Note from mom: This week we were starting to stress on Sunday afternoon because Gabe had said the day before that he would call at his normal time, which was about 12:00pm. So we were waiting intently by the phone, and it got to be noon, and then 12:30, and then 1:00, and pretty soon it was about 1:20 and he finally called us! He said he had fallen asleep! (See his note below about being sick...) But he told us he was really happy to get the suitcase from Alex and had fun meeting up with her and Johnny for lunch! Overall, a good week, and now he is just anxiously waiting to see if he will be transferred on the next one in about a week. On one hand, Gabe would love to see some other parts of Spain. But on the other hand, he's been doing great things in Aranjuez and would be sad to leave Smith and Damaris, and he has really liked being close enough to Madrid to go to the temple on his P-day and hang out with other people in his zone. So, we will see!
Here are Gabe's notes!
Spiritual Experience: We got to go to the temple with Damaris and she loved it and was so happy to be there. We also had an amazing meeting with Smith the other day where he testified of the the importance of the gospel and how amazing it is people can receive temple ordinances after they die. They are both so awesome and seeing the joy they get from the gospel is amazing. I'm definitely going to be really sad to leave Smith when I get transferred.
Tuesday, February 4: Nothing too crazy happened today. We had some funny street contacts though. We also had a lesson with Boyan. Boyan was baptized a couple of weeks ago and we were going to confirm him the next day in church, but then he didn't show up. (Also... we think he may have been drunk over the weekend...) Hopefully he'll be able to get confirmed on Sunday. One lady came up to us with wide eyes and was like, "Someone from your church stole from my friend," then she ran away from us.
Wednesday, February 5: We met with Damaris today in the King's Garden and I almost lost my mind. First, she made us try and find her on one of her epic video "find where I am right now" calls. (We found her.) Then, it took 2 hours to set up her church account because she types at 2 words a minute and was getting very distracted😂. After that, we had English class with 2 members and a guy we've been texting with named Roberto. We basically just practiced talking and went over pronouns.
Thursday, February 6: We did weekly planning in the morning then went to the temple with Damaris and 2 members name Ioan and Virinia (they are married). Damaris has become friends with Ioan and Virinia over the past week weeks, and so we all went to the temple and did baptisms which was really awesome. She loved it. Afterward, we all went and got Dominos with each other.
Friday, February 7: We had a Blitz in Valdepeñas today, so me and Olson went to Madrid and then drove down with everyone to Valdepeñas. The Blitz and car ride were so fun. Our Zone is really great. Afterward, we went to the old bishop's house (Yubero). Every time we go over, it's super fun because the 11-year-old son (Thomas) speaks English and I can speak and understand the conversations. (He learned to speak English through YouTube! haha) They also have a really nice dog.
Saturday, February 8: Today was a very full day. We woke up early and helped a family move this morning for like 3 hours and their new apartment was on the third floor. Then, we got to have lunch with my cousin, Alex, and her husband Johnny. They were visiting Spain because Johnny's family had a foreign exchange student from Spain a few years ago and now they were coming for the first time to see this guy and sightsee around with him. Just Johnny and Alex took an Uber from Madrid to come have lunch with me in Aranjuez though. We weren't together for long, but they brought the famous black suitcase from my mom that was now on it's second trip to Spain (the first one was when the Loves brought it to me in October, but the Loves had me empty it out on my bed, then they took it back and filled it with their own souvenirs and then took it back to my mom!) It was really fun seeing them. Then we had an amazing lesson with Smith. He always testifies at the end of our lessons and its awesome.
Sunday, February 9: We had church this morning, and it was pretty good. We had an awesome lesson with Juan and rescheduled his baptism for the 22th. Boyan finally got confirmed! And Smith received the Aaronic Priesthood. My new suit that my mom sent in the suitcase was also very comfortable and nice. Afterward, we did some street contacting and picked up the key for the chapel. All day yesterday and today I was sick, but we had stuff to do so I didn't get to rest. So this evening I crashed and slept through my alarm and almost missed my call with my parents. But everything today went really well.
Monday, February 10: We woke up this morning and had an awesome lesson with Damaris in the King's Garden, which was really nice. Then we went to Valdemoro to meet with Boyan and met an inactive member in the street who we are going to go visit soon. Boyan is doing great and today he was asking his usually deep doctrine questions that stemmed from Netflix movies he had recently watched. Afterward, we went back to Aranjuez and had an awesome lesson with Juan and confirmed his baptismal date and went over some of the last principles before he gets interviewed on Thursday.
Tuesday, February 11: We went up to Madrid this morning and the whole zone got to go through the temple which was awesome. Afterward, we all went to a really good restaurant in Sol and then came back to the chapel. We did a bunch of mini games against the Temple Zone. It was pretty fun and after we just called families (I messaged mine on Facebook and answered emails) and hung out.
We got back to Aranjuez and set up some lessons for the week and went street contacting. I am going to find out probably by Friday if I will be transferred, so I'm anxiously waiting to hear about that. I would be excited to go to a different place, but I would be sad to leave the awesome elders and sisters in my zone, and the people we have been working to teach like Smith and Damaris. So I guess we will see what happens and what President Obando decides for me!
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