Garden State Update!‏

Cambios!

Me and Sis. Haycock, from Colorado!

This past week, I have been adjusting to this new transfer with my  new companion and some different responsibilities. I am already learning a lot from Sis. Haycock! To me, she is an example of true consecration and love for the people and the Savior. She is very focused and excited about the work. It was hard for her to leave her last area of Kearny and the people she was teaching there, but she has impressed me so much by how involved she has already been with the people here since she got here on Tuesday.

Sis. Haycock has inspired me to want to focus more on teaching families, especially part-member families, in our area. I think that will be really effective if these people will open their doors to us. I also learned from Sis. Willis the importance of constantly contacting new people, our leaders have encouraged us. I am hoping we can find a balance in this as a companionship and expand our teaching pool. We have investigators who are progressing, but it is often hard to see them very often because of their work schedules, so we want to try to figure out some way to keep in contact with them more.

Our little Elizabeth chapel

Our investigator named Luis came to Sacrament Meeting yesterday and told us that he changed his work schedule so that now he doesn't have to work on Sundays!!! I was overjoyed because he used to be scared to talk to his boss, but his faith has really grown! We talked to him about the goal being eternal life with his family, and that seems to have had an impact. He will be baptized in March!

I am doing well. I realize more and more that callings from the Lord require a higher level of conversion. I want to put others first more and keep repenting and relying on the Savior.

The Young Women had a Valentine-themed dinner/ dance fundraiser this week and asked us to help! It was really fun and gave Sis. Haycock a chance to meet some of our amazing members!

I love you all! The gospel is so true and it's the only way to happiness!

Love,

Hermana Martin

Walking in the snow with the sisters on P-day!

New Transfer! Number 9!

Mis queridos,

Sis. Willis and I with one of our members,
Hermana Medina from Puerto Rico.

My companion is now at home in Colorado with her family!! Sis. Willis and I experienced all kinds of emotions as she was packing up, mailing things to Colorado, and saying goodbye to the people we love so much here in Elizabeth. I cannot even express how much I have learned from my companion and I love her so much! I am a little worried about the added responsibility I'll have when she's gone, since I'll be leading out in the area and with our other responsibilities. But I know it will work out okay. Sis. Willis encouraged me to write out a leadership vision and that has helped me put things into perspective. Sis. Willis and I had an incredible week last week! We pushed ourselves and prayed hard! We now have 3 investigators with baptismal dates in March! Luis (Mexico), Luisa (Dominican Republic), and Rosario (from Peru).

Arlene got baptized, but the English elders in our area taught her. My companion contacted her in the library during email time about 2 months ago! So we were just really excited about her

Transfer conference yesterday was crazy! So many big changes are happening right now in the mission! I got my new Sister Training Leader companion: Sister Haycock from Colorado too! She is one of those missionaries that I think everyone looks up to because she is confident and consecrated in her work. I went on an exchange with her once before in her last area, Kearny. I am excited to work with her and be her friend! Transfers bring a lot of big changes and adjusting, but it all works out for the best. We're going to have a lot of fun and success!

Our recent convert, Catalina, is coming with us tonight to teach another investigator named Henry, who another man in our ward brought to the Ward Night last week. So that is really exciting!

It is really amazing how much you mature and grow as a missionary. I still feel like you age in dog years. But I still have a long way to go! I am so grateful for this time to focus on my faith. Lately I've been learning how appropriate it is that we are all real people teaching real people. All of us are different; but we are called to teach Christ's gospel. Don't be afraid to face your doubts and come unto Christ, and help others along the way.

Luckily, Sis. Willis has been taking some good pictures lately.

As our senior missionary, Elder Fullmer always says, "Keep the faith!"

Love,

Car in our area completely iced over!
Haha, Now that's a bad day!

Hermana Martin

Members/ investigators representing all different countries
from Central/ South America in the "noche de barrio" (ward night).

Cute Fallas family girls!!

Making "arroz con leche" with
Hermana Brenda Rosales, from Mexico.

My companion with our beautiful investigator, Rosario, and her son,
Terry, after one of the best lessons of my life! The Spirit was so strong!

Making enchiladas with Catalina

Cumpli un Año!

Hola!

I just barely hit my year mark on February 6th! Only 1/3 left to go!  You'll meet all kinds of interesting and amazing people here in the Elizabeth Public Library. About 5 weeks ago during our email time, my companion struck up a conversation with a young black lady named Arlene sitting next to her at the computer. They talked for about a half hour and Sis. Willis encouraged her to look into the church and got her information for the English-speaking elders in our ward who cover her area. Arlene showed up at church with her baby girl and is getting baptized this Sunday! Wow- I was just selfishly emailing while my companion was sharing the gospel! Open your mouths! :)

It is Sis. Willis' last week in the mission field. I'm "killing her" since this is the last transfer of her mission and she'll be going back to Parker, Colorado next Tuesday! I will miss her a ton! She's really taught me more about being dedicated and working hard. We are going to have a very busy week and need to take lots of pictures, plus make some arroz con leche with one of our members. :)

Chances are, I'll be staying in Elizabeth for 2 more transfers (3 months), and leading out in the area with a newly companion. I always get a little nervous about getting a new companion, but I feel better when I focus on what I can do to help/ serve her, rather than feeling judged or worried about any issues we could have. I'm bound to get a good one! :) I love getting to go on exchanges with other sister missionaries, because every one of them has such unique gifts that I can learn from, and we help each other out and have a lot of fun working. We experience countless different funny, awkward, spiritual, and miraculous things out here!

Our teaching pool is pretty small right now and our numbers of lessons etc. have been dropping. :/ But yesterday in ward council, our members introduced our new Ward Mission Plan, which has some extremely high-reaching goals for baptisms and bringing less-active members back. It includes a focus on encouraging members to give references and us as missionaries teaching the members about missionary work. So if we all stay dedicated in 2014, things should get better and we will see miracles! Our investigators, Rosario and Luis, both attended church yesterday, thankfully. Luis is progressing toward a baptismal date of March 9th, and Rosario still says she is too busy/ not comfortable with having us over most of the time, but I just lover her so much and I know she'll get it someday! Poco a poco.

I didn't realize how close I still live to New York City until we drove to Ellis Island! It's so neat to just see the skyscrapers of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty peeking out as you approach Liberty Park. (New Jersey actually owns more famous landmarks than most people think!) We helped people look up their family names recorded on immigrant ship records in the Family History Center at Ellis Island. It is rewarding to help people find a name and hear them say things like, "There he is! There's my grandpa who came from Poland!" The Spirit of Elijah is here!

I've been feeling a little homesick lately, but I know it will be alright. Even though I'm still in America, the Hispanic + East Coast culture has been something super different for me! On the rare occasion that I get to talk to someone from out west (besides missionaries), if feels like home for a second. And sometimes I just really don't want to get out of the car into the snow and ice and knock on another cold door, but I'm learning that in those moments I need to tell myself, "Okay, I'm doing this for the Savior." And then I slowly start to realize how small the sacrifices that I am making really are. Pres. Jeppson told my in interviews that this is like the" final quarter of the game" in my mission, and it should be the best because I know what I'm doing and I know the gospel better than I ever have in my life.

I love you! If you want to bloom, sink your ROOTS deep into the gospel- it's the only way to be strong and truly share beauty with others!

Matthew 11:8 "Venid a mi, todos aqellos que estais trabajados y cargados, y os hare descansar."

Love,

Hermana Martin

Sisters In Zion

Buenas tardes!

 

Sister Willis and I were asked to give a training at our upcoming Zone Meeting about the Abrahamic covenant and the gathering of Israel. Up until now, most of my knowledge on this topic comes from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the Bible cartoons my mom used to put on for us. But today, Sister Willis and I had an exciting and inspiring companionship study as we focused on the topic and made connections among the prophecies and covenants of the Bible, the Restoration, and the Book of Mormon! We feel enlightened and we recognize how magnificent our calling is and how blessed we really are to have the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! I feel so enthused when I think of this symbolism: us as sister missionaries serving at Liberty and Ellis Island, greeting people of all nationalities who are filled with the Spirit of Elijah in this promised land of America, as we represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Not to mention teaching the remnants of the Lamanites, who are of the tribe of Manassah of the House of Israel! Mind-blowing! My mission has taught me a lot about what I lack and need to improve in to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. But it's also teaching me to appreciate the gems that I already have ("like a diamond on black velvet...").

 

Sis. Boren's Southern-isms inspired me to think of a Spanish-speaking in New Jersey-isms. I still need to work on it, but here are a few:

• English contact: "... so, sir, when can we come by and teach you more about our message?" "Oh I dunno cuz all I do is work all day and then come home and sleep and then work all day and then sleep. And then on the weekends I be with my girl."
• Looking for the Spanish-speaking houses based on which houses have two TV satalites for translation and Christmas lights up in July.
• If you need to stop for something in the middle of a narrow road, don't worry- just put on your hazard lights and people will drive around you. Also be sure to honk at the person in front at intersections before their eyes can even recognize that the light has turned green.

The library is shutting down because of snow. :(

I love you!

Sister Martin