Note from mom: Well, the day Gabe has been wondering about and waiting for has arrived! He is finally getting transferred to a new area! It is definitely bitter sweet because he has now been in Aranjuez for almost six months, and he has grown to love the people in the ward (and also the people they have baptized) so much. But I remember talking to Gabe back around Thanksgiving, and he was like, "Well, I'm a little surprised I didn't get transferred one this one, but I for sure will on the next one I bet." (Little did he know... it would be a LOT longer than that!) At first, I think he was bummed when he found out he would be spending another six weeks (after his first six weeks) with Elder Olson, but then he and Elder Olson started clicking and then they met Smith and Damaris, and then they went on to have some of the most amazing moments of his mission so far! So I think it was really a testimony building experience for him that even though he had wanted to move areas a long time ago, the mission president prayed about it and kept him there for an inspired purpose. I think he would agree that meeting and baptizing Smith has really been the highlight of his mission so far!
When Gabe messaged us and told us where he would be transferred to, I immediately started Googling it, of course! The city is called Cartegena, and it is on the southeast coast of Spain. There are some beautiful beaches there that we will definitely have to visit after his mission! The only downside is, its far from Madrid, so he will not be able to go there on his P-Days anymore and meet up with lots of other missionaries. He is also a tad worried about this new companion being a little "trunky", but I think he is excited to just explore someplace new and have some new experiences.
Here are Gabe's notes!
Wednesday, February 12: We met with Damaris and Smith today and talked to both of them about Patriarchal Blessings. We also had English class tonight and Damaris, Christian (a ward member), and a Columbian family came. We're going start teaching them hopefully. Also, we found out that the only day Smith could go to the temple before transfers is on Tuesday. But Tuesday is transfers. So the only way I can go with him is if I don’t get transferred or my tickets are for later in the day on Tuesday. Which is pretty unlikely because the travels are usually in the morning. So I really hope I get to go with him to the temple.
Thursday, February 13: We had a lesson online with a man named Andres that was mad at us last week because we didn’t understand his sarcasm over text. But the lesson went well. We spent like 3 hours with him.
Friday, February 14: We had the last District counsel in Aranjuez today, which was super fun and we got Empanadas after. We also had some really good lessons in the street with a couple people. We went to Valdemoro and met with an inactive member and talked about the importance of coming to church. Then we met with Boyan and practiced English and reviewed the Restoration lesson.
Saturday, February 15: We got transfer calls today!!! I'm going to Cartagena and will be companions with Elder Bradshaw. He used to be Elder Bright's companion when they were both pretty new missionaries and he used to be in my zone back in like, September and October. Then he got transferred out of my zone at the same time Elder Bright did around Thanksgiving. He has been out on his mission for about 18 months and is from Utah.
(**Note from mom - Gabe told us that he talked with Elder Bright about Elder Bradshaw and he said, "Sometimes... he can get a little lazy. Like he would be content to not go out and street contact or do much if you didn't make him. Gabe sent us a secret message while we were on our phone call yesterday so Elder Olson wouldn't hear, and it said, "Obando is putting me with Bradshaw because he has zero energia, probably because I revived Elder Olson.")
We had a really fun member meal with Ivonne today and she such an awesome lady who loves feeding missionaries. She wants us to call her our "Aranjuez abuelita" because she loves taking care of/feeding the missionaries. We also had a ward Valentine's party tonight and also celebrated Smith's birthday at the ward party. It was so nice to see how happy and supported by the members he was. It was an awesome last party with all the members.
Sunday, February 16: Today was pretty awesome. We had church and I said goodbye to a lot of the members. I've been here for 25% of my mission and I definitely need to come back and visit because some of the people here are awesome. We had lunch with Ioan and Virinia (married couple in the ward; no kids). And they invited Smith and Damaris (both got baptised on the 1st of Feb). That was so fun and seeing Smith and Damaris getting along so well with the members is awesome. Some people were even joking that they should start dating. That would be crazy if they two people we baptized on the same day ended up getting married. Then we had dinner with Daguimar's family and Mitchell's family, which is always cool. I said goodbye to Juan who will be getting baptised on the 22th. He's an awesome guy and I'm sad to miss his baptism date, but I'm glad I got to teach him as much as I did. Then we just came home and packed. I have way too much stuff.
Monday, February 17: I did some more packing this morning and then everyone in my zone went to Madrid and got lunch. Then we went back to the chapel and hung out. It was really fun and we all signed each others transfer journals. It's crazy I'm not going to be in this zone anymore. It's such a fun zone but I'm really excited to see Cartagena. After we left, we went to Ivonne's and had pancakes with her. She made me promise to visit with my family after the mission. Then we came back to the apartment and finished packing.
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