WEEK 31!!! FOCUSING ON THE SAVIOR AND GIVING UP A GOLDEN FAMILY!!!

The family we turned over to the English Elders.

Meagan Martineau	2:30 PM (5 hours ago)

YAY FOR RYAN AND NICOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Ryan for telling me!!!! Mom, you were very subtle!! ;)

I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sad I won't be there when he/she is born, but I'm excited to FINALLY be an aunt!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to be one of those really old aunts that's forever older than the niece/nephew!!! Tell Hailey and Rhett to get crackin too!!!! ;)

So honestly I can't even remember anything super significant that happened this week.... It was just kind of an average week of talking to people. Nothing super exciting or funny happened! We actually gave up our family of 11 (8 kids, 2 parents, and the uncle) to the English Elders because they preferred English even though they are fluent in Spanish.. So we handed them off on Saturday. They are all SO CUTE!!!! We got some pictures with them. And they were playing outside with waterguns so they squirted our car clean for us!! They did a better job than the stinky quarter-taking car wash in Arvin!!! We are sad to not be teaching them anymore, but we know they are in good hands!!! They are going to be STUD missionaries one day!! ;) Then we found some cool people this week and had to drop some of them because their families didn't want them to learn... It's sad sometimes when that happens, but one day they'll be ready!!!

Thank you for your updates on life!!!! That's what I love to hear about!!!! The silly fun things you do and how things are going in crazy fun 'ol Tremonton!! It's actually funny because I was just going to email you today and ask about Emilie, Taryn, and Morgan!!! I get Linnea's emails so I kind of know a little bit about her life :) But ya I would love to hear about what they're up to!! And Kelsie, too!! :) And how's everyone else over there? How's the ward and everything? :) 

Sorry I really don't know what to write cuz nothing really happened this week!! Oh and Jessie and his family have been avoiding us... We'll set up appointments, then they won't open the door or won't be home.. We don't know why. The daughter Juanita is still cool but the rest of them not so much.. We don't know what to do...

So ya, that's my update!!!! I love you all so much!!! This transfer I am making working on really focusing on the Savior and trying my best to act as though He was standing with me at all times. I have been able to feel His love for other people a lot stronger this week as I have done that. He really LOVES everyone SO much!!! And I love Him SO much!!!! 

And I love YOU all so much!!!!!!!!!!! <3

Love siempre,

Hermana Martineau

WEEK 30!!! Trip to the Los Angeles Temple, AWESOME New Families to Teach, and Thank You Fairview 1st Ward Primary!!!

My District

Our Trip to the Los Angeles Temple

Meagan Martineau	3:17 PM (5 hours ago)
to me, Lynn

First off: Mom, why did you send a pictures of a mug about being a grandma????????? Was that just because, or do you have some news to tell me!?!??!!?!??!??!?!!!

And yes, our week was very full, like always!!!!! And no, it didn't work out with Jessie... We went by for our appointment, knocked, they were obviously home, and didn't answer the door. Then we called them and said we were outside and his mom Adriana told us that Jessie's dad doesn't want him to be baptized just yet. She eventually opened the door and let us talk in person. We can still teach him and they are still going to come to church (but they didn't yesterday which was annoying because we even got them a ride set up and they weren't home) but his dad doesn't think he's ready. Personally I just think his dad isn't ready. His dad won't meet with us, whenever he sees us he acts really nervous and runs away, he won't come to church. or anything. He is a member but when they moved here he started drinking and smoking again so I think he feels guilty. So no baptism this weekend, but sometime!!!

We have been blessed a lot this week with finding families to teach. So a friend of Hna White's sent her a talk that was given to the Los Vegas West mission and IT.IS.INCREDIBLE. It goes over EVERY aspect of the work and how to be better with EVERYTHING. He is VERY bold and it is VERY spiritual. We have been reading it together every  chance we get in the car and right after nightly planning for a few minutes. It's really long but it has changed EVERYTHING. How we teach, how we study, how we think. It has really helped me put into perspective my purpose as a missionary. I have learned that there is SO MUCH I need to improve!!! So we have been changing a lot this week and the Lord has been blessing us IMMENSELY!!!!!! We found a few families, together that we got to teach this week. There are 2 really promising ones. One of the families is a family of 10!!!! A husband and wife with 8 kids!!! They are a joined family so the parents are young and the kids ages are 12,11, 10, 10, 9, 8, 5, and one month!!!! We taught all of them together twice!! They all read in the Book of Mormon, even the kids!!! They didn't make it to church though because it was Father's Day, but next week!!! The other is a family of 5. The dad Manny is SUPER curious and is like analyzing the Book of Mormon. It is good that he is reading, but we're just trying to get him to focus on testimony and the spirit rather than facts about when and where things happened, which is what he is really focused on now. He has a LOT of questions, which is good though. His wife Martha is very accepting though :) So I can't remember if I wrote about this or not, but on April 20 or 30, something like that when we had our very first exchange with Hnas Williamson and Perry and we prayed to find a family of 5, 2 kids baptismal age and one almost there, like 6-7 years old, 2 boys, one girl, that the dad would doubt and have questions, while the mom would be really accepting?? Well I have still had them in my mind and occasionally would pray to still find them. And we found them!!! That is the exact description of Manny's family!!!!! And we went to his house at 3, and when we initially prayed we felt that we would find them around 4pm!!!! It was such a miracle!!!!

So this week has been really good!! There have been ups and downs, but that's life right!! And last week on Tuesday we got to go to the LA temple!!! It was so pretty!!!! It's BIG too!!!! There are a LOT of different rooms you get to go into and all have really pretty paintings everywhere!! It is gorgeous!!! The spirit was very strong and I received some answers to prayers I was having so that was great!!! I LOVE the temple and for the opportunity we have as members of Christ's TRUE church to go and serve there!!!! It was wonderful!!!!! I really do love to see the temple, and I have gone inside and covenanted with my Father, and I couldn't be happier!!! ;) (get the reference)

I love you all so much!!! Thank you for everything!!!! <3

Hermana Martineau <3



P.S. I took some nametag pics at the temple but they're blurry because my camera is bad with words...

WEEK 29!!! Mariachi Band, District Activity, and the Lord's Sweet Protection of Two Dear Hermanas!!!

​We ran into a MARIACHI BAND heading to play at a party!!! HAHA!!! SO COOL!!!!!

​my district! :)

​Pretty flowers in Bakersfield :)

The car after driving through a field and almost dying,.... But we're all ok!!! :)

​mmmm smells good!!!

​yikes....

​District activity last Monday, we filled up this trashcan full of water and used it for water guns to play capture the flag with water!!!

​We filled bowls with water and dumped them into the trashcan!! HAHAH!!

Meagan Martineau	Jun 13 (1 day ago)
to me, Lynn

To answer your questions: Sorry I don't have a name tag pic yet.. Yes I got the package from the mailbox this morning (it probably came on Sat. though) and I LOVE IT!!!!!!! It is SO CUTE!!!!! Tell all the kids that I am very grateful for that and tell them good job on their Spanish!!! Su espanol es bueno!! ;) It was a very fun surprise :) And tell them all Os amo, or Les amo mucho!!! :) And I got your letter last week too, and thank you for it!!! I haven't been able to read the talk all the way through yet. I read a little here and there during lunch breaks, but there isn't much time for that!!! :) But it's good though, it's less time to think about myself, and more time to think about others and Jesus Christ.

Something that I have really been learning and trying to apply recently is really how important Jesus Christ is in our lives. Everything we do is in direct correlation to our love for Him. If we love Him we will be obedient. If we don't love Him, we won't be. The more we love Him and the more converted we are to Him the less we will think of ourselves and do more for others, just like He did. It all correlates to our love for Him. I am so grateful the knowledge I am gaining about that. I learn so much every day!! The other day we had exchanges again with Hermana Perry and Hermana Pincock. I went with Hna Pincock and we went to their area, which is my old area. So I was in my old area with my old companion! It was awesome!! But it was kind of hard because Hna Pincock is having kind of a hard time. She's been kinda sad, but I talked to her about how I have over come my hard times so far on my short time out. And the best treatment I have found really is to forget myself and go to work. Think about others, think about Jesus Christ, and the sadness just goes away without even thinking about it! Then during companionship study during the exchange we sang "Grande eres Tu" (How Great Thou Art) and it just hit me so hard. I felt the spirit so strong and started crying a little because I was just thinking about how much Jesus Christ really does love us and all that He and our Loving Heavenly Father have given to us. It was such a sweet moment. Then I shared what I felt with Hna Pincock. Now I just gotta hope and pray that she will focus on Jesus Christ too :)

So that was (one of) my Spiritual exerience(s) this week. My sad story of the week: Satan is a JERK!!!! Sunday morning we called Jessie's family to make sure they had a ride to church and we lost service because we were coming back from Bakersfield because I had to play piano in the La Cresta ward. We waited a few minutes then called again. When we called Juanita answered and said that just 5 minutes ago her cousin came and took Jessie to Bakersfield and their mom got called into work that morning, and she was home alone babysitting someone's baby. So none of them could come to church :( That means that Jessie can't get baptized this weekend... So it'll have to be the 25th of June, but that's ok because he will still get baptized!!! :)

Funny story of the week: I got bit by a tiny pregnant chihuahua dog!! We had talked to a bunch of rude people ALL day and I got my first first door slammed in my face! (I've had them shut, but not slammed!) Then we went to our last house which was a potential before we headed up to Tehachapi for the night. We knocked, they also were not interested and not super nice, then as we walked away their tiny chihuahua dog bit the back of my ankle and made me bleed down into my sock!!! It was crazy!! But kinda funny!!! :) 

Scary/Tender Mercy story of the week: We almost got into what could have been a fatal car crash, but all is well!!! No se preocupen!! We were coming home from Lamont where we had dinner with a member on a 55 MPH road and the car in the other lane decided to turn left IN FRONT of us and decided to use our lane as a left turn lane before he turned!! So I had to swerve the car off the road to avoid getting hit and we were IN a field driving through plants!!! But the car stayed perfectly smooth and controlled until the car turned and we could get back on the road. It was REALLY SCARY and the other car didn't slow down or anything, but the Lord controlled our car and kept us safe, and the car safe!! There is no damage on the car, which is weird because we drove through some pretty rough stuff for a minute there, but all is well!! The Lord protected us, once again :) He is so great!!! :) But don't worry, that's the only close call like that that's every happened, so it's all good!!! :)

I love you all so much!!! I hope you have a great week!! Remember Jesus Christ ALWAYS!!! (you promised you would at baptism ;) ) I love you!!!

Love siempre,

Hermana Martineau <3

Oh ps today isn't pday this week, we did get to email like normal though, but tomorrow is our pday because we are going to the temple!!!! YAY!!!!!!

and PPS HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THURSDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND HAPPY FATHER"S DAY ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

WEEK 28!!! THE "WEED" PLANT, MELTING, MORE EXCHANGES, MORE BAPTISMS, AND 45 PEOPLE AT CHURCH (UP FROM 12)!!!

​Why is this weed plant here!?

I'm melting!!!!!

But seriously though, I'm gonna die here!!!

​My current zone - the East Bakersfield Zone, aka the best zone in the world!!!

​Hnas Hansen (far right) and Badger (in yellow)

​What you do when it's 110 out... buy a gallon of water to drink :)

(this was on the way home from exchanges in Lancaster. It was SO HOT!!!!)

​WATER!!!!

​Ahhhh......

​Roberta (taller girl) and Paloma (next to the guy) Guy, Hno Rodier, and their mom Ada!!!!

​<3

​They got DUNKED!!!!

​Us saying good bye to our new recent convert family after their confirmation. They are leaving for a trip for 2 months. (ps this was taken in the "church" where we have service!! Like the USA stuff all around!! HAHA!!) :) <3



Meagan Martineau
to me, Lynn, Gage
WOW it sounds like a LOT is going on at home right now!!! I actually have been missing the sheep too, believe it or not!!! I even miss those crazy, silly kids running around the barn!!! That has always been such a big part of my life and something that I have taken a lot of pride in doing. I do miss it, but I can take a year off ;) (sorry Mom!!!) Tell all the kids and their parents a big HOLA for me!!! :) I am so sorry you had to shear all those sheep Mom!!! :/ It's a LOT!!!!

This week has been HOT. H.O.T. HHHHHOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT. 3 days this week it was 110, and on Thursday it was 115!!! I have a picture to prove it!!!! (and don't worry Mom, I'll try to get a nametag pic soon) It is SO HOT here!!! It just feels like an oven! Everything just radiates heat!!! Yikes!!! But thank goodness we have a car!!! Isn't Heavenly Father the best!? :)

So I read your email before Gage's, like always so I still don't know about all that yet, but hopefully I will in just a few minutes!! And thanks for the update on everyone, especially David!! Does he have a job now or is he still looking? I will continue to keep you all in my prayers!!! <3

So this week was really crazy but really good!!! We had a double baptism on Saturday!!! Roberta and Paloma, Ada's (our recent convert) kids got baptized!!! It was such a sweet experience for them!! You just see it on their faces when they came out of the water that they were so happy!! Especially Roberta, who did NOT want to get baptized at first!!! They really enjoyed it and so did we!!! And that less active family that we found that I have been telling you about, Adriana and her kids, went to the baptism too!! They LOVED it!! The 16 year old Juanita said that it reminded her of her baptism, and Jessie, the son who isn't baptized isn't scared anymore to get baptized and is really excited now!! He was supposed to get baptized this coming Saturday, the 11th, but they didn't go to church last week so he has to wait until the 18th, but they are all excited for him and so are we!! The Lord is so great to us and is blessing us so much here in little Arvin!!! Yesterday at church there were 45 people at church!!! President Wilson told us that if we work hard and have "the faith to reap" that there will be 100 souls at church at the end of this year!! We're about half way there! So we have some more people to baptize and more families to reactivate!!! But it will be good!! I know that Heavenly Father will keep helping us as we do our part. He is so good to us!!! I just love Him SO MUCH!!!! And I love you all SO MUCH too!!!! 

So funny story of the week: one morning we smelled something really nasty in our apartment and couldn't find out what it was. But it was time to leave so we just left. When we walked outside of the apartment we found the smell....a GIANT weed plant.... weed as in marijuana.... it was our druggy neighbor's plant!!! And it was by our door!!!! We didn't know what to do with it so we just took pictures of it with a Word of Wisdom pamphlet, put a picture of Jesus on our door, and it was gone the next morning :) Hopefully our neighbors are ok.... Yikes...

And we had exchanges again this week!! This time in Lancaster with Hnas Hansen and Badger. I went with Hna Hansen. She actually came out with Hna White and I came out with Hna Badger, so that was kind of funny!!! She is such a cute girl!! They both are!! They do need some help, as we all do, but we worked with them. Also the zone leaders down in Palmdale had a training with them and the other hnas on that side of the mission right after exchanges.. well it was kind of during, but it all worked out. And after a week of finding ZERO new investigators and finding 3 with us on exchanges, after that training and everything they found 4 new on their own!!! So that was SUPER exciting!!! Hopefully they'll continue improving!!! I love this opportunity to serve!! It is really scary, especially when we have to make corrections (which they encourage that we do) but it is such a great learning experience!!! I just love the Hermanas and I learn so much from them!! I love exchanges because then I learn so much about how I can improve. We're supposed to teach them how they can improve, but I always feel like a learn a lot more than they do!! (maybe that's why I was called to be an STL, who knows!) I'm just really grateful for all that I have. :)

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

Love siempre,

Hermana Martineau

(PS I have been trying to write a letter for the past 3 weeks now... I just haven't had time... :( but I will get one to you ASAP!!) <3

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