The Lord’s missionary ranks recently received three new valiant sisters from the Far West Missouri Stake. The fact that all three are from the same family and started their missions within a month and a half of each other is noteworthy. Patriarch Call would be particularly interested to know that they were the first set of siblings to get their endowments together at the same time in the Kansas City Temple. They also received their mission calls on the same day and opened them together. After 19 years of sharing their home, meals and milestones together, these three sisters will be separated by thousands of miles and serving very different people.
“Having served a mission, I feel so excited for them,” said Erin Martineau. “I know how much it has helped me in my life as a mom, wife, and individual. I was happy they wanted that opportunity. I know how much it will bless their lives. As a mom, I worried a little. … OK, I worried a lot. But I had this feeling of Heavenly Father’s love and trust in him. It feels really good.”
Sydney is the oldest and has been preparing to serve a mission for nearly two years, but her father’s unexpected medical circumstances in 2023 put her initial departure on hold. When he recovered, it was time for her sisters, (twins) Cameryn and Chantel, to begin their preparations. So the timing worked out for all three of them to go through the process together.
“I felt like it was working out the way the Lord intended,” Sydney said while doing Home MTC before heading out to the Provo MTC February 4th. “Maybe it was good for me to wait a little longer and stay with my parents during that time. There were lots of blessings, and now the time is right.”
Kevin and Erin have often shared stories about their missionary service, and the three sisters were excited to serve when they grew up. They were very close and love to do things together. This year and a half of service will be the first time they will be separated from each other longer than a week of summer camp. In fact, this is also the first time they would be leaving the country.
“They hadn’t done any international flying,” Kevin said. “Erin had hoped they would all stay in the U.S. It’s hard to send your child out into the world, but sending them as missionaries is the best way to do it.”
The sisters went through all the interviews, doctor’s visits, and checklists together. The excitement was building as they continued on the path towards full-time service. Sydney recalled that she felt a powerful urge to serve immediately after being in the temple with her sisters for the first time. She wanted to share it with the world.
“It has been a miracle to see how the Lord has inspired the process,” Erin said. “We feel that all of them were called through a prophet of God exactly where the Lord wants them to go.”
Sydney was assigned to the Italy Rome mission, speaking Italian. She has always had a great love for European history, but especially Roman history. She is excited to be there and teach the people.
Cameryn felt a strong desire to learn Japanese five years ago. She was called to serve in the Japan Sendai Mission. Her years of study allowed her to shorten her training and will be reporting to the Mission after only a three-week stop in the Provo, Utah MTC. Cameryn and Sydney will be in the MTC together for a short time before Cameryn leaves for Japan.
Chantel was the first to leave and went to the Philippians Cebu Mission in December. They can see that God is already changing her in the short time since she left. For example, she sang her first solo in the Manila, Philippines MTC.
“It has been surprising how at ease and how confident Chantel has been when we FaceTime,” Erin said. “When we saw a video that her mission president’s wife took of her singing a solo, we were totally surprised. That was an unexpected first – and in front of the whole MTC!”
Getting three girls ready for extended service in foreign countries is not for the faint of heart. Varying climates and locations required special attention. Kevin suggests that parents read through the mission calls carefully.
“Watch for the things the mission office instructs you to do immediately, and get on them right away,” he said. Sydney’s call required her to go in person to the Italian consulate in Chicago to get her visa processed. The earliest appointment available was two months after scheduling the appointment. Fortunately, they were able to get that in time before her departure because they had acted straightway.
“Having three of them going out, we assumed that all of them would be doing the same thing and the same process,” Kevin said with a shake of his head. “We thought they were all going to be doing MTC from home for a week and then leaving. Later, we started reading Chantel’s mission call a little closer and realized she was not going to be doing Home MTC and had to report to the Philippines sooner than we thought – right before Christmas instead of after, in fact. That meant we had to pivot and accelerate her preparations.”
There have been many challenging and joyful moments along the way. The Martineaus have experienced many tender mercies that have witnessed to them that God is helping them through it all.
“We have had help from caring friends, family and ward members,” Erin said. “One miracle is that whatever we needed came to us. We have felt the love of our ward and stake leaders immensely. I have felt an intimate closeness with God in ways I didn’t expect. Joy at a time when I expected grieving. That has really strengthened my faith in the Lord and how much he loves us.”