Welcome to Lackland: Airforce Base in San Antonio

Well Family. I'm not in Kanses anymore.

But, really. I'm now in San Antonio and cover two small branches.  The first is the Palo Alto YSA Branch in the San Antonio Stake, and the other is the Lackland Branch on the Lackland AIR FORCE BASE.  WHOOO! It is SO cool. We can't go on to tract, we can only go on for Church on Sundays and then FHE and Institute on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but man, it is cool. We're working mostly with Basic Training units and we teach the Gospel Principles class every week. In a class of about 25-35 people, about half of them are non-members who come with friends. It is a really neat experience to be working on base with them. We also teach the Preach My Gospel lessons afterward to people who are interested in learning more.

So most of our work during the week is going to be with the Palo Alto YSA Branch. Becasue it's a YSA Branch, there isn't really spacific places we can go to contact people, so most of our work is going to be with less-actives and with referrals. The last couple of days have been rough staring at maps and trying to figure out boundries. We've also made a bajillion phone calls trying to meet with memebers and less-actives so that we can get grips on the Branch.

  

Hermana Young. My dear new companion whom I'm training. She is AWESOME. She laughs a lot with me loves learning and calms me down as we drive through the heart of San Antonio. Which by the way is CRAZY. On the way to our apartments from the church after transfers, we had to load a bajillion suitcases, three bikes, two Hermans and two Elders into the car and then make our 30 mile exodus to where we live. Ummm okay. Welcome to driving in San Antonio Cheyenne. Our car was so back heavy and we ended up having about 1.5 inches of clarence between the ground and te bottom of our bike rack. Needless to say I had a lot anticipation for future driving. But each  day it gets easier to follow the GPS, and knowing where we need to go and which roads are one way and all the good things of driving in a big city. 

PS, buying a GPS saved my life. Really. I shudder at the thought of where on earth-or Texas-we would be if we didn't have a little driving route displayed right in front of us.

The Elders we've been working with have been fantastic. Even though we didn't have an area book or a lot of information about the area when we came in, they've been working with us and helping us find information.

I'm sad to leave San Marcos and all of the wonderful people behind, but there is so much work and potential to be done here in our area. There's not a whole lot more to tell you right now. Our lives will consist of phone calls and meetings and maps and address for the next couple of days.

Well friends and family. Take Luck.

Lovingly, Hermana Montgomery

Transferred, Doubled in, and Training. WwHhAaTt?!

Yes. You read right. Transfer calls came. I'm leaving San Marcos.

I received a call from President Jones last Wednesday, talking about my driving record and approving me to drive. At the end of the conversation, President Jones said "good we got that worked out, cause we need you to drive.." I had not paid attention to that last part very well, because then I was like "huh??" and he started laughing and said "thought you'd got something good out of me huh?" After telling the rest of my district since we'd just finished our district meeting, they got all excited and talking about me having to train. They got a kick out of my terrified face I guess.

But lo. Transfer Calls came. After a whole day of panicked worry, President Jones called us. Family, I'm being doubled in. And I'm training a new missionary. Not really sure how I feel right now. Sister Leavitt and Sister Miller were screaming and laughing as my jaw hit the floor while President Jones was talking. I'm not sure why everyone finds my expressions of distress so entertaining.

So yeah. Big news.  This week we had a lot of first lessons, hopefully they'll continue on and keep learning. One girl, Sara, she's 2-years-old and has a 3-year-old son. She is SO cool. We talked to her, gave her a card and set up a time to come back. When we came back the next day, she told us about how she went on mormon.org and talked with someone about prayer. She loved the idea of the Book of Mormon, and says she can feel the power of it just by holding it in her hands. She is the most prepared and open person I've met so far on my mission. Sometimes, it feels like we're just trying to convince people that the Book of Mormon is true, and Joseph really was a prophet of God. But when they are prepared fully, they are really to accept and learn about it. It was really neat to hear about her reading it and praying about it. She said that she's felt peace like she's never felt before. We're so excited for her to continue learning.  We got to go down to San Antonio for a conference where Elder Tad Callister came to speak to us. We got to go the the Temple and walk around it since it wasn't open. It was so nice. It looks a LOT like our Temple back home. So I felt a bit like I was home. Maybe all Temples feel like home though. Could be.

BABY. I knew it.  Afternoon-Sister Leavitts birthday ps- I was eating lunch right before weekly planning, and I was like "I bet Jed and Katie are going to have their baby today." ooh-OOH! Nailed it. Caleb. Good name. Oh guys, I'm SO excited for you! And mom and dad, signing your letter "Grandma and Grandpa Montgomery" messed me all up, and got me confused. I was like "wait, this was from my mom and dad...not...oh."

Well, that's about it for this week. Not really, but that's about all the time for this week. Never enough time. Kiss that baby for me. Hug the kids for me. Maybe I'll be in a family ward now. I miss the noise.

Take Luck!

Hermana Montgomery III

If The Book of Mormon were Called "The Book of Nephi" instead, would we then be called Nephites..?

That is the question I sat up and asked Sister Leavitt grinning this morning in the middle of Personal study. Funny thought.

HAPPY GRADUATION JUBILEE! HAPPY ANNIVERARY JADIE AND MOM AND DAD!

I don't really think I'll ever get use to how fast time flys here. I hit my four month mark. Oh WOW.

This week I:

1.  Taught eight first lessons.
2. Reached over 100 degrees.
3. Sweated buckets from said heat.
4. Gave away four Book of Mormons to people we talked with on the street.
5. Backed the car out a million times.
6. Attended Institute class for the first time.
7. And Found out I got a 9% on the Mission Spanish test (native speakers fail this test, and most missionaries take it 2-6+ times to pass it. I thought I would get like a 3%).

It's been an eventful week. Whew.  We decide to go and see a past investigator that Sister Wright had let go of right before we got into Texas. We weren't really sure why, and we didn't know if we would have time that night, but we decided to stop by. We knocked on her door, and after a while we figured she wasn't home. Then the dorr opened and she peeked out. Then she said "Weird." I was a bit confused at first, but then she stepped outside more and said "I was just reading the Mormon Book!" She invited us in and she talked about how only minutes before we knocked she had picked up the Book of Mormon, knowing that it was what she needed to do. She was asking herself if she would have to courage to go back to church alone, right as we knocked on her door.

I don't believe in Chance. Nope. not one Bit. God is real.

We invited her to come to institute class the next day, and we met her there, thus,I attended my first non-seminary/non-BYUI Book of Mormon class. She LOVED it. Who'm I kidding, I LOVED IT. She brought a notebook to take notes, and the next day when we met with her, she raved about how great it was and how much more she knows now. We invited her to pray about setting her own Baptismal date, adn she said that she would. That night we also shared Elder Hollands talk "The First Great Commandment"  from last October Conference. I might have needed that talk more than she did. Just in case y'all don't remember it, or need an extra pick me up today, or a call back to reality and what is important, here is the link.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-first-great-commandment?lang=eng

Y'all can even watch it for FHE or something. It's deffinitally a favorite. Forever. My favorite line was

'If ye love me, keep my commandments,' Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection f Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian ife, not the end of it. It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a handful of Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without ' single synagogue or sword' to  leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of the world in which we now live."

I love the Gospel.  If I have learned anything on my mission so far, it is of gaining a firmer and stronger testimony of the reality and truth of Christ's restored Gospel. The Gospel is true. Nothing else Matters. Leave those nets.

This week we also had a lesson with a lessactive member, and we talked about having a perfect day. Do you remember that lesson that Sister Armatige gave last summer Mom? I'll share the recipe for those of you who don't know.
A PERFECT DAY:

1. Pray every morning and night.
2. Read your scriptures every day.
3. One act of sincere act of service.
4. Set one goal of your choice for that day, and then accomplish it.

So we shared that with her, and for each step, we did it. We prayed with her, we read the scriptures with her, walked her dogs outside with her for her mom, and then we encouraged her to set and reach one goal for that day. By the end, she was smiling and happy.

Well, family. I think that's about all for this week. Keep the letters rolling. Transfer calls come. SAY WHAT?! I don't know how to cope with the time going so fast.

Until Next week!
Con Amor,

Su hija,
Hermana Montgomery