Baptisms, Driving, Cigüeñas and Ancient History

Hola a todos.  It has been some time since my last blog, but I have a great excuse.  As you know, I have been studying to take the written portion of process to get my Spanish drivers license.  The general knowledge portion is not that different than a t home.  Where the problem lies is the small insignificant sections that can trip you up.  For instance, there are several types of highways which include freeways (2 types), normal highways, roads that pass through towns, roads within towns, one way streets, reversible lanes, special lanes, etc., etc. You get the picture.  Now, depending on the type of vehicle, the speed limit is different.  Also, within a category of vehicles such as trucks, the weight of the vehicle determines the speed limit.  Did I also mention that on conventional highways the width of the shoulder of the road determines the speed limit!  One some roads you can surpass the speed limit by 20 kilometers per hour in order to overtake (pass).  But if the person you are passing is going the speed limit you cannot pass.  A person in a motorized wheelchair can actually drive on the highway, but not on the two types of freeways.   I could go on and on but I don’t want to bore you.  The major gripe I have is that I only care about the things pertaining to cars because I really don’t think I will be driving a Harley or an 18-wheeler as a missionary.  Since you can only miss three questions on the test, you need to know all of the superfluous information.  After studying manyyyyyyyyyy hours in Spanish, I reviewed the info in English and it was worse.  Whoever translated the manual to English did a horrendous job. 

Last Thursday I went in to take the test.  The room was full and everyone was local except for a Chinese lady and myself.  Either I was totally prepared or the Lord was tired of hearing me complain about this process because the test was easy.  I knew everything on the test and just had doubts on two questions.  The same afternoon as the test I was able to get the results online.  When I saw that I had missed only one question I was more than thrilled.  As I sat and thought about this I realized only those who have passed a Spanish “DMV” test will grasp the significance. The preparation was so much more rigorous than the test.  In the days leading up to the test I kept reminding myself that I had prepared well and I was on the Lords’ errand.  I am here to be a missionary not a drivers training instructor.  Every hour spend on studying took time away from the really important part of our mission.

Yeah baby!

Of course we had to celebrate at the renowned Spanish restaurant “Burger King”.  You may have heard of it.  We called the Elders and used our BK coupons to save a few euros.  Hey – missionaries have to be thrifty!

Now I “get to” get behind the wheel and relearn how to drive a stick.  I am certain that I will be in a group of kids who have never driven before in their life.  At least the hard part is over.

Now – what is going on in the missionary area??

We had a baptism a couple of weeks ago.  It was the first baptism in Cáceres in over a year.  A sweet lady from Peru was baptized by Elder Child (Idaho Falls, ID).  She asked me to confirm her which I was very honored to do so. Below is a group picture of those who attended the baptism.

On July 2 we will have another baptism.  Camilo (50) will be baptized.  He asked me to confirm him.  I guess I will be the “confirming Elder”.  We also have another brother on the radar for baptism. 

The branch is still small but recently we received the addition of two excellent hermanos who have been attending regularly.  One is a member who lives about an hour away but has been able to come on a regular basis.  We invite him to eat lunch with us and the Elders on Sunday, when he is here.  The other brother lives in Cáceres and because of other commitments has been attending the branch at Badajoz.  He is now transitioning to our branch.  It is amazing how much energy just two additional, active members can bring to a branch.  It is a testimony on how much each of us matter, and whatever we can contribute is a great blessing to the branch or ward we attend.

We are working hard on trying to improve the communication within the branch.  Most of the communication takes place over Wi-Fi, using WhatsApp.  This is essentially a no cost texting app that allows people to send messages, pictures and videos.  It is used much as we use texting.  Some members have email but it is really not used much.  The problem with WhatsApp is that is only works over Wi-Fi and unless you have a data plan that works away from your home, you will not receive any messages until you get home.  Also, outgoing phone calls are expensive, as they don’t have very affordable plans here as we do at home.  At least they are very expensive as compared to the average wage in Spain.  Many times I will receive a “hang-up” call from a member, which indicates they want me to call them back.  If you call, let it ring, then hang up, there is no cost.  Unfortunately not all of the members have phones and so we try hard to make a great effort to keep in contact with those that don’t.  It isn’t always possible but we all try our best.

Linda and I want to “run” a branch council and demonstrate how the Church has outlined this meeting.  Many of the members are fairly new and have not been trained how the organizational meetings should take place.  We have been careful not to come in and overstep our calling as missionaries but now feel that we have been here long enough to step up our game.  We feel a great love and respect from the members and we are more than pleased with the relationships we have forged. We remind them that just because the branch is small doesn’t mean that it can’t run smoothly and properly.

Linda has become quite famous with the branch members.  When we have activities or certain meetings, members bring food. Linda got ahold of some American cake mixes from our “black market contact” (actually a senior missionary) at the US Naval Base.  She has made cupcakes a couple of times and they almost fight over them.  They just love them.  The ingredients in our food from home seem to be a little less course and that makes the final product smoother and less grainy.  Linda thinks the frosting she makes also is a big difference.  Speaking of “black market bounty”.  I finally have my Diet Dr. Pepper connection.  Elder Jeppesen takes good care of me in that area.  He is awesome and so willing to get from the base whatever we need, if it is available.  He and Hna. Jeppesen go home the first of Nov so we will make sure he trains their replacement in a proper manner, ha-ha.

Speaking of Linda – she is starting to understand the language much better.  I don’t think she is quite ready to expound in Spanish “Lehi’s Dream”, but she is also learning phrases that she can use. She has been a good sport and takes everything with a great attitude.  

A couple of weeks ago we had a senior missionary activity. Since the location of the activity was in Córdoba we drove to Sevilla the day prior so we wouldn’t have to drive such a distance the day of the activity.  We go to Sevilla every month for zone conference but since we have the Elders with us we need to get back to Cáceres as soon as possible after the meetings are completed.  We spent a nice day in Sevilla and went on a tour, which included the Cathedral, which is one of the largest Cathedrals in the world.  The workmanship in these churches is quite amazing.  We also toured the palace, which is near the Cathedral.  After seeing so many old structures in Spain it seems unbelievable but they start to seem normal.  Everywhere we drive we see some type of castle, alcazar or church that is hundreds of years old.  When we get home we will say: look, there is a new building. 

Below are some of the pictures of Sevilla.  We will be there many more times during our mission so will get better acquainted with Sevilla.

Here are some of the pictures we took on our outing with the other senior couples.  This was in Córdoba.

Our outing in Córdoba included a tour of the Alcazar on the outskirts of the city.  Elder Hopkins (Sr. Elder) arranged a private guide to spend the day with us and serve as our tour guide.  We learned of the history of the Muslims in Spain.  It is quite a wild history.  We also toured the Jewish section of Córdoba and leaned more of the history of Spain. 

About three weeks ago we received a new Elder.  His name is Elder Larsen as hails from Wellsville, Utah.  He is brand new.  Elder Bailey, our English Elder, was transferred to San Fernando, which is south of Sevilla. He is in one of the zones that meets with our zone every three months, so we will see him again soon.  Linda is excited to have two “gringo” Elders so she can keep her English up to date, ha-ha.

Elder Larsen and Elder Child

The Elders in our mission were just given permission to wear hats.  Each hat has to be approved by our mission president prior to purchase.  I am thinking that a nice Panama hat would look nice on Elder Gibson.  Also the Sisters and Elders can now wear sunglasses after approval is given by the President.  Poor President Andersen, I bet his phone will be ringing like crazy.

This week I HAD to get a haircut.  I had put it off longer than I should have but after my first haircut experience I wasn’t exactly looking forward to another one. My first foray into Spanish haircuts was “memorable”.  My hair grows fast but I sure didn’t want to revisit the Bart Simpson lookalike fiasco. Last week I had Linda trim my hair so I didn’t look like a modern day apostate.  A few days ago I went in to get the haircut and crossed my fingers.  I explained how I wanted it cut and hoped for the best.  I actually showed her a picture from my iPad on how I wanted it cut. I sat back in the chair and closed my eyes and acted like I was resting.  I was actually channeling positive thinking to the lady who held the scissors. I wasn’t sure if she had a smile or a smirk on her face. When she was done I opened my eyes and she had done a nice job.  By the time I have her trained we will be home, ha-ha. I think she added some gray but that's ok.

A while back we visited a little pueblo about 10 kilometros outside of Cáceres.  It has a cigüeña (stork) refuge.  Many storks spend part of the year hear then return to Africa.  Linda wrote a piece about them so I won't be redundant.  Here are a few pictures that you might enjoy.

Caracol (snail)

I told Linda to watch her step but I guess she didn't believe me! Yes folks that is her footprint. You can guess what she stepped in!

I just tweaked the blog settings, which hopefully will allow readers to send messages, if they so choose.

Hasta luego until the next blog.

Elder and Hermana Gibson
Dennis and Linda Gibson