LIfe is Awesome!!

I leave the 17th of August for the Philippines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I haven't checked to see if I've mentioned this date before or not, if I'm being redundant I'm sure Brandon will let me know!!! lol, thanks brandon :) *blush*

Me oh my, I've seen the itinerary and man, is it ever going to be a LONG trip!! I'm so happy and excited though and can't believe that yes, I am actually doing this! The ministry bought my ticket in faith as I have around $1,000 out of the $2,500 and the $1,000 doesn't quite cover my ticket. So, please continue to pray that the Lord will continue to send financial support for my trip. Thank you!!!!!!!!

I'm moving out...

Well, it's not really as bad as the title sounds! I'm moving out, yet not really moving out! My last day of work is August 5 and I will be training Rebecca to take my place here at my desk so I decided to take all my personal decorations down in my office. I want to be able to let her make this are hers. When I was being trained the lady that trained me did the same thing. Before I came she took all of her personal things out of the office so that I could make the space mine. I've been at this desk for 2 years now and it may sound funny or strange but I almost have this feeling of sadness of taking my belongings out but you know I'm moving on with my goals and dreams and while I feel sad, I feel happy as well! I am just taking a leave of absence here at CL but when I come back I won't likely be in the office.

So, farewell, maybe forever to my desk, life keeps moving and I'm on the greatest adventure in life, serving God and when you serve Him you have everything you need!

Blessings...

In the midst of my busy life it's so easy to overlook the blessings that so bluntly stare me in the face! I've had several blessings so far that have happened to me since I've told people that I'm going to the Philippines. It is so neat, I've had people come up to me and tell me since they know I'm going with Laymen Ministries that they watched it on 3abn because of that reason!

One guy from our warehouse here wants me to take his best rain coat so I'll stay nice and dry and his wife really wants to send crayons and supplies like that for the kids. Anyone who has or currently works for a ministry knows that you don't get rich there and that people generally don't have much extra cash sitting around their house! It so amazing though because the people here where I work have generously opened up their hearts and their check books to this mission experience. Just this morning I opened up my desk drawer and in it was a $20 bill with a little note on it for my mission trip!!

It's so refreshing to see people come alive when they are able to get involved with supporting a missionary or a student missionary. It no longer becomes an experience for the person going overseas but it becomes a mission experience for everyone. We are the body of Christ and without the hands it can't touch, without the feet it can't walk, without the heart it cannot give. So, I've come to a beautiful conclusion that this mission experience is not mine alone but for the whole body of Christ to share in. If I can be an inspiration to just one person through this whole mission experience it will be well worth it. I don't want to have lived my life in vain only pleasing myself but sharing the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives us a commission, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Amen

It's getting closer....

My last day of work is August 5!! I still don't have an exact leave date yet but the day after my last day here at work, I fly out with the ministry to ASI so technically I'm not done with work until I get back from ASI. I'm getting nervous and excited and I was thinking last night that God has so many things that I know He is going to teach me through this whole missionary experience. Being single and not knowing anyone over there I know that I am going to learn complete dependence on God and I'm so thankful for this opportunity to do that. I know that I will only grow from going.

Another thing I can't wait for is to experience prayer meeting and church in the Philippines! I love worshiping overseas with the believers and that is one of the things I am really looking forward to! (besides eating mangoes!!!!!)

Please keep me in your prayers as I move forward in faith!

What to take, what not to take...

Well, I've been talking with the ministry and getting ideas of what to take and what not to take. My list of what to take may look something like this: ;)

*Bible & Journal
*My hydrotherapy notebook that I've compiled from my time at Wildwood
*Song book
*Bug spray
*Band aides (the ones there don't stick very good, I've been told)
*Bandanna
*Hat
*Around 10 changes of clothes
*Rain jacket
*Charcoal/Also something to put on cuts and bug bites..I've been told NOT to itch my bug bites!! Cuts infect very easily in tropical climates.
*Some shampoo & conditioner (they sell it but it comes in little bottles)
*I know you can buy soap there but Dove sensitive skin is my MOST FAVORITE kind in the whole wide world so there is going to be some in my suit case!!!!
*A few seasonings I can't get there like Country Life mock chicken seasoning, my favorite saucy ranch seasoning and a few cans of veggie hot dogs!!!

I'll be eating TONS of rice there and last night I was on the phone with the ministry and they were telling me which items I can buy there before I head out to my village and which items I might want to bring like some powdered soy milk, chicken seasoning, etc.

I'm sure this list will get longer the closer I get to packing my suitcase, wow, I can't believe this is actually happening!!! My lifelong dream is coming true!!! WOW!

One thing I won't have to pack.......RICE!!!!! lol

A few pics from my summer....

Me and my Papa on Father's Day...

We took the top of my tracker and went to the beach awhile back, it was A LOT of fun!!!!

My crazy brothers in the back of my tracker.... Shane is cute when he quits making faces, honestly!!!!

Bebby :)

Ben at the Father's Day Banquet where we were waiter and waitresses...

Our team :)

The food was out of this world...yes, we ate after we finished serving everyone!!!!

Cheers!



The beach is my favorite place in the whole world!



The blue sky..ah....

Oh yeah, more food from the banquet....Yummy!!

Lemon pie and mangoes, who could ask for more?

So long status quo.....

Inspiring song, Brave, by Nicole Nordeman that says what's in my heart. With God nothing is impossible!!!

~Brave~

The gate is wide
The road is paved to moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
It's safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been

Cuz it's been fear
That ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love
That cuts the strings

So long, status quo
I think I've just let go
You make me wanna be brave
The way it always was
It's no longer good enough
You make me wanna be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I'm spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
To say Your name
Just Your name, and I'm ready to go
Even ready to fall
Why did I take this fowl compromise
Why did I try to keep it all inside

I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame
And every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if You believe in me That changes everything

A Rich Reward....

A rich reward will be given to the true workers, who put all thereis of them into the work. There is no greater bliss on this side of heaventhan in winning souls to Christ. Joy fills the heart as the workers realizethat this great miracle could never have been wrought by human agencies, butonly through the One who loves souls ready to perish. The divine presence isclose beside every true worker, making souls penitent. Thus the Christianbrotherhood is formed. The worker and those worked for are touched with thelove of Christ. Heart touches heart, and the blending of soul with soul islike the heavenly [dialog] between ministering angels. Evangelism, p. 333

New Update ;)

Well, I know this may seem insignificant to some, but I did something that I wasn't sure I wanted to do but I knew, nevertheless, that I had to do it....I cut my hair....yeah.....I cut my hair...I've been growing it out now for a few years and it had gotten pretty long. As my Mom was chopping it off last night I wanted to cry but I knew that unless I want to have a lice community in my hair it would need to come off. Lice is a very common occurance there as well as heat, and since I won't have electricity, it will just be easier to keep shorter hair. It' doesn't look too bad, not that my Mom didn't do a good job, it's just I'm still trying to adjust to short hair again....It's going to be okay it's just things are setting in like, yes I will be leaving soon.....Pray for me!!!!!

I'M GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES!!!!

Hey Everyone!!!

I'm really excited and nervous but I've decided, with much prayer and a final decision from Laymen Ministries that yes, I am going to be going over the the Philippines as a student missionary to teach school in the jungle! I'm going to be posting updates as they come here on my blog so please stay tuned!

I contacted Laymen Ministries after they already started the school season there in June but I didn't know that. When I contacted them they were very interested in me because they needed only one more teacher to go over. Well, after going through my references they decided that yes, indeed they wanted me to go over,and even though the school year has begun, to help with the rest of the school year! I do, however, need to raise $2,500 to cover my ticket and a small stipend while I am there. I'm going to include my fundraising letter in this post. I will be leaving soon, I don't have an exact date as of yet but I trust everything will work out for God's will and glory. Please keep me in your prayers as I step out in this new adventure in my life and please consider supporting me in this new phase of my life as I seek to reach out to the children in the Philippines. Missions has always been something very important to me and now I finally have the opportunity to go as a student missionary. Praise God!


Hello to all,

I hope this letter finds each of you resting in the knowledge of God's incredible gift. God has been leading my life in amazing ways this past year. Some time ago, I made the decision to take a year out of school and serve as a student missionary. Through a series of events this last semester, God opened up the door for me go work in the Philippines with an organization known as Laymen Ministries teaching school with a very remote Iraya Katutubo tribe in the Northwestern tip of the island of Occidental Mindoro. Laymen Ministries is a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and has mission projects worldwide.

The native Iraya tribe of Mindoro has historically been a nomadic, hunter/gatherer people living in small family groups in the jungle. Their lives were simple and their possessions few because the forest supplied everything they needed. Being shy and historically totally uneducated, the Katutubo were easy prey for the "majority population", who used their shyness, superstitions and lack of education to exploit them as well as destroy the land that gives them their livelihood.

Laymen Ministries started working among these people in 1996. The project with the Iraya Katutubo tribe in the Northwestern tip of the island has had three areas of emphasis: education, health and community development and evangelism. Conditions in the Katutubo villages are terrible. Disease, malnutrition, illiteracy, ignorance, exploitation, illegal logging and fishing are devastating both the lives and livelihoods of the Katutubos. The ministry’s goal is to bring freedom in Christ through education. There are currently 4 elementary schools and a high school, organized as Katutubo Excel Schools (KES), working toward this goal.

It is very exciting to watch as God unfolds my life in His perfect timing. As preparations for the Philippines unfold, I have been reminded again and again of the verse in Proverbs: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” At times, it is tempting to feel overwhelmed with all of the details involved and the responsibilities that wait for me in the Philippines, but I am peaceful with the assurance that God has led us thus far and will be faithful to the end. As part of our preparation for the coming year of student missions, Laymen Ministries has asked each of us to raise a total of $2500. This money will be used to pay for our tickets as well as supply us with a modest stipend throughout our stay. If you would like to help me financially, I would be very grateful. Even more important than your financial support, however, is your prayers. Please pray that we can be used effectively to further His work in the Philippines this coming year. Please address donations to the following address, specifying that this be for (Jessica Salmon) Student Missionary project:
Laymen Ministries
414 Zapada Rd
St. Maries, ID 83861

Letter from God to Woman

I don't know who wrote this but it's beautifully amazing! Enjoy!


When I created the heavens and the earth, I spoke them into being.When I created man, I formed him and breathed life into his nostrils.

But you, woman, I fashioned after I breathed the breath of life into man because your nostrils are too delicate.I allowed a deep sleep to come over him so I could patiently and perfectly fashion you. Man was put to sleep so that he could not interfere with the creativity.

From one bone, I fashioned you. I chose the bone that protects man's life.I chose the rib, which protects his heart and lungs and supports him, as you are meant to do. Around this one bone, I shaped you.... I modeled you. I created you perfectly and beautifully.

Your characteristics are as the rib, strong yet delicate and fragile. You provide protection for the most delicate organ in man, his heart. His heart is the center of his being; his lungs hold the breath of life. The rib cage will allow itself to be broken before it will allow damage to the heart.
Support man as the rib cage supports the body.You were not taken from his feet, to be under him, nor were you taken from his head, to be above him. You were taken from his side, to stand beside him and be held close to his side.

You are my perfect angel.....You are my beautiful little girl.You will or have grown to be a splendid woman of excellence, and my eyes fill when I see the virtues in your heart.
Your eyes......don't change them. Your lips-how lovely when they part in prayer. Your nose, so perfect in form. Your hands, so gentle to touch.I've caressed your face in your deepest sleep.I've held your heart close to mine. Of all that lives and breathes, you are most like me.
Adam walked with me in the cool of the day, yet he was lonely. He could not see me or touch me. He could only feel me. So everything I wanted Adam to share and experience with me, I fashioned in you; my holiness, my strength, my purity, my love, my protection and support. You are special because you are an extension of me.

Man represents my image, woman my emotions.Together, you represent the totality of God