Merry Christmas!

Christmas Zone Conference Party--two zones combined.

(Nathan's wearing the bright green tie in the front row.)

 

Nathan's zone (look for the green tie!)

 

  

Nathan's district

 

With the Gallego Family

 

With his companions

 

From our Christmas Day skype with Nathan!

 

 

Don't worry about the whole birthday thing, I totally forgot too. The hour passed really, really fast. I felt like we talked for about 10 minutes, I looked at the time and saw that half an hour had passed by already. It was really weird. But it was so great to see you all! I didn't think that so many people would be there. But it was so good to see everyone. Sorry that there were a few interruptions and that the time was so short, but president said 1 hour, I have to be obedient.

This week has been a bit more difficult, being the Christmas season and all. Not many people want to talk to us. Hopefully things can pick up this week. We had a whole lot of lessons fall through, and we spent a whole lot of time walking around. But hey, it's helping me to lose that belly that you guys saw, so it's alright. But we did see a miracle this week. The family of our ward mission leader aren't members, but they've now received all of the lessons and really want to get baptized, but they live in the infamous union libre. And it's going to cost them about 500,000 pesos to get married, which is hard because they're really in debt. But we went and taught about faith and miracles, and said that if they'll do everything possible, the Lord will make up the difference. Later in the week, the man went to the bank to go pay one of his debts, which was about 150,000 pesos, and when he got there, they told him the debt was only 30,000 pesos. That´s probably one of the most incredible miracles I've seen. I really know that if we are willing to do everything possible, even if the task seems impossible, the Lord will make up the difference. In Ether 12, I think it's verse 6, it says that if there's not faith among men, God can't work any miracles. But if there's faith, that means He can and will help us. That applies to every part of our lives. As we demonstrate our faith through our actions, the Lord will provide the  miracles according to His will.

And Dad, there's a video that I saw that I want the priests of our ward to see. As I watched it I thought of them. I don´t know if it´ll help with their difficulties, but it could. It's called The Atonement and Missionary Work. It starts with a talk from President Eyring and then a talk from Elder Holland. It's really great, President Eyring is talking about being diligent, learning and doing your priesthood duty. It's a really powerful video. Speaking of the priests, are there any that have started to fill out mission papers?

I think that's all of my news for this week. We will see how this week goes with the new year and all of that. We probably won't do anything for my birthday, I might get a call from President Gallego, I don't know. It'll probably just be a normal work day. But we'll see. This year has passed by so quickly, I remember clearly my last birthday. I don't know where the time´s gone. At this rate, I´ll be back home in no time! I love you all, I hope that you all have a great week and a great new year! See you all in 2017! Love you!

Christmas!

My old house, which is still technically mine even though I don't live there.

My big suitcase with some stuff is still there, even though the majority

is here in the other area.

 

Sorry that it's not great, but this is us in our outfits for the sketch. It's funny,

Elder Martinez looks like he's in his late 20s or early 30s, but he's really only 19,

only about 2 months older than me, and Elder Menacho is 20.

Also on Saturday we did a service project. This is me and Elder Menacho.

This is the view from the balcony of my house; it's really pretty.

Wow, what an interesting week. I had to laugh, because later Monday night, just a few hours after emailing you all about how much I love my new area and all that, we got a call from our zone leaders, district leader, and one of the assistants at the exact same time. We are in a ward here in Garupal, Valledupar. There are two sets of missionaries--my companion and I, and our district leader and his companion. This call on Monday night changed that. We had an emergency transfer late that night. All of Valledupar is a zone, and one of the missionaries in another district had to go home for an injury. Our district leader's companion got transfered to that area, and now we are in a trio with the district leader, and we live in his house. It's been a bit difficult, because we still have to cover both of the areas. But we are working it out. So now I'm in a trio with Elder Martinez and Elder Menacho, from Peru. So now I've had a Bolivian, 2 Peruvians, and an Ecuadorian.

 

Other than that stress, this week has been pretty normal. Our ward mission leader is really funny. He's a returned missionary who really knows his stuff. He's a great help to us. With some of the new ward missionaries, we did a skit at the ward Christmas party on Thursday. It was a comical reenactment of the story of Nephi and his brothers going for the plates. We did a modern version, it was really funny. Everyone was dying of laughter. And of course they had me be Nephi, I don't know why. It's better than before, in the skit we planned before I was going to be Santa. It was interesting. We did a service project with the ward this Saturday, cleaning up a park around here. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot done. But there's definitely a stereotype of Americans here in Colombia. They think that I'm pretty average when it comes to height, and they think that we don't know how to work. Or that we don't like working with our hands. For example (it was a joke), but it was pretty obvious in something the bishop said. I squatted down to pick up some leaves to throw away, and he said, "look at the American using his hands!" It was a joke, and it was pretty funny the way he said it, but there's definitely a stereotype.

 

We ate pizza today!!! It was even Dominos!! It was really good, though it wasn't quite the same.

 

This week should be really fun. On Thursday we get to go to Santa Marta (about 2 or 3 hours in a bus), for our Christmas Conference, where we get to spend the day with President Gallego and do Christmasy things I guess. I don't konw what to expect. But it should be really fun, even if we don't get the chance to work at all that day.

 

I can't believe that Sunday is Christmas! I love Christmas, I get so excited! I have no clue if any of the packages have arrived to the mission office yet. If I don't get them on Thursday, I probably won't get them before Christmas, but that's ok, I'll still be excited for them.

 

Other than that, the work here is still going a bit slowly, but it's starting to pick up. I'm excited to keep seeing the area grow, that's really one of the greatest blessings. There's not really much like it.

But yeah, I think that's about all the news for this week. I'll be suprised if we get to work a lot next week, what with all the parties that'll be happening here. The Colombians really love to party, it's nuts. It's very loud, because it seems like every other house has these huge speakers that probably cost a fortune. (Though I've noticed that technology is super cheap here, I've heard that a bunch of missionaries buy iphones and stuff right before going home because it's super cheap). But still, the music is super loud, I can shout at full voice and my companion by my side can't hear me, it's ridiculous. I don't know how they still have their hearing, because they'll literally sit 2 feet from this speaker all day. But I digress....

 

I love you all, I think of you often, and I can't wait to talk to you on Sunday! We'll be doing it at about 3 my time, about 1 up there, I hope it works out. You're all in my prayers, and I hope you all have a great week leading up to Christmas!

Transfer!

Hi, how are all of you? I hope you all had a great week. I enjoyed mine, it was pretty great. A normal week for a missionary. So tell me a bit about your week.... Just kidding. Sorry, I've been wanting to do that all week, I couldn't resist. And now, for the big announcement.... I'm in Valledupar, pretty much the area farthest away in all the mission. 6 hours in a bus... More like 5, but still, long. But it's sooooo pretty here. There are beautiful mountains in the distance, it's a bit cooler, lots of wind (which reminds me of home). And it's very green. It's probably the prettiest place in the mission. It's definitely the coolest (not saying much, but that's how it is). My compañon is called Elder Martinez, from Ecuador. He's only a bit older than I am, he turned 19 the beginning of December, but he's already been here almost a year. He's pretty great, he loves to laugh, which I appreciate a lot. I enjoy working with Elder Martinez. He was actually in my first zone in my first transfer. Our house here is really great, it's pretty big and comfortable. I really love it here, even if it's hard to walk and I've rolled my ankle a few times. There are many streets that are just rocks, it makes it a bit hard to walk, but it always stops hurting after a few minutes, so no problem there.

 

But yeah, this week has basically consisted of coming here to Valledupar and adjusting to the new area. The work is going pretty slowly, but Elder Martinez and I have some plans for this next week to change all of that. It's hard, because we are pretty low on materials, but for now we are getting along.

 

And wow, I totally forgot that Solomon was coming home soon. I can't believe that it's already been 2 years. The time really flies. I hope that he's adjusting, I can understand how that would be hard. Life really changes here in the mission, I can't imagine having to adjust. Luckily, I've got a bit of time before that happens.

 

Thank you all for writing me, I love you all and hope you have a great week, and that you can all feel the Christmas spirit, because you all now have less than 2 weeks! I love you! Sorry for the lack of pictures, I haven't had time yet to take many. Ciao!

A Baptism! And Transfers...?

The baptism of G_____ and B_____!

Me today in front of some statue in Barranquilla. I have no idea who it is,

but I thought it looked impressive. They later told me that it wasn't very smart,

because it's a dangerous place in Barranquilla, but I still have all of my things,

 even though I got a lot of weird looks.

 

 

Like the email says, today we have transfers, but I'm not going to know who stays and who goes until 7 or 8 tonight. Right now, it seems like I'm going to be leaving. Presidente Gallego called Elder Lezano today and said that he's going to be training again. It'd be uncommon for him to leave and open another area with a new missionary (even though that's exactly what Elder Troche did with me). So right now we are expecting that I'll go, which will be difficult. I really love this area, but if I go, I'm also excited for a new adventure. Next week will see where I am.

 

But I guess I haven't explained exactly what salchipapas are. Let me just say that they are AMAZING and I know that everyone in the USA would love them even if they're incredibly unhealthy. What they are is a type of sausage (called a salchicha, similar to chorizo), that they slice up and fry just a little bit. That's the bottom layer. Then they layer a ton of french fries, cheese, lettuce, sometimes other meat like beef or chicken or pork, and with three different sauces: pineapple, mostanza (mayonnaise and mustard mixed together, super delicious), and rosa (essentially fry sauce). It sounds super weird, I know, but it's really really good. I'll figure out how to make it and bring it to the US.

 

But yes, G_____ and B_____ finally got baptized!!! Just in time for transfers. We had members planned to baptize them both, but one of them showed up late, so as you can see, I got to baptize one of them (because I was more or less prepared with my temple pants). I baptized G_____, it was really special. They are both so prepared. They're going to be great members of the Church.

 

I'm so excited for Christmas!!! Everyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love Chrsitmas, it's my favorite time of year. If I'm still in the Barranquilla area, we are going to have our Christmas zone conference party on the 14th. If I'm in Cartagena, it'll be the 20th, the 24th for Santa Marta. It all depends on where I am, but it'll be great wherever it is. It's so weird to think that pretty soon I'll only have one more Christmas in the mission, really the time passes super fast. I have no idea how I've already finished my training (I finished yesterday). It's so weird to think that I'm not a new missionary anymore, I'm normal.

 

But this week has been interesting. I've barely been able to work, due to an experience on Friday and Saturday. We got our money at the ATM this Thursday, and everything seemed fine. But I tried to pay for some oranges on Friday, and they wouldn't accept it, they said that it was fake. We checked, and sure enough, it was fake. It was a 50,000 bill (a bit less than $20, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it is when we get less than $90 every 15 days). We checked and learned that my district leader, Elder Sanchez, also had a fake bill, and the two bills had the same serial number. So we called the number on the ATM, and they said that we had to go to a Bancolombia office to sort it out, the nearest one was basically 2 hours away. So we got to spend a lot of our day Saturday doing that. A whole lot of money spent and time wasted to do that. But that's how it is.

 

Other than that, the week was pretty normal, though we had a training on Tuesday. I think that's about all for this week. Thanks for all the pictures and the information you sent, I always love to hear and see what's going on in MH. Thanks Dad for setting up the Skype for Christmas, I'm super excited to be able to talk with you guys. I'm going to be counting down the days. I love you all, I hope that you all have a great week, and that you're all able to feel the Christmas Spirit! Even though I'm constantly dying of heat and forget that it's almost Chrsitmas, I love it here, and still love the feeling of Christmas. I love you!

Fifty Years in Colombia

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and that Mom had a good birthday! To be honest, I completely forgot that it was Thanksgiving. I was sitting, eating lunch in one of the members houses, and they had the radio on. And suddenly she started talking to me and saying, "Today is a holiday in the USA right?" And I realized then that it was Thanksgiving. So no, I can't say that I ate anything special on Thanksgiving, but on Saturday I got to eat salchipapas again, so that kind of made up for it. I personally think that's better than what Elder Rollins told me that he did. He told me that they went to McDonalds and ate a Big Mac with a McFlurry. I'll take salchipapas any day over that. Speaking of salchipapas, my joke with the Colombians here is that if I'm ever poor when I come home, I'm going to starting making and selling salchipapas for a living, because they're amazing and I know that Americans would love them. I told that to the 2 elders that are in our Branch, Elder Sanchez (the district leader) and Elder Gilt (who's younger in the mission than I am), and Elder Sanchez came up with a name for my future restaurant: SalchiGibbons. They all think that's hilarious, and now I have a plan should my current plans fall through.

 

But as for this week, it was a bit different. We had interviews with President Gallego on Wednesday in Barranquilla, which kind of ruined any work that we might have wanted to do that day. But it was alright. And on Saturday we did an activity for the Branch (which Mom read about. Basically, to celebrate the church being in Colombia for 50 years, they asked all of the wards and branches to do an activity out of the chapel and open to the public.). We set up tables outside of the building that's going to be our new house-chapel and we had pamphlets of family history, Liahonas, and stuff like that. It was really cool, because the missionaries here started to do all of the contacting and stuff to share the pamphlets, to encourage the members to start. But after about half an hour, the members were doing almost everything! They were handing out Liahonas and pamphlets, finding references for us, it was incredible! Really the members want to help, they just need some encouragement and an example to follow. But that and the interviews of G_____ and B_____ took up our entire day on Saturday. But they both passed, they're going to be baptized this Saturday, just in time for the next transfers! Which are next Monday. So we will both get to be here for it at least.

 

And I can't say that we didn't get to do any work on Saturday. We ate the salchipapas (see above) in Palmar, which is the area of the other elders that's literally 4 minutes from Santo Tomas. But they weren't quite ready, so we went out and did some contacting. I ended up being with Elder Sanchez, and the very last house we contacted was incredible. We had to wait for some young girls to find their mom to talk to us. When she came out, she was a bit confused (my Spanish....), but kept listening. And Elder Sanchez was inspired to say that she might be passing through problems in her family, and this gospel that we preach can help her to overcome these problems. She started to cry and said "Not 5 minutes ago I was saying 'why me God? Please show me the path, please guide me where I need to go', and then my daughter said 'someone's outside wanting to talk to you'" This was really a testimony to me that the Lord guides us to those who he wants us to talk to. But we have to work. We probably contacted a good 10 people before we found her. We have to keep trying, even if it's discouraging, because the Lord will guide us to those who need our help.

 

But I think that's everything from me this week. I didn't end up going to Barranquilla to find super cheap jerseys yet, we are hoping next Monday. We will see. And don't worry Mom, I'm not going hungry. I always keep a bit of personal money in reserve to use in an emergency, and the members who feed us do it really well. I love you all so much, you're all in my thoughts, and I hope that you have a great week! Try to remember the Spirit of Christmas, and the real reason of Christmas! Love you all!

One More Delay...

We went to a tiny zoo before playing soccer today, and I made friends with a monkey.

 He's grabbing my fingers.

 

 

 

 

Elder Lezano and I standing outside the stadium where Junior

(the local favorite team) plays.

 

 

Hello everyone, how are you? I hope that everything's going well. It sounds like you've all had a pretty great week. I'm glad that Dad and Kate made it home safely last night, and that they enjoyed their time there. Really I regret not making the time to go before my mission, it would have been something really great. But there's still time after I guess. I don't know what's going to happen for Thanksgiving, I don't think it's something that's really celebrated here. We will see what happens. I hope we can have something special. But right now we are a little short on money and we still have 9 days before we get more, so I don't know. 

 

G_____ and B_____ weren't able  to get married this week, but not due to any fault on their part. B_____ had to travel to a town nearby to request her birth certificate, and apparently it's protocol that they have to wait 6 days. So they're going to get married this Thursday, and I think they've asked us to be their 2 witnesses. we will see. We at least plan to be there for it. That means they're going to have their interview on Saturday, and get baptized next Saturday.

 

Other than that, this week was pretty normal. I've had good days, days that are more difficult. But every day I'm able to grow and improve a little bit more. I still get frustrated with myself sometimes, even though I don't want to. But every day it's a bit easier to push on despite the frustration.

 

But yeah, everyone calls Elder Rollins my bigger twin. He has about or 8 months in the mission and already is a district leader. Everyone thinks that he and I look really similar.

 

As for the clothes, I think everything's pretty good. Though I haven't really worn my light gray pants since the CCM, because I think they're a little bit too light for the mission. I've decided I'll come home with those pants, and they'll look nice and new, which I can't really say for my other stuff. It's annoying, for some reason the pockets on my shirts always seem really dirty. I have no idea why, but it's not really a problem. The black socks really are better, but only because they're thicker and thus more comfortable. Maybe more of those if you haven't sent the Christmas package. I don't know.

 

I'm really excited to get that talk from Grandpa, it should be really great. I haven't gotten any of Sister Eagley's letters yet, I don't know why. I got a package from Breje too, but so far only those two things.

 

As for my Spanish, my companion and the other elders in our branch say that I have the best Spanish of all the newer North Americans. I don't know how true that is, I think it's just because I make the effort to not sound like a gringo. But it always makes me feel better.

 

I think that's everything for this week. I love you all very much, I hope you all have a great week. I miss you all very much, but I'm also very happy to be here in Colombia. Really, the time flies, I'll be back before you know it. I'm excited to see you all for Christmas! (As for that, can you either email me my information for skype or make an account for me and send that information? I really can't remember anything.) They've told us that we can talk for 1 hour on the 24th or the 25th.

 

And Mom, have a great birthday this Sunday, I was really hoping that it would be on a Monday, but I guess not. Happy Birthday in advance, I'm excited to talk more about it next week. I love you all very much!

 

The Gospel Can Change Lives

 Zone soccer p-day (Nathan is the blond one on the left--hard to tell in these pictures)

As you can now see, I've found my twin in my zone. His name is Elder Rollins,

from Montana. The zone says that he's my more muscular twin.

To me, he looks more like Jalen.

 

My first baptism! It wasn't ours, it was the other two elders--Sanchez and Gilt.

 They're in the town next to ours, called Palmar. But G_____ and B_____ attended;

they're the two older people to the left.

Elders Gilt, Lezano, Gibbons, and Sanchez

 

Another typical dinner

 

 

I can't believe that I'm already 3/4 of the way done with my training. It's so weird. I only got here a few days ago. But suddenly I'm realizing that I can more or less understand what the people are saying, I'm able to focus more when they speak and I'm slowly able to teach better. Which means that maybe I can talk for 10 minutes rather than 2. Far, far from perfect, or even decent, but that's just how it is. Sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I could be helping more, but I can't. It's been a bit difficult, but I'm learning more than ever to have patience with myself and my companion. He's really great, but he's obviously not perfect. But that's ok, I can't expect perfection from him, any more than he can from me.

 

As for G_____ and B_____, we had an interesting surprise there. I think last week I talked about how they always say that they're living in union libre, but when you ask they say they've gone to the notary and signed and everything. So we've always taken that to mean that yes, they're married. (As we know, we can't baptize people who are living together but aren't married). So this Saturday, we went over in the afternoon to fill out their baptismal record, because their interview was scheduled for that day. One of the requirements here is that they show their Marriage Register. So we asked if we could see theirs, and they once again said that they're not married. They showed us the document, and it's a register of co-existence. Which means that essentially the government recognizes that they've been living in union libre for many years, and if they separate or one of them dies, the other gets their things. It's basically as close as you can get to being married without actually getting married. For that, I've decided to call it the devil's marriage. But I know that this gospel, the message and the spirit that it brings really changes lives. As we talked with them, B_____ told us that G_____ has always thought that that was enough, he never wanted to get married. As we explained that it's a commandment of God and a requirement for baptism, they said "Ok, no problem. We can do it this week." It's incredible to see the changes that have come in them. I've really seen this hope change them. They really are happier, it's something truly incredible. I hope to be able to see that often. I'm really convinced that in 2 or 3 years, they're going to be temple workers. They're incredible, and the goal now is for the 26th of this month.

 

Everything's going well, we found a young guy named J_____ who's really great too. He attended for the first time yesterday. We are excited to see where he goes. Other than that, I think everything's pretty normal, we are working hard, the weather is starting to change a bit. Which means that instead of being blazing hot and humid with the sun, there are a few more clouds and sometimes a breeze. But after weeks of the first, the breeze feels amazing.

 

I really love it here, the mission is incredible. I know that this gospel can change lives, and that Heavenly Father really can work through each and every one of us, weak as we are. I'm definitely not the greatest missionary or the greatest teacher, but He's still granted me some success and allowed me to find some amazing people. I know that He is willing and able to do the same through the members too, not only the missionaries. The only thing we have to do is be willing to open our mouth and be brave, and trust that He will do the rest.

 

As for Christmas stuff, I don't know. Some Reeses peanut butter cups would definitely be welcome. Maybe a small strand of Cristmas lights to help me feel more festive. And ties, ties are always welcome. I already feel limited with the 10 or so I have. A new journal might be smart too, I still have a bunch of space in the one I have, but who knows when I'll be able to get another package. And maybe some shoe polish, here it isn't quite as good. I don't know, I don't really have time to think of stuff I need. Maybe one or two books on teachings of the prophets that they use in Priesthood. This year is President Hunter, and next year would be good to have in English. I don't know, just ideas.

 

I love you all so much, I hope that you're all doing well, and that you can all feel the spirit of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and missionary work! All three of these things are some of the greatest blessings we can possibly receive!