Skibby sent the following email & photos on Monday, November 27, 2017:

Date:  November 27, 2017 at 11:25 AM

Subject:  Packed full

I forgot to tell the BEST BESTEST part of last week. I called Hna Eckel [one of Skibby's former companions back in Madrid] and she said that Adrian got baptized on Sunday!!!!! Yesterday he was confirmed. I am talking with him through messenger and he says he feels so much happier and that this is what he was missing in his life. All his coworkers see a change in him. I love Adrian. That was the best thing that happened this week. But Hayek and Luis are really cool too. But I am so happy for Adrian. God sniper shotted him I think.

Well it's been a crazy week. Since both my companions were going home we ate with members almost every day. My companions spent the week packing and sorting everything out. 

Thursday we had district meeting at the matrimony couples house and ate thanksgiving dinner. There was no spicy applesauce jello, but it was still pretty good.

We have been planning all week to have a great activity Friday night to introduce ilumina el mundo, and we made brownies and all sorts of stuff. But that morning Margarita died. She is a member living in Norway with her Norwegian husband and 5 year old son. They came here about 2 weeks ago because the doctors said there was no more they could do (liver cancer). We spent that evening in the velatorio talking to her husband. He doesn't speak Spanish, so we're about the best company he's got. Really sad. We had the funeral the next day and actually went to the cemetery. It's like a giant chest of drawers. They bury people above ground here. All of the tombstones had crosses. It made me feel a little uncomfortable. I'm grateful to know that Christ lives. It's way more fun to celebrate the living Christ than the dying one. 

Friday we also ate thanksgiving with a member. She made orange chicken and rice. We brought sweet potatoes and pie. We made hand turkeys.

We met with Hayro. He agreed to be baptized. He met with Luis and taught the plan of salvation. He is so cool. They both came to church, and I think they liked it. I was running all around because the piano player didn't come and my companions were speaking, so I translated. It was exciting. 

Now I've sent them off and am staying with the senior couple until my companion comes tomorrow evening. I can't wait to have a companion again. It's Hna Peterson. She is Hna Sam's baby. Good stuff.

I'm grateful for the time I have left. It feels like gifted extra time, so I've got to make the most of it.

Love you all!

Skibby with her (now former) companions, Hna. Sam (right behind Skibby)
& Hna. Wihongi (far left). 
Skibby loved serving with them!

Skibby sent us the following email & photos on Monday, November 20, 2017:

Date:  November 20, 2017 at 11:26 AM

Subject:  Live

Life is great. It's one of the greatest gifts we have. Probably the three greatest gifts we have are these: life, agency, and the atonement (not ranging in importance as listed previously). But they are so interconnected that one without the other would be outer darkness. Think about it. I think I am living more than I ever have. And that's because I get to see how agency and the atonement affect people. I'm very grateful to be serving a mission. I love really getting to know the people. We met with a lot of people this week and taught about the liahona and the plan of salvation and a bunch of other things. It's been a fun week and a lot of things have happened, but I don't have time to tell it. Sorry! I'll just send pictures from what we did last week. Maybe next week I'll send this weeks pictures. Love you all.

P.s. tengan en cuenta que todos estos regalos nos son dados de nuestro padre celestial..  [bear in mind that all these gifts are given to us from our heavenly father..]

Hey! There are 28 missionaries in the islands. As sister training leader, I help a little bit with zone conference, and we have all the hermanas come here and do intercambios. Which is hard because we have to prepare two days in one. But it's good. We're just supposed to see over the welfare of the hermanas. But almost all of them live on different islands.

Don't worry about a Christmas package mom!!! I will be home very soon after that! 

Note:  Several of the photos below were sent to Peter and me by an old friend of ours who currently resides in the home ward of Hermana, Sam (Skibby's companion in the foreground of the photo below... she appears to be the designated selfie photographer for all group shots!).  Our friend told us she heard that Skibby, Hermana Sam & Hermana Wihongi were called the "Trio of Power"!  :) 

Skibby is on the front row, far right

Skibby is 4th from the right, at the very top

Skibby sent the following email and photos on Monday, November 13, 2017:

Date:  November 13, 2017 at 11:13 AM

Subject:  Another week in wind city

Well, it's been a rather long day, but quite lovely, so I will try to sum things up in about 20 minutes. We've spent the whole day up in the mountains with a very distant uncle of Hna Wihongi's. They are from England. So please take an account because I'm writing in my very best imitation of the way they speak. I'd be pleased if you'd all formulate your words in the proper manner when you say them. You see, they come and live here every 6 months because it gets cold in England. The aunt has quite an extraordinary story which I'll have to tell at a different time. Anyway, they've got a car and offered to drive us up to roque nublo, the highest point on the island, which just fits its name. It was brilliant. Lots of winding roads and trying not to get carsick, but the view was absolutely delightful.

Now, here are the things that happened during the week. Tuesday we had zone conference and had a great time with the whole zone. We flew back that night and Wednesday we met with a really cool guy named Luis who is in English class. He was going to miss class that week, so we saw him and taught him future tense. He told us he's in 1 nefi 8, which was great news. He is reading in the bom and can now conjugate all verbs into the future tense. That's a success if I've ever heard one. Friday we had intercambios with the hermanas from la Laguna. It was fun. We got to visit Sammy who left the next day for Sweden! We're really sad about it because he'll come back in January, but we'll try to visit his girlfriend. And besides, I've got his piano, so we must stay in contact. Then we knocked on a finish person's house on accident. We may try to pass by again, he was lutheran. Sound familiar dad? Can you please send me a few phrases in finish? All I know is kooler and hete luolua. Just some nice light conversation would be fine. Can you believe we have Norwegians, Swedes, Finish, and all other countries present at church? I had the opportunity given to me to translate at the pulpit on Sunday. It was rather difficult, but the Scandinavians said I did all right. I couldn't remember some words in English, so I just said them in Spanish. And when their sentences didn't quite make sense, I just threw in a few details to round things up. All within limits of the spirit, of course.

Well, we also got to teach a lady named Viviana from Venezuela, which was nice because we brought our member Luciano (venezolano) to the lesson and they related very well. We taught the restoration and she said she would read in the bom, so we'll see how she gets along.

Please forgive my terrible English writing. I did the best I could, you know. Their voices have just been ringing in my brain since we've left, but nkw I think I'm going to switch over to good ol' rebellious patriotic American.

Get PUMPED! we spent some time trying to get things planned for this year's ilumina el mundo [Light the World]. GREAT opportunity to share the light of Christ.

We also played futbol and met with a member whose husband died last week. She has a really strong testimony of the plan of salvation. She has kids ages 7 and 6 months.

That's pretty much all. I love and miss you! Thanks for all your prayers!

Have a splendid week.

Skibby with her companion and Sammy

Gran Canaria--the island where Skibby is currently serving

Skibby sent us the following email & photos on Monday, November 6, 2017:

Date November 6, 2017 at 11:31 AM

Subject:  Guayani achaman (o something like that)

  

Hello Family!

I am writing from our smartphone. Currently we are on a bus taking us from where we went hiking to the Santa Cruz church. We are on Tenerife. If gran can is Nevada, Tenerife is Hawaii. We have zone conference tomorrow, that's why we're here. And with the whole zone!! We went to a look out point and on the way up they told us the story of how the islands were conquered. There were a whole bunch of islanders that converted to the conquistadores, so they decided they were gonna come to Tenerife and convince the King to give in. But like a diehard patriot, the King didn't give In, so they took him prisoner to gran can. (That was punishment enough) jk I really like gran can, I just didn't know it was so much prettier here. So apparently there is a famous call that he said when he felt abandoned by God. He yelled, "God, where are you?" And that is the title of my email in his language. The spelling is a little questionable though. Anyway, he didn't win and ended up coming back to Tenerife to die. Our guide said his prayer wasn't answered for 1500 years, but about 40 years ago missionaries started coming and answered his prayer. Probably not in the way he was thinking, but we'll take it!

This has been a fun week! On Monday we dressed up as the 3 nefites, and had a party with the district. Tuesday, Halloween. We carved pumpkins that night, but that's about it. We had intercambios and visited the coolest guy in the world (I didn't believe my companions till I met him) named Sammy. He sings really well. He is memos activo and is addicted to smoking and drinking. He gave us a piano. Score.

We helped a family clean the walls on their house. Jean Pierre is her 11 year old son. I like 11 year olds. 

There was a funeral and I played the piano. The bodies here can't be preserved so everything happens really quickly.

We played soccer. Good bonding moments. Love you all, have a great week, the church is the BEST

Skibby is in between her two companions in both photos

Note:  Just FYI, here is a map of the Canary Islands.  Skibby is serving on the island of Gran Canaria, in the town of Vecindario, but she traveled to the neighboring island of Tenerife for her zone conference.  She sent this week's email from Tenerife.