Dearest Darlingest Family and Friends,

Como le va? (How it goes?)

Flying into Tampa!

Well you guessed it. I finally made it to Tampa! Just at the perfect time too! Not too hot, not too rainy. So much has happened, I don't know where to begin!

I suppose I will start with my first day. So after approximately 6 hours of riding on a plane me, my companera Hermana Brough, and Elder Connors arrived in Tampa!  I absolutely love it here! It is so beautiful! Flying over it was probably the best part. I think there is more water here than dry land... at least in my area which is Largo!

So the first day in Tampa we did a lot of training, everyone was so tired so we went to bed at 7, haha. The next day we drove to a chapel for the sorting ceremony of sorts... he he, get it? Anyways we went over some paperwork and then ate lunch, then we received our new companions!

Hermana Newbill, Hermana Mathis, Hermana Duong
First Companions in Florida!

I am currently serving in a trio, but that is likely to change because we just received a newsletter from Salt Lake saying that they don't want us in trios anymore. So for right now my companions are Hermana Duong (pronounced deeun) and Hermana Newbill. It's really been different being in a trio, but they are both magnificent trainers. I didn't initially think so though. I wasn't sure if we were all going to get a long at first, and it was kind of a hard adjustment. But now I know that we are going to be friends forever, they are so amazing and already we've had SO many adventures!

Right now we are doing biking and driving. My new P-day is Monday with the exception of next week because of the holiday.

Now I get to talk about my favorite part... TEACHING!!! We teach in all Spanish which has been really fun! Everyone keeps asking me if it's hard to understand and how I'm doing. I must look really confused, haha. I just find it really funny though because I understand pretty much everything and I love it here!

We're teaching several investigators right now, my first lesson ever was with a 70 year old man with probably 4 teeth named Juan David. He's from Cuba too which means he has a pretty sweet accent. He's not actually our investigator. We were just passing him off to the other missionaries but he was a hoot! He won't come to church because he has a grandson in the hospital that he visits on Sundays but he believes us. Haha we sang to him and I think he thought we expected music from him too because he went over to his radio and turned on his favorite song which I'm pretty sure is called "Sabes una cosa" (know one thing) and he starting singing along. It was so cute! I really want to look that song up when I get home so I can remember my first day here in Largo.

If I were to write about every one of our investigators this email would be forever long so I'm just going to give you a brief description. Right now we are teaching Cindy, Jose, Maria, Cornelio, Mike, Noemi, Ema, Chavela, Jenny and various menos activos (less actives). Jose was just confirmed a member yesterday! YAY! and Cindy and Cornelio actually came to church! We have so many golden investigators! Mike is probably our closest to baptism, and then Cindy. Mike knows it's true.  He has been sincerely praying and reading, and he said he wanted to be baptized before the new year! Cindy just had the first lesson and in what little Spanish I new I taught the restoration and Hermana Duong challenged her to baptism. She accepted without hesitation. I am really happy to be teaching her because she has such a sweet spirit about her! I basically jumped out of my skin when I saw her at church yesterday!

We've also been doing a lot of street contacting. We've tried lots of places. And it's interesting because I'm going into those Mexican stores that I would have never gone into in Utah and finding that I actually love them and the food they sell. So far our most promising street contacts have been found at the local dog park and at the panderia (mexican bakery). We also tried going to this cultural event two days ago, haha! Everything was cool at first, there were lots of Mexicans and Peruvians to teach, but then things went south. So it was like a dance recital for kids right, but it kind of ended up turning into a club. The music was SO loud! We seriously couldn't hear anything and we were talking to this sweet little Mexican woman and the poor dear couldn't hear a word we said!

Our Apartment Complex

This letter is getting to be rather lengthy. Sorry about that but I just want to say a bit more about Tampa. The area is very green, there are tons of tropical plants and wildlife. Right now we're kind of in the city so we don't see much of it but its there. I have yet to see a regular sized bird. They are HUGE. And the ducks look like they have cancer or something. It's really sad. The weather is perfect though, our first day was a little sweltering but since has been good.

Oh and one last thing about Largo! Everyone feeds us! We can't so much as talk to a person without being offered candy,chili,bread, soda you name it! I've had more soda this week than I have in the past three years of my life! (Granted I have been strictly opposed to soda those past three years). But still.

Anyways I will leave you with this one last thought. The Lord knows you personally and he knows just what it is you need to calm your troubled heart. That is something I re-learned out here really fast probably in that first lesson with Cindy. He looks after ALL his children, and He doesn't pick favorites.

Have a blessed day!

Con Amor de (with love from) Tampa,  

Hermana Mathis  

P.S. Tell the women in the ward thank you for their letters. That was a pleasant surprise when I got to Tampa.