Week Twenty Four

Here are pictures of our District visit to Ft Christmas Dec.7. Lots of old-time cars, machinery (gas-powered corn grinders & ice cream churns), artisans, tractors, etc. Ft Christmas was a military post founded on Christmas of 1837 for the Second Seminole War and abandoned in March 1838. We got some christmas cards postmarked there with the commemorative postmark for the 36th celebration of the town of Christmas, Florida. 

Sis Allred, Bro. López, Bro. Aponte, and Sis Jackson

Last Saturday after the Ft Christmas activity, we went to a baptism in our Windy Ridge ward, where Bro Aponte was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He bore his testimony afterward about his experience in preparing for that, and we enjoyed a great outpouring of the spirit as he related his feelings about his conversion. He was baptized by our ward mission leader, Bro López, and was taught by Sis Allred and Sis Jackson. 

Our Christmas Tree

Flowers outside our apartment

We got a small Christmas tree that now sits by our front door. It's apartment sized.

We still have nice flowers around our apartment and our neighborhood, in spite of the cold weather in the middle of this week when the highs dipped below the 80's into the mid-70's. But today was warmer again -- we still have to use the air conditioner in the car.

Floridian snow slide at night.

There was a Winter Festival celebration near our apartment last week where they created a mini sledding hill with snow piled against bales of straw. Looked like fun for the kids. Thank goodness for snow-making machinery!  It didn't last very long.

Trying out Gator Bytes 

Taking turns holding the baby alligator

Tuesday after some medical appointments we had lunch with a couple of missionaries at a restaurant that had alligator bytes on the menu and had a baby 'gator to hold. Needless to say, we tried the gator bytes and got pictures of the baby 'gator.  Kind of cold and snake-like, as opposed to warm and fuzzy.

Elder Johnson and Ben

Thursday we finally got to meet Elder Johnson's mom. Ben and Jeana know him because he serves in their area by Ogden, but his parents live here in our mission. She's a great lady, and we're hoping to meet her with her husband next week when he's not at work. Elder Johnson was a hopeful BYU football walk-on, but put that on hold until he serves this mission. A bright young man with a lot of potential!

Sis Heiner, Alexis, and Sis Ward

Elder Despain and Elder Vailea

Today we went to a baptism service for Alexis and Jason, two primary-age children that the missionaries in Olympia have been teaching along with their families. The sisters taught Alexis and Elders Despain and Vailea taught Jason. Jason was baptized by Elder Vailea, but we didn't get a picture of them together.

After the baptism we learned that Bro Viveiros had heart surgery a few weeks ago, so we went to visit them this afternoon. We then went to the Olympia ward's Christmas dinner and met a Brazilian lady who was there as a guest with a Brazilian sister we met several months ago at a Brazilian fireside. Lots of good things happening here. The Lord is hastening the pace of His work, and we're hustling to adapt and keep up. 

Elder Delgado

We just learned that Elder Delgado's mother was baptized in Recife, Brazil last night, Dec 14. This is a wonderful answer to his prayers as well as ours and many others. We are so happy for both of them!