“everything's going great! the Lord has blessed us so much! we got a referral from a realtor for a couple that he helped buy a house in our ward. we went over and met [*] and [*] on saturday, and [*] is SO ready for the gospel. he was basically saying he wanted to change his life around, have more faith in Jesus Christ, and improve his relationships with his family, and he wanted us to tell him how! they couldn't come to church on sunday because they were going out of town, but they asked us if they could come next week. of course!! [*] got really emotional during our lesson and it was such a great experience! he's a trucker and even said something about being willing to quit his job if it interfered with changing his life around. what a champ!
“My favorite experience of the week happened with [*]. it was our first exchange where i stayed in our area and sis bush left. so i was driving! i feel like i know our area a LOT better now after having to drive it! so yeah [*] had cancelled our appt for Thurs (which was sad) and we had a cancellation Friday night, so I decided Sis Yura and I should drop in on [*] in case she was home. she was there and invited us in (she is so great!! 26 yrs old, single with a 5 yr old boy, so happy even though she's gone through hard things) and we taught her the whole restoration (which i was not expecting! without sister bush and sis yura who is still learning english!). she had LOTS of questions. after hearing about the Restoration and being challenged to read the B of M, she still had the does any of this matter? doesn't it just matter that we believe in Christ? I know the Spirit helped me answer her questions because I'd never really thought about her particular questions before. it was a miracle and probably my favorite experience so far. after I answered her questions, i again challenged her to read the Bof M and pray and she said DEFINITELY! she was excited. ah it was so great! I can't wait to see her again.
“we had zone conference this week. it was awesome!! pres moffat and the assistants spoke a lot and it made me way excited to be better and improve! everyone is asked to write a 5 min talk on a subject, then president reads them all in the morning, then calls on 2 missionaries to speak . . . and he asked me to give my talk!! i think because i was one of 2 missionaries there that were new. it was a cool opportunity. i felt like it was a little random and scattered, but i enjoyed bearing my testimony.”
* Liz asked me not to include the names of her investigators!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
"here is a pic of me and sis bush with sister moffat!! she's such a sweetie. we just love her. this is at the new missionary training at the mission home one week after i got here. she's so cute, she said, i knew you 2 would get along!!"
"the second pic is me and sister bush in our matching mariners shirts! we got them in the little boys section at walmart for cheap because we had a zone activity yesterday playing softball! it was so fun! it really seemed like a holiday because it was p-day so we barbequed and played softball! the elders were way nice and pretended that i was a valuable member of the team. i did hit the ball a couple of times! we borrowed mitts from a member and i used his son's t-ball mitt cuz my hands are so small haha. so yeah it was a blast! sister bush and i brought lots of fruit (because elders never think of fruit) and a cake decorated with strawberries and blueberries to look like an american flag (sis bush is the crafty one). good times!"
"this pic is at a zone service project planting bushes and stuff. our zone is so great! we did that last week
"the second pic is me and sister bush in our matching mariners shirts! we got them in the little boys section at walmart for cheap because we had a zone activity yesterday playing softball! it was so fun! it really seemed like a holiday because it was p-day so we barbequed and played softball! the elders were way nice and pretended that i was a valuable member of the team. i did hit the ball a couple of times! we borrowed mitts from a member and i used his son's t-ball mitt cuz my hands are so small haha. so yeah it was a blast! sister bush and i brought lots of fruit (because elders never think of fruit) and a cake decorated with strawberries and blueberries to look like an american flag (sis bush is the crafty one). good times!"
"these are pictures are of chuck!! haha so during companion study we roleplay sometimes, and i hate roleplaying to nothing, i just feel stupid haha. SO we made chuck out of our ironing board. good times :) he of course is from seattle and so he has an umbrella"
"this pic is me and sister yura! she's from mongolia and she's awesome. i've met all of the english sisters now because sis bush needs to do exchanges with all of them. she's holding chocolate because when i asked her what she wanted for lunch she just said chocolate haha."
"this pic is at a zone service project planting bushes and stuff. our zone is so great! we did that last weekMonday, May 18, 2009
hello from beautiful Seattle
"so before i forget i have to tell you the funniest story. k so sis bush is the training sister, which means she needs to go on exchanges with all the other english sisters every transfer. that means i get to go on exchanges with every sister every transfer which is fun because i'll get to know them all! this week we exchanged with the federal way sisters, and i was companions with sis kim. she's from korea, the only member of her family . . . amazing! she's great. we had tons of fun. there's a lot of koreans in federal way so they have an english class and we were passing out fliers. i learned out to say "hi! you're welcome to come to a free english class" in korean! it was awesome. i spoke korean to real koreans. legit. anyway the funny part is . . . we were driving back to maple valley to exchange back, and LONG story but i had her get on I-5 going south instead of north and we ended up in tacoma . . . aka OUTSIDE THE MISSION!! hahaha it was awful. i felt so dumb. but it was not intentional. haha just so you know though, i'm not that dumb, we just happened to get on the freeway at a different entrance that was JUST south of the exit we needed and if we'd entered the freeway the normal way then i would have been right haha. it's easy to go out of your mission when your mission is so small. 
"other fun things of the week: we played laser tag with our district last p-day and i came in 2nd!! yup that's right i whooped the elders. it was way fun. we played at this park overlooking a gorgeous lake!
"this week has been great! i can't believe how fast it flew by. there were a couple days of discouragement (not too intense no worries) because we didn't have many people to teach. we just kept working hard and the lord has blessed us so much! a member brought her roommate to church last week and we set up an appointment to teach her on thursday. it went really well!! she came to church yesterday and we have an appoinment this week too! cross your fingers :) we also got a random referral from a real estate guy who had sold a house in our ward to a family who mentioned wanting to meet with the mormon missionaries again. we have an appointment this week!! also the cute girl that was baptized a little over a week ago, her dad has been reading the book of mormon when he thought no one was watching :) his wife leaves it on the table and he reads it. they're going to ask him tonight if he wants us to teach him. we think he's going to say yes!! he's awesome and that will make a whole family! ah pray for him too :)
"sis bush and i got to speak about the restoration in sacrament meeting yesterday. we were a little nervous because we didn't have much time to prepare, but it went great! it's hard to explain, but as a missionary you really feel like you can bear testimony with power! the spirit defintely gave us what to say and it was so great! there were a few nonmenbers there so it was a great topic!"
"other fun things of the week: we played laser tag with our district last p-day and i came in 2nd!! yup that's right i whooped the elders. it was way fun. we played at this park overlooking a gorgeous lake!
"this week has been great! i can't believe how fast it flew by. there were a couple days of discouragement (not too intense no worries) because we didn't have many people to teach. we just kept working hard and the lord has blessed us so much! a member brought her roommate to church last week and we set up an appointment to teach her on thursday. it went really well!! she came to church yesterday and we have an appoinment this week too! cross your fingers :) we also got a random referral from a real estate guy who had sold a house in our ward to a family who mentioned wanting to meet with the mormon missionaries again. we have an appointment this week!! also the cute girl that was baptized a little over a week ago, her dad has been reading the book of mormon when he thought no one was watching :) his wife leaves it on the table and he reads it. they're going to ask him tonight if he wants us to teach him. we think he's going to say yes!! he's awesome and that will make a whole family! ah pray for him too :)
"sis bush and i got to speak about the restoration in sacrament meeting yesterday. we were a little nervous because we didn't have much time to prepare, but it went great! it's hard to explain, but as a missionary you really feel like you can bear testimony with power! the spirit defintely gave us what to say and it was so great! there were a few nonmenbers there so it was a great topic!"
Monday, May 11, 2009
Maple Valley, Washington
Liz has been assigned to Maple Valley, Washington! She sounded so happy when we talked to her on the phone yesterday! They had a baptism on Saturday, a 17-year-old girl named Sarah. Here are some pictures and excerpts from her first email from Maple Valley:
"i LOVE maple valley! it is so gorgeous here, just like driving through a forest constantly. i feel like i'm already used to the rain, and even liking it sometimes :) it's been raining pretty hard some days which they say is not common. it's starting to get warmer and lighter longer and summer is coming! there are gorgeous flowers everywhere! the most beautiful colors. and now that i am here i realize how pretty utah isn't haha. actually i love utah and think it's gorgeous, especially the mountains, but here it's like the trees are everywhere!
"so yeah, sis bush and i hit it off immediately and we have a blast! . . . sis bush is an awesome missionary that just loves t
he people and everyone adores her. i hope to gain the same relation- ship with the people that she does. i feel like i love them already! i've found that teaching lessons is probably one of my favorite things on earth, just talking to these people about what i love most! i'm so glad that the brethren came out with preach my gospel, because it allows us to meet the needs of everyone we teach and not just recite the same thing over and over. it becomes a discussion where the investigator contributes and lets us know what they need to hear! love it!
"we're working with 2 awesome people that just got baptized, 3 or 4 people that have been working with missionaries for quite a while and just haven't received a solid testimony yet, and then we have a bunch of people that could be interested! i just wish we had tons of people to teach!! the hardest times are when EVERYONE bails on you and your plan c falls through. we can always find something to do, but it's not always as productive as the original plans.
"we have a good week coming up, just praying that our new investigators keep their appointments so we can teach them!! . . . ah the mission is just so great, i really have been so happy. . . . it doesn't seem to be as hard as i was expecting, so i hope that doesn't mean i'm doing something wrong. we're working hard, keeping the rules, and just loving it! i've already seen that the lord can use me, even an inexperienced greenie to bless his children. there have been few times that i know the spirit has told me what to say and what to ask to really figure out what the people need to hear and do. my testimony of god's love for ALL his children has grown so much. i know he loves each of you!!"
"i LOVE maple valley! it is so gorgeous here, just like driving through a forest constantly. i feel like i'm already used to the rain, and even liking it sometimes :) it's been raining pretty hard some days which they say is not common. it's starting to get warmer and lighter longer and summer is coming! there are gorgeous flowers everywhere! the most beautiful colors. and now that i am here i realize how pretty utah isn't haha. actually i love utah and think it's gorgeous, especially the mountains, but here it's like the trees are everywhere!
"so yeah, sis bush and i hit it off immediately and we have a blast! . . . sis bush is an awesome missionary that just loves t
he people and everyone adores her. i hope to gain the same relation- ship with the people that she does. i feel like i love them already! i've found that teaching lessons is probably one of my favorite things on earth, just talking to these people about what i love most! i'm so glad that the brethren came out with preach my gospel, because it allows us to meet the needs of everyone we teach and not just recite the same thing over and over. it becomes a discussion where the investigator contributes and lets us know what they need to hear! love it!
"we're working with 2 awesome people that just got baptized, 3 or 4 people that have been working with missionaries for quite a while and just haven't received a solid testimony yet, and then we have a bunch of people that could be interested! i just wish we had tons of people to teach!! the hardest times are when EVERYONE bails on you and your plan c falls through. we can always find something to do, but it's not always as productive as the original plans."we have a good week coming up, just praying that our new investigators keep their appointments so we can teach them!! . . . ah the mission is just so great, i really have been so happy. . . . it doesn't seem to be as hard as i was expecting, so i hope that doesn't mean i'm doing something wrong. we're working hard, keeping the rules, and just loving it! i've already seen that the lord can use me, even an inexperienced greenie to bless his children. there have been few times that i know the spirit has told me what to say and what to ask to really figure out what the people need to hear and do. my testimony of god's love for ALL his children has grown so much. i know he loves each of you!!"
Lizzie's in Seattle!
We just received the letter that Liz wrote on Tuesday, May 5, the day she arrived in Seattle:"I’m sitting in the mission home :) The flight was great . . . a little turbulent at the end, but just fine. So now I’m just excited to be in beautiful Seattle! It is GORGEOUS, very green, very wet. Pres. & Sis. Moffat and the Assistants were waiting for us at the airport. They are great! Very nice, very welcoming. It was fun to get a hug from Sis. Moffat after hugging was outlawed at the MTC due to the swine flu. We’re having lunch here at the mission home, then having some orientation, I think, and then meeting our trainers. The President said we’ll be teaching this evening! I’m excited. Sis. Moffat told me I’d love my trainer—she said we were the same type of people, meaning happy and smiley I think—so I’m really excited! There are no sisters in the city right now, just in the country down south. There are 8 English sisters turns out, but one is switching to Spanish, so I won’t be in a 3-some (so now w/me there’s 8 again). So yeah, I’m a real missionary now!!"
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
one week left . . .
Here is an excerpt from Liz's email that we received today! It's hard to believe she has only one week left at the MTC!
"life is so good! it's like a crazy life, seems like i've lived a lifetime crammed into 2 weeks! but i'm learning a lot! we've taught quite a bit and sis ireland and i have learned to be united as we teach. all the feedback we've gotten has been very positive! our teacher said the only thing she had as advice was that we were teaching awesomely and that we just need to stay humble and recognize that it's the spirit and not us! boy do i know it. there was one lesson i felt like i wasn't teaching well at all, but the teacher we were teaching said it was one of the most spiritual lessons he's heard in a LONG time, and he gets taught by missionaries all day every day! that's when i knew it was the spirit :) so yeah, there's some emotional rollercoaster-ness . . . going from feeling just excited, to very inadequate, to feeling like i'm doing great, to being humbled and relying on the Lord. but all i know is i've gone to bed really happy every night!! i know i'm supposed to be here and i'm getting REALLY excited to go git 'er done in seattle :) i got letters from some sisters from my mission and they got me excited! there's 8 sisters there now out of 160 missionaries!"
"life is so good! it's like a crazy life, seems like i've lived a lifetime crammed into 2 weeks! but i'm learning a lot! we've taught quite a bit and sis ireland and i have learned to be united as we teach. all the feedback we've gotten has been very positive! our teacher said the only thing she had as advice was that we were teaching awesomely and that we just need to stay humble and recognize that it's the spirit and not us! boy do i know it. there was one lesson i felt like i wasn't teaching well at all, but the teacher we were teaching said it was one of the most spiritual lessons he's heard in a LONG time, and he gets taught by missionaries all day every day! that's when i knew it was the spirit :) so yeah, there's some emotional rollercoaster-ness . . . going from feeling just excited, to very inadequate, to feeling like i'm doing great, to being humbled and relying on the Lord. but all i know is i've gone to bed really happy every night!! i know i'm supposed to be here and i'm getting REALLY excited to go git 'er done in seattle :) i got letters from some sisters from my mission and they got me excited! there's 8 sisters there now out of 160 missionaries!"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
first p-day, first email
We just received Liz's first email! She is loving the MTC! I hope you enjoy reading these excerpts (actually most of her email--it was all so good I couldn't leave anything out!):
"it's my first p-day and it's glorious to get a day to kind of wind down and get things done! but i am LOVING it here! it's very busy and i get kind of tired by the end of the day, but i've had no trouble getting up in the mornings! for those of you who have never been to the MTC, here's a run down. our district is made up of 8 of us (i think i told you a little bit about them) . . . 4 elders and 4 sisters. all 4 elders will be going to seattle with me so that will be fun! the district is pretty much my family here. we are together most of the day, usually in class with one of our 2 teachers: bro lovejoy and sis higginson. they are both awesome! i'm learning a ton here. a lot about the gospel and the scriptures, but mostly how missionary work is all about forgetting yourself to serve the Lord. it's ALL about learning to get the Spirit, understand how it speaks to you, and follow it. I've realized that no matter what our backgrounds are, all of us missionaries are trying to learn to depend on the Spirit. It's been pretty humbling, and i have a long way to go, but i'm enjoying every minute of it!
"so yeah, other than class, we have personal and companion study time (companion study with sis ireland is pretty much amazing. we love it), MDT (missionary directed time where we practice teaching, go to workshops, and study), meals (oh so AWESOME: there are these caesar wraps in the cougar eat that i love, and they have a wrap bar here so that's what i get every day for lunch. yesterday one of the servers said, oh you're the caesar girl!), get ready for the day (i'm now the master of having 1/2 hr to get ready and actually looking cute at the end of it hehe), have gym time (i pretty much just play 4 square with this group of elders every day, it's probably my favorite sport. the elders went easy on me at first, then they discovered i could whoop them haha), and devotionals (every tuesday is a general authority . . . pretty sweet).
"So exciting things that have happened, Sheri Dew was our Relief Society speaker on Sunday!! in person! we sisters get the royal treatment here. she talked about how we can affect people in the mission field without even teaching them. just through our purity, they will know we are different from women of the world. we also got to watch the joseph smith: prophet of the restoration movie on sunday night! loved it once again!
"I am the coordinating sister for our branch, so i get to go to branch council meeting and represent the sisters. our branch presidency is awesome and it's fun to get to hug their wives. we don't get to hug many people seeing as how we are the minority. it's fun to be here though and see all these fabulous elders. they are all going to be fabulous missionaries. i love being able to see the training ground that has produced all the wonderful men i know in the church. . . . it's definitely hard work, but it's the most important work there is! i didn't expect to be so caught in the bubble. it almost seems like i didn't have a life before this."
"it's my first p-day and it's glorious to get a day to kind of wind down and get things done! but i am LOVING it here! it's very busy and i get kind of tired by the end of the day, but i've had no trouble getting up in the mornings! for those of you who have never been to the MTC, here's a run down. our district is made up of 8 of us (i think i told you a little bit about them) . . . 4 elders and 4 sisters. all 4 elders will be going to seattle with me so that will be fun! the district is pretty much my family here. we are together most of the day, usually in class with one of our 2 teachers: bro lovejoy and sis higginson. they are both awesome! i'm learning a ton here. a lot about the gospel and the scriptures, but mostly how missionary work is all about forgetting yourself to serve the Lord. it's ALL about learning to get the Spirit, understand how it speaks to you, and follow it. I've realized that no matter what our backgrounds are, all of us missionaries are trying to learn to depend on the Spirit. It's been pretty humbling, and i have a long way to go, but i'm enjoying every minute of it!
"so yeah, other than class, we have personal and companion study time (companion study with sis ireland is pretty much amazing. we love it), MDT (missionary directed time where we practice teaching, go to workshops, and study), meals (oh so AWESOME: there are these caesar wraps in the cougar eat that i love, and they have a wrap bar here so that's what i get every day for lunch. yesterday one of the servers said, oh you're the caesar girl!), get ready for the day (i'm now the master of having 1/2 hr to get ready and actually looking cute at the end of it hehe), have gym time (i pretty much just play 4 square with this group of elders every day, it's probably my favorite sport. the elders went easy on me at first, then they discovered i could whoop them haha), and devotionals (every tuesday is a general authority . . . pretty sweet).
"So exciting things that have happened, Sheri Dew was our Relief Society speaker on Sunday!! in person! we sisters get the royal treatment here. she talked about how we can affect people in the mission field without even teaching them. just through our purity, they will know we are different from women of the world. we also got to watch the joseph smith: prophet of the restoration movie on sunday night! loved it once again!
"I am the coordinating sister for our branch, so i get to go to branch council meeting and represent the sisters. our branch presidency is awesome and it's fun to get to hug their wives. we don't get to hug many people seeing as how we are the minority. it's fun to be here though and see all these fabulous elders. they are all going to be fabulous missionaries. i love being able to see the training ground that has produced all the wonderful men i know in the church. . . . it's definitely hard work, but it's the most important work there is! i didn't expect to be so caught in the bubble. it almost seems like i didn't have a life before this."
Saturday, April 18, 2009
first letter home . . .
We were so excited to get Liz's first letter home today!! She sounds so happy . . . I thought we should share some highlights with you:
"Well I said goodbye to you all about 6 hrs ago, and I am just having the best time! I am very happy and excited! Turns out being one of the 1st missionaries to say goodbye and exit the orientation room has its perks . . . I didn’t have to wait at all to get all my packets, etc & had tons of time to unpack! Everyone is SUPER friendly. I’ve never been greeted in so many different languages! An elder even invited me to be baptized in Spanish to practice (I said yes of course :)). I was so grateful to run into 2 sisters just as I went back for my luggage. They got one of my suitcases and showed me where the ELEVATOR was! Anyway, tender mercies . . . the luggage was NO problem . . . so far . . . hehe. So my companion, AWESOME. Sister Ireland. 28. Only member in her family. From Canada. She was baptized 3 years ago today! She is a sweetheart . . . a kindred spirit I might say :). We’ve already had two, no maybe three “tender moments.” She is a hard worker and a MORNING person she says. I told her she’ll have to make me get up and she was excited. Her goal for our 1st couple of days is to stop losing everything . . . name badge, key, etc. My goals are to remember not to wander off (I’m getting used to the companion thing. When I forget, Sister Ireland chases me and we laugh) and call everyone elders & sisters instead of “guys” hehe."
"Well we just got locked out of our room and had to trek over to the front desk in our pajamas. Won’t do that again! So random story, earlier today we went to a big meeting with all the new missionaries and when we got there, there was an usher in the aisle. All the elders were sitting in the middle and all the sisters were on the side section. I asked if we had to sit on the side, and he said no, that’s just where the sisters sat. So, Sis Ireland and I mixed it up and sat amidst the elders (other sisters after us joined so we weren’t the only ones though!)."
Can't you just see Liz sitting down "amidst the elders" and mixing things up! Haha!
"Well I said goodbye to you all about 6 hrs ago, and I am just having the best time! I am very happy and excited! Turns out being one of the 1st missionaries to say goodbye and exit the orientation room has its perks . . . I didn’t have to wait at all to get all my packets, etc & had tons of time to unpack! Everyone is SUPER friendly. I’ve never been greeted in so many different languages! An elder even invited me to be baptized in Spanish to practice (I said yes of course :)). I was so grateful to run into 2 sisters just as I went back for my luggage. They got one of my suitcases and showed me where the ELEVATOR was! Anyway, tender mercies . . . the luggage was NO problem . . . so far . . . hehe. So my companion, AWESOME. Sister Ireland. 28. Only member in her family. From Canada. She was baptized 3 years ago today! She is a sweetheart . . . a kindred spirit I might say :). We’ve already had two, no maybe three “tender moments.” She is a hard worker and a MORNING person she says. I told her she’ll have to make me get up and she was excited. Her goal for our 1st couple of days is to stop losing everything . . . name badge, key, etc. My goals are to remember not to wander off (I’m getting used to the companion thing. When I forget, Sister Ireland chases me and we laugh) and call everyone elders & sisters instead of “guys” hehe."
"Well we just got locked out of our room and had to trek over to the front desk in our pajamas. Won’t do that again! So random story, earlier today we went to a big meeting with all the new missionaries and when we got there, there was an usher in the aisle. All the elders were sitting in the middle and all the sisters were on the side section. I asked if we had to sit on the side, and he said no, that’s just where the sisters sat. So, Sis Ireland and I mixed it up and sat amidst the elders (other sisters after us joined so we weren’t the only ones though!)."
Can't you just see Liz sitting down "amidst the elders" and mixing things up! Haha!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
"missionaries to the right, families to the left"
It's official! Liz is a missionary, name tag and all! The whole family took Liz to the MTC at noon today in the middle of a spring snowstorm! We took some pictures and then went into the chapel for the orientation meeting. Little James was not too happy to be in the meeting and kept saying "Go, go go!" When it came time for that "missionaries to the right, families to the left" moment, we realized that we were right by the missionary exit, so Liz was the first missionary through the door. It was hard to say goodbye and we all shed some tears, but we know that Liz will be such an awesome missionary! We are so excited to get her emails and hear about all the good things she is doing! Her address at the MTC is:SISTER ELIZABETH GIBBONS
MTC Mailbox#171
WA-SEA 0505
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793
She will be at the MTC until May 5. I know she would love to hear from you!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
well I'm off!!
Well, I get set apart as a missionary in about 3 hours! CRAZY! I'm so excited :) Now I just need to pack . . .
We had such a wonderful day on Sunday! So many people showed up to hear me speak, and I'm so glad I got to tell them all goodbye. I'm so grateful for my wonderful family (immediate and extended). I'm going to miss you all!!! Also I'm so thankful for all the wonderful friends I've made throughout my life. I hope I can find you all when I come home :)
My mom's going to keep this updated with what I'm up to, so feel free to check back! I'm off!!
We had such a wonderful day on Sunday! So many people showed up to hear me speak, and I'm so glad I got to tell them all goodbye. I'm so grateful for my wonderful family (immediate and extended). I'm going to miss you all!!! Also I'm so thankful for all the wonderful friends I've made throughout my life. I hope I can find you all when I come home :)
My mom's going to keep this updated with what I'm up to, so feel free to check back! I'm off!!
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