February 21, 2011: Mama Americana

Hola Familia!
This week has been great! The rain has finally let up a bit and the weather has been absolutely beautiful! I feel so happy everyday, walking and enjoying the weather. It feels like Arizona in the spring so I feel quite at home. And the reason for my title of the email, "Mama Americana" is becuase there is this song we hear all the time on the radio called, "Papa Americano". The other day one of our Mamitas had it playing when we arrived for lunch and we joked that I am "Mama Americana". Is that song playing in the states? Well this week has been full of ups and downs. It's been a little hard because all of our baptisms have fallen through and everyone says that they love to have us come and teach them and learn more, but they don't want to change. I have to respect that, but it makes me so sad because I want them to feel the joy that I feel in the gospel and the blessings that come from it. One sweet lady named Delia always makes us tamales and empanadas (my favorite thing here!) and she lives right by us. She has this friend who always tells her terrible things about God and how He only wants to save a few of us, that there are only so many spots reserved in heaven. And then she told us the other day that she feels so different when we are talking to her, but that she just can't change. It is sad. But the wonderful thing is that we taught bastante lecciones (lots of lessons!) this week and found many more new people to teach that are wonderful! I don't always understand the reasons for things when we pray and fast and do all we can and then things don't turn out the way we want, but my companion and I were talking that we have seen so many other blessings this week in the work. We were thinking that the Lord maybe wants us to remember this is HIs work and not ours and that we just need to focus on loving people despite the outcome. Jake told me this a while ago and I am finally beginning to understand. Thanks Jake!
I wanted to share a part of another conference talk that has meant so much to me that kinda relates to my week. It's the talk called "Rest unto Your Souls" by Elder Per G. Malm. He shares the scripture in Matt 11: 28-29 that says, " Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Then he quotes Pres. Joseph F. Smith saying, " To my mind it means entering into the knowledge and love of God, having faith in his purpose and his plan, to such an extent that we know we are right, and that we are not hunting for something else, we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine, or by the ccunning craftiness of men who lie in wait to decieve. We know of the doctrine that is of God and we do not ask any question of anybody about it; they are welcome to their opinions and to their ideas. The man who has reached that degree of faith in God that all doubt and fear have been cast from him, he has entered into God's rest." I love that so much. I love that it says that when we are in the rest of God, we are not hunting for anything else, and we have faith in his plan so much so that we don't doubt or fear. I love that so much and that is how we can feel more peace in this life. It's true.
A few other things... Sadly, I think I will be leaving Loja in two weeks (the next change) for the office in Guayaquil to start my duties as the nurse. I am not for sure, but I have a hunch. I am excited, but sad to leave these people we've been working so hard with and I have sure grown to love each of them. But the good news is (for some!) is that it is HOT as can be there. Thanks for the offer in sending me more clothes mom, but I think I will be wishing I had a swimsuit in two weeks!
So the last feew weeks I have had about 10 water balloons thrown at me and it's not even Carnival! Ha, it's actually quite hilarious. Good thing that only 2 of them were direct hits and only water inside (thank goodness!). I think they all have an eye out for Mama Americana because I am quite the target! I am not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous for Carnival next month!
I gave my first talk in church yesterday and I think the members should all get a big gold star for not laughing or leaving! I bet my spanish was quite funny, but I got through it and I hope I don't have to give one for a while! But it was a good experience.
Also our house smells so bad! Last night my companion and I had to move our mattresses into the main part of the house becuse our room smells like dirty diapers...seriously! So we went and got our neighbor today and and she told us our house smells so bad because our neighbor has lots of dead rats in her backyard. EW! She said the smell should go away in about 8 days. Ha, good times.
I love you all and I pray for you always. I know this church is true!
always,
Hermanita Salmon

February 14, 2011: Mas Pictures

1. This is Hermana Morán and I (my cute companion from Colombia) is that how you spell that?

2. Us with the other Hermanas in Loja...Hermana Chamberlain (love her, the blonde) and her new comp Hermana Robison

3. Us with the niños in the neighborhood that always run up to us and hug us.

4. The FHE last night...I love these people

5. Happy Valentine´s Day!!

February 14, 2011: Uno Mas

Hola mi familia bonita!

I am so sad to hear that so many of you are under the weather! That stinks! I hate being sick, it ruins everything. But I´m glad you are going to celebrate soon enough when everyone is back up and running again. Mom, I hope you get better so you can visit Lara! I know they are so excited to see you. I´ll pray real hard for your health.

Everything here is going so great! Honestly, I couldn´t be happier...well except if you all were here. But I love being a missionary. This week was great and I feel like I am learning so much every day. I ´don´t know if I told you this story, but we were with Lupe and Dayana and during Dayana´s prayer she said, "Thank you that we could find the true church." Ha! I felt like jumping up and shouting "Hallelujah!" I felt so happy and I felt my testimony of this gospel burn even more inside me. This is why I´m here! Keep praying for them to get baptized because they are so wonderful but they have some challenges ahead of them. And this week, my companion and I both noticed how different Lupe is. She is smiling more and she seems so happy and that makes ME happy! And we have been noticing great things happening here among the people. The people here are very closed and don´t like to talk about personal things. So we have been praying that they could open up their hearts to us and this week it happened. Many of our investigators opened up and started asking questions and started wanting answers. We were so happy. One of our investigators, Dilsia and her children finally came to church with us this sunday after quite a long time of great hesitancy. She really was so attentive the whole time. Please pray for them to feel the truth of this church and have a desire to be baptized. I wish I could put the feelings in my heart in their hearts for a few minutes and so they can know the happiness and blessings that await them and their families in this church through the saving ordinances. I sure love them. Also, we have been having "Family Home Evenings" with many of the members and practicing with them how to share their testimonies with their friends. The members are really opening up as well and we have great hope for many of their freinds to come to the gospel. Last night, we had a Family Night where many of the members shared their conversion stories so some of our investigators could hear and gain strength. It was a wonderful night because all of them there last night were converts and their stories were inspirational!

Everything else is great, I am so happy. It is a little chilly here, but nothing I can´t handle! I usually sleep with my hoodie on, with the hood over my head and during the day, I wear my work out capris under my skirts! Ha, my little secret! And the mittens are a life-saver!!! I LOVE them and they arrived just in time. Thank you so much! And as for the ant colonies, I can proudly say the ants have vanished! Those little ant houses are miracle workers. I am no longer enjoying a bowl of cereal with ants as a side-dish! Thanks mom! And as for the familia Narea with the man who was drunk in the street...we have shared with them again about the power of Christ´s Atonement and they really felt the spirit but I think they have been hurt so much over time, they don´t believe the Atonement can help them, which makes me so sad. We have a hard time finding them at home and haven´t been able to teach them this week. One quote that I found in the General Conference Issue of the Ensign that I absolutely love is,¨"Not one of you has thrown away your last chance. You can change, you can come back, you can claim mercy. Come unto the only One who can heal and you will find peace¨" I know that´s true. That is by Elder Patrick Kearon. I love this gospel and I know it´s true. I love you all. Thank you for your love and support!

Always,

Hermanita Salmon

February 7, 2011: Dreaming in Spanish

I had my first dream where I spoke spanish last night and I woke
up feeling so excited!! It means that it is actually penetrating my
brain cells! Wahoo!

February 7, 2011: Pictures

Photo 1 This is of me and Hermana Garlock in Guayaquil a few weeks ago! We were so happy to see each other, but remember, this picture was taken at about 7 in the morning after a long night on the bus...excuse my looks..hehe
2. Me in my cute new shirt from mom and dad with a map of our sector
3. Hermano Jaime Hidalgo and Hermana Melba helping Carlos get ready for his baptism.
4.The 2 best buddies...Carlos on the left and Jeronimo on the right.

February 7, 2011: Just Singin' & Dancin' in the Rain

Family,
Hey all! This week has been really great and full of LOTS of rain!
I´m so glad I have my rain jacket because it has come in quite handy.
Don´t worry though, I have not washed away just yet. Everything is
going well. We are teaching Lupe and her daughter Diana and they are
excited for a baptism the 19th of this month! I love teaching them
because they are so excited about the gospel and it reminds me that
that is how the gospel should be to all of us. We should be excited
to read the scriptures, look forward to our conversations in prayer
with our Heavenly Father, and anticipate our time in church to take
the sacrament and worship our God and His son Jesus Christ. This week
we showed the video"Finding Faith in Christ" to a family and the
spirit testified so strongly to me of the reality of the Savior and
his mission here on earth. He really does have the power to conquer
all. He is real. He lives. He overcame all things and so with him, we
can overcome all things too. I have been reading this talk by Elder
Scott from the last conference that I encourage everyone to ready. Its
about strengthening our character through our faith. I love that. I
want to be a person of strong character who is not even tossled by a
trial. I am truly inspired by his words.

I sure love you all. This church is so true and I feel the
reality of it burn within me as I bear testimony of it to people who
don´t know the light of this gospel. The light of the gospel is truly
brighter than any darkness we will face in this life if we but have
the faith to believe and go forward into the unknown.
always,
kate

A note from Kate

I can´t recieve emails anymore from people outside of the immediate family...tear...so please pass it along! Thanks everyone for your letters! They sure help and make me feel so happy! Sure love you all!

January 31, 2011: My Family

My little Family,
Well this week has been quite interesting! We were supposed to
have changes on Sunday night, but for some reason, we didn´t get
changes until Wednesday night! So Hermana Chamberlain and I had quite
a few sleepovers in between our two houses and we spent lots of time
in between our two sectors. I really loved my time with her and it was
quite a tender mercy from the Lord for both of us. We feel the changes
took forever as a blessing for us! We really had a lot of fun and she
is a powerful teacher, so I felt priviledged to learn from her and
teach with her. She has become a great friend. We had some funny
stories this week that I thought I´d share! First of all, on Sunday
night as we were getting into our beds, I remembered that Hna
Chamberlain had said once that she thought they had some kind of bugs
in their beds because she had bites all over. So as I was laying
there, I seriously could feel little bugs on my legs because I was
wearing shorts. Ha, so as we were laying there, in the dark talking, I
said "Do you feel sometimes like bugs are crawling on you?" She
laughed and said no and kept talking. Then as I was telling a story,
she interrupted me and said, "Side note, I just felt bugs crawl across
my knee!" I said, "Do you want to turn on the lights and see who is in
our bed?" and she said, "No because I won´t want to get back in!" Ha,
we started laughing so hard and agreed that we´d better just make nice
with the bed bugs. And you can be sure we said to each other that
night, "Sleep tight, don´t let the bed bugs bite!" Don´t worry though,
we only had a few bites the next morning and had a good laugh over
that night. At least I don´t have to sleep there always! Later that
day I got stung by a bee for the first time! It´s okay, he´s gone to a
better place now. It was the day of bugs.
My new companion has arrived and she is just wonderful! Her name is
Hermana Morán from Colombia. She is excited about the work and she is
so kind. I really love her. I was a little nervous for my next
companion because this week at District meeting, I made some pretty
high goals for us because we have not been having much success here.
They are all really great and wonderful people. I am so happy because she is a
great missionary and wants to work hard! I really feel that this is
the Lord´s work and we can reach our goals if we only tune ourselves
to him to find those who are ready for the gospel. One day though,
this week, we had a pretty cool thing happen. We were walking at night
after some of our appointments fell through and this man in his 40´s
was walking behind us. We decided to move out of the way and as we
stepped onto the street, he called out to us through his tears and
said, "How can I change? Please help me change. I want to change. I
have failed my family." I still haven´t figured out how he knew we
could help him because he couldn´t see our tags, but we stopped to
talk to him for a minute. I was a little (very) scared because he was
a grown man crying in the street and it was very dark outside. But he
said he lived close and that his wife and kids were home and that he
wanted us to teach them. So we followed them home (don´t worry, we
took good precautions) and as we sat down with his family, we found
out he is an alcoholic and his family has lost hope. He said he wanted
to kill himself. We then taught him and his wife and daughter many
things, but first of all, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We told him
that through the power of the Atonement, he could be forgiven of his
sins and he could overcome this addiction. We told him it would be
hard, but all can be made right again. The Atonement is powerful
enough to overcome any trial, doubt, or heartache we have if we just
believe and exercise our faith through keeping the commandments even
when we don´t fully understand them at first. Our faith is also
manifest in saying our prayers, going to church, and serving others.
The next day we returned and he said that he had not drunken all day
and he was very jittery. We are praying very hard for him and his
family. We know they are all feeling great heartache right now in
their lives from the decision of their father. But we taught them that
all can be made right again if they only believe.
Everything else is great. The church is true and it continues to
change me every day. I love my Savior and I know his Atonement is
strong enough for anything we need in our lives. It´s real. I don´t
understand it completely, but I have felt the affects of its power in
my life. I know I am different because of it.
I love you all!
-Hermana Salmon