Saying Goodbye to Argentina

Last Email

Dear Family,

This weekend was super awesome! So you remember Micaela right? She got baptized with her husband (Omar) at the end of last transfer? Well before they got baptized, we met Micaela´s mom (Veronica) and her younger siblings (Ana and Bejamin). So we taught them a couple of times in Micaela´s house and then passed the reference to the elders from another branch (the Monte Olivia branch) because they live in a different part of Ushuaia. Anyways, Veronica, Ana, and Benjamin got baptized on Saturday!!! It was so cool. I´m so happy that Micaela´s family joined the church :) 

On Saturay a couple from Cuba got baptized in the Monte Olivia branch. Their names are Marbelis and Andres. Their from Cuba and have had a rough past. Their children are still in Cuba and their only desire is to share the gospel with their children. They live in our area but are moving to the other branch soon so the elders taught them and we helped a bit, teaching Marbelis a few times.

It was really cool so see 5 people get baptized in the same day!! And especially because I helped teach those people and could see how the gospel has changed their lives. 

I can´t believe this is my last email home. I just want to tell you all thank you. Thank you for your emails and for your love, support, and prayers. These last 18 months have been an adventure for me. I´ve learned so much and I´ve changed a lot, too. The gospel changes people. I know this is the only true church on the earth and I know that Jesus Christ guides and directs us through a living prophet. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. We all need the Atonement of Jesus Christ. No one has strayed too far off the path that can´t be helped my our Savior.

I´ve never felt as happy as I do now as I´ve lived and taught the gospel. And I plan on doing it for the rest of my life. 

Love,

Hermana Martin

Misión Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia

July 4th

Dear Family,

Happy Fourth of July! I hope that you all had a great day.

This week has been pretty great because last night it snowed!!! Ushuaia looks like a different city now that it`s covered in white snow. 

So the other day my companion and I were contacting outside on the street. It was super cold and we were heading back to the pension. We got to our street and I looked at my agenda. We had contacted 34 people. I looked at my watch. It was 8:57pm. I told my companion, ´´Let`s contact one more person.´´ So we turned onto our street and walked the opposite way of our apartment. We saw a man in the distance, smoking. We went up to him and started to introduce ourselves. He said that he didn`t understand and that he was from Brasil. So we asked him if he knew English and he said yes. We started talking to him and he was super interested in the gospel!! I`m so glad that we decided to contact one more person. 

That`s all we`ve been doing the last week, pretty much. Contacting a ton! We are looking for new investigators and I know we are going to find someone! 

On Sunday so many youth shared their testimonies during Sacrament meeting. I love seeing youth with such strong testimonies of the gospel! It`s amazing.

This week I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the goal that President Rogers had given us (to finish by July 1st). I was honestly such a wonderful experience for me. My testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown so much as I used my free time in the mornings and evenings to read from its pages. I have found comfort and answers to my questions and prayers. I know it`s true. One scripture that I really loved was:

Moroni 10: 32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

I have been ponderizing this scripture a lot and I`ve learned that being perfected in Christ is becoming like him. It`s a life-long process of trying to develop Christlike attributes. We will be able to perfect ourselves over time as we try our best to be like Christ. So I invite each of you to pick a Christlike attribute and try to develop it this week. I`m working on humility. I heard someone say, "la humildad no es pensar menos de vos, es pensar menos en vos," or in other words, "humility isn`t thinking less of yourself, it`s thinking less about yourself." 

Have a wonderful week! I love you all! 

Love,

Hermana Martin

Misión Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia

Pictures!

June 27th

Dear Family,

This week was a bit hectic with transfers and everything! But my new companion, Hermana Pardo, is super cool. She is from Pamplona, Spain (aka the place where they have the run of the bulls). She`s an awesome missionary!

This is President and Hermana Rogers` last week here in the mission! It`s sad to see them leave. They have really helped me learn and grow as a missionary and as a person. I know that the love, sweat, and tears they`ve put into the work here in the Comodoro mission will pay off! We will have a temple here soon! To have a stake here in Tierra del Fuego we just need about 20 more baptisms and 5 tithing payers! We are so close! 

Yesterday Micaela and Omar received the Holy Ghost in Sacrament meeting! Omar also had an interview with the branch president to start preparing himself to receive the priesthood. He was so happy, he said that he still can`t believe it! 

On Saturday our zone had a really cool activity with our investigators. It was called la Actividad de Fuego (Activity of Fire). We went over the basic beliefs of our church and it was super cool. I think that it really helped the investigators to understand what we believe and why we`re sharing it with them. 

I think this week has really strengthened my testimony of the restored gospel. I will never stop being amazed by the beauty of the restoration. God loves us so much. He wants us to return and live with him. Throughout time he has sent prophets to lead and guide us. Wicked people have rejected and killed those prophets. They even rejected and killed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this earth to suffer and die for our sins. While Christ was here he organized is church. He gave his authority to his 12 apostles so that they could continue teaching and baptizing people. But the people were so wicked that they killed the apostles as well! But because God loves us so much and wants us to return and live with him, once again he has called prophets to lead and guide us. He sent three of Christ`s apostles, Peter, James, and John to give his priesthood authority to Joseph Smith. I know that Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church on the earth. The only church with the priesthood authority necesary to perfrom sacred, saving ordinances. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father that loves us so much that he has given us everything we need to return to his presence. 

I hope that each of you can take a little time to ponder in the beauty of the restoration of the gospel. And if you don`t know if it really happened, I invite you to pray about it and ask God. He will answer. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth through feelings of love and peace. And if you know that it really happened, I invite you to pray again. Strengthen your testimony of the restored gospel. Share it with your spiritual brothers and sisters who are lost and need the truth. 

I love each of you and I`m so thankful for your love and support! Have a wonderful week! 

Love,

Hermana Martin

June 20th

Dear Familia! 

Well first off happy early birthday to my favorite hermana in the world! I hope you have a great birthday, Madison! 

Hermana Yañez, Hermana Littlefield, and I are currently in a trio because Hermana Littelfield`s companion finished her mission and headed to Comodoro on Saturday morning. Tomorrow morning Hermana Yañez leaves at 5 am. Hermana Littlefield`s new companion is Hermana Choc (another one of my old companions!). And my new companion is Hermana Pardo from Spain! They should get here tomorrow night or on Wednesday. 

Yesterday we had 2 baptisms!! Micaela and Omar. If you guys remember, it`s been really hard for us to get them to church. Well Saturday we had a revelation. Literally Hermana Yañez, Hermana Littlefield, and I all receive the same revelation seperately. We knew that they were ready to get baptized. We called President Rogers and told him all about them and he gave us permission for Micaela and Omar to get baptized on Sunday as long as they went to church! We visited Micaela and Omar and told them the news and they were so excited! 

They went to another baptism on Saturday and then afterwards they had their interviews. Sunday morning they were awake and getting ready for church! Honestly I think they just needed the baptism to motivate them to go. It was so cool because literally all of the members in our branch and in other branches helped set up everything for the baptism. Micaela and Omar were happier than I had ever seen them!! It was honestly a miracle! 

Yesterday I could feel the spirit so strong during the baptism! I know that this is just the first step for Micaela and Omar. The real goal is for them to make it to the temple and become an eternal family!

I love this gospel! 

Love,

Hermana Martin

May 30th

Dear Family,

This Wednesday we are fasting as a zone because we have a goal to get 24 baptisms in the month of June here in Ushuaia! My companion and I want to get five baptisms. Here`s a little bit about each of the five people we want to baptize:

(1) Ricardo. I sent you guys a picture of us with Ricardo. As you can see he looks kind of like Einstein. He is the best investigator ever! Ricardo is currently in Cordoba but is coming back this week. As of right now his baptismal date is for the 18th of June but we might change it to the 4th or the 11th. He went to church in Cordoba and is so ready to get baptized!

(2) Micaela and (3) Omar. They are a married couple and live just half a block away from the church. They are ready to get baptized and know everything (the missionaries have been teaching them for months). The only thing that they need is to go to church consistently and then they can get baptized. They come to church activities during the week but it`s hard for them to wake up on Sundays. We call and knock there door but it`s impossible! So as soon as we can get them coming to church, they`ll get baptized.

(4) Luis. I sent you a picture of Luis. He`s a cute little old man who is almost done reading the Book of Mormon for the second time. He comes to church every Sunday. He was supposed to get baptized this last Saturday (he had his interview and everything). But Luis is having a hard time recognizing answers to his prayers, asking if the church is true and if the Book of Mormon is true. He`s currently praying and trying to recognize his answer and as soon as he does he`ll be baptized! 

(5) Hilda or Mariela or Sergio. There are lots of possibilities for our 5th baptism! 

My companion and I are currently working a lot with these people and with some other investigators not mentioned. We have lots of people to teach and find new people everyday! 

Last week we had a family history activity in the church with the Senior Single Adults. It was really cool to help these elderly members find their family names and fill out their family trees on Family Search. I have a strong testimony that family history work is just as important as missionary work--they are both the work of Salvation. I know that the church as been restored on the earth and that everyone (living and dead) is in need of the saving ordinances that can only be offered by restored priesthood authority. 

I`m having a wonderful time serving here and I love the people that I`m teaching. They really have been prepared to hear the gospel. 

Thanks for your love and support!

Love,

Hermana Martin