Week 6: Florida Doesn't Know How to Fall

Hello, people who I adore! I hope each of your past week has been one for the ages. And it's Halloween on Wednesday!! What?!

To explain the subject line, Florida indeed doesn't know how to fall. In fact, I'm convinced that half of these people don't know what seasons are. The leaves are still on their trees and green as ever, the grass is still thriving (it's not real grass.. I'm pretty sure it's a weed called crab grass, but since it's green, I guess Floridians are okay with it), and I haven't smelled Pumpkin Spice yet, except for the smelly thing I bought for our apartment because it reeks in there. Our dishwasher started leaking and our sink was full of brown water for a few days because our disposal broke. 😂 oh well.

We set another one of our friends, Dave, with a baptismal date! The only thing is that, even though we taught him from beginning to end, we don't get to take credit for it because he moved south a block and now he's in the Elder's area 🙃 darnit.

We got yelled at by just a few more people this week while knocking which was just fantastic. I wish they'd just let me help them! I know the Gospel can make them happy. Even just going to stores and driving on the roads here is a lot different than Utah. Utah is like a bubble, because most people are generally pretty happy with life (not to draw conclusions, but there are lots of members in Utah if you know what I mean). Here, it seems as if they are all just content being unhappy and spreading unhappiness. But there are always those people at doors who give us water or tell us they appreciate what we're doing, so that's coolio.

We had a zone activity in Boynton Beach and our household dressed up as Monster's Inc. characters! We thought we were cute, but it's the best us missionaries can do 😂

I hope you all have an amazing week, and a Happy Halloween!!

Love,
Sister Sydney Gibbons

2 Nephi 31:20
"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

Week 5: More Doors than Monster's Inc.

Olá family!

For those of you in Utah right now, I hope you get the chance to build a snowman for me in the new few weeks. I MISS THE SNOW. I do, however, get my fair share of cold, because of Floridians and their crazy obsession with air conditioning. I didn't think I'd need a coat coming down here until I walked into my first sacrament meeting. #sendhelp Even ourr apartment is freezing! 

Oh, but I wish you all the best. Enjoy the colors of the leaves and the apple cider and the cloudy days. We don't get much of those here. I think I'll really miss pumpkin spice hitting me in the face whenever I walk through my door back home. That was always the best.

This week, I realized a lot of things. Oh let me tell you.
It has been a crazy struggle adjusting to life as a missionary. And it is even harder when people open up their doors and tell us how insane we really are. Though sometimes, it feels like insanity, it is worth it. I can tell you that every second glance from someone is worth it. Every ridicule, every yell, every door in my face is worth it. Even the sweat on my brow and the pants sticking to my legs is worth it. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Missionary work, and frankly, my whole life is worth living because my Savior, Jesus Christ, lives. He is the one true justification for what everyone deems as madness or insanity. I really am grateful to be here.

This week we did tons and tons of knocking. Here's the thing: I vowed to myself on my first day here that I would never knock again. I believed it was pointless. And yes, it may seem that way most of the time. But when you find that one soul who needs to hear it, it makes you want to knock for days and just shout your message from the rooftops. There are people out there who have been prepared and need this gospel right away, and that is who I'm here to find.
We set someone with a baptismal date this week! His name is Rick, and he is still unsure about it, but I know that being baptized will change his life, and I am so very excited for him!!
We had zone conference this week and holy cow it was long. But, it was way cool!

The ward had this family movie night planned and we got approved to go, because there would be some nonmembers there. I MISS MOVIES. I got to see a little bit of Coco, and I've already started making a list of movies I need to see when I get back. I'm crazy. We aren't a facebook mission, but there is a facebook page that you might be able to see pictures of me on. At least for the next two transfers. I believe it's called "Boynton Area Latter-Day Saints News". Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I love the Boca Raton Ward. Holy cow, these are some of the coolest people I've ever met. They have no problem standing for what they believe in, because most of them are the only members in their neighborhood. What's super cool is that most of them are from Utah or they have roots there. But they are so good at being member missionaries, it blows my mind. Even the little kids. This area is so fun!

I had the opportunitiy to go to a Portuguese member's home for a lunch appointment and I knew beforehand to eat SUPER SLOW or else they'll feed you until you burst. I've been learning more and more Portuguese lately and that day I learned the single most important phrase that I will ever learn in that language. I'm full.

We also went and visited a member's home for dinner and she was from Japan! She made our food right in front of us, and I got a better grip on how to use chopsticks (get it?). She says next time we come over, she'll make Katsudon and have Mochi Ice Cream for us. I'M SO EXCITED. This time around, she sent us out the door with some Japanese Jelly Beans, called "Poifull". Super yummy. :)

The drivers here have not changed from how I last described them. We've witnessed a couple accidents already. We have our little missionary helper, TiWi, making sure that we don't go too fast or anything (but actually, it is more dangerous to GO the speed limit here because people go 15 over anyway). And, when the lights turn green, you have to wait a few seconds, because people don't care if the light is red sometimes. So that's just great.

I have yet to see an alligator, but there are so many different frogs and lizards and iguanas here. It is unreal. Everytime we walk up to someone's house, their grass and bushes are always crawling!!

I don't have tons of time, but that is mostly everything that happened this week. Everything is awesome! I wish you all a happy fall! Be sure to send me some snow when you get some!

Love always,
Sister Sydney Gibbons

--
Sent from the Sunshine State

Week 4: Crazy Frizz and Tan Lines

Hola Family!

Holy cow. So so many things happened this week.

My last night in the MTC (which seems like years ago) was so super sad. I miss all of the cute friends I made there... even those who came to Florida with me because none of them are in my zone or anything. I reported to the MTC Travel Office at 3:45 a.m. We all got on a bus that was blasting Tabernacle Choir music and that took us to the front runner which then took us to the airport. Before I got on my flight to Atlanta, I ran into Sister Harper and Elder Draper, who were both headed to Peru on their missions! We were on the same flight to Georgia, but had to say goodbye at that airport! Good luck my friends!!
I got to Florida and the heat and humidity hit me all at once. I LOVE IT. My hair doesn't though, haha. We went to the mission home, then to a hotel to stay the night. I met President and Sister Garns, who are just so awesome.
The next day, I had to say farewell to my cute comp., Sister Toone. My trainer's name is Sister Lindsey Edmunds! She is from Ogden Utah, and is so so cute. This is only her fourth transfer, so she's really good at what she does. We have been assigned to the Boynton Beach Zone in the Boca Raton Ward. 
My new address is:
23090 Post Gardens Way Apt. 315
Boca Raton, FL 33433
Although, if you want to send me important packages or anything, you might consider sending them to the Mission Office instead, unless you need things to get to me right away.
Sister Edmunds and I room in the same little apartment with a Portuguese companionship: Sister Affonso and Sister Paniagua. They are the coolest cats in all of southern Florida. Sister Affonso is from Brazil, and has been teaching me Portuguese!!! I know how to say things like "We are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", "Can we give you a card of Jesus Christ?", and "thank you". And then Sister Paniagua has been teaching me the same stuff in Spanish. This mission has four official languages, and they all meet at our church building in different blocks: English, Haitian-Creol, Portuguese, and Spanish. We also have some Visa-waiters going to Tahiti (speaking French and Tahitian) and some going to Madagascar (speaking Malagasee). Super cool. My companion has picked up on some of the languages, so there is a little hope for me to learn something.
The rest of the week was mainly just spent talking to and meeting with members, less actives, referrals, and friends (formally known as investigators). 
There was actually a baptism in the Boca Rio West Ward (Portuguese Ward) yesterday and Sister Edmunds and I went because there was a friend there who only spoke English and wants to know more. So I think we'll being to teach him. But after the baptism, we went to a Brazilian Barbecue and that was some of the best food I have ever had. Holy cow. If I ate that every day, I'm sure my pant size when I come back would be the same as the diameter of the earth.
I loved going to church most of all this week. I always find myself taking for granted the sacrament. Don't do that. The sacrament is prioritty #1 when we go to church!

If you read nothing else of this letter, I implore you to read this, especially if you are preparing yourself for a mission. 
The first few days here for me were so stinking hard. There were no familiar faces and I still had not caught up on sleep. On top of that, we went knocking ("tracting") and got yelled at by a few people. 
What you need to understand that I didn't, was that most of the things that you see and read in missionaries letters are the good times and highlights. You don't see the negative aspects, and feel the same pain that these missionaries feel when a door slams in their face or when they feel the disproving stares of those around them and wish that this tag over their heart didn't stand out as much as it does. Missions are difficult, and mine will only continue to be. I find myself wondering all the time if this work is really "hastening" because it feels so slow, especially when you give it your all and see nothing come from it. I struggled this week a lot, especially with adjusting to missionary life and all the darn rules we have to keep. I knew before I came that a mission would be challenging, but sometimes I wish it was easier. But like Elder Holland says in a talk, "How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?"
I really do love it here. I know it will take time to adjust, but it is great. 

I love you all. I really do. I love hearing from you, and if you ever email me, I promise that I read it and smile, even if I don't get the time to respond. I wish you all the most stellar week. If it starts snowing anytime soon, send me some pictures!! I love the heat here, but I will miss the beautiful snow! 

LOVE LOVE LOVE
Sister Sydney Gibbons

Matthew 10:13-14,19-20,39-40

Sent from the Sunshine State

Re: Week 3: Hello Florida!

I'm so proud of you! 

On Mon, Oct 8, 2018 at 9:12 AM Sydney Gibbons <sydney.gibbons@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Wow this week has just been the craziest thing! I've loved every second of it, even the 6 hours of classes every day. 

I honestly love my district and I'm so sad to say goodbye to most of them, but I'm excited that new things await in Florida! It's slowly getting colder here, so I'm more than grateful that I'm going somewhere warm! I'm leaving the MTC tomorrow at 3:45 a.m., flying from Salt Lake to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale! 

I'm just going to list a few highlights of the week:

They put up lights on most of the trees here and it makes it feel like Christmastime at temple square. It's just beautiful! 

One of the days that we were here, a microwave exploded in one of the new MTC buildings (T3) so we had the whole firefighting armada here to put it out. 

I hosted two new missionaries on Wednesday! I got to go down into the parking garage and walk awkwardly beside some cars to steal away the missionaries inside. I definitely cried when they said goodbye to their families, but it was really eye-opening for me to figure out that time flies. These past three weeks have flown by in the blink of an eye. And then I started thinking that my 18 month endeavor is already almost to 17 months. How crazy is that!? It's almost not enough time!

I went to conference and saw the prophet up close and wow. That was so wonderful. We had the granddaughter of Jeffrey R. Holland in our choir, so he came up to the loft to say hi to us. I couldn't even believe that he was real. I know that they really didn't zoom in any on the sister missionaries, but I was in the green shirt at the top left of the middle section. But the messages this conference were absolutely amazing. I hope that we can all look for opportunities to be instrumental in furthering the Lord's work on both sides of the veil. What a cool concept!

Elder Broadhead: Guys, it's the weekend!!
Sister Prows: That doesn't mean anything here!

I love this mission already. I love the mindset it puts me in. I love my Savior. He is why I'm here. I do belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And I'm so grateful for that.

I hope you all have just the best week wherever you may be. I love you!

Love,
Sister Sydney Gibbons

Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."