Merry Christmas!

Hey guess what . . . today is my mission birthday! Okay it is more that I have no idea where the last month went. I really thought I was just having my year mark but now I'm past it! For this past week I've been on a threesome and it has been hell, but in a good way. Elder Richards finished his mission but was sent home before transfers so that he could be home for Christmas so his companion is with us until this Wednesday when he gets a new companion. It has been crazy to try and cover the two areas. Just makes me feel like we haven't given the people the attention they deserve. Especially with the whole Spirit of Christmas just filling up the air. I'm glad that this year since there isn't an election that there was a way better feeling about the whole Christmas season. It seemed to have exploded this past week. Though still haven't seen too many decorations on homes. I guess they don't really do that at all here.

Anyway this week was pretty fun. We stayed busy the whole time. I about lost my hearing contacting a guy. He works as a mechanic and he was hammering a door panel by himself so I went and held it. Somehow I ended up with the hammer pinging away. He was way cool but doesn't live anywhere near us. Wednesday was our mission Christmas Conference. That was sweet to get to see our whole mission together. Made me feel pretty good since I didn't know even half of the people. Mostly since they are so new and I don't get transferred too often. The Mission Conference is always good. President Cardon and his wife spoke to us. Sister Cardon read the story about the boy who gets up early to milk the cows for his dad on Christmas. I really enjoyed President Cardon's though. He talked about in the world today most people think that they know Jesus Christ but really they don't. Kind of about the godhead, divine son-ship, and things like that. He explained it about how the Jews didn't recognize their Messiah and it is still happening today. It was really really good. Something that was way sweet is I heard about 2 of my recent converts. One of the missionaries from my old areas came and asked if I had baptized a guy named Frank. I guess Frank has become hyper active. He is at church every Sunday. If there is any kind of Stake Meeting he is there. Basically is just a sweet guy all the way around. Another one of them I actually meet on the road going to our apartment one night. It is a guy I baptized about 6 months ago in the area that the ward borders the one I'm in now. He told me that he had moved but if I ever wanted to visit he and the entire family always are at church. It was just one of the greatest feelings I could have had, especially as part of what we talked about at the Mission Conference. Part of it was about what did Jesus give to us, of course Eternal life. Then comes the question of well what do we give him? President Smith talked about how when we baptize someone it is one gift we can give to the Savior. Along with good deeds and other things but the whole baptism thing fits with the mission. Kind of warmed my heart to know that at least some of my gifts were more lasting, especially since the last two transfers have been kind of rough. Anyway there is a little thought for you to chew on I guess.

Something else that was really sweet was we had two guys ask us when they could be baptized. One of them is Isaac Agyaman, he sells chocolate. Another is a kid named Kobby Daafo. His older sister is baptized and he kind of dodged around us but we must of done something to stand out because he can't keep away from the church. One of the investigators in the other area came to church last week with his trumpet thinking that we were like his church. When we went to teach him I asked if he would play some for us. I told him I use to play and he put it in my hands and told me to play then. Luckily I could still get a good sound out and even managed to squeak out twinkle twinkle little star. Saturday we had another day that was pretty fun. There is a Dr. Emmanuel Abu Kissi who is one of the pioneers of the church in Ghana who owns the hospital we did service at. My service was pretty chill though. They have a generator that is basically the lifeline when the power goes out and they needed someone to change the oil. I was really wanting to go and sing carols to the patients but no one else knew how to change the oil or I guess was very machine oriented so I volunteered. It was cool though. I got to talk to his son, Aaron, who grew up in the U.S. We talked about stuff back home like trucks, mud bogging, and those kinds of things while waiting for the oil to drain. It was pretty sweet. They have about a bozillion dogs though which would keep getting into little fights though. We also went to a wedding at the church for one of the recent converts from right before I came. It was nice. Sunday we had a drunk guy come into the church and just make a lot of noise and what not. Before he left he did have the mind to at least remember to ask for more money. It was pretty comical I guess. That is about all from me this week. Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope that it is a wonderful day for you!


love elder gibson