Week 6: This is the greatest season!!!

The greatest things one can find when you walk and not drive!

This is the greatest season! Missionary work is booming forth just as President Joseph Smith said it would. I love reading D&C 60:8-9 and 61:3 and knowing that I am literally in the mission that he got those visions in.

Sister Calton and I decided, after having a period of not much success, to stop driving and walk as much as possible. We have had so much more success with less driving. We hardly ever use our car anymore! When we take our time and we don't go in haste, we get more done! Funny how that works.  My skirt has muddy dog paw prints on it and a couple small holes in some places from dog paws. I love all the dogs out here! They're all so sweet. My boots already look like I've had them for a couple years now and I've only been using them for a month! ha ha I wouldn't have it any other way! Everything is still in good shape. None of what I have is too worn out to use yet. Although, summer may come faster than we thought it would! Today it is a beautiful 60 degrees outside and it's beautiful! I'll have to invest in short sleeves soon.

As I receive love from the members here, what they don't realize is that in turn they are helping my parents! They are so loving here! I love these families and need to remember them. We had dinner a member family couple nights ago and we talked about the plan of salvation. The mom told us about her son who passed away a while ago. He would be about 20 years old now, he was about 10 when he unexpectedly passed away. They have a family of six here on earth and a family of seven for eternity. So while we were talking about the plan of salvation, we obviously started talking about families and one of their youngest said, "let's sing our family song!" They wrote their own cute song about how they will be a family forever. It almost sounds like a girls camp song. Very fun and up beat. Well with grins from ear to ear they started to sing. Sister Calton and I were laughing about their cute lyrics when about half way through, the mom began to cry when they got to the part about eternity. After they finished a silence fell over the room. They have a son on a mission right now, in fact he's leaving the MTC today for Brazil (I think). The very very bottom of it, with the penguins! ha ha practically Antarctica! Well, we sat in silence for a while soaking in the truth of what they sang. Then I quietly told the family that what they just sang is the reason why Sis. Calton and I do what we do. We leave Our families for a couple years so others can be with theirs for eternity.They are an amazing family that have overcome so much. It is the greatest thing we teach! Families are eternal! What a blessing and gift to have that knowledge! There are many who struggle with death without that knowledge, and that's what we're here to fix! When we know the truth, we need not fear!

That story makes me cry a little! I think of cute little Daddy all sobby trying to give blood! Awwww! Take care of those missionaries! There are people taking care of yours! haha! But most importantly, and this goes for everyone back home, the greatest way to help the full time missionaries is to be an everyday missionary. Help 'em out by joining the ranks of missionary work! We are all truly enlisted!

Well, this week, my testimony of the book of Mormon grew ten fold. I told you last week about the two young brothers in this family, and their incredible testimonies of the Book of Mormon. Well, I decided I wanna be more like that. So I started to search! I read in "Preach My Gospel" and that's what I'm studying most right now. The Book of Mormon is indeed the cornerstone of our religion! If it is not true, than Joseph Smith, modern revelation, our ancestors and everything we do goes out with it! Which is why enemies of the church work so hard to disprove it! But if it is true, which the testimonies of millions ensures, than that means that everything involved with it must be true also. That's what scares our adversaries so much! And that's why it's such a powerful tool. If you have time, look up the name Di Francesco.There's a talk by him on his own personal account and I love it! it's called: “I Will Not Burn the Book!” By Vincenzo Di Francesco. You have to read and watch "How Rare a Possession" if you can! We watched it this past Sunday and I've never felt the spirit so strongly in my life! His is the most incredible story! I have such a greater respect for the Book of Mormon. Well after we watched that I was excited to go out and share it with my folks of Washington! We got back to work and started tracting and visiting people. Well, we got the police called on us yesterday but that can't stop us! ha ha ha! We've actually gotten to know him pretty well! There's nothing they can do since we are not selling anything we don't count as solicitors! Now you must hear the gospel!!!!! Nah I'm kidding! It's ok! I can understand some people's irritation. Although at first it really bothered me. We talked to our ward mission leader and he said something I will never ever forget and I think about it everytime we get discouraged. He said, "If only they knew who you are, they'd take everything you offer them." A lot of times people don't even want to take a pass a long card. Just like Francesco offered his colleagues the Book of Mormon and said, "how can you burn it if you have never even read it!" It's so true! If only they knew what we had to offer them! So we go forward! God prepares a way for all His children to recieve his message. In fact, we had an amazing Miracle this past week

We tracted into a lady in town. She is really nice. We weren't having much luck that day and things were looking down and we've been struggling for people to teach. So she opens the door and is really nice to us and we tell her who we are. She looks a little confused at first, then we say, "we're the Mormons. That's our nickname." She lights up and says, "ooooooooh ok! I've heard of Mormons!" Then behind her a guy pokes his head around the corner and starts to listen to us talk then they let us in. It was her brother who came up behind her when we said we were Mormons. He excitedly says, "yes! I know who you are! I met a couple of boy missionaries on the bus in St. Louis 3 years ago! They gave me a Book of Mormon!" We were shocked! It's obvious whose hand was preparing the way! We sat down with him and we started to talk to him and tell him what we're all about. We started to talk about the Book of Mormon and he began to look sad. We asked if he had a chance to read it at all and he said, " a little bit, but I was homeless for a while. I lost the book. I lost everything." He began to tell us about how he lost everything he owned once and became homeless. Then he prayed for the first time in his life for help and the next day his sister took him in and he's currently searching for a job. He says he's been searching for the boys who told him to pray and gave him the book ever since then. He reminds me of Francesco!!!!! He is searching for truth and knew it when he found it. So when we invited him to church he was excited to go!!!! We had an awesome Sunday with him. The Elders in our area (Elder Cox and Elder Marvin) also had an investigator at church this week.  Our district has been struggling but now because of our faith and hard work, we are beginning to have success!!! It's exciting! We are still teaching him and we still have a little ways to go, but he seems happier since he went to priesthood with the elders! I hope things work out alright! I know they will!

Well, I love what I'm doing! I love this work! If it wasn't hard at times it wouldn't be worth it! Missouri is an amazing group of people despite their past and some of the lingering beliefs about Mormons! They actually let us in more often than not!

I love you all so so so so much and I will talk to you all again so very soon. I'm sending out more letters today. I can only write for a couple hours on Monday's so I do the best I can with them.

For ever and eternity,

Sister Martinez