Hi everybody!

This week was lots of fun. We had two baptisms!

Mayra's Baptism Day

Our investigator Mayra got baptized! It was such a miracle because her family has been investigating for 10 years! She decided that she wanted to be baptized and her father was able to baptize her! Ha ha, she had to be dunked 4 times though, because her arm didn't go all the way under the first few times. They thought she was good after the third time but her mother who isn't even a member pointed out that she wasn't submerged all the way. We're so happy for her! Her brother says he wants to be baptized now.

Mayra with her father at her baptism

The other baptism was of an investigator named Oscar who was actually baptized before I got here but never received the Holy Ghost. We had thought that he wasn't going to ever come back but we stopped by this past week and read 3 Nephi ch. 11 with him and talked about the Holy Ghost. The next day we got a text from him saying that when we had taught him he felt like the Lord had been speaking to him and he knew that he needed to be re-baptized and confirmed this time. So on Sunday he was re-baptized. It was such a miracle!

Oscar's baptism

Cleaning out the font for the baptism.

We met several new people to teach this week. I know that the Lord has been blessing us with people in our path. It's always those days that we don't know what we're going to do that we see the biggest miracles.

We played this game with our investigators where the flour
symbolizes the family and each person has to name
something that destroys the family and then slice a piece of
flour away. The loser has to fish the penny out with their
nose. It was a lot of fun. In the end we shared a message
about families from Preach My Gospel.

Our investigator Roman says he's ready to get baptized and is going to be baptized on Saturday. He came to both Mayra's baptism and Eduardo's. He has also been coming to church. Yesterday he even participated in gospel principles. It's so amazing to watch these people grow and progress in the gospel.

With Roman.

The Branch is growing bigger every week. We just got a second councilor! We were all very excited. I feel so blessed to be here in this time. These people are so great.

Mirtha's Birthday!

I didn't even think about the 24th because they don't really celebrate it here. This has got to be one of the most interesting weeks of my mission. Crazy things that happened:

• We gave a semi-homeless guy a tour of the church while we were on exchanges and he tried to convert us over to his homeless ways. He says that we should be homeless because Jesus was homeless...yeeah. Not only that he told us that being alone was a sin and that we worshiped our prophets who apparently, "have big houses and fancy cars." Ha ha, Hermana Snow was there and called him out, "You don't even know that!" She's fearless! So about the time he finished his schpeel to us we started directing him out but then he tried to convert everyone else in the church!!! He went up to our branch president and tried to convert him! So finally my companion for the day said, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave because your causing contention." So he did, but sadly it didn't end there, he went outside and tried to teach all the students leaving from institute!! Crazy! We were really proud of them though because they just gave him a Book of Mormon and took off.
• Hermana Snow vacuumed up a lizard in our apartment! Ew!!! I felt so sick! I was sure that I was going to puke.
• We rode bikes all day in 115+ degree weather! Joy!
• We learned how to box.
• We went out to Lido beach and Siesta key which is rated the #1 beach in America. I'm sure if you all were here you would LOVE it!!

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Mathis

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  Bike Day!

  
  

  

  One of the families in our ward has a ton of birds outside their house.

  
  
  

  

  Famous WWII Statue

  
  
  

  

  Look who we found in the park! Some of our younger members.

  
  
  

  

  Me and an Alligator head. Yes, it's real!

  
  
  

  

  We went out with the YSA sisters. Love these girls.

  
  
  

  

  Sarasota Sunset