Missionary Newsletter #52 (Dec 15)

My first crocheted item!!! A baby sack (or pod) Turned out pretty good!

This is only a small portion of my stuff.... I'm a hoarder...

Two girls Sis. Millard and I were really working with. They are the coolest girls ever! So funny & lots of good times and sweets. :)

Saying goodbye to Kevin! He's such a good kid and has the strongest testimony

The Main Room as we were setting up :) There were 500 nativities, decorated tress, 4 decorated fire places, and quits over all the walls! Crazy cool!

Baby Jesus

The Shepard's sheep :)

Ok. So mission life can get CrAzY busy sometimes! And that's what is has been for us this last week. It's been fun though! I think I have something wrong with me cuz I kind of love the stress. It's like I get an adrenaline rush from trying to make the impossible possible. It's really quite thrilling! Occasionally, as I look at our calendar or the list of things to do, I couldn't stop giggling! There was just no possible way we could do it. hahaha. Oh well! So, let me give you a small idea of our past and upcoming week. :)

Crazy Breakdown: Mon-Tues: Goodbyes and packing. Wed: Transfers- in MADISON! with Sister Brunner We're now in the present: This last Sunday, we both gave talks in church. We also have had to plan our Exchanges and Blitz with the two zones within our car's mile limitations, which is a little tricky with the large number of sisters. In my last area, we had more miles allotted us with just the Huntsville zone than we do now with TWO ZONES! Ah! We're not really sure how we are going to do it. So, we've been jumbling things around to do the math and we FINALLY got it all worked out!!! Yay!! Lastly, this last week, we had to help set up, take down and work at the Huntsville Christmas Festival our stake does each year. So our evenings have been spent there the last four days. It was so good to get things worked out one by one. However, it seemed that as one thing got done, another one got added.... Dun, Dun, Dun.

The New Comp, Sister Brunner. :) Isn't she pretty?

This coming Tuesday we have a Mission Christmas Party! Fun! As STLs we are in charge of getting our zone's talents together for the talent show. For Sister Brunner and I, that means we are over two zone's talents. We then got a call from Sister Hanks (our Mission President's wife) asking us to put together the whole talent show! This includes:

• Finding a MC
• Getting all the Talent's names, the people performing them, etc.
• Having the right amount of talents to fill the time, without going over
• Getting the props, lighting, etc. together for the talents being performed
• Creating the program and order of talents
• Approve all the talents to make sure they are mission appropriate

Fewf! What a job!?! In addition to that, Sister Hanks called me and asked me to sing a lullaby she composed years back for they devotional they will be giving for the Christmas Party. She said she was told I was the sister to go to!!!! WhO tOlD hEr ThAt?!! AHHHHHHHHhh!!!! No pressure. Just can't slaughter a song she composed!!!!! I asked if I could have a few other sisters sing it with me and she said that would be ok, so we are doing that. I couldn't do it all on my own! (I really don't know how she got this false info about me singing good. haha.)  With learning that song, we have skits as a zone we are doing (equaling two) and it seems that somehow the sisters always get left putting it together. Also, for the talent show, Sis. Brunner is teaching me to play the harmonica cuz we are playing it at the talent show with Sis. Hanks and another set of sisters. The last thing we have to do for the talent show is learn a song we are singing with Elder Mayfield and Tessa in a quartet (which I have a small solo in as well). Then finally the Christmas Party is done!!! We also are having our Sister Christmas Party for the two zones on the same day as the Mission Christmas Party to save on miles. We're planning to serve breakfast, have a Dirty Santa Exchange (in the west know as White Elephant), and then a devotional. Let's just say, we just have to make it through Tuesday and then we can breath. haha! (oh! and don't forget that it's two people's birthday in our zone on Tuesday, so we have to plan something to do for them too. haha.) Life is insane! Now you can see why I can't help but laugh at the crazy! hehehehe. Man, life is good! I am so happy to be alive. hehe. :D

Besides that, not much is too new. I haven't learned much of the area with since we have been doing so many other things, but I am sure I will soon. :) We had the neatest miracle the other day though! We were caroling with the Madison missionaries. There we met a woman named Marsha. We ended up picking her up and went to see her yesterday. Sis. Brunner was making phone calls for the talent show as I started teaching her! She has been looking for a new church. She wondered about the many churches and believed that Joseph Smith is a very possible and real thing. She described moments she had felt the promptings of the Holy Ghost. When it was timed to go, we asked her to say the closing prayer. In her prayer, she thanked God for sending us to her and asked that we could come back. It was such a sweet prayer, even though she was nervous. :)

The thing that I have found, that even at moments when things are in disarray and chaos around us, the Lord knows our efforts and how hard we are working. And even though, Sister Brunner and I haven't been able to proselyte as much as we usually do, He still provided us with this miracle because of the work and intentions we do have. None of us will be perfect. We can't be. However, the Lord, like for us missionaries, knows our intentions and the work we do do and He will reward us on the things we do, not punish us for the things we can't get done. It's the victories that matter to Him, and He'll find every excuse to bless us. That is our Loving Father. :)

I love you all and I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Season!

With Lots of Love,

Sister Salmond