Mission Newsletter #5

This week was my birthday! Everyone made it sooooo special for me!

Birthday miracles

         The beginning of the day, I woke up to my companion yelling "Happy Birthday!" Then after working out and hopping into the shower, I came out and my companion had made a Happy Birthday sign and put it up in the kitchen and wrapped my gift in construction paper, a paper bag, and used plastic bags as tissue paper. Cute and a classic missionary wrapping job. :) She got me a One Direction cup, earrings, chocolate, and mints. What every girl missionary wants! The day got only better when I opened the mailbox to find it stuffed with cards and letters! There was one card from my parents, my siblings, the DeLuca's, and a letter from Darren. :) It was the best gift ever! I can't express all the joy it gave me.

My companion's B-day decor

Cards!

        We went out, having a normal day visiting and knocking on doors. We ended this day with dinner at our Bishop's house. :) They made me a spectacular birthday dinner! Pork chops stuffed with apples and bacon, mashed potatoes, baked asparagus and tomatoes, and rolls (or homemade gf bread for me.) It was

The Birthday Meal

delicious! SO much food, but worth every bite! They also made me a gluten free, dairy free, egg free, chocolate/ German chocolate cake. They lit the candles, sang to me, I made a wish (a WAY good one), only to be disappointed with my lacking ability to blow out more than 3 candles at a time. It took me a WHOLE blow to just get out one blasted candle! They weren't trick candles, but they sure were tricky. Anyways, the cake was amazing! I don't know how his wife did it!  First completely normal tasting dessert I've had since I have gotten on this diet! It was so good! Not only that, she made a normal German Chocolate cake for everyone else, so we took the rest of my cake home. She also sent me home with the gf bread, rice crispy treats!, and a box of ginger bread cookies that work with my special needs. How nice?!

       

The Elder's Gift

The birthday celebrations ended with meeting Elder Leali'ie'e and Elder Osiemo at the church. First

off, they totally scared me (on accident, but I jumped hard core.) They had Martinelli's set up, a Happy Birthday balloon and gift for me! They gave me the most hilarious card ever with the pic of all four of us on the front and then a silly pen with a cute journal. The journal is SO me! They were so sweet and chose everything out perfectly! We seriously have the best elders/ zone leaders ever! So overall, my birthday was amazing! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

This week we went out with a college-aged girl in the ward who goes out with us to teach. She sent off her missionary this last week. :'( Sis. Senior and I both know how hard that is. She plans to go on a mission as soon as she turns 19 in September. She'll be a great missionary. She's incredible.

Btw, everyone has been asking me about the weather. It's overall warm here. It's starting to get a little bit more chilly, but not bad at all. It's the wind that's cold, so no wind= perfect weather. It gets light way early here. The sun starts rising at like 5:30 and it starts getting dark between 5 or 5:30 at night. Weird! The pic of our apt complex I attach is taken the second we woke up at 6:30! Doesn't it look like noon? Crazy!

6:30 a.m.

We had Zone Conference this week and have a Zone Goal of 16 baptisms for November. Crossing our fingers! That would be doubling our baptisms from last month! Pray for us!

Also, Sister Senior has been sick. She has bad kidneys and they have been acting up a lot. We've gotten some testing done, but there will be more, so you could keep her in mind too, that would be great. Good came out of these appts though! I had extra study time. I had some doctrinal questions on my mind that had been boggling me. It's amazing how the Lord will answer our prayers and answers if we just put in the work and time. I encourage you that if you have questions or concerns about anything in life, if you put in the work, the Lord will follow through.

We also had Stake Conference this week. I just want to pass on one thought: "We must abandon sin and become comfortable with God, not abandon God and be comfortable with sin." We must be different from the world. Love this thought. So true.

We visited Tywanna as the first time since she has become a member. The Holy Ghost is so prominent and glows inside her! She was beaming when we came to see her. She says that she loves having the Holy Ghost and just wants to talk to everyone about God. How incredible? She has grown more and more and I know the Lord is so proud of her at this time. She will do so much good for the Lord.

Well, this week has been great as usual. I love you all. Have a great week! Pray for me! I could use it! ;)

-Sister Heather Salmond

Mission Newsletter #4

So much happened this week! Where do I even start?

First off, our mission president required all of us to memorize D&C 4. It's a short chapter, but an amazing one for missionary work! Family (and anyone else who wants extra blessings), I encourage you to check it out and maybe do it for fhe or something. I have really come to love it.

Also, Exciting moment! I'm getting better with scriptures! I can open them up and turn to a scripture to help someone more and more on demand. It's coming better and better each day as we teach and study. It's a great feeling to have the Lord speak instead of trying to say it yourself. So much more powerful.

You know how lady bugs and rolly pollies are my two favorite bugs? NOT ANYMORE! We tried to stop by and visit an inactive member's home and it was swarming with Lady Bugs!!! Let me tell you though, these are Devil Lady Bugs! There are fake devil lady bugs here that look like Lady Bugs, but they are orangey-

Ginormous rolly polley

yellow. These are also known as Pine Bugs. They are similar to Lady Bugs but they eat wood and BITE!  The covered this house and when we knocked, They swarmed like bees! Sister Senior and I screamed and

Rolly Polley-Zilla

ran! When they settled down, we headed back to the house to wait for them to answer. Good thing is no one was home. That could've been really awkward with our freak out. Now Rolly Pollies. They are deformed here! I didn't believe in evolution until now! They are enlarged and long here! They are known as Centipedes, but whatever! I know that it’s just Godzilla Rolly Pollies! They're disgusting!

 Charlotte at her finest.

Also, I have always hated spiders, but that has been magnified. There are Charelotte's Web spiders around here EVERYWHERE! And let me tell you, she is not nearly as cute as she was in the movie! See for yourself! (in the pics)






Last Friday,we went and knocked on Sabrina's door. She's in her 40s and has been inactive for over a year. When she opened the door, she was timid, but we just re-invited her to come to church. She accepted. We have started visiting her and she has been coming to church and ward activities since. She is glowing. What an AMAZING miracle? Just by one knock and invite, Sabrina has got a new energy for life and spirit about her.

Wednesday was our ward's Trunk or Treat activity! It was a lot of fun! It started with a chili dinner and then

Trunk or Treat!

Sister Senior and I ran off to run the games for the primary kids. Elder Leali'ie'e and Elder Osiemo was supposed to come too, but they came late. Food comes first with men. haha. Then it was the Trunk or Treat part and YM Haunted House. It's a big tradition. We were told we would get a lot of nonmembers there, so we were looking forward to getting new investigators, but it didn't end up happening. To be honest, there really wasn't really that many guests and those who were were related to someone and don't want to take the lessons. That's ok though. It was a good try. The whole night was still really fun!

Elder Leali'ie'e (From Texas and Samoa) and Elder Osiemo (from Kenya). We work with them like every day and I mentioned them above, so I thought I'd send a picture of them. This is the best shot I could find.

On Halloween, Sister Senior and I dressed really cute in orange and black. We were probably the cutest ones on the block. As we headed up to the library (on a special mission a-okayed by President), we were stopped by a sweet black lady who just checked out some books. She was so cheery and said she has talked to missionaries before. I perked up, thinking "NEW INVESTIGATOR! Whoot Whoot!" She then asked, "The first thing I noticed was that you two have something in common. Do know what that may be?" Me, being totally conceited and relying on past comments we have received a lot, I replied "Our smiles?" Smiling really big and bright at her. "No," she said, "you're both wearing Satanic clothing." I definitely didn't see that one coming. Needless to say, that contact didn't work out. Look at the picture though and judge for yourself. Do we really look like devil worshipers to you? I personally think we look adorable, but whatevers.

Halloween outfits. (Blogspot keeps flipping the picture, I'll try to fix it later - sorry!)

Saturday was Tywanna's baptism. She was interviewed by President the day before and everything was good to go. (Can I just say, he is the best Mission President ever?!) What a special day that was for Tywanna. She has been receiving such a hard, hard time from her family, but they ending up coming after all and supporting her. We asked them to, but didn't really expect it since they were yelling at her about it just the day before. We have prayed so hard for their hearts to be softened, and Heavenly Father softened them! The next day, Tywanna was confirmed in church. The spirit was SO strong when she received the Holy Ghost. Incredible enough, all three of her trials were directly mentioned in her blessing and the person giving it was not aware of them. That was a huge testimony builder to us and Tywanna. God knows us individually and loves each of us individually. No matter how hard life gets, if we turn to Him, he will extend out his arm to help and lift us up.  He is aware of you and me. Never forget that.

Well, That was my week for ya. I love you all and have a great week! Write me!

Mission Newsletter #3

Our zone after the zone meeting and activity, today!

Ok, I know you all have been waiting to hear from me ALL day! Sorry, we had a zone meeting today so our whole schedule is wack-O. But here I am!  I don't even know where to begin. Good thing I have my handy-dandy notebook! (I jotted down some things I wanted to make sure to tell you.)

So, I forgot to tell you in the last email, but last week at church something horrible happened! Like I am talking ABSOLUTELY horrible! Let me share. So, it was my first Sunday at church. I wanted to look cute because this is going to be first impressions for a lot of people. I wore my cute country dress that has all the fall colors spotted. I love that dress. For my hair, I wore my light dusty pink headband with the cloth flower. I looked adorbs. We got to church a half an hour early to greet the members as they arrived.  Things were going well until about 5 minutes before church when a cute older sister came in. I said hi, introducing myself. She then grabbed my face and said, as though I were a baby, "You look like an itty bitty little girl." There we go! Confidence shot! For the rest of the day I was 5 years old. 5 YEARS OLD! That's ok. It's whatever.

The scarves and hats Sister White made for us!

This week we said goodbye to one of our progressive investigators, Jose. He is moved to Washington. :( Don't worry, we passed on his name to church headquarters, so the missionaries there will get him! Anyways, after we ate and went out to say goodbye, he surprised us with a gift! Presents! (I love presents.) We took a pic, said our goodbyes and opened the big, heavy box.  We ripped the paper off to discover... Diapers?? That obviously can't be right. We dug further. Oh my goodness! It was everything we could ever need!  He got us:
      - 2 packs of 6 bars of Dove soap

Jose and the GIANT gift!

The present, about to open it!

      - 2 large dove body washes
      - 2 double packs of toothpaste
      - 2 mouth washes
      - 4 toothbrushes
      - 2 laundry soaps & softeners
      - 2 boxes of granola bars
Holy Cow, right?! I think he was maybe dropping a hint or something... Maybe we stink. Well, if so, I guess I am immune to our smells. Hallelujah to that! In all seriousness though, that was so sweet of him and we wish Jose the best of luck in Washington.

In the mission field, things are going great. I have my first baptism this week on Saturday!  It's Tywanna's. I only missed teaching her the first lesson, so I think it counts. At least, I count it! I love her though. She has been dealing with so much. Her family has been really hard on her. They don't want her to be baptized. They want her to come to the Methodist church with them, but she says that she doesn't want anyone to stop her. I felt prompted to ask her if she would like a priesthood blessing. (Love those) She accepted. A day later the elders came and gave her one. Everything worked out perfectly. She came to the church, so down. Worse than I have ever seen. Satan is really beating down on her. The elders were running late. That gave us time to talk to her. She opened up about everything she was feeling. I had her read Matt 11:28-30. Sister Senior gave her a CTR ring we just got a few of the day before. Everything fell into place and the blessing topped it all off. She said she felt peace. I hope this will give her the strength she needs to keep pushing and moving forward. Could you keep her in your prayers? The more the better.

Cool stairway in a member's home.

We got several new investigators this week! Juliet, who was a mormon.org referral. We taught her the restoration and got her to start reading the Book of Mormon. We hope to start teaching her husband soon, too. Also, there is Brandon: Amber's fiance. Amber was a convert about a year ago, but went inactive shortly after. She just started coming back to church. She wants to be married in the temple and Brandon is aware. He wants to learn for her because he knows it matters to her, but is hesitant because of his strong Baptist background. He has been told so many things, so I don't blame him. Sister Senior and I both agree that he is going to be a great investigator because of this skepticism. He really wants to know and therefore, he'll do the research and find his answer. We are really excited for the two of them. Also, Amber asked us to start teaching her. She wants to know more about the church. She feels like she is not as knowledgeable as she should be. Lastly, we ran into Antawn. He is a friend of Kenny and Essex. He wants us to start teaching him, so we'll probably have our first lesson this next week.

Religious Alabama

The beautiful Greenery out here

There is so much going on here. The work is rolling forward. I really love teaching people and seeing their good desires. I feel like I am learning so much every day. I really have the best companion/trainer. She and I make a good team. Everyone says it seems like I've been out for 8 months, including our Sister Training Leaders we had splits with this Friday, so I take that as a good sign. I still feel brand new though. There is so much to learn. I want to be the best missionary I can though cause this isn't my work, it's the Lord's. I need to get good at this fast for Him, to help the work move forward.

With our sister training leaders, after splits :)

Thank you everyone for all the support and sweet lovin'! I appreciate all the prayers I know that are heading my way. I love you all so, so much!

-Sister Salmond

Mission Newsletter #2

Hello Everyone!

I love you all so, so much! I miss you all so much, but don't worry. I'm not homesick like I was in the beginning of the MTC. Everything is going so well, but let me do a break down before I get ahead of myself.

The last of my time at the MTC flew by soooo fast. I was just getting a hang of everything and really enjoying my time there when we were shipped out. We didn't get much sleep before the flight. We had to be up & going by 2:30 AM!!!! We also got to bed late cuz we had to pack and clean our room. So total amount of sleep: 2 hours. Total amount of catch up sleep: 0 hours.  So, let's just say I have dosed at the baptism of a little boy in the ward when the bishop was killing time, waiting for them to get dressed and cleaned up. Whatever though! That is not a surprise with me at all. Haha.

Everyone excited to start the Alabama journey. (Sis. Drummond in the front. She was my temporary companion on the first night here)

Alabama has been great so far. There is quite a bit of poverty. I didn't really expect that to be true. Everyone is so sweet though. It is so religious so they are really friendly and nice and THEN reject the message. At least they are way nice about it first. I love that. But seriously, it is so religious. One business building said, "JESUS 'Then Business'." How funny! It is such a different culture, but I love it. I can't wait to show you, Mom & Dad, out here to see everything I have so far.

My first view of Alabama - so green and beautiful!

My companion is Sister Senior. She is so nice! I love her. We have gotten along great. She is from Utah and did ballroom dancing professionally until age 17, but she still loves to dance and go to Latin clubs and such. She has a boyfriend in ARGENTINA, too! Buenos Aires. How crazy is that?! He lives there, though. He's from Argentina and is going to Medical School right now. He is already an RM. His name is Nikko. It's so cute though. He sends her packages for her and her companions. He is a sweetheart. It's really funny all the things we have in common. Also, the night before we became companions, she dreamed her new companion was going be have long brown hair and be 22. I call that revelation.

Me and my companion, sis. Senior. The first day we met. :)

We have quite a few investigators right now. Tywanna is really progressing a lot. She has a heart of gold. She is always wanting to learn more and more. We talked to her about the plan of salvation this last time and she was so relieved she flopped back on the couch and reclined and said, "That makes me so happy!" With a huge smile on her face. She was so joyful. It was seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen. We are also starting to teach Christian. He is 17 and is very promising. He seems interested. He has been going to church (a different one) on his own for years and his friend Marlee in our ward referred him to us. He has accepted baptism after our first lesson with him and our hopes for him is that he will serve a mission too. :) Essex and Kenny are cousins. They have had all the discussions, we are just getting them to come to church so they can be baptized. They used to smoke a pack a day, but the sisters had them commit to lose one cigarette a week. By the time I came, they were at 1 cigarette a day. Now they are completely off them! They are so strong and they have done great! They haven't cheated at all. Kenny especially loves learning what we teach. Essex especially loves to talk. haha. They are great though. There are a few more we are teaching as well and then we are working with less actives/recent converts, but it's hard to talk about everyone.

The thing I have learned most this week is love. Missionary work isn't as stressful and hard as I had thought. Basically, speak simple truths and love them. Can I also say, the Lord knows me so well. He sent me to the perfect mission for me with a wonderful companion. He has given me everything I need to jump right in and love every minute of it. I also went tracting, which was like my greatest fear, and it wasn't bad!  I feel like He has just been helping me every step of the way.

I feel like it has been so long since I have talked to everyone because so many big things have happened in only one short week. I can tell this mission is going to fly already!

Well, I love you all and I miss you! Xoxo
-Sister Salmond

P.S. Sister Senior and I ordering XL Fried Lovers! They are from Ralley's. They have their own seasoning which tastes like a poultry seasoning.

Also, at Sister Ali's she was making dinner as she left and it was french fries with ground beef, cheddar cheese, and a homemade classic white gravy. A true Southern meal. Never would see that in Utah. haha. Maybe you guys could try that one too!

Oh! Sister Gunter, a Japanese lady in the ward, made us curry and rice with a good salad. The dressing was rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and Japanese seasoning. Might make a good asian salad for dinner one night with nuts, mandarin oranges, chicken, carrots, etc.

MTC Photos

My district with Bro. Cowdin (He was awesome!)

Bro. Usevitch's class (He had me give a modesty talk!!! I was the most modest of all the missionaries! They even admitted it. That's ok though. I am now being more cautious to learn and heed his words...)

Bro. Burdette! (He just came in and helped with our class, but he served in our mission . He was so fun and told us lots of stories. He was cool!)

My district in front of the MTC map

The Girls in my zone in front of the MTC map

Me and Elder Scruggs in front of the MTC

Me and Elder Scruggs in the MTC

Mission Newsletter #1

Hello Everyone!

Ok, so the MTC is hard right off the bat. I got homesick like... A LOT! Had a breakdown or two, so I guess I am doing something right, since that is what people have told me I should have at least once while I am here. Everyone tells you, make it through Sunday! It will be much easier after that.  Yeah, whatever!  Monday came and my morning still was a little sad. I thought maybe the rule wouldn't apply since we had had Conference and not classes the last two days, but nope! Monday got so much better!  Also, Conference was great!  I loved David McConkie's talk and Christofferson's. (Christofferson is probably no surprise since I want to be a mommy.) Either way, Conference helped me relax, feel caught up and feel a little closer to home, although it still isn't quite the same.

Life is getting so much better though!  Well, first off, I AM WEARING JEANS!!! Let me tell you, you don't realize the joy behind something so simple. It feels so good to wear them again.  Want to hear something totally and completely ironic?  So I had my jacket in the air depressor bag and I got to the MTC and it got FrEeZiNg! I did not want to open the bag and get out my jacket unless I absolutely had to.  After two days of being frigid, I finally cracked it opened and got out my jacket. I only used it half of the day and haven't needed it since! What the heck?! Lame Utah weather!

Classes are going good! I have been learning and growing so much! My scriptures are starting to get more and more colorful. :) I really like our teacher Brother Cowdon! He is awesome and teaches really well. Brother Usevitch, on the other hand, can be way strict. He turns to Preach my Gospel for everything, which isn't necessarily bad. Did you know that he made me feel bad for saying "Ready Freddy?"  He said we need to have dignified language as missionaries. I agree, and I know that is good, but i feel that "ready freddy" is a completely innocent pump up phrase. But I am working on it. I just haven't dealt with someone like this before.

My companion, Sister Neufville, and I taught our first investigator yesterday! We had no clue that that is what we were supposed to do. The schedule said TRC, which we didn't know what that was, so we just went to the classroom. When we got there, we were informed and set upstairs to teach her. WHAT?! We didn't get to prepare or anything! So we said a quick prayer and knocked. It didn't go too bad actually. We were really happy leaving the room. Now, I had a baby idea of what they mean by the joy you feel from bringing someone unto Christ. It is wonderful!

Ok, I never thought this would every happen to me, but I get made fun of for being the studious one!  Me?  So here's the truth, I just use my study time. We are here to learn andif I'm not learning, what am I doing here?  If we finished something early, I usually try to write in my journal or read. The other girls think I should break more and think it is ridiculous how much I study, but if I don't learn, how is the Holy Ghost and the Lord supposed to help me? Also, I am here for the Lord. Therefore, all my actions should be made with him in mind. If I am sacrificing so much myself, and others are sacrificing for me, I will not mock this precious time I am given. Kind of harsh sounding I guess, but I want to do my best.

Lastly, yes, I have seen "Elder Scruggs." It's weird calling him that!  I saw him the first day at dinner. It was seriously so cute! He covered his mouth with a big smile and did a total double take. We raced to each other and chatted. It was so hard not to hug him. I have seen him quite a bit since then. It gets easier and easier not to touch him. We have taken pictures together! I can't send them to you since my lack of resources right now, but they'll be coming soon hopefully!  He has introduced me to his district and apparently they know quite a bit about me. Also, he totally LOVED the Superman onsie I got him. So did all his roommates.  :)  It has been a blessing to have him around. (Oh, I can't write him! How sad! That was hard when I first found that out, but now I am just looking forward to getting all of them at once in Alabama since we agreed to still write, just not send them.)

Well, that's it for now!  Thank you everyone for your prayers!
Love you!
-Sister Heather Salmond

p.s. I am losing weight here... still! I am eating only fruit and salad everyday. I am getting sick of the salad since it is only lettuce, carrots, oil and vinegar. A teacher from our mission, Brother Burdette, says I'll do fine with my dietary things on the mission, which made me feel good. He also said he lost weight on the mission! Didn't see that one coming! Hopefully, that will be the case for me too! hehe. Love you!

Some of My Favorite People In the Entire World!

      I love you all!  Don't take the number to heart, it's just the order I thought of as I wrote.  I can't put a number on loved ones. :)

     1. My Parents This is not just because family comes first, but I really do love my parents.  I know that they will do anything for me.  I admire how hard they both work to raise my siblings and I to be independent, confident, successful, and righteous individuals.  I know this task is not easy by any means.They truly are examples and my good friends. Love you Mom & Dad!
     2. Michelle Fredrickson You are always so caring and doing things for others.  I love your humor, your style, the presents you give me :), and most of all, our friendship.  I just love you Gyps more than I can express.  You are loyal to the end and so supportive.  Gyps, I don't know if you know this, but I have learned so much from you and strive to be as loving, sweet, and caring as you are. I only hope I am as good of a bff to you as you are for me. xoxoxoxo ~Crazy
     3. Taylor Stacey First of all, I miss not having you around all the time!  You were the best roommate ever!  I love you soooo much and I hope we will always keep in touch.  You are super hilarious and have such an energy and funny enthusiasm.  I just love it.  You have changed me more than you know... I now slap butts! Taylor, you are a sweetheart and the bestest ever!
     4. My Forever Roommates: Lizz, Steph, and Britt Girls, we have been roommates since the beginning of time and I have loved every minute of it. You all are so different, but so great.  I love you all.  Lizz: You are so spiritually in touch.  I love your gospel knowledge and your willingness and love to share it with others.  It will be hard to see you go, but I know you will make the best sister missionary.  You will help bring so many to the Gospel.  You have helped so many just around you already.  I know that this was a calling the Lord had set out for you, to bless and lift others up. We are all grateful for you in our lives. Steph: We have such history, all the way back to the womb.  It was destiny. :)  I love our Nacho Quotes and our relationship talks, beginning with our awkward couple journal.  You and I share a special humor, which I LOVE!  Britt: I love you Bubbly Burping Butt Brittny!  You have changed so much over the last two years... in a good way. You have grown a lot and discovery a lot of yourself.  I will always treasure the daily challenge I had to keep you awake in class, at church, and in firesides.  I secretly loved those moments because I was constantly trying to try new ways to wake you up.  hehehe.
     5. Michael Knapp You are now on a mission kiddo.  YOU ARE LIKE MY FAVORITE!  I don't know what it is, but everytime I see you, it is suddenly the best day EVER!  I get so excited to see you and honestly I don't know why cuz for the longest time you would say close to nothing.  Even when we are old and married, I will always remember how much I always wanted to squeeze the heck out of you and pinch your rosy cheeks. :]  You were the best debate partner I could've asked for.
     6. My Family of Co-Workers: Kenny, Zoe, Merrie, Jess, etc. We have so much history and you really are like family to me.  I love you all and I hope you all know I will always be here for you whenever you need.  I hold you ALL in such a high regard, just in different ways.  Kenny: You are so funny!  I cannot express how much I enjoy having you around.  Everyday you don't come to work I either say to myself or out loud, "Dang it!  Kenny isn't here today.  I love Kenny." I always have to have my daily hug from you otherwise I feel like the day is not complete.  You better never leave so we can be friends forever!  Zoe: You are married, which is crazy for one, but I love all the stories and things you have taught me with your experiences. hehehe. You are so free spirited and I love the dynamic you and Jake have.  It is so fun.  I love our sleepover back in the day with TP :) and so much more!  You are so great.  If only we were friends in HS. Merrie: My dearest Cinderella, you are so sweet and graceful. You even eat with grace. :) You don't walk, you float.  You sing like an angel.  I know the man who gets you will be so happy.  You will be the perfect wife and mother. I am so glad we can talk the way we do and care about the other so much.  Jess: You were so supportive when I needed it.  You truly are a great friend to me.  I know you'll do fine waiting for Dane if that is what you feel is right.  You are a very strong girl and a very hard worker.  I always enjoy talking to you.  You will always state your opinion, but in a very sweet and caring way.  That is a great gift you have and I love you so much for it.
     7. Andy Anderson & Marjorie Merkley  These are two residents that have now passed away, but I really came to know at the Charleston.  Andy: He was the sweetest, most celestial man I ever met.  He called us angels, but really he was the angel for us all.  He had a heart of gratitude, love, charity, humility, and GOLD. :) Every day was a good day for Andy and he never spoke an unkind word.  I miss him so much.  I can't wait to see him and embrace in the next life. I truly loved that man. Marjorie: She was a goof and going a little crazy towards the end of her life, yet I loved her.  The last time I saw her before she passed, she told me she loved me.  That meant a lot to me.  She was so sweet and I would've spent all day with her if I could.  Whoo, Whoo, Whoo, Whoo!
     8. The Bromance: Glade, Jaxson, Timmy, Jackman, Brendan, etc. I love all you boys so so much!  You guys are great in every way.  I wish I could squeeze you all and just tell you how awesome you are everyday! :} Gladiesman: You work so hard, too hard sometimes.  However, because of this, you have grown so much.  You were always a great person, however now you are even more sincere, caring, and easy to talk to.  I am proud of you. You definitely know who you are and what you stand for.  Don't ever change that part of you. Jaxson:Sir Knight, Agent X,etc. You are a champ.  You work so very hard.  When something doesn't come naturally or super easy, you will keep working on it until it does.  That is something so admirable about you.  You strive to make your weak things become strong.  You also are very caring and always nice about others.  People can tell that about you when they first meet you.  You really admire and look up to your parents.  I know everyone does this to a certain degree, but the respect you hold is so great.  You can just tell by the way you talk about them.  They are so lucky to have you as a son and I am sure you would probably say the same about them as your parents.  Timmy: You are a funny boy.  Sometimes, I think we are too close, but it's great.  Thank you. I know I can always say exactly what I am thinking with you and when I need a hug or something, I know you will be there.  No more late movies though. haha. Heather is getting far too tired for that and going crazy at night. :)  Timmy, you are great. I really appreciate our friendship so much.  You are going to make a girl so happy someday.  Jackman:  I love you kid so so much!  I love the way you and I can talk. You are so funny.  I love it because you understand me quite well. Not many guys can understand the female brain like you can and I am so grateful for it because you can see both the man side and the girly side.  It helps a ton.  Plus, you make a great coach... and yes, you should be proud of your skills.  Brendan: You are a macho man! You are the one who has the power to take away the man card. hahaha.  I love that!  We do need to bond more. I have talked with you the least, but that's ok I like you anyways. Even though you are a tough guy, you definitely have a soft side to you that we can all see and feel.  Don't be afraid to show that side more. :) You are so freakin' awesome. Don't ever forget that!  Oh! And you are getting so buff!  Keep working at it.  You are doing great!
     9. My Short-Period-of-Time Roommates: Elisa, Sammi, Alyssa, and Brady  I wish we could all be roommates longer, but I know that even though we can't we won't loose contact! :) Elisa: It was a random roommate scheme by Glenwood.  The unknown is kind of scary, so before I met you I was slightly nervous, but now I don't know why.  You are the best!  I love you sooo much! I can't wait to meet all your freshman friends because if they are as awesome as you I know we will have the best Relief Society ever!You have such a sweetness and light within you that just radiates.  You are doing what is right and I know things are kind of hard at times and you don't know where you are going quite yet in life, but I promise you, the answers will come to you at the right time.  Faith, not fear my dear. ;)  Sammi: You have a lot of passion within you. You have an amazing ability to stand up for truth, for your friends, family, and what you believe. Remember to never loose that and to constantly use it for good. I feel like there is still much you have to learn about yourself and I know once you discover this, you will be even more strong, confident, and beautiful. Love ya girl. Alyssa & Brady: You two are so cute and perfect for each other.  You two have grown together.  I think it is a great match.  I know you two will have a wonderful life together.  Alyssa, I loved having you as a full time roommate and getting to know you even more and Brady, it was good have you as a partial roommate as well. :)  I love you two and I love Krispy Kreams!  I know we'll keep in touch.
     10.  The Dimter Family You all mean so much to me.  I love you all.  You are my family and I definitely think of you as such.  Jon: I love you.  You were such a jokester, yet caring and wise.  Grace: I look up to you.  I can talk to you for hours, literally. You are a second mom to me. Steven, Sarah, Brian, Becca, and James: I always LOVE our game nights.  We have so much fun and stay up so late. You are all great.  I loved how we would never come downstairs when the parents called cuz we all knew it would be another 30 minutes at least. Good times! Sarah, I always felt like you were an older version of myself. Becca, you are a goof ball.  One of my favorite things is our sleepovers and the sugar we would take in. hehehe.  James, too much history.  We have been through it all.  I know we will always be close. Work hard out there on the mission.
     To Everyone Who Shall Not Be Named I love you all and adore you.  There are so many people who have imprinted on me and I wish I can name every single one of you, but since I cannot just know that I do still care and appreciate all you have done for me. Sincerely, Heather