Pictures

Mom here are the pictures that Sister Salmon has sent me. I thought y'all would like to enjoy these pictures too. 

 (Out biking and saw this on someone's front lawn.  Had to stop and take a pic. Only $750?)
                                     

 

(Me and my Greeny Sister Randall on our 3rd day together.  In front of our home.)

August 20th, 2012

Oh Mom, you always know what i need to hear. This week was a trying time. There were a few instances were there was some miscommunication and feelings were hurt. But we were able to talk through it and mend things as well as we could. So we'll see how this next week goes. This week we spent much of the time out finding people, knocking doors, trying to locate formers and potentials and LA. We made some awesome contacts this week. We were able to get inside two LA homes that apparently in the past hadn't let members in. We're in the process of trying to start up lessons with them. One of the LA members still reads the Book of Mormon, prays and seems to believe in the gospel. Her husband isn't a d member...yet. With the Lord's help we'll hopefully help to change that. Then we were blessed in being able to find three new investigators this last week. The first two are a mother and daughter. The mother was a former investigator. She was just busy all the time so she was dropped. We stopped by her house this last week, she was out in her back yard cleaning up her yard. We had a pretty bad rain storm a couple days previous so she had some large branches strewn about her yard. She said that once school starts she wants to start meeting with us. And she wants us to also start teaching her two daughters. Hopefully we'll be able to see them today. We have exchanges this week with the sisters in Fredrick town. That makes working in our area a little difficult. We found our third investigator last night. Sister Grover, Sister Pedersen and i were trying to contact some potentials and as we were on our way out we saw this man outside watering the courtyard of the apartment. We had a really good discussion with him. He didn't seem too interested at first. But in the end he accepted a mormon.org card and said that we could call him to set something up. We walked away looking forward to hopefully being able to call him later and set something up. But later that night as we were in the middle of companion study, he texted us. We set up an appointment with him for tomorrow. So we're really excited about that. There are people all around us who are searching for the gospel. Try thinking about your life with out the teachings of Christ in your life. That is such a sad depressing thought. I am so grateful for the knowledge i have. The Gospel is true! love you all sister salmon

August 13, 2012

Talk about memories... I can't believe a year has already flown by and little James is getting ready for his mission. So received mom's collection of letters that she collected at the family reunion. I was laughing so hard. I must say, we have a very dysfunctional family. Most families when they go on vacations go and relax. Nope, not us. We play hard and it seems to be full of concussion, at least a couple people sick, flesh wounds and ton and tons of food. (Dan, welcome to the family. It sounded like you received a proper welcoming into the Salmon Family. Its going to be a great eternity :) So transfers were this last week. Sister Randall and I were both shipped out of St. Charles. I am now serving in Frontenac, Mo with Sister Pedersen and Sister Grover. The ward has the largest percentage of active members I've ever served in. Church yesterday was great. We got to meet a lot of new faces. Its excited, we are serving in the same ward that President and Sister Clark, our mission president and his wife attend. This week has been filled with moving into the apartment, Its been fun trying to find places for all of our things. And also getting to know the members and investigators the previous sisters had been working with. We will get to do a lot of finding, our teaching pool isn't very large, but we have high hopes for the end of the transfer. Towards the end of last week we were able to meet with a potential investigator by the name of Felix. We were able to visit with him and discuss his views of church attendance and prayer. Half way through the discussion he got all teary eyed and and said that he knew he needed to come to church. The spirit was strong in our discussion and I look forward to seeing him this week. Thursday, sister Pedersen had to go up to Pittsfield,ILL. to get a cast put on her foot and to do iron transfusions. She had broken her foot back in May and hadn't followed the advice of her doctor so it had gotten worse. As for the Iron. She is Iron deficient and is allergic to all iron supplements so she has to take it via IV. That was an all day adventure. Our GPS was taking us all over the place so we really didn't get a lot done that day. Its going to take some time adjusting to working in a tri.They each are seasoned missionaries and i am excited to learn from each. I know that God puts us in situations and with people for specific reasons. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior. I have seen how people have changed when they learn and accept this simple truth. I know i still have much to learn when it comes to the gospel, and am excited for this opportunity to learn. I have come to know that missions aren't really sacrifices. I have learned so much from my mission. Things i wouldn't have learned anywhere else. I love my heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. This is their church. love you all sister salmon

August 6th, 2012

Hey Dad, what a wonderful family reunion. It sounds like you all had a blast. Thank you for the words of wisdom. I always appreciate them. Also, i made it a goal that i wanted to run 5 miles by the end of this transfer, and this morning i ran 5. It was totally wicked. Did you get the CD that i sent you with pictures on it? Also our mission president is strongly encouraging all those who are eligible, to vote in the presidential elections. What do i need to do about that? This week was another busy week in the field. Sister Randall and I went on exchanges with sister Northcutt and sister Toala in Dardenne creek. They they are such wonderful sisters, i enjoyed every minut of it. On Tuesday while sister Toala and we were out tracting she introduced me to a game she plays with her companions. You take turns doing the door the initial door approach. And who ever gets 20 doors opened to them wins. You wouldn't think that would take that long. I think collectively we knocked doors for 5-6 hours before she hit her twentieth door. It keeps you engaged and the mood light. We found some awesome potential investigators. I'm excited to hear how they turn out. On Wednesday we were still on exchanges in Dardenne, and our Zone leaders Elder Perks and Elder Rudd called us asking if we'd like to have a mini missionary come join us. We were able to rearrange our schedule and Thursday night we picked up sister Meadows from the st. Charles building. From there we departed for Warrenton to do exchanges with sister Silvers and Sisters Brinck. I was out with sister Brinck and our mini contacting a referral on Thursday and sadly enough our referral wasn't home. Sister Brinck and I were ready to move onto our next location when sister Meadows in her excitement asked if could do some tracting in this neighborhood. We were blessed in being able to contact Laina. She was the neighbor of the referral we had originally gone out there to seek out. She was outside with her three children. She was very friendly and has some really great questions. She didn't go to church growing up and only recently decided that she wanted to learn more about god. She had heard about the LDS church and invited missionaries back to her home. Its amazing how the lord places people in our paths her are ready and seeking. Saturday night was transfer calls. Both sister Randall and I are being transferred out. They white washing our area, bringing in a new set of missionaries. Sister Fallentine, who's been out for about 4 months i think and then a new missionary. I'm sad to leave, but at the same time have been here a long time. I know that sister Fallentine and her trainee will do great her. These call are inspired. I have been called to Frontenac. Supposedly the rizt part of town, that's what everyone keeps telling me at least. And i will be serving with sister Grover and Sister Pederson. Little nervous about being in a tri, but at the same time am really excited. I am blessed to be able to learn from two great sisters instead of just one. Love you sister salmon

July 30, 2012

Okay you slackers, how are things going for you all? Sister Randall and i were pleasantly surprised to have had a baptism this last Saturday. Angel O'Neill surprised us on Tuesday by telling us she had talked with the Bishop on Sunday and had set a baptismal date together. We spent the bulk of that lesson preparing her for her Baptismal interview the next day and the program together. There were a few complications concerning who was going to speak so last minute i volunteered to give the talk on the holy Ghost. Saturday was a very stressful day for me. I think baptisms are always stressful for those involved. I had completed some reading on the Holy Ghost but hadn't had time to write my talk yet. We found ourselves in a deep discussion with a catholic preacher who was so concerned for our well being that he didn't give us time to talk. What we thought would be a 30 minute discussion turned quickly into an hour + discussion. I now had only 30 minutes to quickly write a talk.I was able to piece some thoughts together and when it came time for me to speak i know that the lord blessed me to know what to say.I only used a fraction of what i had prepared. I know that God does help us and when we are prepared and worthy of his spirit he can directs us in our actions, thoughts, and words. This week we also had our super activity. So on Thursday all of us in the mission gathered down town for the Cardinals Baseball game. It was so much fun. We all wore our proselyting clothes. Well, all except the other sisters. The sisters were told they could wear jeans. My companion and I wore skirts though because it was too hot and muggy to even think about wearing jeans. After the game we gathered at Forest park for dinner and a talent show. Friday was the spiritual part of our activity. We had three awesome speakers.The First speaker, Doctor Anderson (Psychiatrist?) talked about the importance of our spiritual, emotional, and physical well being. Bro. Menlo Smith (who purchased the St. Louis Temple site and then donated it to the church. Part of the agreement in purchasing the land was to not sell it to the Mormons. So he donated) spoke about sources of instruction and how we can be successful as missionaries and as future mothers and fathers. The last speaker was Doctor Olsen (physical therapist), spoke on the law of consecration as a missionary. The spirit was thick and i didn't want to leave at the end. There is so much power when you can gather together with people who have the same goals and beliefs. I love being a missionary. I never understood when RM's would talk about how on your mission you experience the very highs, and the very lows until now. I know Christ lives, that he is so much aware each of us. I know the Plan of Salvation is true, that it is the only way we can be happy now, and in the eternities. I love you all. sister salmon

July 23, 2012

I am so grateful for the my mornings. :) How we wake up, our attitudes, the way we conduct ourselves truly affects how the remainder of our day will go. In the morning is the time that i am able to read my scriptures and prepare, spiritually and mentally for the day. My testimony in receiving revelation through scripture study has grown so much. Not only have i been able to receive greater understanding through reading, but i have been able to see others receive blessings and answers to their questions as they search the scriptures. We have one investigator, his name is mike. Sister Randall and i have been able to meet with him only three times and his faith has grown so much. Its amazing to see people light up and share what they know. We had a great visit with Mike last night and we were able to discuss some of concerns about baptism. As we did this, we asked him about his personal scripture reading. We asked if he know what he reading was true and how he knew it. He shared with us a simple, but strong testimony that he knew the Book of Mormon was true. He said that he's been reading and has received so many reassurances. At the end of our lesson he shared with us that before he can decide to be baptized, he wants to talk with his family. They know he has been attending our church services, but doesn't know that he has been meeting with us. When he said this we invited him to give a kneeling prayer and ask so courage to know when and how to approach his family. I know that God hears our prayers. He know our thoughts, desires and designs. When we reach out to him in sincere prayer and ask in faith he will answer us. Another awesome lesson we had was with Angel on Saturday. We had gone over to check up on her. We had been having a hard time getting a hold of this week. We are so close to being able to set a baptismal date with her. She wants to be baptized and understands the need to be baptized, but needs to get permission from her husband. We're going to be seeing her later this week, so hopefully she'll have good news. This week we have our super activity. This is something the mission does every year in the summer. It'll be on Thursday and Friday. Thursday is the fun play time and Friday will be the spiritual power punch. On Thursday the entire mission is going to the Cardinals baseball game VS. Dodgers. Super excited about this, i love going to live baseball games. love you family sister salmon

July 15th, 2012

Ok so its not that weird that you invited the guy over because you are a member missionary that's true. I received your package on Wednesday. We had leadership training on Wednesday... The office elders forgot to bring it, but we live so close that they brought it by later that day for me. I love all the goodies. The granola is so good. I shared some of it with my land lord JD and he thought it was super delicious! This I already know. I'm so spoiled. And the eye spy game and little drawing pad is perfect. I showed it to my land lord and jokingly she asked me "aren't you a little old for those toys?".... I don't think so. That eye spy game kept me pretty occupied when i first found it. There are some cool things in there. It was a slow week for sister Randall and I. Full of tracking and member stop bys. I'm trying to help sister Randall become more acquainted with the members because i'm pretty sure she'll be taking over this area in a months time. I'll have been here for 6 months this August. We an interesting run in with a very devote Catholic priest. Kyle is a young father who grew up catholic and just loves his faith. It was non confrontational. He did a lot of speaking, and sister randall and i were content on just listening to what he was saying. It was very educational, and at the same time as we listened sister randall and i sensed that he was also looking for more from his religion. We shared some of our basic beliefs as well and extended him a pamphlet on the restoration. He took it and genuinely and said that he would read it. Our time was cut short due to our dinner appointment, we were already going to be late. He apologized that he had done most of the talking, but said that we could come back the following week and discuss what he will read in the pamphlet. We invited him to pray with us and gave a very nice heartfelt prayer. I had leadership training this week. Actually didn't find out until the day before. The theme of the meeting was on elder Uchtdorf's talk from this last priesthood session entitled The Why of Priesthood Service. But instead of focusing upon the Priesthood, we focused on the Why of missionary work. And from there we broke it down into two branches. The mechanical side: showing obedience, and then the spiritual side: doing something because you were moved by the spirit, because you greatly desire it for you brother or sister. The messages that were shared were very inspired. And as always, i couldn't wait to get back out to apply what i had been taught. We weren't able to meet up with angel this week. She was sick for the first half of the week and when we went to go see her on Saturday she wasn't home. We called her later and found out she had been in a serious car accident and flipped her car. Miraculously she and her daughter were fine and were able to attend church yesterday. Saturday morning sister Randall and i had volunteered our time to go and help a sister move. Sister York was a women we had tried various times to go and visit but could never catch her at home. With all the help that showed up we had her out of her old apartment and into her new apartment and just a couple of hours. Sister Randall, a few other sisters and I stayed behind to do some last minute cleaning. As we did this we were able to start up a conversation with Sister Yorks neighbor Tracy. Tracy was very impressed by all the people who had showed up to help Sister York move and had come over to see the progress. We were able to have a short lesson on the book of mormon and share our testimonies that we each new it was true. She has a very strong faith and belongs to another church, but seemed very interested in reading the book of mormon. She kept thumbing through it as we shared our testimonies. We're going to stop by her house later this week to check up on her. I love sharing the gospel. I kick myself whenever i see a missed opportunity to share my testimony, or to make a contact. I know that when we simply open our mouths and put our faith in God that everything will work out. Even if what we said may not make sense in our minds. Sister Randall and i were driving down the road Saturday night when i felt an impression to park the car and back track to where i had seen an older women sitting on her porch. I didn't know why, but i knew that i must not ignore the impression. I told sister Randall how i felt and that we should park the car. We did, and had a good conversation with the women. Nothing spectacular happened during that visit. I know the lord is helping me recognize the promptings in my life so when a prompting comes and i really need to obey i can know it. After that visit sister Randall and i went out to dinner and we were blessed with a free meal. A gentleman visiting from Utah with his high school basketball team saw us sitting eating our meal and came in introduced himself to us. Then when we asked for our check the waiter said that it had been taken care of. God blessed us in mysterious ways. :) K family i love you all. i'm out of things to write at the moment. sister salmon dad (and anyone else) there is a cool website that my WML told me about. It has two articles that i think if you haven't already read would really enjoy. Its on missionaryleaders.org . The first one is titled: Sister Susan Fulcher Case Study and the second is titled the field is white.

July 9th, 2012

Oh cougar bear. That little rascal. lol. I'd suggest getting a dog. Maybe a Rhodesian ridgback. They're lion hunters. That's what i want to get when i come home. Yes i am still playing the piano. Only piratically. I have found the easy hymn book and our land lords let me play whenever. They're awesome. I plan on having you give me piano lessons when i return so be prepares. So who's this young man you met at the 4Th of July thing? How old is he? Isn't that kind of weird to just invite him over? Joanne had sent me a wedding announcement in the mail so i remembered that she got married this last week. When you see of talk to her next thank her for the invite. That was very thoughtful of her. We have been in a major hot wave this last week. We've been up in the triple digits the last week, breaking records like crazy. People thought my companion and i were nuts walking around tracting. It wasn't all the bad. The hardest part i think was going in and out of house. The transition from hot to cold isn't very comfortable....And like all church buildings the Ac never works properly during sacrament. So I literally froze during the first hour. I had goose bumps up and down my arms the entire time. For the 4th we were told not to proselyte. Instead sister Randall and i enjoyed attending the ward pancake breakfast, the st. Charles parade and then touring historic st. Charles. And that night because we were able to stay out till 10:30pm, we walked down to Frontier park with a member family and watched the Firework display. There was a lot of talk about cancelling it this year. Its been so dry and we've had hardly any rain. Sister Randall and i had a fun time walking around in the sun this week. It has been exceedingly warm here. The weather has cooled a little bit, somewhere in the 90's today and i think that's where it will stay all week. On one of our outings we walked down to where one of our investigators lived and found her and her daughter at home. She was preoccupied at the moment so sister Randall and i engaged her daughter Jessica in conversation. We had an amazing lesson on the importance of the Book of Mormon and how we can receive personal revelation through reading and pondering its pages. It was wonderful to be able to share my testimony with her, and then to see the holy Ghost confirm what I said was true. We committed her to read to pray about whether the Book of Mormon is true and set up a follow up appointment for this Wednesday. Jessica has a lot of questions about her purpose here on earth and displayed a very open mind when it comes to learning about God. We also met with Mike Lane this last week. He's the boyfriend of a member in our ward. This was our third time meeting with him. He is progressing so well. He is reading and praying, and come to find out he's been praying with his girlfriend. Which when i heard that i was ecstatic. He was so unsure when we invited him to pray with us a week ago and here he was praying like it was never a problem. The gospel changes people. When we follow the teachings we read in the scriptures the Holy Ghost can then bare record to our spirits that what we are doing is true. I know that when we are obedient that we are showing love and appreciation to our Heavenly father. sister salmon

July 2, 2012

Happy Canada day yesterday family! This week is going to be awesome! A side from the fact that i get to go out and work all day, we have been asked to not proselyte on the fourth of July. Instead we will be going to the wards pancake breakfast, and then going down to the parade with our land lords. We'll spend the day walking around main street and seeing all the things they'll have set up down there. I think there having some sort of carnival. And then fireworks that night. We are able to stay out until 10:30pm. Last week on P-day a member took us down town and we were able to go and see the St. Louis arch. We actually went up it. It's 630 feet high. You sit in these little four foot elevators that seat five people. No windows so if your afraid of heights or are claustrophobic this would not be good for you. It take you four minutes to get up, and three to get down. It was so cool. This week has been super Hot! I think we're breaking records here in St. Charles. The other day sister Randall and i were out finding and in 107 degree weather. Every door we came too the people thought we were crazy, would offer us a cold bottle of water and sometimes would let us come in to cool off in their air conditioned home. They were never interested in our message, but still praised us for our diligence. Personally, I liked being outside. I think my body is doing a good job acclimatizing to the heat... They're houses are too cold. We had two really good lessons with Angel this week. I know she felt the spirit strongly in our second lesson. We went over the law of Chastity with her and thankfully she doesn't have a problem living it. :) She is already married and has a young 20 month daughter named Fiona. Sister Willard who was our member was also in attendance to our lessons. Her daughter Pheobe and Fiona were able to play together and keep each other distracted during the lessons. We asked Angel if she had prayed about knowing if the Book of Mormon was true and if Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. She shared a very sweet simple testimony about how she knew it was true because of the wonderful things/changes that have been happening in her life since she started reading. I love when our investigators are able to recognize the the fruits of the spirit. Faith truly is like a little seed as the prophet Alma explains. We need to let that seed be planted in our hearts. But it doesn't stop there. We need to nourish it and strengthen it so that it may get root. When we read our scriptures, when we ponder and pray about the things we read and then apply those things we learn our faith is able to grow. I hope that Angel will continue to grow in her faith, and come to understand how important the gospel of Jesus Christ truly is. Last night we had another awesome lesson. His name is Mike, he's the boyfriend of a member in the ward. He's come to church multiple times and two week ago Jackie his member girl friend invited us over to start teaching him the lessons. Last night was our second lesson with Mike. We walked through the Plan of Salvation with him, hitting hard upon the atonement of Jesus Christ and how its only through Christ that we can be saved. He had a lot of really good questions and with the help of the spirit Sister Randall, Jackie and i were able to address his questions and point out scriptures from the Bible and book of Mormon that we hoped would help him. At the end of the lesson I was able to invite Mike to pray with us. He was very hesitation at first, saying he'd never given a vocal public prayer before. Not even with his girl friend Jackie and they'd been together for almost three years. We all waited for a long time praying that spirit will help him. Finally after a couple of long seconds he finally consented to pray. He said that he would pray if someone would pray with him, then he would recite what was said. This was awesome. A huge break through. Before our first lesson i had asked Jackie if Mike would feel comfortable praying and she said that request would freak him out. Both sister Randall and i knew that we Mike needed to pray. It was an awesome experience to kneel down and hear him talk with his Heavenly father. Yesterday was a huge blessing. Sunday morning during companion study sister Randall and I had studied the importance of Prayer in conversion and had role played how to help Mike understand the importance of praying with us. Jackie and Mike had been out of town all week so at the time we practiced this we did not have lesson set with Mike. Wow, the Lord is amazing. I know that the Lord is always watching out for us. I know that he knows what we need prior to us even knowing. I know that when we seek guidance from the holy Ghost and follow that guidance that we are blessed. Jesus Christ is my Savior. I will forever be indebted to him. I know that I am a child of God. I know that the gospel is true. Love sister salmon

June 25, 2012

When Mondays come around its so difficult to remember everything that has happened throughout the week. I love being a missionary. I love to be able to walk up to random strangers and begin a conversation with them. Before my mission, i would never had had the confidence to do that. The longer i serve, the more the lord blesses me to see and understand my role as his daughter. I know that as we serve others, forgetting ourselves and our needs and desires the lord blesses us with a greater capacity to love and to see his hand in our lives. This week sister Randall and i went on exchanges to Dardenne Creek, ILL. to visit the sisters serving there. Its such a great area, so much potential. My previous Companion sister Northcutt is now serving there, and it was awesome to see the growth she has experienced since we've served together. We were companions the second day of exchanges. And after DM that morning we planned on doing service at a members home and then going out finding. After completing service, we quickly changed back into our proselyting clothes and headed out. As we were collecting materials (pamphlets, BOM's, pass along cards), i noticed sister Northcutt didn't replace her name badge after service. We ended up needing to drive back to the members home to retrieve her badge and because of all the driving were limited on our finding efforts. We drove only a couple houses down and started there. We didn't find any new investigators, but we did find a family that was LDS, who had moved from Utah and through the course of the move had fallen into inactivity. After that experience i turned to sister Northcutt and we talked about how we needed to find that family, and that i know that God had lead us to find them. God leads us in mysterious ways, in this case it was to go back and retrieve a name badge. I know that everything happens for a reason. That God wants to lead us and direct us through the trials of life. And that as we walk through this probationary, time God will place people in our paths whom we can help. Or maybe he'll lead us to people who have fallen by the wayside. No matter who they are, and their circumstances, they are also children of God. And i know that when we prepare and look for those missionary opportunities the Lord will bless us. We ended our exchanges with a quick goal setting session and then made smores on the stove top. Sister Toala, sister Toals'a companion is from Somoa and has only had smores once, i thought it would be fun to let her experience them again. You'd think that because there is no open flame you wouldn't be able to catch your mallow on fire. FALSE. It can happen, my companions' mallow caught flame. We had a neat finding experience Saturday. I had thumbed through the list of potential investigators left by previous missionaries and had written down a few that i felt we should follow up on. And that's how we found Kathrine. She was home, and welcomed us in. She was very friendly and we had an awesome discussion with her. She shared her testimony of how she knew that she was a daughter of God and the she knew He loved her. It was awesome! We have a tentative lesson schedule with her for next week. Yesterday was a huge testimony builder for me when i saw Angel, one of our investigators at church. She said she was coming and so we had faith that she would be there. And the fact that she beat us to church, and was already sitting down waiting for the service to start was so cool. Especially because both her parents weren't there. We sat next to her and did our best to help her keep her 20month daughter Fiona quiet, but that's better said than done. Especially because as missionaries we aren't allowed to hold children or really have and type of contact with them. Thankfully some of the surrounding members helped out by providing toys and other forms of entertainment for Fiona. Thankfully, the rest of the block went much smoother. Sunday evening was a neat experience for me and especially for my companion. We had two dinner's scheduled. One with a member right after church at 4pm, and then with an Investigator at 6Pm. Originally the appointment at six was just going to be a teaching appointment, but our investigator really wanted to cook for us. I planned ahead, and ate slowly, politely refusing seconds each time they were offered. But my poor companion. She couldn't say no and had seconds for both the first course and for dessert. We went to our second dinner and i again ate slowly and only had first helpings. I felt fine but my companion got sick during the lesson. She hid it pretty well, so i don't think kelly, our investigator knew. Actually i didn't know at first either until we exited the house and the door had closed. Instantly my companion turned to me and said that she felt like she was gong to puke. We jumped in the car and quickly headed home, stopping once on the side of the road to allow her to empty her stomach. She has been a little sick earlier in the week. I think she experienced a little heat stroke, she's not use to the heat and humidity yet coming from Utah. Actually we had a really awesome experience with our land lord Friday night. Sister Randall had gotten sick earlier in the day and had asked for a blessing of healing. As she slept i was in the room thinking about where to have to blessing. Our land lord's were home and i was trying to figure out which room to hold the blessing. As i was reading and pondering this a thought came to mind to ask Edie if she would like a blessing as well. She had been sick for the last two weeks and hadn't shown any improvement. I know we're not suppose to silicate giving blessings but i felt comfortable knowing that this was something i should ask her. I was really nervous about ask her. But she accepted, and that night she along with sister Randall received priesthood blessings. Edie's blessing was very neat to witness. The elder giving it knew nothing about her or the thing's she going through. I know that the blessing she received was from her Heavenly Father. But other than that, the work is going forth. There are people to see, and messages to share. The work is so much greater than i originally thought. I feel so blessed to be apart of it. I love my mission. i know that this gospel is true and that Jesus is the Christ. I love you Mom and DAd. Hugs and kisses.

June 18th, 2012

Mom, what an amazing last couple of days. Your talk sounds like it was great, i wish i could have been there to listen to it. Your prayers and your fasting are working. I have had a super crazy week, i felt like, and do still feel like a a chicken running around with my head chopped off....I know that it is the Lord who is sustaining me, but mom, I struggle with being able to recognize and remember the blessings that Heavenly Father gives me everyday. I have started to make a greater effort at writing them down in my Journal. But at the end of the day, though i know i worked hard and tried to do my best i still feel like i'm missing something. I can recognize when the spirit is with me, and although i feel like our lessons go well, i don't feel like i have the spirit with me as i teach. I know that the fruits of the spirit are peace, love joy, comfort, confidence and i feel all those when i teach.. so is that it? Should i stop looking for something else and be content with that? Its the same way when i share my testimony. I know what i am saying is true, i can never deny it because i have had too many witnesses. But i don't feel anything when i share it. This week we picked our mini missionary. Sister (Gabby) Rhiner is 16 years old and she, along with other youth members from her stake received permission to serve mini missions. They were paired up with a number of companionship's and spent the week eating, sleeping, living a missionary life. I knew sister Rhiner previously. Her grandparents are the McConkies, whom i lived with when i served in Champaign, ILL. She was such an example to me of willingness and desire. I don't think if i was given the similar oppertunity to serve if i'd take it. She worked hard and although she was i'm sure terrified about teaching and doing door approaches she always tried to do her best. I felt a little bad, we didn't really let our mini ease into mission life. We had a teaching appointment as soon as we came home from our mini transfer meeting, where we picked her up. And then later on that afternoon we were able to contact a referral from our ZL's. I pulled up to the house and at first glance didn't think anyone was home. I thought about just turning around and moving on to our next location but i felt prompted to turn off the car and make sure no one was there. i'm happy top be wrong. The referral, AKA, Kelly Powers was home and warmly welcomed us in to her house. We had a really good lesson with her in which we learned more about her religious background and her desires to learn more about he church. We introduced the Book of Mormon and shared the First Vision with her. She was very receptive and showed enthusiasm for starting the Book of Moron. We have an appointment with her this week and we're hoping to set a baptismal date with her. During this last week with our mini we had a wonderful Zone Conference. The Spirit was really strong and i received many spiritual reminders on how i need to come back to the basics of teaching and finding. One of the points that was shared during the day was the "lord calls us because of who we can/will become, not who we are." The Lord sees the eternal perspective. He sees our potential, who we can become and he knows what we need. Zone Conference was on Wednesday and Thursday morning we packed up our car and headed for Warrenton, MO. for exchanges with the sisters there. We worked in their area until Friday late afternoon and then drove home. It felt weird not being in our area all week. There was a lot of work to get caught up on. Saturday was our last day with our Sister Rhiner. We had a really good second lesson that morning. We taught the plan of salvation and half way during the lesson i looked over at sister Rhiner and saw that she had fallen asleep. She was so exhausted! The person we were teaching also noticed and she just smiled. We all understood. Then that night we had our closing fireside and dropped off our mini missionary. Sunday was our miracle day. We waited outside the chapel, hoping that our investigators would show. The opening hymn and prayer had finished and by this time my companion and i figured that no one was coming. We had just sat down when we saw Angel (I), her Parents and two of her friends walk in. We quickly changed seats and welcomed them in. They stayed for all three hours and seemed to really enjoy it. It was amazing! I have never had that happen to me before. And then at the end of the three hour block a member walked up to me and told me she has someone for us to teach. This was a testimony builder to me, and reminded me that there are people who looking and seeking the gospel. i love you mom, dad and family. Your prayers are not going unnoticed by the Lord. sister salmon

June 11, 2012

Sister Randal is coming along in her training. I think she takes some things a little too lightly. We've been really blessed since she's been here in having a fair amount of work. We've been running from appointment to appointment, engagement to engagement. I think she'll have a rude awakening when in her mission things slow down. I have been doing a lot of contemplating these last few days about companions. As missionaries we are assigned our companions, luckily i have been blessed with getting companions that i can get along with. We don't always agree or share the same opinions, but we learn to get along. I must say when i come home i am going to be very grateful to chose who i want to be with for eternity. I know we'll still have our differences, but i chose him. And that makes all the difference. We had a neat experience last week right after I had finished on the computer.The Gentlemen sitting next to me was on his way out when he asked us why we wore name badges. This turned into a really good gospel discussion and he agreed to meet with us again. His wife is very set in her catholic religion and because of this we decided to meet at the Library. We met up again Tuesday in the library and went through the First lesson more in depth with him. He had several good questions that we were able to answer using the scriptures. But the only answer he wasn't satisfied with was the answer concerning the sacrament. Why do we use water when the scriptures clearly state the use of wine? We shared with him the word of wisdom and then how we believe in the modern revelation. And that it was revealed to us from a prophet of God that we should no longer use wine for our sacrament. Sadly this didn't satisfy him and discontinued our visits. From this experience i relearned that there are people all around us who searching. Who, like the scriptures say are seeking to quench there thirst but don't know how to satisfy it. Second, i was reminded that everyone has their agency. This man, if he were truly seeking and was ready to receive the gospel would not let something so minute as how we partake of the sacrament get in the way of his Eternal Salvation. Last night we had a similar experience. Sherry Mueller is a Seventh day Adventist. We had met with her on two different accounts and finally last night during our discussion she told us she didn't want to have "bible discussions" anymore. She explained that she had read through some of the pamphlets we had left her and found that our doctrine is surprisingly different from what she believes. It makes me sad whenever we are dropped or have to drop an investigator. They don't understand what they turning away. They don't understand the blessings the Lord has for them once they accept and are baptized. On a happier note we did set a baptismal date with one of our investigators this week. Angel O'Neil is the daughter of two less active ward members. We found her accidentally when we went to visit her parents.Apparently brother and sister Lemen attended church since 2000. And the ENTIRE FAMILY made it church yesterday. They all attended the first two hours and seemed to enjoy them both. Brother Lemen didn't stay for the last hour, he left and came back to pick up his family after the three hour block had finished. But what a miracle to have all of them there. love you all Sister salmon

June 4th 2012

HEY MOMMA DEar! HAHA you'd think Dad would've given you a heads up on speaking in church. Its nice to know I'm next in priority. Jk mom, just given you a hard time because i can. :). I did use the card and paid my co-payment. Yes you'll probably be getting a bill. Sorry about that. But its better than what some of the other sister have been going through. Some of them have cysts on their ovaries, so i'm counting my blessings. 1. what did you enjoy doing with your father? I think the biggest think for me was just spending time with dad.Working along side him in the yard. Letting me help him, treating me like i was important and when i wanted them giving me little jobs. I loved going camping with dad. Especially the last ward camp out. The tradition of doing scones in dutch ovens. When we were younger he'd come down to the beach and come swimming in the lake even though i bet he was tired. (when i come home can we go camping? maybe beach hike?) 2. What things that your father do for you were you the most grateful for? Dad shows his love for all of us through service. But i was always grateful when he verbalized it. When he would pay me a compliment or when he would tell me he loved me and gave me a hug and a kiss. I remember during me senior year being the only sibling living downstairs and dad would stay up really late on the computer finishing work related things. And before i went to bed i'd either come out and tell him I loved him and give him a kiss goodnight or holler it from my bedroom. And he'd always reciprocation or holler back. That meant the most to me because Dad didn't use to be so open with saying the phrase "i Love you". That's so sweet that Kay gave you a call. She mentioned my parents at the end of a lesson and i told her she could call you if she wanted. She is such a sweet women with such a desire to come back to church. She recently finished the Book of Mormon for the first time and is excited now to start reading from the Doctrine and Covenants. She just received a copy of the D&C and has never had an opportunity to read from its pages. Actually when we went to teach her we had planned on reading the fist chapter of the D&C but was pleasantly surprised to find out that she had already started. Reading the scriptures really does change people. When we first started, it was hard to help Kay understand the need to read from the scriptures. One of the issues she had with reading aside from putting actually picking it up, was understanding it. My companion and i promised that as she made the effort to read each day that the Lord would bless her in understanding. I know that the Lord has blessed Kay in the this very thing. I think she read the Book of Mormon in about two months. It is such a wonderful blessing to be able to be in instrument in the hands of god, and to recognize his tender blessings. its for Kay's granddaughters, two girls. They're between the ages of 4-6yrs. old. Doesn't need to be anything too fancy mom, i don't want to add stress especially if you're having to write a talk for father's day. Which when you finish writing could you send me a copy. I'd love to read it. We had a neat experience the other day right before our dinner appointment. We arrived to our dinner appointment quicker than we thought and had a some extra time on our hands. With the remaining time we decided to knock a few doors, making our way down to our dinner appointment. I was surprised when at the first door the individual very pleasantly said hello and welcomed us in before we even introduced ourselves. He was catholic, but had heard of the church because his sister was a member. We shared with him our purpose as missionaries and discussed our similar beliefs in Christ. Although he didn't care for a second appointment, I know that we were lead to that door for reason. This last week we had leadership training, and Elder Reall of the sixth quoram of the seventy (?) was there. I love attending these meetings. The spirit that is present, and the messages that are shared are exactly what i need to hear at that time in my life. Elder stewert, one of our AP's in his training asked us what purpose was. Immediately i started reciting in my head "our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel..." Though that point was addressed through out the discussion, Elder Stewert shared an insight that he had learned early on in his mission. He shared the statement, our purpose is to develop and strengthen our conversion to the gospel, to prepare for eternity and live in the presence of our Heavenly Father. This morning I read the talk given by Elder Halstrom from this last General Conf. Talk. He shared how important it is to be fully converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the its through church that we can obtain that conversion. That we can't be satisfied with just being active church members. I know that what Elder Halstrom has shared is true. That we can't just be active church goers. If that's all we're doing then we don't fully understand the Gospel. I know this church is true. That it was organized after the "same organization that existed the primitive church." And that as we attend church, fulfill our callings, read our scriptures, pray... and show our love to the lord that we can become converted to the gospel. And as we endure to the end that the blessings of Exaltation can be ours.

May 28th 2012 Memorial Day

The weather has been very hott. But what really gets you is the humidity. I have been told to be content with being wet and sticky all summer up until September/October. We have continued to be very busy. We have three new investigators as of last week, which is super exciting. We've lucked out because these three new investigators were all referrals from other missionaries. All were very receptive and said that we could come back and begin teaching them. Deb, who is one of our new investigators was found by the elders in st. Peters. They were volunteering at a thrift store when she found them. She had purchased a piece of furniture and asked them if they wouldn't mind coming with her to load and unload it from her car. They declined driving with her but told her they would come by later that day to unload it for her. When we met with her she told us about this experience about how the elders had come to her rescue. That she didn't think they would actually stop by to help. This made such an amazing impression upon her, and because of it had led her to look more into what we believe. Sherry is one of our other new investigators that we have been blessed to start teaching. She had previously met with sister missionaries but for some reason they had stopped coming and teaching her. She was born Baptist, Raised Catholic and is now kind of in lingo as far as what she believes(half catholic, half Baptist, kind of a cactus. :) Name that song?). She was really receptive when we first met and even her friend carol who was visiting at the time seemed somewhat interested. I can't wait to teach them later this week. For memorial day we went down to sun tan beach, Its a large acreage that our land lords' family owns. It used to be open for public swimming but too many people had drowned so they had to close it. We hit golf balls into the lake. I think i could take up golf when i come home. We also had fun driving around their riding mowers. And then the ward had a picnic down at blanchette park at noon that we had to hurry back . But that night we had dinner/fhe at sis. Larsens home and they took us out to Hibachi Grill which is this really nice Chinese buffet. And i tried mussels for the first time and then we all tried frog legs. The mussel wasn't bad, but i didn't enjoy the frog leg. I think it was because as i was eating it i kept imagining a live frog in my mind, that, and i could see tendon after i took a bite. Sister Randall had been out for all most two weeks now and is adjusting well to mission life. This week i have Leadership training so she'll be serving in Frontenac on Thursday with sister Crandall. I think that could make introductions a little interesting. :) Something i have understood, but have really come to know for myself is how valuable preparation time is in the morning. When I'm a couple minutes late to my personal study that throws the rest of my day off. It is so important to read and study from our scriptures everyday. That is how i prepare myself for those people god places in our path. And if I'm not prepared, i might pass them by, or god might not place them in path. I know this church is true and that it God is at the head of it. sister salmon