This week was a crazy week. But we got a lot done and did a lot of really good work. So I did not expect this but I am back serving with Elder Austin from Georgia. I knew there was a chance of this but I did not expect it to actually happen. We are getting along great and things are going really well for us. We are supper busy and I have been spending way too much time on the phone each night but I am really enjoying staying in this town it is a really good place to serve.

                We still have a couple people who have baptismal dates and we set another one this week though they did not make it to church. But we are pressing forward and working hard. We have met a lot of new people this week and will have an extremely busy week. We have a few appointments and a few meetings so I am excited for what is up ahead.

                We have had to hit the ground running. I did not get trained for what I am doing right now so I just have to learn a lot really quickly as I go along but the lord is helping me and I know that this is his will. I have had to turn to prayer a lot and it has really helped. I love being a missionary so much. There really is nothing better than this. I love you all and I thank you so much for your faith and for your prayers and for all that you do. I am excited for this week up ahead. I hope all of you have a great week. Love ya.

-- 

Elder Jacob Gibson of the Iowa Des Moines mission

This week in iowa

This week was a really good week with a lot of surprises. We set a baptismal date with the daughter of a recent convert she is 18 and really likes her party life but she is willing to try something new for her son. We also were finally able to teach this lady who is really going through a hard time. Her circumstances have really humbled her and she is now willing to change and to be different. She is a great lady and we had an awesome lesson with her yesterday. She has been looking for a way to change her life and it just so happens that we have that. We are still spending a lot of our time working with less active members and recent converts. There are a lot of them here is this town.

            We also had a baptism this week for a young kid who has been going to church off and on for a long time. He is a really good kid and he will receive the Aaronic priesthood next week. I am so excited for him to be able to do this. He is 13 but really smart and willing to do whatever he needs to, to come closer to our father in heaven,

            Another cool thing that happened is that we had a funnel cloud rip through town. It did minimal damage just knocked over some trees and some branches. We were in the church for district meeting and where about to leave when the sirens went off and we decided to stay for a bit, lucky we did. The nice thing about Burlington though is that because it is so hilly and so close to the Mississippi it is extremely hard for a tornado to touchdown and even if they do it is hard for them to stay down so I am relatively safe. Plus we have a huge metal container that we can hide in in our basement if we had to.

            And finally we got transfer calls this week. So I am sad to admit it but I am nearing the end of my mission. It has gone by way too quickly. But because I was so close to the end I thought that I would be exempt from more responsibility, instead I have received more. The mission age change has really changed the whole dynamic of everything in the mission field. So even though I only have 2 transfers left I am becoming a zone leader and instead of transferring me they are keeping me here. Also normally if you become a zone leader you are put with another zone leader who will teach you how things work. Instead they are expecting me to train a new zone leader as well and I will be in charge of the missionary force working at the Nauvoo pageant in July. Aka my work load just doubled. I must have not been learning what I needed to so the lord wants to see if this will get things through my thick head. I don’t know we will see what happens. I did not expect this but we will see what happens. I am so grateful for the chance that I have to serve and to be a missionary. I love you all and I wish you the best have a great week.

--

Elder Jacob Gibson of the Iowa Des Moines mission

This last week was the quickest busiest craziest of my whole mission. It was incredible, so much going on each day. The thing that made it the craziest is that this as you have all have herd from the news is tornado season. Well the one here was not even close to the size of the one in Oklahoma. But I will get to that in a minute. The week started off well. We have had a lot of appointments and have been talking to a lot of people. We will be having a baptism this week for a young kid who has been coming to church and wants to be baptized. For a while I was unsure if he was ready but I am sure of it now. He is a great kid and I am excited for this chance to teach him and help him improve his life.

               So other than teaching and talking to people, there is a tornado that hit. It was not bad at all. Just picked up some trees and threw them at houses. No casualties just a lot of trees everywhere. Most houses where not even damaged. And no it wasn’t in this town that it happened. It was about 70 miles south of here in Hannibal Missouri, about an hour and a half drive. We went down Thursday, Saturday and Monday to help clean up. I enjoyed it. On Monday we were working in a monsoon. I don’t think I have ever been that wet, literally dripping constantly for about 4 hours straight. But it was a warm rain so it was not that bad. There was a point where they cut off a branch on a tree and it slammed this guy in the head and knocked him out cold but he turned out to be fine.

               So I am now finally dry from yesterday. I enjoyed working down there but I am also happy to be here and doing regular missionary work. Other than the baptism this week, we are teaching a few people and we are hoping to help them all progress to the point of working towards a baptism date.

               I love this area. Transfer calls are this Saturday so we will see what happens but whatever happens I know it is the work of the lord. I love you all and I thank you all for all that you do for me. I hope you have a great week.

This is the temple from across the river.

More tornado stuff.

i drove through Carthage like 6 times this week i finally decided to stop and take a couple quick pictures. here is one.

This is my house right now. we live in the basement

this is Burlington. i love this town.

This week was a busy busy week for us. We were running from one place to the next most of the week. This transfer cycle is going by really quickly. We are working hard and getting done all that we can. Like Eric said as missionaries you always have people asking you for money. It happens all the time. I don’t know how many people I have had come up to me and ask for money or for help. We do all we can to help but there is always little that we can do for them.

                But I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love talking to people and doing all that I can to help them in their life. This work Is true. Things are going really well for us. There are a lot of people who are willing to talk to us but few really listen. We will probably have a baptism this week. If might get pushed to next week but we will see. A kid who has been coming for about a month wants to be baptized.

                We set a baptism date with another lady as well but she will not be baptized until August there is a lot she has to overcome but she has a desire and I feel like she will reach that date. Other than that all of our work is trying to help less active members return to church. We could have 2 wards out here is everyone on our list came. Right now we have just barely enough to make a ward.

                I love you all. The weather is doing well here. We have had a few tornado scares but none of them have touched down. I think it would be awesome to see. I love you all. I am so grateful for all that you do for me. I hope your week goes well. I pray for all of you. And I thank you for your prayers. Have a great week.



--
Elder Jacob Gibson of the Iowa Des Moines mission

So I got the chance to talk to my family yesterday it was great to see them. I am glad you are all doing well and I thank you for all that you do for me. As for my week, things went well. We have a lot of people who are progressing though most of our work right now is helping less-active members come back into the fold.

               There was a 15 year old girl who we have been working with. She is ready to be baptized but Sunday morning she called her dad in Spain to ask if he would approve it and he said no. so we will keep teaching her and hope the lord softens his heart.

               We have a lot of people though with a lot of potential. The work is really picking up here. It is going to warm up again this week and we hope it stays that way. It makes our job a lot easier.

               There is nothing too big to talk about today. I talked to my family about most things yesterday, so I will end this here and just let you all know that I love you and that I miss you. The work is pressing forward and the Gospel is true. Have a great week.

-- 

Elder Jacob Gibson of the Iowa Des Moines 

p.s
 D&C 124:88
 Let my servant William go and proclaim my everlasting gospel with a loud voice, and with great joy, as he shall be moved upon by my ^aSpirit, unto the inhabitants of Warsaw, and also unto the inhabitants of Carthage, and also unto the inhabitants of Burlington(that is where i am now the exact same city as william), and also unto the inhabitants of Madison, and await patiently and diligently for further instructions at my general conference, saith the Lord.

-- 

Elder Jacob Gibson of the Iowa Des Moines mission

So this week was a busy week.  Rain, rain and more rain, but it was often warm enough for us to not have to where jackets so that was really nice. I really love this town. I am hoping that I am able to finish my mission here in the shadow of Nauvoo, but we will see what happens.

                Not too many highlights from this week. We found a lot of new people to teach and we have a really busy week planned out. I am enjoying working with Elder Berthold he is a great missionary and we are getting a lot of work done. We have been finding a lot of people and had a few cool miracles that have happened here. It is amazing that often those you think are least likely to listen and to join are often the most likely. We are teaching a lady that has told me several times over the past couple months that she will never listen to us. She is a really great lady and I am excited for the progress that she is now making.

                We have been talking to a lot of people and things have been going great for us. We had a mission wide conference with Elder Anderson of the 12 on Saturday and we received some amazing instruction. This week will be a great week. I have a really hard working companion and he is a great missionary. I love the work here and I love my savior. I love all of you and thank you for all that you do for me. Have a great week

So this week was a busy week.  Rain, rain and more rain, but it was often warm enough for us to not have to where jackets so that was really nice. I really love this town. I am hoping that I am able to finish my mission here in the shadow of Nauvoo, but we will see what happens.

                Not too many highlights from this week. We found a lot of new people to teach and we have a really busy week planned out. I am enjoying working with Elder Berthold he is a great missionary and we are getting a lot of work done. We have been finding a lot of people and had a few cool miracles that have happened here. It is amazing that often those you think are least likely to listen and to join are often the most likely. We are teaching a lady that has told me several times over the past couple months that she will never listen to us. She is a really great lady and I am excited for the progress that she is now making.

                We have been talking to a lot of people and things have been going great for us. We had a mission wide conference with Elder Anderson of the 12 on Saturday and we received some amazing instruction. This week will be a great week. I have a really hard working companion and he is a great missionary. I love the work here and I love my savior. I love all of you and thank you for all that you do for me. Have a great week