I told him not to, but being the incredibly thoughtful guy he is, he sent me a package as a half-birthday/Easter/leaving-the-MTC present. There was candy in it and a picture of Christ walking out of the tomb when he was resurrected. But the best part was this little guy:
A Book of Mormon?! Really? What could be so special about that? Well, let me tell you!
In this copy of The Book of Mormon, Elder Gibby highlighted and underlined verses throughout it. He made a key at the front of the book that said which verses related to Patience, Love, Faith, etc. Then he underlined verses that related to us. He included suggestions of things to do while I read. For example, in the Book of Enos he said "Write down all the things you are grateful for!"
While flipping through it, I came across some things that quite literally made me laugh out loud.
We had been talking about Samuel the Lamanite in my Book of Mormon class, and I encouraged him to be as faithful and determined as Samuel when preaching the gospel. However, I told him that maybe he shouldn’t go to the extreme of climbing up on a wall and crying repentance to the people of Oaxaca (it's a bad idea cuz he might get shot at with arrows), but to still be dedicated and keep Samuel the Lamanite's excellent example in mind while he teaches the gospel. Aaaaaand this is what he wrote on the picture in the Book of Mormon of Samuel the Lamanite:
It says, "Me on top of the Mayan temple teaching!"
Another little jewel I came across was his addition to the 10 commandments in Mosiah 13:
Sorry, the picture is pretty bad quality so it's hard to read. In orange it says:
16 1/2: Thou shalt write Adam once a week. And date after missions.
16 3/4: Adam, thou shalt wait 6 months for Chanel.
Aaaaand one last funny thing I came across:
His companion scratched out some of the words in the verse and replaced them with some other ones hahaha :)
1 Nephi 16:7 - "And it came to pass that I, Adam, took one of the daughters of Bro Lawson to wife"
However, that's not all, folks! At the end, where there are 8 or so blank pages, Adam wrote his own book, namely "The Book of Adam: An Abridgment of Lessons and Teachings Adam Learned Before and During His Time at the MTC." Yes, he wrote his own book. Chapters, verses, and all! It includes different gospel principles, such as Faith, Repentance, Obedience, etc. and how it has played a role in his life. At the very end, he wrote his testimony.
IS THIS BOY INCREDIBLE OR WHAT?!??! Don't ask me how I got so lucky to land him, but there is no way in heck I'm giving him up! This must have taken him AGES. The missionaries don't have a lot of free time in the MTC, so he probably spent a lot of his precious time working on this. It's such a personalized gift, and I treasure it so much! :)
Good grief, Elder Gibby has done so much to help build up my testimony and knowledge of the gospel. Ever since I got to know him, I've become a better person and my spirituality has grown so much! Don't get me wrong, I had a testimony and all before he became a part of my life, but he's been an amazing influence on me and my righteousness. I'm so grateful for him and the example he is to me!!! I love this missionary more than he could ever know.
By the way, Elder Gibby told me that now I'm allowed to e-mail him while he's on his mission!! Before it was just family, but now missionaries can e-mail friends also :) I'M SO EXCITED. This way I'll hear from him twice a week! :D
868 Days Left! :)
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