Week 69- Adiós Guatemala!

Buenas Tardes Mis Queridos Amigos, 

What an insane week it has been! Seriously I dont think there has ever been a week that has gone by faster than this one!
Tuesday I had my Exit Interview with President Smith which was so special and sacred to me. But we basically were in Xela all day long, which meant that we got to eat at Subway! ( It was so nice to eat a sandwich!)

Thursday We saw a miracle!! A family that we have been teaching had been having a really hard time with their house, and they were at the point where they only had a few more days to live there and then they were going to be put out on the streets. For quite some time we have been praying with them to find a place to live and this week a guy bought their house for them and is giving them 1 more year to look for a new place!!! It was such a miracle and we cried tears of happiness with the mom. And that was one of the reasons why they didnt want to get baptized because they didn't know where they would be living..... but now they have a baptismal date for the 2 of January! :)
Friday we had a Conference with Elder Ochoa of the Seventy. It was so powerful and we say some crazy miracles! That guy is SO inspired! I would tell you all about it but that would take way to long!
Yesterday I think that Heavenly Father wanted to leave me with a lasting impression of Momos so there wasn't water or lights all day long, and i have a million flea bites..... yep, that about sums up the mission problems for ya!
The truth is that I have so many things to write, but there isnt enough time. I guess I´ll just get to the most important part;
I feel so eternally grateful to be a member of this church and to have made the decision to serve a mission. I have been able to see the Lord´s hand in work in the lives of so many people, including my own. I have come to know the Christ really does live, that He personally knows every single one of us, and that the Atonement takes care of everything. One of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that Charity Never Faileth. When things arent going right, when we feel discouraged, when we arent feeling the Spirit like we should, we need to pray for charity and as we do so we will  we will feel more of Heavenly Fathers love for us and a desire that others have that same feeling. We will embark in the service of our fellow men }, which puts us at the service of our God. A simple act of charity and a prayer will cure everything. I am grateful for my Savior

 and the love that he has for me and for everyone of his brothers and sisters. I´m grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Christ and for the plan of Salvation, and I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, which testifies of the truthfulness of these things.
Thank you for all of your love and support fover these past 18 months. I´ll see you soon.
Que Dios les bendiga,
Signing out for the last time,
Hermana Gibson
1. Familia Barrera (The family with the house problem)
2. Bishop Toño Rosales and his family

Week 68- Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

Hola!

Well this week turned out a ton better than the last one!
Tuesday we were struck blind by the tender mercies of Heavenly Father. We have been doing a lot of door knocking and referral asking the last few weeks in hopes of finding new investigators. Well we went contacting in a part of our area where we dont often go. As we did so, a family had happily received us into their house. And it turns out they are all blind. We had a really great lesson and the family prayed to know the truthfulness of our message and were excited to learn more. We returned Friday and they had a LOT of doubts, but the good thing is that they keep asking Heavenly Father to know if we are telling the truth.
Also Tuesday night we visited a sister who is 82 and also blind and has a granddaughter who is listening to us. her name is Jenny and has a baptismal date for the 26 of December. She had asked me when I was going home and when she realized that i wouldn't be there for her baptism she was so sad- as well as I. I felt so guilty and selfish for leaving her to go home, and that i wasn't going to be with her for her big day, it made me sad. But also note that we only visited blind people Tuesday.
Wednesday we did divisions with the sisters that are in Chichicastenango. And that was pretty fun. It was a lot more traveling time than work time. But it was really fun!
Thursday we finished divisions with the sisters and ate lunch and headed back to the area. Then we got back to momos at 7 and had the Noche de Hermanamiento and we celebrated Thanksgiving. There wasn't any turkey, but every family brought their favorite dish and we all shared. It was pretty cool!
Sunday was my Birthday! Thank you for all of the bday wishes! My comp was the best because she planned a whole day for me. In the morning we went to church and then after we ate lunch with the Lang family. Then we had a Christmas devotional (i forgot how to spell that one...) and it turned out really great! There was a trumpet, a violin, and videos and a ton of stuff! Also I was asked to sing a duet. It was a really fun experience! And the members said that I sing really well so ive decided that since my chances of being Hannah Montana didnt work out in the states, that maybe ill just stay here in Guatemala :) #imnevergoinghome
Then another member said he had a reference for us, but he actually had bought a cake. And then we went to another family´s house to eat and celebrate another sister´s birthday.
This week was great and I was able to think about many of the things that I am most grateful for, one of which the the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am eternally grateful for the chance that I have to be forgiven, to become better every day, to learn and grow, and that I will be able to live with Heavenly Father again.

I love you all and hope you all had a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Hermana Gibson
1. with Familia Lool
2. Thanksgiving
3. They wanted a pic and were trying to figure out how to hug each other haha
4. It was also Elizabeth´s birthday

Week 67- Charity

Well this week also went by ridiculously fast! To be honest i dont really remember what happened this week, so sorry for the short email! 

Thursday we had a Noche de Hermanamiento (Fellowship Night or something like that) And it was pretty cool. The members brought their references so that was awesome. One of the members talked about the importance of the temple and the investigators were interested. Then we all played basketball as a ward. 

Friday we did divisions and had to go to Chichicastenango, which was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to get there. It was pretty fun and chichi is so pretty! And we will be going back in 2 weeks to do divisions again. 

Sunday we had a country wide conference and we got to listen to Elder Bednar. It was pretty cool. Him and the other 70s that talked spoke a lot about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. I loved what Elder Bednar asked us- if we were obeying God´s commandments to become disciples of Christ or are we obeying just becasue we have to? That gives us all something to think about. 

This week I have been studying a lot about Charity and have been ponderizing Moroni 7:48 that says, 

" 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are truefollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

I absolutely love this verse. One thing that I have been trying to work on this year is having more charity towards all men. As we preay fervently for this gift, we become true disciples of Christ, sons of God, be become more like Him and become purified. What great blessings we can have is we just learn to obtain this attribute. Maybe thats why its one of the hardest. As we truly begin to love our brothers and sisters, we have more patience, virtue, humility, and basically all of the attributes of Christ. As we develope this pure love of christ, we can see how our days are brighter and our burdens are lightened. I also studied the talk from Pte Monson called "Charity Never Faileth" and i invite you all to take a peek and see what you can do to have more chairty this week. 

I love you all and thanks for all of the prayers sent in my direction!

Con amor,

hermana gibson