Tuesday, May 31, 2016

WEEK 27!!! Exchanges in Palmdale Times Two, Egg Roulette, and MARTHA GOT DUNKED!!!

​I almost forgot - we had a zone activity where we played egg roulette where we had to answer questions and then choose an egg that we had to smash on our heads. Some were boiled...some were raw... first person with 3 raw eggs smashed on them lost... I won, but I still got one raw egg... :) It was fun!!!

​Tacos for the road... long trip ahead...

​Me and Hna Gonzales :)

​Hnas Blau and Van der Toolen :)

What are they doing!?

Filipe, Hermana White's recent convert who baptized Martha, and Martha.

Martha after her baptism.

The people from the Arvin Group who came to Martha's baptism.

​Hnas Gonzales and Willamson, in my FIRST APARTMENT!!! :)

Us and Martha.



Meagan Martineau

May 30 (1 day ago)

Mom and Dad I just want to start off by saying how much I love you and appreciate all that you do for me! Thank you for all of your support and love!! I did get the package and I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!! I have actually been meaning to ask you for markers and keep forgetting so that was perfect!!! And the sunscreen was well needed and the shirt and candy much appreciated :) <3 And thank you for the updates of what's been going on!! I really appreciate it!!

So I have a LOT to report on this week so I will try to be brief so I can get it all in!! So we had 2 exchanges this week and a baptism!!! (That picture you got was of the lady - Martha - who got baptized and the man - Filipe - who baptized her :) It was sent to you from a member named Hermana Navarro. She is the BEST member EVER!!!! She gives us referrals for her friends ALL the time!!! One of these days one of them will want to listen and get baptized!!) 

Anyways, so first exchange was in LITTLE ROCK my first area!!!!! It was so fun to be back!!!! So the Hermanas were Hnas Gonzales and Williamson. I went with Hna Gonzales. She is a convert to the church from about 3 years ago. She is from Mexico City but has lived in California for the last 3 years, then got called to her mission in Cali!! She is really good but kind of sad. It was really hard to get her to talk or really want to do anything. I tried to be as happy as possible for her. She just doesn't seem like she's enjoying it very much. We are trying to think of ways to get her excited again :) Then our other exchange was in Esperanza which is the other side of Palmdale. So we had to drive all the way to Palmdale from Arvin TWICE this week!!! It was SO MUCH DRIVING!!!! 

Anyway after that exchange it was planning day. We got home late because of driving and had basically no time to plan!! And we were trying to plan for 2 more exchanges next week. And we have some other people that we need to prepare for baptism that we weren't able to this week because of exchanges. We were pretty darn stressed about that. That night was Martha's baptismal interview and after the interview the elders gave us blessings. This week has been really good just really stressful not having time to be in our area!!!

The next day we had exchanges with the Hermanas in Esperanza are Hnas Van der Toolen and Blau. I went with Hna Van der Toolen. She is an awesome Hermana!!! She was super sweet!! She is REALLY good with people and has a lot of faith. We have started every exchange out with a challenge to pray for someone specific to find on the exchange that will get baptized in the following month, and then we will go out and find them! All to build our faith to reap like in that talk I told you about. Well with Hnas Gonzales and Williamson it didn't happen. We all prayed and decided on someone to find but we weren't all 100% committed to finding them. But with Hnas Van der Toolen and Blau all of us were 100% committed to finding a family of 4 with some awkward 40 yr old single guy somehow related to them. That was what we prayed about and felt we could find. Well we had found some people and were having a successful exchange, but then in our last hour of the exchange Hna Van der Toolen and I stopped and talked to a lady in her garage. She was really nice but was busy decorating for her daughter's birthday party so we offered to help. She let us in and her husband gave us pizza and water. Then we set up some tables and while we did that we talked to this awesome guy in his 40s. He was single because his wife had just passed away (can you say being humbled?) and he has had and has been reading the Book of Mormon for the last 2 years and is in Ether. He was really excited to "FINALLY talk to some Mormons!!" He was REALLY cool!!! And turns out that he was the brother of the guy who gave us pizza and water. And that guy has 4 kids!! So we found a family with 4 kids with a single 40 yr old man who's their brother living with them!!!!  WE FOUND THEM!!!! And they came to church yesterday!!!!!!!!! AND they had a member present lesson with them yesterday!!!!!!! How incredible right!!!!!! Specific prayers really do work and the Lord rewards us for showing forth our faith!!! That was such a miracle!!!! So that exchange was a success!!! It was a little rough for Hna White though because her and Hna Blau were on bikes because the hermanas ran out of miles on their car so they got bikes from members. They had a lot of fun and got a LOT of sun!!!!! It was so funny to watch them ride away swerving left and right trying to ride a bike in a skirt!!! HAHA!!! I wanted to ride the bike just for the experience, but at the same time I like having AC :) #blessed :)

And then on Saturday our investigator Martha Sigala GOT DUNKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is the first investigator that I have found, taught, and baptized!!!!! With Mario I taught him all but lesson 5 (cuz I got transferred) and Ada had been taught for YEARS, we just finished the job!! But Martha is the CUTEST thing ever!!!!! She is basically blind, but she still drives to church because her punk daughter won't take her!!! She is so cute!!! She showed up late to the baptism feeling REALLY sick, like she almost went to the hospital sick. But she told us that she told her daughter "I can't go to the hospital!! I have to get baptized!!!" So she came and got baptized!!! Then when she got out of the water she said that she felt 100x better and she looked 100x better too!!!! Proof that blessings do come from doing what the Lord wants you to do!!! But unfortunately because she was late and sick and everything we didn't get a picture with her in her baptismal whites :( but we did get pictures with her afterward!!! And she was baptized by Hna White's recent convert Filipe who got baptized last time she was here!! So that was cool for her to see!!! It was such a sweet experience!!! Not very many people came to the baptism though.. but it was still sweet :)

So there was my week in a nutshell!! It was pretty crazy but a lot of fun!!! Lots of miracles, lots of love, lots of faith, lots of chuggin' along!!! But it's going good!!! I love you so so much!!!! Thank you for your examples!!!! <3

Love siempre,
Hermana Martineau <3

Monday, May 23, 2016

WEEK 26!!! 6 MONTH MARK!!! Superhero Pop Tarts, Cooler Weather, Lots of Lessons, Baptisms, and "Faith to Reap!!!"

​YAY poptarts!! (and sorry..I was still getting ready so my hair isn't done.. :) )

Super hero poptarts!!! (They were  cheaper than the normal ones!! #score)

When we try to make dinner..... #thisiswhythemembersfeedus #burntgrilledcheese #wewenthungry



Meagan Martineau

2:12 PM (3 hours ago)

Hello Everyone!!! 
To respond quickly to your emails first:
It doesn't matter which address you send it to, whichever you want :) And thank you, you're the best Mom and Dad!!! I love you so much!!!
Yes I realize I hit my 6th month mark on Wednesday! I have no idea how I feel about it. Part of me is thinking "There is NO WAY it's been that long!!!" And part of me is thinking "How in the world am I supposed to do another year of this!?" And another part is thinking "Dang it's already 1/3 over I gotta get to work!!!" I'm hoping to gain more of the first and third attitude and get rid of that second attitude I have about it. This work really is so great and so rewarding in many ways and I feel so blessed to be a part of it!! 
Here it's been a bit cooler this week. The last 2 weeks were pretty hot in the high 90s, low 100s, but this week has been more in the 70-80s which is nice!!! It's crazy though because even when it was 100 degrees outside everyone walks around with hoodies and jeans!! And I'm dying in a skirt!!! It's funny! I don't understand how they don't die of heat stroke!! I'm preparing for the summer. From what I've heard it lasts until October!! O.o
Dad, I am glad that your trip went well and that you came home safe!! And that's exciting to hear about the changes at the church there!! I love hearing about how things and people are at home!!
And I am feeling better. I called the mission doctor last week and she told me to get some mucinex so I did and that helped a lot. I still have a little pressure in my chest, but I'm not stuffy or coughing anymore :) 

So this week was pretty good!!! We taught a LOT of lessons because we have a lot of people that are preparing for baptism!! Our friend Marta Sigala is getting baptized this Saturday, May 28!!! We are so excited for her!! She is definitely one of the elect!! She has been so prepared!! She has accepted everything we taught, never doubted, and has come to church every Sunday!! Today she is having some sort of lasic (however you spell it) surgery on her eyes because she is going blind, but hopefully that will help!! We are seeing her tomorrow to see how everything went :)
Then the next weekend on June 4 we are planning to have a baptism for 2 of Ada's daughters, Roberta and Paloma. We just still need to help them understand the whole "endure to the end" part. Ada too, because some times she thinks it's ok to not go to church if she's really tired.. We have some work to do with them, but it'll work out :)
Then the next weekend on June 11 we are going to have a baptism for our friend Jessie. Remember that family I told you about a few weeks ago, Adriana Moreno how we found her and she is a member and everyone in her family is but her 10 year old son? We FINALLY got them to come to church yesterday!!! It was so exciting!!! They loved it!!! They said the group was a lot different than the building they went to in Idaho but they liked it!! So we have some baptisms lined up! Hopefully it will all work out!!! :)

So this week we found a really cool lady named Ana. It was an absolute MIRACLE how we found her!! We felt prompted to stop the car and talk to a lady walking her dog. She was so cool, until we asked her if she wanted to learn more and she said no. Then we asked her if she knew anyone that could use our message (like we're supposed to) and she said she has a friend who could use it. (PS that almost NEVER happens!!) So she gave us her friend's address and we stopped by. Her friend wasn't home, but there was a little house down a sketchy alley behind the friend's house where we heard some Spanish, so we walked back there. That is how we found Ana. She just cried and said she was praying for help and then we showed up a few days later :) We had another lesson with her and she cried again because she felt the spirit. She is in a really rough situation because of where she lives, and her work. She literally digs through garbage in apartment complexes to find recyclables to sell. It's rough. Hopefully we can help her and get her to come to church. 

So those are my updates!!! I am doing well!! Happy and healthy and working hard!!! And this week we have exchanges on the other side of the mission. We have to go to their areas and help them out because they are struggling so on Wed we are going to my last area in Palmdale/Little Rock!!! Then on Friday we are going to the other side of Palmdale to help the other Hermanas there. And it takes about 2 hours to get there from Arvin. That means we get to spend 8 hours in the car this week which means I get to drive for 8 hours this week!! O.o Wish me luck!!!

I love you all!!! Always remember the Savior and His love for you. I strongly suggest reading the talk "Faith to Reap" by someone...at a BYU devotional. It is INCREDIBLE and has really helped me learn more about my Savior and how I can trust in Him more. I am learning a lot about faith. It is incredible. I love you and hope all is well at home!!! <3

Love siempre,
Hermana Martineau


P.S.

This is an excerpt of Meagan's letter to Gage. It was powerful lesson on the Spirit, so I thought I would share:

Sometimes I see pics of you with your tag on and I think "Dang, he's a missionary!! That's so weird! He's one of those guys that rides a bike around sharing the gospel!! What a stud!!" And then I remember that I'm one of those people too... Then I feel even weirder!! And VERY inadequate, but then I remember that I can't do this work. The Lord can. I am just a tool. Sometimes I think "I need to use the Spirit better when I teach" but that's wrong. I need to let the SPIRIT use ME better when HE teaches!!! :) If I teach, nothing will happen and we'll get no where, but if the Spirit teaches, then people will accept our message!! That is a hard lesson that I am still learning. Thank you for your example of following the spirit!







Wednesday, May 18, 2016

WEEK 25!!! FREE ICE CREAM, A MAJOR CHANGE OF HEART, AND THE CUTEST OLD LADY YOU HAVE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE!!!

​This is our bread. Notice how it's in Spanish and English is like the secondary language :)
(I'm pretty sure I'm in Mexico)

​better bread pic
​ICE CREAM

​We got ice cream from an Ice cream truck for free!!! Yay missionary work!!! (yes that is SpongeBob)
​The cute family in Lamont that goes to our group that we eat dinner with every week that has that tiny house that I have to duck under to get in :) La Family Lopez <3

​Deer chihuahua....The ugliest most disgusting thing on earth....
Jk they're just weird, awkard, and annoying!! We're pretty sure that dogs in general are Satan's tool because they ALWAYS bark when we try to share the restoration!!  
​Our district from this transfer! Hna Muchmore (hna pincocks companion) and Hna Cartwright aren't in the pic because they are going home so they were at the temple and we were in a trio with Hna Pincock for the day :)

we can't get a serious pic

​so we gave up :)


Meagan Martineau

May 16 (2 days ago)

I am glad to hear that everything is going well at home!! Sounds like there have been a lot of changes in Tremonton. Some good, some not so good. But I pray for you all every day!! I am so excited for Alyssa!!! I was going to write her a letter or something for her wedding but I didn't know when it was exactly... But tell her FELICIDADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for me!! :) And tell her that I love her an awful lot and that I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE IS MARRIED!!!!!! That's SO WEIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

And I am still sick. It got a lot worse and I was pretty miserable for a few days. I feel better now, but I still have a pretty bad cough and am stuffy. I think I have bronchitis again :( But that's ok because when we talk to people and they see me coughing they all give me water, so that's nice!! ;) The people here are very caring and considerate :) <3

So this week was a pretty average week, nothing too crazy happened! Of course we see miracles every day though :) One miracle that we saw was a major change of heart. Our recent convert Ada, her daughters Paloma and Roberta have been learning for a while too but still need some time because they are young and need to be taught differently than Ada was taught. Paloma (9 yrs old) really wants to get baptized but thinks church is boring and doesn't like to go and Roberta was a total teenager, and she is only 11, and said there was no way she wanted to get baptized and that that was dumb. Well we were talking to her earlier this week about her mom's baptism and she said that it was really cool and she felt so good watching her get baptized and she wants to get baptized too. She has come to church the last 2 Sundays! Before when we would go to teach them she would leave and not want to be there, but now she is helping Paloma learn and calm down and listen to us! It is so cool! She had a major change of heart!! And our investigator Martha came to church again and really wants to get baptized!! She is so cool!! She is literally the cutest old lady you have ever seen in your life!!! (besides Grandma and Grandma Martineau, of course!!!) We are very excited!!!

Also this week is transfer week and Hermana White and I are both staying. FINALLY I get to stay in an area!! :) And we are now the only Hermana Training Leaders in the mission. We have stewardship over all of them!!! That sounds like a lot, but there are only 4 companionships besides us because there are so few hermanas in the mission!! There are sisters, but not many hermanas! So that's exciting!! And terrifying!! :) 

Anyway that's all. I love you all so much!!! Thank you for everything you do for me!!! I am learning so much!! I love my Savior Jesus Christ so much, with all my heart!!! He means EVERYTHING to me and without Him I am nothing and I have nothing. I am learning to trust in Him more. I invite you all to learn to trust in Him more as well :) <3

Love siempre,
Hermana Martineau

Thursday, May 12, 2016

WEEK 24!!! TEMPORARY COMPANION MAKES A TRIO!!! GLOWING SMILE!!!




No pictures from the Mission Field this week so you only get Skype pictures! I just love her glowing smile!!!


Meagan Martineau

May 9 (3 days ago)

It was SO GREAT to talk to you yesterday!!!! It was really good to see your happy faces!!! I love you so much!!! I feel like that was a needed push, now just pray that I don't get homesick!! I'm not now, but I don't want to be!!!! :)

My 3rd temporary companion is Hermana Cartwright. She is from Detroit, Michigan, so I don't know that you'll be able to go to her farewell... :( But she is awesome!! We are learning a lot from her!! Especially because she has been an Hermana Training leader as well so she has been able to fill us in on all the other hermanas that will be under our stewardship next transfer and give us tips on how to even be a training leader!! Because we were just sort of throw into all of this :) It's been really good :) We have been thinking about and listing all the ways that Heavenly Father perfectly placed all of this that is happening together. He really is smart and knows what He's doing!!! :)

And that is awesome about Morgan and Linnea!!! Keep me updated on them and Laura and everyone as we go!! It's fun to hear about other missionaries I know :) And that is too bad about David :( He has been in my prayers, but now I know what to pray about so thank you for the update :) I know everything will work out with him! He is a great guy!! A stud!! (tell him I said that ;) ) And I will ABSOLUTELY speak Spanish to you and to everyone I can when I get home!!! :) I don't want to lose it!!

This week has been good!! We got our new companion on Wednesday after our first MLC (missionary leadership conference). They spent the night at our apartment and then we dropped her off at the mission office on Thursday. It is a little weird adjusting to a trio, but it has been going well!! We taught a LOT of lessons and we got our new investigator Martha to come to church yesterday!!! She is a little old lady who is losing her sight and can't read, but she really wants to learn and LOVED church!!! And yesterday was when Ada got confirmed, so we explained to Martha that that's what was happening and she was so excited for Ada!! It was so cute!!! We have high hopes for her and her daughter :)

Everything is going well and I am doing well :) Learning a lot and still have a lot more to learn!! I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for everything that I have!! And thank you Mom and Dad for everything that you do for me!! You are the best!!! Thank you for teaching me the gospel!! It is truly the greatest gift!!! (well along with agency, our physical bodies, the ability to repent, etc. Isn't Heavenly Father just so great!? Always blessing us!!)

I love you all so much!!!
Love siempre,
Hermana Martineau

Monday, May 2, 2016

WEEK 23!!! "WE CAN FORM A RAMA (Branch)!!!" NO COINCIDENCES IN THE LORD'S WORK!!

ADA's BAPTISM!!!!!!!! That's her husband next to her :) Hopefully he'll be next ;)
One of our member's houses that I have to duck to get into <3

The ducking house!

Ada and her aunt getting ready to get dunked!!!

​JUST FOUND OUT WE"RE GOING TO BE A RAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (yes Hermana White is wearing Hermana Pincock's nametag - she forgot it at home and we were in Bakersfield for the baptism so we ran to their apartment and she borrowed her spare one :) )

Yes that's salsa, yes I eat it, yes I like it.....no, it's not very spicy... but it is a little bit!!!

My AWESOME Comp Hermanan White

Sunset rain and a tree!

Meagan Martineau

3:15 PM (7 hours ago)

Hello Everyone!!!!!

Thank you for all the hellos that you give to my mom, and Mom, thank you for forwarding them on to me :) Dad, thank you for the email and for sharing your testimony about how God works. I have a little story about that later in this email :)

I am so excited to get to talk to you next Sunday!!! So we will be going to a member's house to use their computers and iPads. We know where we're going, so that's all worked out :) We will be talking at 7:00 pm your time, I hope that works!! And it will only be about 30-45 minutes long. I don't know if they have facetime on their devices, if so I will use that :) Just have them both ready to go I guess!! But apparently we will call you Sunday morning for final details, just a quick, here's what's going on phone call. I don't know when exactly or how that will work, so just be ready to answer the phone Sunday morning and then to talk at 7 pm. :) 

So Ada got baptized yesterday!!! It was so good!!! And her family came too!! We are hoping and praying that her baptism will soften the hearts of her husband and 2 daughters that don't want to be baptized. One of her daughters does want to be baptized so we will have to teach her and see how that goes :) We are so excited!! It was such a nice baptism!! She was baptized at the same time as her aunt who was taught by our zone leaders and who was married at the same time as her as well!! It was such a nice service!!! 2 more souls saved :) I love this work so so much!!! There are miracles just flying around everywhere!!

So at the baptism we were talking to someone from the Stake because a man - priesthood holder - was at church today in Arvin that hasn't been there before. Turns out he just moved here and is our 4th Melchizedek Priesthood holder!!! Ya know what that means???????? WE CAN FORM A RAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Branch) We are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!! Hopefully we will be able to get our own building soon instead of using an old Veteran's Post with American Flags everywhere!!! There are NO coincidences in the Lord's work!! 

Also so the other day we were walking down the street and there was a lady so we stopped and talked to her. Her name is Adriana. We found out that she is a member and her whole family are members but they haven't been to church for 5 years because when they moved here 5 years ago they never knew where the church was. So we told her and she was really excited!! Then we found out that her 10 year old son is not baptized so we are teaching him now and he has a baptismal date for May 28!! We are super excited!!! The family is so cool!!! Except for the fact that they said they were coming to church and we stopped by their house before church and they said they were coming and then they didn't come.... That's the thing about Latinos. They lie. Right to your face with no guilt or shame. It's kind of frustrating sometimes because they just tell you what you want to hear... Oh well, we'll figure it out :) And that family that we found that was our dream family from exchanges actually isn't our dream family..... They are really cool and will let us in and share our messages but we're not sure if they're willing to change or not... We'll have to see how it goes this week... Pero, we did find our real dream family through that family that we thought was our dream family!!! It's their next door neighbor that has all the same family qualifications!!!! And the daughter is a member!!! Her brother is so cool and SO READY!!! He already believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet!! He may not understand what that means, but that's what we're here for, to help him figure that out!!! It's funny how the Lord works sometimes!! He doesn't always give us exactly what we want, we have to work for it a little bit, but we did and we are seeing the fruits of our labors!!! There are so many cool things happening here in good 'ol Arvin!!! I love this little town so much and all the people in it!!!

I am very sorry to hear about what happened... I will definitely keep them all in my prayers. Not going to lie, I did cry when I heard about it, but I will be fine. I just hope that everyone else is ok. Please send them all my love, especial to the Burn family <3

I love you all so much!!! I know the church is true!!! God loves us!!! Never forget that!!!
Love siempre,
Hermana Martineau <3