I´ll apologize for the opening. I´ve just heard it a thousand times this week from people. They taught us it means what´s up in the MTC, but here it's more like what the old people say to you when they don´t want to talk to you. Haha I´m not saying it with those same feelings!! :)
Anyway, I´m glad you enjoyed the pictures. I´ll send them every once in a while from now on. But tonight we only have an hour in cyber so we want to get out and work so we´re prepared for Dario again tonight. It's been an interesting p-day so far, Elder Cahoon from Elder Day´s MTC district and his companion Elder Tingy came to Justo Daract, and we just did a lot of walking. I´m fried :/ it's really uncomfortable. Haha but I´ll survive. Until tomorrow, when we have to go to San Luis again for a zone meeting, not the zone conference though. Anyway, that will be rather uncomfortable! Then we might be doing divisions tomorrow too, with me and Elder Genem, the mini missionary, which would be interesting. I´d have to speak Spanish every minute of the day. But if not, we´ll stay in San Luis. Then Elder Day and Elder Cahoon are going to Mendoza on Wednesday so they won´t be back until Thursday night, so I´m going to be working with Elder Tingy for those two days. It's going to be sweet. He´s pretty famous in the mission just because he´s so funny. It´ll be a good two days. We´re thinking of working in his area Wednesday and then Justo Daract Thursday. But we´ll see I suppose! So that's the crazy last week of the transfer eh? And Friday is hump day! I can´t believe it. It's gone by sooo fast. Yet really slow too haha. Depends on the day and weather.
Oh and that one elder in the picture is Elder Allred, he was Assistant when I got here, then he left last transfer. And yes, my hair was really short because Elder Day cut it. But it has since grown back enough so I´m not complaining. Next time though, I´m going to Señora Tolaba. haha
Wow a lot happened this last week! That's really good though. Yes I heard about the elections, since Elder Day loves to talk about them. But whenever politics got brought up I just kinda lost focus and the people always noticed too. So I just tell them I HATE politics. And I don´t like how it gets brought up at just about every single house we go to. But I think you should just study and ponder and pray for who is best, and support whoever it is. But it's over now. So that's good! Haha I´m glad Warren finally made it! He´lll be a lot bigger when I see him that's for sure. And President Monson is goingto be at the cultural celebration???????? That's so cool!!!!!!!! I wish I could be there. I love that man. I´m glad Nathan is listening to talks from him and others too. They´re a really good way to end the day, that's for sure.
Logan is in the MTC huh? That's so crazy. I´ll keep him in my prayers, those are about all that got me through the first couple crazy days haha. That and good district friends and zone leaders. Hopefully he has an abundance of those as well. And I´m glad to hear about all the girls going on missions! It's going to be a totally different experience from now on, with people going right out of high school and everything.
Well I just got the email today saying I have the first package, so that took a while! But I´ll get it next week since the zone leaders already got my 15 letters or algo así for the zone meeting tomorrow. The zone leaders called Elder Daybell and he called me just to tell me that I had about15 letters. So really, thank you everyone who sent me something! It made my night, that's for sure. And now I have a package in the offices, and two more?? I´m spoiled. Thank you very much. There are elders here that don´t get anything ever. I´m really lucky. Haha I´m going to try to get a pacakage sent in the next couple weeks too. I don´t really know what to put in it since there´s not much to send, but I´ll come up with something!
Brian Buckner is getting married this Thursday? Wow that's crazy. I remember seeing him and Brandt in the MTC when I was there. Now he´s getting married. That's great, tell him congratulations for me! Or whatever you say when someone gets married. I´ve never really been to one haha.
The weather has really been getting crazy. Last Wednesday was SOOOOO hot. I think it was 38 degrees celsius. And then Thursday was 35. Those days killed us, we were so exhausted. Yet I got burned worse today than those two days... weird. Then this morning, I was FREEZING. I don´t know what was going on. But it was really cold. It doesn´t help that Elder Day has a really big blanket so he makes the room absolute zero everynight haha. It's definitely just a humbling and patience building experience when things like that come up. I´ve learned a lot from that anyway. It's definitely making me a better person, so I´m grateful for whatever comes my way.
Anyway, we had a really good lesson with D___ and his girlfriend for the first time together last Friday. It went really well, and we´re going by again tonight too. We had a good lesson about the plan of salvation, and they are both really intelligent so they have really good questions. Like, REALLY good questions. The questions basically show that they´ve been prepared and it's almost like they´re teaching themselves, which is how it should be. There is really good potential with them, we hope this visit will be just as good. They´re great. They aren´t married but they were planning on it before we met them, they´re just really good people. We hope to continue on with them! As for the others, most of our people seriously just lack coming to church. It's the hardest thing to do here for sure, since it's at 9:30 am and all the way by the Ruta out of town. So we still haven´t gotten anyone to come. M___ still hasn´tcome as well, and that's all he´s faulting. Or was faulting. He has started drinking again, but we´re really working with him. Except the last four days we went by every day and found his house in the same condition, and we don´t know what happened :/ Last time we saw him he left to go answer the phone and find out if he has cancer or not... I hope that has nada que ver con what has happened since. Hopefully we find him again! :/ Everyone else just needs to come to church. Hna Alaniz came up to me after church yesterday and just grabbed my hand and kept asking me if I remembered what I said in my prayer at their house Saturday, and I think I remembered, so she just said good, remember that prayer, because it happened Elder. What you prayed for happened after you left! So that taught me some good lessons too. To pray with faith. To be sincere! And that God does answer prayers!!!!! :) I have no idea what exactly happened, except that she had her mom, A___, over to eat when we were there, and we have been teaching A___ for awhile. So yeah, hopefully something happened with her! I can testify of the power of prayer, that will never be a doubt for me. That's one thing I love about the mission. I feel like I´ve increased my testimony more than any single person I´ve taught so far. And that's just en acuerdo with the statement "The best conversion of your mission will be your own." I know that's true. And it's what I want! Teaching all these blessings of the Gospel has given me an even stronger burning desire to do everything I can to receive that with my family one day.
So I have another suggestion for you to look up, talks-wise. It's definitely not on speeches.byu.org but it's really good. The guy's name is Bob Richards, and he´s a motivational speaker. He´s THE motivational speaker. I guess the last president of the mission made a CD with all these motivational talks from this guy and gave them to the elders. They are all really good, pretty similar, always include sports, but they are really good at what they are for, motivating! There´s a quote that I wanted to share from his talk we listened to Sunday morning. Basically he´s talking about us as humans, being children of God, and he starts with some random athlete whose dad told him everyday, "God loves the winner!!!" Which motivated this kid to do great things. But Bob Richards expanded, "Of course God loves the winner. He also loves the loser. He loves everyone, we´re all His children!!!" He goes on to say that God made each of us with the potential to do anything and everything we want, we´re His greatest creation, with all the emotions and energies and material of the earth, the galaxy, the billions of universes, all of it is found in us. then he gave this statement, "We are programmed for VICTORY." God made us so we could succeed, we could be victorious, in whatever aspect of our lives we want to be. Of course, I thought of it in the gospel sense, being a missionary and all, and I just got hit with emotion thinking that I, an imperfect and struggling human, mortal, wandering child of God, was programmed for victory. Not for last second defeat, not for shortcoming in life, but for VICTORY. And what is the victory in this life?? To do everything we can so we receive everything He has in store for us in the next. There is nothing out there that should stop us, because we are born victors! We know Satan won´t succeed in the end, so why give him the victory for even a minute? An hour? A night? Whatever temptation you may face, as we all do, step back and think about it. You have a divine origin, made by the power of the Almighty God, and he has invested in you the power and will and might to be a victor. I have a better eternal perspective right now then I EVER have had in my life, even being a member of this church and hearing it my whole life. We are MEANT to be victorious, what else would our loving Heavenly Father want for us? It seems so simple, yet I just now really thought about it. That's the importance of taking time to really contemplate the things of God. Next time you are faced with a defeat, or a downfall, or a temptation, remember your divine origin, your divine purpose in this life, and remember that YOU are programmed for VICTORY. I can´t even describe this talk enough to get the same motivational power, you have to listen to this guy Bob Richards. It's worth the search, I promise you! Anyway, that is my speech for today. :) Sorry for all my speeches, by the way. I just really like all the stuff I´m learning, and I want to share it of course!
Well this next week is looking pretty interesting, with us being fridge-less and the weather and all the crazy traveling. But I´ll do everything I can to make it the best week yet, of course! Elder Day is probably leaving, so he is not worried about it, but I need a fridge!!!! But with all the traveling, that little aspect shouldn´t be a big deal! I heard on Wednesday Elder Tingy has a really good lunch setup, so I´ll be eating well Wednesday that's for sure :) :) So that makes for a content missionary! No worries there. Anyway, I hope all goes well for you this week, and I hope you come out the victor in whatever challenge you are faced with! I´m struggling just as much as you, but I can promise that prayers are powerful, and are always answered in the best way possible for us. So don´t give up! Haha a Josh Groban song just popped up in my head, "Don´t Give Up.." It's a really good song. Listen to that if you´re having a rough week or day! Haha oh the random things that can make your day so much better. I love you all! Keep on keepin on! Life is full of victories for us, just make sure you´re doing your part to reach them! Keep the optimistic outlook on everything, it helps a lot ;)
Hasta luego, queridos amigos y familias! Que Dios les bendiga en todos aspectos de sus vidas!
Chau
Elder Tyson David Gibbons
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