Star Wars? In the Church?

Hey how are you all doing this wonderful Wednesday mid-week P-day? it's been a good week, long, (yeesh 10 days until a P day) But satisfying and some good things have happened. First off, new mission President! President Anderson is a fantastic man. He will probably be a General Authority some day. Much different than President Pfile but will have great plans and direction for the mission. He's already made one great change, we are to lose the term Greenie. It makes a lot of sense, that both a missionary who's been out 3 weeks, and one who's been out 23 months have the same capacity and ability to receive revelation, and Greenie is simply a disparaging label. All it does is says "you are a nobody right now" which is wrong. So that will help the new missionaries coming out for sure!

Also it was the 4th of July in addition to Canada day this week. I put out my 3' by 5' Canadian Flag on a flagpole for the day, and we sang O Canada! In district meeting. We also sang the Star Spangled Banner, but I suppose it was a good compromise. One disappointment was I got back from District meeting and my flag was gone. Someone took it. Ya...A little sad, and I still haven't gotten it back yet though I expect it will be on one of the floats for the Pioneer Days celebration/riot that will occur here in a bit. When the town swells from 800 people to 8000 people for a 3 day party. I'm looking forward to it. I feel bad making this comparison, but all I can compare it to is Mardi Gras, but It will be much more sanitized. I guess the missionaries get to be in the parade! I've always wanted to be in a Parade...

We also got our portable DVD players this week. They are cool! there is a whole list of guidelines on them so that missionaries aren't dumb, but already being able to watch the Preach my Gospel DVD's has been a great source of revelation. They are pretty cool, my only complaint is that watching them before a mission is a bit...disheartening I guess. I remember watching them the day before I got in the MTC and it made a mission look so boring. Missions are hard and stuff, but they are also a ton of fun, and the DVD's really didn't showcase that part of it. I guess we don't go out here to have fun, but it makes you look forward to it more, at least.

Not a ton has happened this week in the line of finding/teaching. We did pick up a new investigator though, and he is sweet. Read the book of Mormon a couple of times, but nobody had told him to pray about it. He's a college professor with 4 masters degrees and teaches up in Colorado Springs during the week and commutes down here on weekends. Really smart and very close to baptism. We just need to help him get his answer. Loves the church and everything about it, loves the Book of Mormon too. His comment on church was "outstanding" and he loves that we share our testimonies and have the kids in the church with us, however noisy they may be. So that was a MIRACLE

It's been hard with one other of our investigators, been trying to meet with him but he literally works from 6 am to 10 pm and that makes it hard to meet with him. But still we have things looking up in this area, but not a lot has been going on but things will start happening pretty quick. I got a feeling. That this weeks gonna be a good week. That this weeks gonna be a good good week.

Also, open up your July 2011 Ensigns to page 20. There is a picture of a guy sitting on a park bench with a laptop computer. On that laptop is a sticker...A shiny Rebel Alliance logo sticker. When I saw that I just about flipped my lid, Star Wars has officially made it in the ensign. I saw Indiana Jones in an older one, it had a picture of Petra (that city that was carved out from the rock) in it. But ya, that made my day.

Well, studying a lot this week in 4 Nephi. Man those people were doing so good, they had the spirit, no contention, they were happy, and then was happened? BAM prideful. It's scary stuff because that same thing that happened to them could easily happen to us. The description can easily be applied to our day. And then those pesky Gadianton Robbers show up again. It talks about how they did "traffic in all manner of traffic" and I look at that like the drug traffic coming from the gangs. See it's when you liken the scriptures that cool things come out.

Also, we branded some cows this morning. That was pretty sweet, I got to do one of them and it smelled so bad like burning hair and grossness. I stepped in a few cow pies as well. But it was all fun and games. Now all I have to do is milk a cow and i'll have completed my checklist of things to do whilst in the country.

Well, love ya! Bye!

Elder Gibb