Christmas Week 2014

Okay, you ready for the crazy-scary experience of this week?? So, my companion had a seizure on Friday night at 7. We were in the apartment after dinner getting ready to go to an appointment. She put on her boots and I almost stood up to leave, but didn't. I just sat there for a whole extra minute or two. Something just felt kind of weird or off. I almost stood up and left anyways, but we didn't. Then, she started saying she felt weird and wouldn't really respond to me or explain herself. She was sitting in a chair in the living room and all of a sudden, she started having a seizure. I have never seen a seizure before. Her eyes were really blank. :/ I remembered she had Epilepsy and had told me if she had a seizure to just let her have it and not call an ambulance or anything unless she wasn't breathing. I jumped up and ran to the kitchen, knelt down and said a prayer for her. I had no idea what else to do. Then I went back into the living room. I made sure she was still breathing and just sat there while she finished having her seizure. She stopped, then ten seconds later had another short one :/ It took her about 30 minutes to fully regain consciousness. Finally, she started talking and said the last thing that she remembered was putting on her boots. She went to bed and slept for the night. I called President B and reported it. I keep thinking about what if we had left the apartment and it had happened somewhere where she would have been seriously hurt, like on the stairs or concrete. Heavenly Father was really watching out for her and helped us to stay in the apartment two extra minutes.  I'm glad that you put her name on the prayer roll this week. That was definitely inspired, too. I'm sure that definitely protected and helped her. And who knows? Maybe that's why we stayed in the apartment because I had no explanation for why I wasn't standing up and getting out the door. Tender Mercies for sure!!!

I went on an exchange Tuesday and it was so wonderful!!! I was with Sister B who was in my MTC group. It was fun to talk with her and catch up. It was nice to have someone to talk to about different issues or concerns I have with the work right now and get her insight.

And because our car was in the shop for like 5 days, we have soooo many miles now!! We had enough miles to go to Mt. Washington and meet with the RS president. We went through the roster and talked about who we should visit and focus on. I am feeling more organized. The Elders in this area are very good and on top of the work here. Pres. B released all the former ZL and DL's to make them trainers. 

Christmas was good. I got the package. :) Thanks so much!!!! I loved it. I also received many Christmas cards and that was great! I have bad news, though. My companion is a cosmetologist, so she asked her mom for professional shampoo/conditioner.  In the stockings she sent us, she put in these little things of Aveda shampoo/conditioner. It's amazing and I love it. Darn, it's not in a missionary's budget though. The mission Christmas Conference was fun. We had a program and then played "chubby bunny' (The winner won with 23 LARGE-sized marshmallows in his mouth---eeek! Our instructions were "play until you gag!"), a lasso game where certain missionaries were the cows and others were the cowboys and other crazy games that only Pres. B would think of! It was great!

At the GKLM Christmas Party! 

Missions really make you think about your future and what you want/don't want. Here are some life goals I've created since my mission:

-To NEVER live in a trailer. 

-To NEVER become obese.

-To NEVER smoke or marry a smoker.

-To NEVER have more animals than I have children.

-To NEVER have a nicer car than I have house. 

-To go to the dentist regularly. Also, I have created a life-goal to keep all my teeth and not let any rot.

-To always remember to tell others to "have a blessed day" and to remember that "praise the lord" is an appropriate expression of gratitude.

-And, I won't run away from the J-dubs anymore. 

Of course, the list is a work in progress. I'll keep you updated.

We went to visit a less-active lady with 3 small children. The conditions of the home was not sanitary, by any means and there were way too many pets in the small, unkept house. It was really sad. The little boy ended up having an accident on the table while we were there. I think the cockroach family in the corner were fairly comfortable, though. Sometimes being a mom sounds scary, but things like this make me pretty confident that I'm going to be super-mom someday. 

Have a great week!

I love you all!!

Sister Ashlyn Galloway

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!)