28 March 2016 - Week 22

Hello Everyone! John sent a few quick emails this week, but not a long message for the blog. He was short on internet time but overall he says it was an uneventful week. Elder M has been sick, so they stayed in the apartment a lot and tried to get him well. John said this gave him the opportunity to really start his workouts - he is proud he is starting to survive full Insanity workouts :) He thanked everyone for their Easter wishes. He says transfers were just last week, and he and Elder M get to stay together. They both seem happy to be staying together another rotation and now it will be several weeks until the next possible transfer. He sends his love to all and we both hope everyone has a great week!! Thanks!!

21 March 2016 - Week 21

Good week. Sorry it took me so long to get on today. We went hiking this morning! It was really fun but I just wished I had my mountain bike the whole time! But not a lot to report this week. Oh I had the most intense hot sauce ever! It's called "mad dog 357". We got just the tip of a toothpick and ate it and we were dying for like 20 min just eating ice and drinking milk. It was terrible! umm but nothing has really happened this week. We ate at Steak & Shake! ummm the pine trees are pollinating so i have discovered I have allergies! I'm dying!

But that's it! Please keep the mail coming! I love getting mail! Thanks for the support from everyone!

                                                                                                    -Elder Gilbert

Oh i forgot to say! Today is the start of the new transfer! (Mkhwanazi & I are both staying) So I'm hitting the grind with the workouts! It's hard because Elder Mkhwanazi is trying to gain weight and I am trying to lose it! Have a good week!

14 March 2016 - Week 20

Hey everyone! Good week! We had an investigator get baptized! On Friday! So HA! TAKE THAT BEN! It's so sick that you send bap pics every week! Im a little jealous! lol It's crazy how last year your mish got 2,000! This year mine got 300! lol and we thought that was good! lol Baptists are suborn!!! But anyway Larry got baptized on Friday! We met him 2 weeks ago! He was just a sponge! He soked up everything we told him! Then I confirmed him yesterday! I was so nervous! I thought giving a regular blessing was intense but then to do it in front of the whole congergation when I have only been here 2 weeks and don't even know everyone! But it went well. Then someone who was giving a talk didn't show up to church. So I randomly hear "Then we will hear from Elder Gilbert with his testimony" so that was fun. So they heard from a lot Sunday lol

We went to the temple on Tuesday. Always an amazing experience! But yeah we are just working hard! Trying to get the new workout schedule going. I've started to wake up at 5 so that's fun. But yeah thanks for all the support form everyone! I love hearing from everyone! Love you all. -Elder Gilbert

7 March 2016 - Week 19

   Good week! We have an investigator named Larry who is getting baptized on Friday the 11th! I'm really excited for him. He is a great guy and is just a sponge about the gospel! He just soaks everything up we tell him. He is an awesome guy in a not so awesome chapter in his life and is looking for a restart. He has been to church twice now and has loved it. He took notes in all 3 hours yesterday.
   This area is really cool! So far its going well we are getting fed almost every-other day so that's good. Right next to Alabaster is Pelham and Pelham is where the ice arena is that the Alabama club team plays!! Then the announcer for the Alabama team is a member in my ward! He is from Toronto! So I actually got to speak hockey!!!! Then we were in a thrift shop the other day (they are everywhere out here) and I found 2 hockey sticks! 5 bucks each!! They are old school wood sticks but they have a decent curve! Best 10 bucks I have ever spent! So I have added sick handling to my work out routine!

   I found a Hatch! There is a Brother Hatch in my ward! He is from the colonies and is related to all the Hatches back home! All the brothers are his cousins or something I think they have the same grandpa (who just passed away a couple of months ago) But its awesome! He knows all the colony families like the Romneys and the Whettens! Small world!

   Then the bishop lived in El Paso! He is military and lived there for several years! He was there in like '97 or something. But he would run McKelligan canyon every morning!!!! What!! So yeah, he even knew who the Buzzards were and everything! So yeah this area is super weird for me! Like in the thrift shop I met a lady who grew up in El Paso! She went to Andres high school! We talked about Chicos and everything it was awesome! I ended up giving her a Book of Mormon! 

   But yeah this area is really cool, There are actually stores! We are going to a huge mall today in Birmingham, well in Hoover, called the galleria (like the one in Dallas) so yeah. I miss everyone! Wish I could just bring everyone up here and show everyone everything! Thank you for all the letters! Keep them coming!! 

   Love, - Elder Gilbert

29 February 2016 - Week 18 - New Address!!!

This week has been the crazyist of my whole mission! So on Tuesday Elder Hyde emailed his mom saying he had some heart stuff going on (he has had 2 heart surgery's in the past) then the next day Pres Hanks calls us and says that he is going home! And that I'm moving areas! So we pack up our apt in like 2 hours and go up and stay in Alex city, the next morning we drive up to Birmingham for a doctor's apt to make sure Hyde is well enough to fly. Then we head back down to Wetumpka, just for the night. The next day we drive up through Tuscaloosa so i could get to see the campus (ROLL TIDE!!!) on our way to Jasper which was Hyde's fav area. We spend the day visiting tons of people and then stay the night in Lorna. Then Sat morning we wake up and drive to the mission office in Hoover and Hyde has his exit interview with Pres Hanks and I get my new comp and Hyde leaves with Pres to the airport. So now Elder Mkhwanazi and Elder Curtis and I are in a trio. The 3 of us go and spend the night in Alabaster and then head back up to Jasper for a baptism for someone that Elders Hyde and Curtis taught. Then we drove to Hoover and stayed with the AP's. In the morning we head to the mission office to send Elder Curtis home. He tore his meniscus in his knee on Thanksgiving and his going home for surgery then will come back out when he is healed. But so Elder Curtis has his exit interview with Pres Hanks and then Elder Mkhwanazi and i head back to Alabaster. So that's where we are now and will be for awhile. Elder Mkhwanazi (mmm-qua-na-zi) is form south Africa, speaks zoolo and is 6'6"! Alabaster is a super rich suburb of Birmingham so it will be a lot different from Wetumpka. So yeah its been a crazy few days - I have lost 2 comps in 3 days. But I'm trying to just roll with the punches.

Thanks for all the letters form everyone!! Love you guys! -Elder Gilbet