Fwd: [melandruthfans] Fwd: Letter #4 - 4/24/13 [3 Attachments]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christine Montgomery
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2013
Subject: [melandruthfans] Fwd: Letter #4 - 4/24/13 [3 Attachments]
To: "melandruthfans@yahoogroups.com" <melandruthfans@yahoogroups.com>



[Attachment(s) from Christine Montgomery included below]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery
Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Subject: Letter #4 - 4/24/13
To: chrismont9@gmail.com


Dear fam,

Good morning! Early letter today... went to the temple at 6:00 a.m. (a time which I didn't know existed prior to today), did laundry right after, and now we're emailing. I'm feeling a LOT better than last week. Still having some trouble sleeping (Russian is to my brain as caffeine is to the body), but I'm working on that.

Mom, to answer some of your questions, the investigators that we teach aren't technically real investigators. Our Russian teachers (there's four of them) play the role of a real person they taught or met on their mission, and we teach them as if they were that person. You'd think it'd be weird just "pretend teaching" like that, but it actually feels super real, and the Spirit's just as powerful. As for your question about birthday presents, you can go ahead and send them in May (but not too heavy cause I'll have to pack them!) I was thinking about gift ideas, and I really don't know what I'd want. I'm sure anything you send will be great. I was actually thinking... for Reanna, Mindy, Jess, and Becky, instead of sending me gifts for two birthdays and Christmas, what would you think about starting to save up some money for me to come visit you all when I get back next October? It'd be a lot of fun to just state-hop and spend a week with each of you -- way better than any gift you could send me. Something to think about.

Oh, I forgot I had pictures (courtesy of Sister Lee and her mad photo skills). Sister Clark's birthday was on Sunday, so we threw her a little party. Also, the dog picture has a story soon to come...

This week was super good! It started out with TRC last Wednesday night. That's when volunteers from around the area come in (acting as themselves), and we teach them (in Russian of course). I shared with them a few experiences of having my prayers answered, and it was really powerful. I'm grateful for the spiritual experiences I've had in my life because they allow me to testify with power to the people I teach, because I've actually experienced the love of God, the Atonement, answered prayers, and so forth.

Sunday was an awesome day, for a lot of reasons. First, I pet a dog! We were coming back from our temple walk, and Sister Barnes pointed out a dog that I surprisingly didn't see, and I darted over there faster than you could say "Fido." I asked to pet him (his name was Brutus -- fitting for his size), and then just loved on him for like five minutes. Totally made my day. He was so cute! Another awesome thing about Sunday: I saw Nathan! The BYU Men's Chorus came and sang to us, and I caught up with him afterward and got to say hi. That was a lot of fun. Oh, and I forgot, tell Emily how excited I am about her mission call! We're definitely going to find each other in that one week that we overlap. She's gonna love it here -- it's amazing. And while I'm on the subject of extended family, thanks to my aunts and uncles who have written me and forwarded me the cousins' letters. I'm grateful for such a strong support system!

Monday, Sister Barnes and I taught one of our investigators, Irena. The character is an atheist philosophy student interested in what we believe and why we believe it (on an intellectual level). It was our second lesson with her, and the first where we actually prepared a lesson (the first time we met with her, we just got to know her). Anyway, it was SUCH a good lesson. We started out by talking about how we know physical things with our physical senses, and spiritual things with our spiritual sense of the Holy Ghost (using 1 Corinthians 2:11-14). She was really interested in that, so we talked a little more about the Holy Ghost and how it feels and what it does. She asked how she could feel it, so then we talked about prayer. The whole time, her and Sister Barnes and I were totally on the same page with everything, and the Spirit was really strong. We read Moroni 10:4-5 with her, and I asked her if she wanted to know if our message was true, and if she wanted to know if there was a God. She was hesitant and answered with an "I don't know," and after some silence, I asked why not. She said, "Because if there was a God, then He would be able to see all the mistakes that I make, and that's scary. And I'd have to change, and that's hard. It's scary." I was surprised but so happy that she opened up to us like that. I told her I understood (because I do), but then Sister Barnes and I testified about God being our friend and how He sent His Son to atone for our sins so that we can receive forgiveness from those mistakes and sins. And even though change is hard, with the gospel, we change into something better than we are without it. We become more of who we want to be. We were out of time in our lesson, but we ended with prayer, first me and then Irena. It was the first time she had ever prayed, and I almost cried during it because I was so happy for her. It was an incredible lesson, totally guided and confirmed by the Holy Ghost. I love teaching, and I love WHAT I'm teaching.

That's all I've got time for today, but I'll leave you with a great quote I heard last year: "I sought my God, but my God I couldn't see. I sought my soul, but my soul eluded me. I sought my brother, and I found all three." -Someone Awesome

Love,
Sister Montgomery

PS - Some other sisters in my district have blogs if you wanna check them out:
sistermariellee.blogspot.com
sisterkatiford.blogspot.com

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Fwd: Letter #3 - 4/17/13

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:53 PM
Subject: Letter #3 - 4/17/13
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Dearest darlingest Mumsie and Popsicle, (quote from "Wicked," the best musical ever...)

 

Hello! Good news... emailing got extended to 60 minutes every P-Day instead of just 30! Definitely less stressful for me. Still not a ton of time, but it's better!

 

Well, another week gone by. Not particularly the best week... I've been pretty sick with a sore throat, cough, congestion, lost voice, and all that good stuff. But I got some drugs from the doc and things are looking up. There's nothing quite like illness to make you grateful for your health. If you wouldn't mind praying for me to get (and stay) better, that would be much appreciated.

 

Last week I was feeling a little stagnant in my progress here, with the language and gospel and everything. We stay so busy here, but it's easy to lose productivity amidst the busy-ness if you're not careful. Or in my case, I think I just wasn't taking the time to decide what I wanted to be learning and then making steps to learn it. So anyway, since last Thursday I've been making goals for every day and planning every bit of study that I have, and things have been WAY better. I know what I want, and I plan how to acheive it, and then I do it! It's neat being in an environment that is constantly pushing you to do and be better, and yet not being overwhelmed by it. That's a hard balance to acheive, but I think that's usually how it is when we have the Spirit with us: we want to change and improve (and we do), and yet we're not devastated about the state we're currently in. Change is a wonderful thing, and I love that the Atonement makes improvement and progression possible by moving us forward while forgiving our past.

 

Oh, here's some funny stories from my district. Our district motto is YOSO -- "You Only Serve Once!" (a spoof off of the modern "eat, drink, and be merry" YOLO phrase [You Only Live Once]). I think it's hilarious. Also, since I'm the oldest one in the district (a whoppin 21 years old! - ancient, I know), they've taken to occasionally calling me "Babushka Montgomery," because "babushka" means "grandma" in Russian. Har har har. :) Man, I love my district -- they're hilarious and fantastic.

 

By the way, I tried out for a musical number with my "Praise to the Man" piano arrangement. They said yes to it (after I put some more phrasing to it), so I'll play it sometime somewhere for some event before I leave the MTC. I'll let you know. If it's a fireside, that's like 3000 people, so uh... we'll see how that goes.

 

We've had some pretty amazing devotional speakers lately. Greg Droubay came on Sunday, and he's the head of the media department for the church. He talked about the different advertising projects that the church has going on, particularly in New York City and London. In fact, he was in London just last week and met with all the missionaries there, so I wouldn't be surprised if Derek writes about this new initiative the Church has put out in London. Basically there's Mormon.org advertisements like EVERYWHERE. They're on 250 double decker buses, they're in all the major tube stations, they're in the major London train station, and they're even in the theater programs for the Book of Mormon musical. Brother Droubay told us about some on the Londoner's reactions, like one woman in the tube station who said to herself, "How did I get in a Mormon tunnel?" Another woman read all the posters on the way up an escalator (they showed different people with quotes about what their faith means to them), and was crying at the top. Brother Droubay asked her if she was okay, and she said, "That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." The work of the Lord really is going forth, and I love how the Church is intent on bringing it to every single person in whatever way we can. (PS - One year ago today, I was walking the streets of London! Ahhhh good times :) )

 

Last night we had an even more amazing devotional... by Elder Richard G. Scott! It's always a surprise who's going to speak, and what a great surprise it was last night! He gave a very powerful talk about prayer and our relationship with our Father in Heaven, and at the end he left us an apostolic blessing (how cool is that?!) that those who are learning a language will be blessed with the gift of tongues to master that particular language, that we will be able to learn and grow from our companions, and that the mission will be a "rich and rewarding experience" to us. He closed his testimony with the words, "I know Jesus Christ lives, because I know Him." It was SO powerful, and I'm grateful that we have a living prophet and apostles who know Jesus Christ and lead His church with love and authority. After the closing song, Elder Scott got back up and said a few more words that were apparently too important to go left unsaid. A few of the things that I wrote down were, "The Lord has called you to succeed, not to fail," and also, "Heavenly Father knows who you are, He knows what you need, and He knows what He wants you to become." It was amazing, plain and simple. I came away with a greater testimony of the Lord's chosen leaders and also a greater desire to deepen my relationship with my loving Father in Heaven through prayer.

 

Last spiritual thought for the day: sometimes when I'm about to give a lesson to one of my investigators, and I'm not feeling particularly confident in my speaking abilities or whatnot, I always catch myself and think, "What am I worried about? This is the Lord's work! It's going to go forward no matter what, even with weak mortals like me. So long as I do my best and follow the Lord, I will succeed." Well, lately I've started thinking, "Why am I limiting that confidence to just a mission?" God cares just as much about the other aspects of my life, and everyone else's life for that matter. When I get home and continue my education, move forward in a career, and pursue a family, God will help me. He cares about each of us, and if we are striving to do what is right, especially in serving His children, He will bless us in whatever work it is we're doing.

 

That's all for today! By the way, for all who have written me and are awaiting responses, sorry I'm so slow! My P-Days are packed, but I do my best! Love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Montgomery

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Fwd: Letter #2 - 4/10/13

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 2:12 PM
Subject: Letter #2 - 4/10/13
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Dear Mom and company,

Hey! Is this really only my second letter? I feel like I've been here forever (in a good way though haha). Another great week here in the MTC! It's really just more of the same actually... studying, classes, teaching, a devotional here and there. By the way, Bishop Causse (presiding bishop) came and spake to us on Easter, and then Sheri Dew spoke that night, then we had Elder Ringwood (of the Seventy) on Tuesday, Vocal Point on Sunday (I guess 10 hours of general conference was enough to warrant a musical group instead of another speaker that night), then Gerald Lund last night. They've all been AMAZING, and then afterward we talk about it with our district, and it's one of my favorite parts of the week. I'm also in the MTC choir, and it's a lot of fun and very uplifting. The director always has spiritual thoughts to go along with our practices, and we really focus on the words of the hymns we sing, and it really makes the songs (and the Spirit) come alive.

 

Oh, so I threw in some pictures this week for your viewing pleasure! There's one of Sister Barnes and I, another one of our whole district at the temple last Sunday, and then a pic of all the girls in my district -- we had a "dress like Elders" day where we, well... dressed like Elders. We had the button-up shirts and jackets, and the scarfs were our ties. Precious, I know. Actually, it was really quite fun. :) Oh, and I bet all of you are wondering how I'm doing with my fashion. Well, let me tell you... I've been looking pretty schnazzy. My roommates help me every morning to ensure that I don't walk out the door with clothes that look like a train wreck, and I'm even getting better at learning how to do it on my own. In fact, right now I'm wearing one of those little belt thingies around my waist -- you know, the kind that serves absolutely no practical purpose but which someone somewhere (at some point) decided would be fashionable. You're not even gonna recognize me in a year and a half... just you wait.

 

Well, I should probably get all spiritual now. Just kidding... but really. How bout general conference?! Talk about powerful! It was SO awesome watching it in the MTC, and I loved every minute of it. I felt like there were a lot of themes, such as... obedience to the gospel brings about a happy life, you can have personal peace with the gospel despite how bad the world gets, and this is God's work and it WILL go forward. There were a lot of talks I loved, but I've been thinking a lot about Elder Perry's and Elder Stanley G. Ellis' talks. Elder Ellis talked about the Lord having a "way" for everything in life, and how His way is the best way. Elder Perry (and President Monson right after) talked about how important obedience is ("Obedience to law is liberty"). Kind of going along with my thoughts last week, I just think it's incredible that we have the TRUTH in this gospel -- is is THE WAY to be happy. I'm not gonna go to Ukraine and tell people about a bunch of rules and ideas and whatnot -- I'm going to be preaching laws and truth! It's like mortality is a terrain, and whether you have a map or not, we all have to journey through it. But we DO have a map, and it's the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. When I was in Romania, I went and served those children according to the laws of physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and language development. And now I'm going to Ukraine and serving those people according to the laws of spiritual and moral development. Those laws are as sure as gravity, and it's through obedience to those laws that we can have peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

 

One more quick thought. The Spirit has continued to be amazing here, and I've been feeling a lot of hope recently. On Sunday I wrote in my journal, "Words do no justice to describe this, but basically the Holy Ghost has been so powerful that it's as if great things to come in my life are already with me. It's like in Jacob 4:13 when it says that the Spirit speaketh 'of things as they really will be.'... It doesn't matter that these things are in the future and that I can't see them -- a God has told me they are true, and I can't deny it. It's not unconditional, but it is completely in my control as I love, trust, and serve the Lord. And you want to know what happens when you glimpse your own glorious future, as if it was as sure as your present? You weep with joy and gratitude at God's amazing love and grace." All of our righteous desires will be fulfilled as we follow the Lord! I will have an amazing mission, and I will come home and have an amazing rest of my life, and I KNOW it because God has promised again and again (in the scriptures and through the Spirit) that He will take care of me and the people I love. I love this gospel so much. Tell everyone about it! :)

 

Love,

Sister Montgomery

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Fwd: Letter #1 - 4/3/13

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 1:43 PM
Subject: Letter #1 - 4/3/13
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Hello family and friends!

 

Okay, so they only give us 30 minutes to email, so I'll type as fast as I can. First off, thanks to everyone who has written me (and sent packages)! :) I didn't think mail would be such a big deal, but I LOVE it. I don't even care if it's something silly, I just love hearing from people. And by the way, new mission rule - anyone can email me (elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net), and I can email anyone. However, given my limited time, and the fact that mail is AWESOME, you should totally Dear Elder me instead. By the way, I can read mail any day, but I only email and write letters on P-Day (which is Wednesday), so hopefully that helps you gauge what my communication is like...

 

Alright, so the MTC... is ridiculously awesome. I'm like in heaven, no joke. I spend all day every day pretty much studying the gospel, studying Russian, studying the gospel in Russian, having a ton of fun with my district, stuffing myself with food in the cafeteria, going to gym a bit every day (playing b-ball), and oh yeah -- sleeping occasionally. Waking up at 6:30 has been surprisingly easy, but so far I haven't been able to fall asleep earlier than 11:30 (even though lights are out at 10:30) just because my mind is so on fire from all the working. I was about to say, "I could do this all day, every day," but then I realized that that's exactly what I'm doing. I seriously love my life right now--I can't believe I was actually nervous for this. The adjustment was super quick, and I just LOVE it here.

 

My companion, Sister Barnes, is really cool. She's from Spokane, WA, went to BYU a bit before the mish, and she and I work really well together. Our district has eight Sisters all going to Kyiv, and then three Elders, two going to the Baltics and one going to Samara, Russia. Pretty crazy setup to have eight girls and only three guys! I can't even tell you how awesome my district is. I feel like we've known each other for like years, and it's only been a week! We have so much fun together, it's great. I didn't realize how much fun this would be, but I'm having a blast.

 

The Russian is coming surprisingly well. And by "surprisingly well" I mean like it's kind of amazing. We taught our first Russian lesson on Friday, and it was ROUGH. But we taught again Saturday, and I was able to tell our investigator (in Russian), "I know that God lives and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Heavenly Father loves you and He wants you to know that, and you can know it through prayer and the Holy Ghost." Where did THAT come from?! Three and a half days and I was already testifying of truth in Russian. And the Spirit was SO strong, it was amazing. We might not be able to speak Russian that well, but we can sure speak with the Holy Ghost when we testify with love.

 

So yeah, I'm learning Russian super quick. God has definitely given me a brain that thrives on all this work and learning, and I'm so grateful for it. I'm trying to help my district out as much as I can... the other day I decided that I would try to make their success as important to me as my own success. I want to build up the kingdom of God, and I know that 11 of us can do it WAY better than I will ever be able to alone.

 

This week I got word about Rocky (my most recent puppy). My guide dog group leader sent me a note saying that he "is great and his new mom loves him and he goes to work with her every day!" I'll get more details later, but I was SO happy to hear that news because I just love him so much, and I know that he's happy (he LOVES to work, and I'm glad he's not stuck in someone's back yard all day long). Anyway, forgive me for using a dog analogy (though I'm sure you're not surprised), but it just reminded me of how much joy it brings me when those I love are happy and safe. I don't think anything compares to that. In fact, I think it's how you feel reading this, knowing that I'm doing so well right now. And I just think it's amazing that the gospel gives us everything we need to be happy. We are designed to thrive on God, and the gospel tells us everything we need to do and be to have joy and peace and love in our lives. I just want to give it to everyone in whatever way I can. I'll have to wait eight more weeks to do that for the people in Ukraine, but until then, I'd love to do that for anyone back home that could use it (and let's be honest, who doesn't need more joy and peace and love in their life?) Write me with thoughts or questions or anything, and let me practice teaching and lifting others through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it so much!

 

Darn, my time is up! I'll write next week!

 

Love,

Sister Montgomery

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