What a wonderful day it is to be here in the service of God. Thing are
going really well here in Aldergrove. A lot of our appointments fell
through this week. We were able to see a few people, but not many. The
work is moving along though, and despite our results, we have been
blessed with many miracles from the Lord.
We were blessed to find a new investigator this week. She is so sweet.
We tracted into her on Wednesday, taught a principle on her doorstep,
said a prayer, and set a return appointment with her. We went back on
Friday with a member and taught her about the Restoration. She has
been studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses for the past 5 years. It is
interesting because she hasn't been baptized yet. She says she still
wants to learn. I personally feel like there are some things that she
doesn't agree with. She was telling us one thing in particular that we
testified of. She said that her "teacher", or whoever it was, said
that God didn't have a physical body. She said that it didn't make
sense. We testified that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus
Christ. We also used scriptures from the Bible. It was a wonderful
topic and she loved the answer we had for her. We set up another
appointment with her and we are going to try and set a baptismal date
with her. She is so open to learning and she said she was excited to
read from the Book of Mormon. That is really good. I am excited to
help her continue to grow closer to God. She needs this message so
much. She has so much faith, but I can't imagine her not knowing the
truth. I can't imagine anyone not knowing the truth.
I want to share a cool experience I had. The past few days I have been
feeling so sick. I honestly think most of it was stress from the idea
of going home. It was really bad. I was getting even more frustrated
that I was getting so sick right before going home. I just want to
finish my mission strong and have no regrets. The sister that lives
upstairs suggested I get a blessing. Yesterday at church I received a
blessing from two of the brethren in our ward. It was such a powerful
blessing. The Spirit was there and testified to me so strongly. It was
something I couldn't deny. Heavenly Father told me how proud He was of
me. It is something that I have tried to accept, but there were always
doubts in the back of my mind. One doubt that I have been having a lot
lately comes from a scripture in Jacob 5:49 "What could I have done
more for my vineyard?" I have been thinking a lot about all of the
things I should have accomplished, instead of all the things I have
accomplished. During the blessing yesterday the Lord told me how much
He loves me and how thankful He is all for all I have accomplished. It
brought tears to my eyes to think over the past 18 months of my life.
I have this thing where I just want to be perfect now. I know however,
that is not how it works. After the blessing I felt so much relief and
so much comfort in my time of need. It was amazing to know that the
Lord cares about me so much. I am thankful for that knowledge.
I am so very grateful for this chance that I have to be a missionary.
I know that we are involved in a wonderful work. I am so thankful that
I have had this past 18 months to learn and grow.
I love this work. I love the Savior!
Love, Sister Saal
P.s. See you in just over a week.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
August 5, 2013 letter
Didn't get an official letter from Sister Saal this week, but she is doing GREAT!!
July 29, 2013 letter
Okay, so life is really going by TOO fast. Does anyone have a freeze
ray so I can just freeze time? Maybe even a time machine? Anyone want
to help a Sister out?
Now that I go that out. :) Life is so good family! I love being a
missionary and I love serving the Lord. I never want it to end.
This week has been a really good week. A few really good highlights I
will point out.
We had a Zone Conference with President and Sister Tilleman on
Tuesday. I loved it so much! It was my last one, which was sad, but I
loved every minute of it. My companion and I sat with a senior couple
at lunch and I found out they are from Fruit Heights. Small world hey?
They told me that Utah was still there, something I was worried about
since I seem to have no idea what is going on in the world. It was
really fun to get to know them. Sister Tilleman sat with us and told
us that her daughter, who was my companion for a night when I first
arrived in the mission field, was about due. Found out today that she
had a beautiful baby girl on Thursday. Tall baby. Another basketball
player in the family. :)
I had the opportunity to go to Maple Ridge on an exchange. The Sisters
there are doing so well. I am so very thankful for their dedicated
service to the Lord. I was able to see a few wonderful people that I
have had the joy of working with. There are many wonderful people that
Sister MacMillan and I are working with. Sadly, our baptismal date
will need to be pushed back. She wants to be baptized, but she hasn't
been able to attend church yet.
That is about it. Sorry I am getting so boring.
Sister Saal
ray so I can just freeze time? Maybe even a time machine? Anyone want
to help a Sister out?
Now that I go that out. :) Life is so good family! I love being a
missionary and I love serving the Lord. I never want it to end.
This week has been a really good week. A few really good highlights I
will point out.
We had a Zone Conference with President and Sister Tilleman on
Tuesday. I loved it so much! It was my last one, which was sad, but I
loved every minute of it. My companion and I sat with a senior couple
at lunch and I found out they are from Fruit Heights. Small world hey?
They told me that Utah was still there, something I was worried about
since I seem to have no idea what is going on in the world. It was
really fun to get to know them. Sister Tilleman sat with us and told
us that her daughter, who was my companion for a night when I first
arrived in the mission field, was about due. Found out today that she
had a beautiful baby girl on Thursday. Tall baby. Another basketball
player in the family. :)
I had the opportunity to go to Maple Ridge on an exchange. The Sisters
there are doing so well. I am so very thankful for their dedicated
service to the Lord. I was able to see a few wonderful people that I
have had the joy of working with. There are many wonderful people that
Sister MacMillan and I are working with. Sadly, our baptismal date
will need to be pushed back. She wants to be baptized, but she hasn't
been able to attend church yet.
That is about it. Sorry I am getting so boring.
Sister Saal
Thursday, July 25, 2013
July 22, 2013 letter
Hey family (and friends),
We have been seeing a lot of miracles and the Lord is blessing us so much.
We are working with a wonderful woman. She is progressing very nicely.
She loves having us in her home. When we were talking about the
Apostasy, we asked her what she thinks Heavenly Father would do next.
She said "Well, I hope He would call a prophet. Has He?" We shared the
experience of Joseph Smith and testified with all of our hearts the
truthfulness of the message that we have to share. She was amazed and
the Spirit was so strong in her home. We invited her to baptism and
she said she would pray about it. We invited her to the 17th of
August, so hopefully she will recognize her answer and have that
desire to be baptized.
We received a phone call from our bishop Saturday night with a
referral from a bishop in Calgary. He was helping a family of four and
they loved coming to church. Well, they live in Aldergrove. We gave
them a call to invite them to church. No answer, but we felt really
good about this family. We will be calling them again and hopefully we
will be meeting them this week. I am so excited for this family.
We had the opportunity to go to Moroni's Quest. Let me explain what
that is. It is something we should do at home. It is like youth
conference in which they re-enact stories from the Book of Mormon.
They did stories such as Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem, which
is when they travel from the stake center to the camp site. They do
things like; crossing of the boat to the Americas, Abanidi, Waters of
Mormon, Sons of Mosiah, battles, strippling warriors, Samuel the
Lamanite, birth and death of Christ, His visit to the Americas, and
even Joseph Smith. It is a spiritual feast for all that are in
attendance. We should do it in Utah! Sister MacMillan, my companion,
her dad wrote it! I can get the script! It was amazing for the youth.
Well, the camp was held in Aldergrove, our area. I was so excited to
be there. The Spirit was so strong among the youth there. I had an
amazing experience when the Lord testified to me the truthfulness of
the Book of Mormon. We helped deliver our ward's dinner and had the
opportunity to look around for a bit. There I saw a 17year-old
investigator I was working with in Maple Ridge. She was so
happy to see me and to tell me all about what they had experienced.
How amazing! I was so happy I cried. Then I was able to see one of the
boys that were baptized back in May in Maple Ridge. He was
connecting with the youth really well and he said he loved how much he
could feel the Spirit. As I was thinking about that experience later,
I thought about how much his testimony of the Book of Mormon must have
grown. Now, when he reads the Book of Mormon, he will be able to see
what happened at the camp. I was so excited he came, that it also
brought tears to my eyes. It was a tender mercy from the Lord to see
so many wonderful things happening. I am so thankful for the
opportunity I have had, and will continue to have, to be a part of
their lives.
A scripture that I now want to share with you as part of my testimony
is Acts 26:16, 18
"But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for
this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these
things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will
appear unto thee;
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is
in me."I really love these two scriptures to show the importance of every
members duty. We are all called to be a minister and a witness of
truth. We had a discussion about this in ward council one week. What
does it mean to be a minister? Some ideas we came up with include; to
serve, to teach, to seek the one, to get to know, to assist, to visit
teach and home teach, to love, and in short, to act. What does it mean
to be a witness? To be an example, to be true, to bear testimony. As
we do so, we help people turn from darkness to Light. to the Savior. I
am so thankful for this time that I have had to be a minister and
witness to bear the truth that I know. I am so thankful for this
sacred calling that I have and for the time I have left to continue to
share the gospel!
Love, Sister Saal
We have been seeing a lot of miracles and the Lord is blessing us so much.
We are working with a wonderful woman. She is progressing very nicely.
She loves having us in her home. When we were talking about the
Apostasy, we asked her what she thinks Heavenly Father would do next.
She said "Well, I hope He would call a prophet. Has He?" We shared the
experience of Joseph Smith and testified with all of our hearts the
truthfulness of the message that we have to share. She was amazed and
the Spirit was so strong in her home. We invited her to baptism and
she said she would pray about it. We invited her to the 17th of
August, so hopefully she will recognize her answer and have that
desire to be baptized.
We received a phone call from our bishop Saturday night with a
referral from a bishop in Calgary. He was helping a family of four and
they loved coming to church. Well, they live in Aldergrove. We gave
them a call to invite them to church. No answer, but we felt really
good about this family. We will be calling them again and hopefully we
will be meeting them this week. I am so excited for this family.
We had the opportunity to go to Moroni's Quest. Let me explain what
that is. It is something we should do at home. It is like youth
conference in which they re-enact stories from the Book of Mormon.
They did stories such as Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem, which
is when they travel from the stake center to the camp site. They do
things like; crossing of the boat to the Americas, Abanidi, Waters of
Mormon, Sons of Mosiah, battles, strippling warriors, Samuel the
Lamanite, birth and death of Christ, His visit to the Americas, and
even Joseph Smith. It is a spiritual feast for all that are in
attendance. We should do it in Utah! Sister MacMillan, my companion,
her dad wrote it! I can get the script! It was amazing for the youth.
Well, the camp was held in Aldergrove, our area. I was so excited to
be there. The Spirit was so strong among the youth there. I had an
amazing experience when the Lord testified to me the truthfulness of
the Book of Mormon. We helped deliver our ward's dinner and had the
opportunity to look around for a bit. There I saw a 17year-old
investigator I was working with in Maple Ridge. She was so
happy to see me and to tell me all about what they had experienced.
How amazing! I was so happy I cried. Then I was able to see one of the
boys that were baptized back in May in Maple Ridge. He was
connecting with the youth really well and he said he loved how much he
could feel the Spirit. As I was thinking about that experience later,
I thought about how much his testimony of the Book of Mormon must have
grown. Now, when he reads the Book of Mormon, he will be able to see
what happened at the camp. I was so excited he came, that it also
brought tears to my eyes. It was a tender mercy from the Lord to see
so many wonderful things happening. I am so thankful for the
opportunity I have had, and will continue to have, to be a part of
their lives.
A scripture that I now want to share with you as part of my testimony
is Acts 26:16, 18
"But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for
this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these
things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will
appear unto thee;
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is
in me."I really love these two scriptures to show the importance of every
members duty. We are all called to be a minister and a witness of
truth. We had a discussion about this in ward council one week. What
does it mean to be a minister? Some ideas we came up with include; to
serve, to teach, to seek the one, to get to know, to assist, to visit
teach and home teach, to love, and in short, to act. What does it mean
to be a witness? To be an example, to be true, to bear testimony. As
we do so, we help people turn from darkness to Light. to the Savior. I
am so thankful for this time that I have had to be a minister and
witness to bear the truth that I know. I am so thankful for this
sacred calling that I have and for the time I have left to continue to
share the gospel!
Love, Sister Saal
 |
| Lehi's Dream for the Maple Ridge youth activity - Moroni's Quest |
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
July 15, 2013 letter
H
ello family and friends! Welcome from Aldergrove, my last area where I will end up dying (mission term for going home). It is a wonderful place where there are many wonderful people. My new companion is.... (drum roll please)... Sister MacMillan! She is a true red, through and through, Canadian citizen. She likes to drink maple syrup for breakfast! :) She is teaching me Canadian and the song, O Canada. Maybe I will be a Mountie when I grow up! :) Really, though... she's the best. She has been out for 9 months. I am just really glad that we are oldies together. She always tells me I am dying so I started responding with "You're going through a mid-life crisis." We get along super well.
Well, I am really sad I left Maple Ridge for the last 6 weeks, but it feels right to be here. There is so many wonderful things going on. We have 2 baptismal dates and we are working with some wonderful people, though I haven't met any of them yet.
However, I have to tell you about a song before I forget. Well, a few songs. Mom, will you buy me a cd when I get home. It is called The Work, Nashville Tribute to Missionary work. On there it has a song that brightens our spirits when ever we sing it. It's called "Children Go Where I send Thee." It is a country hick song and I love it so much.
Well, Sister MacMillan welcomed me into Aldergrove by feeding us 3 week old chicken. Yeah... we may have gotten food poisoning, though I was sicker than she was. It was a great bonding experience.
Sorry this weeks letter is boring. I love you!
Sister Saal
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
July 8, 2013 letter
Hello everyone! Life in the fast lane is pretty.... well... fast. Time seems to be going by at an unreal speed. Tonight I find out where I will be spending my last 6 weeks as a missionary and with who. I am really hoping I stay in Maple Ridge. That would be a pain to move for 6 weeks. However, as the hymn says "I will go where you want me to go."
This week has been amazingly epic! We are seeing so many miracles, I can't even take them all in. The Lord has blessed me with a lot of strength, though sometimes I try to run faster than I can. I am just so incredibly happy! I feel like I am right there with Ammon when he sees Alma again. Alma 27:17 "Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.
18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness."
I love being a messenger of the truth and sharing my testimony with all those who will listen. I want to stand on the wall with Samuel the Lamanite and preach repentance to my brothers and sisters in Maple Ridge and throughout the world.
I had the opportunity to talk to Elder Christiansen about going to Africa. He gave me his email and told me when I finish my mission, give him a shout and he will set me up with something. He told me about 2 girls that are going in October for 4 months. I told him I might join them! How cool.
Life is super good family. I am so very blessed to be here. I am thankful for the chance I have to serve. It is a blessing in my life and something I will never forget.
Love you all!
Sister Saal
July 2, 2013 letter
Dear family (and friends) To start off with, sorry if it is a bit short and all over the place. My mind isn't working fully at the moment.
What a week it has been. Full of miracles and full of blessings. The Lord loves us! I can testify of that. He loves us fully, completely, perfectly, and infinitely. He truly is watching over us and I can testify that He hears and answers our prayers. The past few days I have been blessed with so much strength to accomplish His work here in Maple Ridge. What a wonderful place to be. Blessings are being poured out and there is not enough room for me to receive them all.
Next week is transfers. I will find out where I am going for the last 6 weeks. AHHA! So weird. I don't know how I feel about it. However, next week they are doing a Sister's Conference for all the Sister Missionaries in the mission. It will be an amazing time. I have been asked to do a little presentation. They are going to split us into 7 groups. There will be 7 different stations the sisters will rotate through. I have been asked to be at one of the stations to talk about stress management in the mission field. I have been learning so much while preparing, though I feel like I will be talking from a hole in the ground. I am not very good at managing stress, though I have learned a lot about it over the past 17 months. I will let you know what I come up with. :) Well, what the Lord comes up with.
Yesterday to celebrate Canada Day, we went to a picnic the ward held at a lake. There were a few non-members there and a few less active members there. It was a good time to bond with these people and get to know them a bit better. We talked to a non-member who was invite by one of the sisters in the ward. Hopefully we will be able to start teaching her. I love Filipinos (I have been spelling that wrong for the longest time)! Not random, I promise. One of the members gave us a ride there. Two of the Filipino sisters had us eat with them. They love making sure we have enough to eat. I have tried to say no, but as I told everyone that tried to refuse food from the yesterday "You can't say no to a Filipino!" How true that is. How much I love them though.
Life is good! The church is true! I love you all!
Sister Saal
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