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

March 25, 2013 letter

Well, hello there again.

 

It is a beautiful and sunny day here in Maple Ridge. I love the sun shine. I am getting ready to throw out my tights. They are pretty trashed.

 

This week has been really good. We have been busy, as always. It is wonderful to feel the spirit testify of the truth! I love being a missionary. Sometimes I am so happy I want to faint with joy! What a wonderful way to be spending my time, especially at Easter. I am so thankful that I get to go and share the message of our Savior Jesus Christ. I testify along with the angels at the tomb "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen" Just as others came to know that Christ broke the bands of death, I also know that He broke the bands of death. I love focusing on the living Christ! Happy Easter!

 

This past week we had a zone conference with President Tilleman. He is the best. We had a wonderful conference in which the spirit was so strong. Sister Tilleman was talking about what she loved about Christ's church. We went through and listed some things:

The true church should have:

- a foundation of apostles and prophets

- personal revelation

- baptism the way Christ was baptized

- the power that Christ gave the apostles.

- ordinances of salvation

- way for everyone to return home

- obeying all of God's commandments, not just a few

- serve and love one another

- temples

- allowed to ask questions

 

Those are just a few! The spirit was so strong and it was so amazing! Sometimes, I wish you could all be there in a meeting with President and Sister Tilleman. They are so wonderful.

 

Before heading back to Maple Ridge, I had the chance to talk to President Tilleman alone. For the first time he actually asked me when I was going home. A lump came to my throat as I said 4 or 5 months! So crazy! Time is flying by so fast. I asked if I could extend and come home with him and Sister Tilleman. They have just over a year left. He kind of chuckled. BAH! However, I learned so much from President Tilleman. I am a new sister! :)

 

We then had the opportunity to go on exchanges. I was able to be companions with Sister Haight. She is from California and new as well. She is pretty cool. We took a lot of funny pictures together. We met a man on the street.  We were standing on a street corner waving to people and before we could wave to him, he was taking his headphones out and coming over to talk to us. We talked to him for about 20 minutes. He grew up with a lot of mormon friends. He is a Born Again Christian. I thought it was going to get contentious, but he said he wanted us to be able to talk as friends. We all shared ideas. We gave him things to consider and he gave us things to consider. Before he left he asked if we could pray! Of course! There we were on a busy street corner and he said a prayer. It was amazing. He asked if we liked Spoken Word Poetry. Not sure what that was, but he basically rapped a poem for us entitled "Who is Jesus?" It was so legit! He gave us his name and I am going to add him to my Facebook friends when I get home.

 

 The church is true! I love this gospel.

 

Until next time.

 

Love, Sister Saal

 

p.s. I learned some slang that the young people are saying these days. "Cra Cra" instead of crazy. "Jelly" instead of jealous. "Tots" instead of totally. "Awky" instead of awkward. and "Soup" instead of super. I think the young people are just getting lazy and don't want to finish their words. When one of the new sisters taught me, I felt like I was learning a new language. "That is... cra cra?" Wow. I hope it is not too much of a culture shock.

March 18, 2013 letter

Hey, Family (and friends)

Honestly and truly I do! I love missionary work! I talked to President Tilleman and he told me I could extend for an extra 2 years! Sorry boys, no marriage for me! Sweet.

Anyway, really though, I love being a missionary and helping my brothers and sisters come unto Christ. It is the most rewarding thing that I have ever done. We have met so many wonderful people and I am so thankful for all the friendships that have been formed. Today I saw pictures of our baptism in Courtenay (I will send one home along with a picture of Sister Dean and I) and it made me tear up. She made a covenant with our Father in Heaven and took part in a necessary saving ordinance! I feel so blessed to have been able to teach her, though it was a brief moment.

The ward here is so awesome! We have the BEST ward mission leader in the world. Brother MaCrae is so awesome! We call him every night and he is so willing to help out with anything he can.

I have a story! So, there is a sister in the ward from Jamaica. She married a man from Cuba, he is not a member, yet! :) They invite us over for lunch on Sunday once a month. Well, last time we had goat curry. That is right, I ate GOAT! It was actually really good. Something new for me I thought I would never try! Well, he always makes good food. We went over for lunch yesterday and jokingly I said "What meat are we having today?" Without missing a beat he said "Ox tail." I was a little shocked and I think he saw the surprise on my face. He then went on to tell us how the ox/cow tail is a delicacy and that there is not a lot of meat, but it is good. So... I ate ox tail! Sweet. I am glad for a mission because there is no way I would have tried it otherwise. Aren't you proud? Still don't like pickles though.

I figured I would tell you a little more about Sister Dean. She is from Eagle Mountain Utah. She is 19 years old. Before she came out she was at the U going into Musical Theater. She has an amazing  singing voice that makes me jealous. She has 3 older sister, 2 older brothers and one younger brother. She was adopted and is half Polynesian. How cool is that? I am taller than her though, so at least I have that going for me. She is really sweet and really taking a fitting to being a missionary. She has a powerful testimony. I feel honored and blessed to be her trainer, though she seems to be training me every day. She is a hard worker and she wants to be here serving the Lord. I have full confidence in her. She seems to be just soaking everything in. I love being her companion and I love being here in Maple Ridge. The ward is amazing and I am thankful to be serving the Lord.

One scripture I came across in my studies that I would like to share with you. "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." That scripture really hit me hard when I read it. As being a trainer goes, I need to be an example to Sister Dean. I need to be exactly obedient if I expect her to be exactly obedient. When it comes to being a missionary, I am a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I need to be that light to those around me in darkness. Even as a daughter of God, I need to be an example. Not only do I need to be, I want to be. I want to be a true disciple of Christ. I want to be an instrument in His hands. When people see me I want them to see the love I have for the Savior. I want them to feel of His love and see His light! I love being a missionary more than anything in the world. I love helping my brothers and sisters return to live with God. These are not random strangers I am talking to, these are my brothers and sisters. Something Sister Duffy said before transfers "I picture my sister standing at the door. What if my sister (Megan) was at the door and not interested. What would I do to help her?" That is something I am applying. 

 I just love being a missionary. I come home so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open, and yet, I have so much energy and I just want to keep going!

I hope all is well at home with everyone. Life here is amazing. Don't worry about me, I am doing great.

Love you all!

Sister Saal

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

March 4, 2013 letter

I am wet. I am cold. I am tired. And yet...

Hello family (and friends)!

It sounds like amazing things are happening down there. We had about 6 days of rain followed by 2(hopefully more) days of sun. As I was doing my studies this morning the sun was shinning through the window and warming me. I have missed the sun, A LOT. I am praying that it continues to get warmer and we get rid of this rain nonsense. I want the sun! With that being said, I have such an amazing story to tell you about the rain (hence the title of this email).

I thik this has been one of the best weeks of my mission! This week was so full of miracles that I don't know where to even begin! We have transfer calls tonight, but we already know Sister Duffy is leaving. President Tilleman told us that, along with the fact that Sister Brown and I will both be training. Where we will be training is the mystery. So, with Sister Duffy leaving soon, we have been trying to get a lot done so we are up to speed (she has been here about 10 months and really knows the area). We went through and organized the potentials and separated them into streets. On Friday, when Sister Duffy was in Richmond at Zone Leaders Council, Sister Byam from Surrey, needed a companion and came here to be with us. We took a sister from the ward out with us to do splits. She is 19 and is going on a mission soon. Well, we split up to accomplish more. At first, the day looked bleek. It had been raining for days and it was coming down hard. Not the best weather to be walking around in. At first, I thought about being at home by a fireplace drinking hot chocolate. But, since I am serving a mission and all, and that would be apostate to sit around and do nothing, we got to work. I had the chance to go with Erin first. My attitude completely changed. As we were walking down the street an overwhelming feeling came over me. I was cold. I was wet. I was tired. And yet, I have never been happier. I loved walking in the rain to share the gospel with my brothers and sisters. By the end of the day I had been walking around in the rain for nearly 7 hours. I was soaked from head to toe and to the bone. However, joy filled every inch of my body and I was no longer cold. The Spirit warmed my soul. It seemed like the best way to help lift my spirits. At that moment I really understood how much this is not our work. It is our Heavenly Father's work and we need to recognize that. For that day I gave up my thoughts and feelings, my will, and served the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. And He has blessed me profoundly for it!

Giving up my will completely is something that I have been really working hard on. It seems to get easier day by day. The love that the Saviour has for me seems to radiate through my entire body! Oh how great is my joy!

Another miracle I want to share with you is about yesterday. Since it was fast Sunday my companions and I did a special fast for President Tilleman. It was a mission wide fast. Many of our friends told us they would be at church, but by the start of Sacrament meeting, no one showed. It was a little heartbreaking. However, after the prayer and while the Bishopbric was talking, a woman showed up. She had texted us a few days before and had to cancel the church tour, but told us she wanted to come to church. She showed up and sat by us. Then, another investigator showed up with his fiance who is a member. Then a family showed up! They are good friends with a family in the ward, and the mom is a member from the Phillipenes! We set up a dinner appointment to eat with both families. Then a woman and her son showed up. She only speaks French, but we have two sisters in the ward who speak French! One of the sisters gave her a church tour and explained a bit about our church.This lady lives across the street from the church and Sunday morning she just decided to bring her son to church! After Sacrament it was crazy busy trying to talk to everyone, but we were able to meet each non-member who was there. We gave one a tour of the church and she loved it! We invited her to be baptized and she said yes!  My joy is full! So many miracles are happening and I don't know if I can handle all this, much less deserve all the miracles coming our way. I love being a missionary!

My companions are so wonderful and so amazing. I am truly blessed to have them as my companions. I know that they are helping me learn and grow and become better. I have really enjoyed this time that I have gotten to know them. I know that whatever happens with transfers this week, my life is changed for the better because of them. I am so thankful for the miracles that have been brought to pass because of our hard work. God has not ceased to be a God of miracles! For that, I am so thankful.

As for me, life is really good. Things are going so much better for me, and I am thankful for the strength and suport the Lord gives to me. I have felt His love so much lately and I am so thankful for that! He loves His children so much! I love His children so much!

I love you family! Thanks for all you do for me.

Love, Sister Saal

Missionary Pictures



Sister Saal at the Vancouver Temple

Sister Brown, Sister Duffy and Sister Saal at the Vancouver Temple.
"One of the best days ever on my mission" says Sister Saal
 

Sister Nuttall, an investigator and Sister Saal

Sister Saal and one of her favorite missionary families.