Week 32 June 8, 2015 Transfer and Re-Transfer

Week 32   June 8, 2015

Good morning to my family back in the states and good afternoon to my family here in France. The events that have passed this last week are too large too large to share with everyone multiple times, so I will do a large email for everyone to read. (Encores je sais que vous parlez angles aussi mais c'est le seul message je vais envoyer en anglais. Toutes les restes don't en frainçais. S'il vous plais, traduisez le message pour les enfants)

Most of the events took place over the weekend, starting with transfer calls. At first I was supposed to go to Vitrolles. It is a small branche next to Marseille. I was so excited when I got the call because Julie H. lives there and she is a wonderful friend of mine! I have heard nothing but good things about her and I was looking forward to spending six weeks (minimum) as part of her family. Then I got another call from President with a change of plans. It was "brought to the attention" of president that "Julia visits Julie all the time in Vitrolles" and therefore I was moved to Dijon... I was infuriated!!! How could this be?? I was leaving my family and going to somewhere that I knew somebody and then I was transferred again to somewhere completely unknown and new to me.... Without anyone.... All alone.... I fell to my knees and wept... I begged God for forgiveness... I didn't know what I did, but I thought I was being punished and I was so saddened.... I felt all alone.... Then, as clear as day, I heard a voice saying to me "My son. What have you done? You do not need to be sorry. I am doing this for you. This is My plan." At
that point I received an assurance that all was well and indeed I would be taken care of and that I AM in the hands of the Lord.

Saturday we went and played boules with Céleste and Mathias and Elena and Sam and I had such a fun time! Merci, Elena! Vous êtes le meilleur :) et, oui! I LOVE ELENA ;) hahaha

Then my last Sunday at the ward of Cannes.... Oh, I dreaded this day.... I was leaving my family.... The place that had taken care of me and given me love and given me a home. Gosh.... I cry now just thinking of them.... Thinking of you. Words cannot describe what you have done for me or the love I have for you. Eternal. I think that would be the best word. We are an eternal family and will be forever, through good times and bad. I know I will always have a home. The testimony I offered was minimal when compared to my feelings....It touched everyone, though. I am so amazed at the way I was able to touch lives. I don't know how, but I did, and I will thank God every day for this amazing gift he has given me.  At the end of the meeting, all of the youth flocked to me. Fr. Perez came and hugged me and made me cry and then I had to talk to all the
beautiful jêune fille with tears in my eyes haha oh those girls are amazing haha and then all of mes garçons ;) haha the youth are where my heart and love lies. They are who I will miss the most. 

Then there was the baptism of Hugo. I was able to participate as a witness and to confirm him a member of the church. Talk about a feeling of responsibility that rests upon your shoulders as a
priesthood bearer.

We spent the rest of the evening at the house of the family of Laurent G. We were graced by Gaël and his mother and also Olivier and his family. Those will be my last memories of Cannes. Bouncing on the trampoline with some of the most beautiful and innocent girls I have ever known, getting thrown around by the boys, and seeing a truly happy family soaking wet as they chased each other around the yard with water bottles, Elena, getting me wet.

Then I went home and wept.

This week has shown me the importance of "Living Where Your Feet Are." Had I not lived every moment with my family here in Cannes, I would have no memories. And, since we all must depart at sometime, whether to another sector or to another life, we must live life to the fullest because you can't change back time. I will never get those moments back, but at least I have a family that loves me. I have left my impression and you have, too. I want you to know that I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! I thank God every day for you! I will come back next year with my parents, and when I do, you better be ready to party!! Haha ;)

Je vous aime! Vous me mounquez!!! Priez pour moi. Il n'est pas facile. Mais avec Dieu et vous, je peux le faire.
Avec amour,     Elder Nick Martin :)

 

She is 13, but she is still pretty amazing! I love her to death!! This is Elena G :) her little sister is Stella and her dad is the one behind her dressed as an Indian for the cowboy night!!

My feet in the water for the first time and probably the last. 

My Friends!

Courtesy of Elder Ghirelli :) at Eden Roc

My friends, When the sun sets, without fail, it will raise again.

**I just love this picture!

Week 30 May 28, 2015 Sun Beats Down on Us

Week 30   May 28, 2015

It has been an interesting week to say the least! We had a meeting on Monday which is why I couldn't email then. But better late than never I guess! I will try to figure out a way to send more pictures.

Gosh I am tired. The sun beats down hard and it is only May. I will need to start drinking more water I bought some vitamin c the other day! Hahahaha oh I am stupid.... I popped it open and threw a pill in my mouth. It exploded. I started choking.... Apparently you were supposed to put these pills in water to let them dissolve... Hahaha let's say that the next time, the pill tasted a lot better.

So I wrote something really nice to dad. It is very powerful and personal, so you can read it there, but not everyone else.

We have been trying to do a lot of less active work here. Now I wish I had been a better home teacher. I don't remember if I said this, but we have about 35 less actives and 11 actives. The main reason why the branch in Antibes isn't open yet is because there is really only one member that does any work in the sector. I brought it up at ward council and I hope there will be some action, but we will have to lead it. Thankfully we got a member from the other sector say he would work with us. That's good. I talked to him later and he expressed the same sadness that I feel towards the inactivity of the members in Antibes.

So my voice of warning is to do your home teaching and be their friend. Don't just go once a month. That is minimal. Christ didn't just do the bare minimum. He defended below all. The least you could do is stop by two or three times from your way home from work and check up on your families and show them that you care, and show them that God still cares. If you have not yet watched the new Mormon message "LIFT" yet, I highly recommend it.

Remember that I love you and I am extremely thankful for your prayers. My soul is stirred when I think of all that you do for me. "No greater love hath any man than he who lays down his life for his friends." Thank you for your sacrifice for me. I love you eternally.
Love,    Elder Martin :)

Week 27 May 4, 2015 Picnic in the Park

Week 27   May 4, 2015

I'm tired... I have an inexplicable sense of tiredness and a weight that is on me pressing on me.... but I am good other than that :) I love you too!!

I forgot to tell you that I got the other two cards that you sent in the mail! I haven't read them yet! I will read them on my birthday this Saturday! I have two meal appointments this Saturday on my birthday! That is insane for France!!! Haha and these people are known for feeding you a lot so I will be well taken care of on my birthday haha 

Skype, though!! That will be on Sunday at about 7 or 8 am your time! you send me an email on which time you prefer and I will check on Wednesday :) I am super happy for this!!

So last week was alright. I got my new companion and I have been showing him the ville. We are assuming that we will follow the pattern that has been set in Antibes and I will stay four transfers (so this is my last) and then I will leave. I hope I leave... I am tired of this ville.... it is killing me... I put so much work into this and all I can contact are tourists...those missionaries in the north of France, Italy, and England better be getting these guys we are talking to!! 

Actually we have ventured into the ville, into the suburbs to try and knock on the doors of those who are permanently here. We had a little luck. We knocked on a door of a 14 year old girl and she talked with us for a long time and eventually took the Book of Mormon from us! Now I can here you all saying "wow, he swooned a 14 year old girl!" haha well not really! We actually offered it to her; she said she wouldn’t read it, but to offer it to the old woman across the way. We worked out a deal with her and said that if they wouldn't take it, she would gladly take it. God had a plan for that girl, because every single woman across the way shot us down faster than a lead zeppelin! So I would like you to please pray for this girl, Alice, and that she will read the Book of Mormon and know for herself that it is true!

We got to eat at the F. Family this Saturday for lunch. They live in a house that as soon as you enter, you feel like you went back 500 years haha He is a huge man with a huge beard (like a dwarf) and the house looks like a medieval cottage! And it is so cool! He also had a knife collection, and let us take what we wanted! That was so cool! haha

I got to go to a ward picnic on Friday and it was at an abandoned airbase that the city of Saint Raphaël salvaged and turned into a giant park. It was the perfect place for kids! we played soccer had a meal and hung out! the ride back was fun because I got to ride in the back with the bishop's kids and joke around and take selfies with them! Oh my gosh I love those kids!! I got to hang out with them more at the ward meal after church. They do one for every fast Sunday! I love that idea! we need to do that in America! but I got to teach these kids a lot of cool things and most importantly be a good role model for them. their parents tell me all the time how much their kids love me :) it makes me smile to know that I am at least doing some sort of good work in my sector, even if I can't see it :)

Well that is all for now!! Know I love you all! thank you for your prayers! keep them up haha

Have a good week!     Elder Martin

These are the Bishop's kids. M and C in the back, and D between me and Elder Rellaford

This is Antibes

Week 23, April 6, 2015 Happy Easter and Conference Weekend

So this Sunday was Easter and it was the most special Easter in my life. I got to spend it watching General Conference down in the basement of the Cannes chapel in the genealogy center. The Sunday Morning session came on about 6 pm for us, which is 10 AM MST. We watched and the talks were all very powerful. There were two people from over here that spoke. The Portuguese man who is the regional director of this side of Europe (or something like that) and A Frenchman who is in the Presiding Bishopric. That was cool. But I think the thing that hit me the most was the talk given by Elder Jeffrey R Holland. Before conference started, I wrote down the question, "Who is my Savior?" My question couldn't have been answered more loudly. Elder Holland came up and gave a talk so powerful on the Savior that I wept and couldn't write any notes. This talk still shakes me. I want all of you to watch this with the same question in your mind: "Who is my Savior?"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2015/04?lang=eng&vid=4154894180001&cid=10

 

Elder Martin


Wait let me take a Selfie!

That's me in a Bentley! :)



Me and Elder Lago

Week 20 March 16, 2015 Transfers

Transfers were great!! I got what I wanted: change! I am staying in Antibes. I got a new comp named Elder Lago. This is his last transfer, so I want to make this his best! I just felt the desire within me and it came from nowhere! So I have a really good feeling about this! :)

And I love Jake so much! I miss him a lot!! I hope he wants to serve to.... I need him out here.

Hey!! That is awesome to see the family working together!!! Yay teamwork!!! :)

I pray every day for her and her surgery. I know that everything will be fine.

So I have maybe an hour today. I spent 5 hours in the Marseille gare.... train station... waiting for my comp and our train.... yeah.... I did a lot of standing.... but I got to talk and make new friends and meet new missionaries and I had a blast, so I can’t complain!! But right now I have to go and show the new sisters where their apartment is! The sisters in Cannes got pink washed, or both got replaced, so they have no idea where anything is!!

I love you so much and promise I will write more next week!!!! I love you with all my heart!!!! I miss you :)

Love

Elder Nick Benjamin Martin

 I snagged this shot by chance and i think it is really cool!!

Week 19 March 9, 2015 The Caterpillar Train

A row of caterpillars, about 6 feet (2m) long!!

This week blew by so fast! I felt like it was just Monday! Which is good for me because I hate being away....? I love working but I really miss home. 

It is always sunny over here!! And when it isn’t, it rains and then is sunny the very next day! It is a beautiful sun, too! Warm and it makes me happy :) takes away the dark feelings that the winter leaves. 

I don’t really miss TV, but I miss being in the loop haha movies come and go and I’m like, well ok! Haha

Tell those lovely women, Patsy and Kay, I say hello back!! I wish I could be playing tennis again!! I play now and again, but my goal is to play on a clay court while I am here in France!! I want to keep playing when I get back from the mission!

Monday: We ate dinner with our bishop! His family is so cool! Two boys about 14 and 16 and a girl of 18. Such a crazy fun family!!

Tuesday: We did some service in the morning! helped a little old lady move her bed and replace it with a better one! then we went to a major school/business center with thousands of businesses. There are parks there and we were going to try and meet people and contact them.... except it was vacations here so the parks were deserted.... Then we went to G. and J.’s house!!! They are the cutest little old couple in the world!!! They are just like my great grandparents that I never had hahaha so G. grew up on a potato farm and his dad was a potato farmer, so every time we visit, he asks me how the potatoes are doing hahaha!! He is so cute!! So this time as a surprise, I brought him a potato!! He busted up laughing and he said when he eats it with butter and salt, he will think of me! I feel the Spirit every time I am over there. They really are special.

Wednesday: We cleaned the Antibes chapel and got it ready for District meeting. Then we ate at a member's house! T. and S. he is Tahitian and she was just baptized last month!! They fed us tahitianized chow mein and they showed us a video of Tahiti!!! I now want to go there on my honeymoon!!! It was so beautiful there!!!!

Thursday: District meeting. we have a huge push on finding through family history and it is called "Project Elijah".... It is a good way to find and contact, but they want us to use the "My Family3 booklet and it is really awkward to use on the street. Then after District Mtg, I went on an exchange to Nice with the Zone ??, Elder S. The city of Nice was beautiful as always, and I taught English class to a couple of nonmember bus drivers! oh man they were hilarious!!! I could definitely see them getting baptized! 

Friday: We went to RCM and CDP. On the bus ride over, I was sitting there, and I saw a man who kept looking at me. I heard a voice in my head tell me "He knows who you are. Talk to him." I asked him if he knew the Mormons, and he said that 30 years ago there was a young girl that took him to the ward activities! I thought that was so cool!!! He was born in '68, but he did not look that old!! I asked him if he would want to come to our church again, but he said he had a church. Then as I spoke to him about religion, the old lady next to him chimed in. I asked her if she went to the same church and she said yeah, but that she didn't go every Sunday like him. Then I asked her if she wanted to go to church!! She shot me down, but then I turned to the kid next to me and asked him if he wanted to go to church because he was the only one not talking! Then as I asked him, haha both the Catholics looked at me and said "no!! he has a mosque!!" hahaha French people loll! But as I spoke to this man about his beliefs, the whole back of the bus seemed to turn in and listen to me. Two teenage girls couldn’t help but lean in closer as they stood nearby and stared intently. The man behind me turned in his seat and was listening. The Mom and daughter next to us were fixated on our conversation. Even my comp was glued to this conversation!! It was so amazing! God really has given me a gift: a powerful voice that people cannot help but listen to. I have seen it before, but never to this magnitude! I feel so honored!!

Saturday: We interviewed the sister's baptism candidates.... they both can't be baptized.... they are ready and worthy, but they don’t have permission from the father, and they are living with a man who generously took them in during their time of need.... it is a very sad and frustrating situation..... Lots of tears.....

Sunday: Oh my gosh this day was a miracle.... It was so great. I had a couple of experiences that I cannot begin to describe. They are really personal too and I hold them sacred. But I know that God lives and that I do His work. I can feel His power behind me and in front of me and in me. This is the Church of Christ. This is Him.

Well it has been another great week!! I love you!!! thank you for your prayers :') I appreciate the help <3

Your son,        Elder Nick Benjamin Martin

Me and Antoine! My twin! lol

Week 18 March 2, 2015 Nice Stake Conference

 

Monday: I don’t remember what else I did on Monday.... lol

Tuesday: I went on an exchange with Elder Herring down in Toulon!! That was a very fun day!! We bought a 1kg croissant and chocolatine!!! They were huge!!!! The windiest I have ever seen it without there being an accompanying storm haha I went down on my hands and knees on the pier to touch the water, and a giant gust of wind picked up and almost blew me into the water!!!! I had to scramble to get away from the edge but the wind kept pushing and I almost went in haha!! But we taught an ami that was a lot like the baboon from the Lion King! He was really cool! And we visited a less active couple and they made us the best hot chocolate I have ever had!!! It was way better than anything I have drank! It was a force to be reckoned with! I really enjoyed this exchange because Elder Herring is a very down to earth missionary. He is very cool and fun to be around and he has very easy going philosophies on life. He made me feel like a brother and I was joking around with him instantly. He made doing the work fun and I really admire that because this work should be fun! We are spreading happiness for goodness' sake!!! We should be happy!!! haha

Wednesday: I got back from the exchange, did some studies, went to choir, and started another exchange with Elder Walter. This is the first time that I was left in charge of my Ville!! Thankfully, I did not burn Antibes to the ground hahaha the bad thing was that Elder Walters kept talking until midnight.... And this was the third day I had been up late... I wasn't too happy about that.....

Thursday: So I am in charge of the ville. We do our studies and go out to pass a member and a less active. I led the visit for the first time with the member and the LA wasn’t there.... So we went contacting until we had to go! I took Elder Walters exploring and discovered really cool and old sections of town that I must visit on another p-day to get better pictures!! Then we went to Cannes and I met up with my comp (Elder Garside; I don’t remember if you know him), and we went and taught English class!!! Except nobody showed up.... So we went to McDonalds with the Sisters and then went back home. We also house two more equips of elders this night! We were once again up late! They came in for Zone conference. Elders Barnes, Amerjan, Brill and another whose name I remember not....

Friday: Zone conference!!! It was pretty cool. Got to see President Roney! That is always great! We also watched Meet the Mormons! The older missionaries loved that because they had heard so much about it haha then we went to Cannes with the missionaries that were with us and went contacting!!! It was kind of a waste of time though because there weren’t very many people out who were willing to talk at 8pm

Saturday: The Elders left and then I did studies and we went out to go contacting for a while. Then went to Cannes for the adult session of stake conference!! Took up the rest of the night. We met more elders in at the gare so they could stay with us again for the Stake Conference. Elders Fisk and Johnson

Sunday: NICE STAKE CONFERENCE!!!!! It was really cool seeing everyone there!!!! It was like having three wards at the 108 building, not a stake, but it was so great!!!! I saw Julie Hotz!!!!!! She is a cutie and super sweet!!!! She is Julia's friend! When we made eye contact, she smiled so big haha she had been waiting to see me for a while, too!!! Then she took a selfie with me so she could send it to Julia!! Ahhh so sweet!!! We talked for a while (as much as I could with my terrible French) and she is so cool!!! This day made me really really happy :)

Monday: We played tennis today!!! It was so fun, as always! Though I miss not playing with people that know how to play, i.e., Paul, Javan, Jake, etc. We did some shopping so I could get some khaki pants for this hot weather coming up! I love the clearance racks!!!! Haha and that was my week!!!

It is so nice to get to talk to you! I love you!! Send some pictures to me of Lake Chelan: the ones I took with the night sky and the trees and the one with the night sky and the willow that is illuminated! Everyone is dying to see them!!

Talk to you next week! Feel free to send letters too! I appreciate them :) Off to Mysti!!! Bye

Love

Elder Nick Benjamin Martin

PS the picture is me holding half of this giant croissant we bought!! It was awesome!!!!

 

That is a ship made of concrete coming out of the building! It is his favorite spot in all of France! This one is me and Elder Herring!! He is from San Fran!!! so cool!!!!! He is I mean haha

A tower in Cannes.

That's Julie Hotz!! She is a great girl!

Week 17 February 23, 2015 le Cowboy

"This is the song that I sang for our Spiritual night at the Ward! They loved it and now I am known as "Le Cowboy"

 

So this week was full of fun and interesting in the sense that we did a lot and yet not very much at the same time!

On Monday night we visited our special old couple named George and Jeanne. They are 89 and have this amazing house. They don't get many visitors so they love having us over. The weird thing is: I feel the Spirit every time we go and visit them. They have expressed that they have no interest in converting, but as long as we can bring people closer to Christ and help them feel the Spirit, we are doing our job.

Tuesday we went to Cannes and did some street boarding for our free English class! We handed out at least 50 flyers and had a lot of people say they would show up on Thursday for the class! I talked to a lot of people by myself which is very good for me because my skills need to be improved. We met a man that said he had been on a search for Christ and when he saw the name of our church, he took it as a sign and wanted to meet with us again! (We still haven’t heard from him yet so we will call him tonight!! this man was golden!)

Wednesday was an average day. But we ran into this big tall man from Arkansas who had the most American accent I have ever heard! He had been living in France for 50 years!! He was really cool and it was so nice to hear an American accent again!

Thursday was alright... I got in a better mood for my companion and I started liking him again. I read a talk on pride and I asked God to forgive me for being prideful and to help me really love Elder G and it worked!! We are doing really great! It was also English class! I was so excited and expecting a lot of people!! But then we got there and nobody showed up except for a Portuguese member and his daughter.... It was pretty disappointing... But for some reason, I was still really happy and I felt like nothing could bring me down!

 

Friday! Oh man... we have some drama in the district.... Elder G is the district leader, so he is stressed about it and it stresses me out and I am starting to lose hair again.... I am not happy and I am thinking about having a talk with this Elder if he doesn’t grow up. The Zone leaders have ever expressed that he is being childish and needs to grow up! Gosh....

Saturday we had samedi sportif (Saturday sports) but then nobody showed up so that wasted our time lol.... But then we went home and made about 96 no-bake cookies for the ward on Sunday! They absolutely loved us!! Everyone wants the recipe now haha so we have to make copies of that!

Sunday was super great :) I felt the Spirit so strongly! I was asked to bear my testimony and say the closing prayer afterwards, and I was so overcome by the Spirit that I had to stop in the middle of the prayer to keep myself from breaking down and sobbing :') I love feeling the Spirit like this :) it makes me so happy!

Monday: Now we have to go clean our apartment for the inspection tomorrow!! Super (not) fun hahaha but that is life! Not too much to clean thank goodness! It is usually pretty clean :)

This week for stake conference, President Boyd K Packer is coming to speak to the Nice stake!!! And I will be at Nice for that!! Super cool!!! And hopefully I can meet Julie Hotz, a friend of Julia's! That would be so cool!!

Well take care! I love you lots!

Elder Nick Benjamin Martin

That was the sunset chez moi :)

This one is something that I though would make a cool desktop background!