Mission Newsletter #30

ome sweet sisters in my zone sent me gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free treats from an Allergy  Bakery in their area! How sweet of them! They seriously are the sweetest and made my week with each brownie, cookie, and cupcake! :) Thank you Sisters! 

Fewf! Life is slowing down a bit! If you couldn't tell, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind! Fun, but crazy! Even though things are slowing down, we still busy bees! Being in a branch, there's a lot of work, but every second of it is worth it! I love serving here: whether we are teaching, knocking, or assisting the branch. Missionary work is the best work around!

Let me tell you, Young Women's is a party! At least it was this week!!! The girls wanted to do a fun, sleepover, movie night, so that we did! Sis. Shattuck and I decorated the multi-purpose room, which is where we hold sacrament meeting, and turned it into a Girl's Paradise! It was a fun night with the girls and we were able to conclude with the spirit with a gospel message. I love how Spirit can come in so quickly as we testify of the truth. It's evidence to me that is church is so full and true.

A member brought a Cotton Candy Machine for us to use! Yum!

(Yes, that's my handy work. haha)

This week we had interviews with our wonderful mission president, President Hanks. He is an incredible man. A Huge Teddy Bear! I wish Presidents were an exception to the no hugging men rule. Every time I see him, I want to give him a big hug! It is so evident how much he loves us. I look up to him so much and am grateful to have him as my mission president. Every time I talk to him, I feel so loved and cared for. I imagine that is much like our Father in Heaven. His presence alone (of the Holy Ghost), we can feel His love.

Went on exchanges this week! I was with wonderful Sis. Sheffer. This exchange was a testament to me about how much God loves us. Throughout the day, the Lord put people in my path that answered my prayers. The Lord knew what I needed to hear and what needed to be said to help me with things no one could've known about. God is so incredibly mindful of us. It blows me away. I am grateful for all the ways He blesses are lives, if we only look for the miracles and then act on the revelation we receive. "...ask me in faith, believing ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you." (1 Nephi 15:11)

I love y'all! Let the Lord bless you! You're in my prayers my loves!

Yours Truly,
Sister Salmond

Mission Newsletter #29

Went to the Jenkins home and got to watch the fireworks off the lake.
Justin was able to come too! So fun. :)  

So, I have food allergies, like most of you know. So, in addition to the sacrament bread, we also have tortilla chips on the trays for me. In our congregation, we have an autistic girl. This last Sunday, when they were blessing the sacrament bread, after they said, "bless this bread..." she panickly said "and chips! And Chips!" haha. It was so darn cute! I couldn't help, but chuckle. I love my little branch here in Sylacauga! :)

This weekend, we also had a branch 4th of July Cook-out! With lots of fun and games!...and eLdErS! We didn't plan on that one... They dropped off our elders and stayed to clean up and ended up joining in, since we had a small turn out. Ended up being lots of fun though with good food, a pie eating contest, egg race, balloon toss, and singing. It was  good times for those who were able to come. :)

Some of the prizes we made!

All the pies and party stuff shoved in our fridge! Don't know how we got it to fit!

Eat up!

Let the pie eating contest begin!

The Pie Contest got a bit messy...

Egg race, so fun!

Three-

This week was Clara Jean's Baptism! She is Esse's grandma and is so funny and sweet! Let me tell you, she

is adding some nice baptist spice to our congregation! :) She bore her testimony several times during our testimony meeting from her chair. haha. I love her so much!

Huge Miracle: Last transfer, I met two sisters, Anna & Stephanie, on an exchange. They said we could come back and teach them. They seemed really nice and open. A couple days later, Sis. Shattuck and I went to their house. They seemed cold and said they weren't ready for church. It's was like a 180 since last time I saw them. I felt an urge to go back again, but Sis. Shattuck pointed out that it was a pretty solid no. I too could recognize it. So, I prayed that God would provide a way for them to have another chance to receive the gospel, if not with me, with missionaries in the future. I just felt that they still needed it for some reason.

A month later: I went to call a lady we met, Anna, but I accidentally called the wrong Anna. I didn't realize it at first. I set up the appointment and then asked for her address. When she gave it to me, I recognized the error. Oops! So, the next day, we headed to the appointment on foot, although we were quite afraid of another shut down. However, when we got there, they were open and ready to hear the gospel. Anna & Stephanie mentioned how they get confused with all the different interpretations of the Bible. They are studying with many religions, trying to find truth. We were able to share with them the example of Joseph Smith and how they are much like him. We shared with them about how we have a Book of Mormon to help clarify the meanings of the Bible. We promised to bring them one back and they were excited about that. Since then, we have brought them a Book of Mormon and taught them the Plan of Salvation. They love what we have been teaching them thus far.

I know God loves His children. This is only one of the evidences of it. He won't ever give up on us and will give us another chance over and over again. I love our Savior and I am so grateful, I was able to play a part in this miracle. I know it wasn't a co-incidence that we made that accidental phone call. Miracles happen in his due time. Look for the miracles in your life and the amazing timing the Lord has and He places things in your life. He truly is an incredible micro-manager and is watching over each of us, helping us every way He can. I love Him for that.

I love you all! Thank you for all the prayers and blessings!
Have a great week!
Sister Salmond

Mission Newsletter #28

So, since Sis. Shattuck and I have been companions, we haven't ridden our bikes much cuz Sis. Shattuck was having back problems. Lately, we've picked it back up again! I've expressed to her that my bike skills aren't the greatest and I am still learning some things. She didn't really believe me and said "You'll be fine!" So, we headed off! Since I told her I wasn't very good at curbs, we had one coming up I would have to jump up onto. Being in front, Sis. Shattuck pulled aside and braked, I figured to watch me. So, I slowly approached the curb with great anticipation, pulled up my front tire, and did a smack down into the pavement! Sis. Shattuck busted into laughter! Let's just say, I ate it! I so wish I could've been a bystander and seen it myself. It was a sight to see! Let's just say, I don't have that skill mastered yet...

Exciting News! Esse got baptized this last Saturday! And Justin baptized her! Wahoo!!! It was so great to see her make that commitment! And to see Justin be able to receive the priesthood and baptize her! What a blessing. You don't get to see that every day as a missionary! Sis. Shattuck and I are so happy for her! We look forward to her grandmother's baptism this coming up week. :)

This week we had a really cool miracle happen: Friday night, our plans fell through. We had planned to see Walter, a recent convert of a few weeks, the next day, but decided to just stop by and see if we could see him then. He was home and told us that he actually was thinking about us (about a half an hour before) and was hoping he could see us, but didn't know how to word the text. He was needing a spiritual boosting and we didn't even know it! The Spirit directed us there! However, the miracle doesn't end there... As we sat down to talk with him outside, it began to sprinkle, which quickly turned to sheets of rain! We tried to take shelter under the picnic table's canopy, but the rain was too hard! It was leaking through and dumping all around us. There was no way we could pull out our scriptures without them getting destroyed! We could hardly hear each other with the beating rain. So, I offered a prayer to ask Heavenly Father to calm the storm to allow us to teach. As I offered the prayer, the rain started to lesson and after only a few minutes, it was completely stopped. It was incredible to see God respond to that prayer so immediately. Just that morning in my studies, I had read Moroni 7:26, "Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you." This miracle was a witness of that scripture. I know that if we pray, and it be good (or of the Will of God), he will grant it to us according to our faith. What more can I say?

The love the joy this gospel brings and the many witnesses God gives us of his love for us. I love you all and challenge you to look for some of those witnesses of God's love within your own life as you go from day to day.

Love you much!
Sis. Salmond

Mission Newsletter #37

Good news! Sis. Shattuck and I'll be together in Sylacauga another transfer! Part-AY! Also, got creative

and made my own ice cream with frozen bananas, coconut, canned pineapple, and almond coconut milk. Turned out pretty good! Yum!

So, this week, I crossed off a bucket list item that I recently added since being on the mission. It was to go through the car wash (that had a POWERFUL blow dryer) and as the car is drying, roll down the window and let my face get blown off! Sounds stupid to y’all probably, but I thought it'd be fun and give a bit of a thrill. So, Sis. Shattuck and I found a specific gas station that had a particularly strong blower and set out last p-day as the lucky day to cross this item off the list. Oh baby!  I waited for the Booming Blow of the dryer, rolled down the window, let it blow! Wahoo! Call me Crazy. :) (Don't worry family, I did record this moment. I'll be sending it home on a drive soon. Until then, here's a pic to prove it.)

Here in the South, bugs are EVERYWHERE!!! Save me! Mom, I know you told me that on my mission I'd

Part of the trail of bites - Gross, huh?!

get use to spiders, but let me tell ya, it's NOT WORKING! If anything, they are scarier and more populated here, making my fear increase! I slept with one the other night on accident! Turns out we have a love-hate relationship. I hate them, but they LOVE me. The spider ate down my whole leg and wrapped around all the way to my big toe. Rude.

We also have roaches, of course, that keep trying to withstand our magical bug-killing spray to live a blissful life indoors. Let me tell ya, they keep kickin’ for a long time! Ew! Not ok. haha.

Lastly, we have silk worms everywhere in the trees! Crazy! I remember growing my own baby silk worm in 1st grade. For cute! The only thing is they're not as cute as I remember... They basically live in a huge spider web, which creeps me out a bit, so... I keep my distance. It's like a cute caterpillar that has spider-like abilities. It's cool for Spiderman, but not worms. ;)

Went running with Justin to spice up our lessons. It's his hobby. It was actually really good cuz we were just able to jog and talk about his interests, while teaching gospel principles along the way. It was a good gospel discussion and he really enjoyed it. :) 

Also, over the last few weeks we've been teaching a 13 year old girl, Esse and her grandmother. Esse is so sweet and has come to mutual all 3 times now, church twice, and will be baptized this coming Saturday! She's had a rough past with a mother leaving the picture young, but this will be a new life for her starting on the 28th. She is looking forward to that. :)  (Her grandma should be following her, shortly.)

 

Young Women's Wednesday! (Esse on left.) It was also Mariah's, our only current young woman’s, birthday.
Reason for the cake and sign. :)

This last Wednesday for young women's, we made pillow cases with our future goals on it! Sis. Shattuck and

I were lucky and able to make on too! How fun?! Being the perfectionist and girly-girl I am, I made mine princess themed. Esse, on the other hand, put baptism on hers! That was so exciting to see! As we made the cases, she saw Sis. Shattuck printing out Temple pictures to trace onto our cases. We were able to teach her a little bit and now she too wants to marry in the Temple!

Just like in the situation where Esse saw the Temples on our pillow cases, we all can be subtle examples of the believers. Don't be afraid to show what you believe or speak about it. Others are watching, even if we don't realize it. By doing so, it can open a door to help them receive the Restored Gospel or for current members, strengthen their testimony by your faith. In 3 Nephi 18:24, the Savior instructs the Nephites on this principle:

"Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up-"

 

Hold up your light. Let people learn and grow closer to their Savior by your example and faith. Let them feel the Savior's love through you and it will turn them naturally to our Father in Heaven to feel that love even greater in their life. I know this is true. I've seen other's influence me in my life this way and I continue to see it change me and others.

The gospel's true. I love you all. Have a blessed week!

Lots of Love,

Sister Heather Salmond

Mission Newsletter #36

Exciting Moment of the Week! Walter was Baptized on Saturday the 15th! First baptism from Tracting! It was so great to see the changes he has made up to this point and his countenance glows more each week! When we first began teaching him, he joked and said he wanted to be baptized with a rubber ducky in the font. We told him he couldn't do that unfortunately. However, we did give him a rubber ducky as a gift with the date of his baptism on the bottom. :) It also came with two smaller duckies so we each have one to
remember him by as well! We are some happy ducks!

Another Highlight of the Week was our Temple Trip! The Temple is so beautiful and it is so spiritual to be able to go and remember the covenants we have made. Something different stands out to me each time. It is such a blessing to have Temples so easily accessible in so many areas. I am so grateful that we have them and can be in a place where we can feel our Father's love in His House.

While there, it was great to see my beloved MTC companion, Sis. Neufville. She is doing so great and is

Seeing Sis. Neufville (left) with her companion, Sis. Nelson (right)

amazing! She has such a light and love around her. It was so great for us to be reunited and to be able to reflect and learn from each other once again. I love that woman. :)

Lastly, EXCHANGE WEEK! I went on an exchange with Sis. Dodini. She is so sweet and teaches me so much! I swear, she speaks with such power. The Spirit and love just ooze from her as she speaks. We saw so many miracles that day together. I can't express how much the hand of the Lord was in the work that day. A cool thing we found that day out of coincidence was a road sign that said Lagniappe! Ok... what does that even mean? This is a word our Mission President taught us about.

Lagniappe- for good measure; and then some; a little bit extra. An example of this is a "Baker's Dozen." For those of you who don't know, a baker's dozen is giving 13 donuts instead of 12. They gave a baker's dozen back in the olden times because punishments were severe if someone was caught stealing, lying, etc. If they accidentally give someone the full dozen, bakers could receive this punishment. So they always gave an extra just in case. We all should have an attitude of giving a bit more. President Hanks told us that "the difference between ordinary and extraordinary people is explained in these three words, 'and then some.'" Remember Lagniappe in our callings, relationships, etc. Lagniappe! Give the Lord all you got! ...and then some. :)




Love you all with all my heart and lagniappe. :)

Have an Amazing Week!
Love,
Sister Heather Salmond

Mission Newsletter #35

Out on the mission, it's tradition that you have a matching item with each companion. Sis. Shattuck and I found ours this week: Matching Moo-Moos! For those of you who don't already know, I LOVE Moo-Moos. It's like my signature thing, so this was perfect! Now, our companionship is totally complete. :)

Funny Moment: When we went to go teach Justin, he brought home a baby bat he found at work! We both took pictures and held it. It was kind of cool to be able to hold one. I never did that before. When Sis. Shattuck got done holding it and gave it back to Justin, it pooped on him! It was sooooo Gross, but soooooo Funny! That bat knows how to treat a lady and waited to be back in Justin's possession. :) I love chivalry.

This week, the elders were oh so kind to give us five new people to go see and teach! Sis. Shattuck and I were enthused to meet these sweet ladies. The next afternoon, we trekked out. As we went down the street to meet Kim, there was a pitbull across the dirt street barking at us from the house. There was a gate, so I wasn't too concerned, but Sis. Shattuck has been bit by a pitbull on the mission before and has a scar to prove it. They scare her, so she began to run. The dog too began to run, heading straight for us. There was apparently an opening in the gate as the pitbull came beyond the gate right in front of us. She blocked the walkway to Kim's house. It stood it's ground and began to lunge at me. Sis. Shattuck and I repeated prayers to Heavenly Father over and over again in our heads. Kim peaked out and told us it wasn't her dog, but we better go cuz it was a mother pitbull and had puppies! We slowly backed up. Sis. Shattuck was able to pick up a brick that was by her and we slowly walked away. We continued to pray as the dog was still running at us and barking. We somehow got out of there safe and sound. I know the Lord was protecting us as we prayed with every fiber of our being. I am so grateful we were ok. The Lord truly protects his missionaries.

With all the craziness this week, we have also seen miracles. The greatest of all is of Walter. He is scheduled to be baptized this coming week and although the Autistic girl in the branch screamed during church, "There's a chair missing!" and the chorister appears to be always grumpy, he bore his testimony to us that he feels for the first time that a church is truly full. He said he's never felt that way ever before. He also knows the Book of Mormon is true 'cause he always wondered why in the Bible he only knew about the people over there. What about the people here? It is so apparent that the Lord has been preparing him for years to receive this true gospel into his life. It is so incredible to watch his change and light grow more and more every time we see him. The Lord loves him. That is for sure. The mission is a testimony to me that is church is so true and that God loves His children and wants them to return back to Him.

Straightening my Bible from the Rain we got stuck in. Wasn't dry after three days and I no longer had a blow dryer so hello straightener!... Don't worry. Didn't use the Lord's time. Work on it before bed. :)

Lastly, I want to do a shout out to the Fathers, especially mine for this upcoming week: Happy Father's Day! You men are incredible and we, as woman, are grateful for your roles! Elaine S. Dalton said in one of my favorite talks, Love Her Mother, "You are not ordinary men. Because of your valiance in the premortal realms, you qualified to be leaders and to possess priesthood power. There you exhibited “exceeding faith and good works,” (Alma 13:3) and you are here now to do the same. Your priesthood sets you apart." Dad, thank you for being a great example of one who is worthy to hold this priesthood. You have always done it humility and held it sacredly. That has been example to me and helped me as I have gone to better understand and appreciate that wonderful gift that you men can carry. Thank you Dad for being a great dad to me! I love you and I know that a lot of who I am today is due to that. I love you!

Love,
Sister Salmond

Mission Newsletter #34

Last Monday was Memorial Day! Hooray! We had so much fun! First, we were able to have a grand BBQ with Justin! He had the Elders and us over for some big meaty burgers! They were so good and so filling! Somehow, Justin was able to eat 4 BURGERS! How can you do that with these burgers?! But, all I have to say is I LOVED the southern "cook out!" Drinking out of Mason jars, flippin burgers, cooking the baked beans in the can on the grill, etc. Classic. :)

Right after Justin's, we headed over to the Rehab house, where we were able to meet with Cecil and Walter.

It seems like we are boiling down to the real serious investigators. For Memorial Day, we left them with a fruit American flag cake! Yippee! So cute! (All Sis. Shattuck's idea) Walter is progressing leaps and bounds! He once again came to church and took the Word of Wisdom lesson very well. We set goals and resolutions for him right there in the lesson. Justin sat in and was a good support for him. After the lesson, we watched as Justin and Walter exchanged numbers in the parking lot. They live just around the corner from each other and are starting to really hit it off! We are so excited and hope they become good friends, cuz that's something they both need. :)

Huge moth! 

This last week has been a momentous one with rain, Rain, and more RAIN! haha. In the South, when it rains, it pours! I don't think I understood that phrase as much as I do now. In Alabama, you feel a drop and RUN! Let me tell you a sweet little story that happened to Sis. Shattuck and I Saturday night that perfectly describes this point:

It was late and our appointment that was supposed to meet us at the church stood us up. So, it's 8:40 and

we begin our trek home. It's nice and warm. Clear skies. Just nice. However, about 10 minutes into our 45 minute walk, we felt a drip. Where did the beautiful skies go?! Being missionaries, we decided right then that we were going to have the faith that no matter how much it rains, we will be protected and remain dry. :) But, maybe we shouldn't have said it out loud and cursed ourselves cuz I'm pretty sure I heard the Lord say, "Wanna bet?" Because right then it dumped buckets of rain ALL over us! We ran as much as we could home, but it was pointless. We were soaked and so were our things. Some things (mormon.org cards, pamphlets, etc.) did not make it through the journey and some are trying to still recover (my Missionary Handbook, Bible, etc. still drying in the apartment). Needless to say, when we stopped by the elder's apartment to get our car keys back, we were not happy...

The same guy who stood us up that night rescheduled with us for Sunday. Little did we know that he planned to bring two other friends with Bibles in hand, ready to bash. What once used to scare me before the mission, does no longer. Sis. Shattuck refused to bash, although we answered their questions and left them with our testimony. Bible bashes don't scare me anymore, not cuz I have a greater knowledge of the Bible, but because I know the Lord will have my back and will allow the spirit to speak greater than I ever could. So, if anyone ever tries to back you up into a corner, remember, angels attend you and all you have to do is open your mouth and bear testimony of it!

Lastly, I want to share with you something that our President shared with us last week in his email to us.

Biggest flower EVER!

"God's gift of AGENCY was a supreme sacrifice of love by our Father. He knew we wouldn't always choose correctly, but he still allows us to choose. Jesus's gift of the ATONEMENT was likewise a supreme sacrifice of love by the Savior. Surely, no one has done more. And the sacrifice of OUR WILL to that of God can be our supreme sacrifice of love to Heavenly Father." Isn't that incredible? Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ both gave us big gifts of love. Our gift we can give is to align our will with God's. That gift is so small in comparison because His Will will always be in our best interest. Thank God today for these wonderful gifts we've been given and try to strive everyday to be in alignment with Him. I know no greater happiness comes than by that.

I love you all! Hope you have a fabulous week full of clear skies! ;) Remember, the Lord loves you and is watching over you.

Lots of Love,
Sister Salmond