Miracles in Gator Country

Hi family!

Well, Mom, it's probably a good thing you reminded me that next week is Mother's Day because I may have forgotten otherwise.  Lol, I kinda spaced it on that one.  Wow, it's very weird to think that the last 5 months have already disappeared and it's time to call home again.  It seems like Christmas was just yesterday!  I don't think I'll need the calling card info - we can either Skype or use our cell phone (unlimited minutes), so we should be fine there.

Benj, it sounds like you had a phenomenal week!  Way to find!  Keep it up at this rate and you'll have a branch established in no time!

This week disappeared - I think I only spent two days in my own area in between all the trade-offs with other elders, going to Jacksonville for zone leader council, and doing baptismal interviews. It felt so good to come back to my own bed on Friday night! The Lord is blessing us with miracles in the short time that we do have here though and we have four baptisms lined up for this weekend!  Woot!  We also have another super solid family that we plan to set dates with tomorrow.

So I think this opportunity to work with so many other missionaries has allowed me to see what is really happening with the Lord's work here in the mission and some realizations of Mark 16:17 - "these signs shall follow them that believe."  This week while we were at a district meeting in Ocala, one of the Spanish elders shared an experience he'd had a few days ago when they tracted into a man. This man had become very angry and aggressive to the point that his companion thought that they would be attacked, but he had the unmistakable impression that this man had an unclean spirit that he should command to depart. As he invoked the name of Christ and commanded whatever was in this man to depart, this person's demeanor immediately changed and he thanked the elders profusely before going back into his home.  Another experience an english missionary shared was how he'd been on splits with a spanish speaking member who was translating back and forth as they taught this latino person.  The lesson was apparently going really poorly, but then the Spirit came upon this elder and he finished the lesson speaking in perfect spanish until they walked out of the house. God is very much a God of miracles in this day and age!

There's too much going on to even tell it all.  Suffice it to say that I love being here!

Photo of the Day: an armadillo near our apartment; second in ugliness only to the possums!  These things are squished all over the roads around here since apparently they can't see well enough to know when cars are coming.

Good luck with your runs this week, Daniel!  I'm rootin' for ya from deep in Gator territory!  (will you ever get to come running out this way?  =P  )  Lou, have fun in Logan; good luck on the job search.  Have your older brothers take you to Casper's ice cream or Charlie's Shakes - those were the two best ice cream places in the valley.  I know; I tested them all!  =D

I love you all!

Elder M.