April 16, 2012

Snail Mail letter from Sister Saal!!  Yippee!!

Hello!  So sorry to have taken so long to write you.  I never know how long it takes for letters to get to you. By the time you read this, it will be old news …

One transfer down … woot, woot!  Crazy how time goes by.  I am still in beautiful Victoria with Sister Doria and we are loving it.  So many amazing things are going on here.  The gospel is spreading like crazy and we are seeing so many miracles.  Please continue to pray for the missionary effort that is going forth.  Joseph Smith once said, “Our missionaries are going forth to different nations.  The standard of truth has been erected.  No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine,  armies may assemble, calamity may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purpose of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say, ‘The work is done.’”  How true that is.  I am seeing it first hand!  I love it.

Talking to people about the gospel is a lot easier than I thought it would be.  It makes me happy to see people accept.  It breaks my heart when they deny.  Sister Post said they aren’t denying me, they are denying Christ.  At first, that made me feel good.  Yeah, I am not being denied.  But then Sister Doria pointed out how sad that is.  I agree!  How can people do that?  It makes me cry.  I would rather have them deny me!

Well, those who have not denied:

I think I have told you about our family from Sudan.  They are all so cute and progressing well.  We are trying to get them out to church. 

Our investigator from India is so sweet.  She has been attending church for the past 4 years.  Still not baptized, but she is waiting for her husband to come over from India.  She is living with a member and is so great!  She actually gave us a referral. 

We have a family we are teaching from Pakistan.  They are so loving meeting with us.  They are excited to learn more.  The father met with the missionaries in Germany years ago and was months away from being baptized.  So exciting.

The last one I want to tell you about is a single mom with 6-year-old twin boys.  She has no religious background but is excited to learn more.  Her sons are, too.  They came to church with us Sunday and all had a wonderful time.  They are so fantastic.  We are going to try to meet with them twice a week.

The members here are so great!  We have had the opportunity to go to dinner at members’ homes with members whom we thought hated missionaries.  More and more people are starting to trust us, which means, more and more people will trust us with their friends.  I have yet to see a baptism, but I am not giving up hope.  The Lord will provide.

We are super excited because hopefully Wednesday we will be going back to the main land (we were there Thursday for transfers) to have a giant conference with President Tilleman!  He is recovering so quickly!  It honestly is a miracle, and it is through Christ and President Tilleman’s faith.  He has so much faith.  (Shortly before Sister Saal arrived in Vancouver, President Tilleman was visiting with some investigators.  He stood up to leave, and the investigator’s dogs attacked him and bit him on his hands.  Apparently he lost quite a bit of blood, passed out and hit his head on a cement wall.  He had some real troubles after that, but it sounds like he is recovering nicely.  That’s why he has on the neck brace in Caitie’s  “Welcome to the mission home” photo.)

That is about it for me… I love you all.  Read, Ponder, Pray.  Feed the missionaries.

Love, Sister Saal