March 19, 2012

"Queens of the Creek" tees

 

Sister Doll and I with Omar.

Hello Hello!
Mom, thank you SOOOO MUCH for the awesome shirts. They are seriously the
best ever and i love them so much.  I love the story about the shirts.  I don't know if you remember but when I read my call, I read "Arizona TEMPLE Mission" and it wasn't until Heather
said, "wait,  that says 'Tempe' not temple".  ha ha so its kinda funny to have a
shirt that says it.

And the verdict on transfers is....................... I'M GOING!!!!
Crazy! seriously I'm sad, excited, and just freaked out about where I'm
going and who my next companion is going to be! I have lived in Queen
Creek for the past 9 months and I cant even imagine leaving- mom I
have MANY boxes for you that I'm giving to bonnie- I have too much
stuff and I really don't know how I'm going to be able to pack it all.
Thank goodness though,  it's not like college where I had to pack
bedroom and kitchen stuff as well! Ughhh, that's the worst.

This week has been such a great week though! Omar got BAPTIZED!!!!
We have been teaching him since Nov. and he is the one that was looking for the 100%
answer. Well... he never had a huge answer that was earth-shaking, but
after looking back at the changes the gospel made in his life so far and
thinking about where he wanted to be in the future,  he knew this
was the right decision! His parents and sister came all the
way from Texas to support him in this huge decision he was making.
To thank them,  he stood up and talked about his life growing up and
great memories that he had with each one of them. It was so
touching and of course, I was bawling like a little baby. It was so
cute too, because he got baptized on St.Patty's Day, so he bought a whole
bunch on clover pins for everyone who attended.

We had Easter Pageant training on Sat. and never have I been more proud
to be serving in the Arizona Tempe Mission under President Howes! We
combined with the Mesa Mission and their president is great too,
BUT President Howes is hardcore!! He is just such a powerful speaker
and I NEEDED him to be my president. There again, Revelation, is such a
beautiful thing!

We had such a great lesson with Kelly this week. We talked about
real intent and how he can know if the Book of Mormon is true by
Sincerely praying about it! Think about it... this is Christ's Church!
He would want us to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God
and Another testament of Jesus Christ, as well as anything else pertaining
to our salvation, such as baptism. Heavenly Father answers our prayers
and I have such a testimony about that, and that by the power of the Holy
Ghost, we can know the truth of ALL things.

Lori and Jay came to church this Sunday and it was just Fantastic! The
spirit is so strong at church and we can always feel God's love for us
while being there.
Scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 26:23-25:

23. " For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God
worketh not in darkness.
24.  He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world;
for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that
he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they
shall not partake of his salvation.
25. Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I
say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the
earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price."

WOW! this scripture is SUPER powerful! come unto Christ and partake of
ALL that he has given us. I am so thankful for the gospel in my life.
I love you all so much,

Love,
Sister Martin

March 13, 2012

HELLO

So this week we finally saw some fruits from our labors! We had lots of good teaching opportunities and miracles happen through LOTS of prayer,fasting and diligence.

We finally contacted CATHY! woohoo!!  The elders taught her and she was super awesome and receptive,  but we haven't been able to contact her until this week! She is as great as they made her out to be and we are excited for the opportunity to teach her.

Last week there was a huge stake fundraiser we helped at and this family in one of the Elder's wards came up to us and asked if we would teach their 13 year old cousin. I guess the Elders taught her a few times,  but for some reason it just didn't sink in and she was very confused about everything so they asked if we would give it a try. So we did and we REALLY went basic with lots of "Sister flare"! haha!  We used object lessons and analogies to help her understand and that was all she needed for it all to just click! She is on date now and will be baptized on the 18th. She is such a cute girl and really has a desire to follow Christ but just wasn't quite sure how to do that. She is from the Ukraine originally,  and while living there she never even heard of the name God or Jesus Christ, which is just so sad. She came here 2 years ago and since then has developed a great relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study. It's just really great to be able to witness.

Omar is also getting baptized on St. Patty's day!!  He had also taken the lessons several times before we started teaching him.  We have been teaching him since Oct. or Nov. It's just cool to see how the Lord is preparing people for the gospel.

Sister Doll and I are DEFINITELY NOT perfect teachers but seeds were planted a little at a time for both of these people and then finally one day it just all clicked and they both received their own witnesses that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church restored to the earth. Ohhh what Love He has for each and every one of us.

Sister Doll and I are starting a new thing each week where we will personally have a scripture of the week for us as a companionship that we read and memorize.  If you want, you can join us. This week's scripture is Alma 57:21

"Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them."  Miracles come from EXACT OBEDIENCE!

I love you all so much,
sister martin

March 5, 2012

Hello Hello
okay i don't know what it is, but the weeks are just flying faster then ever... not okay!

This week has been GREAT!   Alma tells us that angels are declaring the gospel to many in this nation by preparing the hearts of the children of men, and i know that to be 100% true!

we have been meeting some great people lately and so many of them are just so prepared. One lesson that we had this week was with a guy named Kelly. We were talking with him about how Christ's church has been restored to the earth through a modern-day prophet and when we talk to people about this we usually make sure to always include certain points that help whoever were talking to understand the need for a Restoration. It was just such a cool lesson because as we were talking to him, he always asked the right question that led into the next point that we were going to talk about PERFECTLY!  i have talked a lot about "creating the NEED" and that is exactly what he was doing over and over again and it was just really cool to see!  The lesson went great, thanks to the Spirit and in the end,  he completely understood the Need to be baptized and he accepted the date! woohooo!!!
Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. If you remember, Kelly is from Zambia, Africa,  and has only lived in the US for 3 years. He has been being prepared for a long time... even in Africa! Wow that is Love!

We also had a Sister's Exchange this week and i was put with.... SISTER ORTON my last companion before sister Doll. At first I have to admit that i was wanting to be with someone else i haven't already been companions with,  but afterwards i was so grateful. I got to see the progression that she has made since being on her mission and she got to see the same in me, and it was just really cool to see. The point of this life is to constantly progress and to try to improve the weaknesses that we have.

So i had a really cool experience this week. We were teaching this guy with LOTS and LOTS of questions and it was just cool because as we were talking with him, and as I was bearing testimony of the things that i have personally Studied, Searched out, Pondered and Prayed about, the Holy Ghost over and over again kept confirming to me that the things which I was testifying were indeed TRUE! Just the fact that Heavenly Father would want us to know truth is just more evidence of how much he loves us. The world is crazy and everywhere you turn someone is there just waiting to give you their opinion,  so how great is it that we can study things out for ourselves and then pray to our Heavenly Father and He will tell us through the Holy Ghost if it's true or not. Pretty cool huh.

Service project picking oranges with the Zone

Awkward picture, but it represents us all so well!!

SISTER POWER!!!

Today i was reading Alma 28,  and in verse 8 it's talking about Ammon and the sons of Mosiah's missions.  "And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeying in the land of Nephi, their SUFFERINGS in the land, their SORROWS, and their AFFLICTIONS, and their INCOMPREHENSIBLE JOY,  and the RECEPTION and SAFETY of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever."

This is LIFE! there is suffering and sorrow and then there is incomprehensible joy! its okay!
We are here on earth to have joy, so live today and don't get down. 
Heavenly Father will help us if we just ask. what a blessing!!

I love you all so much :) Today is a great day!
love,
sister martin

Feb. 27, 2012

This is a Tue a few weeks ago and we went to district meeting and right before we walked in I looked down and noticed that... I was def wearing two different shoes!!!  HAHA

This week has literally been the fastest week ever. I really do feel like i was just emailing you,  and i don't even know what happened to last week. Time flies when you are so busy.


So this week i do know that we have been biking like crazy and because of it I am TAN!  really though i am tanner then i usually am in July... and its FEBRUARY! I have to even wear sun screen if you can believe that ha ha! Arizona is a strange place.
So this week has been a rough week getting into lessons,  because either people are sick, having babies, or their parents don't want them to meet with us! It's okay though, and i know that things will work themselves out.

Yesterday at church was the very best and i heard my new favorite scripture in 2 Cor 12:9-10.
9."And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I Strong."

I swear, this scripture had to be written directly for me. This scripture helped me realize that weakness is OKAY! that i need to take pleasure in weakness, trials, and just hard times and REJOICE because that is an opportunity for me to be able to put my faith in the Lord and and to be able to see His guiding hand in my llife. THEN i will be strong. I talk to people daily who talk about how God couldn't be a loving Heavenly Father because there is so much bad in the world and that if he really did love us then everything would be happy all the time... not true. God loves us SOO much that he won't give us everything because then we wouldn't even be able to experience that happiness that comes from figuring things out for ourselves.

I love thinking about how things create THE NEED for each other. Trials create the need for God. Without trials we all think that we are good and that we have everything in this life under control.  He gives us trials so that we NEED Him and humble ourselves so we must pray to Him for help and guidance. I am so grateful for that!!!

ha ha so since we cover 4 wards I hear A LOT on Sundays, so this is another good analogy that i heard and love as well. so in Newton's laws of motion -Inertia- it states that an object in motion will remain in motion until it is acted upon by some other force. There are TONS of objects just waiting to throw our testimonies off course and to get us to not believe in God and his son Jesus Christ.  Soo we must continually be reading our scriptures, praying, and just building our testimonies so that we can continue in motion all the way towards eternal life with our Father in Heaven.

LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE- LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE!

Ilove you all so very much and so does our Heavenly Father!
love,
Sister martin

Feb. 19, 2012

So it is def hot now and I'm scared to death because it's only FEB!!! Everyone is talking about how it's going to be a LONG summer because it's already so warm. my awkward tan lines are coming back strong :) My shoe, watch and shirt tan lines are looking great. I do love having a tanner face though. ha ha but i have a tan line on my face from my strap from my helmet.  ha ha pretty awesome if you ask me.

Okay so this week has been the week of miracles. So white washing into this new area has been really interesting. We have had to do some clean up from past missionaries but for the most part the members are excited and happy to have the change of sisters in their ward. Thursday was CRAZY! Heavenly Father just guided sister Doll and I throughout the whole day to be able to come in contact with the people that needed to hear from us.

We found a 14 year old named William. He had attended scouts a few times and was really excited for the opportunity to be able to learn more. We taught him on Thursday and is just great but I'm not sure if we are going to be able to teach him more, due to his parents. It's sad to hear that but at least he will be able to study on his own if they don't allow it.

We also found this guy named Herb. He claims that he is 70 but i don't believe him. He is awesome and has a lot of crazy views because of the way that he has grown up, but we taught him about the plan of salvation and it really opened up his mind to things that he never thought about before.

We also found this girl named Tiffany. She is from Maryland and actually got on Mormon.org and requested a Book of Mormon, so we gave her one and then taught her on Sat. She grew up with religion but after leaving her parents home, she hasn't been back and now she is searching for the right one for her. We also started teaching this guy named Kelly from Zambia Africa!

This week has been CRAZY and it just filled with miracles. I know that Heavenly Father has been guiding Sister Doll and I in the craziest routes so that we would KNOW that we are being led by Him. In 1 Nephi, when Lehi  and his family are traveling,  Heavenly Father protects them and gives then strange things to do, such as eating raw meat.  In the end He tells them that the only reason He had them do that was so they would know He was leading and protecting them! That is EXACTLY how i feel my mission has been and I am so grateful for it! Life is filled with doubts and hesitations, but i will Never doubt my testimony of Heavenly Father or of His son Jesus Christ.

This week was stake conference and we got a new stake presidency, so Elder Jensen and Elder Webb came to call a new presidency. They are AWESOME and their words of wisdom were exactly what I needed to hear. Elder Webb talked a lot about the when Christ said " Lovest thou me more then these"?(john 20:15). He talked about "These" and what are "These are"? I've thought a lot about what my "these are" and what I am putting before God. I have to admit that I have thought about giving up sometimes and coming home because at times it just seems easier, but i Know that I need to be here and that I have been called and set apart by the prophet of God to do His work and what a great work this is.

 i love that Zach said that his main goal everyday was to help someone or to make their day a little better and that is what i feel mine is too. A smile is sometimes the best thing for some people even if they don't want to listen to us. My goal is to never talk to someone and then leave them with either of us being frustrated, because that doesn't do any good to anyone. Keeping a smile on my face and just testifying of the truthfulness of the restored gospel is something that no one can argue with me,  because is know that it's true! Prayer Works and it is truly and blessing!  i love you all so very much
love,
sister martin

Feb. 13, 2012

Hello Everyone,

guess what... I GOT A SUNBURN THIS WEEK! yes it is that hot here already and I'm freaking out because it's too early to be hot!

Sister Doll and I are working hard to get to know the new area and to keep in contact with the people that the elders were already working with, and then find new people as well. We don't live in our area anymore so we've been biking like crazy.  since they just cut out 150 of our miles,  we have been averaging 25 miles per day which is great. The new area is great and we have already seen miracles.

on wed we were biking to and from different peoples houses and we ran into this guy named Joel. He is our age and so we talked to him and his friend and set up a return appt.  A few days later we confirmed the appt but he was a no show. Our fellowship left and we called him and left a message not thinking that he would call us back, BUT he sure did about 10 min later and he apologized and said that he was at his friends house on the next street over, so we headed over there. we ended up meeting him and his 2 other friends on the street and teaching them all about the Restoration of the gospel on the street at 8 at night HA HA! but it was seriously the best lesson!!! The spirit was so strong and 2 of them really related to Joseph Smith's story about  being confused on which church was true when all of them are so contradictory. in the end we left them with copies of the Book of Mormon and they were excited to read and pray about the things which they read and then we are meeting them again on wed.

Lessons like these are my favorite because there was no time to prepare, all you have to go off of is pure testimony! In my patriarchal blessing it talks about how i will help to bring others to the gospel by just being myself and in these situations I can see that exactly! This week we have met so many people and it's just exciting. We met with our new bishops and they are excited about the change as well. In church on Sunday sister Doll and I got up and bore our testimonies which was great, so that everyone could know who we were. We also asked the bishop if he could commit the ward members to pray for both of us by name daily with their families! Prayer brings MIRACLES!!!!
Guess what....?
We had a missionary fireside and SHERRY DEW came and spoke to all of the missionaries! Ohhh man was it powerful!
"This life is not about this life, its about the next" This life is a time to Prepare to meet God and so what are we doing to be prepared?

She told us this story of how one day she spent all day planting 40 plants in her front yard. she finished for the day and then woke up the next morning to find all of her plants GONE! long story short her 6 year old neighbor came over to pick a pretty flower and as she picked it she noticed that all of the flowers came out all together since the roots had not yet rooted into the ground yet and so she pulled all of her plants out so that her yard could be pretty too! the related this to our testimonies. How deep are our testimonies rooted? anyone, even a 6 year old, could come and challenge our testimonies and how could we withstand that? she talked some more about how interesting it is that the most important part of the plant was not the pretty flower, but the roots that help the plants to the ground and that is the part that Isn't Seen!!!

this lesson is EXACTLY what i needed to hear and to help me be able to find those that are being prepared for the gospel at this time IN THIS AREA because obviously, sister doll and I need to be here together!
I love this gospel and I know that its true and THIS IS THE LORDS WORK!
hope you all have a great week!
love sister martin

Feb. 6, 2012

Hello,

This Morning was CRAZY! so I'm staying in Queen Creek for another 6 weeks making it 9 Months in total here!!! HALF OF MY MISSION!  I'm totally fine with that BUT they threw in a curve ball this morning and took away 2 of my favorite wards and so now we are white washing into two new wards....I wanted to cry! its crazy how attached you get to people and areas here when you are with them ALL the time and when you are just so focused on helping them! I am excited for the new adventure to white wash into a new area and that is what i have always wanted, but I'm still very sad!

I have a Testimony of receiving answers to prayer.   This morning was rough and so after the heartbreaking news I knew that there was nothing that i could do but to pray and receive a confirmation for myself that this was a change that Heavenly Father needed Sister Doll and I to do- OH ya I forgot to tell you that Doll and I are staying together too! My baby and I will be together for 6 months! CRAZY- During that prayer the biggest sense of peace came over me and i KNEW that even though i didn't like that change,  it was inspired and that we need to be there! What a great blessing that Heavenly Father has given us, that we can pray to him and receive comfort and peace.

 "Council with the Lord in ALL thy doings and he will direct you for good." Alma 37:37

This is going to be a weird change because pretty much everyone we were teaching was in the San Tan Park ward but i know the elders and they are great so it will be good for the area.

This week was GREAT! we got in  doors of those we haven't seen for a Very long time! We have a lesson with that 9 year old's parents Thursday,  which is great,  BUT now we wont be there haha. well, we might be to introduce them to the elders but that's it.

one things for sure... ITS TIME TO WORK. . .and i am excited for that! I fee like we've been transferred but we really haven't. This week has been a Very humbling week and Heavenly Father has been by my side the whole time.

 I love this work, its not easy, but it is the best work that I have ever done. I am a child of God and so are each and every one of YOU!

I love you all so very much!
love sister martin

MOM! thanks so much for the awesome gift! i love the earings sooo much :)  you are the very very best :)

AUNT CAROLYN! thank you so much for the AWESOME letter
I will be writing you this week :) love you