30, January 2017 - WEEK 32

     This has been an eventful week. I will first start off by telling that this week we were able to pull off 3 successful trade offs. The first one was with Elder Porter and Elder Eulette. We brought them both into our area and went on a bunch of splits. I got to work with Elder Porter this time. He is a fantastic missionary and he is running his district very well. 

     The second trade off we had was with Elder Moyes and Elder Davis. I went with Elder Moyes up to Linstead and got to work. I have seen major improvement with Elder Moyes. He is constantly improving and wants to do better. So getting to work with him was a blessing, because it showed some things that I need to work on. Then Finally our last trade off was with Elder Ludlow and Elder Harris. I went with Elder Harris into his Area, and Elder Warren brought Elder Ludlow in to ours. The goal of this trade off was to evaluate how Elder Harris is adapting to taking lead in a lesson. He is doing awesome. I am excited to see how he has applied this trade off into his work. But going on these trade off's I have been able to serve in every part of spanish town. It is really cool to now say that I have done that. 

     But we will be going on 2 more this week. The first one is going to be with Elder Lewis, and Elder Elliot. And the second is going to be Elder Gordon, and Elder Whitehead. It has been extremely successful to be able to work closely with all the district leaders, and the trainees. There are so many good things that are happening right now in Spanish Town. We continue to improve and exercise our faith and the lord has been blessing us with miracles. 

Since we are talking about miracles, there is going to be about 6 baptisms this saturday I believe. As we continue to be obedient and be faithful and optimistic, the lord will be with us and send us his spirit to bring others unto baptism. 

     We have 3 progressing investigators this week at church. Tamara and Kadian have been preparing to be baptized on the 11th of February. Then this week we will be baptizing a young girl named Jaida Lee. 

     The world wide missionary broadcast this week was so crazy. I am super hyped about the new schedule that the lord has provided us with. I know that the work here in Jamaica is going to reach its goal of 1820 baptisms. I know the lord did this for a reason and with his help we can work might miracles, and bring thousands of souls unto repentance. 

     I am also very excited this week to be able to have Elder Zivic of the Area Seventy come and speak with us at Missionary Leadership Council. God has inspired the Leaders of the Jamaica Kingston Mission, and because of that I am very grateful for the chance I have to be a representative of Jesus Christ.

-- 

-Elder Gibbons-

Keep Trying. Keep Pushing. Keep Believing. Keep Growing. Heaven is Cheering You on Today, Tomorrow, and Forever.

23 January 2017

Well another week for the books. We had the opportunity again to travel to Kingston and bring another missionary to the hospital due to a burst eardrum. They gave him a prescription to help fix the problem. I talked to him yesterday and he said he is doing very well, still can't hear to well but it is not giving him to much problem. We had a really good lesson this week with an investigator named Sashona. The spirit was felt so strong in our lesson that she began to cry and she witnessed that god had sent us to answer her prayers. She then was able to make it to church. She mentioned that she had a really nice time. The member support was really good and fellowshipping as well. You could tell that she felt very welcome. I am grateful for the support of the ward that we have right now. This weekend as well we had a baptism for a man named mark. He was so excited he could not wait. I sat by him in sacrament meeting and he told me how excited he was to pass the sacrament and bless it about 5 times. I can't wait to see him pass it. But they started back up Friday night activity at the church. This is going to be a great way that we can get members to invite their friends and help them to be baptized. The member work is skyrocketing here. We had over 50% member present lessons and other lessons. The work here in Spanish Town is hastening. I can't wait to see what the lord has in store here for us next. 

This week I have had the opportunity to really think about the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for our savior Jesus Christ and His example he set for us. Because of him we can change. We can become like him. I am thankful for repentance and being able to partake of the sacrament each week. I can definitely feel the overwhelming influence of the Holy Ghost as we use the atonement in our lives.

-- 

-Elder Gibbons-

Keep Trying. Keep Pushing. Keep Believing. Keep Growing. Heaven is Cheering You on Today, Tomorrow, and Forever.

16, January 2017

     This week has been crazy nuts. I do not have a lot of time But I will give you the brief run down of everything that went on. 

So this week I had the opportunity to go on a 4 day trade off with another set of Elders. We went to see how they are doing in the work and to teach them different styles of finding and teaching. But that ended a little short this week because we had to take one of the missionaries to the hospital. He has not been feeling well and has been under a lot of stress so we took him to the hospital on Sunday. I know bad example of keeping the Sabbath day Holy. But we got him there and we were at the hospital from 11 am to 7 pm. 

        We run on Jamaican Standard time here which means there is no time haha!!! But I got to talk with another missionary and sleep for about that period of time. I had to wake up early that morning to because I got a phone call at about 2 am saying that we need to go to the hospital. I said we will wait till the morning to do it. SO i did not get very much sleep. But We have been driving back and forth and sideways. But in the end we got through it and the missionary is doing very good. 

      I am grateful for the lord and the spirit for waking me up to answer that call. But overall the week went very well. I can still say that I am tired but it will all be worth it in the end. Plus there is a world wide missionary broadcast that is coming up next week and I already know some details of what are going to happen and let me tell you that I am so excited with the news that is going to be presented. But I can't spoil it or it won't be worth it. Sorry for the short email this week I hope that I can make it longer next week. (More Detail)

      But I love this gospel so much<3 I would not want to be anywhere else then where I am now:)

Elder Stone Gibbons

9, January 2017

So to start off this email, I saw something that I would not see anywhere besides Jamaica. This week we had to travel back and forth to different parts of the island to have district meetings. Us as Zone Leaders have to attend the district meetings in our zone. But on our way home from one of these meetings we saw a man riding his bike with a shark in his hand. It was like a 5 foot shark. But if you want to know what the life of a zone leader is like, here it is... We attend meetings, go to meetings, and teach meetings. It honestly is so crazy but it is so rewarding. Part of the time I feel physically exhausted, but I know that I need to work even harder. Driving has gotten a whole lot easier, I am working my way up to earn a PHD. Pot hole Dodger. The roads here are full of them. Today I had the opportunity to drive to Kingston. It is crazy there. You would never get away with some of the stuff they do here. It is so funny to see these things.

But something interesting that caught my attention this week, was seeing all the youth. The number of youth in this ward has grown a lot in the past 6 months. Now a couple of them are preparing to serve missions. I am so grateful for the example that they are setting. They have been bringing their friends to church and then we have the opportunity to go over to their house and teach them and baptize them.

With Love, 

Elder Gibbons

New Year With Great Expectations!

The reason I am emailing you today is because when people have holidays down here they celebrate the day after.

I know it is kind of weird. But Happy New Year!!!

I am expecting so many great things this next transfer.

So I actually don't have a lot to report to you this week. But this week I was officially made a Zone Leader.
The missionary life a Zone Leader is so good. I have plenty of responsibilities that has to be done.

We have the opportunity to attend district meetings as well as teaching meetings. 

But this week we were able to drive up to a place on the island that is called Linstead. The drive is so beautiful.

I am grateful for the new companion that I have to serve with. His name is Elder Warren. He is very obedient, 

and is very smart. He has been helping me out a lot these last couple of days.

For the first week I did not have the opportunity to drive because I had not been given priviledge to do so.
But that all changed around today. I drove for my very first time here today in 7 months. It is completely different, 

I feel like I am taking my driving test again... It is hard to drive on the left side of the road in a right sided vehicle.

With practice I will get better and better. 

We have been teaching this investigator named Mary. She is 14 years old and she has read the Book of Mormon and knows

that it is true and needs to be baptized. She is being difficult though. I had the opportunity to give her a blessing this week.

We relayed the information to her that a blessing is when god is talking to you through whoever is giving the blessing.

She said she wanted one so we gave her one. You definitely could tell she was feeling the spirit. She is going to be 

baptized on the 28th of January.

Today I had the first opportunity to be in a teaching situation as a Zone Leader. Elder Warren and I had DLT this morning.

It is when we teach the District leaders in our zone how to be better leaders. It went really well and you could tell that the 

spirit there was very strong. We all learned something new out of it and are going to apply it in this transfer.

I have been in Spanish Town for almost 6 months. And I am going to be here for a while. I may have moved just up the road,

from where I was before, but I am still in the same ward. So I will be in the same ward for almost a whole year! Can you believe

that?? I am so happy for the chance that I have to serve the people of Jamaica. Especially the people here in 

Spanish Town. 

I love you all. Thank you for everything that you do to support me.

I keep you in my prayers.

till next week.. I will serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

Elder Gibbons