Well family, I didn't get ice storms, but I definitely won't be hiking any mountains anytime soon. Eh-eh, nope. Actually there are rumors that it will snow here in Del Rio. Crazy right? That probably only happens like... once in a million years! I am living through history :)
We've had a lot of good things happen this week, and so first thing is first:
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A WEDDING!!!
Yes. It's a big deal. So in the south side of Del Rio, there are a lot more family problems than there were in the North side where I was last transfer. But Hermana Pond and her last companions have been working with a part-member family for a while. He isn't a member and still needs to get divorced from his first wife and married to the women he is with now, Elsa. But as we were discussing them during weekly planning, we felt like we should set him and their nine-year-old daughter with a Baptism date for the 21st of December. Two and a half weeks away. And set a Wedding date as well. The 21st of December. Two and a half weeks away. So we had a lesson with them, and talked about it. Elsa got super excited, and Noel started thinking things through to get it done. He still needs to come to church 2 more times, since they were going to church in New Jersey before they moved here. We've also set up a time to see them every day of the week. I learned that while on exchanges with Hermana Hopkins in Eagle Pass, leave no room for temptation to get them. The rest of the night, I couldn't help but smile and do a dance singing "Vamos a tener una boda! Vamos a tener una boda!" I would wave to people out of the car, and Herman Pond and Baumount (who was on exchanges with us) would ask me "who was that person?" I would just say "well I don't know...but we're gonna have a wedding!!" Why not wave at the world?! Isn't this as excited as we should all be about the Gospel in General? "Hey, whatchoo smilin' for?" "Well I don't know...but the Gospel is TRUE! Quick, Tell everyone!" That night we also got to go to a Christmas parade. We were suppose to meet the Elders at a park towards the end of the route to carol, but we got lost on the way in Down town Del Rio...so we walked along the parade and saw all the cool dancers and singers and a real life nativity party :) I saw Mary and Joseph and the Donkey oh wow! It was cool, and we definitaly sang and danced our way up the street while Feliz Navidad was playing :)
Oh yeah, I'm playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting in our Spanish Branch. yeeeeaaaaaaa. It's all kinds of fun. Especially when they change the hymns on you at the last minute before it starts.
Magdelina is a mother of three that we've been teaching for a little while. She talks super fast, and changes tenses a lot, so sometimes it's really hard to follow her. She's working on getting a divorce from her husband because he's been cheating on her for a year, if not longer. Her oldest is in jail, and the second is struggling a lot. Her five-year-old daughter got sick as well and so she couldn't come to church yesterday. Split my heart in two. Last night in our lesson, she broke down for the first time. She doesn't understand why God allows good things to happen to other people, but allows bad things to happen in her life.It wasn't fair. It was a really hard lesson to go through with her. She believes Christ can help her, but she's not quite ready to give everything to him and let him take it. Sounds familiar...
Last transfer, I had a hard time with faith. You think you learn and understand something, and then you come to find you hardly understand any of it. I had no faith. We play a board game with investigators sometimes called the "Plan of Salvation Game" to help them understand some concepts from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation lessons together. You land on number spaces on your way through life and can get cards that are faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end, but you have to land on them in that order in order to get each card. And if you land on a certain space, you can lose your faith card, and you can't get anymore cards until you land on another faith space and get your faith card back. Symbolic right? Well, I lost my faith card. What was the point of stopping by, teaching, and calling the same people, knocking the more doors, talking to more people reading the same things, setting high goals asking members who they know over and over and over again only to have each one fall through over and over and over again? What was the point of having faith, when people will slam doors, throw away cards, go less-active after baptism and overall when they had their own agency and you had like...no control over it anyways? I felt like Hercules in the movie when he slams that shield into the painters face and yells "Phil, what's the point?!" I have been so tired of it. But then some things happened.
I got a letter from Danika. She told me that we didn't come on a mission for the experience of it. We came to Preach His Gospel.I thought about that a lot. Not for the experience of it, but to Preach His Gospel.It's kind's like what Elder Holland told Missionaries in the MTC, (paraphrasing) "It wasn't easy for Him, so it's not going to be easy for you...becoming antiquated with the Savior is not a cheap experience. It's suppose to require some of your soul"
I also got a blessing. My companion was sick about two weeks ago and got a blessing, and actually, all four of the Sisters did too.Some of the things that I wrote down afterwards to remember were:
- I was called specifically to Texas to help specific people, that only I could help.
- God was pleased with my decision to serve a mission
- My family was being blessed beyond measure for my service
- I was to specifically study the Atonement of Jesus Christ
- I was to specifically study how to have faith
- To know that God would send his love to me
I only asked for a blessing for comfort. Yet, that was probably the most specific blessing I have ever received. Priesthood Blessings ah.
And so I've been kinda doing physical therapy and going slow regarding learning how to have and use faith again. Studying a lot, trying to take leaps of faith, and pushing aside the fear and doubt that it won't work or isn't going to matter. We set five people with a Baptism date this week. And even though not one of them came to church, we hold on to the hope and the faith that those dates and people were inspired of God. Because "...Hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of man..." (Ether 12:4). I've seen a difference in myself this last week. I'm praying a lot more, and a lot more sincerely. I've been fasting. I'm feeling a greater love for the people around me, and a greater desire to help them come unto Christ and be perfected in Him (Moroni 10:32). Even me. And I've been more full of the Spirit than I have ever felt before. It's a nice feeling to have faith and to believe that things can happen again. And above all, I haven't felt as alone or discouraged in this work of Salvation. Dad, thanks for helping me not to have a hard heart with your responses.
Part of having that faith is looking forward to the results of our efforts. This week Hermana Pond and I planned out specific lessons and lesson dates and baptism dates for all of our investigators mentally and in the Area Book. Being more focused on the doctrine and the goal has already changed the way that we plan for and teach our investigators. After putting it all on our board on the calendar, we had 77 lessons that we wanted to happen this coming week, including investigators, Part-member families, and Less-actives. "[Doubt] not because ya see not" (Ether 12:6)
We gave a training on the Restoration and the First Vision in District Meeting last week and it actually went really well. At one point we asked everyone else to think about how they would say the First Vision if it was their own experience they were telling, in Josephs words. Then I said it, as if it were my experience. Oh the emotions that came. Even some of the Elders teared up. The training that followed fit perfectly with it, and it was a powerhouse district meeting. So great, that Hermana Pond and I have been asked to give a training in Zone meeting this week about the Purpose of Missionaries. We both decided we wanted to do this training God's way and have been praying and studying a lot to put together the things that Heavenly Father wants us to learn and teach. To be continued on that one next week...:)
We gave a training on the Restoration and the First Vision in District Meeting last week and it actually went really well. At one point we asked everyone else to think about how they would say the First Vision if it was their own experience they were telling, in Josephs words. Then I said it, as if it were my experience. Oh the emotions that came. Even some of the Elders teared up. The training that followed fit perfectly with it, and it was a powerhouse district meeting. So great, that Hermana Pond and I have been asked to give a training in Zone meeting this week about the Purpose of Missionaries. We both decided we wanted to do this training God's way and have been praying and studying a lot to put together the things that Heavenly Father wants us to learn and teach. To be continued on that one next week...:)
I love y'all :) Take care!
Hermana Montgomery
I have two:
1. When I was eight-years-old and we lived in Burbank and all of those families doorbell ditched a nativity set for the twelve days of Christmas. I've always loved the Spirit that Christmas Brings to do good for those around us. I really do wish the Spirit of Christmas was all year round. This week, Hermana Pond and I bought some groceries for one of our investigators. They are flat lining and yet she always tries to give us food and things. So this week we took them by some things since they were going through a particularly hard trial. If you have it, give it. We're also planning on doing the 12-days of Christmas idea on an investigator family. It's Christmas, why not?
2. I LOVE reading though our 25 days of Christmas story books every night. Always a favorite memory. Especially when we would burn the candle down with it. Maybe it was listening to Mom and Dad's voices read, or singing the Christmas Hymns, or maybe it was just the Spirit and messages those stories brought. I love the Red and Green Books we would read together and the doorbell ditching we would do. I love the really good presents, like a Mop for Dad from me, or The book by Elder Bednar for me from Jed. I also love the example that Mom and Dad set by giving us special money instead of gifts to find people to give it to who needed it. I've always wanted to buy someone Christmas like in the stories where someone comes in with a tree and lights and food and presents. I think I most of all just like helping other people feel the peace on earth and the Joy that the Gospel can bring.
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