1/2/12
2012! OUR LAST NEW YEAR
I am glad to hear everyone has
gotten back safely. Except Nate, who is going mountain man with eye
glasses in Tegucigalpa, Nicaragua. I can imagine he will have quite the
beard afterwards. Costa Rica! What an adventure. Greta, I
have only been sunburned once on my mission. That was like 6 months ago, and to
be honest haven't used sunscreen much. You don't need it in the winter,
but I will next summer. For Christmas and New Years it was a perfect 75
degrees, blue skies, and I have nothing to complain about. I don't notice
the humidity at all. Mom, I LOVE the clippers. It was much needed.
I actually give myself haircuts, but was using a used old pair in timuquana.
I was excited to get a new set!
This week was excellent. We
had 3 people at church. 2 of them were new, Pam and Jason.
They are both in the military. The ward here
is pretty close to our ward in GJ, just thinned out on the numbers wise.
It is very well off and lots of wonderful families. They welcome our
investigators very well. I love seeing the Doctrine of Christ take root
into another's life. I have more fully appreciated it in my own life this
last week.
Love,
Elder Gebhard
Happy Birthday Grant, Annelisa, and
Momma! Howdy yall! Another great week in Fleming Island,
FL. We had only one cold day this week. Still wearing short
sleeves. We ran 4X in the mornings this week. That actually was
pretty cold thinking back on it. We run are the FI High School
track. Its really nice, but weird when we cross paths with high schoolers
on their way to school.
Steve has set a baptismal date!!! January 21st is the day. He is so excited. He invited all his daughters, their kids, and his own wife and kid. They should all be there. Brother Pye is baptizing him. It is a treat being able to hear his testimony. We did service for him Saturday. We watched a member fix his power steering pump. I learned a bit about cars from that. I have a lot to learn before I grow up!
Miracle for the week: Remember Pam and Jason who came to church last Sunday? We taught her twice this week and told her about the other members who work at NAS Jax hospital. Well she found Bro Pierson and introduced herself. When we randomly showed up to the Piersons, they told us that, and they said they want to have her over this week for dinner, and sit with her at church! It was fantastic. They sat with her at church and had her over for dinner yesterday. To keep the miracles coming, Pamela got up in Sacrament meeting and bore her testimony! She shared how welcome everyone made her feel and that she "will be coming to this church for a while." We found out that she is only 19 which surprised us. They don't have any furniture in the house, so we asked around and have come up with a queen bed, box spring, and frame, couch, and dining room set. What a miracle.
Small world story: We visited Sister Ayers this week. Turns out she lived in Fruita, CO for 27 years! Her brother is still there! His name is Brother Gifford. It was neat reminiscing a bit about the Grand Valley. We are preparing Sister Ayers for the temple. The Lord sends his servants exactly where he needs them. She is so fantastic and has recently taken up painting. She gave both me and Elder Fergus a painting of hers. Mine is of a dark ocean storm crashing on the rocks and Elder Fergus is of a zebra.
This preparation day we are going to Lake Asburry and playing frisbee golf at Ronny VanZant Park, which was created by the Lynard Skynard the band. That band was actually founded and grew up right in my area on College Rd. They knew our bishop on a nickname basis. Pretty neat. I really am enjoying this area, this companion, and this Work.
1/9/12
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY!!
Steve has set a baptismal date!!! January 21st is the day. He is so excited. He invited all his daughters, their kids, and his own wife and kid. They should all be there. Brother Pye is baptizing him. It is a treat being able to hear his testimony. We did service for him Saturday. We watched a member fix his power steering pump. I learned a bit about cars from that. I have a lot to learn before I grow up!
Miracle for the week: Remember Pam and Jason who came to church last Sunday? We taught her twice this week and told her about the other members who work at NAS Jax hospital. Well she found Bro Pierson and introduced herself. When we randomly showed up to the Piersons, they told us that, and they said they want to have her over this week for dinner, and sit with her at church! It was fantastic. They sat with her at church and had her over for dinner yesterday. To keep the miracles coming, Pamela got up in Sacrament meeting and bore her testimony! She shared how welcome everyone made her feel and that she "will be coming to this church for a while." We found out that she is only 19 which surprised us. They don't have any furniture in the house, so we asked around and have come up with a queen bed, box spring, and frame, couch, and dining room set. What a miracle.
Small world story: We visited Sister Ayers this week. Turns out she lived in Fruita, CO for 27 years! Her brother is still there! His name is Brother Gifford. It was neat reminiscing a bit about the Grand Valley. We are preparing Sister Ayers for the temple. The Lord sends his servants exactly where he needs them. She is so fantastic and has recently taken up painting. She gave both me and Elder Fergus a painting of hers. Mine is of a dark ocean storm crashing on the rocks and Elder Fergus is of a zebra.
This preparation day we are going to Lake Asburry and playing frisbee golf at Ronny VanZant Park, which was created by the Lynard Skynard the band. That band was actually founded and grew up right in my area on College Rd. They knew our bishop on a nickname basis. Pretty neat. I really am enjoying this area, this companion, and this Work.
1/16/12
YOGA CATS
I am so happy to be able to do
kitten back bends now that Megan's wonderful yoga cats calendar is now in my
possession! Thank you for the package. It was well
received by the whole apartment! Swedish Almond Cakes tastes even better
than I remember it.
This week was full of great
events. Steve is still set for 21st. He is so strong already and is
inviting everyone to his baptism. Much of his family will be there.
We have a dinner with the Morris family (skype family from Christmas) and another
family in the ward for Friday. We hope they will accept a return appt to
learn even more. They love us nontheless so we will still be keeping in
touch. Pamela and Jason came to ALL of church yesterday. They are
really progressing well and being welcomed into the ward. We have found
some furniture for them and that has softened their hearts a lot. Also,
the Piersons in the ward are the best missionaries ever and threw a lil'
birthday party for Elder Fergus. They invited Pam and Jason and one of
their neighbors too. That was a blast last night. We are playing
frisbee golf today at Ronny Van Zant Park and Jason is coming to play with
us. We have a lesson with them at the Piersons on Wednesday and are
delivering some more donated furniture on Tuesday. Everyone in the ward
wants to share their testimonies with them!
Happy MLK Jr Day! Everyone here loves the Broncos
and were sad of the defeat. Love you!
1/23/12
STEVE JOHNSON BAPTISM
Hello family!
Word on the street is that Grandma
hasn't been going to church for the last month. Some one needs to get in
there and pull her away from her Utah Jazz games! haha. just
kidding.
I'll get straight to the highlight
of the week: Steve’s baptism. He is so prepared, he has endured
much opposition from friends, family, and health, but he was baptized and
confirmed and is ready to rock and roll! He had 11 nonmember family
members who were all so nice and from all around Jacksonville. We had a
great showing from the ward and the Spirit was so strong. Relief Society
provided refreshment, which I munch on the leftovers every morning now ;)
Steve is a truly converted man. He is on fire and so strong.
He took this road alone in his family, but I know his Mom was on the
other side of the veil with him every step of the way. This gospel unites
families
Yesterday, we went
over to the Walton's for a dinner with the Morris family. They
fellowshipped really well and will be great friends. Our lesson focused
on christian charity, but we navigated to our unique message of the
restoration. They knew a bit already. When bro Morris was in high
school, missionaries wrestled with their high school team and had given him a
Book of Mormon. Crazy story. There are obvious divine preparations
in their life, but they still need a bit more before they will be ready to
read, ponder, and pray and become converted to this gospel. they are so
wonderful and have great testimonies of Christ. One thing that stood out:
Bro Morris said that just since meeting with us, he was reflected
and recommitted more of his life to God and has reached a better
understanding of his goals for his faith and family. What a fruit of the
Spirit! We will continue to see them, but they just aren't quite
investigating yet!
We found a new gator,
Scott. Before our lesson, he read all the restoration pamphlet and looked
up all the scriptures! He has some crucial questions about coming to know
if this is true. It was hard to answer them, but we hope he will have
some of them answered when we meet on Tuesday as he has read the Book of
Mormon. He has a beautiful family. He is a very sincere seeker of
truth, but is confused now. We have been praying for families daily and
as a result have been led to them. it is neat teaching people that live
in the suburbs instead of in Timuquana and on 103rd. There are way more
"happy" families with christian faith. TQ had so many broken
families. I have heard A LOT of bad things about the TQ area from every
one I meet here. They always say that's the bad part of Jacksonville.
Luckily we had to be inside at 9 ;)
Well that is about all
for this week. This transfer has just flown by. I love serving the Lord
every day. Exercising faith, Repenting and becoming a better person,
friend, and leader, committing to God worthy goals I have for myself and renew
my covenants, and feeling the holy ghost is more abundance than ever before!
The 74 degree weather has helped :) Hooray for an unusually warm
winter. I have been quite enjoying myself.
Also, if any cousin would like to
hear from me, send me their emails and I can attach them to the group email.
Love,
Elder Gebhard
