Hello dear family,
Sharlan you look good in your new outfit, I approve. And your hair is super dark, have you been dying it? Thanks for the email :) I always love hearing from everyone! And I am proud of you for staying in that interview, and look how well you did! You go, kid :)
This week has been pretty chalk full of...emotional stress. Okay, maybe not. But a lot of things happened this week.
I had my first exchange as an Sister Training Leader, and where did I go? I went to the Palo Alto singles branch and the Lackland air force base! I got to for to both FHE with the singles ward and FHE on the base. When I got there and was talking to the Branch President's wife, she hugged me and said "welcome home" and it did feel like home. Screaming, shouting, hugs. It was good to see everyone. My old mission leader is married now. Weird. I was with Sister Iverson who has been there for as long as I have been in Pleasanton, she and her companion were doubled into the area after a Sister went home for back surgery.
Sister Iverson and I were awake talking about things for a while. I talked about how it had been opening Palo Alto and how much I cried. The first Sunday at church we had about 15 people. My first transfer we had one baptism, the only baptism I've been there for on my mission. Lackland was a "planting ground for planting seeds of the Gospel." They now have the about 65 people consistently coming to the Palo Alto branch and the goal is now 75. We were screaming excited when we got up to 40 people one week! It was interesting to see how different it was. Things that Sister Young and I had started the week I left were put into play, and the area is exploding now. The Sisters there are working with President Slaughter to get permission to Baptize on base now, things are exciting! I think it really helped me to realize how much we really did do there. The beginnings were hard, and I was even asked after my first transfer there if I thought the area should be closed. But it wasn't closed, and now look at it :)
Sister Iverson told me that they are having success now because of those who went before them. It was a good experience to go back and see all the work start to pay off.
I also got to have a lesson with Conner Mitchell, the one who was baptized right after I left the area and who I saw and Stake Conference. We talked about preparing for a mission and set goals and plans for him to go out and work with the Sisters in Palo Alto as well as studying Preach My Gospel. He said that all of the little hints that Sister Young and I gave about serving a mission while we were teaching him were coming full circle as he was going to start his mission papers this month. What is it Danika Says? HUZZAH! He'll go through the Temple in the fall. I'm so excited for him!
Que mas?
After exchanges and district meeting, Sister Staker and I may have had a break down and just stopped and took pictures on the side of the road (see the sunny ones below). It's my therapy. I miss my camera sometimes.
We then went to dinner with a new member in our Spanish branch who just moved in and she talked a lot about family members who are not members. We got the address for them and stopped by after dinner, we actually found a street full of potentials for our Spanish Branch and we're excited to go back.
I've been learning a lot about asking others who they know who would benefit from the Gospel, last week we had upwards of eleven referrals to contact simply because we were asking everyone. So let me clear something up. When missionaries ask that, they are specifically inviting us to participate in the greatest work in...ever. If we are serious about this work, God is twice as serious. IF you pray for the opportunity to specifically invite someone to learn more about the church, THEN God will help you. I promise.
It down poured a few times this week.
While studying about how to Hasten the Work of Salvation in my Book of Mormon, I read the story about when Nephi Breaks his bow and the Liahona has new writing and a bunch of other things. The story was a Gold mine for Principles of Hastening the Work. Let me share some :)
-As we are keeping the commandments, the Lord strengthens us. It doesn't come while we are sitting waiting for it to happen (1 Nephi 16:23 "I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow...and I said unto my father: whither shall I go to obtain food?"). So for example, when Elder Bednar was here he told us to quite just praying for those less active to come back and to start going out and doing the work to bringing them back.
-Sometimes the Lord will deliver a Liahona on our "tent step" or He will teach us how to build a ship (1 Nephi 16:10compare to 1 Nephi 17:8-9; also compare Mosiah 24:17-20 to Mosiah 22:10-12). I've often been thinking about the way that the Lord works. He didn't command Nephi to build the Liahona first and then make it work, He just gave it to them. But, they didn't just wake up one morning and find a boat outside the tent. They had to build it. Sometimes the Lord gives us what we need, and sometimes we teaches us how to get what we need. Kind'a like what Elder Bednar said in this last conference, I've quoted it before, I just love it "the blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater capacity to change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else."
One of the last things that Nephi taught me this week was that even if no one else comes with us, we should move forward in the work. This was probably the most profound one to me. listen.
1 Nephi 16:30 "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball."
Nephi's brothers didn't go with him after he was instructed where to go. No one else made a bow. No one helped him or went with him. Could you imagine how he might have felt, leaving alone, no one coming with him or helping him? I think sometimes we get discouraged because others, others who even know to some extent the importance of what we are doing, don't come with us, or even make a move to help us. But Nephi still left. He still went to find food and he moved forward. I think that will be a characteristic many of us will need to develop in the times coming towards us, we need to be independently worthy and working, even if we feel we are doing it alone.
Ummm also, did you know there are like 15 blank pages in the back of the Book of Mormon? Like the ones in the front where people write their testimonies, only more...in the back. I didn't. But I'm using them to write down all of the things I learn about Hastening the Work of Salvation. It's like a mini study journal :)
I also got to go to my first MLC (Missionary Leadership Training) with all the Zone Leaders Sister Training Leaders and President Slaughter. I learned a lot. I was overwhelmed a lot. I can hardly get my own life in control, and now I'm suppose to be able to help others with theirs as well. God sure does pick 'em. Our Zone Leaders also told us they hardly stress about things while we were driving back. And if they do, they just put on their "no stress sunglasses" and then they're fine. What the heck...it's really not fair.
We also had been given a training on all of the different kinds of plates that go into the Book of Mormon, ya know Nephi's plates, the small plates, the large plates the plates of brass...well come to find out, most of the missionaries didn't know that almost the whole thing is abridged by Mormon and what all the plates were. I knew, and I knew a lot of the things that President Slaughter talked to us about it. We got in the car afterwards and were talking about it, and Sister Staker turned to me and said "I had no idea! Did you?!" And I was like "yeah...I did." I had thought most people did, and then one of our zone leaders turned around and was like "how did you know that?" and I said something along the lines of talking to my dad and family before since we read the scriptures every night together. Then my Zone leader said "Well, we don't all have dads like yours." Nope. Nobody's got a dad like mine. Except my ten siblings...hahaha
Well, I'm not sure what else to write. Adios!
Hermana Montgomery
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