MLC in Madrid and Exchanges with Aguadulce

Note from Mom: This post will only cover one week! Yay! I'm so on the ball this week! This was officially the first week of Gabe's second "transfer" in Granada. Here are Gabe's notes for the past two weeks!

March 3 - March 9 summary email:

MLC

Aguadulce exchanges

We had MLC this week, which was super good. We traveled up Thursday night but then the meeting went long on Friday so we missed our train and had to leave Saturday morning at 7am🪦😭. But we got to stay in the Dorms with Elder Taylor and Elder Kreipl, who were also up there for the conference. So it was fun.

We also had some super good exchanges with Elder Leonard and Elder Zayas. We got to meet with Amine and he's so ready for his baptism next week. He still wants to confess his sins weekly to the bishop though. Which isn't a bad thing, it's just kinda funny when he goes up to the bishop at church to confess he got mad during the week. He's super elect.

Day-by-Day Notes for March 3 - March 9, 2026

Tuesday, 3 of March: We had hype exchanges today. I was with Elder Leonard who's a goat. He's in his last transfer because he extended. After Pstudy, we went street contacting and we met with Amine which was super nice. He's awesome. (He is getting baptized soon.) Then we ate at Dominos with Elder Cabrera and Elder Zayas. Then we visited Selvin and his girl plus a random Spanish girl. We gave blessings to them and after that, we met with a slightly crazy lady named Magdalena. Then we had a gas lesson with Cristina and Ivanna and Bishop Nefi came with us. To end the day, we met with Jose which was awesome. We just gotta get my boy to church.

Wednesday, 4 of March: We had some hype street contacting this morning with Brigham after our lesson with Miguel. Miguel is super nice and could definitely get baptised eventually. After, we went to Karina and Jean Mark's house and talked to him about coming to church, which went well. After with Neji, he took us to his house and introduced us to his 9-year-old sister named Sophia who wants to be baptised next week🤯. (Vaughn drama). Then we went to the Banks' house to visit them which was super fun. They're a couple from the United states that comes here to Spain every year for a couple of months.

Thursday, 5 of March: The morning was just street contacted until we had a super good lesson with a girl named Breena. She is from North Carolina and is studying here in Spain. She came to church all by herself last Sunday because she had been going in the United States and in a middle eastern country. It was a good lesson, and after, we headed to the train station to go up to Madrid for MLC tomorrow.

Friday, 6 of March: We had a good MLC today and we also got to start the day off with a temple trip. So that was super nice. We ended up staying here in Madrid another night because MLC went long. So we will go back to Granada early tomorrow morning.

Saturday, 7 of March: We had a nice little sleepover with Elder Taylor and Kraple and we all woke up a 5 in the morning to get our trains. When we got to Granada, we went to Laleshka's house with Selvin and had some gas food. Then we journeyed and hiked into the mountains next the the Alhambra. It took like 30 minutes just to find the house of Jose and his kids. (When we found it, it was basically a cave. It was crazy. It was kinda sad. The craziest house I've seen in my mission (delete and ask me about it). Then we went to the church and taught the English class and also had a lesson with Amine. He's super ready for his baptism. Then we went to Neji's house and taught Sophia (the 9-year-old girl). She's super smart and also ready for her baptism. 

Sunday, 8 of March: We started church off strong with 10 people at church which was awesome. I also gave a talk which went super good. I had my Grandma Sue share her conversion story with me via email earlier this week, and I talked a little bit about it in my talk and how it took her seven years to get baptized! Then we ate with the Villamizar family and Sophia and Amine got their baptismal interviews done. Then we called all the DLs. The Hermanas also had the baptism of Samuel today! That was also super nice. Then had a priesthood meeting and the bishop gave 2 of the recent converts the Melchizedek Priesthood, which was fire. Then we had the Consejo de Zona with the Stake patriarch, which was also great!

Visiting the Alhambra and Transfer News!

Note from Mom: This post will cover the past two weeks (weeks 4 and 5 in Granada)! Gabe didn't have much new to report in the way of baptisms, but I know they are busy teaching people all the time. Gabe and his companion, Elder Cabrera, finally got to take the long-awaited trip to the famous Alhambra on their most recent P-day on March 2! I had to get those tickets online a few weeks ago and it was kind of a stressful process that involved getting their passport information and other stuff, so I was relieved that the tickets worked and they got to go visit there and it all went smoothly! 

Gabe also found out recently that he would be staying in Granada for a second transfer! He was really happy about that. It will be Elder Cabrera's last transfer of his mission, and he was hoping to be with him to end his mission. I think there was some slight concern that he (Gabe) would be called to become an AP with Elder Bohn (who he does know and really likes) but he really wanted to stay in Granada instead of being stuck in the office. There's still a chance that could happen in the future, but he was kind of glad to put it off, at least for now, because he really is enjoying being in Granada. He really likes the ward, his companion, the city is beautiful, and they are keeping really busy with lessons and stuff!

Here are Gabe's notes for the past two weeks!

February 17 - February 22 summary email:

Exchanges

Ward split🙏

Amine!

I got to go on 2 Exchanges this week which was super fun! I was with an Elder Koistinen(Finland), Elder Smith(Colorado), and Elder Dougall(Oregon). The Exchanges all went well and we also had a super good lesson with Amine!

This Sunday, the hermanas had 2 baptisms and President Obando came for the ward Councel because the ward will split! The leadership from both wards are super good.

This week we also gave Amine a baptismal date. He stopped us in the street and said he recognized we were missionaries and wanted to say hi. We talk him a little on the street and met with him 1 more time before giving him a date. He used to be Muslim but converted to Christianity a few years ago. Typically, we aren't allowed to teach Muslim people because they can get killed for switching religions, but since he was already a Christian now, it was okay. He loved the Story of the Restoration and we should have his baptism on March 15.  

February 23 - March 2 summary email:

We got transfer calls this week, and I will fortunately be staying another in Granada! This will be Elder Cabrera's last transfer, which is crazy, but things are going great here. Hopefully, in 2 weeks Amine will be getting baptised and right now everything is on track for him.

We will also be going to the Alhambra today which is super nice!  

During the week I had exchanges with Elder Steadman and Elder Zuñiga which was super fun!

Javier and Ariana from Aranjuez went to the temple for their first time!! (Those were two people that I helped teach and baptize in the most recent transfer. I will include a picture of them with Elder Hulterstrom and his companion with them in front of the temple.)

Day-by-Day Notes for February 17 - March 2, 2026

Tuesday, 17 of February: We had a lesson this morning with Jose Sanchez, which was funny as usual. Then we did street contacting, and then went to Luis's house to fix the blinds. Then we street contacted with Jacob until the Book of Mormon class. After that, we street contacted until we did some baptismal interviews for the hermanas. 

Wednesday, 18 of February: Today, we started our journey to Madrid for zone conference. It took 5 hours😭. After, me and Elder Alcazar went street contacting with a super nice member that got baptised by Hermana Telford and Bravo. After that, we had a lesson with a nice little girl and her grandma. The girl had recently been baptised. Afterward, we met with another family who is trying to get married so they can get baptised. It was a good exchange though, and me and Alcazar had a good day.

Thursday, 19 of February: We started out day with the APs with a 3 hour metas call. But it was super good. After, we took a Columbian Elder named Elder González. Then after 6 hours we made it back to Granada and had a super good lesson with Christina and Ivanna. We are with Elder González until tomorrow when his companions will come and pick him up.

Friday, 20 of February: We had exchanges today and Elder Cabrera went with Elder González so I went with Elder Koistinen and Dougall. It went super good, and we found a bunch of people in the morning. Dougall is from Oregon and Koistinen is from Finland. After that, we had a super good lesson with Selvin and Amine. It was a super spiritual lesson and he accepted a baptismal date for next month.

Saturday, 21 of February: Elder Smith and Staker came to Granada for the baptisms of Karina and Jonathon. They don't have a font, so they came here. The baptism was super nice then we ate Dominos, and I was with Elder Smith all day. He's a funny guy, and we had a pretty good exchange. 

Sunday, 22 of February: The Hermanas had their 2 baptisms of Andres y Karina, which was hype. President Obando came because the ward also split which will be interesting. Afterward, we ate with the Villamizar family and then in the evening we took a bus to Malaga.

Monday, 23 of February: P-Day! We woke up early here in Málaga to start off somep P-day adventures! We ran to the church to meet with the hermanas and some members, and then we walked/hiked to a cross on top of a Mountain. It was super fun, and afterward we went back to the piso, we showered, and then walked around town. We got some lunch and then walked up another Mountain. Then we walked around center until me and Cabrera went to Fuengirola to pick up Elder Stedman so me and him could go to the Málaga district councel.

Tuesday, 24 of February: I was with Elder Steadman this morning and we had a video call to start the day with a lady named Ana from Granada. She's nice and would definitely get baptised if she wasn't working interna. After we basically street contacted all day. We found one guy on a bench who was bapstied like 8 years ago but hasn't been in a while. We were on our way to a ward activity and he came with us. It was a good day and the guy is now in contact with the missionaries and might start coming to church. But it was a good day. We took a bus back to Granada to end the day.

Wednesday, 25 of Febrero: I was with Elder Zuñiga today for exchanges and we started with a super hype plan of salvation lesson/invitation to live the Word of Wisdom. Brigham was with us, so it went long, but it was good. After, we ate with the Merrills (senior missionary couple) which was awesome. Super hype food. Then we street contacted with Luis and it was super good! We found 13 people! Then we came back to the piso and it was a good day.

Thursday, 26 of February: We had District councel this morning because we skipped Monday coucel in Granada. It went well beside montril and line glaze. Then we watch the Restoration movie with Jose and the first thing he said was, "but the Chinese were the first people in America." After, we booked it to Selvin's house and he made some gas food. Then we went street contacting with Jacob, which was super good. After, we went to Cristina's house and one of Jacob;s sisters were there (Paula). The lesson was good and after that, we got the Villamizar family tree break down. Then we went with Oscar to help his neighbor, who isn't a member, move some concrete bags. He might come to church and he also gave us some jamon. Super good trade.

Friday, 27 of February: We got transfer calls and we are both staying!!! We had a super good lesson with Amine today as well and he has loved everything we have taught him. Super elect. After, we had an activity and ate with Oscar and his family. They made us Venezuelan Empanadas🙏.

Sunday, 28 of February: We had DLC and a fat phone contacting block because we found a lot of people this week. Then had lunch and Street contacted for a bit until a lesson with Cristina, Ivanna, and Ariana. It went well and we had Moisés with us as well. Then we taught Alberto who is doing great. He will for sure get baptised but he needs to stop smoking.

Sunday - *Gabe didn't have notes for this day, so I will say he probably went to church and then called us in the evening. ;)

Monday, March 2 - (This was Gabe and Elder Cabrera's Alhambra visit! They got there at 11:00am. I know, because I booked their tickets!)  We went to the Alhambra today which was super awesome. It was huga and we spent about 4 hours there, but it was pretty fun to see everything. Overall, it was a hype day just because of the the Alhambra. Then we went to Mercadona for food. Then went with the Hermanas to the train station to say goodbye to Hermana Folda. Rip. Then we had district councel and after that, we went to Luis Reyes' house to give him a blessing. 

Weeks 2 and 3 in Granada - Baptisms of Ivana and Jose, and A Trip to the Mountains!

Note from Mom: This post will cover the past two weeks (weeks 2 and 3 in Granada for Gabe!) Honestly, everything just seems to be going along really well for Gabe ever since he arrived in Granada. He has a companion named Elder Cabrera that he really likes. Elder Cabrera is from Brazil and he only has ONE transfer left! Gabe is hoping that he gets to stay with him in Granada for his last transfer, which would be from March 3 - April 14. This transfer already feels like it has gone fast because they got there a week late because of that train crash! So, he may only have 2 weeks left there, which is insane! I hope Gabe stays there for one more too. The ward seems awesome, the city is awesome, he loves his companion, the apartment is nice, etc!

Here are Gabe's notes for the week!

1.Talleres

2.Baptism

3.Exchanges

We had talleres(workshop) last week so I forgot to write but it was super fun to have the whole zone here in Granada. Afterward, we went to the Alhambra and walked around outside of it for a bit, which was fun. (We couldn't go inside because we didn't have tickets, but we will go back!)

This week we had the Baptisms of Ivanna and Jose! They are both really great and it's be super fun getting to know them. Ivana is a 9-year-old girl whose grandma is a member (we need to her get mom baptized), and Jose is an older man.

I also got to go on Exchanges with Elder Petersen this week! He's newer in the mission but lived in Ecuador for a couple of months and already speaks really good Spainish. It was a good exchange!

Day-by-Day Notes for February 2 - February 16, 2026

Monday, 2 of February: First P-Day in Granada! We got haircuts this morning which went good. Then we got protein powder at Primaprix!! Then we went to Burger King, and then to the Alhambra and took some pictures around it! (pictures of this are in the last post) We didn't have tickets to go in and you need to get them online in advance, so my mom went online and bought some for us to go inside in about a month. It should be an awesome trip! Then we went to the church and had a good District councel. 

Tuesday, 3 of February: We woke up one and a half hours early today to take a bus to Malaga for exchanges! It was super fun. I was with Elder Durst and they are white washing, so they basically had no lessons. So we street contacted all day!! But Malaga is a nice city, and was fun to find in it. We ate with the STLs and planned Talleres. Then we had a ward activity here which was super fun. We did a spiritual thought that went well also.

Wednesday, 4 of February: We woke up early again and left to go back to Granada in a bus. When we got there, we ate breakfast and studied until we hit the streets😭. It was raining all day, so there was nobody outside. We had a member named Luis with us too, which was unfortunate because there was barely anyone to talk too. We did find a Nigerian Athiest who was talking about how God doesn't exist because everyone says Jesus christ is named Jesus Christ even though "J" wasn't a letter back then💀. Then we had a different member named Selvin come with us to visit Cristina and Ivanna. Ivanna is a 9-year-old girl and Cristina is her mom. We are thinking Ivanna will get baptized soon. He grandma is a member, but her mom is not. She has been really receptive to everything we have taught and she asks a lot of good questions for a child. It went super good and we gave them some cookie casserole. Then we contacted and had a video lesson before ending the night. 

Thursday, 5 of February: Today was super rainy! We had a couple calls and studies this morning, but after, we went street contacting, which went pretty good. We had 1 or 2 video calls, but almost every lesson was canceling because there were rain warnings, even the though the last halfs of the day it wasn't even raining. They seem more cautious after the DANA thing, but because so many people have been canceling we've done a lot of street contacting.

Friday, 6 of February: I got to have the long awaited exchange with Elder Jara!! He and Elder Weggerson arrived in the morning and me and Elder Jara did a bunch of street contacting! We actually found a crazy amount of people, which was awesome. Then we picked up the GOAT Jacob (a kid from the ward). And we street contacted till our activity in the church. We also had a videocall with Anyoli, which went good. Then, we called a bunch of Amigos with members.

Saturday, 7 of February: I said "goodbye" to my son (Elder Jara) and then me and Elder Cabrera went to the capilla because the elders of Linares were going to have a baptism, but a car broke down so it got canceled💀. But we had a fire lesson with Cristina and Ivanna and then we had an English class, which was funny. Afterward, we had a super good lesson with Francis and Alexandra. We are getting them married through Utah and Ricardo Pires helped us in the lesson.

Sunday, 8 of February: Church went great and we had a lot of amigos at church!! Afterward, we had a bunch of planning. Literally for like 3 hours. And a member named Moises helped us. After, we had a super fire noche de zona with President Lopez and brother Kenny. It was great. Perfect day, except for the hermanas opping. (They were mad at us because they thought we stole some people from their area, but that's not exactly how it happened...the people requested to meet with elders.)

Monday, 9 of Febrero: We had talleres today which went super well. It went a little long, but everyone enjoyed it. Afterward, us and a couple elders went to the Alhambra and saw the outside. Then we ate Burger King and went back to the church. It was a pretty good day overall. We also have Elders Petersen and Tellington here for exchanges. 

Tuesday, 10 of February: I was with Elder Petersen for exchanges, a younger missionary with about 4 months from Oregon. He's super nice and has really good spanish. It was a good today and we first had a lesson with Medi and we almost gave her a baptismal date, but she's right now too busy to come to church. Then we street contacted most the day. We also metbwith Laleshka and taught her with a member helper named Selvin, which was good. Then we taught a Book of Mormon class after the other Elders left. It went super good! Then we dropped Selvin off at home and street contacted on the way.

Wednesday, 11 of February: I had to use my Excel skills this morning and make a sheet on the computer for all of our numbers😭. After that, we had the average lesson with Jose Sanchez. He's a D1 iPad kid scroller. We are trying to get him ready for baptism. Then we drove to see Cielo and she invited her friends Paola y Yaribel. Cielo made mythical food and then we invited her friends to church and they are coming! After, we went to the chapel and language studied until our lesson with Jhoan. He was hype and made us a desert. Then, we met with Christina and Ivanna and taught them a quick lesson and filled out the baptismal form. Then we went home and had to film the youtube apology video with the hermanas.... 

Thursday, 12 of February:

We did some planning this afternoon, and then we journeyed in the car to the pueblos of Baza and Cullar. (We have a car to use just for this week.) The drive was super pretty and when we got to Baza, we visited a super nice older couple from Columbia who gave a salchipapas!! Then we went to Cullar and visited Limhi and his girlfriend who's not a member. It was a super good day. 

Friday, 13 of February: We had some DLC this morning and then met with Jose and his 2 kids, Rosario and Francisco. We taught the 2 kids, who were super funny. The daughter was super smart. The kids were like less then 10 years old but knew like 5 languages. After that, we went to the church and we met with Daniel and after with Ami(David). Ami was Muslim but converted to Christianity. Both lessons went great and after, we called all of our friends to invite them to church. I got a videocall screenshot of my lesson with a nun. (She was an online reference.) 

Saturday, 14 of February: This morning we met with Jose Sanchez (we call him Santa) in the church and tried on the baptismal clothes and also taught him a little bit more about the priesthood. After that, we went street contacting until mediodia where we made cookies for Christina and Ivanna. Then we studied and did more street contacting till we met with Christina and Ivanna. They should both be good for the baptism tomorrow! The Merrills also came to the lesson. 

Sunday, 15 of February: We had the baptisms of Ivanna and Jose today which went super smoothly. It was a really good baptism. Then we planned the day and did studies and calls the DLs. After the baptisms, we had a super good lesson with Alexandra and Francis. They are getting ready to get married so they can get baptised. 

Monday, 16 of February: Super high quality pday. We woke up super early and went to a nice lake, and then we went to Mercadona with the Jaen elderes because they had come to pick up the car. Then we went with the Merrills to the mountains so Elder Cabrera could touch snow. Then we went to the church and hung out till distrito councel. After that, we had a lesson with Luis Reyes.