Argentina - Entre Rios #40

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Amanda Gibbons

Date: Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 9:02 AM
Subject: Feliz Navidad!
To: Bonnie Gibbons

Look out, its going to be a hot one!!  Well at least here in Argentina it will be! ha!  Man I'm getting darker and blonder everyday.  Why don't we take family pictures when I'm tan mom? hehe By the way, did you all see my family pictures?  Wow, I'm sorry but I've got a good looking family!  I have to say I am very prideful of them!  So anyways, I once again am here to say that I LOVE being a missionary and I can't think of a better gift to give my family or my Savior than to bring someone into the waters of baptism! So Thursday the 23rd Fernando Dure is getting all dressed up in white and will become clean of all his past sins.  (who said I couldn't have a white Christmas in Argentina?)  he is amazing, Fernando has had a really hard a draining life, he turned to drinking to make himself feel better or feel that he could get away for a while from his problems.  He has cleaned up and he LOVES the Book of Mormon.  He always teaches me something new!

   He had me reading in 1 Nephi 11, when Nephi sees the vision his father had!  I never noticed before, but it talks all about Christ and his birth!  Part of the Christmas story in right in this chapter!  I love how the angel explains what the tree means by telling the story of the saviors birth.  Tells of Mary, a virgin pure and lovely how she was waiting for her child to come.  then the angel asks.... 

    “Knowest thou the condescension of God?   And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”

   then the angels shows Christ being born unto the earth, later asking

         “And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!  Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

                             And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.”   Like it says in John 3:15, the love of God is demonstrated in the birth of Jesus Christ.  He sent his perfect son to this crazy earth, to suffer and die so we can be saved.  I hope that you realize how important you are to God.  Don't get lost in the things of the world, remember Christ always and that you have a place waiting for you in Gods mansion! 

  Keep  the faith, keep working hard and loving your family!  Never turn away from the church or from God.  That is where you will find peace, joy, comfort...and everything else you are looking for.  I love you all and I hope you have the happiest Christmas ever!

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Con amor,

  Hermana Gibbons

Argentina - Entre Rios #39

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Amanda Gibbons

Date: Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 8:23 AM
Subject: BACK TO WORK!!!!
To: Bonnie Gibbons

Hello my wonderful amazing family and friends!

  Wow can I just tell you how amazing this last week has been!  SO GOOD!  I love working!  Man every night this week I have come home exhausted and so ready to sleep and I absolutely love it!  My companion is Hermana Hansen and she is from Lehi, UT (ya basically across the highway from my aunt Stacie and uncle Todd).  She is so awesome, she only has a little bit of time left, but she is anxious to serve the Lord!  We have so much fun together and she likes to run!  Woo hoo!  We have started to go out every morning; we are excited to lose some of the “love” we have received from the members - aka food turned into chubs :)  Wow i can't even begin to tell you have happy I am right now!  I can't believe how much joy i have received from working!!!!!!!   Everyday we get out and we are obediently doing the work of the Lord!  Mom, my comp is so amazing.  She has 12 weeks left, but she is determined to work hard to the end, even though she is way excited to see her boyfriend soon!  She is from Ut, and is a mix between Georgie and steph, seriously, so extremely sweet and full of charity and also goofy and sometimes idk, like steph!  I feel so blessed to be with her!  So i am back in Entre Rios, but on the other side.  i am right by the River Uruguay and actually right on the border of Uruguay!  Pretty darn cool!  its a pretty big city, with both a centro and campo (fields)  Its perfect, i love it already.  We get up a run together and we laugh, we pray, we talk, we are trying to be better!  I love it!!!

(This is shared from mom’s letter.)  “Wow I can't even begin to tell you have happy I am right now!  I can't believe how much joy I have received from working!!!!!!!   Every day we get out and we are obediently doing the work of the Lord!  Mom, my comp is so amazing.  She has 12 weeks left, but she is determined to work hard to the end, even though she is way excited to see her boyfriend soon!  She is from UT, and is a mix between Georgie and Steph, seriously, so extremely sweet and full of charity and also goofy and sometimes idk (I don't know), like Steph!  I feel so blessed to be with her!  So I am back in Entre Rios, but on the other side.  I am right by the River Uruguay and actually right on the border of Uruguay!  Pretty darn cool!  It’s a pretty big city, with both a Centro and campo (fields) Its perfect, I love it already.  We get up a run together and we laugh, we pray, we talk; we are trying to be better!  I love it!!!”

  Anyways, we are teaching Fernando right now, he is a 35 year old man, whose greatest desire is to be baptized, he just needs to stop drinking.  He also has a fear that God won't accept his baptism b/c he hasn't been faithful all of his life.  He picked his date for 23 of December and he is so excited.  He LOVES reading the book of Mormon and its funny he'll say, hey we already read that, but I love it haha!  Pray that he will receive strength to stop drinking.  He is such a good guy!

  Then there is Luz (10) and her mom Elena, they are family of a recent convert, Frederico!  Can I just tell you this guy is amazing!  He was really hard into drugs and one time yelled at the sisters and told them never to come back.  Today, he is a different person and for that his family of 7 are all interested as well as some of his friends, which he is happily introducing us to!  Wow, 2 weeks as a member and he is already doing way more than I have ever done!  We talked about our baptismal covenants Sunday, after we have found the truth, our job or our privilege to share it with others!

   I love seeing the light of Christ work in everyone and I am so grateful that God gave everyone that gift.  This is how everyone can feel the spirit, can feel that their Heavenly Father loves them, can feel hope that they can change and be better, and receive the strength to do it!  My comp and I have took it upon ourselves to be better, we started another Purification, to change little things we do to be more in tune with the spirit, to teach with more power and authority, to be shaper instruments in the hands of the lord.  I don't want to be that hammer that has sat in my garage for years, only being used every once in a while.  I want to be in his hands and all times, I want to be molded and changed.  This takes time and effort and many times it can hurt, but the end result is always a reward of something 100 times better than what we put in!  I am so grateful for my Savior, that he has given us all a chance to be better.  What are you doing with your life to try and pay Him back for all He has done?  Helaman 5:35 (humility, put your whole heart in his care)

 I am so incredibly happy!  I love to work! I love my comp!  I love the people I have met and we are teaching and I love the tender mercies of the lord!  I love you all so much! Thank you for your support and love! I hope you are all singing Christmas carols, because no one does that here!  I love Christmas and family!!!   Keep the faith!

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Con amor,

  Hermana Gibbons

Argentina - Rosario #39

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Amanda Gibbons

Date: Mon, Nov 29, 2010 at 9:20 AM
Subject:
To: Bonnie Gibbons

Hey everyone,

   Wow, we are teaching the most amazing family!  Claudia, Favio, Diego, and Martin.  They just have such love in their family I can't believe they aren't members!  Favio told me yesterday that he knows we are good people and wants to be a member of our church.  He says he has known many members throughout his life and for that reason he let us come in.  You never know what your example may be for someone.

Man I am learning a ton; I have so much to do and so much to change.  My comp has a virus in her back which makes her have a ton of pain, and we can't work very much.  We already are in the house a lot because she has to come home after lunch to drink an herbal tea because she has something wrong with her liver.  … I just want to work… I want to tell more people about the gospel, I want them to be happy.  I wish I could do so much more… 

I have to go, but keep reading your scriptures and study the words of the prophet!  Keep the faith!

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Con amor,

  Hermana Gibbons