CCM - District

Andrew's CCM district. It's comprised of missionaries going to the California San Fernando Spanish Speaking and Chile. This was their first visit to the Mexico City Temple. What a blessing to serve in the house of the Lord!

CCM - Week 1 August 15- August 24

¡Hola! Family,

     First week in the CCM and it was incredible! First off let me say that I am doing so much better than I thought I would be. So right after I said bye to you guys on the elevator I made my way to the terminal and met Elder Christensen and soon to be companion Elder Costello. The flight to Houston was really long mostly because the seats in economy were not made for people who are 6'2''. Once in Houston we ate at a pizza place that wasn't quite as good as I thought but it was OK. In Houston we picked up Hermana Johnson and several other Elders who aren't in my district. We boarded our flight and left for ciudad de Mexico, on the way there when we could see Mexico city from the window, we were amazed at how big it is, it's so big you can't see anything but city as far as you looked. Anyway when we landed we made our way through customs and eventually found the hermano who was supposed to pick us up. The ride there was pretty scary similar to the roads in Guatemala. The best feeling though was entering the CCM and being able to see the sign as soon as you drive in. After we got in we unloaded our luggage and went to orientation I was so tired because I cannot sleep on planes to save my life. The first thing you needed in orientation was your immunizations records so i'm glad I had that. After orientation is when I sent that email to you saying that I made it there alive. Then you receive all of your study books and have to make your way to the other side of campus, up three flights of stairs, and into your apartment with mucho luggage. When you get to your dormitory though you get to figure out who your companion is, and sure enough mine was Elder Costello from the Airport. He's an awesome guy, he's from Roosevelt and goes to Union High (I had to tell him that we destroyed them in tennis). He is very similar to me in personality and we have loads of fun. The other Elders in our dormitory are Elder Anderson (District Leader) Elder Higgenbotham, Elder Phelps, and Elder Farley. Elder Farley is from Hawaii and is hilarious you guys would like him.

Anyway, everyday is pretty much the same thing here 6:30 wake up, shower, clean the room, get dressed, go to breakfast at 7:15. It's personal study from 7:45 to 8:15, then we have language classes and Book of Mormon classes from 8:30 to 12:15. Next we have lunch, and then we have personal study again from 1:00 to 1:30. Then its gym time! Elder Costello and I love gym time. We have a rivalry in ping pong, basketball, and volleyball. Gym ends around 3:00, but we have to get showered and stuff so it's really over at 2:30. Next we practice teach an investigator. After 5 lessons in Español we got him to commit to Baptism. I was way to pumped but still its pretty awesome to be able to get someone to commit to baptism. After we teach its companion study until 6:00 and then we have TALL (Technology Assisted Language Learning). It's really nice to be able to listen to lessons taught in Spanish so you can learn to pick up on things after awhile. After TALL is Dinner and then Personal study until 9. After that you go back to the dormitory and get ready for bed.

      Hermana Martinez is our first instructor in the mornings and then Hermano Rodriguez who is also our practice investigator is our instructor in the evening. The food here is amazing and Yes the Enchiladas the Burritos and the Tacos are giving me “Puffs”. I took a picture of a mini banana not sure why I just thought it was cool. I´ve got an interesting story this morning I put my garments in the dryer and went to play basketball. When I came back to take my garments up stairs and somebody took my garments! Like who does that right! So now I've got like 2 pairs of garments. And at the tienda which is like the store with all the stuff you need they don’t have mediums until next week. So I’ll let you know how this week goes haha but I’m really angry also. Tuesdays we have pizza night and devotionals and President Bennett and sister Bennett are amazing. They are some of the most faithful people I’ve met. I really do love them. So in my one week here at the CCM I’ve memorized the first vision, the missionary purpose, the baptismal invitation, and Mark 9:23 which is an awesome scripture by the way look it up. I’ve got some pictures of our room and of our dormitory, and also of Elder Costello and I in front of the sign. I’ve also attached a picture of my name tag so buddy can see. They have a clip on one and magnetic one which is incredible (napoleon dynamite voice). I appreciated the donuts and haven't received the candy yet but I love hearing from you guys and all that's going on at home. The solar eclipse was only 30% here but still during gym time we couldn't go outside. Sorry if I misspelled anything this computer is in Spanish and I have a spanish keyboard which is really weird by the way. I haven’t gotten fat I weighed myself yesterday and I lost about 1lb and half so I weigh 156.8. I'll end by bearing my testimony in Español. Yo sé que José Smith fue un profeta de Dios, yo testifico que Jesucristo restaurado el verdad Evangelio mediante José Smith. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador y Dios nos ama, en el nombre de Jesucristo Amen.

Were going to the temple in 5 minutes sorry I couldn't write anymore.

Love You con amor

Elder Gibbons

August 15 CCM Mexico Group Picture

Airport, leaving home...

Andrew's flight was scheduled to leave at 7:55 AM. That put the wake up call at 5:00 AM. After a short night's rest, due to a late game of Clue with the girls and dad, and friends dropping by at 10:30 PM to get a final goodbye, 5:00 AM came quickly. Everyone was a little somber a we considered how much we would miss Andrew. He's the type of brother, son, and friend people liked to be around. The drive was quick and before we knew it we were checking his bags to Mexico. We all cried as we hugged him goodbye. We are grateful as a family we love each other so much! Anson saying goodbye made everyone cry. He hugged Andrew the first time without tears, but then realized his brother was leaving for a long time. Luckily like Andrew mentioned, "Anson will forget about it, or get distracted soon." It was Mom and Dad's 20th anniversary so they had a lot of crazy emotions tied up in the day. First and foremost was joy in their son, and his decision, and his willingness to serve. A close second was sad for the absence of their son in their home, on the golf course, tennis courts, home teaching, etc. Overall, the family made it through the day. Andrew had a long trip to Mexico and related the following in a quick email:

Hey Family,
Made it to the CCM safely but a little bit delayed we couldn`t find three of the elders ( I still don´t think we found one). I am doing well nothing bad happened on the flights and we drove and made it here in one piece lucky enough. The roads here are just like in Guatemala. Also we did pick up hermana Johnson and a three other missionaries at our stop in Houston. We all have only 2 years of spanish except one of the elders had four years of German ( he has no idea what he´s doing) But I got my name badge tell buddy I´ll send a picture of it to him when I have more time. And yes mom you don´t get the first P-day mines on thursday so its a good thing we got extra garments. Love you all Im doing well just a little cansado.
Elder Gibbons

A fun last day together

We spent the day before Andrew left having fun! We started it off by getting donuts at Nigh Time donuts. We discovered a new donut we all loved, whipped cream filled chocolate donut. Andrew of course stuck to something more traditional, glazed. Then we went over to All-Star for a fun couple games of bowling. On one lane was Andrew, Mom and Dad. The other had the three girls and Anson. Let's just say Dad rocked both games although Andrew kept it close. Mom ended her round with 2 gutter balls, and didn't break 100. Anson remarkably won the first game, and they were all pretty close the second. There may have been some loud cheering going on from Grandma Betts during all the games. But we had a great time spending time together.
We quickly went to Walmart after bowling to find a cord for Drew to transfer photos, and then headed to lunch. Everyone but Makaela and Kate wanted Panda Express, so dad took KK and Kate to Costa Vida, and the rest of us ate at Panda. Then, we headed home to finish packing, etc. Drew had Hayden, Cayden and Josh, and Nick and Zach stop by for one more goodbye. Those boys are such great friends. Andrew will be missed. Cayden texted his mom after getting the picture of the boys together, "Mom I'm going to miss him."
Around 8PM bishop came over and Dad and bishop set Andrew apart. Having his dad set him apart as his stake president, was a huge privilege for both father and son! He was blessed with many things, including a love for the people, good health, the gift of tongues, and to not worry about his family. Because Andrew is so close to us, we were all grateful the Lord recognized that need. Then Andrew spent the next half our giving each member of the family a blessing to start the school year, and for peace. We have had peace. We now, anxiously await hearing from Andrew about all his experiences!

Packing Up

August 5, 2017

Today Andrew did almost all of his packing. He watched a video on missionary packing. His goal was to fit everything in one suitcase and one carry-on. As long as his suitcase doesn’t weigh over 50 pounds it looks like he accomplished his goal. His method includes packing shirts on hangers, and layering them with pants and ties and then folding the whole bundle into the middle. Then, his stuff that would go in a drawer was packed into a packing cube. He doesn’t want to take anything he doesn’t need. So for the next two years (or until he writes and asks for something), his belongs include: an alarm clock, a tracting bag with scriptures, preach my gospel, missionary books, passport and wallet. His clothes include: 2 suits, 4 pair of pants, 10 white shirts (2 long, 8 short sleeve), socks, 2 pair of shoes, 2 pair of jeans, 4 athletic shorts, and 5 P-day shirts. He purchased his bike so it will be ready when he arrives.

He is striving diligently to finish the Book of Mormon again before entering the Mexico MTC. His excitement is contagious. As a family, we loved spending time talking with Andrew about what he needs, and the joy that is coming through this experience.