To the Land of Endless P-Days... 31 October 2017

Thank you to everyone who has influenced me and my mission. I'm so grateful for how much my mission has changed my life. The mission has been a dramatic chapter in my life, and I am looking forward to this next chapter. #ABM -Elder John M. Gilbert

Wetumpka: Elder Bullock, Elder Hyde

Alabaster: Elder Mkhwanazi, Elder Hutchins 

Hamilton: Elder Hix, Elder Jessen

Ensley: Elder Morley

Madison: Elder Fanos, Elder Coleman

Fulton: Elder Hastings

Sylacuaga: Elder Standifird, Elder Sharp

Bessemer: Elder Briscoe, Elder Harris 

All of September and 2 October 2017 - weeks 97 - 101

These past few weeks have been absolutely crazy! And there seems to be no end in sight! This Friday Gladys Knight yes (and the pips) is coming to Bessemer. But not with the pips, with a Grammy award wining choir. Gladys Knight is Mormon! Yepp. She is coming to my church building to put on a huge devotional testimony meeting funded by the missionary department of the church. So it's all missionary oriented. The missionaries and members are bringing as many nonmembers as possible! We are told that hundreds of baptisms come from this. She is doing 2 shows in Tennessee the 5th. 2 shows here in Bessemer on the 6th, and 2 more in Mississippi. All right in the middle of her tour and still has her show in Vegas! Crazy! But this is a great missionary opportunity and we have been preparing for it for weeks. They are putting a whole stage in the chapel! Then on Saturday all the missionaries will be distributing gift bags that contain a CD, a book of Mormon, and a restoration DVD, to all the people that request one from the 2 shows. It's the missionaries' job to deliver all of them with the member that invited them within 24 hours after the show! It's going to be crazy! Oh! And we have a baptism that Saturday. To add to the crazyness. Oh and we had one last week as well. He is supper cool! He's a country singer! 

 

I only have 4 weeks left and I am beyond ready to come home! I can't wait to see everyone and get my real life started!! Thank you for all the support throughout  my mission! Can't wait to see everyone!! 

                                            -Elder John M. Gilbert

28 August 2017 - Week 96

Hello Dear Friends!
I have continued to be in regular weekly (on Mondays) communication with Elder Gilbert, but he has been finding it more and more difficult to write for this blog. My guess is that he is getting so close to completing his Mission that writing for the blog only reminds him of how much he is looking forward to coming home and "starting his life". He is doing his best to stay focused for his last few weeks and doing everything he can to finish strong in Alabama!! I have added a few photos for you below, a coupe of "John Sightings". I am sure any letters of encouragement to him to help him keep working hard for this last little bit would be greatly appreciated! 9 weeks to go!!
Love and thanks to you all!!  - Debby Gilbert

Elder John Gilbert
600 Flint Hill Lane Apt 202
Bessemer, AL  35022

12, 19, & 26 June 2017 - Weeks 85, 86, & 87

Crazy few weeks. Sorry I haven't been posting, life has been crazy. So we kinda had a baptism (technically the Sisters did) but we helped a lot. His name is Tom and he has been meeting with missionaries for almost 2 years! He is awesome! He was baptized in a creek. There was so much symbolism in it. So back in like the 1800's the first 2 missionaries that came to Alabama came here to Bessemer. They met  a little girl and gave her a Book of Mormon and then they had to leave. Over the years she read it and it was true, prayed that missionaries would come back, and they eventually did and baptized her in the creek next to her house. Now in 2017 about 3/4 of this massive ward is related to that one girl. Tom was just baptized in that same creek and this month is the 80th anniversary of the first group here in Alabama (in that house) next to Brackner creek. Cool stuff! 

   

Tom and John just went to the temple for the first time last week with family names to be baptized for. 

So that was super cool.

We went to T-town for a zone activity, we got hooked up with a tour of the stadium! 

We got to go down into the locker room, press rooms, everything! It was awesome!! 

We crashed a wedding at the Vulcan.....

​I caught 4 catfish...

... and we ate them!

So idk if any of y'all have ever heard of "Moody Mansion" but it's one of the most haunted houses in the US!....and its in our area. I knocked on it, to see if they wanted the gospel...

1 Peter 3:19 " By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison"

​This is the crew eating/making s'mores at the Chases house after Toms baptism.

We got our hands on some buttermilk syrup (best thing in the world) and Johnnie made us some pancakes to go with it!! (It's a big deal, he's come a long way!)

 Then yesterday was my comps 21st Birthday!! So celebrated that!

Love y'all! Have a great week! - Elder John M. Gilbert

 

29 May & 5 June 2017 - Weeks 83 & 84

Hi y'all!!

So Monday, was not p-day, we woke up to find standing water in the kitchen, the dishwasher was leaking. We didn't have much time because we had a meeting and an hour drive ahead of us, so we just called it in to the apt. office and left for Jasper, AL. I made it so we had district meeting up in Jasper and planned an exchange for afterword. I was able to go and see Sister Manning! She's awesome! Then we went to the Bakers. And the Epersons were there and we had a super fun crazy night. 

Tuesday, we pretty much stayed all day at Sister Manning's. Olsen and I were able to fix one of the dirt bikes for Luke.Then we headed back to Bessemer for dinner with the Ackers. The kitchen is still full of water..... i don't think they did a single thing, probably didn't even come look at it. We threw some towels down and left for dinner. Brother Acker has a man cave set up for football games. EVERY SINGLE THING in that room is Alabama Crimson tide. Its the most amazing thing ever! 

Wednesday, we went and helped Butch with his field/garden. We pulled weeds from the corn rows. It takes about an hour a row...... but then he took us out to lunch (which he always does - we love him!) and we always go to "San Antonio Grill" Mexican food place that's pretty good. The food is nothing like home but it's close! At least the music makes it feel like home. We had coordination meeting with the ward mission leader, and reps from every church group. Its crazy what can be accomplished with support for missionary work! We have scheduled and temple trip for just the recent converts later this month. 

Thursday, We were called in to hold down the fort in the mission office....From 8 to 3... while all the senior couples went to Tupelo for zone conference. ....The phone only rang 3 times... and we sat there and waited for it to ring again. It did not. Then Darby and the Colquetts came and took us to lunch! We went to our traditional place (Texas Roadhouse) which really feels like home. They are amazing people and it was awesome to be able to sit and chat with them!! After a day full of missionary work we come home around 10:45pm and find the water is still on the kitchen floor. My comp Elder Briscoe decides to give repairing the plumbing a try. I wish him well and decide to go to bed.  

Friday (today) I wake up to find the kitchen in pieces. My comp asks me for help putting everything back together. Thanks to my Teris skills, my "wheres my water" game on my phone back home and blessings from on high, somehow we connected all 12 or so pieces of pipe back under the sink! Yay us!! We head to our first app and he's not there.... we knock his neighbors house, who turns out to be a preacher, so we bash for awhile... just a great morning. We are deciding how to fill in a few hours time gap, and I got a random though of going to get the cars oil changed. So we head to Pepboys and the staff there are super cool. They have seen the missionaries in this area come in all the time for maintenance but have never really talked to them before and they had lots of questions for us! The one mechanic who I talked to the most (probably like a good 30-45 min convo) just about whatever, cars (Subarus) and stuff and I asked him if we could come teach him and his family... and he said yes!!! He has 3 daughters and has recently moved to Bessemer from Huntsville because his mom has cancer  so he could be closer to her. He hasn't been to church in years but is willing to hear our message and hear about the church! Just crazy how the Lord prepares people! 

Miss y'all. Pretty ready to be home..... and go to the beach.... love you guys!  -Elder John M.Gilbert

22 May 2017 - Week 82

Crazy few weeks! I got transferred to Bessemer! It's part of Birmingham. I've been in this stake 3 times now. But it's been a crazy week! I've made home made sushi with a member from Japan! I've fed some cows on a members farm - got the hookup for free farm eggs! Found a member who is a pro bodybuilder! He's absolutely massive! (I'll try to take a pic with him sometime.) He knows the girl in Sylacuaga who wanted to train me! He has already started to teach me some stuff and offered to hook me up with some supplements through his sponsor. He won the Vulcan! Which is like the biggest competition in Alabama! ummm... this week was crazy! Lots of teaching, meals almost everyday, team-ups everyday, and this weekend was Stake Conference! There was a member of the 70 there, Elder McCarthy. He was super cool! It was so weird that I knew almost everyone there! I got to see lots of families and members from Alabaster and Ensley and Bessemer! I have shaken so many hands this week! Which is probably why I'm sick.... i have a pretty bad head cold. Meds every 4 hours:/ I haven't really slept well in like 3 weeks and were just always on the move. I haven't even un-packed yet! Oh... Friday we helped a member with his farm/garden. We were there like all morning and I mowed like 6-7 acres of grass with this awesome zero-turn mower :) lol then dug a trench for the corn rows so water can get to them. Then the District decided that that day was best for everyone for District Meeting. So we went straight from working on the farm in my jeans and boots to District Meeting and I did the ultimate definition of "winging it". I had nothing prepared, but i did my cool djing analogy ... hopefully they got something out of it. It's just been super crazy!! And being sick sucks. Thanks for everyone and all of your support! Love Yall! -Elder John M. Gilbert

15 May 2017 - Week 81 Mother's Day!!

No post from Elder Gilbert since we got to talk to him on Mother's Day - it was so wonderful to see him and talk to him!! He is doing well and excited to start his last 24 weeks. His big news is that he is transferring to a new area! His new address is:
     Elder John Gilbert
     600 Flint Hill Lane Apt #202
     Bessemer, AL  35022
Love to everyone and yay Elder Gilbert!!