We Are a Forward Leaning Mission!

Hey family!

This week has been awesome! We've done a lot of work and we feel great! We were so tired last night from biking, walking, and all the fun stuff we do. It's a blast!

If I could capture a moment in my mission one of them would have to be Sister Nielson and I flying down a hill on our bikes singing "I Believe I Can Fly" while resting our feet on the bar above the peddles. There's tons of hills! I remember when I saw sister Wittwer do that for the first time I thought she was going to fall off her bike! I know this is a good work we are doing.

We did a lot of following up with people this week. Some people stood us up some people were there! It was awesome!

Our friend D who we have been teaching for the past two transfers said she would come to church on Wednesday! We teach Principles of the Gospel that day with the Elders. Almost every church here has a service on Wednesday. This is huge for D to come to church because she loves her church but has been feeling the spirit in every lesson we've had! She got an answer that it was true but now she's praying about if this is where she needs to be. She is so good at receiving answers she'll have it in no time:) We are excited:)

Zone training was awesome! We played a name game that everyone should play before you die. Everyone stands in a circle and one person points to another person, says their name and starts to walk towards them. If the person pointing and walking touches the person before they say another name and walk then they are out. It's too fun:) I almost won!

Our zone training was a lot about relationships this time around. President Hanks is always looking to help us be better people not only better missionaries. I prayed to know how I could better my relationship's with other and I got the impression to have a better relationship with my Heavenly Father first. So I talked to him in my prayer like my best friend told him some jokes and laughed and it made a world of a difference. People her in the South are so good at that. They will talk to God anywhere they are! Loud and proud:)

Well I love y'all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Steadfast in Christ

Love, Sister Gibbs

P.S. WE FOUND OUR FAMILY!!!!!!! Yes, the family that we posted all over our house in stick figure form! Sister Nielson and I were walking into Dollar General and we past this family who was in the parking lot. The Holy Ghost said you need to talk to that family but we were already past them! TOAST! We turned right around and shook their hands. It's amazing what a handshake can do. It melted a little of the awkward. As we asked some questions to get to know them we scanned the family and sure enough there are two boys, 1 girl, and the dad was wearing a Bama shirt. He was waiting to get tickets to the game! The Mom was close by too. We told them we could share a message with their kids about Jesus and they were super hesitant. We wouldn't take no for an answer while trying to be as "normal" as possible. Part of me wanted to yell, "We've been looking for you everywhere!!!!!! Come, everyone let's get baptized. :) We have an appointment with them on Saturday:)

Biking up super steep hills- they are everywhere here!!​

 I hope you can see how steep that hill is- cause I about died.

Sister ??, Sister Anderl, Sister, Nielsen, and Sister Gibbs

"Have you ever wondered what God thinks about the world?"

Hey family!

Well I guess we are famous! We have a cousin as an apostle, Elder Stevenson! I didn't pick that up! That's crazy! That's so cute that Sophie can say my name:) It sounds like y'all are having fun.

My week has been awesome! I have a new companion!!!!! Sister Nielsen! She's adorable. She was in Laurie and Ernie's ward! We both did ballet. She danced at Bountiful Ballet and went to BYU before her mission. We look exactly alike but she's prettier:)  Blonde curly hair, blue eyes, and is pretty much my twin! Hahah.  It's so nice to work hard and to be in the spirit of missionary work. There is no other sustaining spirit than the spirit that guides us to help others. Wow. I smiled all night long as I slept the first night with her there! We did ballet in the morning:) Life is too good. We switched companions! Sister Anderl is in Locust Fork where Sister Nielson, my new companion, just came from! We have a blast!

We met so many cool people this week. A Hindu family, many sweet old ladys who talk our ear off, teenagers in the store, Glenn Beck fans who say "Glenn Beck isn't like the other Mormons! He believes in Christ!" All kinds of people. We are loving it:)

One of our faith experiments is posting pictures all around our house of the family we are going to find this transfer. We drew a stick figure family with 2 boys, 1 girl, and they have to be wearing some kind of Bama gear. We are totally going to find them and not just in our apartment on our mirror but in Rainbow city!!!!!!

Last night we tracted and asked if they would like to hear a hymn? It was too cool! Sister Nielson has an amazing voice and the spirit was instantly there.:) Wow it was awesome! So far we are still working on finding people who will progress. So we will let you know when we find them:)

Ok, there is nothing more cool than inviting people to General Conference. Everything we talk about always relates to a latter day prophet and it's always fun to say "Do you want to know if he is of God? Well, come tomorrow and you'll know!" Almost all of the people we talk to express concerns about the world and how bad it's getting or about their families staying true to Christ. First of all it is normal in the south to strike up a religion conversation where ever you are. Once when we invited someone to church in Wal-Mart a woman invited them to her church before we had left the isle. With this religious enthusiasm they all talk about the 2nd coming and wonder how to specifically prepare. General Conference is exactly that!!!!!! We invited everyone it was too fun:)

The highlight of the week was definitely teaching a family about who Jesus Christ was! Wow. So neat.

Hope y'all have a great week.

Love y'all!

Steadfast in Christ

Love, Sister Gibbs

PS It rained a lot this week with the hurricane on the east coast. It is gorgeous.

Sister Nielsen and Sister Gibbs

Transfers

Sister Anderl and Sister Gibbs

"Healing in His Wings"

Hey Fam!

Happy Birthday to all the many Birthdays in October and September. I feel like there's a lot! Especially between the O'Brien family and our family!

We won 1st place at the fair!!!!! We got a big blue ribbon and everyone who went to the fair looked at our booth filled with truth!:) Some people even took some book of Mormons that were there! Wahoohoo!

We had a neat lesson with Denise this week! She said she got an answer to prayer that what we were telling her was true now she is praying to know if this is where she needs to be! Wahoo! We had a church tour with her and she absolutely loved it! She felt the spirit so strong in the chapel as we sang she said she didn't want to leave!

Healing-the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again.

This morning I read in 3rd Nephi when the Savior heals His people. The amount of mercy and love that is shown is truly only possible through Christ. After all, he did come with "Healing in his wings;" (2 Nephi 25:13) He is the source of all healing. Healing the soul as well as the body. I know the Savior heals. I know He is anxious to heal all of our broken hearts if we but come to him.

I feel the Holy Ghost has placed a new definition of healing on my heart. The words that stand out to me are "process" and "becoming." I used to think of healing as a more immediate blessing but now I know that it is a "process" and we are "becoming" like our Heavenly Father one healed heart after another.

I know Jesus Christ has been healing me from the very beginning and continues to heal. I have felt his spirit and the "healing in His wings."

Love y'all! Hope you have a great week!

Steadfast in Christ

Love, Sister Gibbs

 The Gadsden team - Sister Gibbs, Sister Anderl, Elder Rogers, and Elder Anderson

The District:)

  Sister Wilson! She's a sweetheart!

 Women's conference with the girls:)

 Gadsden:)

The mustang with Sister McVicar:)

*Adversity becomes adventure* and we all know ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

Dear Family,

Football is everywhere! In Gospel Principles and even sometimes in Sacrament meeting. It's awesome. Sometimes we can get in the door by saying Role tide! Football here in the south is great until Bama loses and then Gospel Principles class looks a little bare. They all go to Mississippi for church! haha just kidding. Roll tide roll.  The Weather is beautiful in September! If I lived here I'd live here in September. :) 

This morning we decorated a display for the county fair! The people there are wonderful. One woman came up to our display and started crying when she saw the picture of Christ. The people here are so steadfast. I'll send you the picture. It turned out really well. Its purpose is to advertise the Christmas activity the Gadsden ward does every year. We didn't want to make it too Christmas like so we advertised the church. There's a ton of pictures of Christ, some of the articles of faith, and pamphlets for people to take. It is really cool. Everyone asked about us as we were setting up so we can only imagine what will happen when the fair opens and everyone sees it. Tallyho!

"Oh they aren't busy they're just bumping guns."

I love the South. This Sunday one of the older folk in the ward told Sister Anderl and I that he killed a snake on his front porch that morning and didn't hang it up.... so it's not going to rain. :)

Elder Ballard quotes about missionary work in Our Search for Happiness, Adversity becomes Adventure. I've seen that come true on the mission. Maybe it's a coping mechanism for stress but hard things become sought after and accomplished. Heavenly Father is right there with us.

I love y'all!

Have a great week!

Steadfast in Christ

Love, Sister Gibbs

PS Bishop asked what song we should sing in PEC this Sunday and I chose for everyone, "There is Sunshine in my Soul today." It was fun to sing it with all those men. Hahahah. One of the Bishopric is black. His name is Kenton Wright or Kenjay. It was fun to hear them sing. I thought of y'all laughing at me picking that song.  

"I love seeing cowboy boots in ward counsel."

Hey Fam!

Happy Birthday Whitney on the 17th!:)

Things are going well here in Gadsden. This week has been awesome. Weird that P-day was on Wednesday! I just realized that my letter may not have sent on Wednesday. I'm sorry! I bore my testimony so that's too bad! Anywho, I'll send ya another one. We had a temple trip this week and it was amazing. The temple is healing.

We also had a Blitz with Sister Latu and Sister West! It was awesome. I came out with Sister Latu so it was fun to work together. We met this sweet old lady who gave us a gold coin from Asia that has Christ on one Side and the last supper on the other. It's sweet! We also met a cute married couple who listened to us and started to read the Book of Mormon:) It's all fun.

I have come to know more fully on my mission the true nature of our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. It's funny that this was one of the most plain and precious parts that was lost during the Apostasy, but these truths were lost to me even when I was a part of the fullness of the Gospel. The more time I've spent with the Savior trying to do His works. The more I have come to know Him as well as I've come to know my weaknesses. The more I search for Him in the scriptures the more I learn of Him. Although these ways of knowing Him have taught me so much, something that's taught me even more about the Savior is the Spirit of God.

Elder Golden came to a stake conference here and said that he was "no longer dependent upon the scriptures for his witness of Jesus Christ." Whoa! This could mean many things as we ponder about it, but one thought I had was of the power in the spirit that brings Him near. I know Jesus Christ loves us. I know he is rooting for us. He's got a banner that says go Gibbs Family Go! He has the Gibbs Family T-shirt, the ball cap, the foam finger that says y'all are #1! I guess that proves it, the whole world is a winner. Anywho, He's got fan buses filled with angels rooting us on. He never wants us to feel guilt that's why he made such a great sacrifice for us. What a blessing it is to know Him so fully with the truths that have been restored. What a blessing it is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost not only to bless us personally, but everyone we meet.

I am forever grateful for His Sacrifice and for the happiness that has been provided for us as we keep His commandments.

I love him and He loves us.  We can do anything with him. Grace.

Steadfast in Christ

Love, Sister Gibbs

P.S. Yesterday we caught a couple of fire flies:)

Temple Trip!!!

Sister Anderl and Sister Gibbs

 Sister Bailey and Sister Gibbs

 Sister Layton and Sister Gibbs 

 Elder Udy, 4th Cousin on the Gibbs side!!

 We painted our dresser for P-day last week I'll show you the 

finished project next week. It's sweet!

 Bible at Chick Fil a

Hey Fam!

This week was awesome.:) We got to go to the temple! It is always so special because it is always a volunteer session just for the missionaries. These people travel from all over to help us.

I know our Savior lives. I know we cannot fail when we are yoked to him. I know He and our Father in Heaven love us. I know they are involved in our lives and care for us immensely. He's not a lightning bolt God who checks us off his list of who makes it into Heaven and who doesn't. He is our Father. I know they love us enough not to keep us in the dark, but to call a prophet to help us know truth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know the Gospel is healing.

I love you! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Gibbs

Cemetery behind our house in Gasden

 Ethel and Nessia

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Hey Family and Friends,

It's a great day to be a missionary.

So this week we called a potential and his answering machine was "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 Yup that was it. :) I LOVE THE SOUTH!

The Gadsden ward is amazing! I love them. They have so much personality! The Bishop invited me to bear my testimony on Sunday and it was great. There were maybe 40 or 50 members there? They are all so loving and love the missionaries. They love missionary work so this is going to be fab!

Saturday was a great day. Last week we prayed for referrals and boy did we get them. We got 2 headquarters referrals, a couple member referrals, and a billion investigator referrals. We met a man who prayed us there and is looking for a better life. He was so excited that he walked us down his street and told us of all his neighbors that would like to hear the message, including his sister. It was pretty miraculous.

I love y'all and am so grateful for you.

I know He lives!

Steadfast in Christ

Love, Sister Gibbs

PS We had a zone activity today. It was fun! We saw some horses which Sister Anderl loves! We are moving to Rainbow City. It was moved to Wednesday.