Sept. 25, 2011

Hello Hello!!!

So Dennis's baptism went AMESOME! and he invited his mom and brother and they just loved it, so hopefully we can begin to teach them really soon. That would be awesome! I don't know if you remember, but we started teaching Dennis because his cousin Silvia introduced him to the gospel and she was just baptized in feb! It is the best when recent converts do their own missionary work!  Also we started teaching a 15 year- old boy this week named Austin. His dad is a long-time inactive member but just recently moved into his sister's house (austin's aunt and uncle's house) and started coming to church with them. Austin immediately loved the church and so we went over to start teaching him on tue. and then we met with him again sunday night. When we first got there we asked him how he had held up his commitment to begin reading the Book of Mormon and CRAZY he has read to Mosiah! and it's totally legit because he had been asking his uncle questions along the way. Austin has so much faith and is such an inspiration to me to be totally dedicated to my work. He is seaching for truth and so he is doing everything with "real intent" so that he can find that truth! He is on date to be baptized on Oct 15!  We talk to everyone that we see on the streets but that isn't a very effective way to find people to teach. the best way is always member referrals!

 

Okay so next week is transfers and I better not get moved! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the people that we are teaching right now and Anthony, Keith, Josh, and Austin are all getting baptized in October so i just can't be moved! Ughhh i hate transfers!

 

Thankfully this week the weather is dropping again to the high 90s so what a blessing that will be. Even though this last week it was still in the 100's at least it is cooling down at night. It was the worst when it was still in the 100's at 9:00 at night!  Okay so big things are coming up...General Conference is this weekend and im sooo excited. then comes the mormon blitz in this area and then MY BIRTHDAY!!!  yey i just love it!

 

So for general conference we get to attend all the sessions thankfully!  we can watch conference at a members home only if an investigator is there so that will be nice, but if not we will go to the church. the relief society broadcast was amazing!  Also my mormon.org profile is submitted and once it is approved it will be up so you should all check it out. don't judge because we didn't have a lot of time to do it and we had to take a picture on a members webcam haha but it is up and that what counts. 

Mom thanks so much for the package!  i haven't recieved it yet but ill try to wait to open it. i might get moved so just send the packages to the mission home!  thanks so much for all you do. bear lake sounds like so much fun. i couldn't watch the price is right but i had one of the members watch it and tell me all about it!  i want to see it sooo bad. i love you all so much!

 

I read this scripture this morning D&C 64: 33 "wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. and out of small things preceedeth that which is good."  this is what im doing... even though everyone won't listen to me, the seed is planted.

 

i love you all so much!

Emily

 

                                this is what missionaries eat when members dont feed us!!! SICK

                                       Dennis's Baptism! sister warner, orton, dennis, and me

Sept. 19, 2011

Hello Familia

SHOUT OUT TO MY BEST FRIEND KYLEE UEHLIN!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I love you so much

This has been another great week to be a missionary. the weather has been GREAT but sadly, this week we will be back in the 100s... i'ts halfway through september! how is that even possible!

Surprise, surpise we are a TRIO again! Yes it is the middle of the transfer but one of the sisters extended for only 3 weeks so on friday she went home and her companion came over here. i know lots of people dont like trios,  but i am SOOO grateful to be in a trio!  it just feels less stressful and more like just 3 girls just living together. It's still a little stressful since im senior over 2 sisters that are both age- wise older then me, and sister warner is older mission- wise as well... thankfully its fine but it just kinda makes me nervous to making all the decisions because im the youngest of the bunch. this whole mission experience has really helped me learn so much about myself and my personal weaknessess and even though that learning part has'nt been the funnest that iv ever experienced, its been very well worth it!

No baptism on the 17th... so the bishop, ward mission leader, and the 1st and 2nd pick for people Dennis wanted to baptize him were ALL out of town! so it got rescheduled for the 24th. im not okay with postponing baptisms for members, but i guess it's okay because he really needs a lot of people there. this week we got 4 new AWESOME investigators. What a blessing!  So first is Josh!  he is 23 and has had a really rough background but has made it through and is truly an amazing person. He is dating an lds girl and he asked her if he could meet with us because of the example that she set and mainly the example her family set for him. the lesson was amazing and tons of cool things happened during the lesson. before the lesson we prayed to know what a good date would be to extend for him to be baptized, and we knew that by oct 15th he would be ready.  So when we extended that date to him he was just shocked! literally his mouth fell open. I guess during the middle of the lesson he was loving all that we were teaching him and he asked himself when he thought that he personally could be ready to make this step in his life and he thought of that very same weekend! it was just awesome and then we showed him a mormon.org profile and he related completely with that person and it was just amazing. We're also now teaching a new couple, and another amazing guy named Daniel and tonight were teaching a FAMILY!  ohh man the blessing of being a missionary!

Life at home sounds just great and im so glad to hear that everyone is doing so good!  Mom i would love some cds! i fo rsure want Joseph Smith a tribute to the prophet of the restoration (the title is something like this) and the refection of christ cds. Aww i love that you were all watching home videos... was my hair super short and gross? haha why did you let me do that to myself? tell Paul congrats.. he is gunna rock!  Well i love you all so very much.

Mom I love you and i really appreciate all your emails and for all the support that you give me in each email. sometimes its hard to hear about all the fun things you're doing, but its okay because im glad that you're safe and are all doing good!

 i love you so much.

Emily

September 12, 2011

Hiking picture with the used to be trio

It's raining - not cute I know, but this is me EVERYDAY with my sweet helmet.

This week was another great week to be a missionary - haha when i say this i think of brother Wykert because every time he stands up to bear his testimony he always says that it's a great day to be a mormon!- We have had many great lessons this week!

 Anthony is progressing awesome and he even told us that he might want to get baptized the week before the date he was set to be baptised because it's the week of general conference! haha that was the Best thing ever!  Dennis freeman was supposed to be baptised this upcoming weekend but he pushed it back a week because the bishop, the ward mission leader, and tons other people will to be out of town. I hate to push back a baptism because of the members’ schedule but he wanted all of them to be there so we did it! I'm not so sure about Darrin... we didnt meet with him this week, which was sad, but hopefully we can set something up soon.

 We went to the tempe temple last week which is always a treat.  Lately we have been working with the members a ton because we're trying to get them fired up about the mormon blitz and we're trying to get them to create a profile. Friends and Family out there... YOU need to create a profile as well. it's amazing that we now have the opportunity to share our testimonies for our neighbors and friends to see. There was a quote by an apostle that they read to us at one of our trainings that said that in the 1800’s how the missionaries would preach in the town square because that's where all the people were and how now the internet is that town square (okay so i totally butchered that but you get it)! Mormon.org is truly incredible and it's such a blessing to have.

 So sunday finally broke the heat wave!!!! for the past 38 days the temperature has been at least 110 degrees... UGHHH! well sunday was 99 and it was BEAUTIFUL!  it poured on us sat night and it was the best ever! Sat was the first time that i have seen rain since I’ve been here. It’s so hot during the day that it rains sometimes (very very few) at night, but sat it rained and it was AMAZING! ohhh how a miss the rain. What a tender mercy of the Lord!

 I love this gospel and i am so greatful for the testimony that i have. in stake conference a couple of weeks ago one of the bishops spoke and said that that same testimony that i had in the premortal life i have with me today and how it’s my job to cultivate that testimony and nourish it so that it continues to grow! i just loved that and I’m so grateful that i can continually learn more and more each day. People are either going to love or hate this mormon blitz and we'll be running into ALOT of people that probably won’t like it.  I’m grateful i have such a solid testimony because i know that in the upcoming weeks people will try to tear it down. that's a sad thing to think of because don’t we all worship the same God? Weren't we told that God's greatest commandment was to love God first and then to love thy neighbors... if we all could follow these two commandments then the world would be such a better place!

 I love you all.

Love sister martin

Sept. 5, 2011

The San Tan Mountains before sunrise!

               Mom and Dad and Heather, THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE

i cant even tell you how excited that i was when i saw it! and i LOVE the cardigan and i got tons of compliments on it on Sunday.  you are all the very best! so wierd that you were here though. i def was looking around all day to see if you were going to try and see me.  haha

i loved the marshmellows and i def have been toasting those babies!

 So this morning we all got up at 4:00 and hiked the san tan mountains and it was awesome... I’m super tired now but what's new. Sister Johanson is back here for the weekend. haha she couldn’t leave for long. This week has been WAY good. Okay so we have been praying for new gators like CRAZY and this week our prayers were answered! we got this new gator named Anthony and he is awesome. During the first lesson we were telling him the whole story of joseph smith and he stopped us and told us that for the past 3 months he has been feeling exactly like that. At the very end of the lesson we put him on date for oct 1!!! He came to church yesterday and we talked to him afterwards and he just kept talking about the spirit that he was feeling and he said that he was trying his hardest not to smile becuase he didn’t want to look like an idiot! iv never heard anything better than that. This week we are meeting with Darrin and we're way excited for that lesson too!

 well im sorry that this is so short but i just love you all! 

I am so grateful that i can pray and that i can recieve answers to my prayers and that it’s not just a blessing that i get, but it's a blessing we can all recieve as well!

i love this gospel so much and im grateful for all the prayers that everyone says for my companion and I! we really have been strengthened

 i love you all!

love sister martin

Aug. 29, 2011

Ok CRAZY things are happening here! you might have heard of all the "i am a mormon" blitz campaigns going on around the world...   starting

oct 3 there will be one happening HERE! its going to be nuts. billboards, bus stops, TV commercials.  you name it, “Mormon” will be on it. I’m a little nervous because people are either going to love us or hate us! its okay though, because we are only looking for people who are prepared.  

 so the wards are pretty much going nuts here trying to be prepared and salt lake is asking everyone in the area to make a profile on mormon.org as well. this happened in NYC and 47% of lds people got APPROACHED by nonmembers with questions about the lds faith and almost 100% of the youth got approached!  they are telling us that in NYC people were just showing up at church without even being asked if they wanted to come because they were so curious and they found the ward building on mormon.org as well. WOW

 our teaching pool is LOW and i mean low! pretty much all week it has been around 114 degrees and we have been outside biking in that ALL DAY LONG just trying to find people to teach. this lull always happens in the work so its okay because i know that things will soon turn around. its super stressful being senior and i feel a lot of responsibility but its okay because im learning tons.  It’s also way weird only having one companion!!! i miss sister johanson! i am so grateful for everything that she taught me.

 mom i can’t believe you, Dad and Heather are coming to Phoenix on wed! welcome to the heat. i don’t really need anything... ummm well, food and pictures would be nice . thanks for the gps, it was MUCH needed and we love having it. the candy is very yummy. im glad it was all nestle haha

 well i love you all so terribly much.

love sister martin

sorry no pictures... you dont want to see what i look like after biking all day in 114 degree temperatures HAHA but seriously!

Aug. 22, 2011

okay... it's official I'M SENIOR!!!  this is not supposed to happen. remember I've only been out for a little under 5 months... ya i should def not be senior for another transfer or two!

Well i guess the Lord has more trust in me then i do,  so i better start gaining some. Sister Johanson just left and i felt like a little kid with my mom driving away. I have no idea what I'm doing!!! I NEED LOTS OF PRAYERS

 this week was great! Holly got baptized which was AMAZING! seriously that was one of my favorites. Holly has been taking the lessons for over a year and so is just so prepared. after her baptism she got her temple recommend and did baptisms.  CRAZY HUH

We also had sad news with stephen canceling his baptism a couple of days right before. there is no doubt in my mind that he won’t get baptized, I'm just not so sure when it will be though.

 Our prayers have been answered with finding a lot of new investigators lately so hopefully, that will all go well. this stake is AMAZING! so this week was stake conference and the sat. night session was completely about missionary work! omg i wanted to cry it was so good. our wards are so missionary- minded so it’s awesome.  Hopefully, we will soon see the fruits of all the members labors. when ward members are missionaries then the whole teaching process is so much smoother and everything just works better.

 Well time flies, so sorry i don’t have much to say. this week will be great and i know I’m about to be the most stressed that I’ve ever been, but also about to learn more then i ever had!   SERIOUSLY.. i need prayers, LOTS of prayers! This stake worshiped sister johanson because she had been here for a year and now i have to take over. I really hope this area doesn’t just crash and burn! I’m trying to stay positive but im scared out of my mind.

 I love you soo much,

Sister Martin

My whole Zone at El Ricos. Missionaries eat for free, so of course, we go there after every District Meeting.

Sister Johanson and me!

Holly

Elder Reddish - he is my Zone Leader from Nampa.  He knows Jordan, Devin and Spencer.

Awwww . . . I will miss him!

Aug. 15, 2011

                                          Sister Orton, Johanson, and I at the Mesa temple

Happy Road! All the road signs here are awesome!

I sweat ALOT! Proof to everyone that I finally sweat and it's not a pretty sight!

A BIG CONGRATS to taylor and crystal for tieing the knot on sat!! woot woot!  Sadly i couldnt attend but I saw some pictures and everything looked great! i LOVE the picture with the all the family.  Everyone looked so cute especially my beautiful sisters and of course the BRIDE! where did Taylor and crystal go on their honeymoon?

 well the weeks are flying by like no one’s business and next week is transfers already so that means sister johanson is gone.... im not okay with that! this week we had interviews with our mission president and i asked him to give me a blessing because im soo stressed about becoming senior and it was awesome! i wouldn’t be surprised if pres. howes was the next prophet! seriously every time he speaks, the spirit just floods the room. So no baptisms this last weekend but Holly is getting baptized on the 19th and Stephen on the 20th! CRAZY

 this transfer has been filled with success and  its all becuase of the awesome members. all of our baptisms have been in our singles ward because the members just aren’t scared to bring their friends to church and its awesome. hopefully that keeps up and I don’t run this area into the ground! we have pretty much baptized everyone that we have, so now we really need to find some more  new investigators. we have a few potentials so hopefully, we can contact them soon. Its crazy that we only cover a 15 square mile radius and we still find new people to talk to everyday and some of them have never even met lds ppl before.  don’t ask me how that's possible.  sister Orton’s mom made us three cute shirts so ill send you some pictures of those next week.

 mom I just love it here and I’m so blessed for this awesome opportunity. I’m out of my comfort zone and because of that I’m learning a TON! I can’t believe how much I didn’t know about this amazing church but despite that fact, I still knew it was true. I def did not need to have a perfect knowledge of this gospel to have a testimony and I’m so grateful for that. thank you so much for putting up with me and all my stubbornness!

 sorry this is so short but i have to go. i love you all.  go out and spread the great news of the gospel!

 love sister martin

Aug. 8, 2011

                                                Shae! She is so beautiful!

Parker's mission call opening. He is our ward mission leader.  Look out Spokane, WA because Parker is awesome!

Trio!

From: Emily Martin <emily.martin@myldsmail.net>

Date: August 8, 2011 11:52:41 AM CDT

Okay so not on a spiritual note i got my haircut this morning and this lady was CRAZY! ya she chopped my hair and i def broke down when i saw it... ughhh im never cutting my hair again on my mission. i dont care if i have 10000000 slit ends. now i just look like a boy and its def not cute! but then i was happier because one of my ward mission leaders is a dentist and owns his own business and so today we went and got teeth impressions for retainers and so that we can whiten our teeth!!!! YEY im so excited and its all for free :) ohh the blessings from being a missionary. oh and next pday were getting our teeth cleaned as well! at least my smile will be pretty even if my hair looks horrible.

okay back to spiritual matters... Shae's baptism was amazing and i just love her so much! this week was awesome!  so i was super nervous because just me and sister orton had to teach stephen and this was a very imprortant lesson because we had to get him back on date but it’s touchy because he has major family problems and we didn’t want to be too pushy. so i was freaking out before but we just prayed A LOT and so because of that the lesson went awesome and he actually told us at the end that he needed to set a date!!! YA...  that never happens. this taught me such an important lesson about the spirit and how the spirit is the most important thing in the lesson because that is how the investigator will be taught, not by me! if it is by me then that's a problem and that's when people fall away from the chruch.  stephen will be getting baptized on the 19th and holly the 20th! that will make 5 baptisms this month in our singles ward! NUTS!!! this ward is amazing and its just awesome to see just how awesome members really help. We didnt find any of these great people. they are all referrals or just came to chruch because they were invited. when the missionaries and the ward members help each other the work really progesses!

well i hope all is well in the world! good luck taylor and crystal on getting married this weekend!