April 22, 2013 letter

(Mark wrote his last letter to her on his iphone)

Hello my tech-freindly family (and friends)!

An iPhone dad? Wow, that is pretty impressive. When I get home you will have to show me all the latest technology. Sometimes I find myself saying "Kids these days" when I see teens pull out their phones to use their scriptures. It is strange. I hope you are prepared for a super weird daughter to return home.

Besides me being super weird and awkward around human life forms, things are going really well here in Maple Ridge. I got the news and I will be staying for another 6 weeks with Sister Dean. Sister Petersen went back to Brookswood with two other companions. It has been a stressful few weeks, but the most wonderful few weeks. I am excited to continue on with the work and see where the Lord leads me. Speaking of such, I talked to President Tilleman. I will be coming home some time in August. Not sure how I feel about it yet, but at least it is not next week. I am just thankful I know when it is so I can prepare myself.  Can you believe you haven't seen me in nearly 15 months? My how time flies.

We have seen so many miracles the past few days that I don't even know where to begin. We have to postpone our baptism that was set for this weekend. She is just not ready. It breaks my heart because she is only 10 and really wants to be baptized, but she needs to come to church more. We are continuing to teach her and help her draw closer. Hopefully she will have a desire to come to church more so she can help make her dream become a reality.

However, the Lord has placed many people in our paths. There is a family we are teaching. They are the best. I just love them so much. They are from the Phillipines. The mom is a member that was baptized when she was 13 or so. She married a non-member and stopped going to church. She never lost her testimony though. She has 3 boys and we have been teaching the boys. We are still working on meeting with the dad. However, the two younger boys, and soon the oldest, have baptismal dates. They came to church on Sunday and they just loved it. Their story is incredible. One of the boys plays basketball for his school team. A member in the ward is on that same team and they have become really close. Well, the two moms started talking and found out that the other was mormon. They started coming to church and then the mom came up to us and said "I have a plan to get my sons and husband baptized!" Soon they will be entering into the waters of baptism. It is amazing and humbling to be working with this family.

Another miracle. We received a referral from missionaries about 4 hours away. One of their investigators wanted us to go visit her sister. We did this morning and she let us in. We found out her son is a member in Alberta. We were talking and getting to know her. Then she asked about the Spirit world. I thought it was going to turn into a bible bashing moment, but we testified and the spirit was really strong. We asked if she would like to learn more. You will never guess what she said "Actually, I think I want to be baptized!" Wait what? I think my jaw hit the floor and she probably saw that. Miracle, that never happens!

With going between here and Brookswood, things have been pretty crazy. Now that things are settled we can really focus on our area and helping the work move forward in Maple Ridge.

One thing that I want to testify of: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." I love that! I have noticed that as I have been reading to Book of Mormon and the Bible side by side, I have received so many answers to my questions.
"And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul." I testify that the word of god can heal the wounded soul. I have felt it in my life. I have seen it in others. I am so thankful for this wonderful light and knowledge I have.

I love you all.

Untill next week.

Sister Saal

--

The church is true!

all my love,

Sister Saal

April 15, 2013 letter

Hello everyone. Greetings from Canada. What a beautiful day it is here in Maple Ridge. This past week has been kind of crazy in regards to the weather. Thankfully, no snow this week. Sorry all you Utahan's that got snow. :) And they call this the Frosty White North? HA! I don't think so!

Well, this is the big week. We have transfers this week. I can't believe it has already been a transfer of training. It seems like just yesterday Sister Dean came into my posession.  It is crazy how time flies. We will find out tonight. There are so many possibilities that I am not even going to try to guess what will happen. I guess you will have to wait till next week to find out. :) 

My companions are so great. Sister Dean is really funny. I am so glad I have a chance to be her companion. She is able to teach me a lot. I know that she will be training this transfer! She is just that good. I love her.

Sister Petersen is funny! I love her.She is trying to set me up with her brother. We will see how that goes :) She has a strong testimony of the Savior. All-in-all, I feel very blessed to have two wonderful companions by my side.

This week has been pretty good. It has been a little crazy though. We have been going between Maple Ridge and Brookswood. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity for all of us involved. Best part, the Brookswood building is in the same parking lot as the temple. Sunday when we walked out of church it was like "BAM", right there! I loved it. The church is true.

We had a pretty good week adjusting to this new adventure. We worked out all the details about showering and food and all that fun stuff. Now we are enjoying each others company and working hard to find people to teach. I love being a missionary so much. I am not looking forward to coming home... no offense to anyone.

We have had a few really amazing and spiritually teaching moments this week. One was with an amazing woman with great faith. We gave her a tour of the outside of the temple and then we were able to go in and sit in the waiting room. It was raining outside and she has a 7 month old baby, so thought it would be best for that. It was such a powerful experience. Everytime I am in the temple I just have an over-powering experience with the spirit. It was amazing. Her 7 month old baby totally saw angels. It was so amazing!

One thing that I have been studying a lot about lately is the Lord's timing. I know that all things happen in His timing and in His way. One scripture that I have been pondering about lately is in the Book of Mormon in the book of Mosiah chapter 24. This is the story of Alma and his people. They are being persecuted by Amulon. Amulon commands them not to pray a loud, so instead they "pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts." I think it is just so amazing how the Lord said he would deliver them, but also ease their burdens. And then verse 15 is my favorite!  "And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." How unbelievably true that is! I love it.

I have had so amy experiences here on my mission that have a lot to do with this story. There are things that I thought would be best for me, but the Lord knows the timing of all things! I testify to that. He may not give us what we want, but He always, ALWAYS, gives us what we need. I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who loves me! I know that He loves each one of you! Thank you for your prayers. I know this church is true. I am so thankful for that knowledge. I am thankful for a young boy who went into a grove of trees in earnest prayer. I know without a doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ on that beautiful spring morning. As a direct result of that, I know the power that was given Christ's Apostals anciently to act in God's name has been restore to the earth. I have seen the priesthood change lives! I testify that He lives!

I love you family. See you shortly.

Love, Sister Saal.

--

The church is true!

all my love,

Sister Saal

April 8, 2013 letter

Good afternoon family (and friends)! It is a beautiful day. Story time.

Wednesday morning I got a phone call from President Tilleman. In a sense he said, "Good morning Sister Saal. Will you please take me off speaker and let me know when you have gone somewhere private." There was a pause and a moment of fear in my head "Okay," I said as I shut the washroom door behind me. "Sister Saal, how are you?" I told him how I was and how the work in Maple Ridge was going. I could hear the smile in his voice as the words came out. "Sister Saal, one of the sisters is going home and Sister Petersen (who came out with Sister Dean 4 weeks ago) needs a companion. So, how would you feel about taking on another training opportunity?" WHAT!?! At first I was a little freaked out, but then the Lord calmed my heart "Sure President." I said. He then told me how much he trusted me and what an honor this was. "So, the Sisters are here in Richmond and they will bring you Sister Petersen tonight." Wait, WHAT!? Tonight? Well, after a few more minutes of talking to him, I realized I was getting a new missionary. Plus, we are covering both areas, Maple Ridge and Brookswood. How crazy!

So, who has been out in the field for 14 months and is training two new missionaries instead of one?

It has been a wonderful and sacred opportunity. Of course there are ups and downs, but that is life. However, I feel the Lord blessing me so much during these times. I have forgot about myself and lost myself in the work. My only thoughts have been about my companions and about the people we are working with. What a blessing it is to be a servant of the Lord. I love it.

Wasn't Conference so amazing?! I loved it so much! I could go on and on for hours about it. Conference was so amazing! I loved every minute of it. I think the things that really stuck out to me were more of my feelings and thoughts than what the speakers actually said. Every time I heard the word "Peace", I felt the spirit testify to me that this is truly a message that brings peace to all those who partake of it. I didn't realize it until one of the speakers were talking, but I have had some uneasiness within my self. I didn't recognize it, but when they were talking about peace, it hit me that I need to apply that. When President Uchtdorf was talking about how light and darkness can't be in the same place at the same time, it brought tears to my eyes. The spirit testified strongly to me, that the Lord wants to forgive us!  He wants us to be happy and healthy. He wants us to turn to Him. I have taken on the motto "Help thou my unbelief" and am applying it to my life. There are some things that I don't know, but the Lord will help me. How truly inspired the General Authorities are. I am really excited for when it comes out in the Ensign for us to read and study more in depth. I love General Conference! 

We are seeing so many miracles here I don't feel worthy of them. I feel like I am being so disobedient, and yet... The Lord is blessing me. Sometimes I feel like I have a microscope on me and that everyone is just waiting to point things out. I don't understand it. I am so humbled to know that He cares about His children here. I care about them. I love them so much, and most of them I have never/will never meet.

We are working with so many amazing people. One sister I am so thankful. She is amazing and has great faith, we just don't know how to get her to church. I feel like we have tried everything to get her there, but she just hasn't come yet. She has an amazing true friend and she knows that President Monson is a prophet. It is a difficult situation with her husband. He is not all that supportive of her coming or learning more. We are all just praying that his heart softens. We have to postpone the baptism because she has yet to come to church. She has been doing really well at reading in the Book of Mormon, she said she reads every day, and also giving up coffee, she says it is hard but she has been doing it. We just have so many truth-seeking investigators that Satan is working really hard on them. However, the Lord is so amazing and He is blessing them abundantly.

 We are working with a family! I love them so much. I am going to go to the Phillipenes with the mom. The mom is a member but married a non-member and kind of fell away. She still has a super strong testimony. A couple months ago she came to church with her husband and 3 boys. She wants them baptized. We taught two of the boys again this week and invited them to be baptized. They said yes! How cool is that! They are basically my favorite people ever. I am so excited to be facebook friends with all these people. All of them are so accepting of the gospel. 

We are also working with another younger family. They are so cute and I love them so much. They are both so humble and so willing to learn. It is great to have the sacred opportunity to teach them. They have amazing true friends. It is a testimony builder to me that people progress better and faster when they have someone to lean on other than the missionaries.

We haven't been able to get in contact with one of our recent converts for a while. She has been working crazy hours. However, we talked to a ward member yesterday at conference and she said that the convert talked to her boss and now has Sunday mornings off work so she can come to church. She says she has also been too busy to smoke, so she has cut down a lot.

As for me, I am doing really well. I am so thankful for the Lord in my life. I am a completely different person, even from a few months ago. I am thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord and His blessings upon me. I feel like I want to join the people of King Benjamin "And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." The church is true! The knowledge of my Savior is the best thing I have in my life, my family at a close second, with my friends at a close third. I am thankful for that knowledge that I will be able to take with me!

Family and friends, I just want to let you know how thankful I am for my Savior Jesus Christ. He is the light and the life of the world. He is the way to eternal happiness. He is the great physician. He is able to heal us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. He is our advocate with the Father. He is the way and there is no other way!

Thank you for everything each one of you do for me! Thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, your kind words. I love each one of you dearly. I will see you in like 4 months! BAH!!!!! So crazy!

Love,
Sister Saal 

April 2, 2013 letter

Hey family (and friends)!

So much to report on and so little time. I wish we could freeze time! It goes by way too fast! So this week was really good, one of the best! Some key points:

1. We were able to go to the temple on Wednesday night. A member who was baptized a year ago went through the temple for the first time and sister Dean and I were able to be there. Cool part, Sister Tilleman (the mission president's wife) was her escort, so we saw Sister Tilleman in the temple along with many fabulous saints here in BC. What a wonderful feeling it was. It was a lot different when I knew someone going through for the first time as opposed to not. It was a wonderful and magical place. I love the temple!

2. Sister Dean and I were able to host a mini-mission. A sister from Richmond came to spend the weekend with her. It was a great experience as well. She is so wonderful and will make a very powerful missionary. I think President Tilleman was preparing me for something. We had many fun and spiritual experiences with her.

3. We had dinner with someone from Costa Rica. The food was amazing. Enough said.

4. Easter is the best, but especially as a missionary! The spirit was so strong all day and I loved going out to proclaim that our Savior lives! Since Canadians like their holidays, the library was closed yesterday. We almost had no time to eamil today. Man are we busy.

5. We are working with some amazing people. I love each one of them dearly. We haven't had much as far as baptisms, but we are working with people who are truly seeking truth! It rocks!

One thing that has really stuck out to me the past few weeks is this. There is a poem entitled "Washed Clean" by President Packer. It is amazing! It talks about the ten lepers who came to Christ to be healed. However, only one came to return thanks. It testifies to me what a humble man Christ was. He just wanted to serve the peole and help them draw closer to the Father. How wonderful and what a testimony to me.

I am so thankful for all that you do. 

I love you!

Sister Saal