Gibby Dad - Life in Tooele County Utah

Elder Jordan Gibby - September 21, 2010

2010-09-21T11:56:00.002-06:00

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Elder Gibby's "favorite" dogs

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That looks like a GOOD meal!

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Reminds me of living in Guatemala

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Elder Jordan Gibby - September 14, 2010

2010-09-14T20:56:00.002-06:00

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Kind of looks like a BP station. I'm not sure what the gorilla is for, but it is big!

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Elder Gibby made this birthday cake for his brother, Jonathan.

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Could this be Rick Farnsworth secretly living in Brazil?

This is why I miss having Elder Gibby around.

The Wedding

2010-09-01T08:11:00.003-06:00

Jared and Britney were married on August 14, 2010 in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony. It was, however, much hotter outside the Temple than I am used to. It was about 112-115 F when we were taking pictures. We had our open house on August 28, 2010 after their honeymoon. It was windy (gale force), but calmed down during the openhouse. Sherrie did a fantastic job planning for the open house and decorating, in spite of the wind. I was truly amazed how nice everything turned out. I guess we will hear from the newlywed couple in about 6 months or so....

From Wedding

Elder Jordan Gibby - August 31, 2010

2010-09-01T07:56:00.002-06:00

From Jordan

Papaya was one of my favorite fruits in Guatemala.

From Jordan

Still having fun with the 7x7 Rubiks Cube.

From Jordan

The new, modern form of missionary work.

Elder Gibby received the "dog whistle" that I ordered for him. I found it on ebay and had it shipped directly from China to Brazil. It is an electronic device that emits a high pitch frequency that is audible to dogs (they don't like it). "The dog whiste is kicking theses dogs backsides. I have already trained all the dogs in our entire neighborhood when they see our clothes they start to run away cause I always use it when they start barking. It works like a miracle!" Elder Gibby enjoys working at the District Leader and trainer for his companions. "I am helping out my comp to get a little more excited about working on the mish."

I am proud of the excellent missionary and hard worker that he is.

Elder Jordan Gibby - August 24, 2010

2010-08-24T21:10:00.002-06:00

Elder Gibby's big new of the week was that he received his 7x7 Rubik's cube. He must have a brain more powerful than a supercomputer because he has already solved it more than a half dozen times. He continues to love his mission and enjoys serving as the District Leader.

Elder Jordan Gibby - August 17, 2010

2010-08-20T12:53:00.001-06:00

Elder Gibby continues to work hard. He received a new companion last transfer and was made the District Leader at the same time. That is a great accomplishment to be a DL after less than a year in the mission. He speaks the language very well now and has been good at training his companions (even his Senior Comps). I have to say that I am very proud of him.

Jordan giving guitar lessons.

These look like important people! Way to go Elder Gibby!!

Another baptism!

Nothing like fresh fruit

Talented Nieces

2010-08-05T07:29:00.002-06:00

My nieces competed in the local fair. Two of the girls decorated cakes and one raised hogs. As the pictures show they really have talent. The younger girls did a fantastic job decorating cakes. This was their first attempt and both won blue ribbons. Their older sister raised two (very large) hogs. They also won awards in their categories. Wow to go!

Island Park/Yellowstone Weekend

2010-07-26T19:54:00.002-06:00

I had the 24th of July off for the State Holiday so we decided to take a quick trip up to Idaho and get out of the heat. I left all my flowers and gardens not sure what state they would be in on my return, but we just needed to get out of town for a few days. We went up to Island Park with Jared and his fiance, Britney, Sarah and Jonathan. It was a little difficult getting off. Just driving down our street, the hood on the suburban suddenly popped up and the safety latch didn't catch. Fortunately, we were able to pull over to the side of the road without incident and secure the hood. Prior to that I lost my wallet at Walmart buying groceries to take up with us. I called the service desk and it had been turned in. That is one of the reasons I like living in Utah, people really are honest and good about turning in things they find. We did finally make it up to Island Park at about midnight. We spent Friday touring through Yellowstone National Park. We got to see Old Faithful blow, several elk and one lonely bison. It really wasn't hot, but it was sure crowded. On Saturday all the kids floated the Henry's Fork River water trail in the canoes. It is quite the trick getting two canoes on top of the suburban. They had fun and saw four moose while floating the river. Sherrie and I took an opportunity to hit Subway and have lunch. Sunday morning we left to return to Tooele. We stopped in Sugar-Salem at the cemetary to see Taylor's grave. Everything looked nice and we took a group photo (it is still on my phone so I will have to post it later).

Elder Jordan Gibby - Teaching Aides

2010-07-20T22:12:00.001-06:00

Elder Gibby put his artistic talent to work and created some teaching aides to help people understand the plan of salvation. He said that they work well.

Elder Gibby - Brazilian Chef - July 20, 2010

2010-07-20T15:02:00.001-06:00

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Elder Jordan Gibby - July 13, 2010

2010-07-13T19:44:00.002-06:00

The 3rd of July Celebration - LHF Cul-de-sac

2010-07-13T19:30:00.000-06:00

Elder Jordan Gibby - July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T19:31:00.001-06:00

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Elder Jordan Gibby - June 28, 2010

2010-06-28T13:37:00.002-06:00

Watching the World Cup

Another Beautiful Day in Brazil

More World Cup - I imagine that is what most Brazilians are doing...

One of Elder Gibby's art creations

A Couple More Pictures

2010-06-22T13:40:00.002-06:00

Woops, I forgot to post all the pictures. Here are a couple more. I assume this is a service project and not a way to earn extra food money.

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Elder Jordan Gibby - June 22, 2010

2010-06-22T13:34:00.003-06:00

Jordan at the Porto Alegre Temple

Jordan Smith???

I found something to do with my monies.

Enjoying a World Cup Match

It looks like a cake, but I'm not sure...

These are the pictures from the last three weeks. I have not been diligent in keeping things posted. Elder Gibby continues to do well in Brazil. He says that it is getting cold and they don't have heaters in their apartments. I remember that from Guatemala. In the Northern Hemisphere we tend to think that it never gets cold in the Southern Hemisphere. Well, I survived it and so will Jordan. I miss him, but I know that he is where he needs to be right now in his life.

Elder Jordan Gibby - June 1, 2010

2010-06-01T19:19:00.001-06:00

Late Spring Flowers

2010-05-30T21:14:00.001-06:00

The snow has decided to end so the flowers are now venturing forth. This is a sampling of what I have so far.

Elder Jordan Gibby - May 25, 2010

2010-05-25T14:18:00.000-06:00

From Jordan

The Trip to Alabama

2010-05-24T20:24:00.002-06:00

Picking Elder Gibby up at the Mission Home:

Oak Mountain State Park:

The Vulcan - Birmingham, Alabama:

Cullman, Alabama - 1:

A mixture of pictures:

Bessemer Baptism:

Gadsen, Alabama:

Bessemer, Alabama:

Birmingham Temple:

Coming Home:

Finally Home:

Elder Jared Gibby - May 12, 2010

2010-05-12T20:19:00.003-06:00

Today I received the last email from Elder Gibby. His mission will officially end on Friday. Wow, I can't believe that two years has gone by already. It seems like yesterday (not to sound too cliche) that we dropped him off at the MTC in Provo, Utah. Am I really two years older? I guess so (the mirror seems to say 5-7 years older).

Elder Jordan Gibby - May 11, 2010

2010-05-12T20:15:00.002-06:00

Elder Gibby and Elder Wellington

Elder Tarzan

The District

Elder Gibby's pet gecko (not Geico)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T21:01:00.003-06:00

Our missionary sons who were able to talk to each other today (a number of years ago)

To was a wonderful day. We were able to talk at length with both of our sons serving missions. We called Jordan in Brazil at about 1:00 pm our time and Jared called us about a half an hour later. As it turned out we were able to put both the cell phones on speaker phone and let the boys talk to each other for a while. It was really great hearing them talk to each other - missionary to missionary. It made me so grateful for a family that is so close and children that love each other. Jonathan gave a talk in Sacrament meeting on Mothers. He did a really good job and looked and sounded as experienced as the more senior speakers. We were able to have Brittney with us for a good portion of the day. It is always a delight to have her come visit. We were happy that she was able to talk with Jared for a while and then with us for a couple of hours. All in all it was one of the best days in a long while.

Elder Jordan Gibby - May 4, 2010

2010-05-04T12:34:00.001-06:00

Elder Gibby at a District Meeting

From Jordan

A fruit that grows in Brazil

From Jordan

The instant church...

From Jordan

Jungle Leaves

From Jordan

Thirty Year Old Memories

2010-05-02T20:35:00.003-06:00

I am really old enough to have 30 year old memories? I guess so. My son's girlfriend, Britney, called us to let us know that she had made the BYU Ballroom Dance Team. Well, in 1981 I was a member of the BYU Ballroom Dance Team. Thirty years and 80 pounds later it seems hard to believe. I went back into my old Banyan (BYU yearbook) to find the picture and here it is. Yes world, I was once young.

Tooele Winter Wonderland

2010-04-30T09:12:00.003-06:00

I knew as soon as I planted my flower seeds and color bowls winter would return. I guess I have lived in the frigid northern hinterlands long enough to not trust those first warm, apparent spring days. They are just to taunt you before the next snowfall arrives. I try and watch my wisteria. It seems to have a sense of when spring really arrives and waits until then to start putting out its leaves. I saw the leaves budding. Even the clematis was starting to put forth flower buds so I decided that we have passed the last snowfall and I could safely embark on my spring gardening. Only a day after I planted my color bowls and put the seeds in the ground I get word that another winter storm is approaching. I did get my large color bowls in the house and covered the smaller ones on the patio so I think they will be good. I just hope the wisteria didn't freeze. It has gotten so large I would have to lose it at this point.
Well, here are the pictures of what I saw when I left for work this morning.

From My Pictures

Fluent Missionary

2010-04-28T20:50:00.001-06:00

Elder Jordan Gibby - April 27, 2010

2010-04-27T19:42:00.002-06:00

Elder Gibby in the CTM (old picture to see how much has grown up in 8 months)

Elder Gibby - the great map reader

A view from Elder Gibby's apartment

A mountain Elder Gibby is going to climb on p-day

Elder Jordan Gibby - April 20, 2010

2010-04-20T13:26:00.000-06:00

From Jordan

Elder Jordan Gibby - April 13, 2010

2010-04-13T20:26:00.000-06:00

Easter Flowers

2010-04-11T18:48:00.002-06:00

From 2010-04-08 001

I need to thank Jeannie and Britney Ruddy for the beautiful tulips they brought for Easter. We have been enjoying their blooms for the past week. The following pictures are of the flowers that are now blooming in the yard.

Elder Jordan Gibby - Pictures

2010-04-09T20:56:00.003-06:00

I thought I had these pictures posted and when I looked at the blog they weren't there. I guess that I am getting senile early in my old age.

Winter Yet Again in Tooele

2010-03-31T19:17:00.002-06:00

For some reason, winter is hesitant to leave this year. We had several nice days of beautiful, spring weather - even temperature approaching 70 F - and then today I wake up to another blizzard. It has been snowing all day and we have over 6 inches on the ground right now. It is wet snow and sticking to everything. Sherrie and I went to the gym and is was miserable just walking from the car into the building. I know it is good for the gardens and lawns because it is providing much needed moisture, but it might be a little less intrusive as rain.

Jonathan's New Suit

2010-03-31T19:13:00.002-06:00

From 2010-03-21 001

Jonathan out grew his church suit (height not girth). I took him for a true suit buying experience (the first didn't count since it was from Walmart). We went to Mr. Mac's. He and I both got new suits. His is a beautiful black with a pinstripe. I had to admit that he looks pretty dashing in it. I went with a conservative navy blue with faint green and blue pinstripes. He was able to work with the salesman to pick out his suit and then have it fitted for him. He even got a very nice (expensive) red, silk tie to go with it.

Sarah's Birthday

2010-03-31T19:07:00.002-06:00

I am such a bad dad. It has taken me this long to blog about my daughter's birthday which was over a week ago. I can't believe how grown up all my children are. She had a nice birthday with her mom and I, her brother and her Grandma and Grandpa Gibby that came up for it. Her presents were mainly accessories for her laptop computer and a George Forman Grill. Nothing too exciting, but as she told me, she got the things she asked for. It was kind of different celebrating a birthday without both the older boys here. But I guess it was the same for Jonathan's last birthday.

Elder Jordan Gibby - March 30, 2010 Update

2010-03-30T12:04:00.003-06:00

From Jordan

Elder Jordan Gibby working on a service project.

From Jordan

Elder Gibby's dream car.

From Jordan

Elder Gibby's true love - the guitar!

Elder Jared Gibby - March 24, 2010

2010-03-24T20:12:00.001-06:00

Some pictures of Sister Brown's baptism. She is such a spiritual lady.

Elder Jared Gibby - March 17, 2010

2010-03-17T20:36:00.002-06:00

Nelson picked up his fancy suites from Chicago a couple of weeks ago. He was sporting it one day and I had to get a pick with him. yea, I've been working out a little bit. haha. Nelson is a stud!! He's 51 years old and lookin pretty good. (I think the suit looks pretty nice!)

Here we all are for Jeanette, "Sweetie's," baptism. 'Grandma,' her mother is standing next to her. Nelson, her brother, is next to me. Her other brother is on the far right. Leon is down below. It was probably the best baptism of my mission. (What beautiful family.)

Here is a pic of Nina's baptism. Nelson was excited to perform the baptism. He's only held the Aaronic Priesthood for a little over a month and as a Priest this is his second baptism. He's awesome. (What great people Jared has been able to meet in Alabama.)

This is Breon and I. He's flashin his gang sign. haha He's three years old. Breon is like their nephew or something.

Elder Jordan Gibby - March 15, 2010

2010-03-16T20:47:00.002-06:00

Elder Jordan Gibby and his new companion, Elder Rodgiques.

A special care package from Mom. Yumm.

Elder Gibby's Grape (Uva) Festival Shirt

Resilient Spring

2010-03-16T20:34:00.002-06:00

From 2010-03-16 001

With spring officially scheduled to begin this weekend, my gardens on right on schedule. A little blizzard dumping 8 inches of snow seems to have only encouraged them to press forward with more vigor. We had our first daffodils bloom today. The others are budded and won't be far behind.

Winter Wonderland in March

2010-03-14T13:25:00.003-06:00

From 2010-03-14 001

We got a little snow yesterday in Tooele. It snowed most of the day. I was supposed to change out the fuel pump in my Subaru. After several hours of trying to work in blizzard like conditions, I gave up. A week of nice sunny weather and then a blizzard on the weekend. We had plans to go to dinner with Sherrie's best friend from high school, Julene Helean and her husband Mark. We weren't sure we would be able to make it to Lehi. We decided to go for it and went the southern route through Cedar Fort. The roads were pretty bad until we reached Cedar Fort. I kept wondering if we had made the right decision. When we arrived we had a great time visiting and enjoyed a good dinner at Chili's. We came back through Salt Lake City which was a longer drive, but the roads were mainly just wet until we started up the incline to Tooele. Tooele City roads were almost impassable last night.But we made it okay, had a great time and were able to wake up to a winter wonderland this morning.

Bump in the Road to Spring

2010-03-05T08:14:00.003-07:00

All the 50+ degree days has me overly anxious for spring. Well, I awoke to find about 4 inches of new snow. This wasn't unexpected, however, as it was blizzarding when I left the plant yesterday afternoon. I don't count on seeing any snow when I get home this afternoon, as we are expecting warmer temps again today. These spring snows are really good for the gardens and lawn. The cold, very wet, snow seems to vitalize the emerging plants. It just adds a little irritation in having to clear off the windshield before driving the car.

Planning Commission Meeting

2010-03-04T22:41:00.002-07:00

We had a really long planning commission meeting last night. We started at 7 pm and ended about 11:30 pm. This was a big issue for a relatively small (population) valley. Rocky Mountain Power wants to run a high-voltage transmission line, to provide power to the west side of the Salt Lake Valley, through Tooele and along our picturesque east bench. The people on the east side of the Oquirrh Mountains seem to forget that there are people living on the west side of the range. It was amazing how the time really seemed to go by quickly as we listened to input from so many citizens. The Tooele Transcript Bulletin carried an article about the meeting.

Elder Jared Gibby - March 3, 2010 Update

2010-03-04T09:02:00.001-07:00

Snow in Alabama

From Jared Jan 2010

Good Southern BBQ (I'm going to have to get a smoker)

From Jared Jan 2010

Another Baptism (Nelson a convert baptizes Leon)

From Jared Jan 2010

Elder Jordan Gibby Birthday

2010-03-03T09:08:00.003-07:00

Some more birthday pictures I received this morning.

From Jordan

Translated (using my Spanish to try and understand Portuguese):

Happy Birthday to me. I am 20 years old. Wow! I am becoming an old man. How crazy. I love you. I am well. It has been fun translating what I write. Also give Ruby a hug from me.

Affirmations of Spring

2010-03-02T16:42:00.003-07:00

From 2010-03-02 001

Pulsatilla Blooms

From 2010-03-02 001

Primose Blossoms

From 2010-03-02 001

Daffodils enjoying the warmer days

I see the gardens starting to awake with the few warmer days that we've had recently. I am ready for spring and tired of winter.

Elder Jordan Gibby - March 2, 2010

2010-03-02T12:09:00.003-07:00

Elders with the festival princesses

The Grape Festival

Jordan commented that they seem to really like dinosaurs in Brazil

Happy 20th Birthday Elder Jordan Gibby!

Elder Gibby celebrated his 20th birthday this past Saturday. Wow, I can't believe that I have two children in their 20's now. I can remember celebrating my 20th birthday in Tiquisate, Guatemala when I was serving a mission just like it was yesterday. On the other hand, I have a hard time remember what happened yesterday. Well, Elder Gibby didn't get much of a birthday celebration. He writes, "I didn't have a birthday party cause my birthday was on transfers. However, a lady in one of our wards made me a cake regradless if I stayed in this area or left. I stayed because my companion's escape plan worked for him." Hopefully, this will be the last transfer that Elder Gibby spends in his current area - after a few months he is feeling the need for change. This will be his third companion in this area. He has a new companion that he really likes.

It sounds as if they experience some of the same problems there that we have here from time to time. "I am focusing on getting to our lunches everyday. I had to make our lunch calendar because the lady that has the calling for making our lunch calendar decided she didn't want to do it anymore."

"We went to festa da uva a week ago for pday and got a lot of cool pics and I got some pictures with what they call the pricesses of the grapes. Kinda interesting. They are pretty but were using way too much makeup haha."

"I'm not sure what's up with these people and dinasours, they always include dinasour statues in various events haha, I thought it was pretty funny."

Elder Jared Gibby February 17, 2010

2010-02-17T22:30:00.002-07:00

Jared was excited that they got some snow in Alabama. "YEA!!! we got snow!!!! I was so pumped. It snowed most of Friday and stayed till Saturday afternoon. We got about an inch and a half. That's a lot for Alabama. We had a huge snowball fight with the Ellis family. Elder Scheitinger and I totally dominated, it was hilarious. Then we made a snow man with them. It was a ghetto snow man, with the flat brimmed hat and all. haha. We also had a snowball fight with the Sanford's and made a snowman with them. It was a great day."

Jared didn't get transferred which was nice - maybe he will get to finish out in Bessemer. "YAY!!! I didn't want to go. I want to see the rest of the Ellis family join the church. Leon's baptism is this Saturday his mom decided he should go ahead and get baptized. He was waiting for her to quit smoking but she keeps relapsing. She is extremely addicted to cigarettes. I haven't had an investigator so addicted before. She is down to about 1 every 2-3 days. So she is improving. She just gets stressed out and gets one. It's super tough. She is going to quit though, I know it. Her baptismal date is for March 6th."

"At church on Sunday we had Barbara, Miss Wayne, and Santana come. It was awesome. Three new investigators YAY!! We have a huge teaching pool right now all we gotta do now is just seal the deal with our investigators, commit them to be baptized. We are going to have a lot of success this transfer. The bible study class is a great idea and I think it will attract a lot of people. The work just keeps getting more and more exciting and intense!!! I love it."

"This weekend is going to be sweet. All the young men from the stake are coming to Bessemer and for a couple of hours are going to do the survey in our area. I'm glad we are in the stake center's area. They are expecting around 50 young men. That adds up to about a weeks amount of tracting. whoo hooo!!! We should get a lot of referrals. So we are super excited."

I can't believe that it is almost time for us to fly out there and pick him up. It is so nice having a missionary out that I wish he could stay another year (well, maybe not).

Sterling Scholar

2010-02-17T22:13:00.002-07:00

From 2010-02-17 001

Tonight Sarah had her Regional interview for the Sterling Scholar Award. She was awarded the Tooele High School award a couple of months ago. Advancing to regionals she had to prepare and submit a formal portfolio and participate in an interview. She spent quite a bit of time preparing her portfolio and preparing for the interview. She said that she didn't get nervous. We talked about the questions and her responses. My opinion, although I am likely biased, is that she did well in the interview. They will announce the regional winners and runners up tonight at midnight. I guess I am up for the long haul tonight to see how she did. Anyway it turns out it was a great experience for her and I am certainly the proud father.

Elder Jordan Gibby - February 16, 2010

2010-02-16T07:54:00.002-07:00

Thank you Mom. What a great Mother, she never misses a holiday!

The rainy season in Brazil - or is this the only season in Brazil?

Brazil has excellent food!

I Can't Believe It

2010-02-15T20:45:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that I am sitting here watching the Bachelor. I have been so tired for several weeks that I have given in to watching too much TV. This has resulted in my watching the Bachelor. Oh well, I hope that he ends up with Tenley. I hope he votes off the blonde bimbo this week, although I don't think that he will. Well, here is Jake to make his selection. I guess I will wait to post until I see what he is going to do since he has fallen in love with all three of them. I keep saying that he should be on the show "The Polygamist". So far he has admitted that he could marry any three of them. Tenley gets the first rose as I thought she would. Internet rumors have it that they are already engaged. The second rose goes to Vienna as I thought it would. I can't believe that he would choose the cheap stripper over the much sweeter Gia. I think that is part of the TV production. They need to keep the tension in the show so that stupid viewers like me will keep watching it.

Well, I need to get away from watching dumb shows like this and start working on my house again. I bought the cabinet for the downstairs bathroom. Now I can start tearing the floor out and put the travertine down. It will be nice to have it done. I also bought the paint for the downstairs bedroom. I can work on painting that room this week. Anything to keep me away from this TV trash. Hopefully Gia can find a nice guy now. Now there is no surprise that Tenley will be the pick in the end because there is now way he will pick the trailer trash candidate.

Time for Winter to End

2010-02-14T21:15:00.002-07:00

We had a nice day today with warm sunshine. If the lawn hadn't been so wet from melted snow I would have laid out on the lawn on a blanket. I am ready for winter to end and spring to arrive. I've actually been ready for winter to end from the day it started. We didn't play any winter sports this year so winter has essentially consisted of being stuck in the house or Walmart (the only place to go in Tooele when you want to get out of the house). I see a number of my perennials starting to shoot up. I think that the Pasque flowers will start blooming in just a few weeks. I just hope we don't get a bitter cold freeze at this time an damage all the new plants and buds.

Elder Jordan Gibby - February 9, 2010

2010-02-09T10:48:00.002-07:00

Elder Jordan Gibby - February 2, 2010

2010-02-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Miracles Do Happen

2010-02-05T19:49:00.003-07:00

This past week I found myself in a very difficult situation. It was not something that I had put myself into, but it came upon me. I didn't know how I would ever surmount the problem and I fell into the pit of despair. I was so upset by the situation I found myself in, I couldn't think, I couldn't act. I pretty much just walked in circles and cried. At about 11:30 that night my mind was cleared and I had strong impressions on what I should do. I followed those impressions to the letter and within a day the problem had resolved itself. I was telling my mother about it and she said that at about 11:30 that same night she had called and put my name in the LDS Temple for the prayer roll (they were closed by she left it on the answering machine). I know God listened to the answering machine before the temple worker's did the next day. I knew that this was a direct answer to prayer. I told my children that they had witnessed a modern day miracle. I told them that I had prayed fervently for a resolution. Both my children told me that they had also been praying for the same outcome. It turned into an incredibly spiritual experience.

I read the following passages of scripture from 1 Nephi Chapter 7 that I feel described my experience:

16 And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me. And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts.
17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.
18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.

As in the case of Nephi, the Lord did not grant me with strength to strike back, rather he loosed the bands that were around my wrists and feet and freed me from the difficult circumstance I found myself in.

Elder Jared Gibby - February 3, 2010

2010-02-05T19:47:00.001-07:00

This last picture is of my awesome pizza that I made. We made these when we went to the Kilgore's home for the Alabama football game. It was a lot of fun.

One is of the view across the street. That is our ghettofabulous store over there. It gets pretty crazy, trust me.

Here is a picture of the blue cup that is outside my study window. There is a little deck on the back of our house. I decided to get a pic by him.

Elder Jordan Gibby - January 18, 2010

2010-01-18T11:35:00.003-07:00

Elder Gibby's GPS

Feels like home

A Brazilian children's magazine - Gibi - pronounced Gibby

Attacked by a dog - another I was blessed as a missionary moment

Elder Jordan Gibby's first baptism - a whole family!

Elder Gibby write that things here are going well in Caxias, Brasil. He just went through his third transfer and is staying in his same area. He write, "[w]e have 2 wards and our area is over 15 miles. I am pretty much accustomed to it by now, its no problem. I bought some arch supports and they are helping out a ton. I guess because we walk so much here are all the streets are cobble stone, I have lost my arches on my feet."

He was able to experience his first baptisms this past week. "One thing that was pretty cool this past week was we baptized an entire family and confirmed them the following Sunday (yesterday). It was pretty legit."

"Another thing that happened this past week was I got attacked by a dog! I was walking on the sidewalk in a semi ghetto area and this giant dog head reached out, when i was talking to my companion, through the fence and got a hold of my shirt and completely destroyed the sleeve on it. I was lucky he didn't get my arm! I have had a few other times when dogs had been chasing us and I had to swing my backpack at them to get them to stop trying to attack us. For some reason dogs really don't like my companion (haha) so I blame him for my shirt getting destroyed (haha). They also have this magazine called Bibi, it is pronounced the same as our last name and it is for kids, so when people see or say my name they always laugh, I guess its a good thing."

Elder Jordan Gibby - January 12, 2010

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Elder Jordan Gibby - January 5, 2010

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Back from Christmas Break

2010-01-03T17:05:00.003-07:00

From 2010-01-02 001

We picked Britney and her brother, Jonathan, up at the airport on Saturday evening. They came back to the house to get their car and enjoy a few minutes of socializing.

Sunday Drive - January 3, 2010

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Feeling a bit cabin feverish, we decided to take a Sunday afternoon drive. The sun was out, the air was warmer than it has been and there was a blanket of snow on the ground. We left Tooele and drove up through Park City and then over to Heber Valley. From there we drove down Provo Canyon, back through Salt Lake City and home. It was a beautiful drive and it felt good to get out of the construction zone for a while.

Elder Jared Gibby - December 30, 2009

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Britney's Christmas Present

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Britney opened her Christmas present before we took her and her brother, Jonathan, to the airport to fly home for Christmas. I think she liked it.

Elder Jordan Gibby - December 22, 2009

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Grandma Gibby Funeral - December 29

2009-12-29T23:06:00.003-07:00

Today I attended the funeral service for my Grandma Gibby. She had just turned 94 at the end of September this year. She had been in relatively good health for her age until she fell and broke her ankle the day after Thanksgiving. She passed away peacefully in her home where she had lived for almost 75 years. It was a beautiful service on a cold and blustery winter day. I felt bad for my sister, Rachelle, and her family that were unable to attend the funeral because of bad weather. I am grateful that I was able to know my Grandmother for so many years. It was good to see so many friends and relatives from my father's and mother's families.

Elder Jared Gibby - December 23, 2009

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Elder Jordan Gibby - December 22, 2009

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Elder Gibby finally receives all his packages!

Reeses - a candy you can't get in Brazil - the Holy Grail of Candy for missionaries.

Not sure what this is, but it looks fun.

Elder Jordan Gibby - December 15, 2009

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Elder Jared Gibby - December 16, 2009

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A Couple of More Telling Visual Commentaries

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A Commentary on Modern Life

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I saw this and busted up laughing. Isn't it true.

MOTAB Christmas Concert

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WOW! What an incredible concert. The choir, the orchestra, the dancers, the bell ringers and the guest artists - it was a night to remember. I am so grateful that we received tickets. Even the weather was nice (much warmer than the Devotional last Sunday).

Elder Jordan Gibby - December 7, 2009

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The guy in the hat is our one of our wards mission leaders, he hunts wild pigs for fun and has 7 dogs that help him. its pretty crazy haha.

Jordan had his first transfer this week. It sounded like he was staying in his area and getting a new companion. He likes his area and is making progress with the language.

First Presidency Devotional - December 6, 2009

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Wow, we had the great experience of attending the First Presidency Devotional in the Conference Center tonight. We had seats just 8 rows back from the stage. The talks given by the First Presidency were wonderful. The choir sounded angelic. It was just the right event to put me in the Christmas spirit. Britney and Lizzy came up from Provo. It was a cold walk to from the parking garage, but it was so worth it. THe family sitting behind us was from Richland. David Volmer, who I knew growing up, is the Bishop of their ward. They flew down for the First Presidency Devotional. She told Sherrie that they have been trying to get tickets for 10 years. I guess there are advantages to living close to the Conference Center. While I haven't gotten them every year, we have gone twice and had seats close to the front both times. This coming Saturday we get to go to the Conference Center again for the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with Natalie Cole as the guest artist. I am so excited for that concert. I was able to get tickets to tall the events this year that I wanted to attend on Temple Square. I guess it must be a blessing from having 2 sons serving missions this Christmas season.

Elder Jordan Gibby - December 1, 2009

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A long way from home

Elder Gibby being attacked by a dinosaur on p-day

Helping a Church member build a brick addition on his house

Elder Gibby met the real Santa Claus and he speaks Portuguese!

Elder Gibby is really enjoying his mission in Brazil. Last week a lightning storm zapped his battery charger. I was trying to figure out how to buy one online in Brazil and have it shipped to him inside the country. It is astronomically expensive to ship things from here. He let us know this week, "Asfor the batteries one of the elders here had an extra battery charger! Woo, I am so happy that he did because he said I can have it." So his camera is up and operating again.

The language is progressing. "I heard that 6 months is pretty much the normal time for people to understand the language." That is pretty much what I have heard from missionaries who have served around the world - give it six months and you are speaking and understanding well. Elder Gibby wrote, "One thing that is kind of hard is saying everything backwards. I practice by thinking that I am speaking like Yoda, it seems to work for a lot of the phrases. I write down words I don't know all day and study them throughout the day."

Elder Gibby is coming up on his first transfer, "We have transfers in 6 days, crazy hu? I will be getting new comp. My comp right now is named Elder Miranda, he has the same time left as Jared."

Feliz Natal!

Elder Jared Gibby - November 25, 2009

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Elder Jordan Gibby - November 17, 2009

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"Things are going pretty well here in Brasil. ... I had my first dream in Portuguese about a week ago. I was pretty happy about it. It was kinda funny because I would have thought that if I was dreaming in Portuguese I would understand it but it still made no sense in my dream haha."

Elder Gibby is still enjoying his mission. I always look forward to his weekly not (albiet short - they have to pay for internet time and he tries to write everybody a personal letter). I looks like from the pictures they might have had a missionary conference and lunch.

3-D Origami

2009-11-12T19:35:00.001-07:00

Jonathan learned this origama technique on You-Tube. His pieces of artwork turned out really nice (it takes a lot of little triangles to make one of these).

Halloween Pictures - Better Late Than Never

2009-11-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Jonathan decorated our yard for Halloween. I am so behind because of this illness I've been battling I never posted the pictures he took of his decorations. They looked really good at night. He had purple lights on the lawn.

Bad Blogger - Bad Blogger

2009-11-11T20:46:00.002-07:00

Oh, what a bad blogger I've become. I posted the boys missionaries photos, but didn't even write about what has gone on in the last few weeks. I caught this cold (I think it is the H1N1 virus from my youngest son - but I am too cheap to go into the doctor just to have it confirmed) and it has just taken the wind out of my sails. I've made it to work everyday - but barely. For a whole week I wore a heavy duty dust mask respirator to avoid spreading my germs around the office. I didn't go to the gym for a whole week. I've been back three days this week, but only a fast walk on the treadmill. I have my Halloween photos, but I never got them posted and now it is almost Thanksgiving. I feel a little worse today because last night I had to go recover the Explorer from the high school parking lot. Sarah left the headlights on all day and we've long since lost the door key (which is different from the ignition key). We rely on the electric locks to unlock the doors, but when there is no battery they don't work. And if you can't get the car opened, you can't pop the hood the jump the car. I did eventually get the hood opened and as soon as I connected up the battery to jump I was able to get the car unlocked. All that "work" left me exhausted and feeling slightly more ill today. Happily, we didn't have to engage the services of a locksmith (happily for us, not him). I watched my show, So You Think You Can Dance, tonight. I actually didn't even feel well enough to enjoy it. I have the muscle aches and pains back. I really just feel like whining, which is what a blog entry is good for - then the rest of my family members don't have to listen to me.

I am happy to say that both my boys are enjoying their missions and doing well. Everyday is a great experience for Jordan. He loves being in Brazil. His language skills are improving day by day. Jared is going to have all of eastern Alabama baptized before he comes home. Every email we receive from him has news of new baptismal commitments or baptisms executed. He has such a positive attitude and so much faith that he has gone into several "difficult" areas and found incredible success. It is hard to believe that he will be coming home in less than 6 months (on a positive note that means I get to go on a vacation with my wife in less than 6 months back to our old stomping grounds, well close).

Sarah did very well on her ACT so she is looking as some good scholarships to state colleges. She just needs to figure out which one she wants to attend. She is, and always has been, an academic child. Jonathan played in his first band concert of the year. He has become so accomplished on the saxophone that he should really be playing with the high school band - I guess that will happen next year. He keeps up with his sister gradewise also.

I've been sitting at the computer for too long and now my neck is starting to hurt bad. The dryer is starting to beep that the load is done. I can hear the washer on the final rinse cycle and there are three laundry baskets with close waiting to be put away. I guess those are all indicators that I need to close this blog entry and move onto to more mundane tasks demanding my attention.

Elder Jordan Gibby - November 9, 2009

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Elder Gibby with his little guitar (mission authorized)

Elder Gibby in the Brazilian jungle.

Enjoying a delicious meal in Brazil (thank you family feeding him!)

Elder Jared Gibby - November 4, 2009

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Alabama Fall

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Brother Frye sent us this picture of the Elders walking along a trail. Jared can be seen from the back holding up his camera to take a picture of the Elders ahead of him.

Elder Jordan Gibby - November 3, 2009

2009-11-03T09:23:00.002-07:00