December 30, 2012

dear everybody:)

this morning elder eldredge stopped by our house before we left and told me i had too much mail and gave me a boatload of letters. without even having to look at who they were from, i apologized to him and said "i'm sorry your family isn't as great as mine." ;) but really, all of the letters i have received are incredible and i am very grateful to all who wrote to me to show support, give advice, boost morale, and wish me happy holidays:) i am trying to write back to each and every one of you, but i only have about 40 min a week to write, so i am trying to just go by order of date received. please be patient with me:)

it is always a little gratifying to one's pride to hear that you were the highlight of someone else's christmas. i treasure that experience as well:) i love you all so much and it was great to see you guys. i loved hearing owen and andy play their instruments and just so they know, they have letters coming eventually. also, it was crazy to see christian again and see how much more of him there is;) it was great to see and talk to ken and kyle and leslie and jesse. really, you all have letters coming, im just not sure when they will arrive.

im glad that my present to the boys was appreciated and used:) oh we threw some soft taro in the oom as well and it was actually pretty good. i still cant palate fafa though (mashed banana, kaki [grated coconut], and taro).

so something that has kind of just happened is that everyday i look for and expect miracles, and then write them down in my journal (or try to write them down in my journal. i at least try to remember them long enough to record them somewhere).
so, the miracle i want to talk about happened on friday: everything that could have gone wrong that morning, went wrong. i realized i didn't have a clean pair of pants to wear, i hadn't slept that night due to a terrible sore throat, i spilled my chicken on the floor, etc. then, right before we were about to go proselyte, i started feeling really sick. sick enough to feel like i wouldn't be able to work. i said yet another prayer and asked for just enough strength to work. then, still feeling awful, we got in the truck. i felt sick all the way to the point where we parked. as soon as i stepped out of the truck and we started walking, i immediately felt better. we taught a lot of people that day and we taught a lot of good lessons.
also, that same day, we were teaching a man when it started raining outside. something that came to mind was that i had been blessed that i would see the elements tamed. so, when we went outside, i kept that blessing in mind. and, the rain stopped around us. it was still raining but we didn't get wet. oh, my crocs got wet, and my hair got a little damp, but other than that, i was dry. for some reason, i wasn't supposed to get wet that day. i wonder if it had anything to do with my sickness. either way, i am grateful for every miracle here and i want everyone at home to know that miracles are very real:)

grandma and grandpa schwendiman have sent me excerpts of spencer's letters and he sounds like he is an incredible missionary. i hope to be able to work as hard as him and be as effective as he is. his letters reminded me of just how similar people are to each other and how the gospel is the same everywhere.

christmas has continued up until today and will end tonight;) with the celebrating, there has been a lot of drinking and drug-doing. it has been incredible to teach at this time. i'm not really sure how to explain it: we will be talking to somebody who we know had been drunk or who is smoking at that moment, and all of the sudden i just hear words come out of my mouth telling that person to repent. and i mean like super bluntly. similar to, "smoking is a sin. that cigarette you are holding is stopping you from enjoying peace." ...i am not a very bold person when it comes to calling people to repentance, but God is.

im trying to write you all so i am cutting this email a little shorter than usual to give me time to keep writing. hopefully you will all get more news through these letters:)

i love you all very much and pray for you. thank you for everything--everything i receive from you guys is treasured:)

love,
Elder Gerber

ps, i would love to get some addresses from the old gang of friends.