Cats, Cigarettes and Contacts

This past week has definitely had it's ups and downs! First off, I love my new companion, Sister S. We are alike--it's kind of scary! It definitely makes for a lot of laughs, which is always good. Especially in Corbin because life as a missionary is never boring -for better or worse. 

 I actually really liked the squirrel I ate last week. Yesterday, we were at the G's house and they were talking about feeding us dinner one night. The son's friend was there. Sister S. said she wanted squirrel, so they asked him if he could get some and he said, "sure, right now?" ha ha!!

Ashlyn Galloway eating squirrel or "squawk."

 

 This week we taught one of our investigators, T, the Word of Wisdom. We were a little nervous because she smokes a lot... as in, she sits there and smokes about 2+ cigarettes during our lessons with her. We gave her a W of W pamphlet ahead of time. We told her to read it and to pray about it. The next time we taught her, she said that after reading it, she was very much against it, but then she prayed just like we'd asked. She felt like she could do it. It's such a testimony to me that her simply praying about the principal was more powerful than what doctors, science, and others have been trying to get her to do for years.

Unfortunately, K wasn't able to keep the Word of Wisdom, so her date got dropped :( We will continue to work with her and help her to prepare for when she is ready. We also have been working at trying to contact more people each day. We were blessed to find several new investigators this week!

 On Sunday, I gave a talk in church on the Law of Obedience, which was interrupted by Elder W (serving in the London area, but in the same ward) having to catch and carry out a stray cat that had somehow sneaked into the chapel. There are a lot of strays in Corbin! I wore my favorite sweater for you, Aunt J, and Aunt J. (Note: Ashlyn, me and 3 of my sister all have a sweater that is exactly the same because we all love the style of it. Ash loves her aunts!) 

We also received some bad news Sunday night.... P is in Jail. It was heartbreaking to find out, especially since things have been going so very well with her. We just had a great lesson on the temple with her. I guess there are just some things in her past that need to be cleared up, so we will continue to help her and teach her as best we can. 

Last night I was thinking and worrying a lot about my investigators, and the trials, challenges, temptations and consequences that they have to endure. It makes me realize how much Heavenly Father must think and worry about each one of us in our individual lives. I know that everything he does is centered around us and around making us the happiest.

Love,

Sister Galloway

January 8th Letter

This week has been pretty eventful... Last week I ate (fresh) road kill pig and squirrel (also called "squawk"). I think it was the funniest dinner conversation I've ever heard. 

Here are a few examples:

 -"Remind me to thank Robbie for hitting that pig"

-"Johnny! There's fur on this. I'm going to kill you!"

-"My dad would've killed me if I hit a deer and didn't bring it home."

A few days ago, the temperature dropped into the negatives and we got a few inches of snow. Because of that a bunch of places were closed, including the library. President said that we could email today instead. We also got an unexpected phone call on Saturday and found out that Sister E was going to get transfered. So, my new companion's name is Sister S. We're really similar, and I'm excited for this next transfer! We should finally be seeing a few baptisms :) 

My new companion

Speaking of which, P is doing suuuper well. She could've been baptized this week actually, but when we talked about moving her date up, she said that she wants to keep it the same since she's been inviting her family to it. It was really exciting because she has a son in law who was being a little antagoinistic, but we ran into him at one of her lessons. We were able to teach him about the Book of Mormon and P bore her testimony to him! 

K also has been doing well, although we haven't gotten to see her as much as we would like to. She lives so far away. She's been living the W of W though and has been doing really well with reading! My testimony of The Book of Mormon has grown so very much. I love that book. I know that it is true. There is such a special spirit that accompanies it. It can give us healing, comfort, and spiritual power. It it truly from God and I am so grateful that I have it in my life!!

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!

-Sister Galloway

New Year's Week

Hello!

This week has been a good one! Although Christmas already feels like it was a long time ago! 

Sunday night, we drove to Louisville and stayed the night with 2 other companionships. The next morning we drove to the church for the Mission Christmas party! It was so refreshing to be around so many other missionaries and to catch up with friends! There was a spiritual musical program, good food (of course!) and we sang some fun carols and other fun activities.

Tuesday night (Christmas Eve), we spent with the Bishop's family and Wednesday morning, we opened presents. Thanks everyone for all the mail this month!! Then we drove to district meeting...aka, district party. The B's (Sr. Missionary Couple) made homemade crepes. We played ping pong, Apples to Apples, and had a training. Some of the Elders ate crickets and tried convincing Sister E and I to. Obviously, they don't know us very well. :) After that, we drove over to the H Family and had a Christmas dinner and then Skyped!! Forty minutes felt like 5, but it was definitely the best Christmas present of all. 

This week we also taught P, who is one of our most progressing investigators. She is doing wonderfully and has a baptismal date for January! We were very blessed because her daughter's boyfriend has been somewhat antagonistic towards The Book of Mormon. We felt like we needed to stop by one night and B was there! We were able to teach and testify about The Book of Mormon to him. He was intrigued. He said that he would read it and that he'd seen the change that has come in P. She bore her testimony about it too!
 

I have no idea what the guidelines are for New Years. I'd guess no proselyting after 6 pm.  The RS pres. gave us some sparking cider yesterday, so I think we'll order pizza, have some cider, and go to bed. haha!! 

Sister Galloway and her district

This week's been a good one though. We actually got a LOT of work done, considering it was Christmas! We walked for like 3 hours around town yesterday because we are almost out of miles. I hurt so badly today. :)  We were able to find 3 new investigators in that time alone, which is awesome.

Oh. And a dog peed on me yesterday. Our investigator said "here, hold this leash really quick". Two seconds later, my foot was covered in pee -_____________- But, thankfully, the car was right there and I took my tights off, leaned my foot with the wet wipes you sent me awhile back (thanks mom!). 

We also met a Satanist. He was really nice and had a good spirit about him, actually.

You know you're in the south when:

-The ten commandments are posted everywhere.

-Your investigators are too busy with going to church activities to meet with you.

-You meet a man who has issues with the fact that the church isn't racist.

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Galloway

The fastest 40 minutes EVER....aka Skype Video Chat Dec.2013

We had been looking forward to skype-ing with Sister Galloway since she left in August. Finally, Christmas arrived and we were able to see her and talk to her! It was bitter- sweet because we loved hearing her voice, but the time passed so quickly and she announced that she had "10 minutes" left before we felt like we had been able to talk much. (She said she is working on being exactly obedient.)

Ashlyn mentioned these topics in our skype video chat:
*P is their most progressing and most likely investigator to be baptized.
*She liked the gifts we sent and was surprised (I don't know why!) she even got gifts this year! Her comp. loved her stocking which I whipped up super quick, btw.
*She said it was hard to wait to open the gifts, especially the ones from Grandma because she was under less social pressure (because it was from G'ma!) to keep them wrapped up until Dec. 25th!
*Funny and yet not funny story: Someone looked her nametag and said, "Oh, Sister. Like Sister Wives?" 
*She wanted to hear about what her sisters were doing at home.
*She said the GKLM Christmas Party was great. She was very much energized and refreshed by being with other missionaries. In fact, being with other missionaries is one of her favorite things about serving a mission because she said "It's kind of like what I imagine heaven to be like. Everyone is positive and the Spirit is strong. And when missionaries talk about each other, they always describe them in terms of their talents and abilities, not by physical appearance." She said she got to see many friends & wished she had more time to talk to Sister J and Sister P, both previous companions.
*Seeing Peanut was probably a low-point for her in the conversation. She's never been a fan, but we like to include him too! She then said she had a dog on her head the night before. (Ash always seems to get herself in pretty interesting situations, somehow!)
*She said she loved her area and hoped she gets to stay there a LONG time! (She's already been there 4 months, though).

Being able to see beautiful Sister Galloway was the best Christmas present of the day!

Things we noticed about Sister Galloway:
*She has a beautiful glow about her.
*She was extremely happy and laughed a lot during our conversation.
*The very sweet, pure side of her personality was shining through her beautiful, blue eyes.

Happy sisters! 

 Saying goodbye was emotional for all of us. Five more months seems like a lifetime to wait to hear her voice again. Luckily, Sister Galloway's dad didn't want the call to end in tears, so he grabbed "creepy Santa" and Peanut and ended the call with all of us laughing at her reaction to them.

Ashlyn's Missionary Plaque on the TO2 Ward Missionary board. One of six as of this post.

{So, next time, I will take more pictures of her on Skype and record the conversation with my phone! Duh, didn't think of doing that because I was so excited just to talk to her! Thanks Laura A. for the ideas!!}