If anyone wants to send Kassi any Christmas letters or packages here's where to send them! Remember Christmas might be hard for her this year without her family and friends around, let's keep her involved! 

Sister Cassandra Martinez's mailing address:


Letters go to:

Philippines Bacolod Mission
Lacson & Galo Streets
PO BOX 660 Bacolod City
6100 Negros Occidental
Philippines

Packages go to:

Galo st Between Lacson & Mabini
BRGY. 22, Bacolod City
6100 Negros Occidental
Philippines

and you might need this phone number 63-34-433-3001

 

Thanks,

Cory

 

This week, in the Philippines,

So my week started out well. Nothing special, just another week in the mission.

Until we had an EARTHQUAKE! It wasnt very strong but it was pretty funny. We were teaching a LA and I just start feeling dizzy and see things moving. The first thing I thought was OUT! So I ran outside. It only lasted a few seconds and I look inside the house and everyone is looking at me and asking me why I was leaving. ahaha. Apparently, theyre used to earthquakes here so it wasnt a big deal, but for ME, I'm pretty sure that was my first time. BUt anyway. It was pretty funnny.

I hit my SIX MONTH mark! Yay! I cant believe how fast the mission really is. My favorite thing about the mission is teaching an investigator for the first time. They dont know anything about the gospel or about the church and its just cool sharing with them. My least favorite thing so far is having to kill spiders. Ehhh:(( I hate spiders!

We had a crazy encounter with a less active this week. We shared about the Book of Mormon and she went off and told us it wasnt the word of God because she had a vision and saw God and he told her she had to teach the people like us missionaries. Hmmm, crazy lady. She teaches people around her house about her vision and how she talks to God all the time.

I cant believe its almost Christmas! Its sooo hot, it doesnt feel like November. I am going to buy decorations so it'll feel more like Christmas. The closest it gets to getting cold here is when it rains, sometimes it gets a little cooler.

Also, we found a Part member family. Sister Heidi is 7 months pregnant, has 2 little girls, is going to school full-time and sells dish washing soap house to house on her spare time to pay her school debts. Shes soo great! Our goal for her and her husband, of course, is the temple. Theyre so humble, they have just been waiting for the invitation to return to church! Yay! Its been super busy. I'm really grateful for all the work.


I love my mission! I miss and love you all:)))

Maayong udto tanan~

So these past few weeks have been crazy! We were transferred to a new area, "Bago City." Its not so hot here. We are whitewashing, which means we have no idea about anything or anyone and pretty much walk around until we find the place we're supposed to be hah:) The members had a hard time accepting us because the previous missionaries were elders and they were pretty much in love with them. So ward council was a little frustrating because they kept mentioning them. But its ok, we're gaining their trust little by little and have already made friends with many of the members. Bago is great. We get to teach a few less actives by a river which is nice cause its sooo relaxing. We get to go to Bacolod, the bigger city here in Negros for P-Day which is nice. Theres only a mini market here to buy food at. We have a baptism scheduled for next Saturday. Sister Reza Mae is super sweet. Shes way excited for her baptism. She already knows so much about the gospel and actually reads the Book of Mormon assignments we leave her. 

Its only me and my companion in our new apartment. Elders used to live in it and let me tell you. It was DISGUSTING. I couldnt sleep the first night we were there. We went shopping for crazy cleaning supplies. It took us TWO days to clean. One full day from 12-6 then a few hours everyday before and after work. But it looks sooooo nice now. We can actually relax and enjoy our clean and neat apartment:) Its nice because its very quiet. It was a little crazy living with another companionship in our previous apartment. Only thing is I have to cook for myself. My companion really hates cooking so I took over. ITs fun! I really love cooking. I gave up rice in the morning and at night cause i was getting too soft:) So I work out every morning. My companion doesnt like running so I run bymyself around the house within the gate. I get dizzy after too many laps:)

Anyway, work is great in Bago. We're so busy. I have no trouble sleeping here. As soon as my head hits my pillow i'm out!

We have mission tour this week with Elder David F. Evans of the 70. It should be fuN!

Have a great week dearest friends and family:))

Maayong hapon tanan!

So these past two weeks have been great! Last Monday, all the sisters in the mission got to stay in the mission home! YUM! We had air-con! It was amazing! I was asked to give a workshop on physical fitness and that was a ton of fun, I still dont know why I was picked pero cge. We had an american style bar-b-que, soo yummy, and I got my first ride in a jeepney. BAcolod is sooo crazy but it was nice to go to an actual mall and be able to find stuff I really need that I cant get in my area. This is my 3rd transfer in Sagay and I love it! The Priesthood here is sooo amazing and supportive of missionary work. Seriously, all we have to do is text them and theyre there! I had to buy new shoes this week b/c mine gave up already! Well, I could still wear them, but only when I'm sure it wont rain:)

I spoke at two funerals in two weeks! It was super nerve wrecking and most of the people there were hardcore catholic but it was great sharing with them the Plan of Salvation, b/c the Catholic church doesnt have that. It was great telling people that they would see their loved ones again. 

Brother Roberto was baptized and received the aaronic priesthood this week! I had the privilege to give a spiritual thought and i did it in PURE Ilonggo! It was sooo coool, the gift of tongues is real! I testify.But anyway we're so excited to see Roberto in his white shirt and tie, blessing the sacrament:))

Conference wass soooo awesome. We watched this past week because of the time difference. It was soo hard having to wait a WHOLE additional week to watch Conference but pretty much, my favorite talk was from Elder Holland about being true disciples of Christ. It was soo good! 

I've been trying to fight a cold this week, so I hope it doesnt get worse:((

Yay for 5 months in the mission field. Little Gio said I have 13 months left:))

I miss the family and all my friends dearly.

Halong kamo<3

More pictures of Kassi!

Heres an update for this week

Maayong hapoN!

So, great week as usual! No worm eating but still pretty great! We have Zone Conference this week and Sisters Conference on October 1st. We have three people being baptized on October 6th and we finally got a Ward Missionary leader so we'll be giving Preach My Gospel classes to our ward missionaries. Its going to be craaaazzy busy but we're soo excited to get things going. David has some pictures, I'm sure he'll post some soon. Sorry this week so short! Gotta go! Love and miss you all! OH P.S. please email me your address if you write to me! Mission rules, I can only email Family so i'll send out some snail mail:)))

Halong!

Heres an update for this week

Maayong hapoN!

So, great week as usual! No worm eating but still pretty great! We have Zone Conference this week and Sisters Conference on October 1st. We have three people being baptized on October 6th and we finally got a Ward Missionary leader so we'll be giving Preach My Gospel classes to our ward missionaries. Its going to be craaaazzy busy but we're soo excited to get things going. David has some pictures, I'm sure he'll post some soon. Sorry this week so short! Gotta go! Love and miss you all! OH P.S. please email me your address if you write to me! Mission rules, I can only email Family so i'll send out some snail mail:)))

Halong!

update from Cassandra: 

 aga tanan tawo!

So this week was craazyyy and pretty gross. We have a guava tree outside of our house which is AWESOME because I really love guava. So I picked the ripest looking guava and ate half of it and gave the other to my companion. She's smarter than I am and checked it before she ate it and found worms in it! So, I have pets in my tummy. I havent gotten sick yet so I take that as a good sign. I dont think I'll be eating guava for a while. 

The weather has been a lot cooler, not so hot but lots of rain. Its soo sad because people who live in squatters suffer a lot because of flooding. We have been working with this family and their house, alllll around was flooded to about knee height. We walked through the water without thinking about what we were walking through. We work in the city and not very many people have CR's(comfort rooms). So yup, thats what we walked through, plus all the animal poo and rats and agaahahahahh!!!! Ok, I cant think about it. BUt anyway, right after our appointment, we RAN home and SCRUBBED our legs down with hardcore soap. So, yeah, it was greatttttt:) NOT! Anyway, other than that, things are going gREAT! I'm getting used to the food and I'm learning how to cook more stuff so I'll throw a crazy huge Filipino party and i'll show off my awesome cooking skills. 

I had to go on exchanges with a sister from the other area because her companion came down with a bad UTI so she had to be in the hospital. Lets just say I am SO grateful for my area. I will NEVER complain ever again. The area we went to was SOO muddy. I was EXHAUSTED. We met a crazy man who was in rehad for most of his life. We invited him to church and told him that we're from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and he said "Oh yeah! I'M JESUS!" haha Craziness. 

Still trying to get pictures out to you all. I dont have TIIIME! Seriously, PDAY is never long enough. 

Love you all! Have a FANTASTIC week!

Halong:)

Maayong hapon!

 

So last week was super tough. One of our investigators died the day before she was going to be baptized:( She was sooo great and we were so sad. We had a baptism this past Saturday. Pamela is amaazzing. Shes 24 and has 4 children. Shes such a great mother and has such strong faith. I am doing much better with the langugae and I'm learning the Filipino humor. They like to ask me if I'm related to Antonio Banderas haha Its so sweet how everyone tries to speak English to me so that they can have a conversation with me. But I'm learning! I'm also learning how to cook Filipino food! yay! I made adobo and pakbet? It was sooo gooood! And I have officially mastered washing clothes by hand! Yessss! All in all, its great here! I'm learning a lot about patience because people here are sooo laid back and it drives me CRAZY! We met a family who has been inactive for a while and they let us in to their house! We are the first missionaries to be let into their home. Brother told us he was ready to come back to church! And he will be blessing his graddaughter this coming Sunday! yay!! It is soo cool how people are prepared to receive us. I love this mission:))

Halong!

Sooo going on my fourth week here in the Philippines. It doesnt rain as much as I thought it would. Its sooooo hot. So walking out to some houses is tough because they live so far. But its great. A Sister we're teaching told me I'm getting fat. All I eat are crackers and water so I dont know what she is talking about! We had a baptism on the 4th, Adonis who is 11, Sandre Lex is 10, and Shane is 8. They are sooo great! It has been so much fun teaching them, they really understand the gospel. People are so nice. I tried this really gross fruit called "santol" and its soooo SOUR! BUt the middle seeds are prettty sweet. I eat mango like EVERYDAY, its so good. We got a new sister in our house and she can cook really well. So we're all very excited to go shopping for food. YAY real authentic Filipino food! I really am going to get fat. I taught a lesson in almost all Hiligaynon, the only words I had trouble with were words like "for" "if" and what not. But its getting easier. 

I'm loving my mission~ Its so hot and great!

Love from the Philippines

Sister Martinez

PS Sitll working on the pictures to post up soon:)

Kassi's officially in the Philippines!

Kamusta Ka!

Hello there friends and family! Greetings from the Philippines! I have been assigned to Sagay. It is a small city, no beach or mountains but still very beautiful. I am working on learning Hiligaynon and its pretty dang tough. My trainer is Sister Rondina and she is a native. She is soo sweet and very patient. I do miss my old companions. Luckily I still get to live with Sister Bushman(one of my MTC companions) so I see her everyday and get to chat with her when we're not dying of exhaustion. I MISS THE MTC! There, I said it. I made it to P-Day! Yay! I have been bathing out of a bucket of water for a few days now and honestly its not too bad. The cold water feels so good becuasue its SOOO hot. I washed my clothes by hand and it only took me like two hours:) I learned how to eat without a fork or spoon. Its great, the food really does taste different! The people are so dang nice here. They call me gwapa which is pretty funny. And a ton of people have told me I have an attractive nose which is so weird because I have NEVER heard that in my life until now.

Well, this has definitely been the hardest things I have ever done. Prayers will be much appreciated:) Anyone that wants to see pictures of my first few days at the mission home can add my mission president on FB, Marlo Olivares Lopez.

Kita Kits<3

Remember, Kassi can't see this blog, so if you want to talk to her, you'll need to email her!

Update from Sister Martinez:

Last Day in the US!

 

AghhHH!HHH!H!!! So, I'm freaking out a little, but our Branch President said we could. SO...AhHH!

 

Anyway, I am soo excited to leave the MTC and out to the real world. It's so scary to think that I'll be teaching people in a country I don't know well, in a language I know even less. But I am pretty excited to see the miracles H.F. has in store for the time I'm on my mish. I am so excited to meet the people and eat the food and just immerse myself in the culuture. I am not excited at all about the traveling but I'm with a really great group so it should be a blast. I havent cried because it hasnt really hit me yet, but I did tear up a little when an Elder held out his hand to play rock, paper, sissors with me for the last time. We played all the time and funny enough I beat him every single time. There should be three new districts coming in this week which is about 30 missionaries and I am so jealous cause I want to meet them! There are so many missionaries coming in weekly. It strengthens me knowing that so many people are willing to come out and serve and be a part of this work. Missionary work is growing so much, it blows my mind! Thank you all for your letters and great words of encouragement. I have a hymn stuck in my head, Onward Christian Soldiers. So here I go! Marching as to war:) I'm off to help gather His sheep.

 

The next time I send out an update I'll be in the Philippines!

 

Mahal ko kayo!

 

-Sister Martinez

You can now email her directly at cassandra.martinez@myldsmail.net

Hi guys,
I got another email from Kassi. She'll be leaving to the Philippines this Monday, the 16th. From now on, she'll only be sending e-mails since letters will take way too long to arrive.
If you would like to write to her you can send emails to this address and she should be able to respond every week.
cassandra.martinez@myldsmail.net
She doesn't have everyone's email addresses so if you would like to hear from her, you'll have to email her first.

In her email she said "Can't wait to hear from you:) Letters are GOLD here hahaa. Seriously, if you don't get a letter, you want to die from depression ahaha"

So remember, it's really challenging for her to be away from family for so long.



She's going to need extra support coming up in the next couple of weeks since the change of environment is going to be so big so remember to keep writing to her and sending love!

Thanks,
Cory

Here's another update from Sister Martinez. Make sure you still write to her!

Kumusta po kayo!?

 

Friends and Family! I leave the MTC in 3 weeks! AghhhH! So eveerything is so great. I've been making friends with everyone here! Its a ton of fun! I got to meet my mission president and his wife. His name is Mario Lopez, unfortunately he's not THE Mario Lopez hah ;) But they are seriously soo amazing! I can't wait to serve with them. Theyre soo tiny and cute! We get to have dinner with them tonight which is so great. All the new mission presidents are having training this week so all the apostles, except for 2 are here on campus! I've seen Elder Uchtdorf, Nelson, and Cook. Its great! I think we'll get to hear from an apostle tonight which will be super awesome! I was made coordinating sister (still dont know how I feel about that) but I guess I have three weeks to learn to have patience and love for my fellow sisters. I'm loving every minute of the MTC (six weeks in) but HEY! better late than never right? The language is getting easier but I still can understand more than I can speak. I'm learning the first vision in Tagalog! So here goes,

 

Ako ay nakikita ng isang haligi ng liwanag na tamang tama sa tapat ng aking ulo,

higit pa sa liwanag ng araw,

na dahan dahang bumaba hanggan sa ito ay pumalibot ng ako....

 

Yup thats pretty much all I've got for now! And I'm not even sure thats right but HEY! I wont even be speaking Tagalog on my misson. Yup, thats right, I'll be speaking Hiligaynon. A dialect of Tagalog but it has a completely different vocabulary! can't wait! I know i'll love the language soon enough:)

 

Mahal Ya'll!

 

Kapatid ng babae Martinez

Here are some pictures of Kassi still in Utah: