Hello everyone!

Playing Settlers of Catan on p-day

With Elders Ferrin, Smith, Squireres, and Rogers

 

With Elder Fullmer

 

 

Hello everyone!

Well it's been a really really good week. It's really weird seeing all those pictures of Logan´s homecoming. I remember when we said goodbye for three years! And two have already passed??? I can't believe it. He´s looking good, and I'm sure he's going crazy with the lack of things to do haha. I'm not looking forward to that very much. Thanks for sending all those pictures! Too bad only one of them opens since I'm in Argentina and they don't recognize this place, so it won't let me open them. I'll look at them later, I guess!

So this week, the first full week of Elder Fullmer in Argentina, has been sooo good! We´ve seen lots of little miracles and had some AWESOME visits with our people we´ve been teaching recently. They are all progressing very well and guess what?? M_____  and S_____ both came to church!!!! It was so awesome!! I know they are going to progress so much more now. It's going to be great. I was just so happy, it's been the HARDEST thing getting people to church during my whole mission! So I was very happy yesterday. And then it ended pretty lame. We went to ward council and walked to the church and hadn't planned anything else because it was going to take all afternoon, and then we get to the church and it's abandoned, and the bishop calls thirty minutes later saying he forgot to tell us right after the meeting they cancelled ward council, literallly 30 minutes after announcing it. So our night didn't go so well, but it's alright! The happiness carried over to the night. :)

Wait, Tyler served in Cordoba??? Why did I never know that? That's way cool. Yeah, Justo Daract may be the end of the world, but it's nice to think I was pretty close to family in a very abstract way. Thanks for letting me know!

 

Wow, I can't believe the 4th of July is this week! I'm definitely listening to some talks from BYU speeches that talk about America and stuff, maybe it'll be a smooth transition for Elder Fullmer! And I will probably get grido´s or empanadas or something. But it's going to be hard to celebrate much, just with having to work and stuff :P But it's pretty crazy! 2013 is officially halfway over, how weird is that? 

 

Wow it got into the 100´s?? Well this last week we had sonda again, so it got pretty hot compared to the cold beginning of the week, so that made me feel a little crappy again (healthwise, I mean) but it wasn't nearly as bad as the last time. For it being such crazy weather, and the people not being receptive at all, we still had an amazing week!

 

I'm sorry to hear that Jalen´s luggage is still lost... that's really hard! But I can't believe how optimistic he is still haha. Thanks for those pictures! All the elders are freaking out about how similar we look in the picture where his hair is way short and he´s wearing his switzerland shirt. I guess we do look similar at this moment... but my hair is slowly growing back, and as it grows I realize how badly it was cut, there are parts that are way longer and way shorter haha, but oh well. I kinda like the randomness. :)

 

Haha I remember Coach Armstrong saying that all the time, that Jalen and I had that twin connection, knowing each other's thoughts. Even Paul and Lockett said it a few times. They thought we were the power team haha. I remember randomly when Paul put us as the two forwards, but I didn't know what to do and Jalen was doing everything. Pretty embarrassing. But it's true. I don't know why, but I remember feeling sick when he knocked his teeth out, and I tell that story to a bunch of people down here! They all LOVE it haha. 

 

So I just want to share our visit we had with the familia M_____ on Saturday. Basically, we finished teaching the plan of salvation and then talked a little about the temple and eternal marriage, but we started talking to the husband (they're not actually married yet) and he just told us that he´s told all his friends that if he is going to go to church (he´s never been a very church-going guy, so they all invite him and stuff), he is going to our church, because we explain the scriptures and all the stuff that the other church never could explain to him, so he already loves us! And his wife was sitting there listening and then started telling us about all the changes she´s seen just since she first met us, and how she really really wants to go to church, and to top it off, she says that both of her kids stopped going to their respective churches because they both decided they wanted to go to our church after our first visit! How crazy is that?? I didn't even know what to say, I was speechless. This family already realizes there´s a lot we have to offer and they want it a lot. So we´re going to make sure and help them do it all, and for the right reasons. They want to get baptized the beginnig of August, and I might not be here, and I want to make sure they understand that WE aren't the ones who have helped, that the changes come from doing what God wants us to do, we´ve just helped them learn more about it. So yeah, that's what this month is going to be all about! And it's very possible that they get married earlier and get baptized this month too! So we´re going to be planning VERY well for them. I´m super grateful for Elder Rogers who is the main reason we have found these people, and now I'm super grateful to have a new elder with a fire for the work still going strong, and the blessings we receive, because I know God wants Elder Fullmer to have a really good first experience. So it's all been an amazing first week for him.

 

So Elder Fullmer has this cookbook, Missionary Meals. and we are going to experiment with a bunch of that stuff this next week haha. We already tried mac and cheese yesterday which turned out well, I'll send a picture after, but I want to make a bunch of the stuff in there! I miss good food haha, or rather, I miss American food I guess. The food down here is good too!

 

I was supposed to give a talk yesterday, and I spent the whole week planning it. I was going to talk about Preach My Gospel and how it can help us and the members to work more closely, like the broadcast said last sunday. I was way excited to help the members know how to help us more!! And so I get up, really nervous to speak because there were investigators there (it didn't make me super nervous at the end, I was glad they were there), and so I start my talk, and they handed me this paper saying "¡TIEMPO!" so naturally I turned pretty red, but it wasn't embarrassment, it was more of anger (yes, I'll admit it) because I hadn't even started saying what I had prepared for these people, how they can help us more, and they were already cutting me off! So I took another 10 minutes anyway, saying about 1/5 of what I had planned. So I was still pretty upset, but they all told me it turned out good? Might've just been saying that because they realized I was a little upset. Oh well haha, I'm sure I'll get more chances in the future. We ended up singing the closing hymn 25 minutes late, but that's just the other speaker's fault since they talked forever. 

 

So I've been reading in Alma where Captain Moroni is fighting against Zarahemna, and it's the story where they surround them and then instead of killing them all, since Moroni is a stud, he stops the killing and tells them to leave their weapons of war and leave the country with a peace treaty, and of course they don't want to do that, so Moroni says his famous phrase, "Behold, we will end the conflict." I love that verse haha, but then they do surrender after the second time. And the second time, instead of just killling them all after they refused to stop fighting, he stops the fighting again and lets them go! It's a really good example of a true hero, because he´s definitely one of my heroes!! A true hero doesn't want to kill anyone. Heroes just want to help, but they also will do what they need to to preserve the peace and freedom of their country. Sounds a lot like the Founding Fathers, right?? Well guess what, this week is the Fourth of July! HAPPY 4th EVERYONE!! Have an awesome day, remember why we celebrate this holiday, and remember that it was a breakthrough for the whole world, making it possible to believe in God and worship Him in the manner that we wished. It's a pretty big deal! I love you all and hope this week is full of good food, fireworks, and fun! Because I'm not sure if mine will be, eat some extra for me ;) but not too much! 

 

Have a good week and don't worry about Argentina, I´ve got it all under control :)

 

Elder Tyson Gibbons