Testifying in Tucson: July 20th - Hermana Garcia and I are staying together!!

Hey!! The transfer call never came! So we are both good haha. Even when you 'KNOW' you won't get transferred there is always that reminder that you just never know....transfer call night is kind of scary but I got an email from President last week that mentioned that we would be staying together so that took all the fun out of Saturday night ;) haha. Elder Howard, our District Leader, is heading up to El Rio so get ready for him my friends! He is great! We'll be getting Elder Driaza who was there in El Rio with me when I first got there. Reunion!

Well we've had a pretty good week here! We were able to find 2 new less actives in English completely by accident, and then 1 for the Spanish branch. We have been able to help them out a lot :) The one from the branch was able to come on Sunday and ask President about a Patriarchal Blessing which is fantastic! Also Virginia came with us to church! We walked and I held an umbrella over her and her scooter (super hot). After church we then discovered that was her first time going to church in 3 years!! Super happy to have part in that miracle :) PS in Relief Society we were asked on the spot to do a duet to "Love At Home". Oh, I am not a singer....but we did the first verse in English and the second in Spanish. Not bad without practice haha!

On Wednesday we celebrated Elder Howard's birthday which was fun and then had an amazing day! We found 5 new investigators! 1 couple, 2 single men, and then the wife of an investigator we already have. 5 news from 4 different households in one day was nothing short of a miracle :) We're also doing something that my sweet, wonderful trainer did with me where we decide how many miracles we want to see that day and then find them at the end of the day. That has been nice to truly see the hand of the Lord in all that we do.

On Thursday we went to go give blood (first time for Hermana Garcia). The first finger prick I came up low on iron, my bad! Then I said a prayer in my heart and had her prick a finger on the other hand. Just barely made it! Whew, glad I could still donate. At one point Hermana Garcia came in and asked me for the address for the mission. I gave it to her and when she left the worker who was there said to me in Spanish, "Wow, I never would have guessed that you spoke Spanish." I get that a lot at Safeway too when we're shopping. Random people will ask me where I'm from haha. Apparently tall red headed girls don't look like they should speak Spanish. It turns into a great contacting tool though haha!

Melissa took us out to lunch at a cute restaurant called Isabella's after. Super good chimis :) Melissa is such a sweetheart. We take her out to lunch and then she takes the receipt and pays. She is too good to us. We always have such a great time with her. We're going to get together and do a breakfast on Wednesday :)

We were able to later help the Holyoaks move to Safford. We're losing a lot of members of the ward it is so sad :( we love them all so much. Seriously the members are beyond good to us here. Everyone wants to help us, give us food, and just adopt us in general! The elders here before said we would be well taken care of. They were not kidding haha. We are super blessed to be here! Especially to live with the Bushmans. I cannot wait for you to meet them!! I wish I knew how to thank them for all that they do for us.

So for all my young women, I finished memorizing The Living Christ this past week for my Faith project!! It was so cool to say it all together for the first time. I remember being halfway done at Easter and feeling super accomplished haha. Keep on going! Keep doing your Personal Progress! It makes the difference!

Love you all so much! And the adventures in Willcox continue! Have a great week!!

Hermana Martin