Oct 21st email

Sylvia is getting baptized on Saturday at 10 AM! Same Day as Mia's Baptism! I will just imagine that it is Mia going under the water instead of the 60 yr old women.. that way i can feel like i am there. :) She had her interview this week with the Zone Leaders and they said she was super solid. We are really excited about that. Gage and Alexis also had their interviews last night, and their baptism is going to be November 2nd at 7PM. They are really excited which we love seeing. It is so amazing seeing the success come from all of our hard work! 

We had exchanges this week. I went out with Elder Finkelstein from Hanksville, Utah. Haha he is a great guy. He used to work at the Stan’s we stop by every year on our way home from Lake Powell! it was fun hearing about what it is like down there. We picked up a few new investigators this week. There are so many less active guys out here that served a mission, went to BYU, and then married a non-member, and sure enough they went inactive. So like Mom has always said.. MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON! Otherwise the missionaries like us have to work on you to get you back to church, which makes us accountable, and it would just be lots easier if everyone married the right person. haha One of the people we are teaching is a federal Judge and is from Hawaii. He is a pretty cool guy. He is In-active, and it is his wife that is not a member. (Yeah, he's a RM and a BYU grad...) He is a really good guy. We are teaching a couple up in Ranch Murieta (The golf community that’s 20 minutes away..) Their house would fit in well in Alpine. It is massive. haha 

We had stake conference this week which was great. We were invited to the Adult session which was all about missionary work. The mission president came and talked and it was a great meeting! Then on Sunday they talked a lot about doing temple work and again about being a member missionary. So Everyone needs to do their missionary work. 

Our ward had a trunk or treat this weekend and there were hundreds of people there. We met a lot of non-members that were invited by ward members. All the Primary kids and youth basically worship us. haha it was fun talking with all them. We set up our trunk with copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets, and pass along cards. We also had candy for the kids. :) It was a really successful activity for the ward, and for missionary work. 

We built a few fences this week. That was some great service. Every single person in California has a fence. A little different than Alpine where everyone actually loves everyone. haha We Also helped the cop/swat sniper redo his sprinkler pipes. He had someone come rototill his front yard so he can plant grass but it sank in and ripped out 10 yards of his line, broke a few T intersection. So we spent a lot of time helping him out. Now I know how to fix sprinklers, build a fence, frame and put up a wall, pour concrete, and a whole lot more. Oh the things you learn in Wilton! :) Fun fact of the Day... we had 4 different dogs pee on the tires of our car. It is staining the rim yellow. I guess they are all trying to mark their territory. I am gonna start peeing on their doggy beds or whatever and see how they like it :) We also saw a pet goat this week that thought he was a dog. That thing was weird... haha he would follow us around, had a collar, and loved being pet. I am gonna cut my hair super short soon and I’m pretty excited, even though all the missionaries and members are telling me not to. They say they will miss my hair.. haha (especially the YSA Girls.. ;) ) a bunch of people call me GQ. its kinda funny.. a little annoying, but it’s okay because I won’t have to worry about it when I have no hair! :)

But the Adventures of Wilton are great! We are seeing so much success come from all of our hard work, and I know that without the Lord's hand in our work, we would not be able to do anything. Being a missionary is amazing, and we are excited for the baptisms. 

Love you all Lots!

Elder Gage Black