Kia ora 朋友和家庭！
This week was supposed to be Halloween, but it was also Christmas because we got our travel plans!
Boo! (spoooky downsides of my week):
- I will have to say goodbye to some really good friends soon, and I know this will be the last time every one of us will have the opportunity to be together like this, so that's sad.
- Someone scared Sister Cummings the other day, ran away, and got away with it. We never found out who it was- and we were very confused who would have done that. It was funny, but we really wanted to catch the culprit!
- I feel like any sense of humor I had, died here (哎呀）
Sweet! :
- Daylight savings gave us the opportunity to sleep more than I have since I was home, so that was a huge blessing.
- The week leading up to Halloween, Sister Cummings, Sister Hoe, Sister Chou and I low-key dressed up in the spirit of the holiday. We only told our district about it (是一个秘密）so It was fun being sneaky. Don't worry though it was nothing too crazy! Feel free to look at the shared album to see all the days. The costumes were like Halloween "Bounding", not literal.
- We're singing Joseph's First Prayer this week for devotional and it sounds so beautiful. The director, Brother Eggot, is incredibly inspirational. I wish I could have you all listen to the arrangement.
- I was able to have Crumbl twice this week and it was a huge delicious blessing.
- We are hoping and praying that the Taiwan missionary's travel plans are legit- they got travel plans, but there has been a history of staying a week later due to Visa issues, so much so that from this point on, these missionaries will be assigned to the MTC for 10 weeks.
- I went to the temple this morning- a great opportunity since I'm not sure when the next opportunity I'll have to visit will be. (And we got omelets at the cafeteria afterward -- wow!)
中文 （Chinese) :
In Chinese we say 再见（zai jian) to say goodbye, or literally, "See you again!". But we can also say 拜拜 (bai bai) because the people really like using English phrases. It sounds really cute, but it's nonetheless really common.
Spiritual:
This week I've just been able to come closer to Christ and refocus my attention on Eternal goals I have. Sometimes we get too focused on those things that don't really matter. In this last General Conference Elder Uchtdorf told us that discipleship is about being intentional. No one expects us to be perfect, but as we intentionally act in order to reach our eternal goals (Celestial Marriage, Happy Family, Becoming like God- or I don't know-- being a successful missionary ;)), we will find more joy and fulfillment in our lives.
Simple Truth:
God wants us to know truth. Moroni 10:5 tells us "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." Because God is our father in Heaven he wants the best for us- he wants us to learn and grow. That's why he gave us scriptures, prophets and the Holy Ghost to teach us truth, and to teach us how to obtain knowledge of truth. We can truly gain knowledge and answers to our questions if we pray to know, believing we will receive.
I will probably not have the chance to email home for another 2 weeks. The next time you hear from me I'll be in Auckland! I love you all and delight in hearing from you.
加油！❤
馬姐妹 (Ma JieMei)
Sister Martinez
1) Us as Ninja Turtles (Happy Halloween!)
2) Me at the temple
Photos:
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