San Rafael!

With Elder Marsh and Elder Johnson

 

Mendoza Centro Ward missionaries

 

With Elder Connolly and former mission leader

from Mendoza Centro Ward

 

With current mission leader from

Mendoza Centro Ward, a newly returned missionary

 

Hey Mom! 

 

Okay, first things first, having to send a lot more information every Monday, my emails might be a little shorter, or at least today when I´m getting used to everything. And I'm also helping Elder Villegas with his college applications as I type, so please forgive me this week!

But things are going really good here. San Rafael is a big zone, but we have a lot of good elders and 4 sisters! There are a lot of new elders too, but they are learning how to work well! We just had zone conference yesterday (oh, sorry, that's why i didn't email yesterday!!!) and we are all just SUPER PUMPED to get out and work!! One of our areas has four baptisms set for this weekend, so that is way cool!! This has been a good month so far, and it will continue being a good month!

 

I´m glad to hear the Creche turned out very well!! I did miss it this year. I don't like the humid heat, and I really miss all the other Christmas songs that I can't hear right now. But it's alright, we are singing Christmas hymns in a lot of our appointments so that helps us feel the Christmas Spirit as well! And I´ve come to like that Christmas isn't just a big show of lights down here (although I´d much rather have lights than a bunch of drunks and drugged people shooting fireworks and guns... I think that might be a safety hazard? Haha!)

 

We have the mission Christmas party the 17th, and I'll get to be with my old zone, Mendoza! 

 

So when we had traslados and everything, guess who I saw in the terminal? BOTH Elder Fullmer and Elder Southwick!!! And Elder Southwick just talked to me about Albardon for literally an hour, and he missed his bus, I felt pretty bad!! But things are going SOOO WELLL there!! A lot of families have come back, and they baptized the kid we did a church tour with! So they are seeing a lot of changes! I was super excited to hear all of that!!

And then I talked with Elder Fullmer a little bit, he is district leader now! Same with Elder Connolly! Those two are studs, they both taught me more than I taught them I think. And Elder Fullmer already trained somewhat, it was a Latino that was trained in the other mission, but oh well. I´m a grandpa! haha.

 

So I mentioned a little more about the leadership council in the email to Dad, but it was super cool, and guess what we ate for lunch?? TACOS!!!! I was super excited! And I guess that's a tradition so.... I am excited to eat tacos at least 5 more times! :)

 

Last pday was super fun! I'll send pictures. We played volleyball and soccer, and I just had a lot of fun, having not played for a long time. I didn't get burned, I put on sunscreen! Well I didn't put it on my wrist where my watch has been, so I did get a red line on my wrist, but it was alright! :) And I'm excited to play at the Christmas party as well. Everyone is always surprised to see a gringo play so well (even though I feel like I still don't play that well) and they say I'm the first gringo they´ve met that actually knows how to play! So that made me feel good at least :)

 

So it was pretty hard to say goodbye to Mendoza people, literally and physically. Literally because when I was with them, I had just gotten to know them well and then I was leaving. And physically because well with everything we had to do and the schedules and addresses of everyone, I only got to say goodbye to five people haha of ALL the people I had met! But that's alright, they all told me to leave my facebook info with Elder Connolly so hopefully he´s handing that out! 

 

Anyway, today we have a bunch of really important appointments so we´ve gotta get going! I love you all, and will make sure to write you more next week!

Elder Tyson Gibbons

 

These pictures are 1) Elder Marsh, me and Elder Johnson; 2) the missionaries of Mendoza Centro ward!; 3) us with the former ward mission leader; 4) the new ward mission leader, he´s awesome, got back from his mission in September!