Note from Mom: Gabe got a bonus week in Valdemoro/Aranjuez! He ended up staying just long enough to get two people baptized! Javier and Gabriel! He was so excited about that. He will finally be leaving tomorrow for Granada! I am a little nervous because he WILL be taking a train and then a bus. Hopefully, he will have smooth travels and will arrive in Granada by the time I am getting ready for school tomorrow morning. (I may not sleep well tonight knowing he is traveling...) :{
Here are Gabe's notes for the week!
1.Transfer extension
2. Baptism
There was a crazy train crash last Sunday which made it impossible for half the mission to do transfers. So on Monday night, our president told us we would all be staying in our areas for the next week. It turned out to be an amazing blessing because Javier and Gabriel got baptised!
The baptism went really well and we had a lot of people from the ward come. Andrew also baptised his daughter during the service which was really cool. Javier and Gabriel both loved it and it was amazing that I got to be there to see it.
Tomorrow I'll be traveling to Granada!
Here are the daily notes from the last week in Valdemoro!
Tuesday, 20 of January: We had some high quality street contacts this morning which was good. After studying, we had a lot more street contacting until our lesson with Gabriel. He's all ready for the baptism on Saturday and he's doing great. Afterward, we met with Fernanda and Alex and the goat Dora (member lady who makes us food all the time) came. The lesson was great and we planned a noche de hogar (home evening) with the whole family for Thursday which will be hype. After we met for the first time with Alvaro who was a reference about baptism. He seems super nice and we gave him a baptismal date for next month!
Wednesday, 21 of January: This morning, we had a call with Elder Cabrera, Elder Taylor and Elder Lambe to make a document for all the ZLs, which was good. Elder Cabrera is going to be my new companion when I got to Granada (someday...) Then, we had a super good lesson with Alex. He's kind of a yapper and is super Evangelical but he's nice and will probably progress. After that, we had a journey to legan茅s to pick up some baptismal clothes for this Saturday. (We will be baptizing Gabriel and Javier!) When we got back, our lesson fell through, so we street contacted in the rain which went pretty good and we found a friend of someone we are teaching and now we are going to start teaching him.
Thursday, 22 of January: We had some calls this morning with the DLs and then one with the STLs, which went well. After that, we taught a pretty good lesson to Jaime and Jenny. After, we taught Abiola though videocall. She speaks English and it's always interesting to teach her because she used to be Muslim but converted to Christianity. She's cool. After that, we had planning and studies until Silvia and we tried teaching the Restoration a little bit differently and it went pretty well. Then we met with Gabriel and had him try on the baptismal clothes for this weekend. We ended the night meeting with David and Katerin. We haven't met with them since last transfer, but we had a really good lesson and they have a lot more interest now in coming to church.
Friday, 23 of January: Today was a mega side quest day. We started with some videocalls with the district leaders. Then we went to Aranjuez to set up the baptismal font, which went quick because the other elderes helped. Then we had a lesson with Cecilia, which wen super good. She's super nice and funny. Then we had a lesson with Gabriel at Dora's house and we taught about temples. He's super excited for his baptism and everything is ready for him and Javier. After that, we had a lesson with Alvaro over videocall because it was raining and he just got a hair transplant. Then we had a lesson scheduled in The Plaza with Carlos, but he didn't show so we started sharing a spiritual thought with Ademir (guy we baptized when I first got to Spain) because he was going to help us. Then Carlos randomly showed up and we talked about baptism and set up a day to meet with him for next week!
Saturday, 24 of January: Today was awesome! We had the meta call this morning and had some good street contacts. The we went to Aranjuez for the Baptism! Everything went super well and a bunch of people form the ward came. Gabriel, Javier and Andrew's daughter got baptised! They all loved it!
Sunday, 25 of January: We had a super good Sunday! A little girl from the ward got baptised, so we all stayed after to watch. Javier came to church and after that, we went to the house of the Sanz Family and they made a huge lunch and Javier came as well. He's super good friends with Roberto Sanz. After that, we came back to Valdemoro and we planned and did our calls with the DLs and it was a pretty good day.
Monday, 26 of January: We got to the laundromat early and did all of our clothes and afterward, I packed my big duffel bags (again). We traveled to M贸stoles and hung out with the Elders there and 2 member guys. We played pingpong and card games, which was super fun. During the night, we met one more time with Javier and taught the priesthood and talked about how he will soon be able to get it! It was super nice! I'm excited to travel to Granada tomorrow morning!
Note from Mom: So, this weekend things took kind of a crazy turn of events! Gabe had basically found out from Pres. Obando that he was getting transferred to Granada during his interview on January 10, and he was super excited about it. (I was also excited!) But, he had to first wait a week until everyone got their transfer info and then act surprised when he "found out." So on Saturday, January 17, when everyone officially got their transfer news, he happily started saying his goodbyes and packing his stuff, etc. He went to church on Sunday morning and took pictures with all the ward members and said his goodbyes to everyone in the Aranhjuez ward (for the SECOND time on his mission lol) and gave a little farewell talk and everything. He had dinner with Daguimar and her family (his second family) and said goodbye to this guy named Javier that is an investigator they've been working with. Javier is planning to get baptized soon, but I guess when Gabe told him that he was leaving the area, he responded with, "Well, then I will just wait to get baptized until you come back with your family in September!" (haha...whoa... they had to have a talk about that and get that straightened out...lol)
Anyways, but then a crazy, terrible thing happened on Sunday night. At about 7:30pm Spain time, one of the main high-speed trains that travels north and south CRASHED and killed about 40 people! It was the biggest train crash they've had since 2013! I didn't even know about it until the moms in my Espana Sisters group chat started asking about if our boys were all okay. Luckily, we had just talked to Gabe that afternoon (night time for him), and I knew he was fine. He hadn't even mentioned the train crash in our phone call, but he must've known about it and didn't want to scare me. Later, I found out he told Josh about it on Monday morning when they were messaging (for P-day) and apparently he told Josh, "Don't tell mom that there was a train crash and that it was actually going to be my exact train that I was supposed to take to get to Granada in the morning." Yikes! I had not been freaking out about it until he told Josh that (and then Josh DID tell me!)
Then of course, I had to Google pictures of the train crash and I realized just how bad it was and I was soooooo grateful that the train didn't crash two days later when Gabe was traveling on it! I guess there was some old railway plate that had worn out and with time, and it ended up failing. It totally could have failed two days later when missionaries were traveling for P-day, but thankfully it didn't. Super sad for all the people that were on it though. I'm just so grateful none of the missionaries were hurt or worse!
So, in conclusion, Gabe got a text from the APs on Monday night that basically said, "No one is going to transfer to their new areas tomorrow like we had planned. We need to take a few days or maybe even a week to get new travel arrangements made, so just sit tight in your areas and keep working hard." So... Gabe was probably bummed when he got that text. He probably had to unpack his suitcases and get stuff out to wear and use again! It would be cool if they could somehow get Javier baptized before Gabe leaves. I guess he was waiting because he's been kind of sick and he can't get into the cold water in the baptismal font, and it's cold because the water heater in the church is broken right now! SO, either they get the water heater fixed or they figure something else out for Javier!
Here are Gabe's notes for the week!
Tuesday, 13 of January: Yesterday we had a couple lessons fall through but we were able to do some street contacting which went well. Afterward, Dora (a member lady) gave us some super good food. We had to take our laundry to Amon's house so we could wash it. (Our washing machine is still broken.) So we had to do our language study while we waited. After that, we had a good lesson with Fernanda and Alexander. We found them a couple nights ago under a bridge and they started filming us when we started talking to them because they thought they were getting mugged馃拃. But we met today and they were super nice. Then we met with Javier and he is super great. We went over the baptismal interview questions and answered some questions about Utah because he saw a crazy youtube video.馃槀
Wednesday, 14 of January: We had a blood test journey this morning (because I have been taking Accutane and need to get my blood checked monthly) to M贸stoles but after that we came back did pstudy and just street contacting till dinner with Amon and his family. They're the super nice Brazilian family. They made mini pizza馃檹. After, we had a lesson with Gabriel that went pretty well and we are pretty sure he'll be ready to get baptised this next weekend.
Thursday, 15 of January: We had a nice 2 and a half hours of street contacting this morning, which went pretty good. Then toward the evening, we met with a super lit Nigerian guy named Mantis that we met a couple days ago in the street. He speaks English and said he never talks to people in the street or gives put his number but he felt the spirit tell him he needed to meet with us. We had a great Restoration lesson and he is going to talk to his wife to see if we can come over. Afterward, we met with Javier and he's still doing awesome he gave us some hot chocolate and 2 white shirts. He's super great and loved the President Oaks talk we had sent him. After that, we meet with Ademir and talked about coming to church because it has been a minute since he's come.
Friday, 16 of January: We had ZLC this morning and after it, we went for a nice little street contacting session. After, we traveled to Ciempozuelos where we had a lesson with Bautista, Javier, Cecilia and Jimmy and his wife. It was pretty funny and went well. Afterward, we traveled back to Valdemoro and did studies and street contacting. We also had another lesson with our English speaking friend Ruth. She's super nice. We talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
Saturday, 17 of January: We got transfer news today, which was cool! I'm going to Granada! Which will be awesome. We did a bunch of street contacting and had to have an emergency videocall with Javier because when I told him I was leaving he said he would just get baptised when I came back to visit with my family馃槶. So we chatted about that and then had a lesson with Johan, which went great and he should come to church tomorrow. After more street contacting, we had a lesson with Gabriel and Ademir came to help us. It went great and Ademir is super funny. He got us churros after and was flaming Elder Hulterstrom saying he didn't look mexican馃拃.
Sunday, 18 of January: We had a super good day at church. I got to give my talk which went well and Javier, Gabriel, and Abiola and her kids came to church. It was super good. Dora picked up Abiola at the train station which was super clutch. After that, we had the last supper with the Daguimar family which was super fun. After dinner, we got back to our piso and planned and then had a lesson with Boyan to end the night. He'll meet with us but won't come to church馃槶.
Monday, 19 of January: We had the landromat adventures this morning which went ok馃槀. Then we came back, and I packed all of my stuff. Then we traveled to Aranjuez and had lunch with the Elders of Aranjuez and the Hermanas of M贸stoles at a good Asian restaurant. Then we showed Elder Hulterstrom the gardens in Aranjuez and then we went back to Valdemoro. We had a lesson with Javier tonight and it went pretty good and we are going to try and baptise him this weekend with Gabriel, so I can maybe be there. We found out that the whole mission will just wait to do transfers because of the big train crash. So I'll probably be here for the next week.
Note from Mom: This post is going to cover about two weeks again! Gabe's P-days got all messed up over these last couple weeks! They kept changing them, so he wasn't always sending an email on Monday. Like, his most recent big email was on Saturday and then he sent a little one yesterday. It's been all weird! So... that's my excuse.
BUT, the big news is kind of still a secret that Gabe wasn't really supposed to find out, but he had a one-on-one interview with President Obando, and he let it slip that Gabe is FINALLY leaving the Valdemoro/Aranjuez area!!! He is soooo excited (and frankly, so am I!) We counted it up, and he has spent 11.5 months in the same ward (Aranjuez) during the past 17 months of his total time in Spain! So, it's pretty undersatndable that he is ready for a change!
Also, the place that he is going is supposed to be amazing! It's a city called Granada, and it's one of the prettiest cities in Spain. I am so excited for him and so excited for us to visit there!
Other than that, he is doing well except for that their washing machine broke, so he has to live for a week of going to the laundromat before he moves to Granada! Hopefully they can get it fixed for Elder Hulterstrom though!
Here are Gabe's notes!
Thursday, 1 of January: We got ready this morning and Me and Elder Broadbent traveled to M贸stoles to switch back after exchanges with Elder Brog and Hulterstrom. We stayed there all pday and played card games and we went to Burger King. It was super fun and we had a great time. Afterward, we came back to Valdemoro and we had a call with all the Mission leadership, which went well.
Friday, 2 of January: We had sooo many lessons planned for today, like at least 6. But then they all canceled馃槶. We street contacted all day, which was kinda devious. But we found 11 really cool people so it wasn't too bad.
Saturday, 3 of January: We started this morning with a weird lesson with Luis and everything we said he would say he believed in, but then right after, he would say the opposite馃槶. Then we met with a guy named Johan, and it was pretty good. We taught them the Restoration. Both guys were from Peru. Then we had a fire videocall with Gabriel馃檹馃徏. Then we met with a Muslim guy who speaks English and that went ok, but he ain't switching. Then we had a Boyan lesson where we talked about going to church because he always has something going on during church馃.
Sunday, 4 of January: Javier came to church today and loved it!! He chatted with a different ward member, who is a Spaniard guy (Roberto Sanz) for like and hour after church, and Javier told us after how nice it was to talk about the experiences they both have had in our churches and how much they both like this one. Then we ate with Daguimar and her family, which was hype like always馃檹馃徏. The rest of the day was mostly planning, but we did have a good videocall lesson with a woman named Miryam. We chatted with our families on the phone, which was good, because our Pday got moved and so we won't have P-day now until Saturday!
Zone conference y Book of Mormon marathon
We had a supppeerrr short week. Monday was basically our only day to work because we had the Book of Mormon marathon on Tuesday and Wednesday馃檹. We spent 2 whole days reading the Book of Mormon. It was a super good experience. Very tiring though.
Then later in the week, we also had zone conference this weekend so that was super good. We are all still here for interviews (it's Saturday) and the Frys made a bunch of tacos 馃尞
Monday, 5 of January: We had a super busy day starting with Javier where we taught the plan of salvation and also about polygamy (he asked馃槶). But it was super good. After that, we met with Gabriel and Miguel separately but basically taught the same plan of salvation lesson to both of them. After, we met with a lady we met in the street the other day named Jenny. Her son and daughter were there and they were all super nice. We gave them Books of Morm贸n and the really liked the Restoration lesson. We did all of our studies during the middle of the day, but after we had a lesson with Ruth outside! We had to search through the huge crowds of people because of the Three Kings Day parade (which is like their big Christmas celebration) but we had a great lesson about the Book of Mormon. She's from Nigeria and speaks Ingles.
Tuesday/Wednesday, 6 y 7 of January: Super good experience and it was awesome. We read the whole Book of Mormon in 2 days and it was super tiring but an amazing.
Thursday, 8 of January: We had some calls this morning and after that we had a lesson in Ciempozuelos with a super nice lady from Africa. It went pretty good but it went long. After, we organized our stuff and left for Madrid for the conference tomorrow. We are staying with a bunch of elders and played card games before we went to bed, which was fun.
Friday, 9 of January: We had no hot water or heating in the apartment with the other elders in Madrid that we are staying in, so that sucked. But then, we had the conference and it went great. Afterward, we had a super good lunch from catering and had a leadership meeting with president. I was getting flamed馃槶. Next, we went to the temple with Cecilia and Elder Chivers and Elder Plewe. I ended up being baptised for 2 Russian grandparents of a recent convert who was there (that I didn't know at all) and she had me take some photos with her outside. It was pretty funny. I'll include those pictures even though it was random and I didn't even know her. Then we played card games before going to bed.
Saturday, 10 of January: We had interviews with President Obando today, which went pretty good. We had to stay there the whole day, making sure everyone was ready when it was their turn. We also had a bunch of tacos and other Mexican food that the Frys prepared for us! (They are a senior missionary couple.) They are awesome and the food was amazing. My interview with president was really good as well. He may have given me a hint about where I am going next transfer in a week.... :)
Also, my old trainer and buddy, Wisdom Bright, happened to be at the temple during that time and so we got to take a picture with me, Elder Plewe, and Elder(not really anymore) Bright. It was a 3-generation photo.
After our president interviews, me and Elder Hulterstrom went to Sol and he bought some more mate馃. We did a bunch of contacting when we got home and also scouted out the laundromat we'll have to use because Elder Hulterstrom broke the washer.
Sunday, 11 of January: We had church this morning and Javier and Johan came. It was great! Javier already has a really good relationship with the members. After church, we went and ate with the Yubero Family which went super fun. Then when we got back to Valdemoro, we did weekly planning and also had a fire first lesson with Lidy and Alex. They were both super nice and we are going to try and meet with them soon.
Monday, 12 or January: Today was Pday! **I didn't actually have this day included in his email, but I know Gabe went to Toledo today and walked around and saw some cool stuff, including the sword shop. Then they got food (schawarma) and I know that some Hermanas were there with them. I will include those pictures though because they are cool!
Note from Mom: Well, this is going to be a MEGA POST that covers from December 15 - December 31! We left for Wisconsin on Monday, Dec. 22 and so I didn't update this for while.
It was really nice during the holidays because it felt like we got to talk to Gabe a lot. We talked on the Sunday, Dec. 21 (the day before we left for Wisconsin). That was the day we opened presents at our house because, despite saying it would be a small Christmas since we would be in Wisconsin, I still did end up buying Caleb and Avery some new clothes and some other small things. So we opened gifts, we talked to Gabe, we packed, etc. Then we talked to Gabe via messenger a little bit on Monday as we were driving to the airport. I had sent Gabe some Christmas stuff via Amazon Spain and I think he got it on Tuesday, Dec. 23. I told him to not open it until Christmas, but I'm not sure if he waited or not. I basically sent him lots of treats (Twix, Kit Kats, granola bars, some Trix cereal, Sprite soda), and then a small Lego set, an Escape room game, a kit to make and decorate gingerbread cookies, some box brownies, and some pajama pants.That was probably more than he even wanted or expected, but I had to send him SOMETHING! I also deposited money from all the grandmas and told him he could use it on a meal out with his companion or new shoes or whatever he wanted in Spain.
So, we celebrated Christmas at my mom's house in Wisconsin, and Gabe got to call at about 3:00pm our time on Christmas Day! Some of my extended family was still there and got to talk to Gabe for a minute as well, on Facetime. I think he said Hi to Sally and Steve for a minute and also my Grandma Dahlke (who he vows he is going to baptize when he gets home. lol) He said Christmas there was just kind of "a normal day" which I thought was sad, but he didn't seem that bothered. He said they had spent Christmas Eve with a family they have been teaching (Cinthia and Carlos) and they made them a really nice meal.
I guess in Spain, the Christmas celebration spans over the course of a week and it kind of ends with Three Kings Day on January 6! Here is some info I copied and posted from Google about it:
Spain celebrates Three Kings Day (D铆a de los Reyes Magos) on January 6th to commemorate the biblical arrival of the Three Wise Men (Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar) in Bethlehem to adore baby Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; it's the main gift-giving day for children, concluding the Christmas season with parades and special traditions like leaving shoes out for gifts and eating Rosc贸n de Reyes cake.
Gift-Giving Tradition: In Spain, the Kings bring presents, not Santa Claus, making January 6th the primary day for children to receive gifts, reflecting their good behavior throughout the year.
Key Traditions
Letters & Shoes: Children write letters to the Kings listing desired gifts and leave out shoes for them to fill.
Camel Treats: Snacks and water are left for the Kings' camels.
Parades (Cabalgatas): Huge parades on January 5th feature floats with the Kings, who throw candy to the crowds.
Rosc贸n de Reyes: A sweet, ring-shaped cake with candied fruits, symbolizing the kings' crowns, eaten on this day.
Hidden Figurine: A small figurine (often baby Jesus) is baked into the Rosc贸n; whoever finds it must host a party on Candlemas (February 2nd).
In essence, Three Kings Day brings the Christmas festivities to a joyful close in Spain, with the focus on faith, family, and the magic of the Wise Men's journey.
So... I found that interesting! On Amazon Spain, you can tell January 6 is the big day because it kept saying, "Will arrive by Three Kings Day" like that was a big deal. Gabe did say though, that a lot of the people they are teaching are actually from South America (like Carlos and Cinthia), and THOSE people celebrate Christmas like the big holiday it is, and don't really celebrate the Three Kings Day thing.
Anyways, it sounds like Gabe and Elder Hulterstrom are doing well. They seem to get along and everything has been busy in a good way. They are teaching a lot of people and seem to have some baptisms on date for the next month.
I asked Gabe if he was getting excited to come home this year, and he was like, "I don't know. I haven't even thought about it. I'm just grinding, low-key working hard, not thinking about it." Sooo... I guess he's fine!
Here are Gabe's notes:
December 15 - December 22, 2025
1. Amigos
2. Exchanges
3. Talleres
We had a great week with some of the friends we are teaching. On Exchanges, me and Elder Bohn found a really nice family from Per煤 as we were trying to find the house of another person we were teaching. We have a amigo struggling to stop drinking coffee which is why we had to push back hos fecha. So that's unfortunate.
Exchanges were super great this week. I had an exchanges with Elders Bohn and Whitt. Both of the exchanges went super well, but with Elder Bohn a lot of our lessons canceled but because they canceled we found the really nice family. So it was worth it.
Monday, December 15 - 22
Monday, 15 of December: We woke up and cleaned the piso and after that just wrote emails until the Aranjuez Elderes got here. When they arrived, we went to Dominos and then went bowling. It was super fun and then we came back to the apartment and we had to plan talleres with the STLs over videocall.
Tuesday, 16 of December: I had exchanges today with Elder Bohn!!! I have been wanting to have an exchange with him ever since I met him. He's awesome! He has about one transfer out in the mission longer than I do and he's an AP right now. We had a super good lesson with Adin and prepared him for his baptismal interview on Friday. After that, we studied and started heading over to a lesson on the other side of the city. We wanted to pass by a woman's house as we walked there, but we hadn't marked the address and we knocked some random doors until we found a super nice Peruvian guy named Luis that invited us in and introduced us to his whole family and even called his wife to show us to her. Then he invited us over for the next day to eat dinner with him and his family. Then we had a lesson in the plaza planned with Diorelis and her son Luis, but they were super late so while us and Dora, the member, waited we taught Cindy, who we saw and had stopped teaching a while ago a quick lesson. Then we started talking to a guy in a bench named Anthony and gave him a baptismal date during the street contact. He's elect. Then when Diorelis and Luis got there, we gave them a baptismal date as well! Then are super nice and only have a couple of weeks here. They are from Venezuela as well as Anthony.
Wednesday, 17 of December: Today felt kinda long not gonna lie. Elder Bohn left this morning and then me and Elder Hulterstom took like 2 hours to plan out a bunch of stuff for the zone. After planning, we had mediodia and language study. Then we visted Jhon the less active guy who is super nice to us. He said he would ask his boss for work off to come to church on Sunday which would be awesome. Then we did street contacting for like 2 hours and got rejected by everyone which was crazy. Then we had a super good lesson with Luis and his family about the Restoration. After they gave us a super good plate of Peruvian food for dinner馃檹馃徏馃嚨馃嚜.
Thursday, 18 of December: We had the blood test memes today (for my Acutane) so we had to travel to M贸stoles. But then we did a bit of studies and had a lesson with Boyan where we encouraged bro to talk to the bishop馃憖. Then we had some good street contacts as well. After that, we went to Pinto to meet up with Elders Alferez and Whitt for exchanges. It's been pretty good. Me and Whitt are here in Valdemoro and he seems great so far.
Friday, 19 of December: With Elder Whitt today, we stared off with a lesson with Adin. We moved his fecha (baptisimal date) because he is having a hard time with Coffee and tea馃槶. After that, we had a lesson with Maricel and talked about the Restoration which went super good. Then we went to Ciempozuelos for a lesson with Cecilia. She had made tamales too, which was hype. Bruno (return missionary and friend from the Aranjuez ward) was also there and a member who just moved here from Madrid. It was a great lesson and we are planning a temple trip for them! Then, we came back to Valdemoro and we did some street contacting and then switched back to our regular companionships in the night.
Saturday, 20 of December: We had some calls this morning, but today was relatively uneventful until the ward Christmas party we had this evening!!! It was great and we had our first lesson with Nick. He's from Italy and speaks English. Bruno helped with the lesson, which was hype. Then we had the super good rotisserie chicken dinner and then traveled back to Valdemoro with Boyan. Him and Elder Hulterstrom were bonding over Brawlstars馃槀
Sunday, 21 of December: We had church this morning, but all of our amigos were sick so none of them came to church馃槶. Church was good though. We just had the first hour and then we got a ride back to Valdemoro with some members. Then after church, we did a bunch of planning and street contacted till the night.
Monday, 22 of December: We had talleres, so we woke up early and traveled to Madrid. When everyone got there we started the talleres and they went pretty good. After it was over, we all got food and Me, Elders Plewe, Chivers, and Hulterstrom went to a Venezuelan place. Then we played some sports and email and called people. Then we had district councel in person and traveled back to Valdemoro with Elder Plewe and Chivers for our exchanges.
December 23 - December 31
We had the whole zone together for talleres today, which has so far been really good. Afterward, we all went to get food and when we came back we played sports with the other Zone. High quality day.
1. Lots of exchanges
2. Amigos
I had 4 exchanges in the past 8 days, which has been great. I was with Elder Plewe, Elder Miles, Elder Seely, and Elder Broadbent. All the exchanges were super fun and it was super funny to be with Elder Plewe again. Being with Elder Broadbent was also super fun because we came in with each other and have always wanted to go on Exchanges.
We had a great week and we put three of our friends on baptismal date. One is an old spanish man who has studied a lot of religions and has had a lot of questions but wants to be baptised, which is awesome.
Tuesday, 23 of December: We had a great exchange today. Me and Elder Plewe met with an old guy named Luis and he was kinda weird about the priesthood, but the lesson went good. After that, we walked over to Maricel and she said it was too cold to come outside so we video called her from outside her apartment building. Then, we had some studies and we did a lot of street contacting and a lot of lessons fell through.
Wednesday, 24 of December: Today was pretty good. We had a lesson this morning with a super inactive member who just moved here. His wife came and we taught her about baptism and then she accepted a baptismal date. They showed up an hour and a half late though馃槶. Then we street contacted till our lesson/dinner with Cinthia and Carlos. They made a bunch of food for Christmas Eve dinner, and it was awesome. We definitely have to move their fecha (baptismal date) though(RIP). They ain't married, Carlos loves beer, and Cinthia loves vaping馃槶. So that stinks. There was also a crazy Argentinian woman there.
Thursday, 25 of December:
Christmas! Not gonna lie, it was kind of just a normal day for us of being missionaries, but we had an awesome experience with Miguel! Today was super busy. We started with a super cool lesson with Miguel. During the lesson Miguel told us about how he had felt good in other churches, but knew it could be better. So he prayed to be guided to that church and the next day Elder Hulterstrom and Elder Chivers found him on exchanges and he knew it was from God. Then, as we taught him about Joseph Smith, he said he recognized him from a dream where he was surrounded by a bunch of people and Joseph Smith was there and when he touched Miguel's forehead everything turned white and he knew he was from God. After that, we showed him 3 Nephi 11 and he spontaneously started reading the scripture about baptism. We invited him to be baptized and he instantly accepted. He's awesome. His cat was scratching me the whole time馃槶. We also visited Orlando and Erika and their family. They were great and recently moved here from Ecuador. We also met with a new younger couple that recently moved here from Madrid. They are named Joel and Fatima and are both returned missionaries. Then we street contacted for a while a went home. We called our families and talked for about an hour. My family was in Wisconsin at Grandma Sue's house and I got to talk to Grandma Dahlke and some other relatives too. (Note from mom - I asked Gabe if he was sad missing Christmas, and it honestly seemed like he was fine. He wasn't at all like he was his first Christmas out, when he seemed pretty sad. He seemed happy that they had had that cool experience with Miguel and just said it was a good, busy day!)
Friday, 26 of December: We started the day off with a call from 9:30am-2:00pm. Right after, we helped the younger couple we visited yesterday move some bigger stuff into their house. Then we visited Ademir and talked about him coming to church which went well. Then we had a super good lesson with a guy named Gabriel, and we gave him a baptismal date for the 25th of January! He was great. He's 22 and is also from Venezuela like Miguel. Then we had a lesson with Henry and we hadn't been able to meet with him for like a month and we had stopped teaching him. But we saw him the other day and that's how we got the meeting today. During our lesson with him he told us he would like to be baptised, but is just too busy to come to church because of his work馃槶.
Saturday, 27 of December: With Elder Miles today we started with a great lesson with Miguel, which went super well. We discovered he is only 15馃槺. (He looks older than that.) Then we had a lesson with an old Spaniard guy (Note from mom - I think this is Javier?) who he seemed super interested and he said he'll come to church tomorrow. It was a super long lesson though. After that, the train broke down so we had to wait like 45 minutes to return to Valdemoro. We basically just did street contacting all night which was good because Elder Miles struggles with that so it was good to practice.
Sunday, 28 of December: Church was good and Gabriel came, which was fire. The other Elders were supposed to have a baptism but the guy didn't show up, so that stunk. Then, we got back from Aranjuez and we planned the week and did a bit of street contacting until me and Elder Hulterstrom took a bus back to Aranjuez to do the exchanges switch with the Elders there. Then me and Elder Seely took a bus back to Valdemoro.
Monday, 29 of December: Today me and Elder Seely started off the day with a pretty good lesson with Anthony which was pretty good. We had Boyan there to help us as well which was kinda funny because he would throw in his super weird questions. After that, we had a lesson with Miguel and taught him the Word of Wisdom, which went pretty good. He's super elect. Then we had a lesson with a guy named Luis. He basically didn't believe in religion, but did believe in some sort of God. Mid-lesson, 2 testigos (Jehovah's witnesses?) came over and were testing the waters to bash, but then 2 Muslims came over and tried to sell cologne to us so they all left after like 3 minutes. Wierd interactions. Then I traveled back to Aranjuez to switch back and then went back to Valdemoro.
Tuesday, 30 of December: We did street contacting literally all morning, but we found a lot of people which was good. Then we had a lesson with Kelly who was a super nice Brazilian lady. Then we went to El Casar to switch with the elders of M贸stoles. I'm with Elder Broadbent for exchanges which is hype because we've never gotten to do exchanges, but have been around each other our whole mission.
Wednesday, 31 of December: This morning we went to Ciempozuelos and met with the goat, Javier! We taught him more about baptism and he said he liked everything we taught him before. Also that, he left the Catholic church because as he read the bible he saw lots of differences and things that don't make sense, like the trinity. Then we gave him a baptismal date which was awesome. Then, we had lunch with Dora and her family. After that, we went home and did our studies and went to meet with Gabriel (the 22 year-old from Venezuela who has a baptismal date now.) The lesson went great, and after we went with him to Dora's house and played a board game with them all.
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