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

Lehi's Dream for the Maple Ridge youth activity - Moroni's Quest

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 

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

June 24, 2013 letter

Hi family (and friends)  It has been an interesting week here in Maple Ridge.

 

The broadcast yesterday was truly an amazing and an uplifting experience. Many tears were shed as I listened to the servants of the Lord talk about the most important work on earth. It was incredible to see how much the Lord is hastening the work. I am so thankful to be apart of that hastening and to be a missionary for the only true and living church. I love this gospel so much and I love the Savior with all my heart. I am thankful for all that He has done for me and all He continues to do for me. I  just love this work so much.

 

This week the mission office phoned to tell me of my release date. So scary to think about, but that time is coming. I will be coming home on August 21. Less than two months! Baha! I am sure as you can all imagine, it is a very bitter sweet moment for me. 

 

With my time speeding up till I go home, I have been pondering about my service and all that I have rendered and all that I want to accomplish before the time I go home. In my studies this morning I was reading in 1 Peter 1:6-9 

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

 

It hit me hard. The past few weeks have been a trial of my faith. I haven't been able to do as much as I would like to do, I have to sleep when I don't want to, my body won't work when I want it to, and sometimes my mind wanders to distant places. It has been an experience, but I also know that the Lord has been with me every step of the way. He has been there when I have felt like no one else was. Waking up in the middle of the night with an unbearable headache is not fun. I can't exactly wake my companion to talk about the things on my mind. However, I have had many wonderful experiences while on my knees late at night. If anything, this experience has really taught me to rely on my Savior and all He does. That led me to read a scripture in Hebrews 10:36 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

 

I love this gospel. I love the truth that I know. I love my Savior. I love the Lord's mission.

 

I am so thankful for each one of you. I love you all.

 

Sister Saal