Happy Father's Day!

Hey Mom and Dad!

Well I can definitely say that yes, the best parts in life always come after the hardest parts in life! This last week has just been like a weeklong recompense from that pretty low weekend! Haha I'm happy, so that's all the matters! First of all, Happy Fathers Day Dad!! I love you! Hope you enjoyed some good cooking, being nice and warm inside and outside and some good heartfelt gifts! It was mighty cold, super windy, way dark, and extremely empty in town yesterday. I hope my use of superlatives or extreme adjectives got my message across. Haha :) it was a pretty uneventful dia, just like all the holidays here in Argentina. There were even fewer people in church, plus we figured out that the gas for the heaters isn't sufficient, so the bishop and I went through the chapel from one end to the other turning on the heaters, and we realized by the time we reached the end of the cycle, all the ones at the beginning had turned off, the ones in the middle were only at half power, and while I tried to turn one on, the bishop was looking at one of the middle ones, and it turned off when mine turned on. So yeah, we had a fun day skipping through all the rooms in use, turning them on, and off, or turning them to half power, trying to get the chapel heated up! And to top it all off, the power went out haha, so yeah, that was super fun. :) Your meetings sound a lot more normal! I'm glad to hear that Sydney's farewell went well!

 

Alright, besides that, this last week was really good because we had some really, really good visits with some of our main people right now! We had the family M_____ (members) come with us to visit the other family M_____ (non members) and they made friends, and it was a really good lesson. Only problem was coming to church yesterday, EVERYONE used Fathers Day as an excuse to not go, which is way ironic I think, since that's dishonoring our HEAVENLY Father, and I think if there is any father we should do something for, firstly it should be Him. It's just sad to realize how many people don't understand that very well. But oh well, that's the culture here, and in many other countries, including ours, and it's pretty hard to change it! But we also found some new people thanks to the fruit lady, whose name is actually S_____, and guess what? Turns out that she is already a member haha--didn't tell us until we invited her to be batized. I called it!! Haha it didn't surprise me at all when she said it. But her cousin, A_____, is awesome. She already loves the Book of Mormon, has read a bunch, but more than that, understands and remembers what she read, instead of just saying "Yes I read," then failing every simple question we ask. Haha that happens alot... but then this week she introduced us to two of her friends, who we taught and who are really cool too. But what's the best is that she was helping us to teach her two friends! Almost like a lesson with member haha, but not quite. Then we just had really good visits with some other people, and some pretty awkward visits too. But I won't mention that right now, it's a good email so far haha.

 

Alright, that's about it for the week! So I guess I could mention transfers... :) Well, what President told me of course was right! Elder Rogers is leaving to San Martin, with Elder Manjarres, who was with us in San Luis when I was there with Elder Rogers! So that's pretty cool! And as for me, well... I don't know who my companion is haha, it's pretty nerve-wracking. But I know I'll get along with him anyway. All I know is that it's going to be a new elder BUT I don't know if I'm actually training or not, because it could be a latino visa waiter, or a latino in general, who I wouldn't need to train much. Or it could be a gringo visa waiter or new gringo, and I would end up training I think. But I don't have any more information than that, I don't know if I'm going to Mendoza this week or no! So I guess I'll let you all know next week. I'm pretty excited, but also sad to see Elder Rogers go. He has always given everything he has, and it's been a great example to me, and we are at the opposite end of how the area was when I got here and he got here. We have people to teach, people progressing towards baptism, and that's how a transfer should be! So I feel good and so does he, knowing we have worked so hard to make it that way. I'm happy, because I feel like in neither of my other two areas I've been able to do that for the following missionary.

 

Thanks for sending me more pictures! It's just a nuisance that I can only see the last one! This cyber is so terrible, but we didn't have time to go to a better one. So again, I'll put off downloading that cd, and sending pictures, and everything else I would normally do in a good cyber. :/ and just send an email. How boring, right? ;)

 

So today we are going to eat empanadas! But we are going to make them, so don't get your hopes up haha! I don't know how great they will be, but oh well. And we might go do something with the other elders, but we don't know yet. So that's our day planned haha!

 

I'm glad Girls Camp went very well! Kate is definitely building up her testimony better than I ever did, and that makes me happy! And Nathan sounds excited for Jamboree. I have found a bunch of elders here that were at the same Jamboree as me and Logan and Chris and Jalen! It's fun to talk about all the cool stuff we did. And then I realized that our road trips were different from everyone else! We did some stuff that others didn't get to do. But I still think our trip was the best. So Nate is going with them this time? Or Dad too? Either way, it's always better having an adult that you know. If Bro. Hall hadn't been there, I would've been lost!

 

So this next Sunday, we have to go to that same broadcast, Dad! All the missionaries were told to be there, no exceptions. It's going to be really, really awesome and helpful! Thanks for that idea from Bro Criddle. I think that's what we need in this ward. It's just a situation in that the members who are the most faithful have fallen in routine and become accustomed to that routine, and they are really, really strugglingto get out of it, but thanks to some ideas from President Ávila that he sent me today and from your idea of being innovative, I have some tricks up my sleeve, and I hope to at least help get them out of the rut! It's weird hearing myself say that, I've never been even a little bit creative! You all know that hahaha, but I guess that's just an improvement I've picked up on this journey? I'll try my best, and keep you informed. But it will be cool to know I'm watching the same broadcast as you, Dad! A little piece of home in a very abstract way, haha.

 

Well I guess the computer just needed time, because now I can see the pictures! Jalen is always wearing his BYU soccer shirt. And I'm afraid to say we look even more alike right now, because I got my hair cut too, and the lady didn't listen to a word I said... and I feel bald haha. It's a little shorter than what Jalen has in those picutres of flood clean up, but my hair has never been this short. I said with the machine on the side and the top with scissors, but she just took the machine and shaved it all. Haha I was embarrassed at first.

 

But those are some pretty... interesting? lederhosen. I hope he never wears those back in the states hahahahaha! Wow he is in Stuttgart now??? That's soo cool!! Maybe he can go to the Porsche museum now since we already hit the Mercedes one. Keep me updated!

 

Well, we are going to go make lunch, whoo hoo! And hopefully get some more information on what is going to be happening this week! And I'll let you know next week! I love you all and hope you all had a great Fathers Day! As a little thought, I would like us all to think about something we can give our Heavenly Father, a gift or something we can change or do better, to make sure that He had a good day too! When He is happy, it's easy to say we are all happy, so if you want to be happy even more, think about that! As He says in Matthew 3, 3 Nephi 11 and Joseph Smith History 1:17, He was very pleased with Jesus Christ, and what can we do to make sure that He would say the very same thing to us? Think about it... it keeps me on my toes always, because just like I want my dad to be proud and pleased with what I'm doing, I want to make sure God, who really is our Father in Heaven, feels the same way! Just a little challenge for you all :)

Elder Tyson Gibbons

P.S. Oh yeah, and I forgot about something. The bishop here ate sloppy joes with some elders in the past, and he wanted to know if we could get some of those packets for sloppy joes for him haha. I don't know if you can do that, I've already asked you for a bunch of random stuff lol, but yeah, it might help me have a better relationship with him, and that will help us out in the long run a bunch! :) Let me know, I love you Mom! (And I have to admit, I never liked sloppy joes much, but I think it would be great right now. I CANNOT eat milanesas or noodles or polenta for another month at least!) Haha sorry, I'll stop complaining about my trivial problems. Love you!