Last. Crazy. Week.

At about 10 at night I got an email from Sister Martin, unfortunately I didn't check my email until midnight but I got this email...

                         My mission president gave me permission to email right now and I sent
 an email to mom, but I don't know if she is awake or not..... Will you let her know that I have emailed and to check it? Thanks! I love you. Email me when you get this. I have maybe 5 minutes.

 Sister Kelly Martin

And then during the regular scheduled Monday Pday time, this was sent out.

                          Hello, so this week has been crazy. On Thursday, we got a call from President Samuelian during our daily planning session. He told me that he felt prompted to look at the departing missionaries for the next two months and he noticed that my date to leave was in the middle of the transfer. So he called and told me to think and pray about going home in 5 days or 47 days. Well after a sleepless night, I received the answer to go home. Things have been crazy but good since then. Sister Ure will be teaching a new missionary here in Willamina! I will be home in 2 days. 

We have seen so many miracles since then. I know that my father in heaven is so aware of me. I am grateful for all that He has given me, especially my family. You have all been so supportive of me. Thank you so much. I love you! See you on Wednesday!

Sister Kelly Martin

Zone Pday in Lincoln City

We hiked Cascade head today. I ate some salmon berries, A.K.A. golden raspberries. Today was quite fun! I love you all lots!

Sister Kelly Martin

I love pictures like these!!!

BIG GROUP!!!

Miracle of the week.

Finally words this week! -Stacy

We went to go contact a referral given to us by other missionaries and we couldn't find the address. We stopped at a house and a couple looks the address up on the computer and they couldn't even find it, but they found a similar address. We went there and talked to a little boy who didn't know the guy we were looking for. How mom came out and didn't know him either. She asked what church we went to and we told her that we are missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She said her husband was a member, so he came out and we talked to him. He gave us information to get his records transferred into the Ward and he is going to let us practice teaching the lessons on his family! No one is a member but him and they have 5 kids. We are so excited to teach them. I love you all!

Sister Kelly Martin

They are giving these away as birthday presents and I won't be here
for my birthday but I really want one! (OSM Temple Recommend Holder)

All pictures for the GRAND PIX.

On this day, I literally only got pictures, but they're AMAZING pictures! I'm jealous that I'm not there in Oregon surrounded by the beautiful scenery!!!

Literally my favorite picture!!! #shockedface
Let's call it "Act-like-you-just-got-your-mission-call!"

Not sure if this is appropriate to say, but I'm going to say it anyway..... "#photobomb."
(That was it.)

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

S.M.I.L.E.

Trying to be a Sister Martin. ;)

Most likely the BEST picture in this email!! 

Last week of transfer!

We got to go to the temple last week! We also had interviews with President Samuelian. Sister Ure and I were the last two regular interviews that president will ever do as mission president. Next transfer is zone zonference and then my last transfer, I will get a new mission president halfway through and he will do all of the interviews. On our way to our interviews, we just barely left Willamina and the the gas light came on! I totally forgot that we needed to get gas! We made the 20 minutes to the gas station in West Salem where our interviews were but in the mean time, I was worried that we were going to run out of gas on the highway and that we would be late to our district meeting/interviews.

We have a baptism this week! Our 11 year old investigator is getting baptized. Her grandpa will baptize her.

President has invited all of the missionaries to focus on strengthening their faith in Christ.

Not much else is going on but I love you all very much!

Sister Martin.

Missionaries.

100.

Hello,

There are 100 days left of my mission... Wow! 2 weeks left of the transfer and then 2 more transfers left. President and Sister Samuelian have less time with me.

Sister Ure and I got to go to the temple visitors center! This week we have really seen how we are often in the right place at the right time. It has been amazing!

We were running late to dinner one day and as we were driving, we saw someone we were teaching and we got to talk to her. Another time,, we were on our way to our coordination meeting and we saw a guy who volunteered at the food bank with us and we got to talk to him. We walked up a hill to see someone in our area book and they weren't home, but we talked to a member who recently moved into our ward. Then at the visitors center, we saw a member from Sisters than I knew, 2 people from Newberg and Sister Clark!! It was amazing!

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

Love, Sister Kelly Martin

Send letters to:

Oregon Salem Mission
700 Deborah Rd. Suite 260
Newberg, Oregon 97132

March

Sister Ure and I will be staying in Willamina for another transfer. We have much to be learn from each other still and we are excited for a chance to be able to do so. This week was the best week of missionary work that either of us have ever had. We have seen so many miracles!

A lady called the church this week and someone answered the phone and she told them that she was looking for a church and they told her what time church was and she came! We will teach her this week!

Also a lady we have been teaching went to church for the first time with her granddaughter! We were so excited!

A huge thank you to my family for sending me an Easter package filled with candy and Easter eggs!

Stacy!!! I was so excited to get an Easter egg from you and that it
had the beads I gave you to fix. Thank you so much!!!

February

My transfers are all double digits now! Only 4 left! It's crazy! Has it really been that long??

We had interviews with the mission president last week. I found out that I go home at the end of July and the Samuelians go home at the beginning of July! I will have a new mission president for the last 3 weeks of my mission!

I will be staying in Willamina for another 6 weeks with a new companion! I found out that someone I taught in Newberg is still taking the lessons and her grandson who I met a few times is getting baptized next month! From what I hear he has changed so much!! It is really cool to hear about seeds that I have planted and how they are blossoming. Springtime is almost here! Sending another companion home is hard. I'm so glad that I got to spend with Sister Drown. I'm excited to hear about what the future holds for her and for me as well.

January!

So I told Kelly that Alan Rickman passed away and this was her response:

We were having a meeting with some people in the ward and they mentioned that we lost some celebrities recently and I didn't care until they mentioned Snape and then I was devastated!!! But now he has a chance to learn about the gospel in the spirit world! I love you! Thanks for making sure that I knew! Have we lost any other Harry Potter stars?? Of course we lost Richard Harris, but that was a long time ago and he was our favorite Dumbledore!

Not much has happened this week. We gave a pass along card to an investigator and he told us that he looked at it and it had a number to call to get a free bible and so he called and asked for a free bible. We were trying so hard not to laugh because we knew that his name would show up as a referral asking for a bible which we would then deliver to him.

In our weekly Book of Mormon study class we finished reading about Isaiah in 2Nephi. It was really interesting  comparing what is written in 2Nephi with what is written in Isaiah. I love being able to read from the Bible and the Book of Mormon side by side. I know that both books contain God's word and I am grateful to have them in my life.

Love ya!
Sister Kelly Martin.

Sister Kelly Martin

Oregon Salem Mission

700 Deborah Road, Ste. 260

Newberg, OR 97132

Happy New Year!

December/January

Happy new year!! We got an inch of snow here on Sunday to start the new year off. Everything shuts down when they get snow here which is really difference from Central Oregon. Almost all of the wards in the valley cancelled church. It was pretty funny and slightly bummed at the same time. Sister Drown and I convinced 4 of our investigators to come to church in the snow and when we showed up for choir practice the bishop said he cancelled church. We talked the bishop into doing sacrament and 2 of our investigators came. It was still really good. It was good to start the new year off right. To set new goals and to help others set new goals of their own.

2016 feels like a good one!

I love you all!
Sister Kelly Martin.

T. 8

November.

I have only 5 transfers left after this! President Samuelian told the zone leaders that he has been seriously thinking about taking away the mission cars, He thinks our mission would be more successful. He has encourages everyone to get out of our cars more. So this  week we did. We walked over ten miles. It has been below 40 almost everyday. I wore a pair of boots one day and they were not made for walking. Unfortunately I need to retire them this week. We bundle up everyday before we go outside. I'm totally a Cali girl! Still not used to the cold!

A member gave us some knit hats! I love them!! We have zone conference this Wednesday! We helped the youth in the Sisters branch find over 200 names to take to the temple this week! They had so many names that they couldn't actually do all of them! I'm learning of the importance of genealogy each time.

Not much else to say! I love being out here on my mission! I have had great range of motion in my knee for a long time now! I am so thankful for that!

Love ya! Have a great week!
Sister Kelly Martin.

Awesome week!!

From Kelly's last email she mentioned that her and her companion were speaking in church about missionary work so I sent Kelly an email of a story that relates really well with missionary work that many of you are very familiar with. It is The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley. There are many different versions to the story, but here is a basic one.

"Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. 

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water he said, "It made a difference for that one."

I love this story! There may be all the people in the world criticizing you for the things that you do, you may be tempted to quit, but that doesn't mean you have to. My goal in life is to make a difference in the world someway somehow. How do you want people to remember you by? Would you be skeptical about everyone around or the one making a difference in the lives of others?

Anyways back to her email. 

We had a lot of crazy things happen this week. We went to the donut store and my companion and I were going to split a donut (because it's cheaper and healthier) and the guy who was working asked us if we were missionaries and we said we were and he gave us our donut for free! Amazing!

We also went to Newberg for iPad training for Sister Clark to get her iPad. I got to see Sister Dibble. Being in Newberg was like being home! The member who took us also bought us dinner. That was so nice of them!

President Samuelian told us that obedience is the "price for safety."

I dreamed about In N' Out one night. Nothing beats In N' Out in California (except Icebergs in Utah).

We spoke in sacrament meeting and our investigator and her dad came! We helped the youth find names to take to the temple! We found probably over 100 names with the youth!

Love ya!
Sister Kelly Martin

Halloween!!

Well a lot has happened this past week. This weekend is Halloween! It just happens to be Sister Clark's and my favorite holiday!!! Unfortunately we have to be in early.

We saw a lot of miracles happen this week. One night we had two near-death experiences- well I did. We were driving to our dinner appointment and it was near dusk. A car coming in the opposite directions flashed their lights at us. I checked my brights and they weren't on and then I see two deer alongside the road just as we drive by them. What a close call. Then at dinner we sit down and we have a casserole that looks like lasagna. They are a very health conscious family so I knew that there would be no meat or dairy in it. I figured I wouldn't ask any questions, I'll just eat it. We all get dished up a piece of lasagna and my companion asks what's in it. It is eggplant instead of pasta. My companion says good because we are trying to eat  healthy and the family goes, "that's great because there isn't a lot of fat in here, it has a handful of cashews." That stopped me "dead" in my tracks, just in time. I remind the family that I am allergic to cashews, so I got to try clam chowder instead. It was actually really good!

Sister Clark's package got broken into at the post office. Her parents sent her winter boots and clothes and a cook book and half of it was stolen! We picked the package up and noticed that it was kind of light for winter stuff and opened it and then went about our day. A few hours later, Sister Clark noticed a letter from her mom that happened to mention all of the stuff that was in there, only most of it wasn't in there. We spent a good hour on the phone the next day with the post office.

I have most of the Proclamation to the World memorized by now. It is amazing how often lines from the proclamation are called to remembrance now.

Love you guys!

Halloween week was so much fun! We got to go and visit some of the members in the branch that we don't see very often because we knew that they love Halloween. We had a branch trunk-or-treat and almost all of the kids from primary came. Our friend, Heather, and her two young kids came. We were able to show them around the church. Heather is going to be baptized on November 21st! We are really excited!

Sisters does a Halloween parade the day before Halloween for all of the elementary kids to trick or treat in a safer environment and with their parents. We got to help one of our less active members pass out candy. It was pretty great! Sister Clark and I both love Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Just kidding! I actually dressed like a pioneer!

We're speaking this coming Sunday. Our topic is Jesus Christ and we're going to talk about missionary work of course. Wish me luck!

9 months!!!!

Has it been 9 months already. Time has flown by! I still feel like a greenie!

We had a return missionary and his dad (a high council member) and his mom speak in our ward yesterday. Each one gave a great talk, but the one I remember was from the mom. She ran her second marathon last week. She practiced and prepared for her marathon. She found a pacer, which is someone who has experience at marathons and they get a certain time so if you stick with them, you can achieve that time too. Well, on the day of her big race, she skimped on breakfast, nerves and all. Well, by mile 10, she was doing great. Her pacer was encouraging everyone and motivating them to keep it up. Then they started up a 5 mile hill and after 2 miles, she could feel that her energy was burnt out, she slowed down and eventually lost sight of her pacer.  Then doubts started to creep in, thoughts of "Why am I doing this?" "I hate running" "I need new shoes" "I am never going to run again" and just when she thought she was going to give up, she came to an aide station, where the volunteers were encouraging her and cheering her on! At mile 25, she saw her family and they encouraged her!! She made it to the finish line and felt accompanied, yet disappointed in herself, because she knew she could have done better. Yet because of one simple mistake, skimping on breakfast, she got a slower time.

Well she related running a marathon to life. We each chose to come to earth. We prepared for this, we learned and we were excited when it was our turn. Heavenly Father gave us a pacer, someone to show us the way and encourage and motivate us along the way: Jesus Christ. We knew that if we followed our pacer, we would be happy. At times it gets rough and we start to doubt ourselves and our pacer and our coach. We want to give up. Then we get to an aide station and we are given the nourishment and encouragement we need. The thing is, we all cross the finish line. Will we be excited and glad and proud of our accomplishment, or will we be disappointed because we knew we could have done better. I hope we are glad and we celebrate with our families.

I love you all! Love, Sister Kelly Martin

P.S. I met a new missionary and she said that she actually read my blog!!! Thanks Stacy! Keep up the good work!!!

Cute sheep cupcakes! "Feed my sheep"

Portland Temple

Sisters Branch Dutch Oven Dinner :)

I will be starting to put Sister Martin's address at the bottom of each blog for easy access.

Sister Kelly Martin

Oregon Salem Mission

700 Deborah Rd Suite 260

Newberg, Oregon 97132

kelly.martin@myldsmail.net

Last week before another transfer!

I've been out for 8 months now!! Almost halfway! This next transfer marks the halfway point!

On Wednesday, Sister Miller got to go to the temple. Sister Hanna was my companion in Sisters since her companion was also going to the temple. (Missionaries in our mission get to go to the temple with the mission president and his wife the week before the end of their mission.) Sister Hanna and I went to activity days. We got to talk about the articles of faith. 

On Thursday, during our weekly planning, Sister Miller hot a sharp pain in her abdomen and we went to the fire station first and they recommended we go to the hospital and check it out. So after talking with Sister Samuelian, we went to the hospital and spent 4 hours there. They couldn't figure out what it was, but they said it wasn't life threatening, so they released her.

On Friday, we had a district meeting in Redmond and then we had to wait around for another meeting. The sister training leaders were supposed to come an hour early, but they overslept. We spent an hour worrying about them, their companions had the phones. 

Then on Saturday, at 12:30, the phone beeps and she looks at it and says, presidents calling. And I say no he's not, and she says I'm not kidding and she answers it and my heart started pounding so fast!! President extended a calling to me from Heavenly Father to train. This next week is going to be a whirlwind. Sister Miller and I have now memorized a fourth of the Family: A Proclamation to the World. It is an amazing document. The women's broadcast on Saturday was amazing. Lots of amazing revelation from Heavenly Father, The proclamation about families was given at a relief society conference 20 years ago.

At the relief society broadcast, there was a lot of really delicious food! We might have stacked our plates high with food!!!

Glad they're being fed well! :)

I will be training a brand new missionary in Sisters!!!! I'm really excited!! What advice do you guys have for me??
         Tell her to write down everything you say!! ;) 
(The Best Two Years)
     Elder Rogers: Yeah, I guess that's okay. But check with me before you write anything down I've said.
     Elder Calhoun: Should I write that down?
     Elder Rogers: Yeah.
     Elder Calhoun: Okay.

Short Update

We went to an indoor sports field in Bend for Zone P-Day. I'm glad we get to hang out with the Sisters!

Sister Williams, Sister Miller, and I didn't play. I got to catch up with my journal writing instead.

Well since its almost October and Sister Martin is in Oregon and we loved those movies!

We as a mission are going to memorize The Family: A Proclamation to the World in 40 days!

And another week!

This week was a great week. We had a zone training meeting on Friday and then we went and had a lesson with one of our investigators and she told us that we were misinformed about our own religion and the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon. Her heart was hardened and it was really sad because she was closed off to the truth.

We made chocolate covered pretzels for some people in the branch who had birthdays recently and we went to the lava tubes for our sisters p-day.

The message I got from zone training was all about faith. Trusting in our Heavenly Father and our savior to get us through anything and everything. It was amazing! I was reminded of the scripture that says "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

Another week!

We went on exchanges this week. Sister Miller went to Bend with Sister Griffin and I stayed in Sisters with the other Sister Williams. We got fleece blankets from our branch mission leader and his family because it had been really cold. I tried Salmon on Monday of last week and found out that I actually like it. We went to a Relief Society picnic. We went to Redmond and Bend several times this week. We went there on Thursday for an accountability meeting and then District meeting on Friday and then we drove to Bend to switch companions for exchanges and then I drove back to Sisters and then on Saturday we drove back to Bend and then we drove to Bend today to go shopping.

We've been sharing the Family: A Proclamation to the World. My favorite part is "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ." When we put Heavenly Father and His Son first, everything else in our lives falls into place. I love my savior, I know He lives, and I know that they want the best for us.

I've seen wild turkeys, deer, horses, rock-chucks and much more here in Oregon!

I will be starting to put Sister Martin's address at the bottom of each blog for easy access.

Sister Kelly Martin

Oregon Salem Mission
700 Deborah Rd Ste 260
Newberg, Oregon 97132

kelly.martin@myldsmail.net

They're in Sisters! Literally!

I love being here in Sisters, Oregon! It is a cute little tourist town with lots of camp grounds nearby, much like Idyllwild. My companion is Sister Miller from Las Vegas, Nevada. We have a lot in common and are having our own adventure! We have been using our maps to get around town and it's been fun. We got to take the car from Redmond with us, although we would rather have a jeep and lots of members keep telling us we will need a better car when the snow comes. We also need a better car after visiting a few members who live on dirt roads. Actually 2/3 of the members of the branch live on dirt roads. Sister Miller and I were both companions with Sister Williams. This is Sister Miller's last transfer. She was just in her last area: Brownsville for 9 months of her mission. That was how long Sister Williams was in Brownsville.

We are having a zone conference on Thursday and President Samuelian is inviting members to attend the evening session with the missionaries. It will be an all day meeting for us. Both Bend and Redmond stakes are invited. We get to go to Redmond every week for district meetings. Sister Miller and I are so excited to help the members of the sisters branch with the missionary work. We have spent the last few days trying to get to know the members.

We read about the plan of salvation today in 2Nephi chapter 2. Verse 26 stood out to me "And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given."

SO we are free to act or be acted upon. The choice is ours.

Transfer 6

I got an early birthday present Saturday night!!! 

Sister Spencer and I found out that we are both leaving Redmond! Her with her 6 months and me with my 6 weeks! And this area is getting Elders! And the Elders will be on bikes because I am taking the car with me to my new area: Sisters, Oregon! And the Elders will be training! I will be re-opening the Sisters branch, there hasn't been any missionaries there for the last 3 months.

I found out that the ward mission leader is related to a young couple in Newberg. So that is super exciting! I get to live in a country mansion with President Liddell and his wife. He is in the stake presidency. I will still be in the Redmond stake. I meet my new companion tomorrow afternoon. My district leader will now be one of my zone leaders and I will still be in the same district!

The beginning of this week was a little rough. We were chastened, some people pointed out lots of areas of improvement. Tuesday night was intense, Wednesday morning was really challenging as well. We haven't had a new investigator in months and several of our investigators said they wanted a break from meeting with us. We kind of went through the motions of studies. We recognized that something needed to change. We needed to see God's hand helping us. We felt like we were working on our own and we needed to turn to him.

Miracle number one happened! We were at a recent convert's house and their cousin asked, "How does one join your church? Do you show up or is there a process?" So we told him that we could answer that question and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and told him about it. He asked us for our favorite scripture in it and asked us if we could share one scripture with him to give him hope, what would it be? We are meeting with him tonight!

Miracle number 2: While doing SERVICE on Friday at the house of a neighbor of another recent convert, as we were leaving, this neighbor whom we SERVED asked what my (scripture) bag was. Well I opened it up and said it contained my scriptures. I showed her the bible and the Book of Mormon and I asked if she has heard of the Book of Mormon and she said no. So we explained it and shared our favorite scripture (we learned that from the last miracle) and then we gave her a copy and invited her to read. The recent convert asked is she would like to come over and join us on Tuesday for the next lesson that we teach her and the neighbor agreed!

Miracle number 3: We had an appointment with some investigators and we went there with our ward missionary and they cancelled. So we decided to visit one of our other investigators and we had a wonderful lesson with her and when we left, the investigator's son was outside with two of his friends, one of them we had been trying to meet with for weeks, and we stopped and talked to them. We told them about the Book of Mormon and our ward missionary shared how the gospel had changed her life when she heard about it. We gave them copies of the scriptures and scheduled a time to teach them more about it!

Within a few days we had many new investigators!!! We had been trying to build up the courage for weeks to open our mouths to people on the street and go tracting, but we learned an important lesson. Heavenly Father did not expect us to go out there and do that, He expected us to open our mouths to those around us, those that we serve with.

The scripture that we shared with all of these people is found at the end of the first chapter of the Book of Mormon. "...I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of  deliverance." (1Nephi 1:20)

Our District and Zone:

Elders pose the same! Haha!

When we get together........

Missionaries do crazy things

We have FUN!!!!

         And we laugh!!!!

                 ALOT!!!

My birthday package! I waited all week to open it!!! Thank you!!!

          There's no place I'd rather be