Semillas Estan Creciendo (Seeds Are Growing!)

Dear family and friends and people who read this email,

We have been given more time and freedom with email on P Days now, so family and friends- please email me if you can! I love to hear from you! :) marissa.martin@myldsmail.net

Spring is BEAUTIFUL here! I love the giant flowers on the trees, the tulips, and all the green! It is amazing!


Awesome houses of New Jersey.  There's a little bit of everything!

I have completed my first full transfer (6 weeks) of the mission with my companions!! We have come to know so many people and become so much more familiar with this area of New Jersey in the past weeks. My trainer, Hermana Nava, has been called to be a Sister Training Leader, so she will have some extra responsibilities like going on exchanges with other sisters, but Hermana Nava, Hermana Daniels, and I will continue to be a trio in the Hightstown area. We have not had any baptisms yet (Elizabeth said she does not feel quite ready), but we have a lot of potential investigators and a few whose faith is sprouting! President Jeppson has told us as well that our efforts should be equally focused on motivating the less active members to come back to the fold as well!

Here's my list of people's countries that I've met so far: Guatemala (muchos), India (many), Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Egypt, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and Nicaragua! There are probably more. One elder could name over over 100, I think!

The other day we met a hilarious pair of men sitting out on a porch while we were tracting around some apartments. One man was from Egypt and the other from New York, I believe. The New Yorker was extremely bubbly and friendly and makes jewelry for a living. The Egyptian man was very solemn and intelligent, and sat next to the other man smoking and thinking. I love to see the hilarious way such different types of people interact! (Which is a lot, here...) We taught them about the Restoration and they asked us all kinds of questions. The next day we were surprised to get a call from the New Yorker, who said he was impressed with how we shared our message and that he wants to come to church next week! We were very excited.

We met with Hermana Valasquez (the bug-squisher) this week, and she is one spunky lady! I have no idea what she is saying most of the time and all of a sudden she'll be singing or laughing. We also saw sweet, little old, Carmen this week and walked to the grocery store and back with her after sharing a message.

Through studying, teaching, and applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my mindset and perspective of life is changing and improving so much! During personal study, I get that feeling like at the end of a mystery book when all the loose ends are tied together and the whole plot starts to make sense! Here's the synopsis that I've been taught my whole life but is realy making more sense now:
God is our loving Heavenly Father, and He wants us to have experience on Earth and become more like Him. But because we are imperfect, we need a Savior. Christ paid the price for us and taught us his gospel/ teachings of how to return to God and be more like Him- 1. Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement 2. Repentence 3. Baptism by Immersion 4. Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost 5. Enduring to the End.
After Christ's death, these doctrines were changed, and we could not fully accomplish our purprose without the priesthood power of God. So God restored it through Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.

It all comes down to the fact that we are children of God and He wants us to come home. We can choose to or not. I'm also realizing that serving a "mission" is only one phase of helping to accomplish the "work and glory" of God- and every one of us is helping to fulfill it some way or another, especially by uplifting our families.



The Elders returning all the containers of food the sisters of the
branch have sent with them.  They feed us a lot!

One chapter that has helped my mindset so much this week is Alma 31 with Alma's prayer of faith. Especially the statement in verse 35 that "their souls are precious." So many things in his mission relate to me right now and mine- and in every one of ours!

It is funny because every time I say "My name is Hermana Martin" to the Spanish-speaking people, they look confused for a minute and then say in a really thick accent, "Oh, Mar-TEEEN!!" Haha, So I might as well put an accent on the "i" from now on. There is no "ih" sound en espanol.



We stopped the ice cream truck before knocking on doors
on an exchange with Hermana Gimenez and Hermana Garn

I am sorry to hear about the tragedies at home with Tanner Henstra, Olivia Hansen, and Baby Rayden. That is incredibly sad and hard for all of their family and friends.
Just this morning during companionship study my companions and I were sharing stories and crying together about the most challenging things in our and our family's lives (I was thinking of KJ). We realized that sometimes things like that never get completely easy to handle- we are supposed to feel, especially love for others, and it is hard. Some days it hits us in waves, like on birthdays or holidays when we think about people we have lost. God doesn't always make things happen, but he sometimes allows them happen. He does not always "see it fit to deliver [us] out of bondage" Mosiah 21:15. We all need to be able to make choices and experience the happy and sad in this life so that we can become more perfect like God and Jesus Christ someday. We can trust in God that all things will work out, because of our Savior, Jesus Christ! 2 Nephi 26: 24.



District Meeting.  "The Danger District"

I have learned more that death is not losing something/someone. It's just a temporary separation. Through the scriptures and prayer, we can really feel so much comfort and joy because we know God is there to take care of us.

Alma 26:37 "Now, my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea and I will give thanks unto my God forever"

I love you all!
Hermana Martin

"Garden State" Update!

(Glad I finally came up with something catchy for my messages! This state really is beautiful!)

Last P-Day our evening appointments fell through and we weren't sure exactly what to do, but we got a call from one of the members to come to one of the member's apartments. The ladies of the Relief Society had planned a surprise party for Hermana Valasquez (the 74-year-old who smacked the bug really loud during sacrament meeting). Hermana Valsquez sang a cute song for us that night and we got a bunch of references of people who the ladies were willing to invite to our next branch activity and possible meet with us for lessons later. It was so good for me to be able to see all these loving members of the church, who we had come to know over the past 5 weeks through separate visits and at church, all together enjoying each other! It is in those moments that New Jersey starts so feel like home.

Weeks ago we started planning a "Noche de Talentos" or talent show/ buffet for the branch! (Inspired by a seminary tradition.) We passed around a list during church where people signed up to share a talent/ bring food, encouraged members to bring member nonmember family and friends, and called a lot of the less-active members of the branch to invite them. At 6:00, thanks to the help from Hermano Pinto from the bishopbric and help the mujeres jovenes/ hombres jovenes in the morning, chairs and tables were set up, music was playing, and decorations were ready. And there was basically only one investigator there with her two kids.

We were a little worried, but luckily around 7:00, we were seeing a lot of familiar faces coming in, and the tables were finally filled with food that people had brought. It was a little difficult to get the talent show started with people who were ready to go, but by the end of the night we were getting all kinds of great talents from people who were volunteering! One little kid asked if we had Michael Jackson music and Hermano Pinto looked it up- the boy blew my mind by jumping up and busting a move like MJ! (Hermano Pinto was grateful when I faded the music down after a few minutes of it though...) And a nonmember, Hermano Calle, who said he wouldn't sing, all of a sudden got up and was belting out an impressive, romantic Latino song! Hermana Valasquez sang her little flirty opera song for us, too. That night was too good to be true. At the end, a bunch of people got up and did a little freestyle, partner dancing to Latino music.

I ended it kind of fast because I didn't want to lose people before we could end with a prayer and scripture and invitation to come to church, but overall it was a great night for everyone! Hermano Pinto said activities would help make the branch more unified. It is hard when the area is so huge and people live far apart, but it is great when people come together and can feel the Spirit.

I've also learned that all that everything really comes down to is a personal conviction, trust, and faith in the Lord. If your testimony is strong, anything is possible and no sacrifice is too great. There are always excuses we can make about doing what we know we should, but if we have a personal testimony of the Savior, we will want to do those things and we can make it happen. The Relief Society president is an example of this to me. Her husband is not a member, she works many hours a week, she takes care of all the women of the ward. On top of that, she has to study for the citizenship test with US history questions- in English- that my companions and I don't even know the answers to. But why did she accept the calling of Relief Society President? Because she has a love for the Lord and says she is so grateful to him that she could never say no.

People are really rude to us sometimes. It's hard to balance teaching and getting everywhere and doing everything in a trio sometimes. I am realizing a lot of weaknesses I need to overcome. But I am grateful for this refining time in my life and I am grateful that the Lord is patient with me. Learning more and more every day! I love you all! THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXAMPLES AND LOVE! Share the gospel!

Mucho Amor,

Hermana Martin

 

The Big Bug and "Angelic" Companions

Querido Familia,

I'm loving New Jersey more and more! I am also loving the scriptures more and more! Why have I never fully realized what important and great truths are in them? D&C 138 and 2 Nephi 9 blow my mind. I want to encourage everyone to take that scripture study time that I didn't always do during the day before my mission!

Yesterday during fast/ testimony meeting in the Spanish branch my companions and I watch a big bug gently float down clear from the ceiling behind the speaker down into the congregation. An older lady in a furry vest took a Hymn book and "Whack!!" smacked it dead right on the bench. Then she waltzed on up to the podium where a lady was bearing her sweet, sincere testimony and grabbed a couple tissues, plucked up the bug on the bench, and walked out to throw it away in the hall... We have so many good times.

More seriously, we have met a lot of amazing people. We basically searched all the hospitals in our area for a man named "Lewis" who we found on a ward list. Turns out he wasn't in a hospital, but a rehab center/ nursing home. He had a stroke a while ago and his mind isn't quite all there, but he is one of the sweetest spirits I have ever met. In his prayer he asked God to "bless these angels and never let them falter." He is so sweet and faithful. We get called "angels" a lot, especially when we sing with people in lessons.

My companions are great. Hermana Nava is from Murray, UT, and served 11 months in Peru before she got really sick. She healed enough to come back out on the mission again with a new call to New Jersey, but she suffers a lot still and it's hard when she doesn't feel good. We are hoping to get things figured out with the doctor soon to see why she'd been feeling so sick lately. She was a volleyball player at SUU, she is crafty, tidy, and loves to laugh! She has a lot of faith, though, and is a hard worker.

Hermana Daniels is from Sandy and knows my second cousins! She is hilarious and extremely talented musically. She plays the piano a lot for meetings. At zone conference she played "Come Thou Font" on the guitar and the three of us sang for everyone! The two of us have been together just about 24/7 for the past 2 months because we were in the same district and bedroom in the MTC too! I love my companions.

Mission life is teaching me a lot of important lessons. I am realizing weaknesses that I never knew I had. I am being humbled a lot! It has definitely been a time of transition. You learn to communicate with people better, make plans, make sacrifices, concentrate on others, compromise, develop faith, and so forth. It is hard sometimes, but it is also great. I've probably cried more than usual lately, but that's okay. I am learning more how to incorporate the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life. I have learned a lot and I know I have a long way to go.

We have our first baptisimal date! Her name is Elizabeth. She is a really pretty, quiet 15-year-old. Her mom is Peruvian. She had been taught by the elders before us. We had met with her, her mom, and her grandma once before and we weren't sure at all what her feelings were about everything. She is very reserved, but we were surprised by how happy she felt about being baptized when we met with her this week!

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support! Keep being the amazing people you are! The world needs it!

Les amo muchisimo,

Hermana Martin

Black Eyes & Bunnies

April 8, 2013



This week has been kind of a crazy adventure. I hope you all learned so much from conference! It was AMAZING to watch it as a missionary. We just wish everyone would listen and apply it to their lives and this world would be such a better place. I liked the emphasis that was put on marriage and families because I have realized more from the mission how blessed I am to have an amazing family with the blessings of the gospel. I can see the difference in people and homes here who have the joys of Christ and the gospel.

So I gave one of my investigators a black eye... on accident! Cute little Mery Vallejos, who I think is in her 40's, is an active non-member of the church. She comes to play basketball on Thursday nights with the ward- which is probably one of the best/ most hilarious things I've ever seen! You have men, women, missionaries, and one teengage boy (Mery's son) who all play together- shouting things in Spanish, full-court press, and almost no rules, just having fun together! They are great, loving people. Anyway, I grabbed a rebound once and jabbed my elbow back right into poor little Mery's eye who was jumping up and down right behind me!

I bought a little ice pack thing and a chocolate bar and brought it to her between conferences yesterday... her eye looked really bad, but their family is really forgiving! She said it should be healed by Thursday to play again, Haha! I think she was mostly worried her husband wouldn't want her to play anymore and her oldest son Sabastien said she gets hurt every week. We just need her and her husband to get married and then she can be baptized. Their little daughter Emilia is an angel and Fabian Jr. came around the corner the other day with bowls of ice cream for us. Hermana Nava asked Fabian Sr. a serious question, "What does the gospel mean to you personally?" He said yesterday that he got an answer. We are looking forward to talking to them again.

Other, more serious tragedy this week- downtown in Trenton, while we were stopped at a red light in our car, a man got hit by a truck at full-speed right in front of us. I was looking down when it happened and heard Hermana Daniels shout next to me. It was a scary sight. We were not sure for a while if he was alive. We started dialing 911 but there were already other people calling. He finally moved and we drove on to our appointment and let the others take care of him and heard the ambulance just a couple minutes later. It was pretty traumatizing, especially for Hermana Daniels who saw it happen, but we are blessed to have the comfort of the gospel and Hermana Daniels was able to have a priestood blessing from some elders.

We do not have any baptismal dates yet. (The other man is actually in the elders' area, so they are teaching him now.) We have been working hard, but we are looking for ways to have more faith and success!

Growing up, The Easter Bunny always hid my sisters' and my Easter baskets full of treats and gifts in the house. In our home videos basically every year, one of us is crying and complaining, "I can't find mine! He forgot about me!" Meanwhile, Mom/ Dad is filming the basket sitting right behind us saying, "Are you SURE you don't see it? Keep looking!"

This is how I feel. I know if we wait a little longer and keep looking, we're going to find the people the Lord wants us to find. Because they are here. And I want to help bless their families like we have been blessed with the gospel. The mission is a little challenging! But I love it because we are growing from it! We are learning to love, have faith, sacrifice, and have fun and joy! I am doing really well and being taken care of! I love you all! Keep in touch!

Much love,
Hermana Martin

April Fools!

April 1, 2013

Hola Familia!

I sent my parents a little April Fool's email, but this info is true, don't worry!

This week went by a lot faster than our first week in the area- and church wasn't quite as overwhelming, maybe because I could understand the Spanish more and there were a lot of familiar faces. There are too many stories to share- sometimes I just wish I could share them with my family right away, but we have to be patient and just keep working! I want you all to meet Hermana Robles, a cute little Puerto Rican lady who speaks really fast (or it seems to me) and kisses us a million times and says she loves us. Then she prays with a really loud, deep voice... She's so cute.

We are still living in a really nice home in Princeton Junction, NJ with a member family, the Deardens. Bro. Dearden (who reminds me of Uncle Ryan) is in the bishopbric and Sis. Dearden is a convert who teaches seminary in her home early in the morning. They have a daughter who got recruited to play soccer for BYU next fall. They shared leftovers of their yummy Easter dinner with us last night. We should be getting into our own apartment in about a week.

This week we had a huge 2-day training meeting with our whole zone and Pres. and Sis. Jeppson were there, as well as the Assistants to the President. We learned how to improve our teaching skills with the "fundamentals" and "Preach My Gospel" and did lots and lots of role plays with other missionaries as we practiced applying what we'd learned. It was a lot of class time, but it's great to learn from other missionaries and the Jeppsons and get better prepared to teach.

The first night after training Hermana Nava, Hermana Daniels, and I went to teach a young lady in the branch named Crisanny. There were three other men in the house (a lot of people live together with their families and friends around here) and we invited them to listen. We were so excited that they were willing to listen to us and we jumped into "How to Begin Teaching" from Preach My Gospel and the 3rd lesson: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Part-way through another Guatemalan man named Paulo came home from work and he was eager to listen to us. We invited them all to be baptized, and Paulo accepted and the others will think about it. The Spirit was strong and we were SO grateful for that experience. The elders taught Paulo again and he came to church yesterday with his daughter! Those moments are so rewarding.

We found out that those people we taught were not in our area, so we can't teach them. But we found out that the Lord still blesses you for all your efforts with things you can't imagine! We were having a "Noche de Hogar" (Family Home Evening) with a less-active family and a friend they invited and had planned to show the movie, "Finding Faith in Christ." The Spirit was so strong and halfway through the movie more family burst in the door all loud with pizzas! We invited them to join and all of a sudden there were 13 people besides us, including little kids, all silent and entranced in this beautiful video about Christ. It was a great opportunity for us to testify of Christ and let them know that we invite people to follow him by their actions, including baptism. Unfortunately, we didn't see any of them at church yesterday, but we are looking forward to meeting with them again.

Did I mention that New Jersey is really random? There are statues on the side of the road like 50 feet tall of a giant mariachi band, and then a huge tooth- yes, an enormous statue of a tooth- with statues of life-size people looking up at it with really confused expressions. Then there are some obscure, metal modern art displays here and there. You have pretty sunsets and cornfields, mansions and gothic churches, cute homes painted every color, and then tiny apartments and lots of honking cars. I love the area around Princeton campus! It is cute and fun and there are a lot of nice restaurants and shops.

I love you all so much! Please keep me updated on family news. I love getting pictures and emails and letters from you. I miss my sisters, parents, and all my family, but I am loving the work. Personal and companionship studies have been SUCH a blessing to me and I realize more and more how amazing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is. God had a plan from the beginning how we could come to a knowledge of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and have true happiness in this life and after we die. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and the Restoration. I love the Book of Mormon so much! I know I've been told to read it my whole life, but I'm realizing more and more why it is really so important and relevant to all of us! Don't be afraid to open your mouth to share it. I'm still working on that too. I love you all. Sorry for writing so much about me. Let me know how you're doing!

Much love,

Hermana Martin