The Tenacious Missionary

Melissa Martinez Salomon spent her early childhood in a small town in the mountains of New Mexico. No one spoke English, all the radio and television stations were in Spanish. The town was close to an Apache reservation. Her grandparents owned a bar and did not have a lot of money, but they always helped people in need in their community. Melissa eventually moved to California to live with her mother, who was a single parent. She lived in a crime ridden neighborhood where a drive by...
More Description

Melissa Martinez Salomon spent her early childhood in a small town in the mountains of New Mexico. No one spoke English, all the radio and television stations were in Spanish. The town was close to an Apache reservation. Her grandparents owned a bar and did not have a lot of money, but they always helped people in need in their community. Melissa eventually moved to California to live with her mother, who was a single parent. She lived in a crime ridden neighborhood where a drive by shooting killed a neighbor. She excelled in school and received a scholarship to Occidental College and eventually received her law degree from Loyola Marymount in CA. After law school, Melissa worked as an intern for a California Senator, hoping to help the poor and Hispanic people, but became disillusioned with politics. Then she became involved in the El Redentor Spanish Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. Melissa was asked to speak at an LWML Conference due to the great work she had accomplished in her Spanish speaking church. This propelled her to more involvement in mission work through the LWML and then as a missionary in Tijuana. Melissa still serves in various positions in local, district and national LWML committees and boards.