Mission Blog of Elder Greg Galloway

HEY!! How is everyone doing this week? Everything is going great for me! A wonderful week, filled with great surprises. We definitely met some fun people this week.

First off, summer is slowly going away. Some days the weather is perfect, others it is still pretty warm and humid. Days are blending into weeks, and weeks into months. Time is flying by and sometimes I really wish it would slow down because I love the mission so much.

This week when we were tracting we met a man who wouldn’t shake my hand because “You never know what kind of germs are around!” haha so I told him that I had just showered and was clean, but still nothing. Now this guy was in his garage, with no shirt, a HUGE gut, and was scratching the underpart of his belly and his beard. I am pretty sure he was trying to save ME from germs. But I told him that we were coming around talking about “the cleanest of cleans, Jesus Christ.” He was happy to hear that, until I asked him how we strengthen or faith in Christ everyday. He informed me that “NO one can strengthen my faith in Christ, it can’t be done!!!!” he so i asked if he had a perfect knowledge of Christ and he said “YES! I do!” well the only thing I could say to that is “Wow! How did you get that? I want a perfect knowledge of Christ.” Then he told me to “Stop asking so many questions and go away! I don’t want to talk to you!” So I asked “well who do you know that does want to talk to me?” I got no reply. haha what a great guy! Just a little experience that I thought was funny. You never know what type of person you are going to be talking to. Always a surprise.

The next surprise came from an investigator. Thursday we went up to the departing missionaries fireside, so he could see and Elder leave. On the way home we had a great talk about baptism and what was holding him back. He has been an investigator for about a year, and was just about to drop the missionaries before I came into the area. Then the last six weeks, every time we went over we saw him grow and change, and strengthen his testimony. Well on Sunday at about 4 p.m. or so I get a call from him asking what I am doing on Tuesday and 7:00. I figured he wanted to move his appointment from Wednesday to Tuesday. I told him we were free and he said “How about a baptism?” WOW!! I was shocked. I have never had someone commit themselves to baptism like that before. He told me he was praying so hard for and answer and couldn’t sleep the night before because he had baptism on his mind. He knew it was his answer and acted on it. The baptism was amazing. There was like 150 people there, maybe more, and of course, I had to give a talk. haha Lets just say, wool suit plus tons of people in a little room equals me sweating while giving a talk. haha. It was great though. I am so happy for him. He has changed his life around so much in the past year. He has quit smoking, from four packs a day to zero. He stopped drinking, and is just an amazing person. That was a wonderful surprise to get that call, and it was so wonderful to see him get baptized. I love it out here.

My new companion and I are having a great time. He is from Pocatello, Idaho, and is fun to work with. He has been out 7 months but knows his scriptures very well. Why is an interesting thing. He has insomnia so he only sleeps about 2 or 3 hours a night, the rest of the night he studies. This is going to be a great transfer, just as all of them have been. I can’t wait to see what other surprises and miracles are ahead for me.

I hope you are all having a great week and know how much I love you and miss you. Enjoy what little summer you have left. Take it easy. LOVE YOU!!!!!
Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

Hey! How is everyone doing today? Did you all have a great week? I had a really good week, it was alot of fun. Plus the transfer is over and a new one is about to begin. That is always exciting. So I am going to be staying here in the Rockhill Ward and getting an Elder Dimick (I think that is how you spell it, we will see) He has been out for like 6 months or so, and I am excited to work with him. I will miss Elder Henrie alot, we had alot of fun together, and we saw alot of miracles.

This last week has been really fun. We talked to some funny people and had some great visits with families. I think the funniest family we visited this week was Stanley and Cora. We went over to their house yesterday for Stanley’s Birthday. He called us and asked us to help him cook and we cooked deer meat and he just was blasting country music, like Shania Twain. I was beating the deer meat with a mallet and it was alot of fun! Then we had a great dinner, and talked about church. They are great people and just alot of fun to be around. Wait till you see the pictures!

We didn’t have any other appointments because everyone is out of town for the end of summer. Its crazy to think that school starts up again soon. Time flies by. Sorry there isn’t a whole lot to update you on this week. Next week there should be plenty! I hope you all have a great week this week though and you know how much i miss you and love you. Take care!!!

Love

Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

Hey! How is everyone’s week going? Things are going really well for me. I have just been working hard and loving the humidity and the heat! July is moving by quickly though and soon it will all be gone. Thats just too bad.

So we cover a HUGE area out here, and we are only given so many miles to drive each month. Well for the past week we have had no miles. So we have been biking everywhere. Yesterday was great, we bike about 20 miles, one way. I defiantly felt the burn in my legs. They are getting a good work out and I hope I am getting into shape again! I just hope I don’t come back with HUGE legs and skinny arms!

So we taught Cora and Stanley again and it was great. The thing that wasn’t so great–we cleaned out Cora’s car to help her quit smoking. It was gross. That alone would make me never want to touch a cigarette in my life. So much tar and nicotine all over. But whatever we can do to help her. We completely detailed the car, and she thought it was a new car, haha. This week we are cleaning out Stanley’s. Bring it on!

We are going to get together with Tim and Carrol again, they are the returned missionaries neighbors. They came to church and seemed like the enjoyed it. They are a great family and I can’t wait to teach them more and let you know what happens!

This week has been lots of tracting and finding people. That is one of my favorite things to do because you meet so many people and hear so many things, it is always entertaining. I love being out here, meeting new people, learning new things, and testifying of Christ and the Gospel. I hope you are all having a good time and enjoying the summer. Have a great week and know that I miss you all so much and love you to death. Take it easy!
Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

Hey everyone–how is everything going? Things are going really great for me right now. We are working hard and have been able to talk to alot of really great people.

One guy we talked with was a very nice baptist man. He was talking with us on how we strengthen our faith in Christ by reading the scriptures, and how we need to pray for truth and guidance. Then we said that we could apply the same principles into asking if the Book of Mormon is true, and Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He said “NO, That is all a bunch of hogwash, I don’t believe it for one second. But I will tell you this. There hasn’t been a single Mormon that I have met that I haven’t loved and respected and admired. I know you guys are all going to heaven. I wish the whole world was Mormon! Then it would be a great place, but I don’t believe what you guys teach thats all.” haha As we were walking away he gave us a big old bear hug, and said “I love you guys! thanks for doing the Lords work.” He was such a nice man, but doesn’t quite understand that it is the gospel that was restored that makes us different. That it really is true and we can know for ourselves if we are just willing to ask God and act on the answers that He gives us.

We talked to another baptist guy whom wasn’t very interested. He said that he didn’t need another church, but then asked us “Whats the difference though between Mormons and us?” That question let us teach him about the restoration of the gospel and how we have prophets on the Earth today. How Christ loves us so much that he continues to speak to us today. Then he knew he wanted to learn more. He asked for a Book of Mormon and asked us to come back and teach him and his family how they can know more and if it is true or not. His name is Robby and we are looking forward to meeting with him in a couple of days. It was amazing how is attitude changed because he was prompted to ask a question and listened to the answer that we had.

We taught Cora and Stanley Williams yesterday and she is going to quit smoking tomorrow, on her 40th birthday! We are going over to help her clean out her car and house, and get rid of all the smell of cigarettes and ash trays and everything. He hasn’t said when he was going to quit yet, but he knows he has too and wants to get baptized. She told us how much peace she has been feeling lately because she has been reading, and listening to the scriptures (we gave her some scriptures on C.D.) They have changed SO much and I wonder what they are going to be like if 5 years. They changes that will be made.

This Sunday we heard from a missionary that just got back from his mission in Mexico City. He gave a wonderful talk and yesterday came out and worked with us. It was a lot of fun and learned alot from him. I hope that I really can work my hardest all the way to the end.

I hope that all is well with you guys and you know how much I miss you and love you. Stay out of trouble this week and enjoy what little summer we have left. It comes and goes to quickly. Have a great week!
Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

Hey! how is everything going? Things are going great for me here! We had a pretty busy week, but that was just because of meetings and everything. It was a great week though and we saw some great miracles.

The weather hasn’t been too bad, which is defiantly a miracle. I mean it has been a little humid, but not to bad. The country is beautiful though, and I think all the trees give us the shade that we need.

Last week we had an amazing lesson right after I got down emailing you. She was referred to us by some members in our ward and they asked her if she wanted to hear what we knew to be true. She accepted and we went over to the members house and taught her. It was one of the most amazing lessons I have ever been in. She told us how she knew that this was the peace, and joy that she needed in her life, and that she couldn’t wait to read and pray and ask God if it was true. She is such a sweet lady and it was amazing to see how ready she was to accept the gosple. I love it!!

Cora and Stanley Williams are moving their baptismal date back a week. They need to quit smoking and they want to still be baptized. They just need our help to help them quit smoking. They are a great family and just typical southern people to me. He has 4 tattoos, all of which have the confederate flag in them. He is missing a couple of teeth, and talks with a sweet southern accent. Plus they even rigged their garage so everytime it opens, a confederate flag pops out and hangs down. haha. A great family though and I just love them.

Also T.J. a young man that told us he wanted to get baptized is still moving along great. His date is August 10th and he has asked his girlfriends dad to baptize him. He is 17 and it amazing to see the change he is making in his life because of the example of some one he knows.

Other than that we have just been tracting and trying to talk to as many people as possible. I love it out here and can’t believe I only have 9 months left to do this. The time feels like it is going by to fast, and I need more! I wish I had 36 hour days sometimes. If I have learned anything, it is give it your all. Be dedicated, committed and stay strong. You get more joy out of life living this gospel than anything else. I love it. I hope you all know how much I miss you and love you. Have a great week and enjoy your summer time. It will be gone before you know it! I LOVE YOU!!!

Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

HEY!! How is everyone doing today? Things are going great for me. I had a really good week and hope you all did too. So in the Mission the place that I am at is called “The Berg” it is the very bottom zone, or stake of the mission and we are all VERY far away from one another. It is the “outcast” zone. haha But I am loving it! We have a really great Ward and the country is beautiful out here. First off the weather.

Well Virginia doesn’t have my favorite type of weather as you all know. It gets hot, and humid. Fun stuff when you are out on a bike right? The thing that we look forward to most is rain storms. Well at least the things I look forward to the most (in the weather). It feels so good when you are out on your bike in the heat sweating away to have some cool rain fall down on you. Well we had some great rain fall on us this Sunday. We were out on our bikes knocking on some doors. We had an appointment in about an hour so we had plenty of time to talk to some fun people. Well it started to rain a little. It felt really good. Then it started to POUR rain. haha and it felt even better! We were soaked from head to toe, but just enjoying it. We went from house to house knocking on the doors, and laughing and playing in the rain. I felt like a little kid again. I started skidding on the slick road for fun and trying to do 180 spins. haha it was a blast. The time came for us to stop by at our appointment which was with some members in our ward. It was still raining just as hard. We got there and were as wet as could be. They took us in and had us change into some of their pajamas and dried our clothes for us. We taught them a lesson, in their home, in their pajamas. A first time for me! It was a lot of fun and we had a great lesson. I was so thankfu for them and their willingness to help us out and keep us warm. The only bad thing about it raining here, after it stops it gets sooooo humid! haha

So we had a great lesson with a family yesterday. Stanley and Cora Williams. We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end. Then we invited them to be baptized on July 27th and they said yes!!!! I am really excited for them, and they are really excited to. A great humble family that really wants to change their life. I love teaching people and seeing the changes, seeing them accept the gospel and seeing them say yes to baptism. It is the best feeling you can get to know that you helped them out that you were a tool in the Lords hands in helping people come unto Him. I am so grateful for that, so grateful for this opportunity. It is amazing.

We have been finding more people and hoping to help them through their hard times too. Today at 1 we are teaching a family that is friends with some members of our ward. They want to know how to have more peace in their life and believe this is the way. It is so true, the gospel is what brings peace, and joy into our lives. It is what helps us through the hard times. I can’t say again how grateful I am for this gospel and for the love I feel from it.

I also can’t say how grateful I am for all of you. For the love and support you give to me and each other. For the examples you have been for me and everyone around you in all things. I love you all so much and miss you like crazy. I hope that all is going well for you and you guys know how much you mean to me. I hope you have a great week and enjoy that beautiful western summer! I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

HEY!!! Wow!  It is already July!  That means summer is 1/3 of the way done already!  Time is flying by and I don’t know what to do with myself!  How is everyone doing?  Things are going fantastic for me here.  I am loving the new area and my new companion is a great guy and guess what?  He is from IDAHO!!! haha.  He is from Kimberly Idaho and his name is spelled Elder Henrie.  We are going to have a great 6 weeks here.  We set some really high goals and are working our selves to the floor trying to accomplish them.  I love the feeling when I come home and just feel spent.  Like I gave everything I had that day.  Then, as soon as my head hits that pillow, BOOM!! I am out cold.

So I was kind of sad to leave my last area, especially to leave the McMichaels, but I know that this is where I need to be and I have seen many miracles in the last week to show it.

The first day I got here we went over to an inactive members home to check up on her.  When we got there she was excited to see us and asked us to come back on Sunday at 3 and teach her non-member husband.  They had just gone through Salt Lake a couple months ago and he bought a Book of Mormon. So we came back and had a great lesson with them.  She bore her testimony and he really wants to know if the church is true and join if it is.  We are really excited to teach him! His name is Cory (Sp?) and her’s is Anna.  They are a young couple and very nice.

Then on Saturday we are riding our bikes down a back road and a car honks and pulls over.  He wanted a card from us and asked for our number.  He said he had talked to missionaries before and lost contact when he moved down here.  He gave us his number and wants us to come teach him.

Yesterday we ran into to boys.  Keon Tibbs and Keyshawn Johnson.  They are cousins and Keons dad is atheist.  He told us to talk to them though. So we did and they believe in God and Christ and said they have been interested in “Mormonism”  because they have some friends that are Mormon.  They said that they are going to call their friends (the Mormon ones) and have them come over so we can teach them (Keyshawn and Keon) about the gospel.  We are going to meet with them next week!

That is just a couple of the miracles that I have seen in the last week.  I would write more if I had time. haha  I don’t really have too much time left out here, and I hope I can use the best of it.  I want to come home a worn out and tired man.

I hope that all is going well for you guys and you know how much I miss you and love you.  have a great week and I will talk to you soon!

Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

HEY!! how is everyone doing today? I am doing great! I am pretty excited for this new transfer. Its time for some change again. I am moving down to the bottom of the mission! Down in Fredricksberg, the tock hill area! I think it is a bike area, but really small. Like you can walk from one end to the other in just 45 minutes. My new companions name is Elder Henry, but I don’t know if that is how you spell it or not. I am going to try to knock every single door in the area in the next six weeks. haha that is my goal.

So a little update on whats been happening here. First off the weather. It doesn’t really know what it wants to do. It gets really warm, and then really nice, like yesterday was beautiful, today is going to be warm, tomorrow is suppose to be 95, with humidity added on top of that! haha perfect day to start a bike area. I am still loving it out here though. Maybe this will really help me get into way good shape!

Now the McMichaels. They are doing great. On Sunday we had a really good meeting with them and we invited them to be baptized on July 19. Giving them 4 weeks to prepare for it. Jim just smiled and is like “yes!” haha and Marilyn is like, “I don’t know, I will pray about it” She thinks that June, of NEXT year sounds good to her. Jim will want to wait probably untill she is ready. But we are going to meet with them tonight and as a last meeting for me will really try to set a date for sooner. I will let you know what happens and I hope to keep in touch with them.

Other than that we haven’t had anything really exciting happen this week. We have just been keeping busy knocking on doors and trying to find people that are ready for the gospel. I hope all is going well back there and you all know how much I love you and miss you! Have a great week and stay cool! LOVE YOU!!

Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

Hey! How is everyone doing this week? Things are going great here! The weather is kind of on edge though. Last week after we emailed we went to play some frisbee at the church. Right as we pulled up and I was finishing my chili cheese dog, it started to dump rain. Well me and Elder Johnson, my district leader got even more excited to play in the rain. Elder Smith and Laughren (pronounced lockran) decided not to get wet and go inside. 5 Minutes later Smith runs out and says “Come in side now! There is a tornado warning!” Well we didn’t care, we said “if there is a tornado, we want to see it!” haha but we eventually went inside and got stuck there for the rest of P-day. This caused me to be able to write 0 letters. Sorry!

Now the weather wants to be hotter than an oven. The other day it was 97 and 112 with the heat index! Hot dang! I may have sweated just a little bit. But things are still going great here. The McMichaels are doing fantastic. They didn’t make it to church this week though because of Marilyn’s surgery. She had her thyroid removed, but is doing great. We had a really good meeting with them on Sunday and are going to set a baptismal date with them on Saturday. Pray for us!

Aziz is still wanting to learn more about the church, and asks lots of questions and is very kind. It is alot of fun teaching someone from Saudi Arabia with his beliefs. Other than that we have just been tracting and trying to find more people to teach. Nothing will stop us from knocking those doors, no amount of heat or humidity. haha

I hope all is going well for you back there. I miss you all and love so much. Have a great week and enjoy summer, it is definitely here! Take it easy.

Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway

Hey!  How is everyone doing this week?  Things are going great for me!  We had a pretty fun week and boy it is getting nice and humid here.  The summer is going to hit pretty hard.  I can only be excited though.  Things are going well.  We have a new person we are teaching and he is from Saudi Arabia!  He wants to learn about Christianity and potential join the church.  His name is Aziz.

He was found because he called in and ordered a Book of Mormon.  So we took it to his house and sat down and talked with him a little about what it is, and what the Bible is as well.  We met with him again Sunday and asked him why he had us over, and where he wants to go from here.  If he was just interested in learning about Christianity or becoming a Christian and he said “Both.”  We are pretty excited to be teaching him, and we will be meeting with him again next Sunday and he will be coming to church.  It is really exciting to see some one want to learn about Christ and it should be a great experience for me and Elder Smith.

The McMichaels are doing very well still.  They came last week again and even paid fast offerings!  Marilyn went in for surgery yesterday and we called and they said everything went perfect.  We are going to call again today and see how everything is and ask what we can do to help.  They are amazing people and I just love them.

The other day (Saturday I believe)  we were out at lunch and on the way back to work we had the windows down.  Well I see this HUGE bolt of lightning in my rear-view mirror and right when I saw it, we heard it. and it was loud! Then a sheet, more like a wall, of rain came from behind and dumped on us.  It rained so hard I couldn’t see 10 feet in front of me when I was driving.  It was awesome. The bad part about it, the humidity after words.  Felt like I was in a sauna and a steam room combined.  It was thick stuff.  You gotta love Virginia.

Other than that though, we are just tracting away loving every minute of it.  I hope that all is going well back at home.  I miss you guys so much and love you tonz.  Have a great week and stay out of trouble.  haha  Love you guys!
Love
Elder Gregory Scott Galloway