The Russians are nuking the US, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer is of the utmost importance #ALMOST9MONTHS

HELLO EVERYONE!! This week was absolutely CRAZY but so good! Let's get into it, shall we?

Times my companion's driving made me carsick: like 4 times lol 

Minutes spent talking to a crazy American Indian man: 20 and we couldn't get away (hence the title)

Times we almost got squashed by a recliner: a few scary moments

Days left in the transfer: 9 WHAT THE HECK

Mondayyy we went to the base of the Space Needle! There's this cute park that we hung out at, and then we got Mod Pizza which is always a vibe. That afternoon we hung out at the church and played pickleball and talked to the fam bam. That night we had dinner with 2 cute couples in the ward which was super fun!

Tuesdayyy we had INTERVIEWS!! I love President and Sister Oakes literally SO MUCH! It was good to see them and to talk with President. After interviews we went to Judy's! She's so funny haha! And then we went to Hunger Intervention and helped make some meals! That night we had dinner with the Atkinsons, our Ward Mission Leader and his wife, which was so fun! They're just the best :)) That night we did some awesome Facebook work!

Wednesdayyy we had some things cancel on us so the morning was slowwwww but then we had a fun afternoon! We have a new Service Missionary in the area, Sister Hardman, and so we took her out with us for the day! We went to Ann's and helped her move a recliner from one of her friend's apartments to her apartment, which was a riot haha, but it's all moved and oiled up! After that we did some work at the Institute building, and then we had dinner with the Storers!! They're like, my most favorite people in the ward, I LOVE JULIE AND LYNN!! So it was a little bit of a weird day, but it was good!

Thursdayyy we had ZONE CONFERENCEEEEEE It was a blast! It's always fun to see everyone! There were some great instructions given, and I felt the spirit so strongly. We talked a lot about miracles and how they require joyful work, and the blessings of the Sacrament! It was awesome. After that, we went to Bean's house! We made more planters and taught her The Plan of Salvation! It was great. Then we went harvesting that night and saw soooo many miracles! We even found someone! Her name is Karen and she's the wife of an inactive member! So hopefully we can get back over there soon!

Fridayyy OH MY such a good vibes day. We helped Donna move some things into her car to move out of her house, and she showed us her garage and the shed in her backyard, both of which are FULL of things her husband collected, from vintage waterskis to a whole box full of different screwdrivers. It was so cool! Then we had a lesson with Laurel, which went well! She's getting more comfortable with us, which is good! After that we had time to go harvesting, and we found a super cute neighborhood! So we knocked on some member doors, and then some random doors! We hadn't knocked doors in a second, and it was actually super fun haha! And we invited some people to Church! That night we had dinner with the Elliot's which was sooooo fun! Brother Elliot showed us his record collection and his record player that he built himself. It was awesome. They're the best! 

Saturdayyy we played pickleball with the wardies and some non members at the church! For those of you that don't know, pickleball was invented in Washington, on Bainbridge Island, so everyone and their dog plays it here haha! The ward has started a weekly pickleball activity! It was awesome and we met some cool people! After that we got lunch with our friend Thien! We got some BOMB Caribbean food oh my goodness it was so good. Then we went to the DI which was fun! After that we had a lesson with Kim! I love herrrr it was good, and we're working on getting her coming to activities! That night we got some dinner and then we went to soccer with the Spanish missionaries! We invited some of our friends but none of them could make it this week, hopefully next time. But I literally fell over walking and rolled my ankle pretty good haha but I'M OKAY I was still playin' of course.

Sundayyy we had Church YAY! I love going to Church, this Ward is so fun! After that we did our studies and then we went to have a lesson with Peggy! We were waiting for her to come down the elevator, and instead this portly American Indian man comes out of the elevator, sees us, and says, "I have some good news for you. The Russians are about to nuke the US. And they're starting with Yellowstone" This led into a 20 minute unescapable conversation with this man about ghosts, the Book of Mormon, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We invited him to join our lesson, but he insisted that Buffy was more important. We finally got to our lesson with Peggy where we dove into some deep doctrine about the Levites haha. At the end of it, a very nice Hawaiian man who told us that his daughter and grandson are members of the Church, and how he died, saw the Spirit World, and came back to life. It was wild. He wasn't interested, but he did share some delicious pork that he had made with us, so that was awesome. Then we helped Peggy around her apartment, and helped her with some stuff on her phone. So our normally 1 hour lesson with Peggy on Sundays turned into more like 3 hours. It was WILD and we've got some unforgettable memories now.

OKAY LET'S GET SPIRITUAL

This week at Zone Conference we focused a lot on what it means to be all in, and consecrate your time and bind yourself to the Savior. Here's some highlights!

-"Daily repentance is the process of continued consecration"

- "The Savior always loves us just as we are, but he will always expect us to become more like Him" 

- "He is a high-demand Savior, but it is always a joyful experience to follow Him"

I loved the thoughts about how following the Savior requires that we become more. He meets us where we're at, but He asks that we rise through Him and his Atonement. Serving others, repenting daily, building good spiritual habits, these things are what bind us to the Savior. I want to invite you all to find a way to get closer to Jesus Christ this week! Find the joy that comes by following Him!

I love you all a WashingTON ❣️ 

Sister Gibb