"The Midnight Graves" - Mail!!! - "The Trio" Studies - Elder Gibby!!!

I officially am one of the old people here! I have one more week and I don't think I've ever been more excited in my whole life! Yesterday we got our travel plans and since I'm in charge of checking the mail, I made my whole district wait to open them an extra hour just to bug them, because they knew our flight plans were coming ;) They still love me though... My district is the best! We have so much fun together and have grown SO close. It is amazing how close you can get with people when you share your testimony with them everyday.

So on another note, in honor of our awesome friend Elder White/Blanco, who is now in Mexico, everybody is trying to make "the next great drink" like "the Blanco". Well I think that I have won this easily. People here call it "The Midnight Graves. It tastes pretty amazing too!

 

Yeah it's incredible, and I will admit there is soda in it, but not that much!! 

I want to share some thoughts about my family today. Each of them write me as often as they can. I don't think they realize how appreciated it is to hear from them. While you spend every waking moment with them for 18 years you don't  really realize what it would be like not to be able to turn to one of them to talk to. But now I realize how important they are to my life.

My Dad has been especially diligent in writing to me. I have been here for 1 month and 1 day and I have received more than 30 email/dear elders/letters from him. I am so glad that he cares about me so much. I really do miss him, and wish I could have some time again with him to express how much I care about him. 

Sorry I am jumping around so much, but I forgot to mention this earlier. We are leaving in the morning of an undisclosed date and will arrive in Buenos Aires Argentina exactly 22 hours later. (Lots of layovers) and then we have a 13 hour bus ride to Posadas Argentina.... Yeah. Haha but I'm so pumped and ready to go!

 

 

Here is us celebrating that I got a package!

(Yeah, it's a big deal here)

So we have had the opportunity to teach I think 6 people while we have been here and it has truly been a humbling experience to teach them. Often times when people teach lessons in Sunday school or other classes at church, we tend to get into the deep and complicated doctrine. While this is not a bad thing, at times it can be difficult to understand and bring the spirit as effectively. I know when I have taught lessons in English in the past I have been guilty of over complicating things. Naturally we want to express everything we know as we teach. I find myself wishing I could do this while teaching my investigators, but get caught and have to teach more simply because I only know the more simple vocabulary. I want to testify that these simple and pure testimonies that I bear here are far more powerful than anything I could ever try to do in Spanish. There is something about the level of effort that goes into bearing a testimony in a foreign language that makes it that much more true and spiritual.

 

This is a picture of "The Trio" hard at work preparing for a lesson with one of the investigators who agreed to baptism! (We know that this one is not a real investigator though unfortunately, although some of them are). We love studying in random varieties of places!

​I have heard many people here say that they want to get out of here once their last week roles around. I know that because I have put my full effort into my MTC experience I truly wish I could stay longer, while at the same time wishing that I could go to Argentina right now. A mission is the best thing possible for me right now and I'm so grateful for this opportunity.

 

Something I write at the end of every journal entry is "I Love This Gospel." For me this is so true. I love the commandments that truly give us freedom. I love the doctrine that guides us in this life. I love the example of Christ that I constantly try to follow and I love the plan that allows me to live with Him and my family again.

Again thank you for reading, and thank you for all your support.

 

Love you all,

Elder Graves

P.S. I love this gospel

 

Hey look I found Gibby!... I mean Elder Gibby.