Week 78. La Estancia, Mexico.

Week 78: Progression!

This past week was awesome in the sense of our investigators progressing. We were able to have 8 people at church with us! 5 of them for the first time. Elder Hernandez and I have been focusing on finding alot more young people because they really are the future of the church and usually a lot more receptive. In fact 7 of the 8 that came with us were less than 22 years of age! And yes Pablo did come in his suit! 😂 A brother in the ward has a big ole van and we passed by for all 8 of them in the morning! 11 people in the van heading over to church, what great memories! I felt like we were passing to pick up the 2,000 strippling warriors!

We also had a very spiritual lesson with 2 women named Rocio and Mary, mother and daughter. We contacted them a while back but it was a struggle to find them again. For the first time we showed up and they invited us in. We taught about the resturation of the gospel and about baptism. We invited them to be baptized and they happily accepted. During this lesson they had very interesting questions such as: Why do some people suffer so much here on Earth? Why is your church different than the others? Why am I here on Earth? Where am I going after this life?. It was incredible to see how the spirit gave Elder Hernandez and I the words they needed to hear. Also how the spirit testified to them of what we were saying was true. We ended by asking if they had prayed before in thier life and they commented that it had been a very long time. We than offered a kneeling prayer with them in thier living room. Elder Hernandez offered a wonderful prayer and it was evident that every single person in the room was touched by the spirit of the Lord. Moments like these have truly fortified my testimony. Have a great week. MANTÉNGANSE SEGUROS EN LA FE Y DIOS LES BENDICIRÁ. LES AMO. QUE TENGAN UNA BONITA SEMANA!

Love, Elder Gibson

Elder Hernandez and I got to cook with our investigator. Made Crepes and funeral potatoes haha! Also Pablos dog and I are pretty good pals.

Week 76. Week 77. La Estancia, Mexico.

Week 76: Changes of the Mission!

Well this week has been super busy! Wednesday we got a call from the assistants and they let us know that we were going to have lidership council Thursday and our zone conference Friday. Thursday Elder Hernandez and I showed up to the new mission home and got to meet the other 24 zone leaders from the other mission. At first we felt like a brand new missionaries. We knew noone! However, they have a whole lot of energy so we made good friends with them in little time! It was cool to hear about Nuevo Ladero and Linares and all the areas here in the west mission. We honestly learned alot from them and how we can improve our work in the mission.
The next day we had zone conference. President gave us the ability to choose our topic to base our training on. We focused on the things we had learned from the west mission leaders. We mostly just trained about how we should talk about baptism in every contact. That really the gospel isnt just to make people feel good about themselves, however they have to repent and put their faith in God to recieve all the fruits of the gospel through sacred ordinances. Having the people understand this concept right off the bat has helped us alot!
We actually had a experience this past week that was incredible. After hearing all these counsels we came back from the mission home and were running late to a lesson. We showed up and sadly noone was home. While we turned around we saw a man sitting on a bench. We decided to put all of the things we had learned that same day in practice. As we started to talk to the man he started to open up and express to us his problems. He basically thought that there wasnt alot of hope in life. We shared that through baptism he can start a new and happy life. We was shocked and was struck by the spirit. After a long discussion, he accepted a baptismal date and came to church with us yesterday.
What a great pleasure it is to preach the gospel. I am so thankful for these 2 years to serve the Lord. I am loving life and loving the people here. I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Gibson

Week 77: La Canicula has begun!!

Well this week we entered La Canicula in Monterrey. La Canicula is when the sun hits the city super hard for 30 days. This means for about a month we should be at about 105 degrees with humidity! Its my last one so I am going to soak it all up. Anyways, this past week here in the zone we offered a special fast so that our investigators could arrive to church on Sunday. It was difficult however we saw a miracle happen here in the zone! Alot of areas had many investigators at church. Many more than in the previous weeks. The end of this week we plan on many baptisms in the zone as well.
In terms of Elder Hernandez and I in our area, we have been great. Pablo came to church and loved it. He showed up in jeans and a collared shirt. When he showed up he was nervous because we wasnt in a white shirt and tie. We told him not to worrry and the ward accepted him very well and he made friends right off the bat. He said that next week he was going to show up in a suit and everything! He had also told us previously that our church was his last hope in his life. After the church services he told us that for the first time in many years he felt like he was important to someone. That he didnt have the thought of taking his own life anymore. It made me think about how many people are in the world struggling and looking for a way out. People looking for hope. I realized that members of the church have a great responsibility to be the instruments in Gods hands to bring many lost souls unto him.
This past week I memorized Doctrine and Covenents 4 in Spanish and I was really able to ponder on the prophesy of this section. I testity that there really is a wonderful work that is happening among the children of men. That the field is white and ready to harvest. What a blessing it is to take part of this great work! Hope you all are loving life!

Love, Elder Gibson

Week 75. La Estancia, Mexico.

Week 75: Hello!

Hello! So we had transfer calls last night and I am staying with Elder Hernandez again! Good thing we get along 😂. Its looking like we are going to have 7 months together! However its going to be a great transfer. Elder Hernandez and I are still trying to get used to the new missions rules and way of work. It is alot different than the Monterrey East Mission. However it will be a great experience to get to know all the new missionaries and places here in the west.
Elder Hernandez and I have been finding a lot of great people but it has been very difficult for them to get to church. This week we are going to focus on helping everyone get to church so that they can feel the spirit! Pray for us and our efforts in this aspect! I will let you all know how it goes this next week. 👍
This past week while we were contacting some people we had a very sad experience. A dog came after us and all we had to protect us was my somberero haha! I put that thing out and the dog got ahold of it and ripped it up! I put a picture in of the old somberero and another picture of the new one because I am not trying to get sunburned this year. I learned my lesson last year. Hope that you are all doing good! I love this work. Have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Gibson

Week 74. La Estancia, Mexico.

Week 74: 17 Months Completed

Completed 17 months this past week. Time is sure working against me at this point, wish it could just slow down. Elder Hernandez and I have got ahold of our area a little better. We have continued to find me people to add to our teaching pool. We have been teaching a lady named Neraida who is a widow. She was able to come to church with us today. Its has been awesome getting to know her and share gospel principles to help her in her life. We also have been able to teach a girl whos name is Yulisa. She is about 19 years old and has came to be really interested in the Book of Mormon. We hope that she will be able to come to church with us next Sunday!

I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Ortiz in my old area, Miguel Aleman. I was able to visit all of the old members and converts in that area. It is great to see how the people have kept progressing ever since I left that area. Sure do miss that area!

Well I hope that you all have a wonderful 4th of July! Elder Hernandez and I are going to buy some fireworks and have our own BBQ. Sometimes you got to make it work with what you got haha. May God bless you all. Remember to always to stay on the covenanted path to return to your Father in heaven. Love you all!

Love, Elder Gibson