WEEK 52 [Half-way!] Samut Prakan T7.W3 Over the Hump

Dear family and friends,

First of all, Happy happy birthday Miss Robyn - in comp study yesterday [we] sang hymn 98 for ya!

And for everyone else as well, thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. This week has been wonderful as I am officially not a teenager and how in 4 days I will be "over the hump" as my smally service as a full time missionary. These small but monumental events to me made me think of all my memories and fun times from Broadway Kids, Orchestra events, chillin with Geoffrey and Stevo and Emilie and everyone, with Max and Drake, and Kirstie (whom I have rejoiced greatly about their decision to serve as I have) and everyone at APA.  Thought about my great mentors and teachers - Miss Federick, Mr. Mattingly, Doris, (gotta giva shout out to Mr. Sorensen), Mrs Wilcox, and many others.  I thought about how much I love Siah and Elly and my little cousins. I often think of McCrae, Shanae, and big Brayden (sorry man, I probably destroyed your name - forgive me cuz Asian languages will do than to you like I forgot what a pulley was called today...) I thought of Jordan and Grant in the states my Grandma Gibbons and Grandma and Grandpa Holker and Schlappi. Thought of Bates and McKenna wearing funky beaver hats preaching to less actives and seeing miracles in the snowy part of the world. I thought about Matt and Shae , Meegs takin a break from school, Kenz drivin her new ride, Anna listening to Opera and almost passed out on the floor of a large super market-entertainment center and almost made a fool of myself greatly. I thought of dad on his side of the couch asleep and my mom helping the world with everything.

All this has caused me to deeply reflect on my life and reflect on my blessings and dumb, perhaps rude sometimes, selfish I probably was before God sent me to Asia. My desires have changed so much and i Love it. I have seen miracles happen right in front of my face. Sister Roumsap's daughter got baptized just barely and Brother A (a man I decided to sit down next to instead of my companion on a random bus one day) is getting baptized this 27th along with others, but no time to relate. We made a huge Book of Mormon for the cutest funniest old man named Supachai an now read it.

But recently I've been thinking about all these things and been thinking of what have I enjoyed most as I am not a teenager and I am approaching my 1 year mark from stepping into the MTC with Nick [Alvarez] in 4 days. I'd like to share with you a story my mom shared with me about an experience while at the [Draper] Temple lobby to illustrate my thoughts:

"So, as I was sitting there, two different “grooms” came out and one sat next to the other who had been waiting a bit longer for their brides to come out.  They started nervously chatting and getting to know each other.  Then a temple worker came and asked for one of them and told him his bride was coming out.  He had the biggest smile on his face and he couldn’t wait to see her and walk out of the temple with her to the crowd of people waiting outside.  As he was about to leave, he turned and shook the hand of the other groom and said, “Have a ‘happy forever’”."

Such a cool story, huh? Well my mom told me she cried and wanted to wish me a “happy year”. I relate all these experiences to you this day because all these memories I have from my life have amounted to my "Happy Eternity" as your love - whoever you are whos reading this- has had an impact for good on me and I want to thank you.

This has been a wonderful mission as I have helped others have happy eternities too.

Love you all,

Elder Gibbons

PS this keyboard is horrible - sorry 4 all the mistakes

Week 51 - Samut Prakan: T7.W3 - "My Birthday: My Ode To My Mother"

[I have to admit, I feel a little embarrassed to post this, cuz it's a "tribute to ME", but maybe you will all think about and appreciate your own mothers a little more...I know I do too!!  I love you mom!!]

Hello Everyone!

Today I can't say much because I'm so speechless because of all the love that I have felt - it literally took me over 25 minutes to read my email this week because there were so many happy birthdays. Crying is weird here, so I was repressing tears most of the time and laughing at my uncle Terry and my Dad for the rest of the time. I cannot possibly attempt to thank everybody by name in this time, so I will not even try. But I would like to thank one name as I share with you one aspect of Thai culture that I have come to love; I would like to thank my mother.

Since the ancient days of Siam to now, the culture of birthdays is very unique. For instance, imagine it's your birthday in the United States.  Common questions are "Oh cool! What did you do?   What did you get?"  In Thailand you'll get, "Have you called your mom yet?"  In Thailand, the role of mothers takes the scene here celebrating the REAL one who deserves the praise. When it's your birthday YOU BETTER call your mom! Well, since I can't call, I'll just let her know that she is my everything out here. I feel bad for all those guys with girlfriends, because I've got the best girl in the world (not to mention my sisters, step-sisters, cousins, aunts, lady friends, etc) you writes me every week and I KNOW will wait for me. She sent me the biggest package in the office, but she sends me more than you can weigh in prayers that have literally become miracles right before my eyes. At church all the sudden some member was playing "Desperado" [one of my favorite songs by the Eagles] and I only didn't lose it because I was in shock that the Lord loves me enough to send me a mother whom I can never fully pay back for the hundreds of thousands of hours spent in the service of her God - for me. If any of you who wrote get this letter I would ask as one last gift to thank my mother for the infinite influence she has had in my life - and in your life. If you know me, then you know my mom because she has given me everything you see in me.

I can never pay her back, but for this birthday I pay her this meager tribute that doesn't cut to a 1000th of the actual greatness of a woman among all women. Thanks mom - I love you Phom rak thoe maag wa phood dai!

Elder Gibbons

Week 50 - Samut Prakan: T7.W2 "With Faith Come Trials"

Hello everyone, I have little time because our district is about to eat a 13" banana [split?] that we found at Swensen's Icecream. Update: Sister Mild and Brother Nat are officially members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ; Uang was at church for Sisaket to Chonburi to here. But more than that, have got a story that illustrates that great phrase in Praise to the man: 'Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.  What sacrifice?  The following is a excerpt from the letter with my Mission President:

Dear President,

Happy New Year! And as you know, the 51st baptism couldn't have come in more timely as sister Mild (and all of us) strive to be new men and women in Christ. This year, I should tell you I have resolved to "Always be in constant companionship with the Holy Ghost; to always keep in remembrance His presence with me - this entire year."

We've already seen the trials. Thank you for sharing that talk with Elder Merkley. Without going into to many details, with my new resolve I have felt the presence of the adversary attack on many fronts on my mission, and we're under siege here often. There's a reason we were split-off from our Bang Naa friends and the hand of the Lord is manifest in abundance - and so are the trials.

Well, as we have increased our efforts (I mean to say I've invited more people to come unto Christ and be baptized in this transfer than I have in my entire mission) we have run into the grumpiest, anti, resistant, and even pugnacious individuals. For instance, all roads lead to the top of Mt. Fugi, right?  Well, we taught a lesson by accident to this very nice man who works by our house where we eat at daily (we intended to teach his wife).  But as we started talking, HE started teaching and teaching and teaching about Buddhism - I mean to say he was even translating terms in Bahli - and wouldn't listen to what we had to say. But then he started to reason out to us how there can be no such things as a Savior, that Christ lived and died for nothing and that our whole religion was in vein because there is no such thing as an atonement. A bit different than "Every religion teaches to be good," huh? We bore testimony of some things we knew to be true, but he got up and left in our mid-sentence. Its one thing to read about anti-Christ’s in the scriptures; it's another to be the ones contending on the front lines with them. This experience shook me up a bit and I had been trying to focus on my studies, but it was hard. What is the Atonement? I felt like Enos: "Lord, how is it done?" But Friday I read 3 Ne 12:2 where Jesus charges the multitude that any who believe in the words of the disciples are blessed because they had SEEN him AND KNOW THAT HE LIVES.  I read this and then stopped to think: The disciples wrote this book; this book had to come forth the way Joseph said it came forth because there is no other way; and if those two things are true, Christ did visit the Americas because he did ascend into heave after he did die upon the cross and was slain for the sins of the world...

Sorry this is long, but I know that Christ lives because I know this book open in my laps couldn't be anything but truth. I now know that Christ lives. I prayed and received this as an answer to its truthfulness and cannot ever go back. I feel my chest is warm because of the spirit not just the Tom yam Gai I ate. I thought I'd share that with you. I do so as a representative of him through his spirit. Amen.

Now I ask you - all of you: my brother and sisters whom I Skyped with, my friends who read this, my family whom I love, my friends I adore - read this book. Then ask God in the name of Christ if it is true. Dang it, it is, but you just have to read it!  If you haven’t I am asking you as a representative of the lord under the direction of the spirit of the lord which is in me to do it. Thank you mom for your lesson about this book, and I know it will bless you in ways unimaginable. In Christ's name I seal things as true. Amen.

Week 49 - T7.W1 Samut Prakan: Better Than I

So we have a curfew tonight because it's new years, so I'll have to be fast.   Thank you for the prayers - it all came together this week as I have never seen miracles happen like this in my life.  Nowhere to begin.  Basically, Bro Nat was baptized yesterday.  He's sooo awesome and super solid!  But a week and a half ago the other elders (we have four here) gave us a record of Sister Mild - a supper sassy stubborn daughter of Sister Gaid who has been learning with the Elders for so long she has three different records.  But basically we've been learning about faith this week and with the combined efforts of our district, we determined to achieve our goals which included 2 baptisms for us and one for the other district.  During our intense prayer sessions, we both felt that Sister Mild could be that second baptism, even if the odds were impossible.  I am here to tell you today that with God nothing is impossible.  I know that because I have DONE the impossible through God.

We fasted twice, they once and Sister Mild opened her heart for the first time ever because we just knew she would be baptized on the 30^th because I gave Elder Merkley a blessing because we were both getting attacked by the adversary earlier than I thought that week.  Basically, I was rejected more this week than in my entire mission.  I invited more people to be baptized  - even right off the street - than I ever happened before.  Anyway, so she was doing great...almost too great...so sure enough all of the sudden we couldn't get a hold of her – she moved to Bangkok 2 hours away.  But I felt the promise of God.  Thurs, Fri, Sat rolls around and we have been working our tails off.  Sunday happens and Nat is baptized.  Super cool, but it was disappointing that she want's [to be] baptized with him (because they're good friends and will eventually get married).  Then that night her mom called.  She had got an answer of the truthfulness of this way of life and wants to start next year a "new person" and will come down and be baptized.  When Sister Gaid called, it was the still the 30th - the day I stepped into the font today and baptized her a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ it was Dec 31 here - but the world was still the 30th.  God answers prayers and fills his promises.  Not nobody not no how can tell be otherwise.  Signs follow those that believe. I believed; the signs followed.  As for the others?  When I was in Sisaket, we met an awesome investigator named Uang but she moved out of town.  Turns out I moved into her church boundaries - she should go to our branch!  Put it short, we called and called, no answer.  This morning, the last day of the year, she called back.  We talked.  The Lord told me to give her a baptismal date right there so I did - for next week because I taught her everything already myself in Sisaket.  Our goals were fulfilled by the Lord's hand in His way.

It's interesting on one’s mission the things that grow belief: faith, love, etc.  It's more interesting to see the things that grow in unbelief: today, I learned to disbelieve in coincidence.

Don't believe me? Ask God yourself. Read the word cuz he makes all things manifest to those who ask (Moroni 10 4-5).

Love,
E Gibbons

Week 48 - Christmas Eve 2012

Words cannot express how happy we were to see and hear Joseph on Skype - from a 5 level mall in south Bangkok on Christmas morning (for him, Christmas Eve for us)!!  Every Christmas Eve we gather all of our kids together and play games, open presents, and we have a "candle lighting ceremony", so we told Joseph to call us when we would all be together.  Of COURSE, there was a problem on his end with Skype, but he was finally able to work it out and we got to talk to him for almost an hour.  

There were a few highlights of our conversation with him. He smiled the whole time and he looked great!  (see photos!)  He told us that in his last area he had eaten a cricket and he rode an elephant (he told us the elephants' name, but I can't even attempt to spell it!)  He was just transferred to a city (I could never hope to write or pronounce this one either!!) in the south part of Bangkok.  He said he had a feeling that he would be transferred back to the city.  His companion is Elder Merkely from Corrine (?), Utah and they are getting along great.  We asked Joseph a question, so he turned to his companion and had about a 4-5 minute conversation with him in Thai!  We were all so amazed at his language skills so far!!  We just listened in amazement and gratitude that our prayers are being answered!  And the best thing of all...as we were getting prepared for him to call, I took out our candles to set them out on our table like I do every year for our candle ceremony, and as I opened the box, there was a letter from Joseph!!!  At first, I thought Joseph had sent it to Mike and that Mike had slipped it in there so he could be a part of our candle ceremony this year.  But, no!  It was written on Mike's stationary and Joseph had crossed out Mike's return address and put "Thailand" on it.  A few days before he left for the MTC, he had written us a letter and put it in the box.  What a great surprise and shock to see that letter!!  Joseph got to be a part of our traditional candle ceremony after all.  As when we read it, we were all bawling!  It was a very special evening that we will never forget. 

Our family photo this year!! 

Talking to us (on Skype) from a 5 level mall in So. Bangkok.

Kenzi and Anna giving him a kiss!  :)

Week 47 - Sisaket - T6; W6

Hello dear family and friends,

First things first - thank you for all your prayers.  I have truly felt them and know that prayer is real.  I have felt the influence of the spirit more abundantly especially when we tought or dater ต๋อง (Dtong) and the daughter of one of the most special investigators: ก้อย (Goy, daughter of Ruamsap, the awesome 60 yr old powerhouse who is now on her 6th time through the Book of Mormon).

2nd big piece of news is that transfers is early this time around! AND I'M MOVING FROM SISAKET!!!

Other news, happy 109th anniversary of the first human flight that took place in Kitty-Hawk, NC. Besides making me thinking of Wilber and Orville, it made me think of the bevis [his nickname for his little sister] for naming our dog "Kitty..."  After the email last week we went to the Zoo here in Sisaket.  I saw my first Hippo (crazy big!) and introduced Somsak's family and Sister Boom to my ancestors in their cages, as there were Gibbons Monkeys there.  Calling people specific animals in this culture are like the different degrees of swear words, so seeing them react to that was fun.  Also, we fed them anything we wanted to (sketch?) which was fun.  Rabbits and deer eat bananas? Believe it; I saw it.

[He shared a personal story about receiving an answer to prayer that he didn’t want me to post on his blog, but I wanted to post what he said after…]  But with God, there is always a way. And usually His way is the BEST way - It just lines up with the theme of my mission life: the Lord blesses the faithful more than they can even imagine in ways they CANNOT even imagine.

Also: Thanks for your encouragement pops - it really does help.  And please know I celebrated your birthday in my heart this Friday.  Probably ate some ice cream at your favorite spot on the little red couch, :) (The Zoo also really made me remind me of Dad because all the wildlife and nature before you even walk into the zoo park. If we ever come back, dad, remind us to go there...) But this holiday season, I know I'll be able to skype and say hello, I'm teaching people why we even HAVE Christmas, and with all this in mind (and especially with the knowledge that I'll be hitting my ONE YEAR MARK next month confirming the my amount time out here is next to nothing), I haven't really been homesick. My companion, on the other hand, has - so this Christmas season, please send your love for me by sending it to him as well.

It's really been fun out here, and I'm sorry to leave.  I'm just kind of anxious right now more than anything.  I could go anywhere, but I feel good about it, wherever I go.  I had a great last Sunday as a family came back to church that we've been working on for 2 transfers now.  [We had] 84 people at church was so great and I just remember feeling love and warm and peace.  Just this moment do I remember praying specifically to feel the spirit at church more that day. and I did.

I'm going to miss all the members - some of the strongest I've ever met (or ever will meet) in my life. I'm so going to miss Ruamsap – it was so great to see her and Goy dressed so beautifully and even classy sitting together at church.  I've just kind of felt everything coming to a close lately and my experiences here have cadenced well into these last few weeks.  By the way dad and Meegs - thanks for sharing those experiences about the wonderful Amish people and sharing the greatest Christmas gift - the Restoration - with them.  The best answer, dad, about getting people to believe in Jesus Christ?  I do absolutely nothing besides helping them feel the spirit - the spirit in the Book of Mormon does the rest.  There is a senior missionary that was a missionary here from 1975-77; the Book of Mormon came out in the last 6 months of his mission.  I asked how he did any work without the Book of Mormon. "You wanna know how many people I baptized?  None," he said.  The power in the book (or the absence without it) is more apparent than you'd ever believe in the culture where Christmas is virtually non-existent.  I invite you and all who read to continue to read and ponder and pray about the book that changed the world.  This Christmas season, I invite you all to draw nearer to God by reading the way to draw nearer to him "than any other book."

I love this book.  I love Sisaket, and I love all of you so much.  Hopefully "SEE" you later! ;)

Elder Gibbons

PPS VERY IMPORTANT:
The mission is moving P-day to Tuesday, so that means I'll talk to you all on your Monday.  They discourage bringing in all friends, distracting girlfriends (which I have so many of, right?) and others.  I think that's all...

PPPPPPS Happy Father's day too, Dad.  The King's birthday was this month (and so was yours) so that was nice.

I am so grateful that his friends from Thailand post pictures on Facebook so I can copy them!!

Week 46 - Sisaket - T6; W5

Hey Mom, I just found out I have no time this week to email, so I will first thank you and tell you that our stake conference was great too; we jumped on a big tour bus and headed to Ubon with our incredible branch.  We heard some great things, but perhaps the most memorable part was in the new member's meeting.  Our branch President got up and announced all those that were baptized and that all recent converts were to shake President and Sister Senior’s hand and then it hit me - that the Lord let me have a personal influence on each of the investigators who stood up and grasped the hand of my mission President since the first week I was here is Sisaket.   As I watched Sis Dan and her two kids: Ball and Prae (who I actually baptized), Sister Patty, Sister Nat, Somsak and his two daughters Ribbin and Biw (whom we're going to rush off to the zoo with right now), and then the most interesting investigator of all time: Sister Roamsap, all shake his hand, it was a personal manifestation to the promise that I would have great joy in bringing many souls to Christ. I felt like the most blessed missionary in this world in this area.  It was almost a certificate of success that the Lord gave to me that day that He loves, blesses his missionaries, and will always do so if we try to be obedient.

[A note from his Mom to preface this next paragraph: Just before Joseph went into the MTC, he found a little, chubby Hop toad outside our front steps.  We brought him in and made a “home” for him in a terrarium and Anna named him “Toady Romo”.  Joseph even carried a photo of Toady in his wallet in the mission field.  Toady finally passed away last night and Anna wrote Joseph to tell him about the sad news.  She was heart-broken because she was really hoping he would hang in  there until Joseph returned.]  

Something else worth mentioning is that last night, I really missed Anna a lot - more than usual. When I read about Toady my heart really dropped.   But when I put two and two together and realized that we missed each other at the same time at the same moment, tears also swelled like your temple experience realizing that as Aunt Fe "prophesied" that we had a special bond.  I believed it, but now I FEEL that that is true.  Anna - I love you so much and can't wait to sing with you again soon.  Love you more that I can tell.

Joj