Missionary Newsletter #62 (Feb 23)

the scary snow we had heard about for days!!! (Not so much)

The Snow Came!!! And I had to drive in it with a poor new missionary on an exchange! So nerve-racking!!! No Salt. Good news, we survived!

We have had LOTS of Snow this week! Two Snow Days! Holy Cow! This is Very Unusual for Alabama! Last year, we had one big snow, but here it had a whimpy snow on Tuesday and then a big snow on Friday! It's also has a 80% chance of snowing next week too. Let me tell ya, it's weird. It's like we brought Utah with us! On Friday, we were in Decatur's District Meeting when it began to snow. I had to bring Sister Layton back to Madison for our exchange. The roads were slick and it was raining pretty hard. I called the Zone Leaders to ask what to do because we can't drive our car when it snows. They told me I had to drive now or I'd be suck overnight. So, we headed off! For your information, it is not NEARLY as scary driving in Utah! I'm invincible there! But here, I had a sister's life in my hands, the church's vehicle, which is paid for with sacred tithing money, and inexperienced snow drivers all around me! I have to admit, it was a bit stressful. By the grace of God, we made it safely home. The second I parked, I collapsed into a sigh of relief! So glad that was over! We then went tracting in the snow! It was a beautiful thing!

Snow in Alabama!

There were tons of birds in our backyard. It was cold and started to snow, so we made them a shelter and put some nuts outside. There were LOTS of birds though! Most we've ever had, but only a few took the bait. :(

Mally's grandson- a cancer survivor party!

One of the miracles this week is that Brianna came to church!!! (She was the sweet mother we tracted into on an exchange about a week back in the last 5 minutes of our time!) She came in late, squeezing next to us with her little girl, Baylee. It was really neat because Baylee and Christina's little boy (the other girl we are teaching), Michael, started playing together in Sacrament Meeting. We were all sitting in the same long, row. These two toddlers had a grand ole time! Also, Baylee and Michael both have diabetes. Christina and Brianna really connected since they had the same doctor and similar struggles trying to learn the ropes of diabetes. Plus, they are both learning the gospel, which I think helps them really feel comfortable with one another. It was neat seeing them bond and we just had to stand and watch. :)

In addition, when we visited with Marcia the other day, she informed us that she has had some stresses with finances and such. She also told us that her boss pulled her aside and told her she needed to wear nicer shirts to work, but she doesn't have any. Being sister missionaries, lots of clothes get left in the apartments, especially here in Madison since we live in a sister graveyard (mission lingo meaning a lot of sisters end their missions in our area). A few days later, we brought the old clothes from our apartment to see if there was anything that would work for her. As she went through it, she was thrilled! Things we never would've thought was stellar or great were very cute clothes to her. It was actually quite humbling to see her love these clothes we would've thought nothing of. There is so much I take for granted and I am grateful for moments like this to see the joy and twirls that one has over something so little. She found a lot of use out of shirts many sisters have overlooked. Josh, playing the perfect boyfriend role, assured Marcia that she looked good in the outfits. She told her, "You look good in everything you wear." That is a true man. Every guy should say that to his girlfriend/wife. They were so grateful and we left with a huge smile on our face. It feels so good to serve others. It was such a blessing to be part of that!

Madison is still doing great! We love it here and I love being here with Sister Zackrison! We are trying to find a place in Provo right now so we can be roommates in school. :) Wish us luck! It's coming to the end of the transfer though, so we are sad because we will know that we will be split up since we both go home in April. We will receive transfer instructions by the end of this week, so I'll let y'all know what happens! It's a bit nerve-racking since this will determine how we will end our missions, but at least we can go through it together! I love you all and pray for you! Know that God loves you and is always by your side. :)

Making President & Sister Hanks' goodbye gift from our going home group! (an Alabama quilt with a piece of all our skirts and ties in it)

Take care!
Lots of Luck, ;)
Sister Salmond

Also, some pics for Valentine's week:

Story of my Life!

Sweet Joseito (Christina's little boy) fell asleep in our lesson. So cute!

Cutest Valentine's Companionship Ever! :)

With Julia, a 10 year old we've been teaching :)

Missionary Newsletter #61 (Feb 16)

Christina's Family :)

Valentine's Day we ate a member's home and Darby, who always goes out on appointments with us, matched me! How fun is that?!

I love Valentine's Day and the sweet kind of holiday it is where love can be shared. :) It's so fun! It was so sweet to share it with my companion! The cutest part of it all was the day before, after a wonderful Zone Conference, we had an exchange. I stayed in Madison as she left with the other companion for Athens. That night, as I crawled into bed, I found a Valentine she had left for me! How cute is that?! (I am always finding cute notes she leaves for me.) It gave me warm and fuzzies to find it and first thing the next morning I read that Valentine! For my companion, I HEART ATTACKED her room. It was so fun to be reunited and thank the other for the friendship that we share. Later, at the end of the night, we were able to end the day right, with some cereal in the candlelight. :) It was so adorable. Valentine's day can always be a day we show love to those around. What a wonderful holiday we have to be adorable and celebrate! Muwah!

Our Candlelight Dinner (of cereal) ;)

Like I said above, we had Zone Conference this week. Once again, I was in the lucky companionship that got to train. Seems like every conference, I'm chosen. haha. That's ok, I am happy to do whatever I can to help. :) After training, we got to do some really cool finding workshops run by our assistants. They had us call numbers we didn't know in our phones, previous people taught in our records, and part-member families and see if we could come and share a message of Christ with them. It's was cool to have the conference be so hands on. 

Pic from Zone Conference: Sister Drummond, Sister Neufville, me, and Sister Zackrison.

Later, we were trained by President Hanks. It was really neat because he shared with us something that he discovered in his studies the day before. (Note: this is not taught doctrine, but his opinion, which I totally agree with and love, so I thought I'd share it with y'all.) In Moses 4:1, it states, "...That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying-- Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one should shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." Satan never says, "I will take away their agency or ability to choose," he says, "I will redeem all mankind..." So, Satan is telling the Father that he will save everyone, regardless of the choices they make. There are no consequences for their actions. After hearing that, it made a lot more sense to me. It sounds more like the Satan we know and understand: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die;" (2 Nephi 28:7) Satan from the beginning, didn't believe that there should be consequences for our actions; however, God knew better. We have to have order and we had to have these guidelines so we could learn and grow and become like our Father in Heaven. We couldn't become like Him if we were doing the opposite with no consequences. Learning this strengthened my testimony of the love and wisdom of God. He loved and trusted us enough to let us go. He let us live our life, but advised us how and has been leading all along our way through parents, leaders, prophets, and the Holy Ghost. We are so blessed!

I love you all and hope y'all are having a fantabulous week! God is real. He loves us. And He wants us to return to Him. :) Take care and stay warm!

Lots of [Valentiney] Love,

Sister Salmond

Missionary Newsletter #60 (Feb 9)

So, this week we had our mission leadership meeting with our mission president. One of the many things he trained on was being smart drivers cuz there's been a lot of accident lately, specially with parked vehicles. Little did I know what this training/announcement was foreshadowing... When Sister Zackrison and I cam out of the meeting, we found President's car parked right next to ours, KISSING the other vehicle!!! See????

As we were taking pictures, we heard his car beep and the lights flash. They were heading out! Eek! We quickly hid our cameras and acted like nothing. We don't think he even noticed he was touching the other car! We didn't point it out or anything because we didn't want to tease or embarrass him after that last training. But, I can definitely say, it made my day!

Then, just the other day, we were at an appointment. We were finishing up the lesson and about to close with a prayer, when there was a knock on the door. The neighbor had backed into our car! Of course, I was the driver that day. Just my luck. haha. I was parked on the street where the lady had asked me to park. I was partially on the road, partially the lawn (that is very typical out here in Alabama.) The guy had parked on his lawn at a crooked angle. When he backed out, he got our rear light. It wasn't too bad... Just ironic since President JUST talked about this. It totally wasn't my fault though. The officer had our back. :) I never knew, that small MLC training would lead to a series of unfortunate events. haha.

On a positive note, I got a surprise package in the mail! What? For me? I never get mail, so this was a pleasant surprise. I opened it to find.... Drum roll please....

OREOS!!! Not just Oreos, but 6 boxes of them! Gluten Free and all! Was it a Dream?! No! It was for reals! Next thing I knew, Six Weeks to Sexy was out the window and I was down a box of Oreos. haha. I didn't know how many calories I intook. I didn't want to know. However, I do know that miracles happen when you serve the Lord. (Thank you mom and anyone else who had their hand in this! haha)

Also, we had a blitz in Albertville this week. When we got there, we found out that Sister Banks' hair had been thrashed by a member. They gave her a hair cut and everything was uneven. There were holes everywhere and it was shorter than she wanted! Poor girl! Luckily, I had my hair cutting scissors on me and touched up the job. It wasn't perfect, since it was kind of hard to cover some of it up, but was MUCH better! She was so relieved that she could at least wear it down again. It's amazing how the few tips my mom has taught me has really come in handy on the mission. I would've never guessed.

Bessemer! Sweet White Family, once again. :)

A Huge Miracle this week was after MLC. :) Since it takes place in Birmingham, I had gotten permission to go down to Bessemer again to visit a few people! I got to see Sister Kilgore, the Whites, and dear Alisa and her kids. Oh what a miracle that was for me! The joy it was to see them again after this very long year! The main highlights were seeing Sister White's face and screams when she saw me. :) I didn't tell her I was coming and just showed up. She kept screaming, "My Baby! My Baby! Ahhhh! My Baby!" I was so cute, fun and sweet! Besides seeing a few of my favorite people, I got to take a second with Alisa and her kids. Wow. The love I feel for them! I was so good just to see them, be near them, and feel of their love again. The kids are so amazing and has such amazing potential! They sang "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" for me. Alisa is being such a strong influence for them. William is hoping to be baptized soon and Alisa is still making progress and taking steps that will lead her to the Temple. What an amazing blessing that will be for her! You better believe I wouldn't miss that for the world! I look forward to that experience. :) Bessemer still has a big part of me. It's amazing how these places steal your heart.

I am seeing this take place right now in Madison. My heart is started to become sold. I get so attached to areas and people that it's hard to get ripped away. I love being here in Madison. It's been a huge blessing and there are so many people I hold dear to me. Marcia is doing great and still progressing. She was invited by a member to go to their FHE tonight, which I thought was so great! She is really growing and becoming a greater Daughter of God in the process. It's been great to watch her grow in the time I've known her. Also, Brianna I mentioned a while back. It was a huge miracle knocking on her door when we had limited time before our next appointment. Brianna is really hungry to learn and we are really working with her. She is so sweet. Things seem to go wrong a lot, so she can be hard to catch, but we feel her spirit and recognize the miracle she was and is. This last visit she asked us, "I know it's always crazy and we are really hard to get a hold of, but please don't give up on this family. We need y'all." Brianna is so sweet and sincerely, there is no way we could give up on them. We love her and her family. They have been a miracle to us.

Life is great! I love being a missionary! There are so many things to be grateful for. I love doing this work and being a missionary out here in Alabama. I never want it to end. I love all of y'all and keep you in my prayers. Have a fantastic week and stay safe!

Love y'all Lots!
Sister Salmond

Missionary Newsletter #59 (Feb 2)

Oh how I've missed my Double Stuffed. :)

This week I bought Gluten Free, Dairy Free Oreos and Ice Cream! First time I've had Oreos in a year and a half! Wahoo!!! So Good! That was my favorite cookie before I found out about my food allergies. Every finals I would stalk up on gold fish, oreos and frozen green beans for my snacks. Those were my studying treats. Since then, I haven't been able to spoil myself the same way. However, Sister Zackrison and I have been craving an oreo blizzard, so that is what we made!! It was so good! I am so grateful to have Oreos back in my life again. :) Probably not a good discovery, cuz I may or may not get addicted, but that's ok. "Our diet starts tomorrow." ;) But for reals. haha.

Our Clean Apt! We've been cleaning it out for weeks! I was working on it before with Sister Brunner, but it was a longer process since it was just me working on it and I wasn't quite sure what was hers or left behind from another sister. However, with Sister Zackrison, we've really attacked the place and made it better! Yipee! It's finally clean and we can function! All the trash is gone (4 garage bags) and we donated 5 garage bags to a thrift store! (We also gave two extra desks we had to the elders cuz they needed them. It is so much better now!) 

​

So we have been very blessed in teaching many people right now. God has really been mindful of us. The only hindrance seems to be the people's situations. They all seem to be people who will take a while until they can be baptized... Sister Zackrison and I are really trying to do all we can to bring people closer to Christ and if it's not while I'm here, that's ok. As long as I helped them come closer to Christ, I have fulfilled my purpose. 

However, although the people we are teaching right now may not be baptized soon, we are still praying to see a miracle. We have a goal to find someone who is ready and prepared to Come Unto Christ by entering into the waters of baptism, within the 6 weeks we will be serving together in Madison. We have been praying for it and trying to make this a possibility by talking to everyone and tracting whenever we have a chance. Last night, we tracted with this special prayer. We were sure we were going to find a miracle in the neighbor we were led to. Sadly, we did not see that miracle we had hoped for. And although we didn't see it, we know that as we keep trying, God will provide us with this miracle, just perhaps in a different way and in his own timing. "...it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will." (D&C 88:68) This miracle we can expect.

Well, I love you all! Expect Miracles! 

Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Salmond

Missionary Newsletter #58 (Jan 26)

Here's a pic with Stephanie, a recent convert, we said bye to before Sister Brunner left Madison. :)

New Transfer with Sister Zackrison! Even though it was a bit of a trial, we got Sister Zackrison here. Somehow, luggage expands on the mission and no one can explain it. It can be rough. Especially for sisters. Let's just say, every transfer I am reminded how out of shape I am. haha. I love working with her though! She is so great! She and I are so a like! Both very girly, go to BYU, Belle was our favorite Disney Princess as a little girl, clean, etc. It's going to be a good transfer. In fact, right now we are renovating the apartment to make it more livable! I've been trying to clean it little by little last transfer, but with little avail. However, now with a partner in grime, we are making a difference in [our] world! Also, teaching with her is a breeze. We compliment each other so well and are already very unified. Because of this, it has been amazing feeling the spirit in our lessons. We really work together and focus on the spirit. It's making a huge difference in our teaching and it's incredible to feel!

Ok. Now Investigator and Area Update!
So things are Hoppin' Down Here in Madison! We are teaching so much and having so much crazy going on right now! It's wonderful! It's the best kind of stress EVER! It's a stress of racing from one appointment to the next. I'm losing sleep and gaining new little colonies all over my face, but I couldn't be happier! This week we had 5 different investigators at church this week. It was a little bit to juggle, but members took them under their wing! Let me tell you what I mean...

Nene came in a little bit before church started and we sat her in by us. We are also teaching a younger girl, Julia, who's father is recently trying to come back into activity again. They came in and sat down together. The meeting started and had yet to see the few others we were expecting. After a few minutes, we see Marcia try to slip in and before she could come up to sit next to us, a sweet member of ours, who came to a lesson with Marcia, snagged her and had her sit by them. :) Marcia then waved at me across the chapel. It was the sweetest thing! After sacrament, we scanned the congregation looking to see if the others had come in. Sure enough, we saw Erica in the back of the chapel surrounded by a couple different members. A Young Women came over to us and stole Nene to go to class and Julia went to primary in the merry way. We then saw Christina in the back with her toddler and baby. Turns out that that the family that she sat by are her neighbors! They only live one house apart! They helped hold the boys and took her the nursery for her boy and then to the gospel principles class. With all our members lending a helping hand, we were able to pull Marcia aside with the first councilor in our ward and give her a blessing to help her with the Word of Wisdom. It was such a spiritual experience and she cried at the love and support she could feel from God. Leaving the blessing, she didn't need to take a smoking break, which she would normally have to do. It was incredible to see how the Lord helped us as we did all we could to bring His children closer to Him. :)

I love y'all and love the mission. We are so blessed right now. I can feeling the blessings of all y'alls' support and prayers. Thank you for that!

I love you! Take care!!
Sister Salmond

Missionary Newsletter #57 (Jan 19)

It's snowing in Alabama!!!

In all my areas, I try to do everything in my power to help the area Boom by the time I leave. So far, I have been successful and in Madison this week it is really becoming evident! This week we got 8 new investigators and 6 progressing investigators! It's insane how many people are coming out of the wood works and we are working with! God is SO blessing us right now! It is so evident that He has seen our hard work and blessing us cuz, I can assure you, we couldn't do this alone! Sadly, Sister Brunner is being transferred and will not be able to see a lot of these people progress, but I know she will be a big blessing in the next area she goes. :)

Now, let me tell you about one of these miracles. I was on an exchange with Sister Gibbs. She and I were tracting and there were two kids on their bikes. Some missionaries don't talk to kids, but I love talking to them cuz they are honest and not afraid to refer you to neighbors or friends. So, we went up and started talking to them. The boy told us that his mom could use a message of Christ and sent us to his apartment on the next street over. We tracted our way over and knocked on the door. His mom, Tamika, answered. She said her son use to meet with missionaries in the park every Saturday a year ago and because of that is open to have us back over! Things seem really promising with that family which is exciting! 

I looked down at my watch. We had our dinner appointment in 15 minutes and the house was only 5-10 minutes away. I did a mini-debate in my mind, should we knock the second floor of the apartment complex or go to the appointment early. When I have these mini-debates, I have come to shut down the lazy voice quickly now to use the Lord's time more wisely. So, I encouraged us to go to the second story. The first door we knocked, a sweet girl in her later 20's answered the door. We told her we were missionaries and asked if she'd be open to a message of Christ. She agreed! Her name was Brianna and her little 1 year old girl's name is Bailey. They are staying there with her boyfriend, Michael. She said that she's been feeling like she needs to get closer to God and has been really praying for that the last 2 days. She continued to tell us that she's had missionaries knock before and never let them in, but this time for some reason she did. It was so evident that she has been prepared. God has a way of timing that is INCREDIBLE! We left her with a short message and prayer and will be back to teach her again soon. We've been able to keep in touch with her and things look really promising! She is a sweet girl and has a big heart with a big role in this life! Even though we were late to our dinner appointment, it was amazing how the Lord took care of everything because the family was running behind anyway and if we had left to go to their house just that little bit earlier, we would not have met Brianna and would've wasted some of the Lord's time waiting for dinner to be put on. He's timing is perfect and if we do all we can to be obedient and do that little bit extra, He'll take care of us! 

Lastly, we did a talent show with all the Madison missionaries for members to attend and invite their friends. I have to say, I am starting to get over my fear of singing in front of people and I am starting to get better at it. I think the trick has been that the last two times (Christmas Talent Show and Now) I've been so busy I haven't had time to think about it, so I don't have enough time to get nervous, which is good! Sister Brunner and I sang a duet of one of my all time favorite songs "For Those Tears I Died" (Come to the Waters) and in there I had a SOLO! Eek! Anyway, the talent show went great and we got quite a few members come with friends and lots of referrals with it! Such a success! 

Good things are happening in Madison and I'm grateful to be part of it. I hope things are going well for y'all. I love you all so much! Take care!

Love,

Sister Salmond

Missionary Newsletter #56 (Jan 12)

Sorry I didn't send any letters last week. I had a lot to do and not enough time to attack them. You'll get plenty this time though! :D

This week was a week full of exchanges and blizzardy weather. In the pic, the weather looks just perfect, right? WRONG! That ice under my feet is a perfect example of the chill we experienced as we were out tracting. haha. In the south, we don't have much snow or anything, but we do have a breeze. Yes, this mild, whimpy breeze can be pretty powerful due to the humidity. It just pierces straight through you and insta-freezes your bones! Brrr! Good thing is that winter clothes are adorable. So bundling us isn't too much of a pain. ;)

This next two months is member-missionary month for our mission. So we have really been pushing hard to work with the members and it has been great! We went from having an average of 2-3 member present lessons to 9 this week! It was a big victory for us! We worked really hard this week to match and surpass our goals. It has been such a blessing to see how the Lord helps us with these goals we make to push ourselves and motivate ourselves in the work! 

Trying Gator!!! Bucket List crossed off!!!! ;)

 

Fun at the Park

Some sweet girls we met at the park and we did leave them each with a BOM. They were so cute and excited! :)

In addition, we had the meeting with Chris this week. He was going to have a Bible-bash like meeting with the elders. However, when we stopped by his place, we were able to set up a time to visit with him separately, outside of this bash. It didn't go as well as we had hoped... His concerns were not the anti-mormon concerns that are lies that we can clear up, but issues he had with church history and some scriptures in the Book of Mormon. They seriously are things you just have to pray about and get confirmation in. However, he wouldn't take that for an answer because he knows that the Lord has given us brains and expects us to do our part. This principle is VERY true. However, God also expects us to follow Him, even if we don't understand everything. (1 Ne 11:17) Towards the end of the discussion, Chris turned to me and asked if I've been raised in the church and I answered yes. He then proceeded to say, "Well you did have moments where you had to find out it was true, but when you found out these problem with the church, wouldn't you say it was easy to fall back to it since it is all you have known?" I knew right then that is was a moment I had to defend my faith and my testimony. I told Chris straight out, "Trust me. I am a stubborn person. My mom really encouraged me to serve a mission, but I REFUSED to go until the Lord told me it was what He wanted me to do. I insist on discovering things on my own. And to be honest, as missionaries, we get people who bring up these things to us all the time. If I told you my faith has never been shaken, it would be a lie. It can be hard having people telling you you are wrong. I had to pray and do my own studies to know. God told me this is the true church. I could never leave it or doubt it. Even if my parents left the church, I would still stand faithfully beside it. I know it is true and no one could convince me otherwise." He followed up asking, "But what if you find out that you are wrong when you meet up with God?" "I would have no regrets. I know this church has made me my best self. I don't think God would ever be mad at me for doing all I can to serve and worship Him. No God could hate His child for that." With that said, the meeting came to an end. I don't know if it made a difference or pricked his heart at all, but all I know is that we gave it all we got. He has legitimate concerns. I can't blame him for that. And if he continues to study with real intent, God will tell him it's true. 

I love being a messenger and defender of the truth! It is a priceless opportunity I've been able to have for the last year and a half. It has changed my life and continues to do so. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! Let us all press on! Steadfast in Christ!

With Lots of Love, 
Sister Salmond