Hello, family and friends!! I hope this past week has treated you well and that you were able to get Halloween out of your system BECAUSE CHRISTMAS IS COMING.
I'm just teasing; I know Christmas is a ways away. Although I won't lie that Christmas hymns are all I listen to lately! It's a good thing that Sister Edmunds likes Christmas that much too!
This week was so actually a lot better than normal. I get to sing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" at Zone Conference tomorrow! And practicing for it was just so fun because I get to sing it with a group of missionaries that love singing too. And I figured out that while we can't listen to anything but hymns, I can play whatever I want. So my playing by ear will come in handy, as long as I can remember all of the songs that are stored away in my brain. I love the piano! It's the best.
We had a zone-wide exchange this past week and holy cow. Sister Edmunds went up north to be with someone else for a day, and I was assigned to lead the area. I have no idea what I'm doing still, so it was like the worst day. I had this cute new comp, Sister Oliveira and she was newer too, so she had no idea what to do either. Everything that happened that day kept getting worse. I was almost to tears when finally we reached a long stoplight. And as we were sitting there in the car, I looked to my left and saw a frog, about the size of my fist (those are not a rare thing to see in Florida). But this frog. It was just sitting there all content and happy and I was beginning to feel better about the day. Then the light turned green and he was flattened like a pancake. Literally I started crying and I yelled to Sister Oliveira, "AHH THAT FROG JUST DIED OH NO!!!" And she just laughed at me and the best part about it is that we were in a group call with 4 other missionaries who were following us in their own cars and they were all laughing so hard. It's a good thing that the Plan of Salvation exists. I hope I get to see that frog again.
Halloween night we came in early and studied, which doesn't sound all that great, but it was so fun. We just had a group study/discussion about the Second Coming and the Gathering of Israel and it was so cool. That's what Zone Conference is about tomorrow! I'm so so excited!
We've figured out that this area is super super slow. And while knocking is essential, it is rather ineffective here, because most of it has been knocked before. And the homes that haven't been knocked are in crazy gated communities that we can't visit without someone kicking us out because they think we're soliciting. So, we are going crazy trying to think of ways to work through the members. Because we were whitewashed into this area, we have to go through the process of meeting and talking with all the members, which is stinking hard, but I like it so much more than knocking. I've also learned an improved definition of success. Success in the Lord's eyes is trying your best. If someone throws away a Book of Mormon, or if they don't agree to be baptized, or whatever it is... We can't blame ourselves if we've tried our best. Maybe it just wasn't their time to accept it.
The work is really tough, and sometimes I feel trapped in the storm of it all. And it's hard not to let your guard down. But that's when Satan's influence can harm you most. I always remember a song that takes me back to my childhood. I had a stuffed asparagus that was from Veggie Tales whose name was Junior (although, I named him Nana and insisted that he was a girl). At night when I got scared, Nana would sing to me a song that goes like this:
God is bigger than the Boogieman.
He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV.
God is bigger than the Boogieman
And He's watching out for you and me.
It sounds really kiddish, but memories are some poignant things. That song is all I can think about lately haha.
I'm so sorry for the short letter! I don't have tons of time this week, but I'll definitely write more next week.
Have a beautiful week! I love you!
Sister Gibbons
D&C 24:11-12
"In me he shall have glory, and not of himself, whether in weakness or in strength, whether in bonds or free;
And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men."
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