Hooohoohaahaa! That is Monkey for "GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN!" We went to
Monkey mountain last week! AHH IT WAS CRAZY! Those monkeys were mean
as heck! The other Elders I went with stayed as far away as possible.
But of course.....because I have my Dad's genes in me I thought "Come
on, it can't be that mad, they are all bark and no bite...I'll bet I
can give one a stick"...
well let me tell you how that thought turned out...it ended up with Monkeys following us in the trees and yelling
at us and growling bearing their teeth and 4 Missionaries screaming
and running haha. Oh gosh they were so scary! I think what really made
it bad was this Baby monkey. So he and I...we had a connection, I was
talking monkey with him and we were making faces, it was so funny. And
then we got to close...Mama monkey didn't like that, she gathered the
other mama monkeys and Papa monkeys...I felt like a scared little girl
haha they are freaky!!! And loud....and brave. So we ran away.
BUT then...I guess I have not quite matured yet because then I
thought"....well maybe they well yell but won't come after me...I
mean...i'm bigger than them...It cant be THAT bad." So...yes...silly
Elder Gish went in for round two...THAT is when we decided to leave
haha. The monkeys started really coming after us! THEY WERE INTENSE! I
was scared out of my mind haha. Of course it provided for a good laugh
for all the Elders and a few of the natives around us as they saw this
white boy leap away from these monkeys and start sprinting to get as
far away as I could!
Now want to know where the REAL Gish in me comes out?
It is when I give my camera to Elder W. and say..."hey
that was crazy!!!!! I want to remember it, try to get a picture of
them coming after me"....yeah....well luckily I am still alive!
:) Not too many bruises or bit marks. Haha Just kidding it didn't get
to that point, but I sure was freaked out that it would haha. Now what
REALLY tells me how I haven't matured is that I know if I go back...I
am gonna want better pics of the same thing haha. Oh well, we will
just see if that time ever comes haha.
Something really funny about getting to monkey mountain too is that
Elder Erickson and I didn't know you had to buy a pass to take your
bike on the MRT so we just walked on like normal and no-one stopped
us. When we met the other missionaries and they told us we were all
cracking up. Of course we stopped and paid as we got off but it was so funny to just think about what
they must have been thinking as we walked through the handicapped gate
with our bikes instead of the "pay for your bike gate" haha.
Oh so I have something funny that I think was actually from the week
before but I hadn't talked about yet.
So at Church when they did the
CPR night they also had us all practice the Heimlich. So I LOVE our
ward mission leader. He is a great guy. SO he got this boy named D.L. and had him
practice the Heimlich on him haha. Oh that poor boy, it was SO FUNNY
watching him all crazy trying to help this poor boy! haha. Picture Max
Eastman (thats how big D.L. is) Now Picture a really old man
(bishop....brother soucy? THATS CRAZY) size and with the energy of
that wild Elder Dane S.) haha. That is the only way I can think to
relate to you who these people were, now picture them practicing the
Heimlich...haha oh gosh, this might not being coming out as funny in
an email as it was haha. Now I feel like this might have been one of
those 'you had to be there' moments haha, oh well maybe some people
will get a kick out of it :).
So I told you that we planned for the H. families FHE [Shannon here: FHE= Family Home Evening,] well let me
tell you how funny that was!
So it was all good and spiritual and
serious up to the game. Haha, we blindfolded H.D. and told him
that he had to put the Plan of Salvation together (on these little cool
card things) And H. J. could help but could only use her words,
no touching or anything. It was HILARIOUS to see him placing these
things upside down and backwards and us being Born into the celestial
Kingdom haha. FHE was really fun, but it really made me miss home FHE.
Take SERIOUS advantage of it while you can! Even if you aren't
members, just set aside time each week to have just family time! If I
was back home right now we would have FHE every night :) I would
almost never be out! I would just want to be with my fam. That is one
thing I am so grateful that I have really learned and experienced out
here is the importance and value of the family. I love my family so
much and I feel so blessed to be with them! I am so grateful that I
have the privilege of being out here and serving a mission and being
able to help other families and individuals have the same joy that I
have experienced!
Let me take a small second right now (for those of
you who just skim this, this is the part to read :)) GO ON A MISSION!!
If you are home, are worthy and are of mission age GO ON A MISSION! Of
course I don't claim the right by any means to be able to tell
individuals to go on a mission, but did you hear conference!? Have you
seen the world today? GO ON A MISSION! The world needs us, the Lord
needs us! Even if you feel unworthy or unprepared or like you won't be
able to do it, JUST GO! Get in to see the bishop and Go! I can promise
you that the Lord will give you exactly what you need to serve the
mission! He will stand by you 100% of the way and will make sure you
get through it! You will grow so much and not only that but you will
see others grow and that is the best, when over the course of three or
so months you see someone COMPLETELY change their lives! Please just
trust me and go out on the mission! There are a few people I am
thinking specifically of :) but this is aimed at the Young Men and
Women! Heed the Call of the prophet, Arise and serve! :) Gosh I love
this work! I get so fired up about it :)
Oh and for those of you that ask..."what is the weirdest thing you
have eaten lately?"...I got it....the fish eyeball....I guess it is an
honor to be the one to eat it...well let me tell you...I had already
been stuffed and on the verge of puking...when they pulled the eye
from that fish and put it in my bowl, all big and gooey...I almost
went over the edge (kinda like the time Chase and I ate the fish heart
haha). But being as respectful as I could I rolled up my sleeves (with
a little encouragement in the form of "don't be a baby" from Elder
E. haha) and put that sucker down! Now what was SUPER funny is
OFCOURSE I wasn't about to sink my teeth into that gooey mess! I just
put it near the back of my tongue and tried to take it like it was
medicine haha. But then I swallowed it whole and everyone started
getting a little frantic and at first I didn't understand because
everyone was mumbling and talking really fast. But then I started
catching words as they started to speak up and I guess that in the
middle of the eye is the Lens which is poisonous or something and so
you are supposed to take that out before you swallow. Well I didn't
know! Everyone started talking to me like I was going to die haha.
Elder E. of course is just laughing, but then he realized it
could be serious. Eventually things calmed down and I tried to crack a
few jokes about being immune to poison because of my super human
abilities, and things were okay. Haha, it was pretty funny though
watching people going crazy thinking I was
going to like die on the spot haha. And for anyone wondering, if there
IS poison (which I am still not convinced there is) then it didn't get
to me at all and I am 100% fine haha. But man...that eye...that was a
killer. :( haha [Shannon here: You knew this insert from me was coming right? Yes, I did check it out, and Elder Gish should be just fine. Don’t even get me started on the monkey story above.]
Okay so on a more serious note, I really enjoyed being able to see
amazing miracles this week. The number 1 BIG miracle happened
yesterday. We went to go pick up the D. kids to take them to church
and the Dad said to stop calling and not come back. Obviously Elder
E. and I were hurt...and I was nearly on the verge of tears, I
felt like everything was going down hill, but we stayed strong, prayed
and had faith that God would give us a miracle (we had been praying
HARD for these children that we love so much!) So we went throughout
our day and with about an hour or so left in the day we decided to go
back and try to find the D. family and clear things up (a make it or
break it attempt).
Now things had gone a little sour that day, things
were falling through and we were a little scattered in our lessons and
plans which was weird because we are always really on top of things
and really strive to keep to our schedule. But anyways, we were on our
way back and feeling a bit down and as we biked past a members house
(y.j) We noticed...well we didn't notice, we saw her outside
and she called us over. She was talking to Dong mama! The mom had
actually gone to her house and called her down to talk about things!
Now the amazing part is that if everything from early had not happened
the way we did then we very well might have missed seeing them
outside! And as we talked to her we discovered some of the Dad's
problems. We talked with her and she told us that she would sneak us
into the house and back us up (she is not a member but I think she is
starting to feel the love and peace that the gospel and the Savior and
Heavenly Father will bring into her life). So we went over and things
were tough at first but we got through it and because of Gods hand in
our lives we were able to keep that family and save our relationship
which will help us to help them continue to come unto Christ! I LOVE
IT!
And as a last testimony, FASTING WORKS!!!!!!!!! JEFF IS GETTING
BAPTIZED!!!!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!!!!!!! I love that
guy so much and I am so happy for him! I hope that things will
continue to go well for him! You all are so amazing!
Don't forget what was talked about at conference and that I LOVED!!!!!
Even if you feel you have no faith (this is for everyone members, new
members, less actives, non members, EVERYONE!) if you have a desire
that is good enough. Just know that the desire will grow and will
eventually become faith and that will eventually become a knowledge.
Start out simple with something like a desire and let it grow into
faith and take that and go out and act. THEN it will become a
knowledge. How can I say to people now that I know this is true?
Because I started with a desire. I HOPED that this was all true, that
Jesus Christ's Atonement was real, that I really could live with my
family forever. Over the 20 short years I have lived I have had a few
experiences that have turned some of those desires into faith. And
through acting on that faith I have turned some of that faith into
knowledge. Now I am not PERFECT like my wonder mom and Dad are. I am
not as strong and firm as Chase or as smart as Gageroo ;). I still
have a lot of things that are only a faith, and I have even more
things that are still only a desire. But those things, and the things
that I DO KNOW, I hold precious. I hold truths such as, Joseph smith
was a prophet, The Book of Mormon is true, Jesus Christ lives, and
that I can live with my family forever, so precious and close to my
heart. I hope that one day I will be able to share these truths with
ALL around me.
I love you all!
SHINE BRIGHT!
Elder Gish
