Greetings from Myrtle Creek! I'm now part of the Roseburg Zone but my
area covers the South Umpqua Ward which consists of Myrtle Creek,
Riddle, and Canyonville. The people out here are way nice but also
weird. For the most part everyone I meet is old and or a redneck.
Before I was assigned we went through so much orientation and I
learned how to use this iPad which is sweet by the way. Then we were
all assigned a trainer and mine is Elder Zilles who has only been out
for six weeks! It's pretty crazy but he sure is a good trainer.

Out here we get to drive a car. But once we run out of miles we need
to ride bikes, which it's looking like we'll have to this month. The
first people we ate with were the Taylors, who were so kind to us and
made good food (with only a few hairs) and Brother Taylor went on and
on about his hunting trips and whatever else he could think of. He
gets pretty talkative and sister Taylor tries to keep him in line. The
Taylors also do our laundry which is so cool of them because we can
focus on other things.  They also sat in on a lesson we had wit two of
the most… interesting people I've ever met: the Sorensens. We could
barley get through the lesson because they would go off on the
weirdest stories and then Brother Taylor would join in. We got through
all of our points but it was exhausting trying to keep them focused.
Brother Sorensen wants to get baptized but him and Sister Sorensen
aren't technically married because she wants to get more money out of
her ex husband before she officially divorces him. So we'll be waiting
a while for baptism.

We ate breakfast with the Wests who are incredible people! They were
so friendly and fed us so good even though they aren't members. Haha
they let us go in the yard and feed the deer back there. Turns out
Sister West and I have the same birthday so she wants to invite us
over for dinner so we can celebrate. But that won't happen until the
21st because she's going to some place for her birthday. They are so
neat and if Brother West wasn't so stubborn they could be amazing
members.

We get fed every night out here and it's awesome! We have a baptism
for a 13 year old girl coming up the 28th and she is so cool! Her name
is Brittany and she has so much faith and knowledge about the gospel.
We taught her last night and she is so good at picking up on things
and asking good questions. I can't wait to be a part of that.

Poor Elder Zilles is so torn up because he baptized a lady named Peggy
who had been so excited about the gospel but now she keeps finding an
excuse to not come to church to be confirmed. We are afraid someone
got to her and Elder Zilles is taking it hard.

Well it's p day and we gonna go to Roseburg and have some fun! Love
you all and talk to you next week! Hope everyone is doing good back
home.

Elder S. Jackson Martin
Oregon Eugene Mission
South Umpqua Ward


Elder S. Jackson Martin
Oregon Eugene Mission
South Umpqua Ward