All Ya Need is a Deck of Cards, Extra Tights and Preach My Gospel :) - Nov 25, 2013

Sounds like everyone is doing so good! I love y'alls letters. Hearing the details of the hearing and the tree cutting and the zoo trip was fun.

This has been a freeeeezing cold week. Biking in Tempuratures of freezing is not a favorite. But before I tell y'all about that...

We went to San Antonio for a Zone Conference with Elder Golden from the seventy. If I could compare myself to Moses of Enoch, I would say that I had a bit of a "see everything from the beginning to the end" experience. The meeting wasn't specifically planned out, and mostly what was talked about was what our leaders felt impressed to talk about. What was mostly said was about living up to our fullest potential, raising our vision, and taking advantage of this surge in missionaries.

He told us that if we were looking at a line graph of the influx of missionaries, there would be a huge BUMP at this point in time and would eventually go down again. It would never go down to what it was originally, but it would in time go down. "Elders and Sisters" he said "we have to take advantage of this surge and make the very most out of this BUMP in time."

I think that day I realized yet again, how much bigger everything is. It's not just a religion or another church on the corner. This is God's whole point in having us come to the earth. If we don't act accordingly, what is the point? This work we are involved in, not just missionary work, but family history, Temple, Family Home Evening, Church callings etc...this is all kinda a big deal, and will impact us for eternity.

With that in mind, Sister Lund and I have been using/watching the Hastening the Work of Salvation Web site a lot more. The Church put it out in June with the New Mission President's Broadcast, if you haven't heard of it yet, the address ishttp://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening and you should go and check it out! It will change your world. Every time Sister Lund and I would watch one, we'd be so pumped up to go and find people, and be a little more proud of the badge that we get to wear :)

So after our Zone conference ended, we got to go the Temple that evening. We actually had to get quite the permission to be able to go, since originally we had said we would drive back to Del Rio from 9pm-12am, and it took a lot of prayers and fasting actually before we figured it out and got permission. But it worked out. So after the Conference, before we got  to the Temple, everything that could possibly go wrong did. Sister Lund had left her Temple Recommend at the apartment, and we couldn't find the Sisters who lived there so that they could unlock it. We also got something to eat right before, which was spicy and burned my mouth way more than it should have. Then we couldn't find the other Sisters at the church. President Slaughter was there though and he told us to have them look it up and call him if they needed to.

 As we pulled up, I couldn't find my wallet in the back seat with my recommend, and I started to get really frustrated. Sister Lund had to keep telling me it would be alright. So we went back to the Temple and as they were looking it up we got down to 10 mins until the session would start, and we were still in the waiting room waiting for the Temple President who was in a meeting. Panic attack ensued. I had been waiting to go back to the Temple for just long enough to be hungry for it, and Sister Lund hadn't been at all since we had come out nine months ago. We made it though. Whew. Fastest changing job I'd ever done. It was bliss once inside. I may or may not have cried in the dressing room after thinking about not being able to come back for a while since I was three hours away, and had used my two times on my mission up. As we were walking back to our car, I thought a little bit about how it was like life. We rush and rush and panic and cry and everything goes wrong, but then we make it and it's okay. I'll probably be one to come screeching into Heaven, puffing and red faced screaming "WE MADE IT!"

The weather here has taken a turn to the cold, and it now finally feels like Winter with winds, chills and rain at 34 degrees. While out biking, I've been wearing two sets of tights, an undershirt, a longsleeved shirt, a cardigan, a coat and a scarf. Why doesn't it snow here?? It's cold enough. It might have a little on Saturday, just little whispy stuff though. I'm still deciding about a coat Mom, I'll let you know when I come to a conclusion though. I've gotten pretty good at biking now, especially the part where I have to lift up one of my legs really high and bike one footed because a tiny dog is chasing me and snapping at my foot. Little devils. Sister Lund said it's like a bear chasing someone, you don't have to out run the bear, just the person with you. Shouldn't have said that, because now I just whiz passed her whenever a dog is trailing us.

We found a deck of cards in our closet two weeks ago, and so games of scum and Egyption Rats have been put into play whenever we have a few extra minutes during Lunch or at night after planning. Anyone can guess who is king most of the time while playing Scum :) they want me to tell them all my secrets. I have two ingredients :1) 15 people in our family and 2) holidays. Make sure you play some scum and settlers in mine and Danika's honor this Holiday Season!

One of our investigators, Rosie, has finally gotten into the Book of Mormon. She and her Husband were the ones we showed the move The Testaments to. She has now read 3 Nephi 1-15 (and reread parts of it) and has taken several pages of notes! She was so excited to tell us about the things that she had learned. Whenever we teach her something, she goes and teaches it to her children's class in her Methodist church. When we met with her, we reviewed the Plan of Salvation with the Pictures Sharlan had sent me. I drew it out for her to keep as well, and as she took it she said "oh this will make a great presentation!" She's going to teach her class about the Plan of Salvation haha! She's a missionary and she doesn't even know it :)

We have another investigator, Imelda, I think I have mentioned her before, who we had a lesson with. Our Member with us, Sister Manuele brought her a Conference Ensign and Imelda has been reading it while at work as a dispature for the hospital. She's progressing a lot, we just wish we could get her to come to church. Keep her in your prayers!

Transfer Calls came last night. Sister Lund is leaving Del Rio and I am staying. Our area is actually going to merge with the other Sisters area here in Del Rio and become one area. Sister Pond and I will be companions and cover all of Del Rio. This means that I will 1) be in a full car area, but have the option of biking and 2) get to speak more Spanish since I'll be in the South side of Del Rio 3) be with one of the best Sister Missionaries I have known. Sister Pond and I were in the same MTC district together, and we would always dream about being companions. Well, what do ya know, dreams do come true. Transfers happen on Thanksgiving day, and so now we do have double dinners, since both of our areas had had dinner appointments before we found out they were merging. Bring on the Turkey...

I've been trying to read through all of Preach My Gospel again in the last two weeks before transfers, I'm right in track to Finish on Sunday. I love studying the simple doctrine in it, and relearning how to be a good teacher. I'm tellin ya, if you want to know the Gospel, use Preach My Gospel :) and I ditto Danika's suggestion last week. Ask the Missionaries in your home ward what you can do to help your investigators and others they're working with. They're not just the missionaries responsibility, and you will see the blessing come to your life and theirs. Good things all around!

I'm doing good family. The work is going to Explode here. I can feel it. I have a good feeling about being with Sister Pond in Del Rio and I'm excited to "kill it" in dad's words :)

Happy Birthday Danika!

I love and think of y'all! So many of the people back home are constantly in my prayers :) Have a good thanksgiving week!

Love,

Hermana Montgomery