December 8, 2013

Dear Family,

Elder Jeppesen did, in fact, go to Guam. It was sad to see him go, but
he'll do fine there. He left last Tuesday, and so Elder Ferguson came
and joined Elder Blackwell and I for a few days until his replacement,
Elder Land, came on Friday. It has been lots of fun catching up with
Elder Land, and as sad as it was to see Elder Jeppesen go, it was
great to see Elder Land again.

We have started working with Esmina. She is a slightly crotchety,
mostly blind, sarcastic old lady who really likes us. She is probably
one of my favorite investigators. She teaches a youth sunday school
class at the Protestant church, but is fed up with the priestcraft.
Her husband died a few years ago, and she has been living by herself
for a while. She loves the doctrine of eternal families, and is
excited about it. Her only problem is that she won't come to church
this month because she is teaching her class every week, and she told
us that she agreed to teach that class for this entire year. So she is
planning on finishing up these last few weeks, and then will get
baptized in January.

Barry is doing well, but his wife is presenting problems. She is
trying pretty hard to keep him and the kids from getting baptized.
But, he is still pretty determined. His biggest problem now is getting
to church every week. But as soon as he gets that worked out, he will
be all ready. Hopefully, we will be able to get the rest of the family
on board.

I do want to say pretty quick just how thankful I am for you all.
Occasionally, we see broken family life just a little closer than we
ever want to, and I can't describe just how much my love and
appreciation for you has grown. You are all quite remarkable people,
and I am overly blessed to be a part of your family.

Really good things are happening. We are going out on Wednesday to
survey a property as the potential meeting spot for our Malem group.
It should be a for sure thing, but we want to make sure that it will
serve its purpose.

I am happy and healthy. I love you all very much.

Love,
Elder Gerber