:)

hey family!! including ryan now! president said i could add him to the list :) sweet, that means you're officially part of the family now, ryan. welcome :) so thanks for all your wonderful emails! it's kind of cool to get emails from ukraine! it just seems like such a wonderful time for our family doesn't it? i get to preach the gospel 24/7 in beautiful washington, dad's having amazing experiences in ukraine, annie's practically the whole work force at mantyla & mcreynolds (is that what it's called? i totally could have made that up), josh is getting standing ovations at concerto night, abby and ryan are planning a wedding, jenny and jonathan are in their own place with great jobs and new hobbies and a sweet little boy, and mama's keeping track of everyone including grandma and all the yw in the stake. i just feel like the Lord is blessing us so much right now. it's kind of random, but i'm just like tearing up in the library thinking about our blessings. we have the gospel! it reminds me of alma 26 when ammon says "i cannot say the smallest part which i feel" or something to that effect. anyway, i love you all so much! thank you for supporting me here and keeping me in your prayers. i'm having such a joyful, growing season of my life and i'm happy that you all are too.

well our week has been great! there's always so many experiences to share and i just don't have the time it seems. hehe. There just seems to be less and less time to do things...i'm still writing in my journal every day but sometimes they're really short entries and it's sad because i want to preserve all these memories!! so here are the updates:

**T is still doing awesome! we moved his date to March 20 so he has more time to talk with his dad about it. we technically don't need his permission, but of course we would love him to be supportive. T was so cute about it when he asked if we could change it: "don't worry!! NOTHING has changed! i still want to be baptized" hehe. he's a joy to teach. we taught tithing yesterday and he just has so much faith to accept whatever the Lord asks.

**D is getting so close! (I know I've said that a million times before but it's true). we had stake conference yesterday with an area authority, and they had a special meeting for new/returning members and investigators. ah it was awesome! elder brinkerhoff just had a bunch of the recent converts stand and tell their stories. it was great to have D and T both there.

(random aside...there are two older men sitting at a table to my left playing chess together and it made me think of the good old days. you know what i mean. love it)

we had a great lesson with a former investigator this week too and it seems he just got lost in the bustle of missionary work. he seems so golden and we are hoping to commit him to baptism this week!

it seems when i think back on the week to give you the update i can only ever think to tell you about the people we're teaching while i'm sure there's other fun stories to share. did i tell you about my embarrassing moment in the underground parking at the airport? i hit a curb when the assistants were driving right behind me. it wan't bad at all...just a higher curb than normal so the underside of the car got scraped a little. but of course the assistants won't let me live it down. haha good times. i'm normally a good driver i promise.

we also had a wonderful meeting on tuesday. president and the assistants instruct all the new missionaries and trainers. it was wonderful! the spirit was powerful. i had specific promptings on things i can improve to be a better companion and missionary. we also had a powerful testimony meeting together.

i've had a couple really intense doors recently with people trying to challenge my beliefs to the very core. they pretend to be kind by hinting that we have good intentions but have been brainwashed and follow blindly. they turned out to be cool experiences though because as prompted by the spirit, i was able to cut them off and boldly tell them that i am not following anyone blindly, but that i KNOW for myself that what i teach is true. i know joseph smith was not a phony, but a prophet called of God to restore the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. This church is the Lord's kingdom on the earth. Baptism and temple ordinances performed by proper priesthood authority (found only in our church) are ESSENTIAL to gaining eternal life. you know how i can be pretty stubborn, well i do not like it when people try to tell me that i've been misled or that i don't know what i'm talking about. whenever i have had a question posed to me that i didn't KNOW for myself by specific witness of the Holy Ghost, i have studied it out and taken it to the Lord in prayer. I have received personal confirmation each time. I know that this is the Lord's work. When i humble myself and realize i can't do it all by my own knowledge or talents, the Lord uses me as His instrument to teach his children.

i love you all so much! words can't really express it, but i love you so much. keep on keepin' on :)

sister gibbons

ps - i have a feeling my emails are quite random...i hope that's ok :)