9/24/12

Hello all!


This last week was pretty good. The only reason is wasn't really, really good is that we didn't follow through and perform as we should have. We had a few off days and that is our fault for sure, but there were still some high points of course.

We had zone conference on Tuesday. Usually I leave zone conference with a renewed knowledge that I suck. There are so many things to improve on and remember and so I always have a new set of goals to add to my older sets of goals and things to improve on, but such is life. I always love Zone Conferences though. This one was especially great, more bittersweet, because there were like 20 missionaries who bore their departing testimonies. You bear your testimony the zone conference before you go home and there are about 20 missionaries who are going home in the next two transfers. There were several missionaries who I have grown to really love. Both of the assistants, Elder Schaffer and Elder Bradford are going home these next two transfers, back in Clarksville we saw them quite a bit because they would come up to play basketball with us so I saw them quite a bit and they are amazing missionaries and really good guys, so it is weird to see them go. They are what we would call GKLM legends, so we are losing some great missionaries. With those great missionaries lost is Elder Castañeda. He leaves at the end of November. I was especially touched by his testimony because we have talked for a little bit about his trials since he has been out and before he came out and his thoughts on the work. If I can become even half of what these missionaries are by the time I go home I will have changed dramatically for the better.

We also had several awesome member present lessons with our most progressing investigators. She has been touched by the spirit and feels that what we teach is good while her boyfriend just "thinks" it is, not as solid. So we are working hard with both of them to help them pray for and recognize answers. We have also been fasting for them so that they can get work off to come to church. We were so happy to hear on Friday that they would be able to come to church, and we were so confident that they would come because it is so obvious that they have true desires to come. But, something happened yesterday and they didn't come. We have members lined up to take them, lead them to church, but something happened, so we were bummed out about that. Hopefully all is well.

Satan has been working really hard with our investigators and with the members in our "group". I say group because the Stake separated the Spanish members from the English ward and we now have our own Elders Quorum and Relief Society. We are so close to a branch, they just need to make sure we have enough eligible people. But, honestly, it was impressive on our members' behalf and a bit sad for the English ward because our priesthood class was almost twice the size as theirs yesterday. I am really excited for the future of our branch. But Satan is working really hard on our members as well. He doesn't want these people to stay strong and he doesn't want a branch here, that much is obvious. But we have very strong people here and we pray that we can help them help themselves to overcome everything.

We did thankfully have an investigator at church (even though we had 5 prepared to come).  That is his second sunday. So, next week will be his third, then we have conference, and then hopefully the next week will be his baptism. It's exciting.

Speaking of conference, I am STOKED. You have no idea. Seriously. I have already read every talk from April just about 2 times and will probably read them again. Last conference I had minimal desires to learn and fell asleep a ton and I got nothing out of it. Which was a poor decision because it could have helped me a ton. This time around, I know that I am going to have an opportunity to have a spiritual feast. There is just one catch, I will most likely be watching all five sessions in Spanish, which is really cool. It is a catch though because there truly is a difference between that many talks in a second language. I have been shorthanded/blessed, double edged sword, not having everything in Spanish my whole mission. My Spanish definitely isn't as good as it could be because of that, but I have also understood more. My Spanish is definitely adequate, I understand 95% of everything everyone says, I just fear that I will miss something during conference. So, I am going to speak as much Spanish, study as hard as possible, pray and fast for the spiritual gifts necessary and spiritual receptiveness that I need to understand what every speaker has to say to me. So, please pray for me that I can understand what I need to understand come the 6th.

I can't really ask for a better birthday present than conference, what will make it really special is i I am surrounded by our investigators. So, that will be awesome.

I want everyone to know that I am so very happy, safe, healthy, and loving life. This mission is such a gift and I just pray that I won't let it pass me by. Time moves so fast and I have so much more to learn and do. Luckily, two people (three on a mission) can do anything - as long one of them is God. So, I pray for the companionship of Him, His son, and His Spirit.

I love you all so much and am so thankful for your support.

Thank you for everything, I love you all so much!

Love, Zac

9/17/12

Hello Family and Friends!

Sounds like everyone is doing well this last week. I miss you all a lot!

This last week was a great week.

The weather really has been awesome, it didn't rain at all last week and has seriously just been gorgeous. It already looks like this week will be different because it is super dark outside and I can't see the sun, but hopefully it clears up, as long as it doesn't rain I am totally fine.

This last week we were having to deal with people's really frustrating schedules still, but we had several good appointments.

We has a really awesome lesson with two of our most progressing investigators. We brought another couple from the ward and they shared awesome testimonies and basically taught the Word of Wisdom for us as well, it was an amazing lesson.

Right before that lesson we had contacted a potential investigator and we were able to teach he and his friend the Restoration. When we finished with the First Vision and asked him what he thought about it, if he thought it was true, he told us, "Definitely! I actually saw this on the news the other night!". "The news?". "Yeah, the news! This whole Joseph Smith Vision was on the news, so yeah, I believe it!" We were super confused, but not going to say anything to him. We did hear that NBC did some special on the church or something like that, so many somewhere with all of the coverage with Mormons he saw a clip of the Restoration movie or something, he believes it is true, so no harm done! It was actually really funny. We totally forgot about it until later that night and then out of nowhere I asked Castaneda about it and we just laughed because we were so dumbfounded, but a Mormon TV special sounds more likely to be the case or something. We were able to set baptismal dates with him and his friend.

That brought our total baptismal dates up to 9. 9! It is a crazy number, several of them are first lesson dates (more as goals and dates to gauge their intent) but all the same, we have 9 baptismal dates, 8 of them are for October, so I am really excited. The dates change all of the time and people use their agency wrong sometimes as well of course, so maybe not all of them will go through, but I hope so, we shall see.

That is definitely one thing that is different about this area, the sheer number of people we have to contact and to teach in our pool, I love it. We are busy and it is an awesome feeling.

We were able to go buy and talk to the man who yelled out for us from his window the other week and meet with him for a little bit. Because he was getting ready for work we didn't have time to teach him a full lesson, but we gave him a 3 or 4 minute Restoration and then invited him to be baptized and he said that he has been wanting to be a member of the Church for years. This is the man whose whole family is Mormon and used to go to church all of the time in Mexico. He is actually helping pay for his nephews mission as well. Super solid. He was definitely heaven sent.

That is something I am seeing as well. When we truly come to love these people and are willing to sacrifice for them, God blesses them with a testimony and blesses us with more people. We fast a lot and really do everything we can for these people, and it really has focused me a lot more on our investigators.

On Friday we went by and met with another investigator who has had lots of issues in the past and was very angry with God for taking his mom away from him, but his heart has been softened and has seen the blessings in his life that come from living the gospel. He is a really brave man because he has left all of his old friends and the have equally shunned him as well for wanting to live a life that is in more accordance with the Gospel principles. We went by with him and watched the Great Apostasy movie about Wilford Woodruff getting baptized and for whatever reason that really changed something for him because when we invited him to be baptized he very excitedly said yes. Which is a change. He is a very shy man though and getting him to church was a struggle because he made tons of excuses and finally E. Castaneda was super blunt with him ( I dont have the Spanish skills to do so, and I am not that bold either I think) and called him out on all of his excuses and left him with no choice but to come to church, and when he did he LOVED it, he looked really good too, I was impressed.

On Saturday we had a rough day getting into contact with people but later on at night we had a super fun time with the Spanish members. The 15th of September is Mexican Independence day so we had a big party and several of the members dressed up in traditional Mexican dress and did a dance, that plus the awesome food made it an awesome night.

The members are definitely another reason that I love it here, they have stayed strong in an area with not tons of Spanish support and we almost have a branch here due to their devotion to the gospel. It is awesome.

Anyway, things have been going super great here. God is blessing us with His children to teach and I have been really impressed with the intricacies of his plan. There were many times this week that everything just so happened to work out super well.

I am so thankful to be privy to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be one of His missionaries.

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers!

I love you all so much!!!

Love,

Zac

9/10/12

Hello family and friends!!!

 We are sitting right under an AC and my fingers are freezing, I have no idea why they have the AC on so high, it is so nice outside. Kentuckians freak out about the weather. Anyway, if my letter is shorter, that is why, I am wussing out and my fingers are frozen.

Anyway, this last week was good.

I am getting into things well with the bike, I am not really having any issues, there are quite a few hills here in Lex. but I haven't had any problems with them yet. If anything it is a good cardio workout.

This last wednesday we had a lot of rain and we were riding around in the rain for a bit so I got a little sick. That affected us for a little bit, not much, just didn't ride home one night, we took the bus, but I had to fight through it a little bit. We also work out at nights and so all of that included wore me out, but I feel much better now, so it shouldn't be an issue now.

We are getting into the part of the year where the weather is the best, so that is exciting. What isn't exciting is that because there was a mild winter here last year and then a really bad summer, they are predicting a really bad winter as well. Apparently ice storms are pretty common here, so that is always fun news to hear when more than likely I will be here during the worst winter months. On a bike.

Whatever.

This last week Satan has been working really hard against us. We had a lot of people ready to come to church, but then one person, who doesn't usually work on Sundays, had to work. Another guy, who always had sundays off, couldn't come because his work changed his schedule on friday so now he works on Sundays, and then our most solid couple, he got a new job where he doesn't have to work on Sunday. Another gator who had a date completely disappeared from us as well, so that is frustrating. I don't really know how to look at it though. It is either Satan making them work on Sunday or God blessing them with more work, I don't know. Whatever the case, we have to overcome all of that.

We did have a cool experience. We were biking to another area and out of no where e. castaneda turned down an alley. About halfway down a guy hollered at us and told us to stay there, he was coming down. So he came out and told us that all of his family, in Mexico, are mormon. He used to go to church all the time with them down there, but he hasn't been doing that now because he has lived in the states for 14 years. He is not a member though. Yet. We are really hopeful for him. Later, castaneda told me that he just felt like we needed to go down there, so i am really thankful for the spirit.

And then last night we were biking around, pretty late, and talking to people, and we stopped this guy and started talking to him. He really didn't like Mormons. I learned a lot of new Spanish swear words. After a few minutes though a cop pulled up and took him away, obviously for something unrelated. But, that's what happens when you mess with missionaries I guess.

We are planning on working way harder this week and being more smart in our work as well. We just need to outwork Satan. Apparently he has a P-Day on Mondays too, so we are pretty safe for these next few hours. But, once 6 comes, BAM, we're baptizing.

We are doing well here, tell my friends to stop getting married.

I love you all!

Zac

9/4/12

Hello everyone!

Libraries were closed for Labor day, so we have to email today when we find time.

So, as you have heard by now, I am in Lexington.

It is the  Lexington Downtown Spanish area, and as it sounds we cover basically downtown Lexington and the surrounding area. And we are on bikes. Fun. Our area is huge (for a bike area)! We end up taking the bus a lot as well because the streets here aren't very bike friendly. We talked to a medical interpreter who also teaches medical Spanish at the University of Kentucky and he told me that there are 35,000 Hispanics here on record, and a total of around 50,000 between recorded and not recorded. Wow. Seriously, there is not a lack of work here. I went from the total opposite in Clarksville, to here.

Downtown Lexington is the only part that looks like a big city, once you get a mile or two out it basically looks like a normal city, meaning no skyscrapers or really tall buildings or whatnot, but it is still a cool place.

A little bit about my companion as well. Elder Castañeda is from Acapulco, Mexico, he moved to Chicago to work five years ago and is going home in November. He was a Zone Leader for 6 months in Louisville and he has been here for three months. I am seriously so blessed to be with him. He is awesome. Our deal is that I speak to him in Spanish and he speaks to me in English. He has learned English on his mission here and speaks really well. It's impressive. He is a powerhouse and he has already taught me SO much this last week.

His grandma had him baptized when he was 8 and he was inactive until 18. He is the only member in his family. He is an amazing example of being converted to the gospel and making sacrifices.

I have told him that it is like I have two companions, the one that speaks english, and the one that speaks Spanish. It is different because when we are together, he speaks to me in English. And then Spanish with members and investigators, meaning usually more serious matters. So it is kinda cool to see how he is in different languages.

Here in Lexington, like I said, are tons of hispanics. A lot work out on the horse farms. They work for bigwig horse owners, the same horses that race in the Kentucky derby and whatnot. A billions of dollars business. It is crazy. This is horse country. Also, UK is in our area, we live a couple miles away from it. We drive by Jon Calipari's ( UK basketball coach) house on the bus every once and a while. UK is a cool school and there are a lots of students here. I am glad I am not here in the Summer because apparently UK girls look like ASU girls in summer. There was actually a district challenge here in the summer called "eyes on the prize" which basically means close your eyes when you go by UK. So, yeah, this area is way different from my last.

And the bike, I luckily have a pretty nice bike I got from an outgoing elder. Elder Castañeda has been riding bikes since he was four and used to teach spinning classes in Mexico, so it is safe to say I work hard to stay up with him. But, somehow I do. We don't ride too terribly far too often, we end up taking the bus a lot because we just can't ride to certain places. But, coming home at night is always a mad dash that wears us out. Lexington streets aren't really made for bikes, plus there are many hills, so it makes for a good workout.

Also, E. Castañeda is pretty hardcore about working out, so I am stoked to get, as we say in the GKLM, "jacked and tan" . . . priorities, right? A member from the ward named Leo bought a bench press and a set of weights for us in our apartment and he comes by every night to work out, so between that and the bike, I am pretty easily worn out. I catch a few Z's on the bus every once and a while.

There are 2 sets of Spanish missionaries in the ward here, 1 set of sisters and us. And one set of English missionaries. We have quite a bit of Hispanic members here, we are getting ready to form a branch actually. That will be way cool!

Our area hasn't baptized in a while, somehow. But, we have 5 baptismal dates right now. So, the Elders have been working hard. Our goal for these next two transfers is ten baptisms, so we have our work cut out for us.

The members here are way cool, they love the missionaries and E. Castañeda being a native makes everything better as well.

Seriously, this area is way cool, and I think Lexington is way cool as well. You have to look online at downtown Lexington and then the surrounding area, especially some of the horse farms and stuff. I am interested to know how many people live in this place too, so can you guys send me some official information and whatnot?

I am so excited to be here. I am going to work really hard on my Spanish. I have an amazing opportunity to dominate the language here, so that is my plan. I am going to learn so much. And we are going to baptize the world.

If you have any questions about anything, let me know!

I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

Zac

8/27/12

Hello Family and Friends!

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything in, so an update is in order.

The biggest thing that has happened is that I got a transfer call this last Saturday and I am leaving Clarksville. I will find out where I am getting transferred to tomorrow morning. Where I am now is the only Spanish area in Indiana so I know at least that I am going to Kentucky, where every other Spanish area is at.

It is a bittersweet feeling for me to leave here. Other missionaries get moved around more than I have these last few months, I haven't moved at all. So this is an unknown feeling for me. I love the people here. The members are awesome and there are several families who support us a ton. Also, there a a couple of investigators who I have been with since the beginning and I will be a bit sad to leave them. But, I hope that I can come back for their baptism, which I am confident will be pretty soon.

I really do love it here in this area. But, at a certain point a change is good, so that is where the sweet comes in. I am excited to go a to a new area with new people and new challenges. Elder Baker and I have worked hard here and we have seen that hard work pay off. He has definitely taught me a ton as well and I hope to use that knowledge and put it to good use in my next place.

In terms of what has happened the last few weeks and the state in which I am leaving this area, it has been a bit slow. We have had a couple pretty constant investigators but in terms of finding and teaching new people, we haven't seen a whole lot of new people. We have changed around how we find a little bit as well. Most of the time it is tracting, tracting, tracting. Going through members is definitely the best way to go, but we only have one active hispanic family here in our ward and the branch that we cover, and they have given quite a bit of referalls to the missionaries in the past and so our member resources aren't super heavy in this area. So, we have done as much research as we can and have gotten a pretty good map of our area set up with different addresses of hispanics. So, we drive around and knock in neighborhoods for a change. It is still tracting, tracting, tracting, but just by a bit of a different method. It isn't anything exciting but we have found a few different people using that approach that we wouldn't have ever found otherwise.

This area has definitely been worked in really hard and great progress has been made. I am so proud of what we have been able to accomplish here and I really do eagerly await tomorrow to find out where I will be.

I have learned a lot from being here. I had challenges and trials before my mission for sure. But they were all focused on me. Here, these challenges focus on the salvation of souls. How many 19-20 something year old boys/men (I usually lump myself in the man category) have to deal and worry with issues pertaining to the salvation of souls? Not many. It is crazy to think about. Through the challenges in this work I have learned to rely on Heavenly Father and exercise faith in Jesus Christ knowing that our hard work and striving to better ourselves and love everyone will pay off. And it has. I haven't been a perfect missionary here, I could have done things better, I could have done things smarter. I don't have too many regrets, just a few, but regrets are regrets and I hate having them. I have learned how to truly be unified, both with the Spirit, Heavenly Father, and Christ, as well as in a companionship and in a district. Elder Baker and I have wrestled with the Lord in prayer and worried and fretted and cried and struggled over this area. I know that I have learned a lot and I am excited to learn even more in a new area.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and thoughts. I am so thankful for supportive family and friends. You are all missed and loved!

I will update y'all on where I am at next week.

With love,
Elder St. Martin

P.S. By way of mail, the mission office address is the best place to write me at.

1325 Eastern Parkway
Louisville, Kentucky 40204

7/9/12: First Baptism

Hello family and friends!

I think it has been a while since anyone has had much of an update on the mission, so here I am.

I am still in Clarksville, Indiana - next week is transfers so that might change. Things have been pretty good lately!

I am actually coming up on my sixth month mark this Wednesday! That is so crazy to think about. As I sit here it still feels like the first Monday that I sent out an email about the area. It really feels like yesterday that I stepped off the plane. Time flies so fast and it is hard to believe that I am even on a mission let alone been out for 6 months.

Sometimes it is hard to perceive the changes that have occurred since I have been out, but I really do know that I have learned a lot and have had some awesome experiences.

The last several weeks really have blurred together, and that is not a bad thing. We have all been figuring out our ways to beat the heat and not let it deter us from working just as hard as if it were super nice outside. But, the good thing is that people feel bad for us so they usually will offer us some water or something. The heat also affects those we teach because their hours are longer now and then the heats wipes them out so by the time we get over to teach someone they are so tired. It is a little rough, but that just means our teaching needs to get better.

We actually have been running into lots of former investigators, people who have previously met and been taught by the missionaries but they were dropped because they weren't progressing or whatnot. In one week we found about 4 or 5 people who were more familiar with the message than most, and a couple of those seem to be more on top of things this time around, so that is exciting.

Elder Baker and I are working hard and keeping the dream alive: Clarksville Spanish Branch 2012.

We actually had our first baptism this last Saturday, my first one on the mission. She is a super sweet lady from Cuba who already had such a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ when we met her. Her faith is so solid and she had already been studying the Bible when we tracted into her. She lives with her granddaughter's family and it took several weeks for them to feel comfortable enough with us so that they would let us come and teach her. But, from then on out she was golden. She has come to church 7 weeks in a row and is so ready for the Gospel, I am so excited for her.

A fear that I have and a constant worry for us is that the people that join the church have such a harder try staying active solely because they attend church in a ward that is all in English and the majority of the members don't speak Spanish. But, that isn't to say that their personal conversion to the Gospel isn't the real issue. So, with this lady I have been so happy to see the members rallying around her. Several of the Spanish speaking members of the ward here have supported our Spanish Gospel Principles class, have helped in lessons and rides, and have been overall a great support for her. So, that has been a highlight lately, watching everyone get involved. Because missionaries aren't always going to be there, and I feel so happy knowing that there are people who are aware of her and her needs and love her.

I am fully aware that many missionaries are able to watch someone be baptized well before their six month mark, and I am fully aware that many don't have that chance until much later and maybe some never at all. My self worth and evaluation of myself as a missionary is not 100% pegged to the number of people that join the church in my area, yes, that is the main purpose that we have, but it isn't everything. Some missionaries use that as a crutch, or an excuse to not work as hard or be as faithful, but I look at it as a learning moment for agency. Some will accept this message, and many won't. We are also accountable as missionaries, and I constantly try to reevaluate myself. But, I have learned so much. I am so thankful that I started my mission in an area that has been the least successful area with the weakest Spanish foundation in the whole mission, it has been hard, but always worth it. The challenges that I have faced and the things I have had to change about myself have resulted in me hopefully being a more faithful disciple of Christ and a better missionary.

I hope all is well and that everyone is doing alright, I love and pray for you all!

Love,

Elder St. Martin

6/11/12

Hello Family and Friends!!

Things have been silent on my end in the blogosphere lately, not for a lack of wanting my loved ones to know how I am, more so because things are super busy, even on P-Days!

These last few weeks have been awesome! This is the beginning of the third transfer now for me in the field, I am still in Clarksville, Indiana and I couldn't be any happier. This area has not always been the most golden area in the world, but Elder Baker and I are slowly starting to change that, or at least we hope! There really isn't like putting in a hard day's work for the Lord and leaving it all out on the table. Some days are more effective than others, but I am learning how to give it all I got. These past weeks have been pretty awesome though!

We are to the point where people are coming to church now, they feel more comfortable with the members and are beginning to learn more dynamically. It is so fun to watch people learn more about the Gospel and to have members get excited about the work as well.

Something that I have learned more about lately is really just desiring the salvation of others, I say that kind of flippantly, but it really is something so pivotal and something that truly can be worked on. To have the love that Christ and Heavenly Father have for these people isn't always the easiest thing, but the more I am able to really see them as my brothers and sisters, the more I want to share the gospel with them and do it naturally and lovingly.

We have continued working through the random trials here and there. Every day in a mission is a bit of a microcosm of all the things we learn while we are out here. Some days start off awesome and end off on a rough note, but more often than not a day will start out really rough and then it will all come together in the end. One of, if not the biggest thing I have learned while I have been out here, is that attitude affects everything - it seriously makes the difference. There is usually at least one thing that makes the day feel productive and worth it for me, some days way more than that, but the thing is that sometimes that doesn't happen until right before we head in for the night. So, I am positive that at the end of every day I will be happy and know we are working hard, and I will be that much more grateful, every day - without a doubt that will come. But, when no one is listening or all of our appointments fall through, it is really hard to keep a good attitude. It is an interesting conundrum, when all is said and done - we have learned a lot and helped others, we might not see all the fruits of our labors, but at the end of the day, it will be worth it. So, it really gets down to just forcing myself have a good attitude some days and waiting it out until that one ray of hope shines through.

We currently have a few different people who are progressing rather well with everything, one lady in particular is from Cuba and was never allowed to go to church while she lived there, so since she has been here she has been looking for a church. She has come to church three weeks in a row and already has such an amazing comprehension of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only a matter of time until she makes her decision to be baptized, and i cannot wait for that day. A lady in her late sixties and it has taken this long for her to really feel as if she is living up to her potential as a follower of Christ and a true believer, I just know that she is so much happier now and it makes me happy to know that.

The weather really has been great lately, it warmed up for a little bit, but we have been so lucky. We are in a car while traveling, but tracting and then trying to talk to people at parks and whatnot only becomes more bothersome when it is icky humid. So, I am way grateful for that.

Elder Baker and I are doing great and working hard. We are extremely blessed to be here in Clarksville together and I know that great things await!

Also, today is my 5 month mark! CRAZY! It seriously feels like I just got here, time flies.

I love you and and I thank you all so much for your support and your prayers! Do work and love the Lord!

Elder St. Martin

6/4/12

Hello All!

This was another great week in the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission!

The weather has cooled down because there have been some pretty nasty storms lately. Green skies is a fair sign that a tornado is coming and the skies were pretty green this last Thursday. I was on exchanges with our District Leader and it was definitely a blessing in disguise because tons of people came out to look at the sky and we ended up being able to talk to a lot of people. All was well though, it came down SUPER hard for an hour or so and a few tornadoes touched down, but that was pretty West of us.

So, the weather has definitely been a tender mercy this week. A lot of people went down to the different waterfront parks by the Ohio River, right across from Louisville, to enjoy the weather and play, so we were able to talk to tons of people this week! There is a promise that if we individually contact 10 people a day irrespective of tracting or teaching, that convert baptisms will double, from Elder Ballard. So we have been taking that and running with it.

A lady we talked to on Tuesday came to church yesterday. We got three people saying they will call us and come to church and then we had an awesome impromptu lesson from a student at University of Louisville and he will be meeting with the missionaries there sometime this week. Now, the promise is not that each of our areas will double, but the mission as a whole will. That in and of itself does not leave a whole lot of room to be selfish about who teaches who and especially for us because all of these people are English people. So, it really is helping me to evolve into a full time missionary. Especially this week I have really learned how to start a conversation with anybody about anything. And, most of the time it ends up being fun and a good talk, a lot of them are the ones who ask us what we are all about. The truth of the matter is that the more we open our mouths the more opportunities Heavenly Father has to use us, so its all about maximizing those opportunities. And, it isn't a big deal because I write a lot in my journal and so far have remembered everyone's name with who we have talked with extensively, so when baptism reports come out, at least I can see if any of these people took the plunge. It really is so exciting though. Last night Elder Baker and I were bummed out because an appointment fell through and we were trying to not be anxious for P-Day, so we lugged ourselves down to the River to talk to people. But, it was such an awesome experience. We ended up talking to like 32 people in an hour and a half, and most of those were awesome conversations. One of them asked me if we have tons of FB friends because we talk to so many people and I said that I didn't think so, but he has my name now, so i think he will add me. So, if nothing else, I will have a good FB friend base when I get home.

This week really was awesome though. I continue to really change as a missionary and sometimes I hear myself talk and am really taken aback because it does not sound like me at all.

Also, on Wednesday we saw a Beaver down by the river, that was pretty sweet.

And some kinda crazy guy in downtown gave us a tupperware container with something called "bath salts" in it and told us that he would have a lesson with us if we came by with that container sometime during the week, so that will definitely be a pretty weird lesson, but its all good - he looked pretty thin and malnourished so maybe we can get him some food or something, sometimes we just have to face that people are hungry and look like zombies. He was from Miami and said that a lot of people look like that down there but that the bath salt stuff helps out. So, even though people are kinda crazy, we gotta love them.

We are still working with Rodrigo and Esbida who have baptismal dates for the end of this month, they are pretty awesome people, but he gets plastered on Saturdays and won't wake up for church, but he told us that he wants us to be persistent with him, so we shall be persistent.

Also, a really sweet older lady named Aida who is a refugee from Cuba has been coming to church these past couple of weeks. She really loves it and we have been able to have an awesome Spanish Gospel Principles class with her and several members from the ward, they really enjoy coming in. All of them are either converts or return missionaries, so they all take their turns really being bold and telling her that this is what God wants her to do. We basically just sit back and enjoy the show. I feel strongly that she will accept everything, so I am hopeful for that time.

This is the beginning of the third transfer, Elder Baker and I are staying together. My guess is that we will be here for two more transfers together. Which means I will probably leave Clarksville towards the end of August, I would say most likely.

But, President did tell me at interviews that he has a lot riding on us up here so we are super excited for the challenge and the responsibility.

I love you all and thank you for your prayers and your support. Thank you Mom and Dad for all that you do and the packages you send and your emails.

Love you all,

Have an awesome week!

Love, Zac

5/21/12

Hello family and friends!

 

I honestly feel as if I am starting to come into my own as a missionary now! At least by way of the progression of the work and the cool experiences we are being blessed with. I am by no means anywhere close to a standout missionary, but I do feel very blessed this week.

 

On Tuesday we were really excited for a lesson because they couple was super nice and seemed excited for us to come over. When we got there we chatted for a bit and then asked them what there expectations were for meeting with us. The wife began to talk about how they had been having some issues as a family and so they have started to pray more. They had prayed to God that He would send them something so that they could better their lives and know the way that He wanted them to go. The next day we knocked on their door. At first she said she didn't recognize that as an answer, but the whole week leading up to the appointment she and her husband had been talking and waiting for us. The Spirit was so strong as she told the story and it was all I could do not to start crying. We testified that we were their answer and that we are led by the Spirit to find our Brothers and Sisters who are ready for our message. We had a great lesson with them and they understood most things really well. The reason that experience impacted me so much is because, first of all it is so cool to hear something like that. But also, I don't always feel as if I am a good missionary because I don't have any revelatory experiences while tracting telling me where to go or anything like that, but now I know a little bit better how this huge plan works out. It is daunting to know that when a great family kneels together and asks Heavenly Father to help them, that sometimes he might send us out to help them. I have never doubted the divine intricacies of the work that we do, but after that visit I felt as if we had been blessed with a tender mercy to show us that we are vindicated in what we do.

 

Also, on thursday we went on exchanges with the bike Elders in New Albany. We cover their area as well, but its always different on a bike. I was with Elder Potter for the day, he went into the MTC the same day as me, so its always fun to work with him. Last exchanges went pretty sweet, so I was excited for this one. After the last exchange, I felt like I had learned so much, and it was no different with this one. We went to go follow up with a potential investigator that Elder Baker and I had found one day in a park. Way nice guy, recognizes us as servants of the Lord, so he always likes to see us. We handed him off to the English Elders and they hadn't been able to see him. So we biked over to his apartment and he was there and let us in. He is seriously such a nice, cool guy. He had basically memorized the Restoration pamphlet Elder Baker and I previously gave him, and he was talking about how much he loved Joseph Smith for being the prophet of the Restoration - you don't hear people saying that in the first sit down lesson - I had yet to hear that from any investigator. So, we were pretty stoked. We had an AWESOME lesson, the word lesson doesn't fit, it was just a couple of guys talking. He was like a kid in a candy store, he wanted everything. He was so happy when we gave him a Book of Mormon, he said he had been searching for something like that his whole life. We continued to talk and then commited him to be baptized next month, he tearfully said yes. It was such a cool experience. He told us how much he loved us as we walked out and we stopped to offer a prayer of thanks before we headed out. First time committing someone to baptism for real, not that it is a huge deal, but it was so cool. I don't think I will ever be in a situation like that again where the investigator already has such a strong testimony of the importance of what you are saying. The rest of the exchange went pretty well, we ended up getting in the middle of a fight at the skate park, but it wasn't really anything. Some kid was mad because people were talking about him on FB. We looked a little out of place, four missionaries hanging around 30 high school kids watching a fight. But we actually has some good interaction with them before the cops got there.

 

The next day was super great too. We have been teaching a family and commited them to be baptized as well. They are so cool, they aren't super golden or anything, but they accepted the invitation to be baptized and we will continue to work with them until the date to make sure they are ready.

 

We had another Spanish fireside last night, it wasn't as amazing as the last one, but it was still way good. Always fun to see all the other missionaries.

 

This work is definitely inspired. I am so blessed to be here. It hasn't been that long and I can already see how far I have come. The Lord truly does watch after his missionaries and Heavenly Father definitely answers prayers. There is nothing I would rather be doing.

 

Thank you all for your prayers and your letters,

 

I love you all,

 

Elder St. Martin

5/14/12

 Hello all,

 

Feeling refreshed and reinvigorated after getting to talk with my family yesterday!

 

This last week was another good one. Because we have found so many people who welcome us back, we have been trying to get around and see everyone, but unfortunately this isn't as big of a priority for others as it is for us, so we have been running into a ton of missed and ditched out on appointments. That is the work, it is alright, just frustrating.

 

We started our new English class on Tuesday with new lessons and more people. It was pretty good, and more people have called since then wanting to come, so it is definitely a nice, new addition.

 

We did have a good experience with a new family we have been teaching, we already had taught them a great first lesson and commited them to read. So when we went by for the follow up lesson, we were hoping great things. Not all of them read, but some did. The one thing I was most excited to hear was how the father explained how after we left there was a "harmony" in his home that he couldn't explain, a kind of "spirit" that they haven't experienced before. We were so excited to hear that, recognizing the spirit in their home will hopefully help their family and help them read together.

 

As we find and begin teaching these people, it is so sweet to see how they can see the inherent goodness in what we we share before we even sit down to teach them. One of the things I am most grateful for here is that people really do see us as representatives of Jesus Christ. So when they slam the door, it's because they aren't willing to truly accept him yet, and when they invite us back we are so happy because we know we are probably working with someone who has a solid faith in Christ.

 

I have reached my four month mark, and I know that seems so short, but I look back at where I started and can see so many changes. A mission is so interesting. To be honest, I haven't had tons of amazing spiritual experiences, whether that is all part of the plan or me not being receptive, but I have been so impressed to see the intricacies of the plan that Heavenly Father has for us. And although nothing crazy has happened (yet) I know that, like life before and after this mission, that my mission will provide me with multitudes of tiny testimony builders and a gradual shift in the person I am. (My family might not think I am too different yet, but I feel like I am).

 

It definitely is crazy that time flies by so fast, but I am so thankful for all the many opportunities I have had thus far.

 

I hope that everyone has an awesome week! Love you all!

Elder St. Martin

5/7/12

Hello family and friends!


This has been another great week in the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission!

The weather is picking up and the work is getting pretty hot as well, hopefully we can get some people to cool off in the font before the worst of summer gets here.

We really have been hitting the pavement pretty hard these last two weeks. We have found some pretty cool people. We taught one family last week who has never talked with missionaries before (several people have, and several confuse us with Jehovah's Witness, but that's another thing altogether). We started teaching this family and it was actually probably one of the better lessons so far on my mission. One thing I really appreciate is the unity Elder Baker and I already have and the rate at which it is developing. This family is open to everything and very clearly sees us as representatives of Christ.

There are a few situations like that, so I am excited for the work here in Clarksville.

We had an awesome Stake Conference yesterday as well. All the missionaries in the Stake joined the Stake Choir for a rendition of Called to Serve, it was pretty cool. The whole conference was about missionary work and the temple. President and Sister Woodbury were there and both spoke, so it was a pretty cool conference.

We have been in a challenge the last two weeks to see who could find the most new investigators. It was split up by district and and companionship. The winning district gets a pizookie party and a pizza party, and the winning companionship gets their car cleaned, a day to blitz with the Zone Leaders, so you can cover twice as much ground, and since Fort Knox is in our mission, a set of Army scriptures with a way cool Army scripture case. So, that challenge plus the fact that this area has been SO slow really got us started off hot. I am proud to say that Elder Baker and I beat out our whole zone and Clarksville Spanish just got some pride back. Plus, our district won as well, so it is safe to say we will be having a pretty fun District Meeting soon with all of our prizes. That challenge really helped our zone as well, more new investigators were found these last two weeks than during any other two weeks in this zone.

It is weeks like this that will ensure the work is progressing well here, we don't have it super hard here, but it isn't the easiest either, so I love to see things like this happening.

There is a saying around here, DWFTB, Don't Wait For The Bishop. But, we are changing it.

DWFTB, that's what Clarksville Spanish's new motto is, Do Work, Find, Teach, Baptize.

Elder St. Martin

4/30/12

Hello Family and Friends!

This was an AWESOME week in the GKLM.

It was a little crazy getting everything together for transfers, Elder Banks two years are up, so he was getting all of his stuff together for that.

Transfer meeting came and went and we got started pretty quick.

My new companion is Elder Zac Baker from Tuscon, AZ. He is 22 years old and has 2 years at U of A under his belt in journalism. His Spanish is pretty good, so I have no fears about that. He is a hard worker and a great planner and I have already learned a lot from. We teach rather well together and haven't had many problems at all in 5 days, but we will see. He really is a great guy and very sincere and focused on the work. He has been out for 8 months, including MTC, and this is his second area.  We mesh rather well and I don’t see any problems coming up at all in the future with him, I can say that pretty assuredly right now. Same name, same spelling, same state – good deal.

It is weird to not have Elder Banks here, all I know is Clarksville with Elder Banks, but that is a mission, we’re never anywhere for too long.

We hit the pavement and got to work. Tracting isn’t fun, and we end up talking to lots of English speakers, but that’s alright, they need this too. We have been making a better effort to talk to everyone we see and from that we have gotten some good referrals for the English missionaries in our district and in turn we have had some referrals from them as well, so its all working out.

We taught more lessons this week then I ever have so far, and we added more investigators this week than this area ever has. When you get to work and focus on the people and the Gosple, the Lord will make up for the rest.

This last week I really saw how inspired this work is. Every little thing is the way it is because that is the way Heavenly Father wants it.

A few weeks ago the mother of the only hispanic family in our area, actually THE only hispanics who go to church, had a neat experience. There is a Spanish branch a ways away out in Corydon, Indiana and she had been asked to speak in church at this branch. No one told her when she was to speak so she was trying to figure out if she should go to Corydon or stay and go to Jeffersonville ward. She prayed and felt that she should stay. A little bit after that some people came knocking at her door. When she went outside she was met by two other hispanics selling tamales. She told them she couldn't buy them because of keeping the Sabbath day holy. They talked for a little bit about church and the gospel and this member got the couples' address and said she would come visit them sometime. When she told us this story we were way stoked to go with her and meet and hopefully teach this family. But, the address was written down wrong. That went cold and we wrote it off as a cool experience for her.

Fast forward two weeks. Now we are at this last Saturday night. An appointment had just fallen through, we were planning to teach a lady and we were going to have her follow us to the church and have a lesson there. A member was waiting at the church as well, so we were hoping it would go well. Well, she never showed up at her house, we waited and called and knocked. Nothing, So we let our member know he could go home and we left a bit annoyed. We have tons of places to go knock at and lots of members to see, but we decided to go to a complex that has not been tracted by missionaries in a long, long time - if ever. So we started at the back and knocked. No one really answered or they weren't interested. After about 30 minutes we heard some loud Spanish on a TV and went to that door. We knocked and it was a family watching a lucha libre fight. We explained que somos misioneros con la Iglesia de JesuCristo de los Santo de los Ultimos dias, and that we would like to share a message with them. Just like that they let us in real quick and we sat down. We asked them if they had every talked to missionaries like us and they said no. As we talked I started looking around and saw some coolers and a big pot in the corner. At that time she mentioned how she and he made and sold tamales. I let that pass by. Then she said she had met a member of our church. She struggled with the name and finally I connected the dots and blurted out her name and they said yes and we talked about her and what they had talked about.

We had a pretty simple and short lesson about the Restoration and invited them to church. They said yes. What?! Yes, wait, you just barely met us and church is tomorrow, in about 13 hours and you have lots of kids, you sure you want to come? We’re not arguing.  And man did they come. I have never had an actual investigator come to church. But they were there. It was testimony meeting, so I prayed that nothing crazy would be said. I prayed the whole meeting. That Elder Baker would do well on translation, I was struggling. They had things to do after sacrament. But they said they would come again next week. And we are meeting with them on Wednesday.

There are hundreds of hispanics that live around that area, not to mention lots of people travel for work and whatnot. And the fact that we just so happened to be there to knock on their door, and that they had met that member of our ward, and that she had felt the need to stay, and everything - is not a coincidence. It was so cool to see.

Who knows what will happen with that family, but I am excited.

Also, on Wednesday night we set up an appointment with one of the ladies from our English class, for Sunday. She had come to the charla with the huge group of people that our other investigator brought. Her husband really liked it as well. So we had a RM come with us to the lesson to. We knocked. She answered the door. Bad news: she had completely spaced about our appointment. Good news: she had a house full of people. They let us in and we chatted for a bit and then watched some futbol, but we rather quickly got into our lesson. It was awesome. Three of us, six of them. We had a great lesson on the Restoration and the BOM. There are some things that weren’t understood by everyone, but instead of us going back over it and explaining it, one of the friends jumped in and said, “no, that’s not what they are saying, what they are saying is . . . “. That doesn’t happen very often. It is a great group of people. A few of them have come to the English class, but there were a few that we have never met. We are going back next Sunday.

There are no coincidences. I know that for sure.

Missionary work is not easy. It is work. But it is a good work. The timing was just right, because we got new mattresses this week as well. So, now I know that really, really can sleep well knowing that we put in a good day.

My dad has reminded me that since I am in a car and that we have an investigator who owns a taco truck and great members, that I should watch out or I am gonna get stupid fat. Well, we now have an awesome family that makes the best tamales I have ever eaten and we found a bakery in of the downtown areas that gives us free cookies and cake and milk because we are “good people”, well I am sure they don’t give free food to all “good people”, but I will accept free baked goods any day.

The people here really are nice, some just wave us on, but the majority are very cordial and listen. Especially Hispanics, they are such great people.

We did happen to kind of get in the middle of a knife fight in one of the apartment complexes we were tracting at. I was torn between calling the police, watching with the guy whose door we had just knocked, or raising my arm to the square and testing some things out. We left our friend with a pamphlet and our number and jetted out of there. It was something I am not too used to. But, I can say that I was not impressed with the weapon selection. Such a poor choice to use a butcher knife, so much less dexterity at the wrist. The other guys’ choice of a barbeque lid as a shield was mighty impressive.  But the best was the five year old Mexican kid that ran out with a huge stick with a little rusty nail at the end. Unfortunately his mother pulled him back into the house before he could show off his skills. The real sad thing was that one of them was someone we had just talked to a few nights before, so I really hope he had that mormon.org card in his pocket when they took him to jail.

Anyway, I am sure my sweet mother won’t read down this far, so she will never know about our more “interesting” interactions with people.

I really am so thankful for all of your prayers and letters. I love you all and wish everyone the best.

Elder St. Martin

4/23/12

Hello all!

This last week was pretty good!

Monday we had an awesome P-Day as a district going around to pawn shops and flea markets and thrift stores trying to find some cool ties or some missionary treasures or whatnot. I kind of struck out, but after grubbing at Buffalo Wild Wings, it all felt better. Now, I will say this, any uneasiness I had when walking into B-dubs surrounded by countless TVs was dispelled when I saw that all they were playing was Golf TV and the WNBA draft, talk about the weakest temptations ever.

Tuesday was awesome! We had exchanged with the bike elders, so I grabbed all of my stuff and jumped on our District Leader's bike and we were off. Their area is the same as our area, we just have dibs on Spanish. So I was pretty familiar with everything. What I was not familiar with was biking, it has been several months since I have done any sort of biking, so my legs definitely felt it. I am not trying to be a wuss, they were just pretty tight. Elder Potter (my exchange comp) and I had an awesome day though. We talked to tons of people and followed up on a few referrals and then went and helped a member move. We had an awesome experience as we were walking around with the member as she was waiting for her husband to walk home. We were talking with her and we passed a lady who we hadn't thought to talk to. She turned to us and said, " thank you guys for all you do, I really respect you." We said, "Thanks!" and kept walking. HOW STUPID, right? She then said, "Yeah, I used to meet with ya'll, but I lost you". Obviously we turned around and stepped toward her, without really even thinking I semi-yelled, "Well, you found us!". She stopped, looked at us, and started weeping. Really weeping. She explained how she did not feel the Lord in her heart anymore and how she was trying to compensate for that by doing tons of service. She had a huge back and leg brace on and she said how she knew she would be perfect in heaven and how her life had been declining. We assured her of the love her Heavenly Father has for her and before we could say anything she asked us for a card. That doesn't usually happen. We left her with the bike elders' phone number and she said she would call.

In Preach My Gospel we read how the Lord is preparing people for us to teach. It says that sometimes we will find them, but they will also find us. And that is what happened that day. There were so many variables that were in play, 10 seconds later and she would have been in her car driving away. This is definitely the Lord's work.

About ten seconds after that we ran into a big dude who said, "I know somebody is gettin saved today, the Jesus Gangsters are out!" Apparently he meant us. There was a few expletives in there as well, but I don't think I should include those. He asked us to call him if we ever needed Spanish translation. That piqued my interest so I stopped and told him I spoke Spanish and we started talking. He was a cool guy. Very interesting. Now he does Spanish translation for people, but he used to be a pimp in Chicago. Real interesting. Nothing really happened with him, but our street cred is rising in downtown, that's always good.

The next day we had a good district meeting. I heard that an old investigator had a little caesar pizza eating contest with the missionaries once and that he had eaten a whole on in 6 minutes 13 seconds, so I felt the need to try and beat it. Big mistake. I got 9 minutes 56 seconds and a terrible belly ache, but everyday since then I have been training with little caesars, so we shall see. That was the highlight of Wednesday until English Class. Our English Class in Charlestown is SO packed now. We have about ten people and more on the way, it is definitely a handful. It will be very interesting to see how we handle it. We went from one lady consistently to ten people and all their children in a week, a bit of a jump.

Thursday through Friday was pretty chill, nothing really happened.

Saturday we met with a few people and helped a member with his remodel.

Sunday we were met with no investigators to church, again. But things will be changing soon, I can smell success in the air.

Today is Elder Banks' last day on the mission. He leaves on Wednesday and has a full day at the mission home tomorrow. We have transfer meeting tomorrow, so I will get a new companion and we are out the door, hitting the pavement, getting to work. I will be the experienced one in terms of the work here in Clarksville, so I am effectively "in charge", which is scary. Luckily I have a GPS now so we won't get too lost, but for the next few weeks it will be definitely interesting until my comp gets up to speed so we can be equally yolked in this mess. I am so stoked! There are some amazing things brewing. We have multiple families in the works, which is ideal.

Pray for me and my new companion, we will definitely be having an interesting week this week.

I love you all, I hope everyone has an awesome week!

Love,

Elder St. Martin

4/16/12

Another great week in the GKLM!

Last Monday we were disappointed to have our lesson cancelled with our most promising investigator family, so we ended up driving around and checking out some hispanic-heavy apartment complexes. We ended the night with some rocking chinese food and I learned that if you go in to get food right before they close, they give you the rest of everything, sweet, right?!

Tuesday we went and worked on our English class and our fliers that we are putting out for it. We will be starting a new beginner class soon so we want to be ready for that. I love teaching them English and I should probably stop soon or else I might want to do it for a career. Not that it would be totally bad, no offense to anyone on that. We had a really sweet spiritual thought on Tuesday after class about prayer and how it draws us closer to God and I could definitely see peoples' minds working. Loved it!

Wednesday we had Zone Conference, so the day was a bit shot. It was a great conference with awesome talks and meetings by President and Sister Woodbury and our Zone Leaders. After that we went out to Charlestown to teach our English class there and we were immensely blessed with some awesome tacos. An awesome investigator from there owns the only Taco Truck in the area so she always hooks us up. Class was great and she brought a friend and we ended up teaching her about the Book of Mormon and she said she would read it.

Thursday we had a great day of service at the Baptist Food Kitchen making Chicken, Ham & beans, and garlic bread. I am starting to remember lots of the regulars and the awesome ladies who work there always provide some good entertainment. After that we went to the Tornado Relief Seventh Day Adventist Warehouse. It was pretty darn slow so we left pretty soon after that and then went tracting for the rest of the night. We didn't really pick up any investigators but got some referrals for the English Elders. That is how things go here, we end up finding more English people who are interested when we go tracting and not many hispanics, and the English Elders never find anyone tracting, crazy.

Friday we had a good day full of Weekly Planning and Ward Coordination. Friday night was awesome. We found out at the last minute about a baptism going on in another ward so when we went over to an appointment we had set, that was our goal, to bring them to the baptism. This investigator is someone who doesn't have much support from their family with their progression, which is normal, and their baptism date keeps changing, so we were stoked when we got him to the baptism! It was such a sweet experience. The Spirit was so strong and when we talked to him after he said, "if it feels like that all the time, sign me up!". We are assured that he will remember that experience and peace for a while to come.

Saturday wasn't super eventful. We ran around trying to meet with people and no one was home or had time. And then we went contacting some former investigators who look like they will stay "former" and then went out to Charlestown to invite some people from our English class to the charla foganera (fireside) that was being held at the mission home on Sunday night. We went by the awesome family with the taco truck and we couldn't get out before she fed us, not really complaining. She is slowly becoming my second mother (don't worry mom, you have a clear 1st), but just because she loves to feed us whenever she sees us.

The charla is held every 3rd sunday of every month and it is a Spanish fireside. We can only go if we have an investigator there, and a rock solid member or recent convert always speaks and then it is a testimony meeting. It is an awesome activity so we spent a lot of Saturday trying to get people there.

Sunday came, investigators didn't show up for church, which was disappointing. But, we made an awesome find. We miss a lot of stuff since we drive everywhere, so when the English bike elders called us saying they just have their only Spanish pass along card to a hispanic family at a park,we jetted over. This park is amazing. HUGE! Seriously, there were hundreds of people there. And a good number of hispanics. And, apparently they hold soccer games there and street soccer matches at the tennis courts on weekends, so it was an amazing AMAZING find.

Our mission now has a standard of talking to 10 people a day, not including lessons, tracting, or normal finding activities. This standard is accompanied by a promise that Elder Ballard gave that if we did this, our convert baptisms would double. Already there have been awesome stories around the mission of golden investigators and instant baptisms being set up by making sure they hit the 10 people mark. So, I feel so much more confident in achieving that goal now. The fact of the matter is, there aren't tons of hispanics just walking around, so that park helps.

Anyway, we followed up on some invitations to the charla, and it seemed as if we were going to get jipped on that. But, we called our sweet second mother with the taco truck and she said they were coming. But they would be late because they were celebrating their daughter's birthday. But that she was bringing everyone to the charla from the birthday party. Wait, did you read that right? Everyone!
So, we went over to an amazing Spanish family's house from our ward, got a ride, and made our way to Louisville for the charla.

We arrived a little late, quickly took our seats in the back of the living room (about 50 people were there, so its pretty crammed and missionaries either sit in the back or stand in the kitchen).

After about ten minutes, our investigators came. With about ten friends and all their children. Multiple families, people! In the mission home, with 50 spanish investigators and members and almost every spanish missionary from the mission. It was amazing. As they walked up I felt so amazingly happy. Not just because this was a huge step for those we already knew, but an awesome introduction to the Church for the ones we hadn't met. But, the Spirit was very strong, and other than one old man from Cuba who had to be told to sit down because he started rambling off about assassination attempts in jails in Cuba, the testimonies were great!

Not all of those people who came loved it. Their kids were very rowdy. But all of them but one usually attends our English class, so we are in an awesome position. And, our superstar Spanish family knew one of the families that came. It was great.

I am so excited for this week and every one after it. I have officially been on my mission for three months. Time flies! There is always something more to do, so it is impossible to feel inadequate. But I know that this is our Father's business. I have only begun to scratch the surface on the insanely huge bank of tender mercies and blessings that is missionary work. One of my teachers, Hermano Pacheco, wrote me a letter before I left the MTC. He helped me out a ton in the MTC and I know that the Lord blessed me with those teachers. He told me that I would be a successful missionary. Success does not always mean baptisms, he said. Success is building friendships that last throughout the eternities.

We have had no baptisms. Not one investigator has come to church since I have been here. My Spanish falters and my teaching is far from perfect. But the Lord builds up His missionaries. Sunday night as all those people filed in, my heart was full. I kinda think that is how it will feel in the eternities, as we see those we have loved and shared the gospel file in amongst the ranks of faithful saints. It is possible that none of them will be baptized. But, for that instant, I knew what success was.

Family and friends. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the vehicle that will help you peel back all these false perceptions of reality that we have today and help you see that the Gospel is the truth. And Christ is the truth, the way, and the light. The Church is as true as the Gospel. And Christ sits at the head. Anything you do to progress His work is a deed well done. Let your light so shine and open your mouths! There are 14 million of us on this Earth that know the truth and the way, many less than that are active on their beliefs, don't hold back. Member missionary work is missionary work. Home teaching and Visiting Teaching is just missionary work to those who are already baptized. The simple joys that come from this work are out there for you to enjoy. Pray for a missionary experience and you will get one!

Is it any wonder that missionaries say and write stuff like that? We are on the front lines. We know how many blessings there are to be had in missionary efforts, and the blessing that you could be to someone else's life. Be that blessing.

I love you all. I don't know who all prays for me or what you say, but thank you and keep it up, it is more than myself out here.
Thank you for everything.

Elder St. Martin

Photos {MTC}

4/9/12

Hello Family and Friends!

Another great week in the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission!

General Conference and then Easter were awesome bookends to an otherwise uneventful week. It was still great, don't get me wrong  (I am on a mission, is there ever a bad week) (Oh, how naive I am)) but we had some setbacks this week.

Nothing too drastic, just some difficulties in getting a hold of people and schedule conflicts. That, plus a family completely disappearing off the face of the Earth, made it not the best of weeks.

We did have an awesome dinner and lesson with a great family we have been teaching. We have another scheduled tonight, so pray for us!

There really have not been any drastic changes, I know it is not a boring work, but sometimes I don't know what to write! Lame, I know.

UK won the championship, we definitely saw that, and now Indiana is rated #1 for pre season, so my area is pretty set in the sports kingdom - not that I really hear much of that anyway. The derby is coming up, so maybe we will have some cool stuff associated with that.

Although I don't have any crazy story or new development, I am still so happy and excited as ever to be out here. Time flies so fast! It has almost been a month since I came of the MTC, next thing I know, it'll be over. I really do love being out here and I love the people. It is not the easiest thing, being a missionary, but man is it worth it. The closer I come to being the truest follower of Christ I can, I grow ever more grateful for this opportunity I have to proclaim the truth. We see the Lord's hand alive and well, actively participating in furthering along His work, it is a great experience we have in helping others bring their souls unto Christ.

I hope all is well out in the world, Thank you for all of those who have sent letters and also thank you all for your prayers, love and support.

Elder St. Martin

4/2/12

Hello family and friends,

It has been yet another great week in the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission!

General Conference as a missionary was very different in that I thought infinitely more about how these messages could be applied to my investigators and others without the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. For that I loved Elder Christofferson's talk so much, as well as the Priesthood session talks. Those talks featured a lot on "rescuing" less actives and fulfilling priesthood responsibilities. There are many less actives here and we are involved in the reactivation in some of those, missionary work in and of itself is an awesome tool for reactivation of our members, but member support is always the most vital aspect of retention in this church. It is something I am learning about enacting and maintaining "real growth" in this Church. A fear I have is baptizing someone into inactivity. Not something I want to be responsible for and something I would and we are trying to prevent.

Although we had planned on 15 investigators coming to at least one session of General Conference on Sunday, we completely struck out as we sat investigator-less for four hours yesterday. Regardless, I am so incredibly for the Restoration of the Gospel and the opportunity we have to listen to living prophets and apostles.

That was the end of our week, I guess I should fill in a bit of our week as a whole.

It really was a good week. We were busy meeting and teaching new investigators and trying to build our teaching pool as well as our fellowshipping pool. The members in this area are great and we have been able to find ways to get people involved in the work, which is exciting. Also, we had to scurry around to the different buildings to set up Spanish translation for conference. On Friday we had a Leadership Training Meeting with President and Sister Woodbury. We went over and had training on a few different things.

We first took upon us a promise that Elder Ballard gave to mission presidents in 2005, that if every individual missionary spoke to 10 people a day, irrespective of tracting, teaching, or other finding activities, just talking, that convert baptisms would double. Obviously that is something we want to work for. And for us especially, I mean double 0 baptisms and you still have 0, but we could at least shoot for one!

We also went over the purpose of the Book of Mormon in the work. The whole time all I remember was that stat that Elder Holland gave us in the MTC, that less than 20% of new converts say that during their path to baptism they had a significant experience with the Book of Mormon. And, since it truly is our greatest resource and other than the Spirit, THE key converter, that is a problem. So I welcomed our training because I know how powerful the Book of Mormon is.

Also, we went over how to help our investigators get to church (or conference). Judging from our numbers we didn't internalize that too well! But, there are no excuses because the MTC trained us very well at least in the knowledge of these things, its just a different story applying them.

So, hopefully things will pick up once we start doing those things.

On another note, Elder Banks goes home in three weeks, and so that leaves it up to me to know this area well enough to make sure whoever comes in can be on the same page. That isn't an easy task. We cover New Albany, Clarksville, Jeffersonville, and Charlestown, Indiana. Thinking about how to get from point A to point B alone gives me a headache. So, it is down to crunch time to make sure that I can at least make sure we don't flounder.

The work is moving along though. I love being out here. The weather has been kind to us, it is gorgeous. And although sometimes we have insane thunderstorms, we are always in the car or at home when they are going on, so we get to watch them, and they really are way cool. The only thing that has been tripping me up is the allergies here. The Ohio River Valley is apparently one of the biggest areas for allergens and whatnot. But there isn't anything that a triple dose of Claritin can't fix.

Hope all is well with everyone. Thank your for your prayers and support. Love you all, 

Elder St. Martin