Elder Martins Email September 29th

This was one of the craziest weeks I think I have had in a long while! Monday was nice. We had a good p-day, then Tuesday we got to hear from Elder Packer's son... Elder Packer haha. That was pretty cool. He talked about how we can further help those converted be an eternal convert. So mainly retention and what not :) Then on Wednesday we had interviews with president. That was cool because Elder Bjarnson and I got to hang out with president all day because we were inspecting all the missionary cars. President took us out to lunch :) He really reminds me of poppy. I'm not gonna lie. After Interviews we ate with our ward mission leader, that was sooo gooooood. We had arrepas. It is a Venezuelan meal. Sooo good! Then we had institute with our RC Kevin and the Returning member Brody, they are both the coolest people I have ever met. Brody's story is quite amazing! Very grateful I was able to meet him :) Then Thursday we helped with a baptism that went all haywire... It was suppose to happen at 3:30. Then the family got in a car accident. Then they rented a car... well an hour and a half later we finally started the baptism! Right after that we had to travel down to High River to pick up all the Car log information. So we got home at like 10! Such a crazy long day. Then on Friday we left to get mail and on the way we got a call to open the church building for a funeral that we were told was canceled. The member at the last second decided to say its on again, so we turned around and unlocked the building. We then proceeded to get mail, on our way back to drop the mail off we got a call from the Elders down in Okotoks to see if we could fill a font for them. So we rushed down to fill the font and didn't leave there until 5:45. We were 20 min. late to dinner. After dinner it was alright we got to teach Brody! Lets see and then Saturday we were on exchanges and I was with Elder Manning. We went back down to Highriver to do some service, ended up building a deck! Its been a while since I've been in work boots for 8 hours! Turned out nice though! :) and finally Sunday we were able to have nice quiet church and break the fast! Now I'm here emailing you on Monday! This week seriously felt like it was go go go go go! INSANE!

To answer your question about this Elder Lloyd.... yes he was AP and yes I know him. I knew him when I first came into the mission. He was training Elder Call. We saw each other every p-day back then and now I'm his zone leader! :) He is no longer AP he is serving in the Cimmaron ward with Elder Sorenson also from Idaho!


P.S I bought a nice light jacket for the winter because the big snow jacket gets to hot sometimes and it works as a good service jacket :)

Service

Building A deck

Downtown Art

Elder Martin Email September 22nd

well this week was alright.... Tuesday we went to visit the DR because I had this lump growing our of the center of my forehead and the doc said it was a oil gland cyst, so he sliced me open drained it and put me on an antibiotic and its all gone now! :D then on Wed, Thurs, Fri, we taught Brody and Kevin in the middle of our planning and mail getting for the zone.... on Wednesday in downtown I picked up some pretty sweet chopsticks haha I don't know why I did, I guess after serving with to old mandarin missionaries that went English speaking it rubbed off on me :) and on Saturday we had this awesome food drive!! it was a ton of fun, we unloaded so much food! filled up 3 semi trailers! :D and then Sunday came about and we went to church... got a whole new bishopric..... crazy! its going to be an exciting next month.... also hey check it, my birthday this year is on thanksgiving! :D(Wrong Elder Martin) well that was my week in a nut shell sorry its not super exciting.... but I love you all! thanks for all the support you give me :) 

Food Drive

Elder Martin Email Sept 15

Well this week was interesting..... we had Snow on Wednesday about 6 inches, which caused transfers to be about a good hour behind schedule all day, not to mention the power was out, and the street lights were down.... also about every singly tree snapped branches due to the weight of the snow! And Traffic was HORRIBLE! Oh well, all is well and I'm safe haha. The remainder of the week was pretty slow, Thursday was weekly planning, then Friday we picked up mail and then took it down to Okotoks this time because we had a dinner down there, then Saturday we were back in Okotoks for a zone finding activity, talked to about 20 people in an hour and placed 1 copy of the BofM then we had Church on Sunday and heard the CES broadcast of D. Todd Chirstofferson that was pretty good.... and went shopping today at Costco! yummmmm :)I think I have enough food for a long while now :) and that pretty much sums up this week!

Before Transfers

Zone Before Transfers

Elder Martin Email September 9th

well I don't know if its a late snowfall or early snowfall but whatever it is, its back and its only September! SO this week was pretty much surrounded by hanging out with our recent convert Kevin and our less active Brody.... so Monday through Wednesday was normal and then Thursday we went to McMahon Stadium! and got to walk out on the field and what not... that's where the Calgary Stampede  CFL team plays! all of the YSA in Calgary were invited.... there was a good turn out. Then on  Friday there was a missionary who needed to go to the Health Clinic... They were pretty ill, and so we helped them out with that... that was exciting sitting there for 3 hours hah, but then on Saturday we met with Kevin for a lesson on the Plan of Salvation,I gave him the simplified card mom gave me by the way and he loved it! and thanks for sending the package! :D We then had dinner with Kevin, Qing (another Recent Convert) Daniel (our Ward Mission Leader) and the sisters.... we made home made corn dogs! sooo gooooood and home made Greek salad with home made dressing.... Kevin and Daniel are AMAZING cooks! so after we ate we went to a Corn Maze with them and just had a great night!  Sunday was church, we had a yummy break the fast and then had another break the fast with the Spanish Elders... so, much, food! still weigh only 193.......  then Monday was exciting.... Went to Chili's for lunch, I FOUND ONE! haha it was sooo good, brought back some nice memories. Then it snowed..... yaaaay haha and now its TRANSFER TUESDAY! Elder Bjarnson and I are both staying for this next transfer, and this transfer is only 5 weeks crazy! sooo that was my week!

District

Break the fast YSA Ward

Sept 1 Elder Martins Email

Well this week was one for the books! Monday for P-Day we had our talent show that was pretty sweet, Elder Bjarnson did his magic tricks and just about knocked the crowd out of their chairs hah then Tuesday we had District meetings, One of the Mandarin elders in our district, Elder Li brought a snack from China.... had us try it without telling us, it was Duck Tongue hahaha! it want to bad, kinda salty, don't think that i would say its my most favorite thing in the world. then Wednesday we went to down town Calgary... ended up talking to a "homeless" girl with a broken foot and a 2 month old kitten! i say "homeless" because she decided to just leave home and tour the country... left from Quebec and hasn't been home in 8 months.... and Elder Halford and I (we were on splits) we like wow so cool.... we've been gone from home a long time too! ended up talking to her for about 40 minutes and playing with her kitten, gave her a Book of Mormon and went on our way, she said shes not searching just interested in all religion.That night we got a call from a Less Active who is Activating himself again saying his car ran out of gas. Turns out he just bought the car and the gas gauge doesn't work after you pass 1/4 tank full haha so we helped him out and scheduled an appointment for Thursday night. While we were at his house on Wednesday he told us how "this" his old life was going to stop. (as he pointed around the room to all his empty alcohol bottles and beer cans and hooka.Thursday now rolls around and we have a lesson with our Investigator Scott, well it went sub par i would say haha, not that we really couldn't teach it was the fact that he was asking the stupidest typical questions any person would discover from the Internet, that was exciting. So we answered them and then just kept inviting him to read the BofM, and to pray for himself that's the only way he will come to know what all we say or he is wondering is either truth or blaspheme. Well after that we got back home to help the members upstairs in the apartment complex move, we were there for 4 hours then we headed to Dinner. Had amazing BBQ burgers and salad. Then we went to Brody, our new less active friends house. Well from everything he had laying around the night before was ALL gone Thursday.... this kid is SO awesome he is 21 and really wants to get back on track. We taught him the Restoration and that went well. So Friday now is here and we have MLC (Mission Leadership Council) I always love going because we have some of the greatest lunches there haha. yes they feed us. the meeting starts at 10 and ends at about 4. We council about how we can further the work and better the mission. We also found out that Online Proselyting will most likely begin within 6-8 weeks President said... he has a Presidents meeting this month so cross your fingers, and then we may get ipads shortly after that! :) Well now Saturday is here..... and so was BRAD WILCOX!!! dont know if you know him... but he is a great speaker for the church he spoke on the atonement. you should look him up :) got to meet him and he also got to meet our Recent Convert Kevin, it was the sweetest thing ever. Got a picture with him as well! Then after that we went to Mucho Burrito and on the way home (kevin drove us and the spanish elders) we saw fireworks! it was literally the best way to end the night. But wait that's not all, now its Sunday! well not a whole lot happened other than i had an awesome study on how Omni to Mosiah 24 connects haha its pretty insane then went to church that was alright but after dinner we went to Correlate with the STL's we share the ward with and we pull into the church and Right next door is a Catholic Mass thats just about to start, sooooo we decided to go and check it out. It was well Interesting needless to say, i will elaborate on it more when i get home hahah. and THAT was a week of Elder Martin! love you!

Elder Bjarnson, Kevin, Brad Wilcox! and ME!

This is Elder Farnsworth.... Studies are hard hahah

Lion Fist Bump!

Aug 25th email

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep.
                  -Robert Frost
And that promise would be to help invite others to come unto Christ and help them receive the restored gospel.

This week was good... the normal for the most part, walking and talking hah.... Thursday we had a lesson with our new investigator Scott we met from this walking and talking, it was sweet.. taught the Restoration and he has soooo many questions coming from a "real" world perspective so we answered them and cleared up a lot of stuff he said that he was told about the Mormons. He has a very open mind and willing to learn about everything... he says religion isn't super important to him but we will see what the Holy Ghost can teach him! Then we went on exchanges down to high river, it was so crazy to go back a year from the floods and see the town and homes rebuilt that got destroyed! We biked around and offered service for people, it still in the process of being built pretty cool. Saturday the Spanish elders that we live with had a baptism so we went and supported that. The guy getting baptized has a cool story... pretty much met this girl said she wants to marry him but cant cause he isn't Mormon, decided to check it out and found it to be true and was baptized!
We also did some Downtown Calgary street contacting... ran into the typical Drunk native on the train but they were funny.... his brothers were baby sitting him, talked a lot about their beliefs and gave them a Book of Mormon then coming home that night... Saturday night we were waiting for the train and a guy asks Elder Bjarnson "want me to tell you where you can shove that book?" then took it out of his hands and said "bend over" so we snatched the book back from him and sat there and took his remarks and gestures and what not.. i answered back in m usual smart remarks "cool", "right on man" "good for you" "catch ya later" "have a nice day" he just walked away and kept mumbling whatever hah... Sunday church was normal until a kid walked through the door stating that he is re-activating himself so that's sweet! Kevin the recent convert came to church, he is pretty much an active member hahah hes just awesome! :D other than that my week was awesome!

Aug 18th Email from Elder Martin

So this week was pretty good, We had the Baptism of Kevin MacLean Elder Bjarnson Baptized him and I Confirmed him on Sunday it was the coolest experience ever, my body was shaking with what im saying was the power of god and yet my voice was Calm and Bold.... it was awesome! were still on the run for trying to hit 1 million people contacted.... so far were at 35,333 slowly but surly! Went to down town this week as well... talked to some people talked to a street performer for a while hes less active but can whistle like a champ! The YSA ward is pretty cool, were losing about half the ward when they go back to school oh well... life moves on other than that lifes been good! Bjarnson is awesome and the spanish elders we live with are doing great as well!



 While waiting for the Font to fill for the Baptism I looked at some family history and found this AWESOME story!!

Dear Brother in the Lord, Having reflected on the short  interview we had last evening respecting the dream (or vision as you may  think proper to term it) and as you stated several times that you should like  to have it wrote so that you could take it home with you to Kirtland, I  therefore consent to give a statement in as short <a> manner as I can, without going into every minute circumstance. To wit.—
In the year 1795, I then being in the Town of Pompey,  County of Onondagua and State of New York; I then being 22 years old; seeing  and viewing the ancient Indian Forts and trates thereof through that part of  the Country; my mind was anxiously led to contemplate and reflect on where  those Indians came from, or from what race of People they sprang from, and often times heard it stated that these Indians were natives of this Continent, and  that they were created and placed here at the creation of the world. Then said  I the Bible cannot be true, part of for it (The Bible) says that all the human  family sprang from Adam &c, and that at the time of the flood, the whole  earth was covered with water, and that all flesh died, except what were in  the ark with Noah, then with things taking place, and I firmly believing  that the Bible was true, my heart’s desire was to God in solemn prayer to  know where and what race of people these Indians sprang from, It was  made known (whether by dream or vision I will leave that for you, to  judge) An angel as I thought came to me and said, Come along with me  and I was immediately on a beast like a horse, and the angel at my left hand  with his feet about the same height that my feet were as I sat on the horse, and  in this position was conveyed to near the place where the record was deposited  and he said stop here, and the angel went about 4 or 5 Rods and took in his  hand a book, and on his return to where I stood, as I thought there were many  stood with me; One said, what book is that? And the answer was, it is a bible,  a bible, the word of God, a record of a people that came from Jerusalem, the fore  fathers of these Indians, And it also contains a record of a people that came from  the Tower of Babel at the time the Lord confounded the language and scattered  the people into all the world, and it the Book Ether; and then with great anx iety of heart I asked if I might have the book, and answer was that it was  not the Lords time then, but it should come, “and you shall see it,” and then  said look, and as I looked, I beheld a man standing as I thought at a distance  of two hundred yards, and the angel said “there is the Man that the Lord hath ap pointed &c, and he is not yet born.[”] I have related it in short, as I have not  time now to give a full detail of all that I had a view of. Yours with respect.

Benjamin Benson
November 12th 1837
Joseph Smith Jr Far West.

N, B At some further time if the Lord will I will be more full if you should  wish it. I shall direct this to you as a letter and you cannot act your Judgement in either  keeping it to yourself or publishing it by making use of my name.

Kevin's Baptism

Bjarnson and Martin

Dog