Testifying in Tucson: January 12th - Leaving El Dorado and going to St. David

I have never been so emotionally drained in my life. And I thought the MTC was bad!!! Leaving El Dorado has been one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life. I am sitting at the Mission Home right now while my new companion, Hermana Blackford, gets an interview. She is a Sister Training Leader. Her companion just went home this morning and I am taking her spot. Only trio in the mission field so instead of putting me in another Spanish Branch like we expected I am going out to St. David to serve in 2 English wards. St. David is 70% Mormon so I'll get to feel like I'm back in Utah :P Weird. Hermana Blackford is also a Spanish sister so that will be nice to have someone to practice with! And there isn't a Spanish branch out there or group so I'll be teaching some Spanish still :) excited for that! I can't wait to see the adventures that lay ahead.

My time with Hermana Sutherland and Hermana Hubert, although very short, was very special to me :) I love them both so much and I know they will both take care of El Dorado for me. Over 6 months, 6 different companions, and countless memories, I can't believe still that I've left there. It really was my home and I have loved my time serving there.

This past week has stayed busy and I thankfully was able to see just about everybody. Usually people have the Monday before transfers to do that so we tried really hard to get everyone in before I left. Seeing Hermana Maciell yesterday morning and playing viola for her one more time was so precious. I just love her with all my heart and I hope that I come back to the Tucson area soon so I can go visit her. I'll send pictures of all the people that I was able to go see before I left. I can't even begin to list them all haha. I seriously have a new family here! It is so crazy!

Yesterday at church, Samantha and I played "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". It was so awesome that she and I were able to get that together before she left :) It was so amazing that I was able to be her companion for a week and all the times she and I got to teach together. She is going to continue to be an example to the girls there and I can't wait to see where she gets her mission call to :)

Oh man, where do I begin talking about the amazing members I just had to leave behind! Saturday I said goodbye to Maria Garsia. We've made plans for in the future for her to teach me how to make tamales :P Super excited for that. Also I did Personal Progress for the last time with Alexa and Paulina Hernandez. I love them both so much! I've loved my time with those two! I can't wait to see all the amazing things they do in the future :) I also went and said goodbye to Yhovany and Cindy. I hope their reading in the Book of Mormon together will continue to strengthen them :) I also went and said goodbye to Israel and his family :) they are doing well and I am glad that he will be going to the English Ward to be with Ricky. I also got to say goodbye to la familia Larese y President y Hermana Gomez. It was a really busy Saturday but really awesome :) we also went to the baptism of Jade Romero. Super strong spirit there :) they are an amazing family.

Sunday after my last dinner with the Romero family, I went and said goodbye to the Pineda family. Mel and Z (their girls) weren't there :( but I'm still glad I was able to go by and say goodbye to them! Then I went and said goodbye to the Minch family. Best Ward Mission Leader ever! Seriously he was so awesome. I hope I have others just like him. His family is so adorable! Miss them already. I then went and said goodbye to the Medinas. I can't say more than that. I was such a wreck! Oh my goodness. They just adopted me when I came in and I always felt like I was home with them. I just cried and cried and I couldn't say goodbye. It was beyond hard!

I then went and had my last scripture study with Sonia. Since she came to General Conference last October, she has only missed church 3 times! She has been teaching the Sunbeams every Sunday for the past 2 months. I love her so much! She came over this morning with pancakes saying I needed to eat. Made me cry it was so rough! Don't even know how I can leave these wonderful people.

Well I better leave it at that, but here we go to area #2! I'm excited for a new adventure. Love you all and miss you! Talk to you soon!

Hermana Martin