Mis queridos...
I'm glad to say that I've been feeling happier this week trying not to take myself too seriously, like Pres. Jeppson says! My District Leader, companion, the members, and love from home have been helping me with that! Enjoying missionary work = success! It doesn't make sense to just be trudging through it when there is so much to be enjoyed in the world (thanks to the gospel of Jesus Christ)! :)
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| Teaching Eleny, daughter of a less-active member who is coming back to church, the Plan of Salvation! |
Yesterday, my companion and I biked about 11 miles to teach some investigators since we are without a car right now while it's in the shop for some minor repairs. I was dreading biking little bit, but my companion talked me into it! We worked some muscles that haven't been worked in a while, and we are a bit sore today, but it was so worth it! We looked kind of ridiculous riding through New Brunswick with skirts and helmets. Most people respect us anyway because they recognize us as messengers of Christ, though. Others just laugh at us while we grit our teeth and peddle past them... :) We saw a bunch of little miracles, though, in just those few hours that we wouldn't have been able to see had we not put in the extra effort!
Here are a few:
1. So, a few times a week, we walk past this Indian man who fills tanks at the gas station right by our house. (That is a unique Jersey trait FYI- you never fill your own gas! It gives more work opportunities, I guess.) We talked to him once and we always exchange big smiles and a wave as we walk by. Yesterday, we really needed to use these bikes that the elders lent us for the first time to get to our appointment in time; none of the members were available/planning to drive us, and we had two flat tires on one of the bikes! We walked our bikes to the gas station to get some air, which cost $1.00 to use the machine, and were standing there helplessly with exactly 75 cents. That was all I happened to have with me in my wallet. Our Indian friend miraculously donated a quarter to our cause and made it so we could get on our way! This is a testimony to me that no kind deed goes unrewarded!
2. After a long, hot, sweaty bike ride across New Brunswick (Rutgers college town) to the apartment complex, some members of our ward who we had helped move a couple of weeks ago let us stash our bikes in front of their house and gave us some cold glasses of water! (Another rewarded service... what goes around comes around!) Then... our appointment juked because our investigator was busy with a birthday party. BUT... we contacted 2 nice men from Ghana and invited them to be baptized right there on the spot! They accepted! ("Only if it is performed in the way Jesus Christ was baptized..." YES!)
3. Then we tried knocking on a few doors of other potential investigators who live around there and spotted a lady sitting on her porch steps watching her kids play in the grass. She was visiting from Jersey City. This hermana, Carmen, said she sees the missionaries there all of the time and has been curious about what we teach, but has never been approached by them! She has three kids and we can tell that she is looking for peace and answers in her life. She said it is hard to know where to go when there are so many religions! We gave her The Book of Mormon and invited her to pray right there with us. It was one of those simply, amazing teaching moments! She has the Book of Mormon now and promised that she would talk to the Jersey City missionaries the next time she sees them!
4. Despite our hopes, instead of offering us a ride, the members who we dropped our bikes off with told us, "Buen ejercicio!"/ "That's good exercise!" and drove away in their van... On the bike ride home, we passed a cute little Hispanic family who was walking down the sidewalk. After we had passed, we heard the dad say the word, "misioneras." So we hurriedly turned back around the corner and stopped and talked to them. It turns out that the wife is a member of the church and the husband is not, and they said we could come visit them! We sent their information to the elders who cover their area, and they were so excited to hear from us because they had been teaching this family, but then they suddenly moved and the elders lost contact with them! Milagros!
I love this area and my companion. I'm happy that I'll probably be staying in this area for another transfer, because we are getting even more support from our members and have found some investigators to teach with really good potential! One of them is a cute, young mom from the Dominican Republic named Anyi. She is so sincere and receptive to everything we teach. We have brought our Ward Mission Leader and a couple of other members over to her house, and they feel so spiritually edified and excited to be able to share their testimonies with her!
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| Two of my original MTC district hermanas! They are planning on going to school at Dixie and I am so excited! :) |
We had an All-Mission Conference with the Jeppsons this week! It rained SUPER hard, so we were unable to do all of the sports and games they had planned to do outside, but Sis. Jeppson miraculously pulled off a fun rotation of activities for us to do inside the church and we had a fun time! It was great being with all of the other missionaries whom I have grown to love so much, including former companions and leaders! We had lunch, and did skits as zones for each other (all of the 12 zones /
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| Zone 9 flag at the all-mission conference in Morristown! (Represent!) Island art design by Elder Aspinall! |
The gospel is true! We are losing out if we are not relying on our Savior, Jesus Christ! I love you!
Love,
Sister Martin
Sister Martin
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