Surviving the San Juan Islands OVERNIGHT?? #ilovepickledbeets

HELLO WOW THIS WEEK WAS A WILD ONE sooooo much happened!!

Miles walked this weekend: Probably 6

Various strange canned goods eaten: 7

Accordions played at Zone Conference: just 1 but still

Scripture studies done on the ferry: 2!!

Mondayyy we had FHE and played 9 square!! I love our tiny Ward haha they're the best! 

Tuesdayyy we had a lesson with our new friend, Molly! She had been taught previously by missionaries, and agreed to meet with us! She was so funny haha she made us muffins and cinnamon milk, and proceeded to tell us about how God is a giant with red eyes 👀 needless to say it was a very interesting lesson hahaha but we read the Book of Mormon with her and the spirit was there! We drove out to Marianne's and helped her put some tapestries in her windows which was a blast haha, I adore her. And she wants to get her patriarchal blessing!! That night we had dinner with the Burnettes! They're the CUTEST family who moved up here from the Green Lake ward in Seattle! They've been renovating their house, and I'm obsessed with it. Their daughter Miri and I are best friends (shoutout to Miriam Zeidner) And then we went to the Anacortes Relief Society activity! It was fun to chat with the ladies :)) 

Wednesdayyy we did an EXCHANGEEE it was so fun!! Sister Pettit got to stay in Anacortes and lead the Area, which was exciting! So, Sister Smith went with her! And I got to go to Oak Harbor with Sister Bayless! And of course, we went to Taco Bell 🔔 then we drove down to Coupeville and did some visiting there! It was soooo weird NO ONE was home all day, even when we spent some time knocking! We did end up finding a lady who said we could come back though! So that was awesome! 

And we knocked on this door that was on a piece of property covered in animal figurines. Like, this yard had an entire ZOO it was hilarious. We went and had dinner with the cutest lady, Sister Socha! She showed us her sewing room, her quilting room, and her canning room, and then proceeded to give us 2 bags of dried apples, 1 loaf of chocolate zucchini bread, and 1 of each of the following canned items: Pickled beets, squash pickles, spicy pickled garlic, chocolate raspberry jelly, and chocolate applesauce. It was wild. And yes, we tried them all. That night we visited with the Keyes who are living my dream life. They have a pottery studio in their basement, they keep bees, and they are just the coolest people. But it was an awesome day!!

Thursdayyy ZONE CONFERENCEEEE we drove clear out to Mount Vernon and had an awesome meeting! We talked about the commitment pattern and the power of promising blessings to people, and it was awesome. I got to see so many friends!! I love Zone Conference. Plus, I got my flu shot #nosickie 😎 Afterwards, we had a Social Media meeting which was good, and then Sister Pettit and I drove back to our Area :)) we went out to La Conner and we FINALLY had a lesson with Natasha!! So that was a total miracle! We ate dinner with Annette, and she was ON ONE haha I adore her, she's so funny! Then we did our personal study for the day, and went to Yoga that night! It was a looooong day but a good one!

Fridayyy we visited our friend Mika and it was soooo good!! She said that her husband had some questions about the Church and so they're going to have us over for breakfast sometime!! It was awesome, we love Mika! We tried to visit Dina, the lady we found knocking last week, but she was busy :( so we went to Ann's! Sister Pettit brought her violin and played for her, and Ann loved it!! We tried to visit Kathy but she wasn't home :( we haven't seen her or heard from her in like a month, (pray for Kathy please!!) So, we decided to do some finding downtown and ended up giving a Book of Mormon to a very nice guy named Nick! He's a homeless veteran who always sits on a bench downtown and he's the sweetest man! So that was super cool! We went and visited with Jill Davis, an adorable 88-year-old lady in the Ward! I love Jill :)) then we did our weekly planning, which was bomb.com, and then we went to visit Rebecka! She told us that organized religion isn't her thing, so we're figuring out what to do with her, pray for Rebecka too! And then we had dinner with the Flores's and ate the most BOMB tacos ahhh I love them.

Saturdayyy we got up and packed our bags because we spent the weekend on Friday Harbor!! We rode the ferry, and let me tell you, personal study on a ferry hits different. We got off the ferry and walked about 3 minutes to our new island apartment!!! Let me tell you about this place: So the San Juan Islands haven't had young missionaries on them for YEARS. Just Senior couples. But President Oakes really wanted to make sure we got the work going out there. So, we have been taking daytrips out there, but we recently, by some miracle, got an apartment ON FRIDAY HARBOR. Which is a near impossible feat. So, we don't have missionaries out there full-time, but the apartment acts as an AirB&B for all of us Island missionaries! It's SOOOO nice, seriously it's a miracle. Anyway, we got going with the work! We went finding at the Farmer's Market and met so many cool people! Then we walked around downtown and did some more finding! It was a RAINY day, so one of our favorite members from the Branch, Sister Flynn, drove us to our far away appointments! We visited with the Newell Family, they're a less active family with triplet girls and they're so fun! So that was good! And then we went to Lindsey Guard's house! She grew up going to Church when she was REALLY little but wasn't ever baptized or anything. So, we went over there and ended up teaching her basically the whole Restoration!! We LOVE Lindsey! Keep her family in your prayers! After that, we walked around contacting people! My hamstrings are paying for it, but it was fun! We ended up having a lesson with our friend, Jordan! She's super cool. And then we had a MIRACLE!! So, a while back, I joined some Friday Harbor Facebook groups, and I posted in them introducing myself! This guy named Adam messaged me, and we started talking! And he has SOOO much faith and wanted to learn about what we believe! So, I invited him to come to Church the next day! And he said he would!!!! Anyway, we made our way back home in the dark, and ate dinner while we watched the ferries come in for the night. 

Sundayyy we got up and went to Church!! The Branch on the Island meets in the teeniest tiniest building but I love it SO MUCH!! Right as the meeting was starting, ADAM WALKED IN he actually came!! Since we have General Conference next week, and Stake Conference the week after, it was Fast and Testimony meeting! The very first testimony was given by Brother Flynn, and he said, "So, I'm a convert to the Church. I remember learning about the Church and having the missionaries over, and nothing really ever struck me. Until I read 3 Nephi chapter 11 in the Book of Mormon. So, it's a little unconventional, but I'd like to read all of 3 Nephi 11 as my testimony today" and Sister Pettit and I were speechless. So, we quickly gave Adam a Book of Mormon to read along with, and the spirit was SOOOO STRONG. And the rest of the meeting carried that spirit! Every testimony was either given by a convert, or the person testified of the truth of the Gospel, it was just perfectly curated for Adam! About halfway through, Adam gets up, and bears his testimony!!! And it was soooo beautiful! He's been to a lot of different churches and just couldn't believe the spirit he felt at ours! He's going to read the Book of Mormon, and we're going to have lessons with him every week either in person or over Zoom! It was a MIRACLE!! We couldn't believe it! There is SOOO much work prepared on the Islands! After Church, we went to the apartment, packed up and cleaned up, and then got on the ferry! Once we got back to Anacortes, we raced over to the YSA Ward for Break the Fast, and James was there! So that was awesome to see! Then we had a lesson with Renee!! It was so awesome, we talked all about faith and how we exercise it, she's so wonderful. That night, we had dinner with the Cornelius's which is always so fun, and me and Foster (their 6-year-old) are buddies. Then we had some meetings that night!

Today I'm not totally sure what we're doing, but we'll find something fun to do!!

OKAY LETS GET SPIRITUAL

I read an AMAZING talk this week by President Nelson from the October 1995 conference titled, "Perfection Pending". And he had this quote I ABSOLUTELY LOVED

"Brothers and sisters, let us do the best we can and try to improve each day. When our imperfections appear, we can keep trying to correct them. We can be more forgiving of flaws in ourselves and among those we love. We can be comforted and forbearing. The Lord taught, 'Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now … ; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected."

Throughout my entire mission, perfection has been a big thing I've struggled with. Whether it be teaching a lesson, or street contacting, or my studies, there was a long time that I felt like I just wasn't reaching the bar. I wasn't listening to the spirit enough, or I didn't understand the scriptures enough, or I didn't promise powerful blessings. But when I decided to break these things down into small, achievable goals, that's when I found joy in missionary work. Granting yourself enough grace as a human can do incredible things for your relationship with your Heavenly Father and your Savior. Because when we set a goal, and feel like we can't reach it, the Savior gives us the strength to see our potential. And our Heavenly Father is blessing us for the hard work we're putting in, and the kindness we're giving to ourselves. So, try setting some small goals that lead you towards the Savior this week! Pray about them! Study about them! I promise you will see your discipleship grow immensely!

I love you all a WashingTON ❣️ 

Sister Gibb