I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go: Life on the Road

Hey!

OK, first off, I understand about the rain. It's been raining like crazy, and the office got flooded this week. So, we got to use a hyper vacuum and suck all the water out of our carpets all week! Our office is still crazy because of the chaos this week, but that's our project for Monday!

So, I'm gonna have to do a daily rundown of my week, cuz it was CRAZY!

Monday I finished out my last P-Day with Elder Rafanomezana! It was pretty sad, but we had fun. The best was, we spent about and hour and a half with Josua and Laura, two of our Young Adults in the ward. They were so bummed to see me leave, I already miss them so much! After that, I put Elder R on a train to go to Tours, along with all of our extra food from the apartment. The Soeurs (sisters) babysat me for a while, then I got on my train for Paris! It was really weird riding the train alone for over an hour haha, I felt so naked! Maybe that's why missionaries call it 'riding naked'. Anyways, so I got to Paris and couldn't find Elders Platt and Nielsen... So I waited for about 30 minutes with no phone or anything. Finally, I saw two white shirts and plaques on the other side of the gare and RAN with all my luggage to catch up to them! So then we caught a metro and an RER back to Versailles (Technically, it's le Vesinet, just outside of Versailles) and I got to my new apartment! It's 5 minutes from the mission home, on the sixth floor, and just across the hall from the Assistants! From our window we can just barely see the tip of the Eiffel Tower, and it's spotlight flashes in our window at night. LOWDOWN ON NEW COMPS: Elder Nielsen is in his 11th transfer, he's the one I'm replacing. He's Ben's (Anderson) bleu, from Tremonton, UT. Super cool guy, very laid back and speaks French really well. He's usually the voice of reason in the office, just calm and composed. Elder Platt is in his 13th transfer. He was my Zone Leader in Bruxelles for a transfer, and we became really good friends. He's the one I'll be spending at least the next transfer with.

Tuesday, there was a group of missionaries that headed home in order to catch the beginning of the next semester. So, we loaded up their luggage and took them to the airport. I helped people check luggage, payed for it with the Bleu card, and put people on their planes. Then we had to go buy things for some missionaries at IKEA (apparently I'll get to know that store REALLY well). We also had Ward Mission Leader meeting, and I got to see Elder Nelson, from my MTC group! He's my district leader for at least the next two weeks. He started training the same time I did, so he'll probably leave next transfer.

Wednesday we suited up for a road trip! Plus, it was my day to drive! So we started out at the office to make some final arrangements, then drove to help the Soeurs in St Ouen with a flooding problem. Then I got to drive through the heart of Paris in our huge 12 passenger van! I almost got to drive around the famous round about at the Arc de Triomphe, but the GPS took me through the tunnel underneath it. Then it was on to Mons, in Belgium! We were going up to clean out the apartment to close it out. We got there, and realized we didn't have the keys to the apartment! So, we had to drive to Bruxelles, another hour north, to get them from the senior couple there. Then we went back to Mons and loaded everything in the van. After, we had to go back to Bruxelles to spend the night with the Zone Leaders there! So, I got to sleep in my old apartment for a night! We didn't get to their apartment until about midnight.

Thursday we went around and helped some other companionships with their apartments and got some classic Belgium food before leaving. We went out to Dunkerque, which is right on the ocean, to drop off desks. Then by the time we got home we just ate dinner and went to bed. We were exhausted!

Yesterday was Zone Conference, so we were back in Paris at St Merri for the day. I had already had the training in my last zone a few weeks ago, but it was really good! President announced that we'll be getting iPads between September and the end of the year, that our mission was selected to test run for western Europe. So, we need to start saving for that, he said it's about 400 dollars, but after the mission I get to keep it. That is going to save my life here in the office! After Conference we took a new bed back out to the St Ouen Soeurs and then had dinner with the Walls, the couple that works here in the office with us. They are so cool! He was an Area Seventy at one point, and helped open the Ghana MTC as one of the counselors in the Presidency. He served as a temple sealer in the Ghana temple and is now the mission accountant here! He also has like two doctorates in French and helps us out all the time haha.

Today was an awesome P day! We went jogging this morning, and actually passed by Bishop Caussé's house, from the Presiding Bishopric! We went to a Star Wars Exposition in Paris! Basically it was a study on human behavior and identity, applied to the Star Wars universe haha. You went through and studied different elements that affect identity and watch how George Lucas actually incorporated those things in his movies. It was so cool! It also created our identity in Star Wars based on our responses and stuff throughout the exposition. Super geeky, super fun! There's a link for my 'character', but I can't go to it. But you can! So here it is: sw-id.com/53e61e73f1168

It may be all in French, I don't really know haha. Anyways, there's my week! To answer your questions:

My knee and stomach are doing really well. The work we're doing is helping strengthen my knee, so that helps a ton. I'm feeling pretty good, just exhausted! My position is basically to handle all of the housing for the Mission. Leaks, damages, new appliances, closing old apartments and finding new ones, all of that passes through me. That's just the clerk part, the Office Elder part includes helping with transfers, repairing apartments, transporting missionaries (and General Authorities when they come), picking up new missionaries and taking the dying ones to the airport, stuff like that. Basically, we're the pack mules :)

I found out you can send the meds, no worries! Also, Elder Platt and I were wondering if you can send Funfetti cake mix? Also, could you send me a pair of American Eagle jeans? Waist 28 or 29 and length like 28 or 30. We wear jeans a lot more here, and my service pants aren't enough. As well as maybe a bag of black Nike socks? They aren't too expensive, but those would work much better than my dress socks for hauling stuff and clearing out apartments. Thank you so much, I love you!

I love you so much, and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Tyler Martin

Star Wars "Character" description:

"I was raised on the forest moon of Endor, where members of my community made their living building space stations for visiting despots. On holidays my two close friends and I would traditionally cheer on our favourite pilots at the speeder bike races.
My parents required discipline from me but gave me support when I needed it, and I inherited my strong set of intellectual abilities from them. Later on I spent some time with the wise Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose guidance left me with knowledge I still use every day in my job as a senator.
I remember this one time when I crash-landed on a strange planet. This had a pretty big influence on me, I guess, because after that I eked out a living entertaining wandering Tusken Raiders with stories from home.
People often tell me I’m a generally adventurous and curious person, I also tend to be altruistic and accommodating. But the most important thing to me is achievement: I believe that excellence deserves recognition and respect.
I am moderately sensitive to the Force; I guess that's why the Emperor took an interest in me. When he offered me limitless power in exchange for my allegiance, I fought the urge to join him and his evil minions and rejected his offer."