Letter Home, After Arriving in Mission

Here is a letter mailed from Elder Gibbons upon his arrival in The Great California San Fernando Mission! It was received 9/30/2017

A Letter from Sister Henrie - Arrived

Dear Brother and Sister Gibbons,
Elder Gibbons arrived yesterday in the Great California San Fernando Mission.  President Henrie and I are excited he is here.  Elder Gibbons has received his companion and has been assigned to his first area.  All is well.  We look forward to serving with your son as we join with him in the great purpose of inviting others to come unto Christ.
In addition, we would invite you to follow the Great California San Fernando Mission on our Facebook page.  You can find us on Facebook at CASF Mission 2015-2018.  Check in often to see pictures of our mission activities.
Thank you for raising a righteous son who is willing to consecrate himself to serving the Lord.  We will take good care of him.
Love,                                                                                                                                                                              
Sister Henrie

Last leg of his flight from Mexico City to San Francisco. Then from San Fran to Burbank.

Good bye pictures from CCM

Classroom CCM

Classroom CCM

Districto 12-C Los Elderes y Maestra

Another, pose of the Elderes

Elder Costello, Maestra y Elder Gibbons

Elder Gibbons, Maestro y Elder Costello

Elder Thomas, last Sunday in same branch together

Last District Picture before departing for missions

Elder Gibbons with member of Branch Presidency

Elder Gibbons with member of Branch Presidency

Elder Gibbons and Elder Brooks

1 AM after 3 hour nap, it's early and I'm tired...

Pictures of CCM District - Having fun

David Archuleta - Glorioso Oficial (Glorious)

Ultima Semana in CCM

Hola Todo,

  Well this week has been nuts, from trying to get all of our travel plans aligned, to getting packed, to having people in our district kinda lose it, to having an earthquake. But through it all the Lord has been with me and the comforter as well. Let me start with the blessings I've seen that come from being a servant of the Lord. One was protection from the earthquake that according to Maestros y Maestras was a 7.2 magnitude and killed over 250 people. It all started when we were in the Joseph Smith building getting our departure orientation. We were watching a short video when all of a sudden the earthquake alarms went off. At first I thought it was a drill but no more than 2 seconds after that the ground began to go wild. We were able to make it out of the building and into the earthquake circles (see the picture with the big green circle). We turned around to look at the building and all the glass on the front of the building was just shaking like crazy, the cars were moving back and forth, and I thought the building was gonna come down.

  After about 30 seconds, which according to one of the presidency members here is a pretty long earthquake, the ground stop doing the wave. My first thought was someone has to be injured because everything from all the shelves were falling off. Well later we learned that not a single missionary was injured (kinda like the 2000 stripling warriors). What a miracle I know that the Lord was protecting us and watching over us.  About a day after the earthquake we received information from our teachers that the earthquake was a 7.2 and that the epicenter was about 100 miles away. Our teacher who lives right next to the Airport about 10-20 miles away showed us a picture of one of the roads. One half of the road was about 3 feet higher than the other half. So the fact that we didn't have any buildings fall was a miracle and better yet no one was injured or killed. The most amazing thing about this earthquake though was that we had a practice drill no more than 2 hours before a real earthquake.

   It doesn't stop there, during the 15th of September (Mexican Independence day) we were told to stay inside at all times unless it was necessary to go outside. Well, me and my compenero did just that, and the next day we walked out of our dormitory and right there on the front steps was a bullet. Now Mexican Independence is a lot different than our independence because not only do they shoot off fireworks but they shoot guns into the air as well. So had we gone out of our dormitory it could have very well been possible that one of us or another missionary could have been shot.

  Well almost out of time but let me bear testimony to you that I know that this gospel is true. If it wasn't I wouldn't be out here where I am right now. I know that we are conduits for the spirit and that we don't teach people the Holy Ghost does. I wish you all the best and hope you are all doing well.

Con Amor

Elder Gibbons

Earthquakes in CCM

Earthquake #1 Email  9/8/2017
Hi Mom and Dad,
   We were told to email you to let you know that the earthquake did not affect us in any way. However, I guess in the middle of the night the earthquake sirens went off, but me and Elder Costello slept right through a 4.0 earthquake here. There´s no real damage and the epicenter was in Oaxaca Mexico on the coast. We're inland and were not affected, but I guess that down there it was a 8.1 and also a tsunamai. I know that the Lords protecting hand was with us, and I am doing alright. No one is injured and all the missionaries are doing fine. Sorry if that scared you, but just put your trust in the Lord and everything will be OK. It´s kinda weird not being able to know what's happening in the world. It´s kinda nice cause we don´t  have to worry about anything. Love you. Con Amor

Elder Gibbons

Earthquake #2-Email  9/19/2017
Hi Mom and Dad,
We just had another earthquake here (the second one in one week) the epicenter was 100 miles away from us though so everyone is fine. But let me tell you; we were in a meeting at around 1:20 and then the sirens went off and then the ground went nuts. It was like you were trying to walk after being spun around in moms office chair. All the glass on the building was shaking and the cars were also shaking. I´m thankful that the lord protects his missionaries because we could´ve been in the epicenter. No one was hurt and we all went into the green earthquake circles(I´ll send a picture next Thursday) It was a lengthy earthquake and it lasted for about 30 seconds. Were not sure if our flights have been delayed because Hermana Gonzalez showed us a picture of the airport road and one half of the road was about 3 feet higher than the other part. I know the Lord protects us so you don´t have to worry about anything.

Con Amor

Elder Gibbons
P.S. I can mark off: Feeling an earthquake off the bucket list. It was legit!

Sept. 14, CCM Mexico City

Sept. 14, 2017
Hola Everyone
Sorry but this email is going to be real short because I've only got 5 minutes left. But let me tell you one thing that I've learned while I've been out here, "obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings Miracles". Live by this quote in your life and you will begin to see miracles just as I have here. Last week there was an earthquake that could've taken place right here in the CCM but I know that the Lord’s protecting hand was here as we only had a 4.0 earthquake, and no missionaries were killed or even injured. Tomorrow is the independence day of Mexico so we have to be in our dorms after dinner because I guess they celebrate by shooting guns straight up into the air.
I have seen Elder Thomas! I saw him 2 hours after he got in, and guess what? He's in my zone so he is in the same branch as me. I'm super pumped about that, but I'll only be here for another week so I'll only get to see him a couple more times before I head out.
The scripture that has brought the most meaning to me is in Doctrine & Covenants section 31. This is about Thomas Marsh and the things the Lord told him as he sacrificed to serve a mission. This scripture has helped me because of the doctrine in verse 5, “Behold thrust in your sickle and your sins are forgiven you.” I knew as soon as I read that, I really had been forgiven of all my sins through the perfect and endless atonement of Jesus Christ. I invite you all to study verse 2 and know that the Lord is watching over me and you.
Our teaching in TRC went very well. We only had 10 minutes to teach so we broke out a lesson about Enduring to the end (we taught it to a member volunteer). Our feedback was good and I know that most of the stuff I said was because of the Gift of Tongues, there's no way I could say half the stuff I did by myself.  But it reminded me of the blessings that come from being perfectly obedient and one of those blessings that come with that is the gift of tongues.

I love you all and I'm praying for each one of you. Be perfectly obedient and you will see miracles.

Con Amor.
Elder Gibbons

CCM August 31- Sept. 7

¿Que tal?
     Hola everyone, week 4 and the CCM and it just keeps getting better. My language skills have developed considerably and I have grown a lot more confident in my Spanish. Which is good thing because this week on Saturday we are teaching either a Latino member, Latino non active member, or real investigator all of which don't speak a hint of English. I know the Lord will help us and we will receive inspiration from the Holy Ghost. One spiritual experience that happened this week was during our Tuesday evening devotional. In this devotional Dallin H. Oaks was speaking and it was being broadcast from the Provo MTC to the Mexico MTC. Anyways towards the end when Dallin H. Oaks was about to bear his testimony the signal started cutting out. I was bummed out because first of all his talk was about something I needed to work on which is gaining a testimony of the resurrection and second he's an apostle so who wouldn't want to hear his testimony? However I bowed my head, folded my arms, and prayed to God asking that if I'm supposed to hear the words of thine apostles please let the connection be restored and then I closed. It was a simple but humble prayer and not more than a minute later the connection was restored right before he began his testimony. I know I was supposed to hear what the apostle was about to say. Let me bear my testimony about the power of prayer and the will of God. Prayer is real and here in the CCM we pray anywhere from 15-25 times a day and I know that God listens to every single one of them. I know that nothing can stop the work or will of God from progressing. All of these give me great comfort because I know that no matter what happens Gods will be done.

    Some other interesting things that have happened this week Hermana Horton fell during a huge rainstorm here and injured her knee pretty bad, they went to the hospital and got an X-ray and MRI scan done on it she came back really late that night. So she could use a lot of prayers and also Hermana Johnson both of which were worn out after being at the hospital all day. They still can't figure out what’s wrong with the knee. But the should be getting the scan results back soon. Anyways my companion is struggling a little with the language and he's like me a little bit. He gets frustrated when he can't perform as well or better than anyone else. So please, please pray for him. Another cool and interesting fact is that the whole city of Mexico is sinking the temple has a measuring device on how far the temple has sank and its sank about 3 feet since being built. I think it's because it rains so much here and all the water just pools underneath the city. Well I'm almost out of time so I'll wrap it up. Let me just say that an hour is not nearly as long as you think it is. I love everyone and appreciate all the extra prayers, I pray for all the missionaries and all of my family and friends every night. I wish good luck to everyone and hope you have a great week. I didn't take any new pictures this week but I'll send the one that I didn't send last time cause my camera battery ran out. Con Amor.

Elder Gibbons

Childhood Friends Unite in Mexico MTC

Childhood Friends Unite in Mexico MTC

This was a post from Jamison's Mom (Jen Brooks -aka Andrew's babysitter in Memphis) about these two childhood friends. 

• Years ago these two little boys Andrew Gibbons & my son Jamison Brooks became great friends while living in Memphis, TN. As these boys grew both families decided to move to different parts of the country. Gibbons family moved to Utah & Brooks family moved to Florida. After all these years, these two childhood friends have finally been reunited in the Mexico MTC. What an awesome place to meet up. Elder Gibbons called to the San Fernando, CA Mission and Elder Brooks called to the St George, UT Mission, both called to Spanish speaking missions. #FriendsForever, #CalledToServe, #SpanishSpeakingMissions, #StGeorgeUtah, #SanFernandoCalifornia #2017-2019 ,#TheBestTwoYears

CCM Week 2 Thursday August 24-August 31

¡Hola!

Week 2 was even better than week 1 and it went by so much faster. First let me say that I bought four pair of garments from La Tienda and the best part is they're way cheaper here than in the U.S. Here they're only 32 pesos, which is like 2 American dollars (I knew mom would be proud of that). As for not getting them stolen again I put a sticky note with Elder Gibbons DO NOT TAKE. Elder Costello and I thought it was funny that you already contacted his mom and have been talking to Hermana Horton too. The packages are awesome everyone in my dorm says they wish they had a mom like Elder Gibbons because he is always getting the good stuff. Love you mom!

I have put everyone's name on the prayer roll I could think of. Mi Familia, Mis amigos (Caden, Nick, Josh, Soccer Homies), Y anyone I felt impressed to put on the prayer roll. Also let me just say that Nick is going to love his mission! That is the most insane thing, I was celebrating in my dorm and accidentally hit my elbow really hard on the bed frame.

Another funny but awesome experience was at the temple visitor center me and Elder Costello were the first ones out and went to go to the bathroom at the visitor center and the hermana at the front desk was like ''Ohhhh Elderes.'' She shook both our hands and then started speaking extremely fast. This is what it sounded like to us, and I quote, 

''faskldjfhkjashdkfnasdjkfnkjnaskjfnakjlsdnfjahdsfjkansdjkfnasoidujfmdskahfnjkashfpoisadfj'' We just nodded and then said something like, ''Estamos de el CCM.'' She started laughing and then just apologized. But it made me think that people will look up to you when you wear the badge on your chest and for some people you will be their savior. Always remember that you always represent the Savior. You don't have to wear a badge to do so.

This week we started teaching two investigators instead of just one, so our last lesson we gave before P-day was timed. They'll give us scenarios of what can happen when you're teaching investigators and sometimes they'll just say you can only talk for 8 minutes. So we prepared a 15-20 minute lesson and when she told us that we were like... ''Alright,'' so we shaved it down to 2 main points in our lesson bore our testimonies and then closed. Turns out she said it was the best lesson she had heard in 8 minutes because she said that she didn't have any feedback at all. We were pretty pumped about that and kept giving each other random fist bumps.

I didn't know Herman Johnson was recording "In the jungle" song. But I was singing, '' A wimba way'' but not the really high pitched one. Our district is the best we have really in depth conversations about where the second coming is gonna happen, and how Coriantumr and Shiz battled it our until it was just them, muchas cosas. We also created our own character and Elder Farley said that he wants to be a Hawaiian cowboy that rides a horse named Strider and he has a hawk he can talk to and it will go and get him more bullets.

Alright so some crazy stuff that happened this past week. You have to tell Christian about this! I'm at the CCM with Bowen Fuller the guy that was in our EFY group. The one that had a really loud but really cool miniature hair dryer and we made fun of him for it. I took a picture with him and he's got really short hair now. But it was amazing to get to see him and talk with him. He's going to Fresno I'm pretty sure but here's his email if you want to email him (bowen.fuller@myldsmail.net). Also I was able to get to see Elder Brooks as soon as he got into the CCM for orientation which was way cool! He's really tall and I was able to snap a picture with him also. And another weird but cool thing was that I met another Elder Gibbons from Idaho so I'm pretty sure he's related to me somehow I took a picture with him too.

I have memorized so much stuff in just two weeks including the baptismal invitation, missionary purpose, Mark 9:23, Moroni 10: 4-5, The first vision, and how to begin teaching quotes. I'm really blessed to be able to memorize things quickly otherwise I would have a much harder time at the CCM.

Another thing I'm grateful for is not having a girlfriend because Hermana Horton is really struggling a lot and she is having a large amount of anxiety. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but every Wednesday during gym time we do service. Week 1 we cleaned tables, and this week we helped fold laundry sheets and pillowcases. I know it's kinda lame service but I enjoy being able to help others. While we were folding I talked to a Latino that said he had a girlfriend before he came to the CCM and he said it was really difficult for him to leave. He also thought it was cool that I liked spicy chili I'm not sure why?

The other pictures I took were just for fun I'm not sure what that big Hercules is but we thought it was cool. The pictures of the colored houses were on the way to the temple. They said that those people couldn't afford paint so the government just went up and painted their houses. (I'm glad our government doesn't do that). There's also a picture of huge moth that flew into our classroom it was bigger than my hand.

This week I also finished the Book of Mormon, I received a confirmation that it was true because in the celestial room I just prayed and asked God to let me know that this book is true and I was overwhelmed with just warmth. I started sweating but it was a good sweat. I love the scriptures especially the Book Of Mormon. I would challenge everyone to read it again and pray to know why you do the things that you do. I love you all, I love getting the letters from you weekly and can't wait to hear what happens this week.

Until next week
Con Amor,
Elder Gibbons