YOMO

Dear family,

Happy Memorial Day! It has been a great toasty day here in Mesa. Today we played sports at the big mission sports activity and then went to a place called CiCi's for lunch. It's an all you can eat pizza and salad place. It's a little ghetto, but it was good. Now that I think about Memorial Day I am reflecting on those who came before me who have influenced me and helped me become who I am. I want to thank each of you for your great examples and what you've taught me.

I almost just sprained my ankle walking off a curb and I feel like the Lord protected me because I've never been so close to hurting my ankle before. So many blessings!

Lots of things happened this week! It's been life changing for me. Tuesday was zone conference and I was praying to have a change of heart and be able to find what the Lord wants me to do at this point of my mission. During that meeting the Spirit taught me what I need to do. Even though I still have a lot to improve and change, I feel so full of hope because I'm becoming a lifelong missionary, I'm a lifelong disciple of the Lord. A mission is a perfect place to change and become more Christlike because the Spirit is so strong here, but I don't have to stress about becoming perfect here. I'm becoming more consecrated as I give my will to The Lord. Another thing I learned is that if we ever feel stuck in life, all we need to do is apply the Atonement. We can turn to Heavenly Father and He will show us what we can do to exercise our faith and change (repent). He will send His Spirit to comfort us in times when we need to change. This is what I'm experiencing!

My zone also got to sing in zone conference! We sang he EFY medley and it was really fun! We sang the same song at a fireside last night. We got to take people around and give tours right before the fireside. We meet the funniest people... One old black guy who only had one leg kept telling us that he has never sinned in his life. Also, we just saw an old guy roller skate down the sidewalk in boxer shorts, dancing and swinging his arms. Oh boy.

Another funny thing that happened is at our 85 recent convert gave us a fruit and marshmallow salad that tasted like it had mayo in it and Sister Evans couldn't handle the colored marshmallows so this was our conversation over the iPad notes that we sent back and forth...

Do you like colored marshmallows? Yes
Will you eat mine?!!!! They are my nemesis
I so owe you

We distracted her and then traded plates. That was a bonding experience for us... Oh the joys. I love how silly Sister Evans is. She makes things fun and helps me to not be so serious all the time. Our relationship is growing even stronger and it is one of the best companionships I've ever had. I love how open and honest we are with each other and how we are both experienced so we have lots of ideas. She has made such a difference for me because she has helped me talk through some things and she encourages me. I feel more prepared for marriage because of what I'm learning this transfer.

Another funny thing is that we brought our cute Japanese investigator a large print Book of Mormon and taught her about it and she kissed it when we left. She is so cute! We felt pretty successful that she wanted to read it so much.

I have felt a lot better since I've been able to run in the mornings. I've also been drinking more water, so I'm feeling better overall.

A special experience I had was on exchanges I got to teach a man named Jerry in a care center. He really wants to be baptized and he won't live much longer. It just made everything we taught that much more real and important. It was inspiring to see how humble he is.

We picked more citrus this week! Since it's so late in the year it's mostly rotten, but there's still lots of it. Something I realized because there are so many opportunities for service in its area is that I am mean to be here right now. The Lord knew that I would be eager and able to work hard picking citrus and doing yard work every week. Usually it ends up being about 4 hours a week that we do service. I'm grateful that my strength is able to help the work progress, the lady we met on the street and offered to do service for came to church yesterday and now we are teaching her! That night we just felt prompted to go to that neighborhood and we saw her.

Something else interesting that happened is that our washer broke. The spin cycle wasn't working so we didn't have clean clothes. Then when the repair guy came he left a funny note.. "Ello ladies, the washer is fixed." We have so much fun in our apartment! We had a movie night the other night and watched half of 17 Miracles and ate popcorn till bedtime.

This week I have learned to love he scriptures more. I am thirsting more for the joy of making them a part of my life and understanding them in a way that will change me. I am starting to understand repenting daily. I love the constant improvement that comes from being open to correction, both from the Spirit and my companion. I am improving my study and learning to ponder more.

Pamela is getting baptized this Saturday!!! She's the one that's super prepared and knows more than we do about the Bible. She is excited and we are too!!! She has so much faith and. She makes me want to be better.

Another thing I've been learning is how important agency is and that we choose to act instead of being acted upon. Acting as an agent is crucial for exercising faith, for repenting, for taking the sacrament and really renewing our covenants, for serving others, for developing Christlike attributes, for learning from the Spirit, so pretty much for everything! We need to continually ask the Lord what He would have us do.

One final thought: the reason the church and the Lord emphasize missionary work so much is because a great indicator of conversion is a desire to share the gospel and the opposite is also true. As we share the gospel with love and testify of truth, we want to be more converted to The Lord. In emphasizing missionary work, the Lord is really seeking that the members will be more converted and that all of us will come closer to Christ. As we know the God and Jesus Christ better and become more like them and are closer to them, that's when we ha he greatest joy, the kind of joy that we just can't keep to ourselves.

Have a great week!! Keep studying preach my gospel and telling me about your missionary experiences!!

 P.s. YOMO means you're only a missionary once and it's our motto for this transfer. We are going to make the best of every day and take chances.

I love you all!!!! Thanks for your prayers!!!

Love, Sister Sallstrom

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Pictures included with this letter:

May 25, 2014 - Pictures at church

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May 26, 2014 - Sister missionaries