Author Archives: Erik and Bridget Martin

I LOVE ONE DIRECTION!

Do you ever find yourself saying things like this? Ok, maybe you don’t. Maybe it’s more like: -       I love my new iPhone 5 or iPad or -       I love Call of Duty or -       I love the new Taylor Swift album or -       I love Chick-fil-A or -       I love Starbucks or -       I love hunting and fishing or -       I love to dance I mean, you can fill in the blank, but most, if not all, of us at some point or another have publicly

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I Want To Be A Saint

Sometimes I don’t live like it.  Sometimes I forget.  Sometimes I get discouraged, and I don’t think I’ll ever really get there.  But ultimately, my one deepest desire is to be united with Jesus in Heaven; I want to be a Saint. When I was younger, it was the stories of the lives of the Saints that inspired me.  They helped me to discover and fall in love with my Catholic faith.  I was fascinated with the different lives that they lived, the courage that they had in the face of persecution,

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In the Hands of the Potter

Our new formation year at Covecrest has begun, and after a month, I am realizing that the Heavenly Father wants to rock my world this year. As I have been journeying with the new missionary women, I am realizing how much God is trying to speak truth into my life as well. I am challenged by the ways that they are open and sometimes even more when I see a little resistance, recognizing that I too have put up some walls of resistance, not allowing the Lord to be in complete control of my life. I

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His Grace Poured Out Like Wine

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As the last little bit of his wine was being poured out onto the ground, with tears rolling down his face, he prayed, “Jesus, help me to be the man you want me to be.” As a missionary, I have had some very blessed and grace filled moments, but seldom compare to this one. Recently, I was taking some of the new missionaries on their first home visit. I first encountered home visits while we were on mission in Mexico with Family Missions Company when I was going through my formation year

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Live Simply So Others May Simply Live

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As missionaries have always tried to live simply, but as with anything, over time (especially while living in the U.S.) we become more and more comfortable, and it is easy to justify extras. Soon our conviction to live in solidarity with the poor is compromised by settling with a lifestyle that is just a little more simple than that of the others around us . . . not exactly the definition of Gospel poverty!

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Blessed Am I Among Women: 2012 Life Teen Ghana Mission

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So what have I learned? I have learned that the initial excitement and feeling of adventure of foreign missions has faded for me. But the good news is my intentions have been purified. I realized that a major motivation to go on foreign missions was selfishly motivated by what I got out of them. I now have a greater understanding of “It is better to give, than to receive.”

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Children make the best Missionaries!

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This is my third mission to Ghana in just over 2 years.  On my first trip, I came as a single missionary working with FMC (Family Missions Company) and throughout the mission I got to know and fell in love with my missionary husband, Erik.  God is faithful and made His will very clear to us, so by the following year we returned to Ghana as a married couple.  On that second mission, we realized that we were expecting a little one.  This year have returned to Ghana as a family with our beautiful

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An Invitation To Serve: Life Teen Ghana Mission 2012

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“They left everything and followed Him.” Luke 5:11 The first time we went to Ghana, I met a young girl named Rosemary. She was very shy at first and kept her distance. When she would see us come back each day from the village, she would sheepishly wave and then run back to her house. Her little brother Broda on the other hand, was quite the opposite and would throw himself into our arms each time he saw us. Whenever we would try to talk to Rosemary, she would just smile and hide her

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Martin Family Update

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“Strong is His love for us; He is faithful forever.” Psalm 117:2  Dear family and friends, This past mission year has been incredibly fruitful and life changing, from beginning a relationship, getting engaged, getting married, incredibly blessed missions and now expecting our first child.   Who would have thought that we could fit all of that into one year…only the Lord!  Since life has been so abundant, we felt the need to bring you up to speed on some of the ways the Lord is moving in

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A Few Good Men For Ghana

This summer Life Teen Missionaries are going back to Ghana, Africa and we need a few good men.  We currently have filled all our slots for women, but we could still use a few more men.  We are looking for college aged students or recent grads who are looking to take their faith journey to the next level, looking to go deeper and put their faith more into action and we are looking for men who are interested in possibly being a full time missionary.  Several years ago the Marines had a slogan

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