Week 13-Feliz Cumpleaños Guatemala 15/9/2014

September 15, 2014

Good Afternoon Everyone!

In case you didnt know (which you probably didnt) today is Guatemala´s day of independance! As a zone we went and watched the parades in the street, which consists of a band from every school in Xela and a lot of traditional dress! It was pretty cool to watch! One of the bands was playing Wrecking Ball and Safe and Sound. And some bands sounded reminded me of Disneyland.... Needless to say, I was a little nostalgic today! After we played soccer as a Zone and I got a ball straight to the face haa but it was worth it beause our team kept winning. (Dont worry, we werent keeping score.)

On Thursday we had divisiones with the Hermana Leaders. That means that for 24 hours I was with Hermana Rubio in her area and Hermana Sanchez was in my area with the other Hermana Leader. It was actually an AMAZING 24 hours. Hermana Rubio is so awesome and I learned SO much from her. When we were teaching together, the Spirit was so strong and all day my desire to be a missionary kept growing. Being with her made me want to be a better missionary. It was a really rewarding experience. I even got to teach a little in English because two of their investigators can speak english! It was so cool, but honestly, I like teaching in Spanish so mmuch better. And sometimes its actually harder to teach in English now that I am used to spanish. But divisions with Hermana Rubio wasso great and I really hope we can have htem again.

Then guess what happened on Saturday... MY FIRST BAPTISM!!! It was with Brenda. We have been teaching her the whole time I have been here. SHe`s 23 and has two babies and a third one on the way. She´s super awesome because her husband tried convincing hjer not to get baptized, but she insisted anyway.It was really awesome to to watch her be baptized and confirmed the next day! It was a rewarding experience to know that my work is paying off.

Well, in all honesty, this week was the hardest week of my mission. But when I was with Hermana Rubio, she shared a scripture with me that really helped me alot. It is from DC 121:7-8. It talks bout how our trials will be but a small moment and if we endure it well, God will exalt us on high. We all have trials and afflictions in our life, but it is a promise from God that if we Endure it well and choose to take the high road, we will recieve countless blessings in heaven. What a blessing.

I love you all and I hope you are all happy! Have a wonderful week

Love,

Hermana Gibson

Week 12- Electric in the Air Sept 9 2014

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! And to answer your question, yes that was a "Kicking and Screaming" reference. This is why; Tuesday we had some CRAZY weather here. We were in the house after lunch because lunch made us sick and then BOOM! A massive lightning storm hit Xela. Seriously the thunder was the loudest I have ever heard it in my whole life!!! And lightning was striking everywhere. It even struck one of the houses right next to us and our whole door light up! It was crazy scary. Hermana Sanchez and I were standing in the kitchen when that happened and we were away from the door (good thing!) but we were shaking and so scared. haha But it was kind of a cool experience.  This week we did a lot of service. We helped one of our investigators move her stuff from the first floor of her house to the second floor, which was rather difficult.But we had some DELICIOUS apple juice afterward! Then we also were street contacting and this lady answered the door and said she was busy and doing laundry so we offfered to help and she gladly invited us in! But she wasnt in her house, it was like a church kind of building, not really sure how to describe it. But after we finished, she gave us a tour and its like this place that this group of 20 meet and hangout and it is also their church. Well the lady invited us to tour their church and HOLY PRIESTCRAFT! Seriously this building was soooooo sketchy. There were a ton of swords and who knows how to describe it. But honestly, there are some secret combinations going on in there! And they meet Wednesday and Thursday from 8pm to 5am..... We had really bad feelings about being in there so, we wont be going back anytime soon! Thursday we had a Training Meeting and I got to see all of the people in my group from the MTC! It was SOO cool to see everyone and I miss them all a TON!!  Oh and something exciting, we are having a baptism next weekend with Brenda! I´m so excited about that!  I am loving the mission! It is hard, definitely hard, but it is amazing! I hope all is well back at home and everyone is enjoying the new school year! Love, Hermana Gibson

Mom asks questions everyone wants to know...

Why do you have to take Spanish Tests? Does it count towards something?

The test is a program for missionaries to see how their Spanish is improving throughout their mission. Not all mission have it but we do. And BYU created it.  

Does anyone speak English there for you to communicate with or is it strictly Spanish? 

The Elders in my area speak English and almost our entire zone speaks English but the main form of communication is Spanish. But in the Mission office, everyone is from North America and so i can talk to them easily, but rarely ever need to

Hows your new companion? 

Shes so awesome! Super nice and super funny. I am learning a lot from her

 What is your apartment like?

we live next to and below members. Its two rooms, one for our beds and one for our desks and kitchen-which mainly consists of a sink, fridge, portable stove top and food- and then we have a tiny room in the back of our house that has the bathroom and a sink to wash our clothes.

Where do you do your shopping?

There are a ton of little stores around here where we can buy clothes. which are like the DI of Di haha and today i bought a corduroy grey skirt with pockets!! It's perfect. There is also a little grocery store we go to once a week and there are all kinds of stores on every street that sells stuff.

How much do they give you to live on monthly?

I get 1800 quetz which is plenty

Is it enough to cover your food and living expenses or do we need to add money into your bank account?

That's enough to cover everything. The senior companion gets extra money to pay rent and the lights. Anything extra we buy comes from our own personal money. Which works out because its not like home where we get fed by members all the time so we purchase alot of food. Also, can you send easy healthy recipes that I can cook in microwave for meals? I can print them off from my emails. 

Are you doing well budgeting your money?

good. we get our money the first of every month and i divide it out for the weeks 

What is the best thing you have been fed?

This awesome lasagna, a soup called caldron i think which is like a bunch of veggies and roast!

What is the grossest thing you have been fed?

cow intestines....

What do you love about where you are living?

I love being in Xela because we are so blessed to have everything so close to us and have clean water and a shower

Tell me about your companion.

shes from Peru, super short, and really loud and funny! she has a super caring heart and really loves our investigators

Do you have things in common?

ummmm yeah mostly mish stuff but shes also a convert so that's cool

Do you drive a car? or have a cell phone to communicate with members?

no car, but a cell phone yes. in fact my first day our cell phone got stolen out of hermana woods bag by an investigator. how she did it we have no idea but she took like 20 quetz too

What is the biggest thing that has impacted your life so far on your mission?

just realizing that these are real people with real problems and the best thing i can go for them in pray and help them come to know Christ

Have you received any cards in the mail?

one the ones i already told you about. No one gets cards here. Its super rare. The best thing to do is send them in a big envelope package and then they come but individually, no.

Are the people of Guatemala as welcoming as you thought they would be?

they are more welcoming than i thought. Something they are even too nice to say that they don't want to hear our message haha