"...And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Before I start! TRANSFERS ARE NEXT WEEK, SO PDAY WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY 27 or THURS 28 next week!!!!! Start tossing in predictions for where you think I'll go (will I stay or go?!?!?!?!?!)

Like always, this week has been packed full of silly moments!

Happy Birthday Mate:

So Sis. R's bday was this week!!! I went ALL out in planning for it!! I snuck out of bed the night before her bday and heart attacked our whole flat and then did a heart wall of "22 reasons why I love you!". It looked great and was a fun surprise for her to wake up to. The highlight of her bday....I was sneaky (lots of secret texting when she was in the shower etc) and plotted with a member to order her some Australian goodies that she has been craving badly! So she was shocked when she received for 4 tins of Milo (it's a chocolate/malt drink that she LOVES), and a few packs of Tim Tams. The ward missionaries were excellent in helping out too and she got flowers, other random gifts, and a total of 4 CAKES throughout the day from different people. Great day! Sis R is truly the best and deserved it!

Awkward RS Moment:

For some reason our ward was practically deserted yesterday! We only had about 6-7 woman in RS, so I felt like I had to sing a little louder than usual for the opening hymn (our ward struggles with enthusiastic singing on a normal day, so you can imagine how much quieter our small motley crew would have been yesterday). Well, I've been struggling with a cold the last while, and on top of that I don't have the strongest soprano voice (I usually sing alto....but felt I should try and support our small group with a weak--but willing-- soprano part). 2 words: Voice Crack........2 more words: Red face!!!! My voice cracked sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooooo bad right on the first note!!!! So pretty much my desire to help sing counteracted itself, because instead of singing Sis R and I spent the whole hymn stifling tears and laughter. Oh well. It's the thought that counts right?!

Bad pun of the week;
So I was telling Sis R about how intense I thought something was. Her reply: intense?.......like camping?!!

Barrel or Beryl?:

So we taught an 87 year old lady last night at a tea appointment. She is so old and can barely hear or see and is one of those older ladies that has no filter and no shame. You can probably imagine all the crazy weird things that happened over the course of our appointment.

Beryl Moments:

1. I confessed to Sis. R that when I say this lady's name, all I picture is a giant barrel (like the ones you store stuff in), because I cannot pronounce her name the way the English do (when I say barrel and beryl, it sounds the same). She found this hilarious and we were in fits laughing every time someone said her name that night (just picturing this old lady wearing a barrel.....we truly are terrible people!).

2. Penny toilet: Beryl walks back into the living room after going to the toilet and declares with frustration that the toilet doesn't work. She then asks (no kidding at all...absolutely serious) if it is a penny toilet and goes to get her purse to find a pence to spare. Once again, Sis. R and I had to duck under the table to hide our immature laughing fits.

3. Titanic: Someone mentioned the Titanic and Beryl's response? Isn't that a new battleship they recently made? Once again she was dead serious. And once again, Sis R and I were ducked under the table hiding more tears of laughter.

4. Beryl's nifty American watch: Because she can barely see, she got a free watch that verbally tells you the time. This watch has an almost painfully strong American accent. She had forgotten that I was Canadian (therefore I have an N. American accent) and started going on about how she hates her watch because it sounds so stupid. And then went on to do an impression of her watch....it wasn't even real worlds...she was just moaning and making silly noises out of her mouth like she was possessed (apparently that was her impression of an American). While she was doing this she was plugging her nose. In all fairness, the watch was pretty American, but I have no idea what she was doing. And once again...Sis R and I was under the table hiding fits of laughter (we debated just sitting under the table and eating our tea there for the rest of the night....would of saved us the constant trips of descending down there to have our inappropriately timed fits of laughter).

My Companion Beats Me:

So last night I was peacefully sitting on the couch, reading the scriptures. I was super immersed in what I was reading when suddenly I get nailed in the head really hard with a small, hard object. Sis R had quietly entered the room and had intended to just toss a chocolate on the couch next to me. Turns out she has terrible aim and pummelled me right on the forehead with it! It hit me so hard that I got a small goose-egg!! Funniest part was seeing her face when the chocolate made contact with my head (she felt so bad and was dancing around making the silliest/apologetic face) and seeing her face when I declared that I got a goose-egg (she has never heard that term in her entire life and thinks it's the weirdest/silliest name ever!).

Quote of the week:

The work has been super slow out here! No major progress with anyone and no significantly crazy miracles to share. But I came across this quote that I thought was worth sharing :)

"Disciples of Christ throughout all ages of the world have been distinguished by their compassion...In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers." -- Pres. Uchtdorf

What a wonderful quote! As we serve those around us and strive to answer prayers, we then get answers to our own prayers! I've learned this so much as I've worked with companions, investigators etc. The more you love and serve others, the more you learn about our Saviour, the easier it is to endure trials, and the more personal insights/growth you experience.

Side note: Vicky (that nice lady we were hoping to work with) dropped us. It happened quick (Satan fights so hard sometimes). Sad but it happens. Hopefully as this door closes, another one will open!!! They always do :)

Love you all! Sorry for the lack of miracles! Sis R and I feel that this is going to be a good week, so be excited for my next email!!!! Pray for your local missionaries! They need all the help they can get! They love you and work so, so hard!!!!

Hope the time goes quickly for you and slowly for me

xoxo Sister Martin