I'M BASICALLY A DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS PRO NOW #WELCOMETOEVERETT

Holy Guacamole this was the longest week of my entire life but LET'S GET INTO IT

Times we were woken up by strange noises: like 4

Times I cried in the bathroom: 2 but its okay

Times we saw the sun this week: LIKE 5 YAY

Times it also dumped rain this week: LIKE 5 WHAT

Vitamin Waters consumed: a lot hehe

OOOOOKAY So I'm now in Downtown Everett! And lemme tell you it's been a trip! This place is like a totally different world than Seattle, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.

Mondayyy I had my last pday in Seattle and it was so good :') We went to Pike one last time and it just so happened to be free Daffodil day for the first day of Spring! So, I got 2 happy daffodils! Then we got lunch and played pickleball, it was the happiest of days. That night we had a Leadership Training Meeting that I had to go to for being an STL and I also started packing #SOSAD

Tuesdayyy was a day full of goodbyes. We went to sewing with the Ward ladies, and they had planned a little suprise party for me since I was leaving, it was sooo sweet! I said some goodbyes there which was super sad, I love those ladies. 

Then we went to Judy's and talked with her, and she was so sad I was leaving, that was a hard goodbye :( I LOVE JUDY! Then we went to Hunger Intervention and helped out there one last time, which is always fun. 

After that we had dinner with Sarah and Andrew Johnson, they're like our best friends, so that was a fun dinner to end on! That night was spent packing away unfortunately, but it's okay!

Wednesdayyy TRANSFERS AHHH I had to say goodbye to dear old Seattle. I love that place with all of my heart and I miss it so badly. But we got to transfers and I got to see all of my friends! So that was awesome! 

I met my new comp Sister Holm, and she's super cute! Also we drive a brand new car since we opened up this area soooo that's a perk. We got lunch with Sister Smith and Sister Searle, the only other Sisters in our Zone lol, and then we got to our apartment! It's a quirky one lol, we sleep on a shelf which is hilarious. 

We grabbed some groceries, unpacked, and that night we had dinner with the Nelson's in our ward! They're a cute family, and they're super sweet. It was fun!

Thursdayyy our first day in the Port Gardener area 😬 we tried to visit and get in touch with the Ward, and everyone was super confused because the Elders that we're sharing the Ward with didn't tell anyone we were coming. And for whatever reason everyone is either sick, out of town, or doesn't really want to meet with us. Soooooo we've got some work to do with the Ward. But we had District Council, which was good, we have an interesting District haha, but it'll be good. 

Then we met with the Port Gardner Elders, Elder Black and Elder Harkness, and talked about the Ward, the friends we're teaching, and all the things. Later that day we had a lesson with a recent convert, Mary! She's super sweet, it was awesome to meet her! 

Then we met some Ward members, the Swansons, and they asked us to walk their dog. Turns out their dog is a psycho and just wanted to play tug of war with the leash and then it started hailing on us, and it was hilarious. But we did it. 

That night we went and played pickleball at the Stake Center and met some cool people! So that was a blast, and a good way to end a stressful day haha

Fridayyy not gonna lie, Friday was really tough. We tried to contact members with callings to try to meet the Ward, but everyone was out of town, or wasn't home, and then it was dumping rain, and then snowing, and honestly, it was just not the vibe. New areas are HARD especially when you open one. Not a ton happened this day, but we pressed through to the end. That night we met some members in the ward, the Hannah's! They're our besties now, and they showed us their Dungeons and Dragons dice company, so if anyone is into that, I know some folks. They're so cool though. So at least our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day had a good end :))

Saturdayyy okay this was actually a good day, don't worry. We got out, and started cleaning up our member records by doing some harvesting! And we met a family that said we could come back later in the day, and then we had a total MIRACLE! We were walking down this street, and there was a lady on her porch, and she took out her earbud and said hello to us, and we started talking with her! Her name is Stacey, and she said that she's been looking for a church for a while! She's a single mom who's gone through some tough things, but she's been cleaning up her life. We gave her a Book of Mormon, and she said she'd like a Bible too, and then we invited her to Church, and she said yes! It was CRAZY! WE LOVE STACEY! We got to go to Arlington for a baptism for someone Sister Holm was teaching, so that was fun, and then we had dinner with our Bishop and his family the Hatch's, and they have 3 of the sweetest kids I've ever met, geez louise. I love them! That night we went back to the family we met earlier, and set up a time to do FHE with them! So that was good!

Sundayyy STACEY CAME TO CHURCH WOOO and we had the most interesting Fast and Testimony meeting I've ever been a part of on my mission, it was wild. But Stacey really loved it, and during the sacrament, she leans over to us and says, "I think this is the church I've been looking for. It just feels right." IT WAS A MIRACLE WE ARE SO EXCITED TO TEACH HER!! The Ward was shook that we had already found someone to bring to Church lol. Our Ward members are kinda quirky haha it's funny, but it was nice to meet everyone! After Church, we contacted some people in a cute little neighborhood, and then we had dinner with Sister Smith and Sister Searle! It was so nice and much needed haha, and then we just sent a mass text to the whole Ward to set up times to meet with them, and so the rest of the night was spent scheduling and planning!

Today we're probably going to explore Everett, and then play some pickleball, so it should be fun!

OKAY LET'S GET SPIRITUAL

This week when I was really feeling down, I was led to the Hymn "Master, The Tempest Is Raging" (#105). This Hymn begins telling the story of when Christ calms the storm when he's with his disciples on the ship. But the 2nd and 3rd verse really stood out to me. The 2nd verse applies it to the "storms" we'll face in our lives, when we feel scared, or lonely, or hopeless, or angry. And the 3rd verse describes what it feels like when the storm is finally over. But the chorus is the same every verse, and it's Jesus Christ saying, "Peace, be still." I don't think that he's saying that to the storm every time either, I think it's a message for us to be still, and endure our storms with faith in Christ. When he is our captain, we cannot sink. He will not let us sink. We're given trials to test us, but they're not designed to destroy us. I would invite you all to read the lyrics to this Hymn! I promise you'll feel the same spirit I did. 

I love you all a WashingTON ❣️ 

Sister Gibb