Letter #8 5/22/13

 

Dear fam,

 

I'm going to UKRAINE!!! Alright, so I've known that for a while, but we got our flight plans, so FOR REAL I'm going to Ukraine. I leave the MTC Tuesday morning at like4:00 a.m., and get to Kyiv (after stops in Washington DC and Vienna, Austria) about 24 hours later. Brings back memories of my travels to Romania -- exhausting but awesome. :) And FYI, the last day I'll get mail is Saturday, so hopefully everything gets to me by then!

 

Real quick about the pictures... there's a couple pics of my district (that's the Ukrainian flag in case you couldn't guess), and then the picture of the chalkboard is when we split up into teams in our classroom to play a game. It was me and the Elders versus the rest of the Sisters, and our teacher named the teams "Tenors" and "Sisters." I got a kick out of that. :P And naturally, I've got to share a funny language story. Sister Lee in my district says "maybe later" in Russian like all the time (может быть потом), and the other day, I told her, "Hey, you should totally say 'может быть потомство' [sounds really similar]. It means like, 'maybe later for sure.'" So she was saying that all day, and then the next morning I finally told her that it actually means "maybe posterity." :) I love being good enough at the language to crack jokes and play pranks. I mean, preaching the gospel in Russian is awesome, but Russian puns are pretty great too. :)

 

Well, I've had an AMAZING week. A lot of teaching and studying as usual, but also incredible personal studies (especially in the Book of Mormon) and an amazing devotional last night. Elder Marcus B. Nash from the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke, and the whole thing was about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was incredible. It's amazing to me how REAL the gospel is. A few weeks ago after some sisters in my district practiced a musical number of "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," I turned to my friend and said, "Isn't it amazing that we can feel so close to a Man we've never even seen?" Last night in the devotional, there were literally thousands of us gathered together listening to Elder Nash talk about that Man, our Savior and Redeemer, and the feelingswere more real than anything physical I've experienced. It reminds me of the quote, "We're not human being having a spiritual experience. We're spiritual beings having a human experience." That's how I've felt in the MTC--so in tune with and encompassed by the Spirit that I've almost forgotten about all the physical things we worry about in our lives. Not to say that temporal things aren't important, but nothing compares to the joy and peace that comes from the Spirit of God and the doctrines of the gospel. The healing the Savior offers us is real, the forgiveness through His Atonement is real, the guidance and direction God gives us in our lives is real -- all fairly unseen (for now), but SO REAL! And yet there's something that IS seen: the change in the lives of those who apply the Savior's redeeming blood. I'm different because of it, and I'm so excited to see that change in the people that I'll teach. There's a topic in the Topical Guide under "abundant life." I can't think of a more fitting term for those who turn their lives over to God and consistently use the Atonement: abundant life.

 

Well, I leave for Ukraine in six days, and that brings a lot of emotions with it... mostly a balance between excitement and some fear. Thankfully I've had a lot of scriptures brought to my mind to put my fears to rest a little bit: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." (2 Kings 6:16) "If this... this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it." (Acts 5:38-39) I know that I'm doing the work of God, and I know it will go forth, even with such imperfect and weak instruments as mortal, young missionaries. I've been thinking about what the MTC has done for me. I know a lot more Russian than two months ago, and I know more about teaching, but above all, my testimony and desire to share it has grown incredibly. I can't think of a better way to describe it than being spiritually on fire. I had a pretty big flame before coming here, but now it is RAGING, and I know that, for now, it's enough to get me out to Ukraine. It's enough to withstand the rejection I'm sure to face, and the sorrow that comes when people reject the message of the gospel, and any discomfort that I'll deal with. And I also know now how to keep that flame burning when I'm there. I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to be here for nine weeks, and I'm really going to miss this sacred place. But at the same time, it's a good thing I'm leaving because I don't know how much longer I can keep this fire contained. I'm nervous, I'm excited, but I'm also confident that the work of God will go forth "boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." And perhaps above all, I'm just grateful for the privilege to be a part of it.

 

Talk to you next week :)

Sister Montgomery

 

PS-- Just as a reminder, anyone can email me at elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net if they don't want to send stuff all the way to Ukraine. Or real mail works too, whatever you want. :)

 

 

Fwd: Letter #7 - 5/15/13

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, May 15, 2013 at 5:37 PM
Subject: Letter #7 - 5/15/13
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Hello again! This is almost the last email you'll get from me in the MTC. Next week is my last P-Day, then the following Tuesday I'm off to Ukraine! I should get my travel plans this weekend, so I'll let you know what they are, mostly because I get to call you in the airport! Only for like 30 minutes, but I'm really excited. I'll make sure to let you know when so you can plan on being available.

 

Okay, I've got to tell some funny stories. A few weeks ago, Sister Ford in my district was bearing her testimony to someone on the way back to our apartment. One of the things she wanted to say was "Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon." Well, the word for translate in Russian is перевести, which sounds like "pair-a-vest-EE." She accidentally combined the English and Russian and said, "Joseph Smith transvestite..." Oh man, gotta love language spoofs. Here's one of mine: This past week, Sister Barnes and I were chosen to do a teaching demonstration in front of our class, and we were teaching an investigator named Sergei. He told us how hard his life has been, and I responded, "I know that life is hard. We all have concerns, we all have problems, and we all have fears. But I also know that the gospel can help each one of us in our lives." Well aterward, Brat Dean (Sergei) told me that instead of "fears" (straw-hee), I said "countries" (straw-nee). "We all have problems, we all have countries... it's so hard!" [By the way, Brat (pronounced "brot") is brother in Russian...] And lastly, my companion Sister Barnes had a nice English spoof. She makes fun of me because I love seeing the senior couples holding hands and whatnot, so it's become a joke that I'm obsessed with "old people PDA." But a couple days ago, she was explaining that to someone and said I was obsessed with "old people DNA." Gross! By the way, I haven't written about Sister Barnes much, but she is AWESOME. We're in such a groove together, it's great. Sometimes I feel like we're a married couple or something the way we know what each other is thinking and can finish sentences and we know all each other's quirks. It's great. I'm really gonna miss her -- hopefully we're compy comps in the field.

 

 So, what did I do this week? Well, Elder Russell M. Nelson came to speak at devotional last night! It was super good (how could it not be? he's an apostle of God!) He and his wife talked a lot about linking family history and missionary work, which I think is awesome because I LOVE family history work. I heard that in Russian culture, they have a lot of respect for family, so that'll definitely benefit us as we try to find and teach people about the gospel. Also last night, the choir opened the meeting (we do that every Tuesday devotional) singing "Come Thou Fount," and it was amazing. I've always loved the tune to that song, but this was the first time I really paid attention to the words. I love the lines "O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be," and "Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God," and "He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood." It's such a humbling song, and it really teaches about the love God shows us through His Son Jesus Christ. And I love that not only does God know and love me, but He knows, loves, and watches over those that I love. That gives me a lot of comfort.

 

I did a lot of teaching this past week. One lesson in particular was incredible. Thursday night I was scheduled to teach our investigator Sasha (female name, but he's a male) with another missionary (to get to know how someone else works). Well, that morning I was studying about what to teach Sasha, and when I was searching LDS.org for something to meet his needs, I was just overcome with the Spirit. I felt God's love for him, I felt the truth of what I would teach, and I especially felt that God wanted Sasha to know and accept the restored gospel because He has a work for him to do on the earth. And then I just got inspiration after inspiration about what to teach him. He had concerns about Joseph Smith, especially that God would call someone so young and uneducated to be a prophet. Well, the Spirit brought to mind Samuel in the Old Testament, who was also a young prophet (a teenager at the time). I found Samuel 3 (you should totally read that chapter sometime) about when he was called, and I LOVED verse 18 -- here, Samuel tells Eli everything that happened (that the Lord had called him as a prophet) and Eli responds, "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good." So many people accept the prophets of the Bible, but why not Joseph Smith? Samuel was young (v.1) and uneducated (v.7), and yet the Lord came and appeared before him (v.10) and called him to be a prophet of God (v.20). Exact same thing with Joseph Smith. Why put constraints on the God of the universe? If He wants to call prophets in our day, why not? If He wants to give us more of His words to help and bless us, why not? It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth him good! He has the power to do it, we have the need for it, and He loves us enough to have restored His gospel in our day through the prophet Joseph Smith. That's the message I'm sharing: He speaks! Not just in the Bible for a bunch of people a long time ago, but right here and right now for US through the Book of Mormon, the prophets, and the gift of the Holy Ghost! (Somebody go get me a rooftop! I just want to get up there and shout it!)

 

Anyway, I taught Sasha all this in the lesson, including sharing the experience I had while studying about what to teach him. The Spirit was incredible in the lesson, and everything made perfect sense to him. Afterward, Brat Mansfield (who was playing Sasha) said that it was one of the clearest lessons he's ever heard. His needs matched our preparation perfectly (thank you, Holy Ghost!) and he said that his testimony was really strengthened about the Restoration. It was so amazing. I said quite a prayer of gratitude after that lesson. Actually, that's been one of my goals lately -- whenever I pray BEFORE something, make sure to pray AFTER to, to show gratitude. Sometimes I feel like we're quick to ask for help, and then God blesses us for it, and then we walk away (like the 9/10 lepers) without expressing our appreciation for that help.

 

So yeah, those were the high points of my week for sure. Things have been really great lately -- I'm healthy, I'm really in a groove of learning and working, and God is bounteously blessing me every day. I hope things are well at home. I pray for all of you every day! I thought about you a lot on Mother's Day, Mom, and I watched those motherly Mormon Messages and may possibly have cried just a little bit... or a lot. I'm just so grateful for you, and I'm grateful for who I've become because of you. I can't thank you and Dad enough. :)

 

Have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Montgomery

 

PS -- Another spiritual thought I shared in a lesson: "When you pray for rain, do you leave home with an umbrella?" What's your umbrella?...

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Fwd: Letter #5/6 - 5/8/13

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, May 8, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Subject: Letter #5/6 - 5/8/13
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Dear fam,

 

I'm alive! Would you like to hear the story of my week? I'll make it as dramatic as possible for your entertainment.

 

It all started last Monday. I was feeling miserable ALL day, and my misery culminated in throwing up that evening. The next day I slept in, felt half-way okay, but luckily had the bright idea to go see the doctor. We've become good friends by now with my sleeping problems and other illnesses, and when he walked in, I joked, "I can't wait until I don't have to see you anymore. I mean, you're nice and all, but seriously..." Well, I explained my symptoms to him, which apparently had FLU written all over them. He had a nurse come in a do a flu test -- a nasal swab in which she stuck a stick up my nostril so far I thought she was going to pull it out of my eye socket. 10 minutes later, the doc came back in with two Gatorades, flu medicine, and the directive that I was being transferred to Quarantine. Yes, Quarantine. Isolation. Solitary Confinement. The Whole Shebang. They put a mask on me, my companion escorted me to the classroom and my bedroom to collect my precious belongings, and then security escorted me to the Dungeons (technically the third floor of a random wing in 2M, but who's keeping track?) Directly after, they hauled my whole district to the health clinic to take the same flu medicine as a preventative measure.

 

I spent four long days in my prison cell, as I slowly etched the days into the wall with a plastic spoon. (K, just kidding, it was more shaped like a hotel room...) Security brought me my meals and mail three times a day, and the doctor came and checked on me once a day (wearing a mask to ensure that I still felt like a leper). On the second day, I was blessed again with human contact thanks to a sick roommate that joined me. I was so excited to pour my soul out to another living creature, but it turns out she was Japanese and didn't speak any English. Shoot. She stayed with me for two days, I was alone for half a day, and then Hermana Salas joined me (who did speak English) and pretty much saved my life. She was great. You'd think that I'd enjoy the solitude having been tied to a companion for a month straight prior to Isolation, but it was pretty lame.

 

Meanwhile, I was sick as a dog. For four days, I accomplished the following tasks: wrote letters for 2 hours, read scriptures for 2 hours, studied Russian for 1 hour, and... slept for the rest of the 96 hours. It was bad. Not gonna lie, I was really miserable. It's a good thing I couldn't write emails during that time because they would've been pretty down. BUT, the doctor finally let me out on Saturday on the grounds that "It's too depressing here. I think you need to get out." I wasn't contagious anymore, but I still felt pretty sick, so I spent all of that day AND Sunday resting. Slowly but surely, my health returned to me, I was back to work on Monday, feeling fairly normal on Tuesday (pshh, as if I'm normal...), and now I'm feeling great! And let me tell you... four days of being stuck in a room will REALLY make you grateful for the outside world. The flowers never looked so beautiful to me (they keep the MTC campus so pretty), and I remembered how much I loved and missed my district. AND I really missed productivity. Oh man, I'm so glad I'm feeling better again. If you're healthy right now, thank God for it... what a blessing.

 

Anyway, how is everyone doing? Mom, sorry but they don't let us call on Mother's Day! I wish I could, but I guess we'll just have to wait until Christmas. But... Happy Mother's Day to the best mother in the world! I have nothing to send you except my love, immense gratitude, and this really cute video: http://youtu.be/0PTfOA0gF08 . Our district is kind of obsessed with Mormon Messages (especially the "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" one). Hope you like it!

 

By the way, I'll be playing my Praise to the Man piece for the new missionary meeting this afternoon at 3:00. Wish me luck! (And thanks again, Mom, for forcing piano lessons on me earlier in life. So grateful!)

 

Well, before I clock back into my P-Day, allow me to share a little spiritual thought... This last week was really humbling. Like really. Not only did I lose my health for over a week, but during that long gap, I felt I lost a lot of my Russian skills, and I kind of forgot what it was like to be a missionary, and I was just really physically/mentally/spiritually "off." Thankfully I'm back "on" now, but it took awhile. I did a lot of wallowing in my weakness, and my pride kept me from turning my burdens over to Christ. But then I was reminded that in a weird way, that whole experience was an answer to one of my own prayers. Monday morning I was journaling about pride, and my last sentence was, "I pray that God may grant me the humility I'm so quick to forget." (I've heard that if you pray for patience, God blesses you with trials, but I didn't know praying for humility had the same result!)

 

Also in that entry, I came up with this image: "A man (representing my Father) carrying me as a little child on His back, climbing Mt. Everest. I'm not sure how far up we are, but I think when I start getting prideful and think about how far *I* have climbed, it's like that man disappears, and I'm left sitting in the snow, unable to progress and destined to freeze and die. And what's interesting is that the only thing that changed is my recognition of my Father's goodness and power. It's not a question of how I got that far up the mountain -- it's only a question of whether or not I realize and admit the truth of the situation: that I am nothing, and that I am destined to failure without my Father, and that all the progress that I have made and will make is because He has carried me.... When I think about myself as a little child stranded somewhere up Mt. Everest, it makes me cringe because it's incomplete. I don't WANT to stop there! There's so much further to go, so many lives to touch, so many more ways to be Christlike, so much I want to do that I can't do on my own! But the beautiful thing about that humble realization is that right in that moment, my Father reappears, and we continue upward." I feel like my week was a reminder of what life would be like without Him (more spiritually than physically, but I was weak in every way). I'm grateful that I've been humbled so that He has reappeared in my life even more strongly. I know that whenever we repent and change our lives to be more in accordance with His will, especially when we humble ourselves and recognized His greatness and our nothingness, He blesses us with His love and Spirit and capacities beyond our own means.

 

Alright, well I hope y'all have a great week! I'll be thinking of you on Sunday, Mom (even though I think about you every day anyway) :)

 

Love,

Sister Montgomery

 

PS - Thanks Nate for the Men's Chorus CD! I'm excited to listen to it out in the field. :)

PPS - Emily... you're almost here! Somehow we've got to find each other. If all else fails, come to choir the first Sunday you're here, and I'm usually in the first few rows of the altos (and plus, choir rocks -- it's one of my favorite parts of the week). Or my dorm room is 3M 407... Be excited!

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: Sister Montgomery

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kati Ford <kati.ford@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, May 1, 2013 at 5:43 PM
Subject: Sister Montgomery
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Dear Sister Montgomery's family,

 

I'm so sorry that Sister Montgomery was sick this week.  I bet it will be hard not to get an email today!  But I thought I would write you real quick and tell you that your daughter, aunt, sister, friend, whatever she is to you, is SO great!  I love her so much!  I share a room with her and she just lights up the room.  It has been weird not having her around the last few days.  But I know she will be back, healthy and ready to work!

 

I have a few minutes so I thought I could tell you some things that she probably doesn't tell you

 

1st of all - She is amazing at Russian.  And so humble about it.  She understands everything and is always so willing to help anyone.  She has taught me so much!  She is great!

2nd - Everyone in our district loves her.  Seriously.  She is funny, witty, smart, and super nice.  No one ever has anything bad to say about her.

3rd - She is a great example to me and I'm sure to everyone else.  She is 21, and I think she is a great example to the younger sisters.  She is a great example to me and I learn so much about being a missionary from her! I love her!

 

Thanks for raising such a wonderful daughter.  She is so great! We all love her and are praying for her to feel better!

 

-Sister Kati Ford

 

Also, she should've sent you a letter in the mail today.  It should come soon.  Also, I'll send a picture of her from this last week!

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: Sister Montgomery

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kelsie Cherie Barnes <kelsie.barnes@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, May 1, 2013 at 5:04 PM
Subject: Sister Montgomery
To: chrismont9@gmail.com

Hello Montgomery family!

 

This is Sister Barnes, Sister Montgomery's companion. :) You probably won't get an email from Sister Montgomery this week because of some weird events that have spanned over the past two days. She has been sick off and on for the past few weeks, and none of the medications were helping. She received a blessing for the Elders in our district on Monday night and then slept for the morning yesterday when she went to the doctor. She was on splits with another sister so I could go to class. While I was in class, she came in with the other sister and a mask on. The news was that she has the flu and that she has been quarantined for a couple days so it doesn't spread since there are so many missionaries in close quarters. Her sickness isn't as bad as it sounds, since being quarantined sounds like jail, but they are just taking it to the extreme to make sure she gets better quickly. Her mind isn't affected by the flu at all: she's still witty and hilarious as usual, so you don't need to worry about her one bit! The MTC (and we) are taking good care of her!

 

Thank you for raising an amazing daughter who is strong in the gospel and sets a supreme example for all she meets. She knows what to say when to say it and she offers the best advice and wisdom in our meetings. I love her and I'm so grateful to be her companion!

 

Love,

 

Sister Barnes

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.