped us.

-25% of the members in our area moved. (That is 1 family out of the 4.)

-Elder Klabingat told me to start eating healthier in General Conference. Sister W and I were not happy about that. Ha ha! We kept reverting to the General Women's meeting when Pres. Uchtdorf told us Heavenly Father didn't care what our dress size was!! ♥♥ {Ashlyn's lost weight on her mission, so not sure what her worry is!} 

But the good thing is that missions change us. It's kind of like the scientific principle "adapt or die." But, it's good :) As a missionary, work has been the solution, at least for me. I remember in Corbin there were times that were very hard, but through prayer and work, I felt the Atonement work in me and in my life. Sister E, one of my companions, told me that one day I would wake up happy on my mission and guess what? It happened--without me even realizing it. And I still wake up happy every morning! 

General Conference was so good. I have so many thoughts from it; I'm not sure where to begin. I loved the Mother Theresa quote Elder Holland used about statistics and love. I heard GC referred to as "the Missionary Superbowl," which is so true! Missionary subculture flourishes around Conference time and it is so great! We had several guessing games going on in our district. They included: What songs will MoTab sing?  Which Apostle will address gay marriage? Who will conduct each session?  

I love my mission. It has been very hard, but I would not give up the last 13+ months for anything. There is joy in sacrificing to God. My mission is so precious to me. I would not give it up for anything in the world. Nothing. This is my life now. I don't love my family, friends, the temple or anything else any less than I did 13 months ago, but all the times I thought my heart was breaking & that I was sacrificing those things and relationships with people I love, Heavenly Father was actually expanding my heart and filling it with so much more love and joy than I ever felt before. If I had a million words, I could not describe it accurately enough. Just know that my mission has been more than worth it for me. I love Heavenly Father so much. Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are my personal friends.  

This is what we found in the Elder's car when we borrowed it today to run our P-day errands.

With our limited time & resources, we returned the car with a few changes!
(We added "future Sister" to the nametag!) 

Have a great week. I love you all very much! 

Sister Galloway

PS: I just watched David Archuleta's  music video, "Glorious!!"  Wow!!!

Henderson: Week 2

I think if I had to give this week a title, I would call it, "The week that everything fell apart. Literally"

This week, Sister W's bike broke! It was actually a big tender mercy because we had to randomly stop by our apartment in the middle of the day at a time we are NEVER usually home at. And, right as she pulled into the parking lot her back tire stopped spinning. So, long story short, she had to borrow one of the Elder's bike, which was quite the adventure in a skirt! (The closest bike shop is in Evansville.) Also, we had an exchange the next day, so that worked out really nicely. We had interview with Pres. B last week and there is a chance my area might be closed this next transfer. There are some pretty strong reasons for it, unfortunately.  

My companion riding one of the Elder's bike in her skirt! 

Me and a few of my GKLM Sistas! 

Besides progressing investigators getting sprained ankles and a few other hitches, it was still a pretty good week!

And guess what? Heavenly Father hears prayers! I think that's one thing that I've really gained a strong testimony of on my mission. Not that I didn't believe it before, but I think the times I've felt closest to Him on my mission and some of my most treasured times have involved sincere, personal prayer. This week I was -once again- reminded of that by the Spirit. He wants to hear from us, he's our Father!! :) How neat is that?

Henderson is great and it's so beautiful. It's neat because the long side of our area is against the Ohio River, which is absolutely gorgeous.

The beautiful Ohio River! 

I also LOVED the Women's Broadcast. So good, except that Sister Missionaries can't go to the temple, so I felt like we got jipped.  Pres. Uchtdorf is the best. General Conference can't come soon enough!

Mom, I was excited to get your package! Yay, for having conference treats now! Fun Fact: I don't like alfredo! Remember?! I'm the only one in the family who doesn't like it. I'll eat it, but just for future reference--don't send me anything with the word "Alfredo" on it!  I find it amusing that you forgot baha. #stillgetmompointsanyway

Have a great week! Pray! Watch Conference! Love y'all!

Love,

Sister Galloway

Quote of the Week:

Us:"Okay, so what do you have to do to be baptized??"

Investigator: "You have to pray.  And read the Book of Mormon every fifteen minutes."

Uhh.. yeah, We'll go with that! haha.

A New Area...

Hello!!

This week has been crazy!! My new area is Henderson, KY

​

, which is in the Evansville, Indiana district of my mission. I am at the far western edge of the mission now.

​

 

​And ​

I'm on a bike still! I am so, so excited for this new area. I'll probably be purple and frozen to my bike by the end of the winter, but I'm so excited I don't even care! :D

Henderson is like a weird mixture of my previous two areas. It's a small town and everyone is SO nice! I loved Louisville, but it's definitely a nice change.

​This is m

ore my pace

​

,

​

 I think. We are 

​incredibly​

 busy though. 

​W​

e

​ have 

barely ha

​d​

 time to breathe

​--

 there's so much to do here. 

​W​

e barely have time to eat. I think we planned in a meal maybe 3 times this

​ last​

 week. Thankfully

​,​

 things fall through sometimes, but it's just... crazy.

​ ​

 People here are very willing to stop and talk to 

​us,​

 for the most part.

​Here's the info on my new area:

​

-We are in a BRANCH

​!​

 (Sis W drew me out a family tree and literally, all the ward council members

​,​

 except for 2

​,​

 are related)

-We are the only bike missionaries in our district! :(

-The 

​E​

lder

​​

s in our 

​W​

ard have a car and the

​ Branch​

​ members give them a lot of grief

 about it

​

.​

 ha

​ ​

ha

​!​

-We borrow the Elder

​'​

s car for like 2 hours on P

​-​

day to go do laundry

​ & ​

shop

​.​ Below is 

a picture of what we found in their glove 

​box​

. 

-I really like my new ap

​ar​

t

​ment​

! It has a wooden

​-

looking floor in the main room

​ and​

 carpet

​

 in the bedrooms.

-It has good closets <3 <3

Sister W

 is my new companion. She is from Vegas. She came out 1 transfer before me. She​

 is great and we get along very well

​. ​

A biker church.

I love Henderson!! 

​T​

here is some good 

​missionary work ​

going

​ on​

 in this area and I'm excited to build on it! I hope we can keep this energy and work ethic up because I feel like we're just running full force ahead

​,​

 

​​

which is awesome,

​Anyway, you asked about Sister Bl's stitches. ​The mission nurse took them out before district meeting. But, she is kinda old and shaky. It seemed like she was sort of hacking at her face with scissors. So, we both agreed it probably would've been less scary for me to have done it--which says a lot. The scab had to be picked off and that was definitely the grossest part of the whole ordeal. Blech!

Anyways I'd better run

​,​

 but I hope everyone has a great week!

The church is true!!! :)

-Sister Galloway