Six months in the field!

To start off this week, I hit six months in the field! Menschens kinder! I cannot believe that it has gone that fast. It seems like just barely yesterday I stepped off the plane. Wow! Time flies when you work hard everyday. But that just means I have to make every day count because they will run out sooner then I want them to.

This week we had several of our investigators commit to baptismal dates. Each of them I do believe will be able to meet this date. The only thing is that Elder Helbig will be gone for all of them, and he is kind of sad about that because we both have been working really hard with all of them. He wants to be there but, there is nothing that he can do.

I would like to tell you about one of the appointments that were set up with a baptismal date. We were at church and each Sunday the missionaries teach an English class for all the members that cannot speak German. We had a couple of investigators at this lesson. One of them was the investigator I told you about last week. He is from Nigeria and we have been trying to get him a baptismal date for a couple of weeks now. We had two members at this lesson and the spirit was so strong in this class room. I was giving the lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ and I could see in his eyes that he was feeling the spirit as well. The lesson ended and Elder Helbig and I were going to go and talk to him to see if we could commit him to a baptismal date when all of a sudden a member that was sitting next to him started to talk to him. This member, during the lesson, had bore his testimony on the power of the holy ghost and he just started to talk to the investigator after the lesson. He asked him if he felt the spirit and he said he did. Them he asked him if he would be to church on the 23rd of February and the investigator said he would. Then the member said "well that date is our ward conference and if you wanted to, you could be baptized after church that day?" The question took  Elder Helbig and I by surprise! But what the investigator said next surprised us the most. He said "Yes i want to do that". We were shocked a member had just committed one of our investigators to baptism. This one event strengthened my testimony about the power of members in this work. They are just as much a missionary as we are. They may not have a badge on there chest but they have it printed in ink on there hearts. He was so happy after that lesson. He asked us if we were ok with him doing that? We said of course. He told us that the holy ghost was telling him over and over to ask him to be baptized on that date. He told himself "no", but then the voice came back and he could not deny it.

Mom and Dad, you have so much power to be missionaries right from where you are. Be an example to all those around you and never miss an opportunity to spread the gospel especially when the holy ghost bares witness to you to do something. I love you both so much and I cant wait to hear more about dads friend and how he is doing. Keep working on him and get the missionary's involved when the time and the spirit is right. I love you both again. Tell Jessi "hi" from me and to keep doing good. I do have to go I have a train to catch.

You are with me always. Till next week,

Elder Martinez