"...And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.": Purse and scrip is for wimps!

Monday, 27 October 2014

Purse and scrip is for wimps!

So it is only the 3rd day of this new transfer and I have already heard about 25 lame trunky jokes and have experienced the most crazy situation of my entire mission!!

Disclaimer before I begin:

Due to the psycho circumstances of the last 2 days, this email has to be short (I only have a small slot of time to email before I have to run off and deal with more stuff that cannot wait).

Disclaimer over.

We are in Stretford!

You know you live in the heart of Manchester when... you live a 15 minute walk from Manchester United FC! Yup! My life now revolves around making sure we do not get caught in the middle of a football riot! Wow!!

Manchester is incredible!!! Million of people to talk to is a "dying" missionary's dream! All my areas have been so small and quiet so it is crazy to be experiencing something! We just spend all our time talking to people on the street! It is terrifying (since all my areas have been small with barely any opportunities to street contact) but exhilarating!

So we have literally been the definition of a missionary with no purse or scrip!

We arrived to our flat the first day with all our luggage everywhere, and to my shock we could not get into our flat!

Turns out the letting agent gave the mission office the wrong keys! The best part!? Transfers were on a Saturday-- and the agency is closed on weekends-- so we were suddenly homeless.

We ended up waiting a couple of hours before we were able to get rescued by some missionaries who had a car. We got taken over to stay with the Manchester YSA sisters until today. (This was fun, because Sis. Riley happens to be serving here-- we have been separated since I finished training her a year ago, so it was a strange full circle deja vu thing as my 1st and 3rd mission children were altogether in one flat).

So I was given no map, area book, ward directory and our phone came from an area in a completely different area so we had no phone numbers for anybody in our area. Literally no "purse or scrip"! We finally just got all our supplies a couple of hours ago! I have been wandering around Manchester with my brand new companion- fresh out of the MTC- with no map! We have gotten lost about a billion times! It has been crazy! And certainly an adventure! I think things can only get better from here!

Despite all the stress though, I am just adoring Manchester! Where has this place been my entire mission?!?!?

My new companion:

Sister Sant is officially my last companion, AND my first ever Utah companion! She is lovely! Excited to work hard! It will be fun being able to train and help make the magic happen in this area! She is tall like me so it is funny to see how people react to us on the street! So far so good though!

The last note before I have to run (sorry everyone! Lame! I know!):

I was asked the other day a deep, life-changing question:

If you could whitewash into anywhere in the world, and with anyone, who would it be?

My first reply:

I would whitewash into Mexico with Nacho Libre!

Then our district decided together an even better scenario! I officially am going to whitewash into Gotham city with Batman and Robin (because I can say from experience that trio companionships are the best!)

Anyways! Off I run to deal with the chaos and craziness that is my life! :)

I love you all!

Hope the time goes quickly for you and slowly for me!

Sister Martin

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Sister Martin's Contact Info:

Currently Serving In:

Manchester - Oct 2014 - Dec 4, 2014

Chorley - Jun - Oct 2014

Wigan - Apr - Jun 2014

Carlisle - Nov 2013 - Apr 2014

Telford - Jun - Nov 2013

England Missionary Training Center (Preston, England) - May - June 2013

Mailing Address:

Sister Erika Lynn Martin

England Manchester Mission

Springwood, Suite G5

Booths Park, Chelford Road

Knutsford, WA16 8GS

England, United Kingdom

Email: erika.martin@myldsmail.net

Anyone is allowed to email Erika. Please understand that she has very limited computer time each week, so she won't be able to personally reply to every email that she receives but she will still be grateful for them!

MY TESTIMONY: (i.e...the entire reason why I've decided to serve a mission!)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the absolute center of my life. Every day I feel so grateful that I am so incredibly blessed to have a knowledge of it; how grateful I am that I have such a sure guide to help me navigate this life! Daily decisions that seem so insignificant and trifle to me are simple because of the teachings of the gospel in my life, which guide me through each day’s small moments. It is a blessing to have scripture, modern day revelation, and the gift of the Holy Ghost to aid me in making decisions that will direct me on a path leading back to my loving Heavenly Father.

Nothing is more important to me than to be able to share my testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ; my relationship with Him is the most sacred thing I have in my life. I love him so much! I feel that anything I ever do will never be enough to thank him for the ultimate sacrifice that he made for me. I so often think of the atonement and am so overcome with emotion knowing that he loves me enough that he was willing to suffer for every single sin I have ever committed. I desire so strongly to do right in my life because of the gift of the atonement in my life. I have a great desire to follow completely in his ways; I wish nothing more than to have him be proud of the life that I have lived here on earth. I cannot deny the teachings of Jesus Christ. The message of his gospel is so full of love and mercy and I wish that more people could feel the love that I feel every day because I know of this gospel. I believe that Jesus Christ lived on this earth. I believe that he lived a perfect life. I know that he suffered for the sins of all mankind in order to free us from suffering a spiritual death. I know that without my Savior, I would have nothing. I am more grateful for his love than I could ever express! The love of Christ is so strong, and I feel it so deeply in my heart when I stop and think about all that he has done for me. I gather so much comfort from knowing that I am NEVER alone in this life. Every second of my life, Jesus Christ is right by my side; he knows exactly how I feel because he experienced it too. He will never abandon me and will forever be the most constant person in my life. I pray daily that in my inadequacies, I can be worthy to represent him wherever I go. I wish nothing more than to conduct my life according to his teachings and live in a manner that is pleasing to him. I look so forward to the day where I will be reunited with him and can tell him face to face how much I love him; tell him how grateful I am that he believed in me and stood by my side during every difficult time in my life; tell him how thankful I am that he was so willing to forgive me every single time I got down on my knees and repented for my mistakes. Every day I try my absolute best to live the gospel, so one day I can be reunited with him. I truly love my Saviour. If I had any wish, it would be that I could convey this love in every action and thought in this life.

I am thrilled beyond words about having the opportunity to serve a mission for the Lord. Heavenly Father has such a love for every single one of His children and I pray that I will be able to help bring some of the people in England to this knowledge. I pray daily that I will be able to completely lose myself in my work as a missionary! I plan to completely leave my life in Canada behind and become totally engrossed in the Lord’s work, because I know that doing so will result in personal growth for myself and blessings for others. I absolutely cannot wait to begin this mission! It will be a wonderful day when I will get to put my mission tag on and begin this new phase of life that will be dedicated to this gospel that I dearly love.

~Sister Martin~