Back to BYU - but don't worry! It's my Mission area, I haven't copped out!
Dear Friends and family,
Well, it's crazy how much one week can contain: Thus ends my first few days in the field! It has been quite interesting to see how everything gets set up, but the end message is that all is well! I have been assigned to the Provo BYU Spanish Area, which means I cover 25 YSA Stakes and a couple other in Provo, amounting to a few hundred wards or so.
My companion is Elder Rivera from Mexico, and he is the bomb.com. He is from Mexico and actually went to Benemerito, the school that was turned into the CCM, and has been in the field 10 months, and as such will hit his one year mark training me here in Provo, where he has been for the past few months. He, of course, is a native Spanish speaker, which has really helped my own Spanish, but he also speaks superb English after only being here 10 months, his first time in the states. We get along really well, and I think by the end of my 12 weeks of training he will be one of my best friends in the Mission. He is a hard worker while still having fun, an obedient missionary without being ridiculous, and a powerful teacher (in both English and Spanish) despite his immense humility. I am set.
Provo itself is awesome, and though it is odd at times to be teaching people (as we often do) at the building I had church in this summer, or to see people I know (the list right now is Carter, Mallory, Angie, Traci, Dane, Kaelin, and I think Sydney) or to just walk on campus in general (we actually use computers for email or Facebook lessons in the BYU Library), I love serving in Provo. We have already taught some 25 or so missionary lessons since I came! All with wonderful people. Most were in Spanish, of which I understood the majority of what was said and followed the conversation, as well as being able to make my own comments here and there, though some are in all English (because they want to learn/practice) and some are mixed.
Either way it has been great, we have some phenomenal investigators and recent converts that are just wonderful people. Oscar Corredor, for example, was taught by the Elders for some months now until he was dropped because he wasn't progressing. However, as he had always done even when he didn't keep up with other commitments, he went to Church last Sunday and during a primary program heard a little kid testify "I know God lives and has a plan for me, because he loves me." Oscar went straight to the bishop mid-meeting and asked to be baptized, the spirit had given him all the answer and witness he needed from this child's words. And so, Elder Rivera baptized him two days ago and we confirmed him yesterday. Absolutely amazing experience, and one that I was very lucky to get to ride with. Indeed, I certainly came into a lot of wonderful situations that I did not work for, but I feel like it is a good chance to get my feet wet before I start seeing the fruits of my own labors.
One of such is Yolanda Sanchez, an 85 year old great grandmother from Chile who we are teaching now. She will be baptized on the 19th. We taught her the second lesson a few days ago, so I feel like I'll have sufficient claim to call her one of mine. But really, I already have so many stories to tell of wonderful people we've met and are teaching, I just simply don't have the time. But Provo is good, the cold is not bad at all, and when it snows every now and then (just falling out the sky, hasn't stuck yet), I occasionally start laughing like a little kid. Woe unto those I know who I see when the first snow actually comes, I will be the Snow Ball Master by the time I am done here.
But yeah, things are great! The other Elders in our district teach in Asian languages (yeah, most of them - that's right), and they are great guys, we're gonna play bowling and monopoly with them simultaneously today. For Halloween we had to go to a Chapel to just have fun, because people dress up like missionaries here as costumes, and President McCune (who from my 6 minute interview with him is a really solid guy) wisely called it better safe than sorry. So, we just watched Ephraim's Rescue and carved pumpkins together. It actually erased the few remaining doubts I had about people saying that you actually had fun on a mission-- like a laughing, enjoyable great time fun.
We get our own Ipads here! So, we can thus carry both our Spanish and English scriptures (and basically anything else the church has published) plus our Area book/daily planner app all in one little board. We also use Facebook to teach people anywhere in the world, and slowly but surely I am starting to get a grasp of how to use it as a missionary tool (which is all it is by the way, don't expect any personal messages or pictures from there).
My companion, Elder Rivera, is the District Leader. Since we cover the whole of Provo basically, we have a car, which I may regret 30 pounds later - thank goodness for early morning exercise time. But yes, I have been feeling the Spirit already as I am serving people here and I can only say that this will have to be a drop in a bucket compared to what's coming. This mission is going to be like nothing before in my life. By the end of it, I'm sure it will seem like this first week was just yesterday though. Crazy how the time will fly.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and please know you're in my own. I can't guarantee fast responses, but please send me anything that's going on with you and I'll get to it.
Loving the Mission and Life,
Elder Martin
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