Half Way!

Hola everyone!

Today is my 9 month mark but it I swear only feels like 3. I don't feel ready to be halfway done with my mission, but at least I still have a full 9 months ahead of me!

Found this while out tracting.

This week was so great! Like always apparently now I really don't remember much of what happened but we saw some amazing miracles and Heavenly Father is working really hard with us here in Ascarate.

One of my favorite miracles is this couple we've been working with. She was a former investigator a few months ago and we found her record and Hermana Bosch has been trying go to back and find her like the whole time we've been companions. About a month ago we knocked on her door with no response, like usual, but I felt like leaving a card with our number and then we went on with our day. A few days later we went and knocked again and she answered! She told us that a few days before she had been praying for God to help her know what He wanted her to do and then she came home to find our card! Then that morning she had been praying again for direction and a few hours later we show up! We cleared up some of the confusion from the previous missionaries and she came to church two days later with her boyfriend and their 3 small kids! 

Her boyfriend, had just barely come to the US the week before and so we were able to start teaching them as a family. They already know that the church is true and that this is the path they need to take, but they need to be married before they can be baptized. They've been working on getting that taken care of but he wants to get his citizenship first and so the soonest we could set their baptism for was next March, but we felt strongly that they were ready sooner and that God would provide a way. 

We've been meeting with them for a few weeks now and they are so unbelievably prepared, but we couldn't see how to help them progress faster. So yesterday we get a call from her and she tells us that they just got into an accident and that they're all ok, there wasn't even any damage to their car, but they were pretty shaken up and wanted us to come over that night. We set up a quick family home evening with their family and we all went over. They told us about how they couldn't stop thinking how unpredictable life is and they want to get married and baptized as soon as they possibly can! We had a great lesson and the family was absolutely perfect! At the end she bore a powerful testimony at the end about how if they put God first and go ahead with their marriage and baptism, that He will help them in all other aspects of their life, including helping her boyfriend get his citizenship. It was such a powerful lesson and a day I'll never forget! 

We're now working with them to plan for everything by the end of this month! I'll keep you all updated!

I can testify that God is a God of miracles, and that miracles still happen today, because I've seen them every single day. 

2 Nephi 27:23 says

"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith."

God loves us and He wants to help us. I'm sure everyone of us needs some sort of miracle in our lives and as we have the faith to ask and to be obedient to the commandments of God, those miracles always come. I've seen it day after day. God loves you so much and so do I!

Have a great week!

Hermana Martin

Lesson at the park with Kevin, our recent convert, and Joel, a super cool return missionary!

Literally my life is a blur

Hola everyone!

I can't remember like anything we did this week, again. The mission is going by way too fast. On the 16th I'll hit my halfway mark! We just do so many things all the time every single day that it all blurs together and I can't ever remember what day it is. But a busy missionary is a happy missionary, and we're sure busy! 

Yesterday morning we had interview with President and Sister Guffey and it was the first time that I've really gotten to talk to them so it was really cool. They're the absolute sweetest and are implementing great new ideas in the mission, like we have this big mission-wide conference call every Tuesday so we get to hear from people all over, the mission!

We got to hold baby bunnies at a member's house and they also gave us a box of pop-tarts so they're pretty much our favorites now.

I can't think of anything else though. It was such a good week and we're finding so many new, crazy prepared people to teach! Hermana Bosch and I just agreed that there was just too much general awesomeness to talk about.

https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/none-were-with-him-2

I highly recommend everyone watch this video! (It's 4 minutes and 24 seconds, you can't tell me you don't have time for that!) It's about the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ and it makes me cry every single time.

Love you all!

Hermana Martin

Episode VI: Return of the Watch Tan

Hola everyone!

It finally went below 100 this week for like the first time since I've been out here! Blessings! And perfect timing since it was the end of the month and we were basically out of our allotted miles we can drive each month so we did a whole lot of walking. Which also led to some really great missionary tan lines, of which my favorites are the watch tan and shoe tan. You just can't not laugh when you look down and see that your toes are super white but the top of your foot is super tan from walking so much in flats.

You can kind of see my hair tie tan line on my wrist here. Still not as good as the watch tan though.

I have really no recollection of what happened this week. A lot of appointments cancelling again and a lot of miracle stories of finding new investigators! Everything is settling in nicely after transfers and since we didn't have very many missionaries changing it's not too different. 

Coldstone to celebrate Kevin's baptism last week

I really can't remember any details of anything though so I'll just share one of my favorite scriptures that I read this week in studies. It's in Jacob chapter 3 and it reads

"But behold, I , Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction."

I truly believe that most everyone fits into the 'pure in heart' category, where we're really doing our best to do the right thing. I, like the prophet Jacob, want to testify of the blessings that come as we continue trying, and more than just that, but really turn to God. When do the little things each day like praying, and reading the scriptures, that's when we're really going to be able to feel that power and support from God to accomplish the things we need to. He's there, always, and this is a promise from a prophet of God. Remember the little things, they truly add up!

Love you all!

Hermana Martin