"What Is Said Is Not As Important As What We Hear And What We Feel"

Dear Family,

How are y'all? I loved the pictures Jed! Your baby has BLUE eyes...who'da thought(Editorial note, Jed's wife Katie has blue eyes.)? Pictures are always welcome to my inbox :)

HAPPY HUMP WEEK! ...last week... I've passed my half way point, weird...time sure does fly. Three out of the four Sisters in my apartment came out to gether, Sister Lund my companion, Sister Pond, who was in the MTC with me, and Me. So we all celebrated hitting our nine months together. It was fun :)

On Monday last week,  I was having a rough day, and all I wanted was a nice stack of letters to be sitting in the mailbox for me. When we checked that night, I had not a letter, but a large envelope waiting for me. I got the new ensign from Sharlan that day with all of the conference talks. So I got 42 God-sent inspirational and personal letters in one large envelope. So my personal study, lunch and dinner and after planning hours have been consumed with studying all of the new conference talks. They've really been speaking to my heart this week, and they were very much needed. I encourage y'all to read them. Because they were written and prepared for you. Thank you Sharlan, you always know when to send things :)

My favorite talk so far has been Elder Bednar's The Windows of Heaven. His words have always seemed  to hit home with me, I just "get it" more when I read what he's prepared. One of my favorite parts read:

"We may need and pray for help to find suitable employment. Eyes and ears of faith (see Ether12:19) are needed, however, to recognize the spiritual gift of enhanced discernment that can empower us to identify job opportunities that many other people might overlook—or the blessing of greater personal determination to search harder and longer for a position than other people may be able or willing to do. We might want and expect a job offer, but the blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater capacity to act and change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else."

What I read was:

"We may need and pray for help to find [people to share the gospel with]. Eyes and ears of faith (see Ether 12:19) are needed, however, to recognize the spiritual gift of enhanced discernment that can empower us to identify [teaching] opportunities that many other people might overlook—or the blessing of greater personal determination to search harder and longer for a [person or opportunity] than other [missionaries] may be able or willing to do. We might want and expect a [baptism], but the blessing that comes to us through [trusting and waiting in faith] may be greater capacity to act and change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else."

It was really powerful to me to be able to personally apply something that wasn't exactly related to me in this way. Personal Revelation for ya. Don't wait around for something or someone else to change you. Be the change first.

Right before Elder Bednar's address, Elder Halls his talk General Conference:Strengthening Faith and Testimony stated :

"...Another said, 'I have never before felt so profoundly that a talk was being given to me.'This is possible because the Holy Ghost carries the word of the Lord unto our hearts in terms we can understand.When I take notes at conference, I do not always write down exactly what the speaker is saying; I note the personalized direction the Spirit is giving me. What is said is not as important as what we hear and what we feel. That is why we make an effort to experience conference in a setting where the still, small voice of the Spirit can be clearly heard, felt, and understood. Oh, how we need general conference! Through conferences our faith is fortified and our testimonies deepened. And when we are converted, we strengthen each other to stand strong amid the fiery darts of these last days."

What an experience it has been to study the Conference talks so much more than I feel I ever have before. How's y'alls study been going? I promise that conference talks, and those especially given this last conference were not prepared, given or should be taken lightly. Study them out and apply them to you.

We had a Zone meeting this week down in Eagle Pass, so we got up early and made the commute down. Before the meeting I smashed my brains out taking the Spanish Test again for the bajillenth time, and I do feel better about it. I decided to stop focusing on the score that I get on it, and only ask what I can do better on when the AP's call me this next time. If it's stressing and making me panic so much, it's not worth knowing the score. I'll just focus on improving. Probably could be a good metaphor for life. Don't focus on the score, focus on the improvement.

But anyways, Zone meeting was awesome, I got to see basically all of my favorite people since they're all down on the border as well :) I also had to do a role play in front of them all. We'd been practicing how to be bold in correcting false doctrine that people say in lessons, and I was companions with one the Sister's I live with, Sister Clark. I think I gained a fever that day, because my brain was a little loopy. it's gotten colder here and been raining a bit, so biking in it hasn't been the best way to keep sickness away. But anyways, we role played using 3 Nephi 11 and talking about the when Christ gave his Priesthood to Nephi and his other Apostles. We aced it. I think I was a little tired and short tempered from the fever and the drive and Spanish testing and then three hour meetings, and so I got straight to the point with being bold. Sister Clark said we killed it we did so good. If only we could always be as bold as we are in role plays. It's so much easier to "say what needs to be said" when everyone is expecting it of you right there, as opposed to your investigators who are just confused and stubborn.

But I do think that I am being more bold, especially in Spanish. I got a little pumped with a Less-Active couple who were making excuses about not reading their scriptures. Sister Lund and I had been practicing using Subjunctive (difficult grammer things you don't even think about or need to use in Engish) during our Spanish Study, and so when the opportunity to throw some out was seen, I did it. I was so proud of myself. I said "Dois Quiere que lean su escrituras" and Sister Lund gave me a pat on the back for doing it while whipping out some scriptures to help them understand. IN SPANISH. Yesssss!

So this week, Sister Lund and I have been doing some reevaluating of our area. We've been having really slow progress with a lot of our investigators, but we've been really hesitant to let them go for now since we've been really struggling to find people. We've been talking a lot about letting people go being an act of faith. Man. Faith is hard stuff. Our usually three hour weekly planning session turned into more than three hours planning session as we had a break down talk it out hour. We've decided to be more organized in our planning and try to schedule things out better. We've also started doing inspirational member visits. Which reminds me...

I found a SUPERAWESOMEYOUGOTTAWATCHIT video on the mormon messages dvds that you mailed me. You should go and find it. It was a KSL Special to go with the Youth mormon message "Daytons legs." You should find it. Because it will rock your world. I'd post a link...pero, I can't find it right now. Sorry.

Well, family. That's about all. Take care for the week :)

Love, Hermana Montgomery

Turtles, Tacos, Exchanges, Aliens, Bikes, Spanish, and Pie Oh My!

Greetings from your now 20-year-old gal :)

How is everyone? I got your packages, they were FABULOUS! Sharlan, you know just what to give a missionary. Nailed it! Mom and dad, the skirts are perfect for biking, and the mormon messages DVDs...the BEST! all the goodness I could ask for in those boxes! Thank you so much :D

This week has been a pretty eventful week.

Monday:P-day crazy-ness. Never enough time. But I did write some nice letters, I hope y'all enjoy the pictures I draw...haha

Tuesday: BIRTHDAY! I got up and after showering I came out into the front room to get something, all the other Sisters were standing around awkwardly in the Kitchen, I was clueless as to what was going on, so then I was like, "I'm I suppose to come into the kitchen or something...?" They had made me a birthday breakfast :) Completely surprised me, I wasn't expecting it at all. So that was kind'a fun :) We also had the car that day, and our Traveling Sister, Sister Isham, (or an AP who is a Sister) was staying with us since her comp was on exchanges with Eagle Pass. So we were driving out on our way and we almost ran over a turtle. But being the kind hearted Sisters that we are, we saved him, and carried him across the road to safety. Then we blinded him by taking a mission pictures with him. We also gave him a name. Turdy. We spent the rest of the day contacting potentials and visiting less-active Sisters. Then we had dinner with the Judd family. Since Sister Lund's birthday was last week as well, they decorated for us and we got to pick the dinner. I picked tacos, like we have at home...ya know americanized haha, and Sister Lund picked Starberry short cake. All in all a really fun birthday dinner. They're a good family, and they help us out a lot in the work. I basically want to be them when I come home.

Wednesday: We had an awesome district meeting where Sister Lund and I gave a training on "the importance of planning" it was a little difficult at first since we kind'a had different ideas of how to do it, but then after praying like a mad man, we pulled it together and it turned out quite nicely. I felt inspired in what I learned. We also all ate lunch together afterwards at the church and told crazy stories. The Elders had the best ones, I think more awkward things happen to them than to Sisters...who knows. Later that day while biking, we stopped and talked to a man while he and his son-in-law fixed his truck. While talking to him, his wife came out and said "OH! YOU"RE GOING TO TALK TO HIM HUH?? GOOOOOOD LUUUUCCCKKK!!" then she got in her car laughing and drove away. hmmmm. As we talked to him he basically believed in Stargate. I don't know if he ever watched it, and I resisted asking him if he had, but he told us of a show we should check out on History channel, because "It had all the answers about where we came from" and how the aliens had been among us for years messing with our DNA. Them aliens also really did build the great wall of China and the Pyramids. hmmmm...Sister Lund finally got us away, I probably didn't help trying to get him going with it. Eh, another day maybe we'll get to tell him the real story of where we came from.

Thursday: We had to go in early since it was Halloween, and we're not suppose to be out that night. So we weekly planned instead. And we came to realize why we don't weekly plan at night. There is no focus...my companion from the MTC was also with us since her companion had to go to a meeting in San Antonio. It was fun to be reunited again  :) I get to go down to Eagle Pass next week and do exchanges with her, while our Sister training leader comes up with Sister Lund. I'm Stoked!

Friday: Sister Lund's Birthday! We got to go over to Marilyn and Jerry's house where she taught us to make peacon pie, and we showed her some mormon messages. She got all excited while I was taking pictures once she found out it was my minor, and she tried to accommodate my angles and turn on lights and things. She's a funny funny lady and I love being with her and her husband. If only we could get them to pray about the Book of Mormon now! We also stopped by and took treats to several less-actives to try and warm them up to us. Worked like a charm, we talked to a couple of people that didn't want contact before, and had a few lessons. An over all fun day. Plus I got my package :) we are also starting a piano class for the Spanish Branch since it's basically only the Sister Missionaries who can play. We're hoping to help the branch learn, and also get less-actives and investigators into the church building. We ordered the churches piano keyboard course which is going to be wonderful and we made flyers on friday. While the the computer lab in our apartments complexes office, we couldn't figure out how to write something in Spanish on the flyer, and So Sister Hopkins turns to the women next to us and says "do you speak Spanish?" ..."yes,  I do actually" she said. She helped us get out what we wanted to say, and then she asked us questions about the church. Super neat telling her about missions and temples and she said she even might come to our piano class since she's always wanted to learn. She was super nice, recently married, and her dad is a minister for the pentecostal religion, and she's from Porta Rico. Hopefully she'll come :)

Saturday: More lessons, more visits. We stopped my Eloy and Rosie, the ones we watched The Testaments with, since we hadn't been able to finish it with them yet. We were able to watch the second half that night. SO GOOOOOD. The end gets me every time. They could cut out all but the last five minutes and I would still probably bawl every  time. Rosie was so touched by it. She told us that she as FOR SURE going to read "that book" that night. We're meeting with them again tomorrow. Pray that all goes well.

Sunday: Rain. Golly. Sister Lund woke up with Pink eye, and neither of us felt good, so after  church was a struggle. We biked to a less-active who didn't even want to talk our treats, and so we went to a former investigator. It turned out we had a nice meeting with him, he lives in a nursing home and his friend who helps him a lot was the reason he had stopped taking the lessons. But he's opening up to us again, and hopefully we'll get to teach him again. After that we had a lesson in Spanish. I taught the whole part about Joseph Smith and did the first vision in Spanish as well. My first time in a real lesson actually. Nine months in...we just don't have a lot of Spanish in this area. it's frustrating to say the least. But I guess God's got it planned out. I felt like a dork anyway while my companion who came out with me was whipping out subjunctive stuff, I could barely tell what happened with Joseph. Next time I guess. God sure does know how to humble us.

Well, family. I'm not sure what else to write. It's been a really long eventful week. Kiss those babies for me. Y'all sound like you're doing good :)

Take care,

Hermana Montgomery