Week 7

Greetings people of the Earth, or all those who care about me enough to read my blog! The work continues to progress, and things are going well here in my area! It's still so very hot, but perhaps that is to our advantage, the people sometimes take pity on us, we never turn down water. I tried cactus fruit the other day! it was actually pretty good! I keep hearing that it does in fact cool off here, I'm very excited for the winter months!

I give a word of warning to all who listen to me! Don't tempt the devil!! So we have this investigator, he committed to Baptism, and when he committed, we warned him that the devil would put up a fight, that there would likely be some opposition that would come his way. His response went something like this "Oh trust me, He can't throw anything my way that would phase me! I've already been through so much, there is nothing else that could possibly go wrong!" no joke, he actually said that! So he doesn't show up to church last sunday, we dont' know why. We go over wednesday, his brother answers the door and demands to know who we are, we tell him and ask for his brother, so our investigator limps up to the door, I look at him and notice the veins in his left arm, the left side of his body looks almost numb he's just limping along, for some reason I thought "Wow, this guy is totally twacked out on drugs!" Thankfully I was wrong... it was much worse, he had contracted Mersa! or Merca, or Mersca, or whatever I have no idea how to spell it... anyway apparently its this incredibly deadly staff infection, that is very contagious and painful! He couldn't walk, it was in his foot, he was in tons of pain. We told him we'd "pray something up" for him and went on our way, we said a prayer, and a few days later things healed up nicely for him. We went and visited again yesterday and he's doing much better, we'll stop by again this wednesday. He's ready to make changes in his life, he has a lot of desire to change and be happy, he's had a pretty tough life.

So this week has been quite humbling, just one thing after another that reminds me of how human I am! I am so grateful for every experience though, I know that it is helping me grow and become more like the Savior. The spirit doesn't hold things back, He definitely lets me know what areas I need to work on. I love the trials I've been given, I'm so grateful to be growing from them, and to actually be learning from them instead of just ignoring them, and "getting through them". I've learned so much this week, about the work of the Lord, about myself, and about how there is a huge gap between myself and the work of the Lord. I am excited to bridge that gap and am hopefully making the appropriate adjustments in life to allow that change to happen in my life, it is only through the Atonement of the Savior that I can do this. I am so grateful for Him and what He has done for me! He's the reason I'm out here, to invite others to come unto Him. My testimony grows every day, and I realize every day how small I truly am, how its only in and through the Lord that I'm even able to accomplish anything out here, He leads the missionary work around the world, I am a mere instrument in His hands, and in order for that instrument to do any good, it must be in tune. I would recommend that everyone who has a Preach My Gospel should turn to the "Christlike Attribute Activity" in chapter 6... I can't remember the page number, something like 146... I dunno, its the last page of chapter 6. Take it seriously. It is a wonderful thing.

Today is transfers. It turns out none of us will be transferred... unless the news comes super late... but yeah we're all staying put! I will be safe for another 6 weeks, until I believe October 3rd. I can't believe its already been six weeks in Arizona! I am still alive! I'm in a constant state of being tired, but live I do. For some reason being tired must help the work along somehow, cause I'm getting more sleep than I ever got back home, yet I am more tired all the time! maybe its the devil... its his way of trying to stop the work from progressing... I think he probably spends a lot of time here in Arizona, it feels like home to him.

Hey good news, the Gospel is true! Jesus Christ is at the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I bear testimony that that is true, I know it is because He told me so. I could listen to the world and I would disbelieve, or I could listen to God, the creator of the world and all things and believe. I think I will trust Him who knows all things.

Elder Martin