Buenos dias!
Last Tuesay was Transfer Conference-- the last one with the Jeppsons! I definitely shed some tears listening to Pres. Jeppson's departing testimony. We all stood up together and suprised the Pres. and Sis. Jeppson by singing the classic farewell song that they usually sing to us as a mission, and that was heart-wrenching! So many special memories that we all have with this couple!
My new companion is an almost-five-foot bundle of sweet joy! Sister Cole is from Rexburg, ID (her dad works in the with the library at BYU-I). Her mom is from Mexico, so everyone asks her more than once where she's from or where her family is from after she says that she's from Idaho to figure out why she looks hispanic. That is always a natural "in" for talking with the people we teach!
:) It's funny because I went on an exchange with Sis. Cole back when I was a Sister Training Leader serving in Elizabeth, and we had a fun time together teaching awesome investigators and trying out some crazy Peruvian food at a restaurant! So I already knew that I loved her when President called her name at Transfer Conference. My last companion, Sis. Haddock went to a trio of sisters in Morristown! We all miss her here in New Brunswick, too.
We've been finding some miraculous new investigators, mostly through contacting on the streets and meeting people's family! One recently-found investigators name is Mary. She is from Mexico and was excited to have her three children lined up obediently on the couch for our first visit and have us read the scriptures with them! A member, hermana Reyna Santos, came with us to that lesson, and her testimony helped a lot! We also started talking to a man named Juan who was working in the yard outside his house and he started telling us how he has a disabled daughter and some hard things he's going through in his life, but a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. It is exciting to start teaching new people the gospel!
One of the sad things that happens to us a lot is when we set up a return appointment and the person/ family isn't there. :/ Last night we had even confirmed with an investigator the night before and an hour before over text, prepared a spiritually-powerful lesson based around their specific situation, and arranged for a member to meet us there. And when we knocked, we could hear the TV and things going on inside, but no one would answer the door! So we contacted some cool people outside on the street with our returned-missionary member. A good percentage of our lessons get "juked" every week, so we just have to brace ourselves with back-up plans in our Nightly Planning always and be flexible and go with it. God always leads us to somewhere we need to be, though.
It has been a little bit more chalenging than I expected this week leading out in the area since my last companion has gone! I am notoriously terrible at directions/driving, and even though I've been in this area for 12 weeks, it still feels like a brand new place to me sometimes! Plus the roads here are really confusing! But, we did have a miracle with that! After a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader in the chapel, we had just gotten our car back, but our GPS was dead and we didn't have the charger and we had an appointment with our new investigator, Mary- who I mentioned earlier, right after that! The Spirit guided me down a road right by the church that I didn't even know existed, I got on the correct freeway, and ended up directly in front of Mary's apartment right in time! We still don't know how it happened, but God always provides a way!
BAPTISMS! :) Two companionships of elders in our ward baptized 11-year-old girls this past Sunday! These cute little girls aren't related, but both of their mothers where recently baptized as well and are following their examples. One mother and daughter was found thanks to a referral from a family member while out teaching with Sis. Haddock and I about two months ago! We started teaching them, but found out that they were one of the ones who actually live on the other side of our border in the Elders' area. I got to have a special little talk on the phone with the 11-year-old girl this week and help her resolve some of her concerns about baptism. We have been assigned to visit the other mother and daughter to teach some of the other lessons found in Preach My Gospel. It just filled my heart with so much joy to see them be baptized and be even a small part of their conversion! :)
Random thoughts: I love this ward here! I made my companion watch part of the David Archuleta "Face to Face" interview on the internet as part of our mormon.org time and tried not to scream because I was so excited! Sis. Cole does a good job of keeping me from stepping on road kill in the street. There are so many stinking squirrels around here! We also walk by a lot of Jews every day by our house and live around the corner from a Kosher grocery and "Jerusalem Pizza." I try to ignore the Elders when they start making "trunky" comments about me. We contacted a tall Haitain guy yesterday in the midst of a crazy, loud party outside some apartments and talked to him about the Book of Mormon and got his information for the Elders to go by and teach him in Maplewood! We are playing beach volleyball today in a tournament with another zone!
I love the misison! I love being a disciple of Jesus Christ! I love you!
Siga adelante! Eter 12:17; Mateo 11:28 (todos deben de aprender estas escrituras, creo)
Con amor,
Hermana Martin
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