August 16th Email

hey everyone

this week has been so good and has had it downs but that's just how life goes. i was able to give a baptism interview to a woman named cheryl coming up in the palm harbor ward. i was able to meet her before and even visit when i was up on exchanges with elder johnson and she is awesome. we got through the interview and then i asked her to bear her testimony and she did and gave her conversion story. her husband is a member and she has been hunted down by missionaries for the past few years but she started coming to church with her kids and they both wanted to raise their kids in the church but couldn't figure it out. one day the kids in primary got a sign they made of Christ they would hold up when they made a right choice. her kids used it all week. every time they would make a good choice they would hold it up and scream good choice! and then she knew this was for real. she cried and she told me their haven't been any missionaries that made her cry ha. my eyes were all watered up but i used all my might to not shed a tear and i told her that and i also told her that it wasn't me, it was the spirit and it was so strong right now. ann who we set a date with for this upcoming sunday didn't come to church so we are gonna visit her today and see whats goin on. and we will have to push back her date to the 28th. a member took us out to eat at skyline chili. if you haven't had it you need to asap! he ordered for us and we had about 3 pounds of food per plate and i ate it all! thats right folks i pounded it like it was nothin and paid for it later! haha. we were able to teach 32 lessons at doors this past week. and it was all because we tracted off of martin luther king blvd. i felt like a minister haha black people in groups sitting out in the yard or the porch were letting us teach and i was very enthusiastic and preached with the power of the holy ghost baby!! it was just a spiritual high i loved it!! so now comes the rays game. i freaking love baseball!! our investigator scott took us to the game and paid for everything! it was unreal! there really is no words to explain it. me and scott are hitting it off cuz he was that jock type too and he wanted to know how the mormons raised such great youth and how they have their standards and morals in check and it was just a great enviroment to teach. thursday was my year mark!! and i burned and shirt and a tie and we had a whole big ceremony in the church parking lot in the evening and elder johnson drew on the shirt before it was burned it was awesome. i'll be sending the pics and video home shortly. i wanna share a story that bro tippett who is our 2nd counselor in the bishopric. we were talking about humility and in his last ward they were handing out the new home teaching assignments and a less active had shown up for the first time in a long time and the elder's quorum president pulled this less active aside after and felt impressed to commit him to do some home teaching. this brother refused and was very strongly against it. he began to chew out the elder's quorum president for even thinking of asking him to do such a thing. the elder's quorum president begged him over and over again to just take one family. this brother stormed out and refused this opportunity. before the next sunday this brother had lost his job and was diagnosed with cancer. i'm not telling you this to scare you into doing your home teaching or calling. i'm telling you this because the Lord has asked us to be humble. just like in Alma 32. blessed are ye that humble yourselves and he also says blessed are ye that are compelled to be humble. brothers and sisters please don't be those that need to be compelled to be humble. if i have learned anything on my mission it is this. recognize the everyday small blessings in your life. don't forget where those things come from. our Heavenly Father loves us but he wants to be humble and remember him in all that we do. so what my challenge is to you is just to stand back, look around, i promise that you all are tremendously blessed. if nothing else you have the true gospel in your life. don't let the worldly things cloud your head and make it big. the Lord will humble you. learn and humble yourselves. i testify things to you and want you to know that i know they are true in the name of Jesus Christ Amen

elder salmon