Happy Memorial Day!

Photos of Albardon



 

 

 

 

Hey Mom! Happy Memorial Day!!

 

So yeah, I only remembered that it was Memorial Day because Dad told me haha. Sorry, I have realized I'm AWFUL at saying happy birthday even when Dad tells me whose birthday is coming up, and then with holidays. So please forgive me! And happy birthday to everyone I have missed so far!!

 

Well I'm sleeping a lot better, although the last few nights a little less. But it's alright, it's not nearly as bad as my last area. And I use the bed, because an elder told me that the hammock will kill your back for the next week if you sleep in it. The weather is just really annoying, so it's a little rough. As for our lunch with Bishop, well we didn't get to have it since he had to work, so we took stuff back to the pench and ate there. But it was still really good!

 

Oh yeah! Tell Dad that I ordered the scipture cases today, so I'll keep you updated on that! I´m excited haha!

 

Oh THANK YOU for mentioning Peter Breinholt, only because I wouldn't have remembered to ask you this if you hadn't reminded me of music. Can you PLEASE send me the Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD "Love Is Spoken Here"? The one in the green case? I love that CD, Elder Alberro had it and we listened to it almost every day for the transfer. It has some of my favorite songs on it. So yeah, can you send me a copy or however you can do it? That would be awesome :)

 

I did hear about the tornadoes, and I'm glad for your updates, because somewhere along the "telephone wire" between the US and Argentina, things get WAY out of context. Of course, the hermano that was telling us is a little crazy too, way too obsessed with learning EVERYTHING the world has to offer, and neglecting some of the basics (sorry, I love the guy still! I just feel bad for the situation of his family; they´re really awesome people). But he told us over 100 people were dead, like 60 of them being little kids, so I was pretty shocked. But I guess it wasn't quite as bad, although still terrible. I try not to listen too intently when they tell us things, because it's always a little off. Like South Korea decalring war on the US, and now lots of deaths... yeah, what a lovely hour of television! But I'm glad to know Mike and Emma are doing okay still!

 

And good job Nathan! Welcome to the mom delivery system business! It may not last long, but enjoy it! At least you get to drive :P I remember those days very well. And now I can't even imagine driving, I'm so used to walking. Can't wait till I drive again haha. Lucky Elder Hardy, being in the offices and getting to drive. But, I'm happy to be out here still! The offices would be hard.

 

I´m glad the choir concert went well! I've lost my singing talent due to lack of practice, but I still sing pretty well compared to many hermanos down here. Our ward just doesn't sing!! It's me, Elder Rogers, and the Bishop basically, and I know that because we sit in back, yet all we can hear is Bishop up front. Pretty sad. That's what you get with a ward of a million little kids!

 

That's so weird that Diane and Justin are gone to Texas now. I'm glad you got to spend some time with them though! They´re just all over the place, whether in Caldwell for the fair, or in Holland for a few years, Utah, now Texas, where next??

 

Hey, something to read! (Jeff told him we're sending him Clayton Christensen's new book "The Everyday Missionary," which he just finished reading.) Well thank you! Make sure you don't put any vitamins or medications in the package, we aren't allowed to get those anymore, Buenos Aires just gets rid of the package, and we never receive it. The 25 dollar maximum value thing is still a rule too! Just don't put in any pills or anything. Darn, I was wanting some dinosaur gummy vitamins haha. I'm excited to read the book, beacuse the attendance part is going to help A LOT!! We need that very badly here.

 

Elder Rogers and I have stepped it up a little bit this last weekend, due to a call from the DLs and ZLs wanting to know why (kindly and how they should have done it, of course) our numbers haven't been so great. And we told them of our frustration and everything, how we just can't get anyone to church and no one is progressing. So with their help we´ve started doing a little more focus on searching and finding new people, which is what we desperately need. And in the last three days we saw lots of fruit from our efforts, so I hope these next three weeks go just like that, with plenty of people to teach. It's way frustrating not teaching very often...thought I got used to that in Justo Daract, but I guess it's just a different experience, different area.

 

Thank you Dad for the advice, from the book and you. I'll try and get that working better. The obispo keeps telling us these last three weeks, jokingly but obviously seriously too, when we ask him what he needs, that we need to bring investigators to church. At first it was a little annoying, because we haven't had a bunch of help from members so far, but I realized he has plenty on his mind, with a ward of 300+ members that have only 45-50 attending every week. So I got down from my high horse pretty quickly.

 

Wow, another one going to the islands, and St. George (recent mission calls in our stake)!! I want to go to the St. George Temple someday. I just recently listened to a talk by Ezra Taft Benson, from the same BYU speech website, called "God's Hand in Our Nation," and it boosted my patriotic level and my reverent respect towards the Founding Fathers quite a lot, and since President Woodruff saw them in vision in that temple, I'd love to see that mural in there. Maybe one day. But I recommend that talk! I know Dad likes talks like that, and it's a very powerful one.

 

There was something else I wanted to share, a change of attitude that I had recently. Or something I realized, better put. I´ve noticed that whenever we are with some people, and the members are there and less active or non members, I am drawn to talk and walk with the non member people. We were walking with two sisters yesterday down the road to their house where we had an appointment, and the member (okay, she´s actually not a member, but she does EVERYTHING a member does, and wants to be, but can't be baptized yet), she was talking to us about a bunch of stuff, and I found myself drawn towards the other sister, her actual sister, and tried talking to her, since she is inactive. I don't know what it is, but the thought crossed my mind yesterday, the words from the Bible and from the Book of Mormon, "they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." It's a little attitude I have now, that yes, I love talking to members and getting to know them, but usually in situations like that the less active or non member gets excluded, or excludes themselves, since they don't understand or know what we´re talking about. But I've noticed that I always separate myself from that situation (not from my companion, don't worry) and I would rather talk to them, make them feel welcomed and comfortable, because I hate when people look or feel uncomfortable. So that little thought passed through my mind last night, and I realized that it is more or less like an attribute of Christ, because He always reached out to those who actually needed His help, and I'm trying to do the same! So that was a little checkmark for me :) Sorry if that's not as exciting for you as it was for me haha, but I just wanted to share that.

Well I need to get going, I'm starving. But I will keep taking pictures and sending them! These are a few from the last two weeks, the first two on Sunday, our normal Sunday morning walk to and from church, and then the other in the middle of nowhere, with the sunset behind the mountains. Beautiful, isn't it? Reminds me of Mountain Home alot! I miss that place.

I love you Mom! And I'll keep you updated on the scripture cases and pictures and my sleeping patterns haha! Until next week! Enjoy your holiday and this week, and try and send me that CD when you can please! I'll pay you back even haha :)

Elder Tyson Gibbons