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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