Week 5: It's gonna be the best year ever though!!



On a lane to a members house

Missouris is so beautiful!



Snow storm can't stop me!





The day after the storm...of course it's sunny pfff!



I know it's crazy right! It's gonna be the best year ever though! I can't believe I was able to say "this year, as one of my resolutions, I'm gonna serve the lord 24/7 all day everyday!" ha ha wow! this is a year to remember! I definitely have a new testimony of fasting too! It works! trust me! ha ha So yesterday it snowed a TON and it was freezing! The actually cancelled church! When the weather gets bad out here, even if there is a chance it MIGHT get bad, all the schools and businesses and people shut down and go into hibernation. Well, I woke up yesterday morning looked out the window and my heart sunk. I look forward to church every week, in fact Sunday is our busiest day! What were we supposed to do! I was so bummed! Well, sis Calton and I started our fast for the good folks of Washington and I had personal study while she got ready for the day. for some reason I started thinking about ammon and how he was so stoked when the bad lamanites came to scatter the flocks. So I opened up to Alma 17 and read that chapter. I got to verse 29 my heart did a flip! It says, " now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for , said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow servants, that I may lead them to believe on my words." I was stumped! I went back to the window and it was snowing in every direction. I got the newest feeling in my heart. Something I had never felt before.  A smile stretched across my face. The lord provided me with an opportunity. This was my chance to prove to these people how much they truly matter to me. This was my chance to "restore these flocks unto the king." This was my chance to win the hearts of my fellow servants, my fellow folks of Washington. Well, Sis Calton came out and We prayed to know what we should do (although I had already received my answer). We read Alma 17 together and made that decision. The cars were grounded, but that didn't stop us! We were asked to plan our day like a normal day, so we did! I put on 3 pairs of leggings and my sweat pants(my boots go up pretty high and my skirt goes low so no one could tell ha ha), put on a dress with a skirt over it, my long john's G top, a long sleeve shirt, a t shirt, a hoodie and my jacket over that, a scarf, a beanie, Sis Calton's toe and finger warmers and three pairs of socks(thanks Elder Martinez for the muppet socks ha ha). We looked as professional as we could with all that on! then over all that, My Savior's name and mine(my tag) went right over my heart.

and with that and a prayer at the door, we went out into the storm! Poor sis Calton, she's only five feet tall, so the snow went mid thigh at times but she insisted that she lead the way so I followed in my trainer's loving footsteps as we trudged through the snow. the highest it ever got on me was up to my knees. I felt like I was home!!! ha ha ha! We have never had more tracting success! ha ha people felt bad that we were in the snow. We actually had quite a bit of success yesterday! more than we have on a normal day! All you could see were our eyes as we trudged down the street! but we kept on going! I have a new respect for the pioneers, what we had to do was soooooooo minute compared to their sacrifice! Well, While we were trudging down the street, the thought to visit the Johnson's came to my mind, but I pushed it aside because they were completely in the opposite direction of where we were travelling. Then, Sis calton turned around and said, " I think we should visit the Johnson's." My heart skipped. Little by little, God let's us know He's there and He's watching over us. We said a quick prayer, I asked for forgiveness for not listening to the prompting, then we were off. Except this time we were walking against the wind. Missouri hasn't seen weather like this in 20 years! Or at least that's what people kept telling us after they told us we were crazy. All I could do was laugh because our eyelashes were frozen stuck together and mascara was all over sis calton's face! ha ha! but we pushed on. We helped a lot of people shovel their walks, talked to even more people and eventually got to the Johnson's house. I won't say what happened there but what I can say is that I love that family and they are so strong! Yeah their girl can be a turd at times but she's a sweetheart!  I love watching families pull together when trials come and I am so glad we followed the prompting to go to their house. Their 16 year old Caleb astonishes me! He's the one who answered the door the first time the Elders showed up and knocked. He said the first time he saw the book of Mormon he knew it was true. Then their youngest boy Mason said that he has read it three times already!!!!!! and he's twelve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes they are struggling but hearing the boys bear their testimonies of the plan of salvation and seeing them work together, I know they are gonna be ok! Caleb reminds me of nephi and Mason reminds me of Sam! The generations of missionaries just keep getting better. They are going to be amazing missionaries! I am so proud of them for helping their parents when things get hard. They remind me of my own family back home, yeah things get hard and sometimes kids do crazy stuff, but family is family and when push comes to shove, we stick together! Well after we visited with them we headed back through the snow to home. it was only 7 but we were STARVING and tired (but not cold ha ha) and we decided to call it a day since it was dark and the wind bit more that before. So long story short, never look at trials as opposition, but as opportunities! For that is what they truly are. It is a chance to prove yourself to those you love including our Heavenly Father. It is a chance to bear witness and testimony of what we know and believe, just like mason and caleb did for their parents when things got hard. I love this gospel because it keeps families together through thick and thin, and when life chews us up and spits us out, take that time to thank God for the wonderful ride and the wonderful moisture (ha ha gross analogy, sorry) It's like president and sis morgan say, "when the door slams in your face, think to yourself, ""what a nice breeze." ha ha this life is meant to be enjoyed. 

Well that's only one story from this week! So many many miricles happened this week that you'll just have to read about when I send my journal home! wow wow wow! I love being a missionary!

Exercising is going ok. The members here feed us so much! ha ha, if we don't exercise we'd get pretty big! ha ha ha that good ol Missouri cookin! these people are amazing! But the running has slowed down for a while, because of the weather. So lets just say I've never done more jumping jacks in my life! But the lord has asked us to be healthy so I do the best I can. sometimes doing the best we can is all we can do and it is all he asks for.

Well, I know that by being healthy, we can set a good example for others. I know you and dad being healthy makes me want to be healthier. when I don't feel like doing even one more stupid jumping jack, I think, "Disney land, Disney land Disney land." then I can keep going. I want to always be able to walk and run and have fun with you all at Disney land and for the rest of my life! Some of our greatest memories are at that silly park and I wanna do it again when we get home, Elder Martinez and I.

Well I love you mom. You and Dad walk with me always! When the snow was up to my knees I pictured you and Dad at either side of me and My savior right in front of sis calton and I making footsteps for us to follow. I love you and all the family back home. Time goes on, health slips away, memories fade, but families are eternal. That is His plan and that is my purpose. I know it, I love it and now, I live it all day every day. I am proud to call you my mother and I'm proud(even though that picture is sad and cute) to call my Daddy my Daddy! I love you! Now go and do some good in the world today.

Forever and for always your daughter (and pride and joy! ha ha),

Sister Martinez