Week 4, November 25, 2014 Thanksgiving Week

So this week was rather interesting.... It snows, but it never sticks! I got released as a zone leader, so I have a lot more time to focus on my French now! That's going pretty well! There is no way that I could be learning this fast were it not for God helping me! He really loves His missionaries! 

We have been teaching an actual investigators hired by the MTC, and they love us! H and J are their names and they are from Guatemala and they just adore us! They are constantly telling the other missionaries that they love us. We teach with the Spirit and are reverent and have touched them more than any other missionary they have ever been with! I have truly grown to love them and strive to serve them to the best of my abilities! We invited them to be baptized in our lesson today and they agreed!! So we set the date for the 6th of December. And hopefully we can be the ones to baptize them! 

Other than that, I'm tired... I get very little sleep... Always waking up in the middle of the night multiple times.... And then I fall asleep in class sometimes.... Oops! I can't help it!! I'm sorry haha :) but I love my teachers and they love me! One said that my comments saved some of our lessons. It goes to show that teaching by the Spirit is more important than being fluent in French! 

I love my skinny jeans!! Haha they have become a part of me now :) I didn't think I would ever like them, but now I do! But just these ones! Hopefully I don't come back too European ;) haha you know how much I love America!! Anyway, All is well! I am alive! Like a pitri dish! You have no idea how many illnesses have gone through me!! haha but I will live ;)  

Oh yeah...Happy Thanksgiving to you mom and to all the rest of the family and friends!!! 

Week 3, November 18, 2014 Half Way through the MTC

I did!! I got your surprise and I love it!!! I am sooo thankful for it!! I am going to bring it to dinner and share it with my friends!! It made me cry :') thank you! really <3 Oh I need something else in my care package! It's an agate! It is the one that i found on the farm. Its big for an agate and is like an amber color and "c" shaped! I really want that! I use it in lessons! I really would appreciate it so much! oh and email me whenever you get hand written letters in the mail from me so I know that you got them!!

Tell Jake congrats, good luck, and that I pray for him every Friday!! and I found his replacement here at the mtc. One of my comps is just like him so yeah haha but I think I like Jake better ;) barely haha <3 Love you Jake!

I am touched that dad writes me too :) I am just so upset that I don't have enough time to write everyone! I have always been a slow typer.... but I know dad is tough and will be ok if I don't get to him every week... just let him read yours and let him know that I love him too, like a lot! And I am so thankful for him too! Let him know that I can feel his love and can't wait to see that bathroom <3 haha I love you.

I really love all of you <3 I mean it! I thank you so much for all of your support! I couldn't do it without you and I miss you.... and want to go be with you... but I can wait... I will wait and serve the Lord and He will strengthen me and make me a better person for you, for my family to come and more importantly, for myself. I love you so much.... You can tell I don't want to go.... but I must....

With all the love in my heart <3 your son <3 Elder Nick Benjamin Martin

blog: The weather here is cold! It's already snowed twice, but nothing has stuck! still it's like 25 degrees so my clean shaven face in the morning feels like a naked butt in that frigid air!! haha maybe a little too visual lol ;)

The French is hard, but I know a lot more than I think! Yesterday I said like three sentences in French and I was like "whaaaa??? I didn't know I could say that!!" haha God is definitely helping me! :) I've seen so many miracles!! One time when I was having a very bad day, the shower water got cold and I was crying.... I started to pray to ask God if He would make the water hotter, and I said the word "please", just one word, He turned the water to hot and I wept because I know that God is watching out for me <3 

My teachers also say that I am a great student and teacher! One of them said that my comments often saved the lesson, meaning that the small, Spirit-guided things that I said, saved the lesson from being destroyed. One of my spiritual gifts is to feel love for all that I teach and serve and I am so thankful for that! God is here with me! He stands by me. Always. 

I am blessed as a leader too. He stands by me and gives me guidance and tells me what to do and say. Everyone in our Zone looks up to me. They all come to me and I give them the love that Christ would give to them. It's the least I could do, for are we not all beggars? My favorite scripture is 

Romans 8:35-39:    35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

The scripture to  me is my favorite. It got me through a hard time in life before and it continues to get me through life as struggles bombard me and Satan pries at me. But the world shall not prevail. I will win because I have God on my side. And so do you. Remember that. He loves us more than anything and is watching over us. Moving us to our bright and happy future. Dieu nous aime.

Half Way through the MTC

Week 2, November 11, 2014

This last week was long... we got up super early and went to the temple so the rest of the week we were falling asleep... I got sick yesterday and went back to my room and took a four hour nap which was really helpful... I can't sleep much here... idk why... just not home...

Mom I love you <3 I am thankful for you and raising me right!  Au revoir. Love Your Son

Elder Nick Martin

Me and my Companions, Elder Brown, left and Elder Landry, right.

My Zone! Half of them left yesterday. We are a lot smaller now.

One of Julia's friends from her Stake Toulouse! (Towloose) He is Elder Urbani :)

The Sister Training Leaders. Sis Ladd on the left aka Sister Sassy Skirt and Sis Delgado.

My District or aka My Class  :)

OK, I didn't think you would believe me if I said that I like these pair of skinny jeans that I'm wearing, so I took a picture of them on. I find them surprisingly comfortable! 

Start of Week 2, November 9, 2014

Oh, how I miss you! Like a lot! Sometimes not often now, I see a picture of the cat, or think of how perfect life at home was and I want to break down and just weep. But God is helping me. He truly is. This last week, I got a sore throat (like the one that I got when we came down for conference in April) and I could barely talk or speak English, let alone French! So I asked for a blessing and the next day my voice was 4x's better! And by the end of the night, my voice was almost perfect!

Today during Sacrament, Sister Newell, one of our councilors' wives, spoke about repentance. She talked about a Sister from Stockholm that taught 48 lessons a week. She told us that when she asked the Sister how she did it, the Missionary Sister said, "Everyday I wake-up and am scared. I make the choice to overcome my weakness and become more like Christ." Dad, you were right. Everyday we have the choice to become a different person. I wish I would have listened more to you and di what you said. Thank you so much for your words of love. I love you!

Week 1, November 4, 2014

Mom: I love you so much. Really I do. I never really realized or understood how much I love you and how much I care for you and appreciate/take for granted all the acts of love you show me. I wanted to go home the first few nights. I wanted to quit and give up. But something happened Sunday that changed me. As I took the Sacrament, I felt clean and worthy and strong. That Atonement of Christ is alive and working in me and through me. I still miss you. (sorry I had to add this, being the Mom and all)

I've never been closer to God or His Spirit. I know this is where I need to be and that He is proud of me. I'm having a great time :) overwhelmed the first few days but now it's calmed down. I am the Zone leader with my companions, Elder Brown from Salt Lake City and Elder Landry from Calhoon, Georgia. :) Just five days in and I already have more responsibilities than ever! P-day is on Tuesday. I would prefer letters, but tell them that if they email me, I might not get to their emails sadly...an hour is not much time.

God has been teaching me French. There is no way that I should be speaking as good as I am, but last night, I got witness to this. We are already teaching an investigator/actor who only knows French and my companions (Elder Landry and Elder Brown (Yes i am in a tri-panionship. we are called les trois haha)) and the lesson went and almost failed but I saved it and took over and spoke ugly and broken French but I was teaching by the Spirit because I really had no clue what I was saying. But it is a testimony that I am just a man and God makes me great. 

Start of Week 1, October 30, 2014 I Have Arrived at the MTC

Dear Mom & Dad,
I made it to the MTC with no troubles! Apparently I was never allowed to call you here. I should have done it at the airport, which is what I will do when I leave to France. It's a fun experience and the Elders and Sisters here are so great (we are told we can't say guys or girls anymore). I leave here (estimated departure) is December 8th!! My mailing address here is:

   Elder Nick Benjamin Martin
    DEC08 FRA-LYON
    2009 N 900 E Unit 121
    Provo, UT 84602

I can't wait to get onto the field. It's great here but I've never been one for being with tons of people. I like being alone when I want to be alone, so when I'm with 6 other people minimum at all times, it gets a little annoying. It'll be easier when I'm with my companion in France. But I love it here. It's fun!!! There are so many awesome people here from around the world! My companion is Elder Landry from NE Georgia! No accent so I can understand him haha :) I love you so much! I miss you!! My PDay is Tuesday, so I'll email you then!!

Love,
Elder Martin

P.S. Yes, Jake, I miss you too!!