Tuesday, January 3, 2012

January 2, 2012

Hello Familia!
HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TOMMY AND HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

Okay, all the libraries are closed and so we are at our neighbors and usually i think of things that i want to write about but we had to come over here earlier then usual so i have nothing prepared.  i hope i don't forget  a lot of good stuff about what happened this week!

It really is true what they say about mission life that a day feels like a year and a year feels like a day! Literally, it seems like Christmas was forever ago, when really it was just a week ago. There is no time to think about the past because all I have to work with is "the right now" and what can I do right now to be able to follow the Spirit and see Miracles!  It's awesome!

Guess WHAT!! Paul don't miss this.... WE RAN A 5K ON SAT! :)  Believe it or not Sister Doll and I really do run 2 miles almost every morning so I am in good shape!  If I could just stop eating as much as I do then you would be able to tell!  So our San Tan Ward had a Fun Run on Sat. and we could either run 1, 2,or 3.89 miles (random i know) so we ran 3.89.  I thought i might die at the end,  but i never stopped and i finished in the top 10,  which I was VERY excited about. I know what you're thinking and YES we got it approved from our mission president, which we were surprised about :)  crazy huh?

On Saturday Sacha and Josh got baptized together (because they are in the same ward) and it was just awesome! This was a first for me having more then one baptism at once, which was Very Cool!  The more the merrier :)  Both of these people live with family that aren't very active so we are keeping a close eye on them, but we really don't think it's a problem because they are just so great! I don't know if you have ever heard of Clyde Bauden -if not google or YouTube him pronto- but he he is an AWESOME PIANIST and Josh's family knows him and they got him to come and to play at the baptism and it was just amazing. He gave us his CD and signed it which was cool. ha ha its not everyday when you get a celeb at a baptism.

ohhh guess what,  I turned 9 Months on Dec 30!  WEIRD - half way done and that's not okay. it's awesome that my 9 months was right at the New Year because it was a great time to set some good goals on how to make the next 9 months even better then the first. 

the mission has set a REALLY high goal for baptisms for the year of 2012. We had 1040ish for 2011 which is nuts,  and now they have asked all the stakes to pray about goals,  and all their goals added up to be 2010 so we just made it 2012! I am so grateful that i get to stay in the area for another transfer because there is so much that needs to be done. Church is the best ever because everyone that attends is promised personal revelation if you will just be listening for it and yesterday i was all ears. I can just picture Heavenly Father just waiting for us to just listen to Him. I know that he tries to help me out all the time but I'm just too focused on figuring everything out by myself that i don't give Him a chance to talk to me. This year Big things are happening and i am SUPER EXCITED!

Yesterday was kinda a rough one with people not being at church and just other things falling through but once i got into a better state of mind and left everything in Heavenly Fathers hands knowing that we did everything that we could, it all got better! The best thing that i have learned on my mission is that Heavenly Father loves ME and you and you and you! We are ALL His children and because of that he WANTS to talk to us. Sister Doll and I gave a talk in one of our wards yesterday about the Book of Mormon and at first i didn't want to do it AT ALL because church is already stressful enough, but in the end it was def. for the better. I have such a testimony about if we ask something with REAL INTENT then we will get answers. Now we can't just ask an academic question and expect an answer... He doesn't answer those ones, but if YOU want to know if the Book of Mormon is True, if there is a God, whether or not you need to get married to whoever, and you HAVE REAL INTENT-  meaning that no matter what the answer is that you are going to do it- then he WILL answer you! Ask questions everyday because there is no limit and figure out how You personally receive answers from the Holy Ghost , because everyone is different, and then little by little it will get easier to recognize those answers.

Sorry this email is so scattered but i just LOVE the gospel and i KNOW that it is true and i challenge each of you to find out if it is true or not! Either it is or it isn't, so wouldn't you like to know? Pray, ask, GO AND DO!!!

I love you all so very much! HAPPY 2012
love,
Sister Martin
Happy 9 months!


MARTIN-ellies

New Year's party?!

Sascha's baptism

Josh's baptism

We had no electricity, so we made a fort.

Sister Norton left me :( last time at Costa Vita

Twinners with Sister Doll

Merry Christmas to ME!

Yey for Christmas Eve presents :) Thanks to Momma and Sister Alger

Dominey! Ha Ha, this is one of my FAVORITE elders and he got Sister Norton and I a Christmas present. Long story why he got us those gifts, but SUPER funny!

Half the AZ Tempe Mission, at the Christmas party

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