Hello everyone and Merry Christmas!
I won't get many chances to say Merry Christmas, so I'm doing it now! Things are wonderful down here in Provo, and the snow just makes it better! That's right, there has been snow on the ground all week and I am proud to announce I am both loving it and not too cold (Granted, we have a car, so w we'll see how a walking area treats me later). The week went well though. Our last p-day we went ice skating at 7 Peaks and I only fell twice. Pictures to accompany.
After ice skating, we had a lesson with Toree Coleman, who has been struggling a lot recently and has definitely felt the strong pull of the adversary on her in light of her upcoming baptism this Saturday. However, she has gone through the repentance process sincerely and after another lesson or two and her baptismal interview, she is still on track to be baptized on the 14th. Way exciting! On a side note, we were at her bishop's home setting up details for the baptism one night, where all the bishop's children and grandchildren were staying, when Santa came to pay the kids a visit! It was so fun to see a family and little kids all excited together about Christmas, and it was fun to be the Elders in this situation--finally being in the shoes of the many Elders we have had in our home around Christmas time.
The day to day things this week involved several "last appointments" since people are already preparing to go home for Christmas, and thus we won't see them again until next year. We've done this with Felipe, Alejandro, and Desiree already, and are bound for a few more next week. With all of them this trip will likely prove a catalyst point to them, since they will either slip off the commitments they have made or hopefully try on their own to bring the Spirit into their lives. Either way, we'll be praying for them especially during this time and by the end hopefully more change will come from it. In fact, it may be just what we need to shake things up a little with some of them.
Otherwise, we did a handful of snow shoveling activities, which I was so stoked for because I can never get enough service and people didn't take up our leaf-raking offers as much as I would've hoped. Luckily, when it snows, service seems to fall right out of the sky, and I am already convinced from my limited snow experience that shoveling someone else's snow for them is the best way to get warm, period. Plus, I actually quite enjoy it. There's something gratifying about shoveling snow that's different from other activities. Elder Rivera and I want to get our own shovels soon so we can ambush unsuspecting people's homes with a cleared pathway, I'm so excited for it. Good stuff comes out of these service projects too: while we were shoveling for the Minonds, a family from Chile who owns the Pantrucas restaurant in North Provo on Canyon Road by Days Market (so flipping good, all of you need to go there, we get free lunch every week. Tell 'em Elder Martin sent you, haha) we got an offer for dinner by the lady that lived across the street. In the course of a wonderful dinner we not only found out that he was the Bishop of a YSA ward of four of my friends (Traci, Cassidy, Micah, and Ephraim), but also that they had lived near Mom's family in Cairo many years ago, and that they knew my mom and aunts and uncle and grandparents. They attended the same LDS branch in Cairo in the 80s. The world only gets smaller when you're a member! A picture with Bishop and Sister Riley included below.
By far the highlight of this week was the baptism of Angel Corona. Elder Rivera baptized him, and I confirmed him yesterday, and both were wonderfully sweet experiences and powerful reminders of how simple yet deep these ordinances and the gospel are. It was also reaffirmed to me when I saw him reading the hymns before the service began just how genuine he was about everything, but especially about the gospel. He is a well-liked guy, and had a good turn out at the baptism. He will be well supported in this momentous step in his life. He certainly felt the power and witness of the Spirit. As I mentioned before, he is from Sonora, Mexico, and came up to the US for work, but felt a particular draw to Utah, though he did not know why. His friend Kianna from the Mexican Restaurant in Lehi where he cooks first suggested that he take the missionary lessons. Angel started meeting with Elder Rivera a month or so before I came. Kianna has since left on a mission of her own, but Angel was still quite up for learning, as he felt that things were true and especially that they were good, as in sound, correct things for our lives. His conversion has been one that been laid out by the Spirit all along the way, and he will be a tremendous influence in the lives of many, I'm sure. His confirmation was particularly poignant for me, as I had spent two days trying very hard to be extra clean and spiritual to not impede the Spirit and to be able to assist The Lord in Angel's life. I felt the spirit tremendously and in a particular manner I had never felt before during the confirmation, and although I sound like a broken record, I won't hesitate to say once again that I love the Priesthood. And that being a missionary is amazing, and one of, if not the best, decisions of my life. I must say though, I feel bad for those not called to Provo, because they must know that their mission is just not the best, haha.
As a word of parting, thanks so much to the Katy 3rd Ward youth for the Christmas Care Package, it was wonderful and the letters were lovely. Thanks also to Grandma Wadley for the Christmas Tree! We set it up in true Charlie Brown Christmas fashion. And especially thanks to everyone for all your prayers for me and missionaries in general around the world as we saw given in the wonderful Christmas broadcast yesterday. Please know that the prayers do not go unnoticed and that we all are striving to do our best with them, and I am no exception.
And to end with a warning, please know that my snowball threat is ever more real now that there is snow on the ground. I WILL throw snowballs at you if I see you, whether or not you are aware I'm there. Don't take it personally, but I just can't peg any old person. Equally however, I will feel slightly offended if you say hi to me and don't throw snowballs at me. This is a fair exchange here people. But in the mean time, as was so well repeated at the Christmas Devotional, Here's to Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men!
Happy and warm,
Elder Martin
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