March 11, 2013 letter

Greetings humans!

Haha. Funny story. There is a new member here that calls people humans and species and it is really funny. Every time we talk to him he says "Hi humans!" It is really funny.

Anyway, guess you would have to be there. It is funny to me.

So, life is really good in the mission field. I am still in Maple Ridge for at least 6 more weeks. It is good because there is so much going on here. I love it so much!

Biggest news! I am now a mom. I hope you like being grandparents, because you have a new granddaughter. Her name is Sister Dean. She is from Eagle Mountain Utah. She is pretty sweet. I like her. We are pretty similiar. She is a super solid missionary. She will be training after 6 weeks, I know it! How honored and blessed I feel to be able to train Sister Dean. She is a wonderful missionary with a very powerful testimony. It is amazing! She is always looking in her planner and seeing what we are to do next. It has been very easy to be exactly obedient with her, because both of really want to be exactly obedient. She is a wonderful missionary.

More big news, in the ward now there is a set of Sisters and a set of Elders! We are working close, but not too close, with the elders here in the ward. The ward loves them already. I am pretty sure they love them more than they love me! :) Nah, they have just seen me around for a bit longer!

This week was wonderful being able to see President Tilleman. We had 26 new missionaries come in this week, 11 of which are sisters! The spirit was so strong for the entire meeting! You could feel the "fresh meat" enegry fill the room. It was breath taking! I loved the training and I learned so much. One main thing I learned from Sister Tilleman,  we can't be too hard on ourself. We are serious about our sacred calling but happy about life. It seemed like the whole meeting was just for me. We could feel the angels in the room. It was very sacred. It is an honor to be here in the Canada Vancouver Mission under such amazing leadership. I love President Tilleman and I love being a missionary!

We have had a pretty good week. We set 3 baptismal dates this week! I feel really confident about them. One was with a man that we are going to have the Elders teach from now on. The other was a sister - she is so amazing! I love her so much!!!  The other is with a 10 year old girl. We have had a hard time getting her to come to church. We set a date with her in hopes that would help her come, and it did! She was there on Sunday with her parents! The church is so true.

I have been thinking a lot about what I want to happen with the rest of my mission. I still have a while, but the time is speeding up. One scripture that I just keep thinking about over and over is found in Jacob chapter 5. "And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: what could I have done more for my vineyard?" That is something that I have been pondering. What more can I do for the Maple Ridge Ward? What more can I do for the Canada Vancouver Mission? What more can I do for my brothers and sisters who are wandering in darkness? I want to "waste and wear out" my life in the service of the Lord. The tricky part is figuring how I am going to do that now. I have made some pretty good goals to work on and I know that with the Lord's help, I can accomplish it. I am so very thankful for the sacred responsibility I have to train a new missionary.

I just want you all to know how much I love you! I love our Savior and what He did for each one of us. I know that my life will never be the same after this amazing mission I am serving for the Lord. It is not even my time. It is His.

See you in less than 6 months! BAH!!

Love, Sister Saal