May 16th - English. Espanol. Spanish. Ingles. Wait, what?

Dear all y'all,

Marte and Martin have still been home-bound most of the week due to trainee's ankle (Marte) and the trainer's (Martin) returning fever and sore throat/muscles. Yay!!

We had an English lesson with a 16 or 17 yr. old and ...12? yr. old Mexican girls (most Spanish youth that grew up in the States or have lived here a long time prefer and understand English more). Sister Marte did quite well explaining parts of the Plan of Salvation to them. The older daughter, T., is very interested in learning how to find happiness. She seemed to be quite touched by the hopeful message we had for her. We have a return appointment for this evening, and their other sister and parents should be there today, too.    :)

We've been having random people we've never met come to English class. It's pretty cool to see how a random little card from a month or two is bringing people to the Church and getting them interested in our purpose as missionaries and the Gospel. Tender mercies.

On Wednesday, we went early to Hna. M.'s house to talk to her daughter B. who has been very back and forth on her decision to be baptized or not (she's 8). So, we talked to her (in English) and explained essentially the "Gospel of Jesus Christ"/the 5 steps with an emphasis on baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We also explained that it doesn't matter that she can't hold her breath for very long because she'd only be under the water for a few seconds. Her fears were calmed, and with a better understanding of baptism and it's beautiful simplicity though eternal importance, she agreed excitedly that she wants to be baptized this following Sunday.   :) 

12-week is going well. Role plays every day haha. We're getting pretty good at those. My Spanish fluidity is really getting put to the test, too haha

Side note: due to extra time being spend in the apartment lately, I've dedicated more time to studies and I'm really falling in love with the Old Testament.  I loved learning about how Jacob became Israel because now I understand those story lines better and who the 'children of Israel' are. I especially enjoyed learning about Joseph being sold into Egypt and forgiving his brothers because he saw why God permitted those things to happen (to save everyone from the famine).

Well that's about it on this side of the Mississippi. Hope that things continue to go well for y'all in the promised land of El Oriente (the West)

The Church is true,

The Book is blue,

and God loves you!

~Sister Laurel Martin

May 9th - The Adventures of Marte and Martin!!! Episode 1

Dear All Y'all,

Training isn't as scary as I thought it would be!! haha.... I'm such a worry-wart sometimes. xP However, on Tuesday night,  we received another call from the Assistants and I was told that I would actually getting Hermana Marte (Dominican Republican but came from Puerto Rico) and not Hermana Kenyon as my trainee haha. So I've been speaking a lot more Español.  xD

Sister Marte sprained her ankle on Monday pretty bad playing basketball at the MTC the day before she came to Alabama. We've received instructions to have her wear a walking boot for 3 weeks and stay off of it as much as possible. I feel bad that she's starting out on the wrong foot (literally) but we've had a great time getting to know each other and getting a kick-start on "12-week" (training program for new missionaries) together during the past few days. She is such a fast learner and I love listening to her bear her testimony, which is something she has no qualms about and it benefits every hearer.

She is so excited to help other to come closer to Christ and share her excitement about the Gospel. It's contagious :) We're reading chapters out of the Book of Mormon to help her practice reading in English. Companion studies are so great. We switch back and forth between Spanish and English, but "12-week" we do in Spanish.  We did a role play for “Teach People not Lessons” and she wanted to be the investigator so I was the missionary. It was actually really cool - I got to testify about the Word of Wisdom and how God and Jesus Christ could help "Maria" overcome her addition to coffee if she had faith. It went really well, even though I actually HATE role plays (as Hermana Acosta can attest to ;)  ), but I'm not letting on to that with Hermana Marte of course haha.

Also, Skypeing the Family was awesome. As always :)  Only have to wait 7 months to do it again! ;) haha

I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to be a trainer and become a 'mom' just in time for Mother's Day! I love Hermana Marte so much already and I'm looking forward to a great time with her here in Lorna. I'm also grateful to have the Gospel in my life and to now have the opportunity to share it with others. I know that God answers our prayers and knows what's best for us in our lives.

La Iglesia es verdadera (The Church is true),
El Libro es Azul (The Book is blue),
y Dios les ama(And God loves y'all...you)!

Firmes en Cristo (Steadfast in Christ)

~Hermana Martin

Laurel's "daughter" that she is training - Hermana Marte

3-generations:  Laurel's trainer (Acosta), Laurel, Hna. Marte

Reunion with Hermana Conteh from the Mexico MTC

The dynamic duo - Marte and Martin

May 2nd - Transfer Calls...... Drumroll, Please

Dear all y'all,

.....So, transfer calls came on Saturday night aaaaaaaaand......

Drumroll please.....

I'M GETTING A BABY MISSIONARY!!!!!!        AHHHH!!!!

......AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I may or may not be completely losing my mind. I'm both nervous and excited, I just want to do the best I can for her.  Her name is Sister Kenyon and that's all I've got xD hahaha

I think she's from Utah though.

Other than that the week has been pretty uneventful. Sister Barton and I have still been sick back and forth so it's been hard to do much of anything.

I learned something cool though. I have one of the best district leaders EVER. So, once upon a time, I got started on a medication on Wednesday because the resurrection hasn't happened yet and my body is dumb sometimes. Then, I was having a bad reaction to it (nausea). The doctor told me "If you be sick, get B6" buuuuut if I be sick, I don't want to be OUT. So, I sent the Elders out on a quest for me. Hallelujah. Doing lots better now. Elder Perrault thinks he got away with getting me the medicine without me paying him back, but I have ways around that mischievousness. >=) mwuahaha.

We went on a hike today that was waaaay longer than we thought it'd be, but it way pretty. There was a waterfall at the end and along the way I found laurel bushes!!! :) That made my day.

Well.... That's about it. Until next week!

The Church is true, The book is blue, and God loves you!

~Hermana Martin

Silly sister missionaries

A welcome sign for Laurel's new trainee

Laurel with a laurel (bush, that is!)

Waterfall hike on P-day

April 25th - Once Upon a time, there was a Turtle, a Kitten, and 2 sick Missionaries

Dear all y'all,

Kinda less-eventful week haha. Sister Barton continued to feel ill during the beginning of last week and then I wasn't feeling well at the end of the week. Perfect. I hope to be feeling better soon so we can knock out some work and finding this week and accomplish our mission-wide goal for having every companionship baptize in May. (If we accomplish said goal we'll have 88 baptisms in May!!!)

We had the opportunity to visit D. and extend a baptismal invitation to her this week. She said that she had been baptized already, but as we reviewed the Restoration again briefly she softened and recognized what we were saying about the authority of God was important. She agreed to pray about it.

Another cool experience we had was visiting with a somewhat less-active member one evening for dinner. She was expressing the difficulty she was having getting her husband from the middle east to the states despite the promised rapid results. It's been 3 years now and she broke down and began crying as she told us how unhelpful the agency has been in making progress on her case. I couldn't think of anything to do but hug her. After dinner, during which she talked about her two kids that her parents are taking care of for her in Mexico, the message we shared was Alma 38 : 5 (a new favorite of mine to share with investigators/members/etc that are going through a hard time). She began crying again but it was a different kind of cry; a little more hopeful. It was a good reminder to me that missionaries are here to help members and help them grow their faith, too. She came to church on Sunday and she seems so happy there.

Lastly, I'm just a couple chapters away from finishing the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time (cover to cover, on my own)! I'm so grateful that being a missionary has given me the opportunity to read the scriptures and study the Gospel every day and learn more about how to be spiritually independent and steadfast in Christ. Nothing else brings greater, truer, lasting joy.

The Church is true,
The Book is blue,
and God loves you!

Hna Martin II

Laurel holding a kitten

Another street with her name.   :)

Selfie time!