Isn't the Gospel Great?! - Jan 20, 2014

Hellooo Family!

Week one in Pleasanton-check!

Sister Rodriguez has been here for three months and has been dying to get a new map for the area. The one we have is old and hard to read and SUPER disproportionate. So we made some phone calls to other missionaries and asked one Sister who was Sister Rodriguez's first companion here in Pleasanton about places we might be able to find one. Nada. The one Sister told us they never could find anything better for South of San Antonio, and she served here for 7.5 months. Well...shoot. So Sister Rodriguez suggested the HEB (if you don't know what that is, you're not a Texan) in Pleasanton. After some quick prayers we ran in before we headed home and were checking it out. TA-DA! We found a "South of San Antonio" spiral bound map book that had everything that we would need. So the next day we made copies and cut and taped and straightened and made a grand map. I had the idea because that was what Sister Young and I did in Palo Alto, and it was the best map I'd ever had. After we got it all taped together we took it to the Office Depot by our apartment and got a 3ftX4ft copy of it. Then we went home divided it and colored it into sections so that we can save miles. Family, it is beautiful and going to help a lot. Sister Rodriguez LOVES it :) So months of looking and lots of missionaries later, we found, taped and colored a map in 2 days. In Danika's words: Huzzzah!

Tuesday, we had Zone Meeting. I thought a lot about things we needed to do for this area while listening to the trainings. Remember last week when I said going into the Conference I had the attitude "if I don't touch anything, nothing will get broken"? I was of the Opinion that I would just sit and let the work come to me, I would let the natural elements of the area work their magic. ERRRRR! Wrong. We were meant to work things through, to act and not wait as Elder Bednar said in his talk in October 2013 The windows of Heaven "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." (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/the-windows-of-heaven?lang=eng)

And so in Zone meeting while pondering on things again, this was the answer I got (this is for you dad): by the time that I leave Pleasanton, my fingerprints need to be all over this area. I have to work, hard. And the more I work in this area, the more that I realize it was not the perfect area that I thought it was. There's a lot of things that need to be pulled together and utilized. There is a lot of potential and work to be done.

However, while we were weekly planning a few days later, and I realized that I shouldn't and wouldn't be leaving my fingerprints all over, this area would need the Master's touch. Not mine. It's like Elder Bednar said in his talk that I read " you and I are much like the long, thin strands of glass used to create the fiber-optic cables through which light signals are transmitted over very long distances. Just as the glass in these cables must be pure to conduct the light efficiently and effectively, so we should become and remain worthy conduits through whom the Spirit of the Lord can operate."

 

For a long time my favorite Scripture has been 1 Nephi 21:16 "Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me" because it made me think about the nails prints in the Saviour's hands, and how He literally could not forget us because we were graven on the palms of His hands. I don't know if I ever wrote to y'all about this, but in the MTC I was really struggling about my third week in. Companion struggles, Spanish, homesickness and girl issues resulted in a snotty nose and red eyed break down during personal study, in my class room with my whole district. It was pleasant. Not really, it was humiliating and overwhelming, and also a very defining point that changed my life. I was reading through the talk by Linda Reeves The Lord has not Forgotten You, and wondering why on earth I was doing this. Did the Savior really know who I was and how I felt right then? I felt so alone, and wondered how I could have charity.  As I was reading the talk these words came to my mind "Even as my hands bear the mark, you must come to love others as I have loved you." I had never heard this before, I had never read this before. I don't know why I'm sharing this right now, I guess I've just been thinking about hands lately. Christ loved us enough to take on the Atonement, all of our sufferings: Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically. He loved us enough to allow His hands to be pierced, for us. And that is the kind of love that He asks us to have for each other. To really learn to have Charity. Love for God, love for others, love for ourselves. But as President Slaughter, and Sharlan, told me once, more specifically, Charity is God's love for us. 

 

Man, I just have so many thoughts running around in my head, so many things I've learned. Que Mas?

 

Oh yeah, fingerprints all over. We've started to dissect our ward rosters, probably about 2/3 of our members are not active, and probably half of those are part member families. Oh yeah, and our area is huge. Sister Rodriguez has struggled with this area the three months she has been here because she hasn't been able to get a grip on it. There's just a lot of it. And it's not very organized or sorted out into understandable information. So who get's sent here? Me. Figures. Mostly missionaries have just gone out and knocked and contacted. But we're moving away from the culture of that as a whole. Most of those people that I saw Pleasanton baptize before are now inactive, or missing. Sister Rodriguez and I have high goals and high hopes for this area :)

 

Hahaha I've also been helping Sister Rodriguez kick the use of the word "Freaking." She's learning English, bless her heart and I explained one night what it was a euphemism for and she was a little mortified that she had been using it. We all learn knew things haha :)

 

We've also attacked our area book. We've actually ordered new ones because there are parts missing from them. And, there are probably well over 1000 people to find and recontact in there. It's massive, and a headache to sift through. We had so spend some time just figuring out where some of these people lived because towns hadn't been written down, and that makes it difficult because we cover about 10 small towns. When all is said and done, it will be a beautiful thing. It was really interesting to go through the teaching records and read about people, and then to feel the Spirit to know whether or not we needed to put them at the top of our list to visit. Really interesting.

 

We also met with our Ward Mission Leader on Wednesday to talk about things. Turns out he is the dad of some of the YSA members I worked with in Palo Alto, small world. He was all excited to go home and tell his kids that he had their missionary in their family ward. He gleaned a lot from Elder Bednar's visit, and has a new perspective on how things should go. We also got to go to Branch council on Sunday (PS, I have six hours of church. I have had four hours before, but six? Wheeee), it was fabulous! The stake is going to implement more aspects from Hastening the Work because they received a letter from Elder Scott and Elder Perry. That'll get ya going. We're meeting again next Sunday with ideas for a Ward Mission Plan! THIS IS SO EXCITING! They mentioned a lot of things that they would need that Sister Rodriguez and I had actually already been working on. For Danika one more time: HUZZZAH! Inspiration.

 

Well Family, I hope that's all. I've been learning a lot this week and am excited to keep soaking it up :)

 

Love,

La Hermana Montgomery

Driving a Truck and Some Member Presents with a Cow... - Jan 13, 2014

Hello fam, how are y'all?

 

Can I say something? My younger siblings sound like me. Bossy and in charge. Anyone remember me saying "you don't know me, you don't know my life!" (Thanks Abby...). Brandon's version "don't tell me what to do!" haha

 

So I bet y'all are dying to know where I am. Let me show you...look.

 

https://www.lds.org/maps/?lang=eng#ll=29.068711,-98.376984&z=10&m=google.road&q=San Antonio, Texas stake&x=find&find=stake:502782

 

I'm back in the San Antonio Stake and the South Zone of the mission, this time covering the Pleasanton English ward and Spanish Branch. Whew. Can you see how big this area is? The top part we don't cover, I covered that when I served in Palo Alto/Lackland. So at one point or another I have covered ALL of the San Antonio Stake. Yesss. It's a little daunting...but, I get to drive a TRUCK. Look out world. Hermana Rodriguez told me that we could have some member presents with a few cows haha

 

My Companion is Hermana Rodriguez-Siliezar and she is from El Salvador, and she speaks Spanish fluently, and is learning English here. She is a fiery person only about 5'2 tall who's favorite things to say in English are "that's good!" and "that's amazing!" She's a doll and I've been learning a lot from her already. She came out in June and this is only her second area. We laugh a lot together, that or cry ourselves bone dry. That's what she told me, "I have to laugh". She's been here in Pleasanton for two transfers already.

 

So Border run was on Wednesday, when I drove back up from the Border, transfers were on Thursday, Friday we moved. Not only is our area huge, but we don't live in it. We live about 30-45 mins outside our area in San Antonio. Cool. So our address is

 

3903 Southeast Military Dr. #3205

San Antonio, TX 78223

 

For now anyways, there is a chance they might move us again since we're so far away from our area. I'll keep you posted.

 

Also on Friday, we had ELDER BEDNAR! And also, since I was transfered I was in the Stake that he was there visiting. So not only did I get to go to a missionary meeting with him, but also two sessions of stake conference. Wahooo!

 

It. Was. Life. Changing.  

 

So good. We basically had a question and answer, and he talked a lot about changes that need to take place in us. SIster Bednar also got to speak, and it was neat to see them both. Yesterday I wrote down a list of points that I didn't want to forget ever. One of the things he talked about was the question "what would it be like if...?" He talked about how his father was not a member and at one point he asked himself "what would be like if my father was a Melchizedek Priesthood holder?" after that he started to live a little differently, to act like things were the way he wanted or felt they should be. It was really interesting to see a different perspective, to think about all of the "what would it be likes" in my life and then think about how i would act if they were that way, because that's how we achieve them.

 

Not gonna lie, coming into Pleasanton I was freaking out. The Pleasanton Sisters were in my district when I served in Palo Alto, and  they were ALWAYS baptizing and teaching. I have a felt a little bit like everywhere I go in Texas, I'm just preparing everything, and don't really get to see the fruits of my work. I stay two transfers and then move and it's been kind'a difficult. Hermana Pond got an earful about it after Transfer calls last week. I asked her "so, are some missionaries called to baptize, and others only to make white boards and mission plans and organize everything for them?" She assured me I wasn't. But coming into Pleasanton, I was scared to death that I was in the spotlight to see if all  their numbers would drop because of me. Scared to death. I think I was determinded not to touch anything, don't change anything, just do everything the same as the last hundred missionaries and maybe I won't break anything. I think I have a bit of a pattern of trying to do different things to build the ward, to actually use members, but it takes time.

 

Thursday night, I had a dream actually. I was talking to my MTC companion, Hermana Hopkins, who I actually replaced here in Pleasanton, and in my dream as we were talking, the only thing I remember was telling her "now remember, the most important thing is to teach the members, to teach them how to do missionary work." and then I woke up. As I was falling alseep before, I was thinking about our area and praying to know what I needed to do here. Still pondering on it. As we went to Elder Bednar's conference for missionaries that day though, the theme seemed to be agents. Be an agent. Get up and act, and don't wait for something else to act upon you. It was a bit of a slap in the face since my whole attitude coming into Pleasanton was "don't touch anything." I'll let you know how things go. I'm still sifting through thoughts and studies.

 

Since we had stake conference this weekend, and I'm in my old stake, I got to see a lot of the YSA adults in Palo Alto :) there were a lot of suprise hugs and a few shreeks. The highlight though was the Saturday night Session. Conner Mitchall, who I taught back in August and who was baptized two weeks after I was transfered to Austin, was asked to bare his testimony since he was a convert. WOW! Four months later, he was different :) as we got to talk for a few mins he told me that he got his answer on Sunday, and he's going to be starting Mission papers towards the end of the year!! Pure Joy, family. Pure Joy. It was so good to see how he's doing and to know that he's going strong :) Hermana Rodriguez reminded me that I would be able to go to the Temple when he went through as well, and i couldn't stop grinning. Being a missionary is good :)

 

We've had a lot of miracles this week, and it'll all be okay. I love y'all and think of you often, take care

 

Love,

Hermana Cheyenne Montgomery

Coming up on Five

Hi family.  Well, I have lots of things to write about this week, I even had to make a list of all of the things I wanted to write about.

First:I am in mourning wearing black and grey. Transfer calls came last night, and I am being transferred from Del Rio. When they told me I literally couldn't say a word, Hermana Pond had to take the phone from me and finish the conversaion. Never knew what it meant to be speechless until last night. The phone hadn't even clicked the call before the tears came. Shoot, now I'm crying again. I've been having quite a few long conversations with God since then. I'll be Senior Companion again and going to an "interesting area" in their words. I've never stayed anywhere longer than two transfers, why start now? So don't send any letters or anything to my Del Rio address this week. This will be my fifth area. And at this rate I'll have another 2-3 before August. Never enough to time get to know people. Bring it on, I guess?

We've had a lot of miracles this week, the first one came last Monday as we were handed our reading packets to prepare for Elder Bednar coming this week. President Slaughter wrote a note to all of the missionaries in the front of the packet. One of the things that he said was "Elder Bednar is not simply a great orator; he is not merely a Mormon celebrity. He is one of the Lord's anointed, a special witness of Christ. His message will be life changing to those who have ears to hear." The three talks that we have been given are to study are:

Seek Learning By Faith (http://www.lds.org/tools/print/article/narrow/?lang=eng&url=/callings/sunday-school/messages-from-leaders/words-of-the-prophets/seek-learning-by-faith)
Ask in Faith (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/ask-in-faith?lang=eng)
Converted unto the Lord (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/converted-unto-the-lord?lang=eng)

As Hermana Pond and I have been studying them together and separately this week, I think our lives have already been changed. Every morning after personal study it's like gasping coming up for air after our brains have exploded. If that made any sense. It's incredible how much information, principle and doctrine he covers in those talks. I'm excited for him to come :)

On Tuesday while contacting a less active, we found out that they didn't live there anymore. The man we were talking to very suddenly said he had to go and shut the door on us. A little baffled at how suddenly he had shut the door we started walking down the sidewalk back to our car. Two young boys on bikes passed us and one skidded turning back to us and said "Hey! Do you preach??" We told him yes, and he said "Like, the word of God?" We started talking to him and found out that missionaries had taught both of their families in the past and they still had Book of Mormons that they sometimes read. We figured out where they lived and gave them pass along cards with our number to look at with their parents. We stopped by on Friday and had a first lesson with one of the families and have a return appointment set up for Tuesday :) Miracle.

I forgot to mention a couple of weeks ago that we've been trying teach the actual Preach My Gospel Lessons at the end of our piano classes. We use primary songs and hymns to talk about a topic and use the notes and and rythems in the hymn to practice what we're learning with the music. So our first lesson we used I am I Child of God for God is our loving Heavenly Father, the second one we used follow the Prophet and Come Follow Me for The Gospel in Every Dispensation and Christ's Earthly Ministryall from the Restoration lesson. While talking about God being our Heavenly Father, I asked some of the members (We've had two members and one non-member coming consistently) if they had ever thought about that before. Really stopped to think about how they are a literal Child of God. One of the Girls is 24-years-old and in the Spanish Branch, and she is a Sunday School teacher. The Sunday after she talked about  the Piano class and how she felt as she stopped to think about what that meant for her. It was kind of neat to see how the little things that we say can touch others hearts, member or non-member.

This week, I've been setting some goals for the new year, things I'd like to be better at ya know the new years routine. But, after setting those goals for the new year, I decided to study some about goals and purpose and things. Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary. I'm telling ya, there's golden things in there. So some of the scriptures I read mostly talked about the word "Perfect". A while back, I debated with a companion because she said that  Mattew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." meant that God was literally commanding us to be perfect and to not make any mistakes. That didn't sit with me. Looking at the footnote for the words perfect says "GR complete, finished, fully developed.  TG God, the Standard of Righteousness; Godliness; Man, New, Spiritually Reborn; Man, Potential to Become like Heavenly Father; Mission of Early Saints;Objectives; Perfection." My favorite being complete and fully developed. I've been thinking about how this year I would like to develop who I am more fully, I thought that even before I read those scriptures. To Understand things better and have my personality, conversion, progression synced up a little tighter. Some my Scripture and theme for the the year is "Come unto Christ and be perfected in him" (Moroni 10:32) I'm excited to see what the new year hold for me. What are your goals?

Speaking of Goals, We've been meeting with families helping them plan and prepare  their own family mission plans and goals. The response has been incredible. It's going to change the scene here in Del Rio!

This week we had exchanges again and I headed back down to Eagle Pass to be with Hermana Beaumont. They had in their apartment some sombreos, entonces, I asked if we could wear them during companionship study :) then, as we wear eating lunch, Hermana Beaumont said that we probably should take the hats with us though out the day and take pictures in them. I suggested that we make fake mustaches as well. And so we had a mustache adventure day were we would pause or pull over and take a quick picture with something. Yes, we are 20 and 23-years-old. We also had our dinner appointment fall through, so Hermana Beaumont took me down the the Border. Wahhhh! So we had a picnic dinner on the border of Mexico, only the Rio Grand seperating us. Cool huh? We could even hear the sounds of Mexico across the water. Someday :)

Well family, that's about all. I hope y'all are doing well and livin' it up :)

Love,

Hermana Montgomery

Catching My Death and Also Some Miracles and Bread - (Dec 30, 2013)

And 2014 is this week??!! What...? Que en el Mundo?

I've realized with some dismay that I have nothing major standing between now and August since Christmas has passed, and I start panicking a little...okay maybe a lot. Hermana Pond has had to do some nice calming exercises with me whenever I think about it. But then it's okay, because I can still be a missionary even without a name tag :)

We had an awesome Christmas with lots of nice things at 6:30 am under our tree tiny tree, and of course talking to everyone was a tender moment. I must say hearing Brandon ask when I was coming home melted my heart a little. He couldn't even talk in February. 

Wednesday night however I caught a cold from someone, who knows who since everyone has been sick this month. I had a bad cough and was achey and then the stuffy nose and sore throat came as well. Hermana Pond was a great nurse though being a certified EMT, and she checked my temperature and things very thoroughly.  She thought at first it was Bronchitis since we had visited a member who had it, but I don't think it ever got bad enough to be Bronchitis. We did end up having to call our mission presidents wife for instruction and she told me I was probably super contagious and I shouldn't be around people. Rats. Working in doors today. I'm feeling a lot better now, mostly just trying to get the sniffles away. 

Noel came to church again this week! WHOOOOO! We had a super solid lesson talking about what he needed to do to be able to be baptized. People have to do hard things sometimes, but it's worth it. I can't even explain how suprised I am everytime things pull through. Faith. Man. Sometimes you have to watch really closely or God gives you what you asked for in a different way than what you're expecting :)

We went caroling with the Elders Christmas Eve and we stopped by the Grandmother, who is not a member, of one of the less-actives we've been working with, she told us that no one had ever come caroling to her before and she was honored. She asked if we would take two of her pies that she had just baked, infact it would please her very much if we would take them. She was so gracious...about carolers. It made we start to think just a little bit more about how blessed we are to have the Spirit with us ALWAYS after Baptism. Not everyone feels that.

While in by delirious and zonked out state of sleep while being sick, I think I came to some conclusions. First when I sleep, I don't really sleep. I think. I ponder. I conclude. Especially when I fall asleep thinking about things. And so while I was passed out and stuffy, I was pondering what we could do to help the members in our Branches catch the wave. I woke up in the morning set on reading or rereading all of the talks given in the hastening the work broadcast in June. I only had one printed off, and the office was not open, and so I read the one. Good thing it was President Monson's :) while reading it I thought again of some of the ideas that Hermana Pond and I had had before. We're getting a new Branch Mission Leader in our English Branch, and we've started putting together a binder for him so that he has something to start with. It has lots of good things in it :) one of which were some example branch and FAMILY mission plans. While reading the talk by President Monson this phrase stuck out to me "May I endorse all that has been said here today. I testify to you that you will be blessed as you follow the counsel you have received." I had been dreaming all night about meeting with the members and helping them make family mission plans that when I woke up, it was the only thing that I could think about:Every family needs to have a plan. So we started getting more information together and figuring out how we could introduce the idea to members. Let me just say...it's a great idea! Everyone should do it! try it, you'll like it:) be waiting by the mailbox for further instruction.

Well, to end, I'd like to share something I learned in personal study today.

I jumped on the bandwagon and set some goals for myself for 2014 this morning and afterwards was studying about goals and what our goals should be in life for personal study. oh wow. Let me share...no, there's too much. I'll pick a favorite. 

John 6:26-27

" 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."

As I was thinking about this I was thinking about the difference between following Christ because of the miracles, or because we tasted of the bread and "were filled." While I was in my first area, San Marcos, someone in our branch mentioned to me that they thought many of people in the New Testament followed Christ simply because of His "magic" per say, the miracles. They weren't really converted to Christ because of his role as our Savior. I started to think about how in my life I sometimes just did things because I had seen the miracles. Did I go to church because that's what we always did, or was it something more? Did I read, or not read, my scriptures just because I "knew" I should, or was I feasting whenever I opened them? Did I serve a mission just because it was the thing to do now, or because I wan't to get out of school or be an RM or see the world? Or did I go because I had felt the Atonement in my life and I now had a responsibility to share that knowledge? It was kind'a a personal Alma 5 for me, soul searching what some of my motives in life and especially in the the Gospel have been. We should be following the Savior because we have tasted the Atonement, and not just because it's pop culture, or mormon culture, to do so. Like Danika mentioned in a letter to us back in March, our faith needs to be dependent not on a favorable outcome, but we need to have faith in the Lord no matter what happens. And as verse 27 says seek for the things that endure unto everlasting life. I challenge y'all to take a look at what motivates you, the miracles, or the bread.

It's an exciting time to be alive. Remember that. Soak in the good, and let go of the bad, bacause tomorrow is a brand new day with no mistakes in it as Anne Shirley says. I love y'all, take care!

Hermana Montgomery

Merry Christmas from Laughlin Air Force Base :) - (Dec 23, 2013)

That's where I'm emailing from today, Laughlin Air Force Base here in Del Rio. A lot of members in our English Branch are flight instructors here, and since the library is closed this week we get to email here. But first we got to do the flight simulators. Holy flight/air sickness batman. But it was cool! It was like flying a real plane. Besides the part when we crashed it and still lived haha

This week has been a hurricane of things to get done. We had our Christmas Conference in San Antonio with the whole mission and so the three hour car ride up was long. The conference was good. I think I drool a bit every time President Slaughter talks, it's so good. Hermana Pond and I have been PRAYING for ipads all week, hoping that we would get news about them at the conference. And we did. September. The estimated time is in SEPTEMBER! You have got to be kidding me! Hermana Pond and I both go home in the beginning of August, and ipads come in SEPTEMBER. We're going to miss it! We we're both thoroughly disappointed. However...

We're going to be making the trek from the border up to San Antonio again next month because Elder Bednar is going to be coming to our mission! WAHHHHHH??!! He's probs my favorite. I may or may not have had a cow when President Slaughter announced it. AHHHH! SO stoked. So we're going to be getting a reading packet (probably similar to the one that Danika got) soon for us to study and read before he comes. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. I just might explode.

This week we've had to let a lot of our investigators go. It breaks my heart to love these people so much, but they're not willing/ready to change. We've been told a lot to sometimes have the faith to let go of people so that we can really find those to are ready right now to change and accept the Gospel. President Slaughter has actually talked to us a lot about that. We're here to find those who are elect right now. It's so hard.

So we went by Noel and Elsa again, they were the couple that we were going to have the wedding for, but they kind of expected us to get through the divorce and everything on our own. We can't really repent for them, so it was a butting heads struggle. Come to church-no they're not here-try again this week-not here again-got to come or we can't come back kind of tug of war going on. The wife Elsa is the member, and she's in Acuna ALWAYS on the weekend. In fact, everyone is. It drives me nuts. Hermana Pond and I have decided to go and see what was so cool about Acuna once we're off our missions, cause it's like the place. Must be like the Las Vegas of Mexico right? uh-eh. It's not. So a few weeks back Hermana Pond and I may or may not have fasted for the borders to get shut down so that none of our investigators could cross and would come to church instead. That's real. We fasted for that. Well, the borders didn't shut down, but we did get information for the Bishop in Acuna so we can contact him and let him know who should be there, and we also made little hand outs with a map of where the Chapel is and the address and phone number so that our investigators can at least go to church there. This is all team Jesus here, we got to all work together to get the work going. Taking on the border :) It made me think about Elder Bednar's talk on tithing...haha weird...but about how sometimes God gives us the ability to think of different ways to solve our problems then the original way we think it should be solved. God teaches us to act and solve our own problems rather than to be acted upon and wait for someone else to fix our problems.

But anyways...Elsa and Noel...we went by and only Noel was home since Elsa was in what do ya know Acuna. We talked to him about him needing to act and start to take the iniitive even if Elsa wasn't. He could go to church by himself. We invited him to church and since Elsa had taken the car he said "Como? Caminando?" (How? walking?)  and then I was like "pues...TAL VEZ (Well...MAYBE.) If he really wanted to get to church he could. We find him a ride (this was the family who slept through us coming by not once but twice last Sunday, and the ones who had made me bitterly upset) and he promised to be there. Right. Sunday school is first for the Spanish Branch and it was in about 10 mins when Hermana Pond gasped and started shoving me to stand up. I turned around in my chair towards the door and there was Noel. At Church. In nice clothes. With his Hair COMBED. And without Elsa. Wahhhhh....ASTONISHED. He had come to church without her. Oh, and I had given him a Liahona to read with two specific talks marked. The one where the People in Africa had sat outside the church building for years since they weren't allowed in yet because of the laws of the land, and then also President Utchdorf's from Priesthood "You can do it now." He READ them. We by chance had the Liahona in the car anyways because I had started reading the talks in Spanish to Hermana Pond while we've been driving. God's hand is in this. 

Gosh, there's never enough time to write to y'all. I wish you could even understand or experience or see 1/100 part of the things I've been doing. I have much more empathy for the Book of Mormon writers now. I'm definitely making an awesome scrap book when I get home.

know this that I love y'all and pray for you. You've been in my thoughts this week, and I'm glad you're all together. I got your package. It took a bit since it was marked to the wrong apartment number (107 Kingsway #1112 not 112). The nice lady in our office sorted things out for us. I'm giving her a Book of Mormon today :) Enjoy Christmas. Savor those red and green books. I'm glad the lesson went while for Shar and Anthony was found by Brother Kessie. I LOVED the letters from  the kids, they're dolls. Expect a call around 1pm you're time. I'll be calling about 3pm my time :) I love y'all! Merry Christmas!

Love,

Your Hermana Montgomery

Simply Sip - Dec 16, 2013

Well hi family!

Sorry it's going to be short today, we don't have a lot of time since where we normally email at is closed for Christmas Break already. i might have time to write more later though. Depends.

HOW IS EVERYONE?! I feel like I don't get a lot of news from y'all. How's Ammon? How's Jed? How's Abby Buck and Larisa Hayden? How are the little kids? Who's going on missions, who's getting married? Who Who Who??

Eh, forget that part. How's everyone's scripture reading been going? We'll get to the meat haha

I've gone a little crazy, can you tell? We had six, SIX investigator families lined up to come to our English and Spanish Branches yesterday and guess how many came...zero. ZERO. I was a little bitter yesterday. Well, actually there was nothing little about it at all. We even went to one of theirs house BEFORE church at 8am to start a fast with them for a divorce to happen. No answer.Then we went again during Sunday School since their sacrament meeting would be last. No answer. We texted we called we had firm commitments in was an awesome Christmas Program and....ZERO. I have never been so bitter about investigators not coming to sacrament meeting. It was kinda a come to church or we have to let them go kinda Sunday, and no one came to Church. I was BITTER and may or may not have been crying in Sacrament meeting. Hermana Pond and I had a nice chat about it and the Natural man and we've decided he's no good. 

It made me think about that quote "The Gospel is here to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable." Ahhhhh! Yesterday was difficult. Bad mood all over the place. And so our goal for this week is to find the elect. To figure out who is read to accept and live the Gospel and who is not. Poor Hermana Pond trying to help me not be so upset about things. At one point she leaned in a said "Did you not tell him they were the Lord's chips?" to which I said something like "Did they not know it was the Lord's day?" Ah. Frustrating mess. Hermana Pond told me that she knew what to do to make me feel better, and she proceeded to quote Nacho Libre and hum the Harry Potter theme the rest of the day. She knows me too well.

We had Zone Meeting on Tuesday, and Hermana Pond and I gave a training on our Purpose as Missionaries. Hermana Pond actually had a sore throat and lost her voice, so I ended up doing a lot of the talking. He first had them stand up to say our Purpose Statement that we say every morning. So everyone started:

 "I have been called of Jesus Christ to serve in the Texas San Antonio Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. I will Boldly invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel, through faith..." and then we cut them off.

Silence. 

We asked them if they knew what they were saying, or if they were just saying it to say it. We had them sit down, and by this time people were paying attention. We picked out key words in our purpose Statement like Invite, Others, Jesus Christ, Recieve, Faith, Repentence, Baptism, Holy Ghost and Enduring, and talked about each one individually. I shared a lot about learning to have faith again and being humble and becoming like Christ by spending time with him. I felt like I shared some pretty personal things, but I don't really remember what. I don't think it was me talking at that point. I guess someone needed to hear it.

We also had President Interviews this week and a Special Spanish Training in which we were to the qualifications to receive the Spanish Certificate have been changed in our mission. It's a lot more focused on helping us learn Spanish as opposed to just know Spanish. If that makes sense. more on that another time. But it has already helped me a lot with my Spanish.

We had a lesson with a man, Juan, who we haven't seen in about three weeks. When I was companions with Sister Lund, I couldn't understand anything that he said. Nada. It was so difficult. Last night, I understood about 96.8% of what he said. Well what do ya know, I am improving :)

While in my interview with President Slaughter, I told him that I felt like my focus was split. Like I couldn't do, become and be everything that I needed to while on my mission. He told me that we're not expected to be linguists or scriptorians. He told me that if a Fire Hydrant were spraying water at us, sometimes, God expects us to get a straw and simply sip what we can. That's all he expects of us. To Simply sip. Good things to keep in mind. 

Well, time is out. I love you all and what to hear from everyone :) Remember when life Floods you with water, simply sip at it.

Love, 

Hermana Montgomery

It's Christmas Time It's Christmas Time Falalalala lalalaaaaa lalala lala laaaaa! - Dec 9, 2013

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.

Hermana Pond and I have been working a lot on our Spanish lately, especially our Irregular verbs and all of the million tenses for each of them. We'll stand on chairs in the kitchen and memorize them and quiz each other back and forth with them. We're getting a lot better, and it's helping me recognize and use the tenses for other verbs better. So we'll start shouting "Estar!" or "Tener" or the other ones at random and we'll have to say all the tenses for each of them. It uses a lot of brain power. But I'm understanding more. Unless it's super long stories that jump from present and past tense like it's a game. That's how our Lessons with Magdelina go...

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:

1. I was called specifically to Texas to help specific people, that only I could help.
2. God was pleased with my decision to serve a mission
3. My family was being blessed beyond measure for my service
4. I was to specifically study the Atonement of Jesus Christ
5. I was to specifically study how to have faith
6. 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...:)

I love you all a lot family, and I'm praying for you a lot. Stay warm in the weather, and remember our reason to rejoice this time of year. It's not just because of pop culture "Jesus loves me" kind of stuff, but it's because we do in reality have a Savior. Someone to lift us up when we can't find our faith, and who will bind up all our wounds. 

I love y'all :) Take care!

Hermana Montgomery

P.S. My favorite Christmas memory

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.