"You will not return to your homes except under arcs of triumph!"

Bonjour!

Sounds like everyone had a pretty great, crazy week! We definitely have enough money on our cards for meals. We have this place called Carrefour, which is like a giant Walmart/Winco thing haha, so we're staying pretty frugal. I bought my coat today for 100€, but Elder Mckechnie said not to worry about boots, since it doesn't snow much and you'll just wear your tracting shoes all the time anyways. I'll probably be getting a new proselyting bag either this transfer or the next one, sometime before I leave Epinal. I need something smaller and more difficult to steal, especially if I end up in a big city. I just used my credit card because that is a little cheaper than using the debit card. The extra 100 dollars on my mission card is just reserved for travel till I leave the mission, so I'm trying to leave that alone haha. We take the hour train ride north to Nancy at least once a week for district meeting, and then again for exchanges if we can't do it all in the same day. So tell Tristan I ride the train allllll the time! I haven't really eaten anything interesting yet, unfortunately, but next Sunday a member of the branch presidency invited us over for a "mangez-vous", so hopefully I'll eat something crazy!

For laundry we have a washer and dryer in the apartment, so that makes it super easy. We just start it right after we shower in the morning and keep it rotating all day. Generally, we eat TONS of pasta and rice, because it's super easy and quick to make, and we can't waste time cooking with so many people out there who need saving! :) So, because of that I'm feeling super healthy haha. I've actually lost about 15 lbs. since leaving the MTC, which actually scared me at first. I thought, "I'm in France, I shouldn't have a worm!" But, that's just what happens when you eat well and walk for like 10 hours a day! My knee is always a little sore, but that's to be expected. Nothing out of the ordinary! Overall I'm just feeling super happy and healthy :) I actually have a little request for you! During President Poznanski's training a few years ago, President Bednar gave him a formula for learning the language more quickly. One of the steps was to have your family pray for you 3 times a day to have the Gift of Tongues. He said "it's easy to ask once or twice, but if you push and ask 3 times every day, you will see miracles!" Will you do that for me?

We commited the Saitovic family to baptism this week, but we haven't set a date yet. We would like to do that either tomorrow or Wednesday. I met some amazing people this week! On Monday we were out contacting in the park and started talking with a young man named Quinton. He said later that he "recognized the American accent right away". He is actually part of an exchange program and spends quite a bit of time in the States! He speaks incredible English. Instead of blowing us off and saying he had somewhere to be, he said he had to grab some dinner before meeting up with his friends, but asked if we would like to walk with him haha. That was different than usual. We taught the Restoration and gave him the brochure (I typed 'depliant' (brochure) several times before realizing it was French haha) but he said he was actually leaving on another exchange, this time to Germany. So we haven't been able to meet with him again. 

We had interviews and Zone Conference this week, which was awesome! Soeur Poznanski gave the new missionaries a model Arc de Triomphe, with the quote that inspired the real one. Napolean told his soldiers that "You will not return to your homes except under arcs of triumph!" That is so applicable to us as missionaries! I love President and Soeur Poznanski! They really are the greatest. We did exchanges with the missionaries in Toul, and they put the 2 bleus together for the day! We had an awesome experience and actually taught several leçons!

Yesterday we used a baguette for the sacrament bread, so I guess you could say I'm really in France now haha. I also met Frère Courage. He is actually from England, but served his mission in France and then moved back here. He told me that when he was a missionary, they didn't have an MTC in Europe, so he went straight into the field, not knowing a word of French! Talk about faith! His trainer had to teach him literally everything. But, it was awesome to talk to him, and we talked for about 15 minutes in French. At the end, I realized, I just had a full conversation, completely in French! It has truly been amazing. I feel so blessed everyday to be here and I know that it is because of revelation that I'm in France, and in Epinal, right now. Everyday we are led by the Spirit and are able to testify to everyone we see! There is nothing that can pick up your attitude like testifying of the Lord! On that note, I found an awesome scripture to share with the ward and, specifically, the ward missionaries! It is 3 Nephi 18:32. I love it! That is exactly the work we do every day.

Quoi d'autre.... Oh! Could you somehow find a copy of my line of authority for the Melchizedek Priesthood and send it to me? That is super useful in explaining to people that we have the restored authority of the priesthood, and helps to resolve that conflict much more easily. That's about it here! We're super focused on finding families right now, and I know that we'll find them this week! Next Monday I'm not sure exactly when I'll email, because I have to go back into Paris to finish up my first year legality stuff. But I'm sure we'll figure something out! I love you all so much, and thank you so much for your love and support! I feel your prayers everyday and I feel like I'm really adjusting to the missionary life! I love being a missionary and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this work is true! I love you!

Love,

Elder Martin

 My first real baguette with cheese

My gift from Soeur Poznanski

Not entirely sure why, but the Michelin Man was just chilling in this parking lot as we walked past.

 This is what I do in the kitchen while Elder McKechnie makes his District Leader calls haha. I had it stuck there for about 10 minutes.

There is one of these in every ville, and they just serve Western U.S. food haha. This is where President took us for dinner our first night in France

First Zone Conference

Singing with his Zone

Introduction of the new missionaries

Elder Martin and his trainer Elder McKechnie

Meal time

Part of his Zone

Splits in Toul and Catching Up with Elder Ben Anderson

Bonjour!

Yes, we ran into that sister and her son one of my first days in Epinal. Apparently she grew up here then moved to Canada, then her son served his mission in Québec, so he flagged us down on the street. (A Sister Wellington (I think) called me from Canada and told me she had visited with Elder Martin in France.  It was an amazing phone call and I loved hearing from someone that had actually been with him since arriving in France)  That was super cool, I love meeting members here. Our branch is the greatest. I'm so glad she called you when she got back home :) 

So I'm not exactly sure why the Saitovich's moved here, but I know they're trying to extend their residence here as long as possible. Right now they're just living in a hotel in town, so hopefully they can get their residency extended and find an apartment. There are the parents, Bata and Alysa, and 4 kids:Daga is 25ish and super kind, Marguerita is 20 and speaks pretty good French, Simon is 16 and speaks pretty good French and English, and Baby Bata is a super active 3 year old! They're such a great family. We committed Bata to baptism, but when we tried to commit the rest of the family, Alysa started talking about how they're already baptized. Usually that's not too difficult to explain, but with the language barrier it was almost impossible. Hopefully we can set a date with them this week. 

Jean-Pierre is doing well. We still teach him pretty regularly and we're trying to get him involved in the Elder's Quorum in the branch, I think that will really help. Epinal wasn't really closed, it was just part of another area and so it was really tough for the missionaries to get out here. Now it has its own area, and the work is exploding! I'm so grateful to be here, we see miracles every day.

 President Poznanski has asked the whole mission to pray for us that we'll find new amis, and we have seen miracles. One day we got the super strong impression to turn around and go to the park, and we found Thomas, a young musician, and the Dolar Family, a young Romanian family. Later that same day, we got to impression to walk across town to a different park, and cross a very specific bridge over the river. There, we found Kevin. We taught him the Restoration and he was suuuuper interested in that. We gave him the Book of Mormon and plan on continuing to meet with him.

I'm not sure if Durrentzen is in our area, but I will find out :) (Elder Martin's Aunt Katie has a friend in San Antonio, TX that is from Durrentzen and has family there.)  The time change and weather haven't been much of a problem. It rains a lot more here, which I actually really like. We just pull out our umbrellas and keep on working! It was funny, the other day I honestly could not remember the word for umbrella in English! It was a little freaky but also super cool!

The members generally live pretty far away so we cook for ourselves every meal. It's actually been pretty good though, and one member made it sound like he wants to feed me escargot some time, so I'm pumped for that. When we email its usually from the multimedia center in town, so sometimes it is in the morning before you wake up, and sometimes it is in the evening.

I miss Tanner and Ben and Kylee so much! Tell them all I love them and please send me Ben's email adress. I emailed Tanner today, and I told him that since I'm picking up a little Serbian from the Famille Saitovich, I'm working on learning the same alphabet as he is haha.

Sounds like the ward and everyone there is doing awesome! I can't believe how fast time is going. Honestly, my first 5 or so days were really rough because I didn't understand anybody and the days dragged on forever. But, I've also never spent so much time on my knees in prayer in my entire life. I have felt the Lord's hand in my life so much this week. Now I'm really beginning to understand and speak better, and the days feel like they're over before they begin. I'm so in love with Epinal right now, it's such a beautiful ville. Every day I walk down the street and think "wow, this is France!"

Don't worry, that kind of stuff doesn't make me homesick at all! Really, it just makes me super happy for everyone at home! I've heard that the new temple video is awesome from so many people! I can't wait to see it with you! That's probably the next time I'll be in the temple. Honestly, right now I'm just feeling super blessed to be here.

This week we did our first exchanges, since Elder Mckechnie is the District Leader. Also, the Zone Leaders are in our district, so I get to do tons of exchanges during my training, which is super good training to see how other missionaries work. This week I was with Elder Heath up north in Toul, and we had a blast. We got to do porte à porte (knocking doors) and teach a lesson to a recent convert who's having trouble giving up his smoking. It was a really cool experience. And their apartment is huge!

We started teaching the Famille Saitovich every day. 3 days a week we teach the missionary lessons, and the other 3 days we teach French, which is always super fun. I've really enjoyed working with them. Last night we didn't have any rendezvous, so we went porting! We walked about 30 minutes in one direction and did a neighborhood, and met a small family that might be interested. We'll be checking back in next week. Then after lunch we walked 30 minutes in another direction and ported, with no luck. But, we did have an interesting experience. At one point we knew we had enough time for one or two more doors, so we prayed to know which house we needed to go to then started walking. About halfway down the street, we both stopped in front of a house and knew that it was the one. We knocked and a man answered, but he wasn't interested at all. Then we tried the next house, and same thing. At first I couldn't figure it out, but I knew what I had felt. Then we talked about how we don't always see the results of every house we knock at, but we were able to bear testimony, which means the Holy Ghost had an opportunity to touch those people. Also, sometimes the Lord tests us to see if He can trust us to follow His promptings before He sends us the people who are truly prepared for us. I'm glad to say that we proved that we would follow His direction, and I know that somehow, blessings will follow! The Lord really knows what He is doing here :)

That's about it for this week. We have Zone Conference next week on Thursday, so keep an eye out on the Facebook page for my smiling mug, I'll try to get in a few photos! Also, I need to know if I/we have enough money for me to get my coat possibly next P-day or the week after? I'll start needing it once we get into September (which I can't believe is only 2 weeks away. wow!) Elder Mckechnie said it will probably cost about 100 Euros, I don't know how many dollars that is.

Love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Martin

 The kitchen at the missionary's apartment in Toul. Roughly the size of our apartment.

 The upstairs of the Toul apartment, which is also, roughly the size of our apartment in Epinal haha

The cathedral in Toul

From the moment Elder Martin opened his Mission Call, he has been so excited to see his good friend, Elder Ben Anderson, who is also serving in Paris.  These two have been friends for a few years.  They were finally able to spend time together the day after Elder Martin arrived in Paris.  I'm sure the reunion (after over 8 months) was amazing! 

First Letter from France and First Baptism!

Bonjour!

This week has been the greatest! My trainer, Elder Mckechnie, is great. Our first night, he had me leading out in street contacting. It was super intimidating, but he had faith in me and I was able to do it!

Anyways, I'm glad you all saw the pictures (on the Mission Facebook Page). I tried extra hard to make sure that I was in them haha. I've gotta say, seeing Elder (Ben) Anderson was the sweetest mercy ever. I was feeling really overwhelmed and everything, but then I saw his face and I knew I was gonna be ok! Aahhh that was great haha.

The Pain au Chocolat is the best, some members gave us a box on Saturday and Elder Mckechnie and I have already finished it! He is from Scotland, which is super cool. I really could not have been blessed with a better trainer! He is super patient with me, but he also pushes me to improve myself.

I've been so amazed by the Gift of Tongues this week. My first day I had a total Elder Calhoun (from the movie The Best Two Years) experience. Now, I can understand so much and speak my mind most of the time. It is such a blessing.

We had a baptism on Saturday! A man named Jean Pierre Jacqot. He is the coolest, I love him! I even got to confirm him in Sacrament meeting yesterday, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life! We also have the Saitovich family that we're going to commit to baptism this week. They are from Serbia, so the daughter speaks a bit of French and the son speaks a bit of English, and that's all haha. It's a little difficult to teach, but they are so receptive! The dad reads the Book of Mormon to the family every night, and he says "This book is from God!" We're shooting for the 31 of this month for their baptism.

I guess Epinal was closed for a long time, then Elder Mckechnie and his companion came in 3 months ago and opened it back up, so he has been here for 3 months already and we'll be here for another 3 months. We're seeing miracles all the time.

I'm so glad everyone is good at home! I can't think of anything that I need for right now. Just lots of prayers! We walk everywhere, which is great! We do soooo much contacting, which is great. I can't believe how many people we meet every day! I never realized just how many people we interact with on a daily basis.

I'm so glad you're spending time with Lindsey and Konner! I miss and love all of you sooo much! You are such a great support to me and I know I couldn't do this without you! Love you!

Love,

Elder Martin

P.S. I have pictures coming right behind this email :)

 Our awesome teacher Soeur Judd

 Elder Devine!

 2 great missionaries! (Samuel Smith statue at MTC)

 Our district at the famous MTC map

 Leaving the MTC!

 Au Revoir, MTC!

 Just an awesome picture!

 Our first sight of France! There's our mission field!

 Inside Notre Dame!

 Notre Dame is huge!

 Beautiful art like this all over Notre Dame

Our kitchen/living room/ closet!

Us, Jean-Pierre, and Frère Tennoun, our Branch mission leader at the baptism!

He Arrived in Paris!

To the Family of Elder Martin,

Sister Poznanski and I were delighted to welcome your son , Elder Robert Tyler Martin , into the France Paris Mission on 06 Aug 2013. He and his MTC companions were enthusiastic and all arrived in good health.  He spent his first day eating some good food, visiting with me, contacting non-members in the heart of Paris, and sharing testimonies.  We enjoyed his spirit.

The next morning, after a mission orientation, Elder Martin left for his first assignment to work in the Epinal Area with Elder McKechnie, who will be his trainer.  Their apartment address is:

28, rue de Bellevue
EPINAL, 88 88000
FRANCE

Any packages or letters you would like to send will reach your missionary at this address.
We feel very privileged to work with him.  We also realize the responsibility we share with you to help him continue to grow spiritually as he faithfully performs his duties.  May the Lord inspire us all to sustain him in this challenging and exciting assignment.  We hope you will join Sister Poznanski and me in praying each day for your son , his companion, investigators, and all of us serving in the France Paris Mission.

A positive, supportive letter from home every week does wonders to sustain a missionary’s morale.  Proverbs 25:25 states:  As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. If you have any questions, or if we can assist you in any way, please contact us at our office (001-331-3480-0483) or home (001-331-3976-8402).

Sincerely,

Franck Poznanski
President, France Paris Mission
______________________________________________

Dear Families of our Missionaries,
I am pleased to be able to send you this little E-mail to announce to you the creation of the Facebook of the Paris France Mission.

We hope to be able to place photos of the events that take place here in the mission every 15 days so that we might share with you the Spirit that animates our mission.  Your comments our welcome, but we hope you understand we will not be able to respond to each one individually because of time.

We are very grateful for the support that you give through your prayers and the E-mails for your children. It is very precious.

Some amazing things are happening in this mission thanks to the faith, the perseverance and the desire of our missionaries to better fulfill the reason why they are here on mission. They are continually putting amazing efforts into raising the bar and to see the fruits of their labors.

We are very grateful for these chosen youth who have been place in our care and we assure you that we are doing all that we can to make sure they are taken care of. We love and care for them dearly.
We invite you to join our group, so that you might be able to participate in the great moments unfolding in each photo. Here is the name : “France Paris Mission Poznanski”

Sincerely,
Sister Poznanski


___________________________________________________
As you know, the missionaries cherish the letters and packages that they receive from their families and we are well aware of the time, effort and sometimes even sacrifices that these packages are for you.
To be sure they arrive in a timely manner and in the best conditions, please follow these recommendations:

1 - Make sure your shipment is properly stamped and paid for.
2 - Verify that the address of the sender and the recipient are written legibly. Write clearly:
Les Missionnaires
Elder … or Sister …
3 - Do not forget to write the country of destination and of origin.
4 - Make sure your package is securely packed.
5-Never send cash by post. It is prohibited under French law.
6-Remember that the bigger the package, the greater the risk of it being damaged.
7 - Send the package to the address of the apartment of your missionary and not to the mission office. Packages sent to the mission office will not be forwarded to the missionaries by mail.
8 – Don’t send packages within the 15 days before a transfer. Transfers are every 6 weeks. Ask your missionary to keep you informed of transfer dates.
9 - Remember to send Christmas, Easter, and birthday packages at least 3 weeks early.
10 - If you can, it would be very nice to include in your package something for your missionaries’ companion. In fact, some of our missionaries receive no support or packages from their loved ones and this could be a support for them, as well as very beneficial to their relationship with their companion.

 With President and Sister Poznanski

 The group of missionaries he arrived with

 President Poznanski on his knees finalizing assignments for the new missionaries.  Sister Poznanski said she had never seen him pray so hard over a group of new missionaries.

 Arriving at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.  The flight was 10 hours directly from Salt Lake City.

Preparing to share the Book of Mormon with the people of Paris

Receiving instructions at the airport

Enjoying his first Pain au Chocolate in Paris.  He dreamed of this moment from the time he received his mission call.

The finger licking probably started soon after this picture

Helping load luggage at the airport

The group with their luggage in the airport

First contacts on the train in Paris

He looks pretty comfortable already!

Meeting their trainers

Getting to know everyone

Instruction at the Mission Home in Paris

So many new friends to meet

Contemplation at the Mission Home

Soaking it all up!

Outside the Mission Home in Paris

Getting to know his Trainer, Elder McKechnie

First breakfast in Paris

More greetings!

Dinner the first night in Paris

Preparing to leave the Mission Home to Epinal, his first area

Elder Ben Anderson, Elder Martin's dear friend from Rigby, in the background.  There is no doubt the meeting between those two was exciting  It's been over 8 months since they've seen each other.

Elder Martin was able to call home just prior to boarding his plane in Salt Lake City.  It was a rushed call as he had been teaching a family from Plano, TX about the Church after meeting them in the airport.  It was great to hear his voice and he was so excited and ready to be heading into the mission field.