December 20, 2011

Hello Family!

Merry Christmas!!!!  I'm excited to talk to you soon!  I'll be calling
around 1:00 - I hope that's okay! We can talk for about 30-40 minutes
(so it'll be for 40 minutes :) )

This past week was good. The kids got baptized!  A lot of people were
there to support them. I got to lead the music (the songs were picked
by the kids and one of them was pretty obscure - that was an adventure
:)) and give the talk on the Holy Ghost.

We met some new people this week tracting and from referrals. All of
our investigators now are in the beginning stages of conversion, so it
will be cool to be able to teach them.

We had dinner with a recent convert named Brother Hill this past week.
He met the sisters in September and got baptized in October (and
would've gotten baptized sooner if they'd let him). He has such a
strong testimony of the church!  He's read the whole Book of Mormon
and has studied so much. He knows just about everything about the
church and he tells everyone about it!  He's about to start taking
every religion class at BYU online.  It's amazing to see how much
excitement the fullness of the Gospel brings into people's lives.

I love you all so much!  I can't wait to talk to you on Sunday!

Love,
Sister Monson

December 13, 2011

Hello Family!

Thank you so, so much for the Christmas package!  Sister Williams and
I love the cds and our stockings!  That made my day :)

It's been a good week.  We are having three baptisms on Saturday!
There are a brother and a sister whose parents have been less active.
They are the sweetest kids. There's also a girl whose grandparents are
recent converts. Her sister wants to be baptized now, too, and her
parents are willing to learn more. It's wonderful to see the Gospel
spread through this family.

I'm definitely in Oklahoma. On the drive home, on the freeway, I hit a
possum. That was traumatizing. It was my first time experiencing
roadkill first hand. Up to that point I'd only seen the after-effects.
Also, on the way up to an appointment's door the member who was
coming with us screamed. I turned around and found that she had
discovered a donkey following her and it startled her. It would've
startled me, too.

I love you all so much!  Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Monson

November 28, 2011

Dear Family,

 

This past week was wonderful!!!!  And amazing!!!  The Sisters Conference was so fun. It was all rest and relaxation. We carpooled to Tulsa on Tuesday. The Elders in Springfield have a van so we used it and they used ours while we were gone.  I drove all the way.  We picked up sisters in Springfield and in Joplin. It was crazy to be able to see Joplin. It's been months since the tornado, but there's still a lot of damage. 

 

At the conference we watched a couple Journey of Faith DVDs, visited, played a game called tower ball that's like a mix between baseball and cricket, took lots of pictures, made little candy turkeys, watched a really funny home video the Merkleys made years ago, had a talent show, watched Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concerts, decorated the mission home for Christmas, had a clothes swap, played basketball and visited a lot. We also had a really amazing discussion with President Merkley about some deep and amazing parts of the Gospel. I learned so much from that. It was a great time and it was so fun to meet all the sisters and see Sister Gray again. She and Sister Boone were the only companions I've had that are still in the mission. The sisters are all amazing. 

 

I got a transfer call!  I'm leaving Nixa on Thursday and going to Sallisaw, OK with a sister named Sister Williams. She was one of Sister Boone's companions in the MTC. I'm finally going to Sallisaw.  That's where I was going to go all those months ago but it never worked out. I'm sad to be leaving everyone here that I love so much, but it'll be cool to go to a new place and work with new people. I know that it's where Heavenly Father wants me to be. 

 

I love you all so much!  Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

November 21, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving Family!

This week has been good. We got to teach The Plan of Salvation a lot this week and it made me grateful for it. It makes so much sense and bring so much peace. 

We taught a new lady this week whose uncle is a member and sent her a Book of Mormon, which she's been reading regularly. She's older and has leukemia. She is the sweetest thing - she's making us a pie today. We got to see Brother Donelow's daughter a couple of times this week and teach her at his house and at another member's house. She came to church again and liked it. She's a fun lady.  The Browns are doing great! The girls are working on their personal progress and fit right in to young womens. We taught them the Word of Wisdom last week and they've been getting a little persecuted about it by their family, but they're staying strong.  There are so many wonderful people here. People do so much more for me than I do for them.

We moved last week!  The members we were living with are moving. We're living in an apartment now. The new address is 230 W Tracker in Nixa. Transfer calls are this Saturday, so I might be leaving the week after this one, but that'll be my address for a week and half at least :).  We live in a complex with a few less active families, so that will be handy. 

I love you all so much!  I hope you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Love,

Sister Monson

November 14, 2011

 

Dear Family,

 

It was a great week!  We got to go to the Brown's wedding and it was great. They got married by Bishop in a park in Springfield. We moved up their baptism dates up to Dec. 10th. It's been amazing to see the power of The Book of Mormon, and the Spirit that people feel when they attend church. At first one of the girls was really hesitant about joining the church, but as she's read, gone to church, and met with us, she's come to know that the church is true, and the Spirit in her testimony is strong. Her mom felt it was true from the start. It's been wonderful to see them make changes and become a stronger family.

 

We had a wonderful Sacrament meeting yesterday. Two of our investigators came to church who have never been before. One was Brother Donelow's daughter, and another was a lady who grew up Lutheran and always hated going to church, so she hasn't been for years. We've been teaching her for awhile and it has been really hard to get her to church, but she came and enjoyed it very much and will come again. I can't tell you how happy it made me to see these people and our other investigators there!

 

Sis. Liccardi went to her church Wednesday night and brought up that she's been meeting with us. That, of course, led to people telling her to stop seeing us. She said she gave a "Mormon sermon" for 30 minutes straight, defending The Book of Mormon, and showing them Ezekiel 37 where it talks about the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim. She said she knew God was telling her what to say.

 

Zone Conference was wonderful, as it always is. We got a new car again. We lost Gray Thunder to some Elders who have more dirt roads than us, which was sad, but we have a nice little white Ford Fusion now that used to be the Assistants' car.  The instruction we got was wonderful.

 

I'm so excited for next week!  We're having a sisters' conference, so all the sisters in the mission (there are 18 of us) will go to Tulsa Tuesday through Friday. We'll get instructed and have Thanksgiving in the mission home! I'll get to see some past companions again. It'll be a lot of fun.

 

I love you all so much, and I love the Gospel! I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers the prayers that we say with faith and that He is ever mindful of us. I hope to be better at being ever mindful of Him.  I know The Book of Mormon is true. I know it changes peoples' lives and brings them more understanding of the Savior's life and sacrifice. Have a wonderful, safe week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

November 7, 2011

Dear Family,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK DAD!  I hope it's a wonderful day!

 

We had another great week! We are being so blessed.

 

Brother Brown proposed to Sister Pratt!!!  They're getting married on Friday!!!  It's been so amazing to see the changes they've been willing to make for God.  They're a great family and I love them very much. They feed us a lot. We had a lesson last night on the 10 commandments and they made us tacos and pumpkin pie. Sister Pratt wants to move her baptism date up, and the girls got permission from their dad to get baptized, so that was great.

 

We also have a date with a lady named Sister Liccardi. She's had a rough life, but she's so funny and honest. We did a stop smoking workshop on Saturday and it was fun. There's a part at the beginning where they have to sign something promising to themselves and God that they'll never smoke again. She read that and said, "this is a vow to God!! I thought this was just a workshop to help me want to quit!  You guys are stressing me out! I'm not even kidding." and then went outside and smoked her last ever cigarrette. She went to Stake Conference that night.

 

We saw the Chappells - the foster kids - for the last time yesterday. It was really sad. I love those kids so much. We didn't realize it would be the last time, but they found out they'll be going back to their mom very soon. She hasn't been meeting with the missionaries and might not let them go to church, which made them, and us, very sad. They've got strong testimonies of The Book of Mormon, though.

 

Stake Conference was fun. Branson is in our stake so the performers did the musical numbers. This week is zone conference, so that will be fun.

 

I love you all so much!  I hope everything is going well for you!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

October 31, 2011

 

Hello Family!

 

Happy Halloween!  This week was a great one.  We ran into a couple of our investigators that we have been having trouble seeing at random places. We saw one at Walmart, and another at Applebees when we were eating with a member. That was neat.

 

The Pratts are doing very well! Sister Pratt bought a wedding dress and the girls have started reading The Book of Mormon this week and are feeling the Spirit.  We also set a baptism date with another girl we've been working with for Dec. 3rd. She's been coming to church for awhile now and hasn't been progressing at a rapid rate, but we had a great lesson with her and she prayed with us about when she should be baptized and felt the Spirit. It was a wonderful lesson.

 

We met Brother Donelow's daughter last week and started teaching her. She met with sisters 15 years ago and they were a help to her in a hard time. It's been great to see how her dad's example has helped her become interested in the church again. 

 

I love being a missionary. I know the church is true and The Book of Mormon is holy scripture. I know the Savior lives and that He is so mindful and aware of us. I know it's only through Him that we can find peace in this life and happiness in the world to come. I love seeing people be willing to keep commitments, and then see the happiness that comes to them as they do. 

 

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week and be safe!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

 

October 24, 2011

 

Dear Family,

 

This week was a great one. We saw a lot of miracles.

 

We met a lady tracting awhile ago who said we could come back around this time, so we stopped by last week. She let us in and we taught her about the Restoration. At the end of the lesson she said that the day before we knocked on her door she had prayed for guidance, and that she knew it wasn't a coincidence that we had knocked. That was a great blessing.

 

We met another lady this week who also let us in to teach her. We went back for a second lesson and she had a friend there who had investigated the church before, who had concerns about prophets and The Book of Mormon. The first lady helped us teach the second lady about those things and we watched a movie about Wilford Woodruff searching for a church with apostles and prophets. The first lady said she definitely felt something during the movie, and the second said she would think about it and read and pray. It's amazing to see the Spirit work.

 

Sister Pratt is doing so well. Yesterday was her birthday and she invited us to her birthday dinner at her mom's house, who isn't really happy about her joining the church. Despite opposition she's facing, she loves the church. Her oldest daughter is going to seminary now, which is a big sacrifice since it's at 6 am.

 

I love you all so much!  I hope you have a great week, and a great Halloween! Thank you so much for the Halloween package! I loved it :)

 

Love,

Sister Monson

October 17, 2011

Hello Family!

 

This week was good. We saw the foster kids and one of them has almost finished The Book of Mormon! It was pretty amazing. We also taught the law of chastity to the Pratts and the Browns and it went very well. Sister Pratt was shocked that getting married or separating is required before baptism, but she said, "I have to in order to get baptized, so I will."  She said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for "our wonderful church." Brother Brown said that getting back into the church has reminded him why he joined in the first place, and he wants to be the best he can be. Now we just have to wait for him to pop the question :)  It was an amazing lesson. That's what missionary work is all about :)

 

We've done a lot of tracting last week which always leads to meeting all kinds of people. We've been hearing a lot about a preacher calling us a cult lately.  Do you hear about that in Utah? Maybe it's just a Bible Belt thing. The fall weather has been beautiful and all the leaves are changing color, so it was very nice to walk around and enjoy it.  Sister Boone and I will be staying together in Nixa for another six weeks. The people we're living with are putting their house on the market next month, though, so we'll be moving. We don't konw where quite yet.

 

I know The Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it testifies of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for its clarity and the Spirit I feel as I read it. I know the Savior lives and that He is the Son of God. I've been reading Jesus the Christ for awhile now and I'm amazed at the life He led and the things He was willing to do. He was willing to follow the Father's will in everything, even in suffering so much. I can do my small part to follow His will too. I love the Lord and I'm so grateful for the wonderful family I have. I love you!  Have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

 

October 11, 2011

Hello Family!

 

The libraries here were all closed yesterday, so we're emailing today. This past week was good. We had a wonderful lesson with the Pratt family. We taught the Plan of Salvation and set baptism dates with them! It was one of the best moments of my mission so far. They've been doing so well. Sister Pratt bought a set of scriptures (a quad) for one of her daughter's birthdays last week. They've been coming to church together and reading their scriptures and praying as a family. It's so wonderful to teach a whole family, and to see how prepared they've been.

 

We found them when Brother Brown's (Sister Pratt's boyfriend) records got moved into our ward. We went up to the house to see who he was and saw the wrong last name on the mailbox and a lock on the door that you see when people are moving. There was a gate in front of the door too, like no one ever used it, so I almost didn't even knock. He answered and said, "how'd you find me?" as people sometimes do when they don't want to be found by the church. We talked with him for awhile and he told us he probably wouldn't be coming back.  Members kept visiting him, though, and Sister Pratt was interested in learning about the church because she's worked for a member of the stake presidency for 16 years and respects him more than any other person on earth. We invited them to a preparedness fair less than a month ago, started teaching them, and here we are! Brother Brown helps us teach the lessons and he's excited about what his kids are learning and doing in primary. It's been a great blessing.

 

I hope you are all well and having a good week! I've loved the letters I've gotten from Ally, Eric, and Jake! Thank you so much!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

October 3, 2011

Hello Family!

 

This week has been a good one. General Conference was great! We watched it at the church and several members' homes. I loved it.

 

We saw the family I mentioned last week again a couple times, and they had dinner at a couple different member's houses and watched general conference. The mom told one sister that it's fate that she joins the church, because everything is just falling into place. They're a great family. 

We also saw an inactive family this week with a couple of kids that aren't baptized. They don't want to "push" religion on their kids and want to wait until they express interest to teach them about it. After the lesson, though, both of the boys wanted to pray, so we said two. It was great.

 

I love you all very much! Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

September 26, 2011

Dear Family,

 

This week has been a good one, full of learning experiences and miracles. A few months ago we met an inactive brother in our ward and visited with him for a little while. He wasn't interested in coming back to church. We invited him to a preparedness fair our church was hosting a couple weeks ago and he and his girlfriend came. She works with a member of the stake presidency in the other stake and has a great deal of respect for him. Because of his example she became interested in the church. They went to church with him last week and this week they came to our ward and brought their kids. He has two 6 yr old twins and she has two teenage girls. We had an amazing lesson with them last week and she showed us how she'd found quads online and was picking which one she wanted to buy. It was a great experience to teach them all.

 

I've learned great lessons this week about trusting the Lord and having hope. I've always been prone to worry and pessimism. It's been something I've always struggled to overcome. I learned on a deeper level this past week, though, that because of God's love for me, I never need to worry or feel hopeless. No matter what happens, no matter how bad it seems, Heavenly Father won't give me a challenge without helping me through it and giving me what I need to overcome it. The trial will pass and I will be the better for it. In the meantime, there is always something to be grateful for and happy about. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's love and for the ways I've come to know it more deeply because of my mission. Wasn't President Uchtdorf's talk at the broadcast wonderful? It was just for me :)

 

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for the chance I have to serve a mission. I'm grateful for the Savior and the Atonement and the opportunity He gives us to become better. I'm grateful for Heavenly Father's patience and love, and for the tools we have in the church to help us access it and understand it.  I love you so much and I'm grateful that we can be a forever family.

 

Love,

Sister Monson

September 19, 2011

Hello family!

 

I hope everything went well with the other reception this week!

 

This week for me was good. We went up to Springfield and got to teach Tyler Jones again. It was fun to be able to see him. We also found a young guy who is very lost and in need of the Gospel. Hopefully we'll be able to see him again and help him to know God is there and will help him.

 

We got a couple of new investigators this week from less active members' significant others. It's nice to be able to teach less actives and investigators at the same time and have them help each other. We had a Sacrament Meeting on missionary work yesterday and we're having a missionary fireside this coming Sunday, so hopefully the ward is enthused and we will be able to teach their friends soon! 

 

Covering two wards that are spread out and a distance away from each other has been a challenge. Sometimes I wish I could be in two places at once. Being busy is good, though.

 

There was a girl in the University Ward who would help us a lot, named Amelia. She met a guy online and got engaged since I was last there. Yesterday he came to church with her, and he's a guy from Timpanogos High! That was really, really weird.

 

We played mini golf as a district last preparation day and I'm proud to say I won. For the first time. Ever. I'm sure it was a fluke.

 

I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary. It's definitely a learning and growing experience.

 

I love you all so much!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

September 12, 2011

Hello family!

 

I'm glad to hear the wedding was beautiful and great! I'm glad the weather held up with just enough time. 

 

This week was a crazy one! We picked Sister Knudsen up on Wednesday and on Thursday President came and picked her up and took her back to her old area, where there was a problem. It was a fun day of being in a three-some, but it'll just be the two of us this transfer.

 

We set another baptism date this week with a lady named Sister Walker. She has had a hard life but she's doing well. It's been cool to see her learn about the gospel.

 

We decided to go tracting a little bit before we picked up Sister Knudsen. We drove to this dirt road and then once we'd tracted that we walked across a field to a paved road. We got to this house just as a lady was getting out of her car. She invited us in and we had a lesson with her. She said the closing prayer and prayed that she could learn how to have a closer relationship to God with our help. It was such a blessing.

 

We also started teaching a returning member's son named Anthony this week. After we taught him we asked if he had any questions and he asked, "when can I get baptized?" It's amazing to see how receptive kids are to the Spirit.

 

Sunday Sister Boone and I did splits so we could go to both of our wards. I went up to the University Ward. It was fun, and weird, to see everyone again.  They were surprised to see me.  Bang was at church, so he and Do are back from Vietnam, and another recent convert, Luke, was there and he's doing well. 

 

I love you all! Good luck with everything this week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

September 6, 2011

Hello Family!

First of all, HAPPY WEDDING WEEK!  Good luck with everything! I'm so happy for Kristen and John and I hope it is a beautiful, perfect day.

Brother Donelow was baptized on Saturday! Nothing ever goes the way you plan it to... the lady who was supposed to talk on baptism heard the wrong time, so another lady gave a last minute talk; the piano was still being played when the baptism prayer started; and other things funny and crazy things like that, but he's baptized now and the Spirit was strong.  He looked so happy and peaceful as he was getting the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was wonderful.

We got transfer calls on Saturday and the pattern of surprise has continued.  I thought the two options were me staying in Nixa or going back to Springfield, but Sister Boone and I are covering both and we're getting another sister, so we're going to be a three-some! It'll be an adventure.  Hopefully we can cover both well.

We set a baptism date with a girl named Heather this week. The next morning she went to seminary with her friend and they talked about baptism. Heather sent us a text saying, "maybe God is trying to tell me something."  It was really cool.

We're also meeting with a lady named Sister Scott. She is such a character. She's pretty ghetto and she's had a crazy life with a lot of bad things and a lot of good things. She's been reading The Book of Mormon diligently and loves everything she learns. As Satan is, he sent a really, really anti guy her way who told her some lies, but she did her own research and proved him wrong.  It was great to see her desire for the church to be true, and to see her overcome that opposition. 

I love you all so much! Take lots and lots of pictures of the wedding and send them to me! 

Love,
Sister Monson

August 29, 2011

Hello Family!

 

Sorry I didn't get to respond to your emails last week. I was just writing an explanation one when I ran out of time on the computer. I'll respond today!

 

This week was a good one. It was Sister Boone's birthday on Thursday, so that was fun. She had three chocolate cakes made for her, so we're all sugared out now. She's a convert to the church of not many years, so she's reading The Book of Mormon all the way through for the first time, and it's so fun to see how excited she is about it. She reads it all the time and tells me about it. A lot of people here have heard bad things about The Book of Mormon, and it's the Bible or nothing for them. I'm so grateful not to have been raised believing that.

 

With the acquisition of Gray Thunder, we were able to help a lady move last week. The truck bed isn't very big, so we packed it very, very full. Overflowing. The tail gate was down on one of the loads. It was an adventure.

 

We watched The Restoration with Mary and Jacob this week and Jacob was smiling the whole time. It was wonderful to see him feeling the Spirit and knowing that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

 

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Good luck with the wedding preparations!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

August 22, 2011

 Sarah with a recent convert

Sarah with Sister Olsen on the 4th of July

Bishop's Family

Part Member Family

Sarah with a Ward Missionary

Two less active members they're working with

Sister Sissell, an investigator

Sister Johnson, member who helps out a lot

 Sarah with Brother Donelow

 The Bishop's Family

 Less active family

 Sister Boon

August 22, 2011

Hello Family!

 

This week was a good one. We've started teaching some new people, which is always good.

 

We had a lesson this week with Mary and Jacob and their biological mom (they're foster kids). The kids can't get baptized until they're back with her, so it was great to be able to meet her. She wants the missionary lessons. I'm sure the gospel will help her straighten her life out so she can get her kids back and then they can all get baptized together!

 

We did a lot of service this week. We've started volunteering at a food pantry, which is fun, and we cleaned a potential investigator's house. She opened up a lot to us afterwards and is ready for the lessons now.  We did both projects the same day and wore our working clothes. When we were done we had to go straight to a lesson, and I realized I hadn't packed my nice shoes! I wore my skirt with my tennis shoes for the rest of the day. It was pretty funny/embarrassing. Luckily we weren't out in public too much.

 

We meet the most interesting people. We had a man talk to us at Walmart and want to meet. He got our number, called us, set up the appointment, and then took over the lesson when we met with him. It was weird to have the tables turned! He's reading The Book of Mormon, though, so hopefully he'll want to meet again in the future and let us teach :).

 

I love you all so much! I hope you each have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

August 15, 2011

Hello Family!

 

This week was good. We had Zone Conference, which was wonderful.  We drove there in our Malibu and came home in a truck! Its name is Gray Thunder and it's been fun to have him. 

 

Brother Donelow is over all of his Word of Wisdom problems now, so we moved his date up! He's getting baptized Sept. 3rd. He's very excited.  He's the sweetest man and I'm so grateful for his testimony.

 

This week we went to see an old potential we felt like we should see. She hadn't seen very interested, but we followed the Spirit and went anyway. She let us into her home and we told her about The Book of Mormon. She said it made sense - she had heard other things about it before that didn't - and she wants to learn more! It was wonderful to see that we're not alone as we work to share the Gospel.

 

This week we found out one of our investigators is actually a member. That was shocking. The last lesson we had with them before we found out was the first lesson I've ever cried in on my mission, because I was so sad they wouldn't get baptized when they knew the church was true. That was a pretty crazy experience.

 

We've been meeting with a less active lady who hadn't been to church for 15 years. In our visits with her she's talked a lot about her worries and stresses and challenges. This past week, there was a total change. She can see the blessings the Lord is giving her and she's so happy. She's been reading and praying and coming to church very diligently, and she's so much happier now. The Savior's power in our lives is amazing.

 

I love you all so much! Thank you for everything!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

August 8, 2011

Hello Family!

This week was good. We did two stop smoking/chewing tobacco workshops with a less active family and an investigator, so that was fun. The way the workshop goes they should be able to quit in 7 days, so that's pretty great.

We met with an investigator named Miguel this week and he talked about how meeting the sisters changed his life. He went from being an unfriendly, lonely person to being very happy and loving as he learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ and started reading The Book of Mormon and going to church. It was really cool to hear his story.

We are struggling a little bit with investigators getting baptized. Most of them either can't or won't for one reason or another. One is living with his less-active girlfriend and can't move out until he leaves for the army. Two are foster kids and can't get baptized until they move back in with their real mom. One won't get baptized until she finds peace about polygamy, and she says we can only wait for that. Another would get baptized but her husband won't let her, and another can't get baptized until his parole ends in two years. Miracles happen, though.

I'm grateful to be a missionary and to not have to worry about anything except people and the gospel. I know The Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I wish everyone knew!  I love you all so much and I hope you had fun at Bear Lake!

Love,

Sister Monson

August 1, 2011

Hello Family!

This week was a very good one. Sister Boone is wonderful. She's Navajo and grew up on a reservation just outside of Paige, Arizona. She's very sweet and dedicated and smart. I'm excited to work with her.

Last week we had a scare with Sister Friedland. We got a call from her canceling our appointment, and then she wrote Sister Olsen and the member family that have become her friends that she didn't want them to come over anymore. They went over anyway and it meant a lot to her that they wouldn't give up on her. She came to church with them and had a wonderful experience. We all had dinner together that night and she loved that, too. I'm so grateful for that family for following the Spirit and going to see her.

Last week we got a few referrals from members we don't know. Usually with those kinds of referrals the people don't know we're coming, but both of the ladies we talked to were expecting us and were excited for us to be there! We're going to start teaching them next week and I'm very excited.

I've had some fear and stress this week. I want to be the perfect senior companion and when I've seen my weaknesses I've felt like I can't become better. It's been a great growing experience, though, learning to rely on the Savior. I know He will help me do what I need to do and He doesn't expect me to do it on my own.  It will be a good transfer.

I love you all very much (ridiculously much)!  I hope you have a great time at Bear Lake and it doesn't rain on you too much :)

Love,

Sister Monson

July 25, 2011

Hi Family!

This past week was good. We lost a few investigators, but the Lord always provides something wonderful after something bad! We met with Sister Friedland this week and she said she'd been studying her scriptures and read about humility and decided she needed to come to church! She has only been once, in Branson, and had a bad experience there, she lives really far away from the church, and she has a lot of health problems, so I thought getting her there would be an insurmountable challenge. I was so happy when she said she would come! A member family just moved to Crane, where she lives, and they've already become great friends. It's been amazing to see the Lord working in her life.

Transfer calls were last Saturday and Sister Olsen and I weren't expecting a change. She's only been here three months and recently President has said that senior companions can expect to be in their areas for 6-8 months.  We've only been companions for one transfer, too, and I expected to be her companion for several. We got a call, though, and found out that she's going to Rolla, MO, and I'm staying here, becoming senior, and getting Sister Boon as my companion. Sister Olsen and I are both getting sisters that came out three months ago. I'm always surprised on transfer night! I never guess right.

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for your love and support. I have such a great family!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Monson

July 5, 2011

Hello Family,

 

Happy late 4th of July! I hope you all had fun!

 

This week was pretty good. Sister Olsen got sick so we were inside a lot more than we normally would be, but good things still happened.

 

One of my old investigators from Springfield got baptized! Her name is Tracy. She came to our ward with her boyfriend, but we found out that she was 31 and needed to go to a family ward, so after teaching her most of the lessons we passed her off to Elders. Those Elders are now in my district, so we brought two of our investigators and got to go to her baptism! It was wonderful.

 

We met with the family in Crane again, the Newmans.  The whole family stayed for the lesson and it was fun and they understood. It was really cool to teach a whole family.

 

We proselyted on the 4th of July, since people are home, and found a girl named Samantha who is looking for a church! We also went to a couple BBQ's with less actives and investigators. It was a good day.

 

This week we were leaving our apartment to go teach a lesson to a less active family. We hadn't seen them at church, so we were going to follow-up with them about it and spend the whole lesson resolving their concerns about church. The member we live with, Brother Miller, told us just before we left that he'd seen them there! It was a huge miracle that we found that out just in time. 

 

Sister St. Clair visited the mission this week! It was really fun to see her.

 

I love you all very much and I hope your summer is ridiculously fun!

Love,

Sister Monson

June 13, 2011

 Investigator Sam & his buddy

 Her district plus the assistants

 Investigators Ben & Julie

 A recent convert named Katie

 Us with an awesome returned missionary named Amy

 District

 Elders Johnson, Fellows, and Borrowman (The Elders are crazy)

 Switching up the district picture

 Billy - she calles us "her girls"

 Brother Smiley - the 1st counselor. This was taken just before he kissed my hand to break a missionary rule. I got "Smilied."

These are all members that are in Missouri doing summer sales

June 27, 2011

Hi Family!

 

This week has been good.  I've met more people and had some good lessons.  We teach about 1/2 as many lessons as I did in Springfield and I think it's because our area is huge. We only have so many miles we can go in our car, so if people live far away from us we can't see them as often.  People are also harder to get ahold of here, and we spend more time traveling.  Good things are still happening, though.

 

We met a family last night in a town called Crane, which is in the boonies.  The population size is 157 people and everyone's in trailers.  Anyway, we taught them about The Book of Mormon and the mom committed to read it and pray about it.  She had started reading it already and has liked it so far. 

 

We meet with a lot of less actives here and this week we saw a mom and daughter named Julia and Vanessa.  Julia has been having anxiety problems, and Sister Olsen said that in the past she's been really hard to have lessons with.  Since I've had anxiety problems too, though, I was able to talk about it with her and then we were able to have a good lesson and she came to church!  That was a huge blessing. 

 

There are a TON of fireflies here. In the evening everywhere you look there are little lights blinking.  They're pretty cool.

 

I love you all so much and I hope you're all doing well!  I know this church is true.  I know the Savior lives and has made it possible for us to improve and become better than we are.  Without Him we wouldn't have that hope.  So many people here believe they're saved and don't need to do anything.  I'm so grateful to know that we need to continually have faith, repent, and keep the commandments, because so much peace comes from doing so.

 

Love,

Sister Monson

June 20, 2011

Hello Family!

 

I'm in Nixa, MO now!  Nixa is a beautiful place - really, really green.  It's really spread out, too.  We cover Nixa and some little towns called Clever, Crane, Billings, and some other ones.  We have a car and I'm the driver.  Sister Olsen and I both went to Timpanogos.  She was a year older than me and doesn't remember me, but I vaguely remember her.  She's really dedicated and diligent.  She's been on her mission for a year this week.  She's only been in this area for one transfer, though, and doesn't know it very well, so we've gotten lost a few times and have a lot of people to meet, but we'll figure it out and things will start rolling :).

 

We have an investigator named Brother Donelow.  He has a baptism date in July.  He's a really sweet old man.  I've only met him a couple of times so far.  It seems like most of the people we work with are less actives and their family members.  We also work with a lot of kids who are past 8 and haven't been baptized yet.  That's a pretty big change from Springfield.  It'll be good to learn how to work in a different way.

 

Because I came from an area just 20 minutes away and it was the singles' ward, I know a lot of people here!  That's been a blessing.  I've also met a few people already from the day I'm came here for exchanges. 

 

Before transfers we had a lesson with a couple of Chinese guys and the Elders.  We tracted into them and they were excited to meet with us.  We found out in the lesson that they're Jeffrey's classmates!  That was a fun surprise.  They might be the same ones that had heard anti from Jehovah's Witnesses and told Jeffrey about it, so it was great to be able to meet with them.  Jeffrey told us he was sharing the gospel with his classmates, too, so that was great. One of them, Ray, flattered us and told us he thought a requirement for being a missionary for our church was good looks.  Then he turned to the pictures in the front of The Book of Mormon and said that Moroni was a very strong and handsome man, like the Elders, and that the woman was very beautiful, like us.  The "woman" he was referring to was Joseph Smith.  That was pretty funny. 

 

I love you all very much!  I know I'm where the Lord wants me to be and I'm so grateful to all of you for your support.  Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

June 13, 2011

Hello family!

 

This week has been craziness!  We were all packed and ready to go to Sallisaw Thursday morning. We'd said our goodbyes to everyone and introduced our investigators to the Elders, when we got a call from President that we weren't leaving!  A sister that was supposed to be coming to our mission didn't, so everything changed.  From the conversation we had with President, it sounded like we'd either be going to Sallisaw with the regular transfer and then not coming back to Springfield, or we'd just be staying in Springfield. I thought we'd just be staying in Springfield.  We went around and told everyone we were staying and found more people. Then craziness happened again! We got transfer calls and found out Sister Gray is training in Sallisaw and I'm going to Nixa!  Nixa is that place I went to on exchanges and it's right next to Springfield.  I won't be coming back to Springfield and I won't be with Sister Gray anymore. She has been a great companion and we're sad we've only been together for a short time.  My companion will be Sister Stacey Olsen, who I went to high school with.  Crazy.

 

This week we had a lesson with a homeless man named John that we've been teaching at the park.  He fought in Iraq and has a lot of hatred toward Muslims.  In our other lessons he's talked a lot about his hate and all the terrible things he's seen.  This week when we saw him he had read from 1 Nephi 3 to 2 Nephi 2, which was the chapter we'd wanted to read with him!  He read for nine hours one day.  He was completely changed.  He was all smiles and talked about how happy he is when he reads The Book of Mormon.  He said hardly anything about terrible things he's seen and nothing about Muslims.  Instead, he talked about how he wants to help Israel.  It was amazing to see the change come over him.  The Book of Mormon is true!

We've seen a lot of people lately who are looking for happiness in the wrong places.  They turn to sin and quick fixes, and even when they know they should stop, they won't.  Then they talk about how miserable they are.  Satan is so sneaky and I feel so bad for those people.  It's hard to have something you know will fix someone's life and bring them true happiness and see them not choose it.  It's wonderful to see people who will, though.

 

I love being a missionary. I'm learning a lot about faith and about the Savior.   

 

I love you so much! Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

June 6, 2011

Hello Family!

 

P-day is back to being on Monday, since it's not a holiday anymore :).  We're leaving to Sallisaw, OK on Thursday.  A member there is driving the four hours out here to give us a ride back, and we'll be living with another sister in a little place called Roland.  We'll use our bikes to get from town to town I guess, so we'll get enough exercise!  It's kind of scary to think about leaving Springfield and going somewhere neither of us know anything about, but it'll be a good experience.  We're both coming back to Springfield in August.

 

This week has been good.  A LOT of appointments fell through, but we still saw miracles.  We met with Nathan with the Elders because he'll be taught by them.  It was a great lesson.  He told us he knows Joseph Smith was telling the truth, and that The Book of Mormon is true. He's started telling his friends about the church, and when his little boys come for the summer he's going to bring them to church.  In his prayer he was thankful that we knocked on his door.  I am too!  It's a wonderful feeling to see the Gospel spread.

 

We also met with an older lady named Billy. She's really hard to keep focused because she has a lot to say about a lot of things, but we watched The Restoration with her and it really touched her.  She cried when Joseph Smith had his vision.  It was really cool to see her feel the Spirit. 

 

Another miracle we saw was with a guy named Mel. We met him a couple weeks ago and he was really sad, because his wife had just left him. We've been trying to see him but he never answers his door.  We biked up to his house this week just as he was coming out, and we had a great talk with him about what he can do to be happier.  He agreed to read The Book of Mormon.  He always sends us sad text messages, but hopefully he's getting happier.

 

We taught a guy named Sammy this week who heard about the singles aspect of our congregation and wants to come because he wants to date.  He came to our lesson doused in cologne and talked throughout the whole thing about his good qualities (hard-working, never been in debt, tough but emotional).  It was pretty funny.  Hopefully he'll read The Book of Mormon and be converted to the Gospel, too.

 

I know this church is true! I know the Savior lives and that He is the only way.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that through the things he and other prophets have taught, we can fully know how to follow the Savior.  I'm so grateful to be able to share what I know with others.  I'm learning a lot (mostly about what I have still to learn), but God is helping me.

 

I love you all so much and miss you dearly,

Sister Monson

May 26, 2011

May 23 , 2011

Hello Family!

This week was a good one.  We didn't end up being able to see Thor again.  He got kicked out of the place he was staying because he got drunk and mean.  He doesn't have a phone or a place to live, so we might not see him again.  It was a very interesting experience, though.  We did go back and see the lady he was staying with.  She said she wanted the Stop Smoking workshop too, but we haven't been able to see her yet.  We did find out that her number was already in our phone, though, which means she's met with sisters before!  That was pretty crazy.

 

This week we met a guy named Nathan as we were tracting.  He loves the Savior so much and wanted us to come back and talk to him.  We did, and taught him the first lesson, and he listened very intently.  After the closing prayer he didn't say anything for a second, but just looked at us intently, and then said, "I felt something just then.  That was amazing."  The Spirit was so strong and I was so grateful.  We couldn't find a girl to come with us when we taught him, so we were standing outside and strange people kept coming up to us, asking for money and stuff.  I was very grateful that despite the circumstances, the Spirit could be there.

 

We had interviews with President Merkley this week.  I had been wondering a little bit why it feels like there are so few of us.  There's an Assemblies of God church here called James River and they basically jam out to hard rock every Sunday. Thousands of people attend and they baptized 200 people on Easter.  I was thinking about that, and when President spoke to us he talked about how "they that be with us are more than they that be with them."  He told about an experience his great-great grandpa had with Joseph Smith and the early Saints.  A mob in Missouri was coming to kill the Saints and there were 1500 of them and only 150 Saints.  The mob was about to attack but then dispersed.  Pres. Merkley's ancestor ran into a guy he knew was in the mob a few days later and asked why they didn't attack the Mormons.  The guy said it was because they were so outnumbered. There were at least 10,000 Mormons there.  That story really struck me and reminded me that there are forces working on both sides of the veil to progress the Lord's work, and the Lord is working with us.  Miracles happen today just as they happened in Biblical times.  It's so amazing that we have the Gospel when so many others don't!

 

The storms this week have kept us inside for longer than we'd like.  Last night we had appointments planned, but we got about 5 phone calls from people telling us to get home and find cover.  We did, and the little thunderstorm passed in about an hour.  It was pretty anti-climatic.  We heard about Joplin, though.  The Stake Center there got ruined, and so did the Elder's apartment.  That was pretty crazy.

 

Last night as we went to see a guy we've been trying to see.  We know his next door neighbor, Billy, and she loves us.  As we went up to the guy's door, two drunk guys came up to us and one of them, a big black guy, started saying how much he respects us and then preaching.  Billy came out and started yelling at us to get home because a tornado was coming.  He started yelling that we needed to pray and then when we were trying to leave he grabbed our hands and started praying. Billy kept yelling that we were going to die and he kept praying and everyone was yelling and I just started laughing my head off.  It was crazy.  There are a lot of crazy people in Missouri.

 

I love you all so much!  Thank you for your prayers and your support.  Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

May 16, 2011

---

Hello Family!

 

This week was good.  We met a friend of a member here named RoseAnne and we've taught her the first two lessons.  When we were talking about the Plan of Salvation she was deep in thought.  No one else really believes that we lived with God before coming here, and when she learned that she said, "Is that why people talk about there being a hole in their life until they find Christ?" and seemed to really grasp that idea.  She's moving next week but I think she'll probably keep investigating and get baptized!

 

This week we met a man named Michael (his name on the street is Thor). Saturday evening we were riding our bikes to find somewhere to tract and he was walking across the street.  He was really rough-looking, with long hair and crooked teeth and he was really big and buff.  Sister Gray waved at him because she waves at everybody and he stopped and stared at us really hard.  Then he said, "Are you Mormon girls?" and he started crying and said he really needed to talk to us.  He said he'd just said a prayer for help and we were sent from God.  He's been looking for us for awhile.  He's a descendant of Martin Harris and wasn't raised in the church but knows it's true.  He talked about how he wants to live like we live.  He's been caught up in alcohol and cigarettes and drugs and knows he has to stop or it's going to kill him.  He took us to the place he's staying and introduced us to the woman who takes him and other homeless people in.  Her husband died a year ago and she's very sad about it.  He was a Mormon!  Next week we're teaching them both the Stop Smoking workshop and hopefully they will be able to change their lives and be so much happier. I was so grateful for this experience.

 

We're teaching a former investigator named Brian.  We asked him if he'd come to church and he said no, but we told him to pray about it and he said he would.  Saturday night we got a text from him saying he was coming!  It was awesome.  He's promised to come the next two weeks, too, to learn about the priesthood.  We're excited about that.

 

We got an email from President today saying that we might be moved to a different area if there isn't enough work for us to do here in the summertime.  It'll be interesting to see what happens.

 

Thank you so much for the package!  The allergy medicine is working like a dream for me and Sister Gray and it's so great to listen to Motab again on my iPod :). 

 

You're a wonderful family and I'm so grateful for you!  I know the Savior lives and loves us so much.  I'm so grateful that I can find strength in Him when I can't anywhere else. 

 

I love you! Have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

May 9, 2011

Hello Family!

 

It was SO wonderful to talk to you last night!  Thank you for asking good questions and for keeping me from crying until the end :)  I love you all so much!

 

I'm not sure what to write about this week since I already got to tell you a lot of the stories.  I get I'll just review. 

 

Sister St. Clair is home now!  Saying bye to her was sad and I'll miss her. Sister Gray is a sweetheart, though, and I'm sure we'll become friends.  I should be more like her as a missionary so I'm sure I'll learn a lot from her. 

 

We've talked a lot about The Book of Mormon with people this week, and read chapters with them.  No one can find anything in it, doctrinally, that they don't believe is true.  We're teaching a guy named Brian who has met with MANY missionaries before and has a lot of doubts, but when we asked him if he agreed with everything he's read in The Book of Mormon he said he had, actually.  The same happened with Sam, Wesley, Theresa, and Mike.  I know that The Book of Mormon is true. 

 

 Tell the Shields thank you for the fun package they sent and I loved their email!  Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

May 2, 2011

1 Image | View Image | Download Selected

P1000144.JPG (4169KB)

May 2, 2011

171: us at the cemetary

174: Sister St. Clair, Theresa, Amy, Bridget, and me.  We're teaching those three girls.

175: two new Chinese investigators, Ben and Julie.

177: James doesn't wear shoes

181: Recent convert Zach

 

---

5 Images | View Slideshow | Download Selected | Download All  

P1000171.JPG (4414KB)	P1000174.JPG (4520KB)	P1000175.JPG (4344KB)
P1000177.JPG (4489KB)	P1000181.JPG (4241KB)

May 2, 2011

Hello Family!

 

I AM SO EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!  Haha.  I just found out on Friday that Mother's Day is so soon.  I had thought it was the end of May, so it came as a surprise.  We'll call Sunday night at 7:30 here, if that's okay, so I think it'll be 6:30 for you. 

 

Happy birthday yesterday, Ally!  And happy birthday on Saturday, Eric!  I hope both days were/will be incredible!  I love you! Thanks Jake, for the letter! I will love you forever, too!

 

This week has been good.  Funny things first.  A couple weeks ago we played Risk with the Elders for preparation day at the institute building.  A slightly crazy but sweet girl from the ward named Jamie came in and took pictures of us, because she'd never seen missionaries in P-day clothes before.  Yesterday, about 5 minutes before church, while we were sitting with our investigators, Jamie came up and gave Sister St. Clair and I t-shirts with the picture she'd taken on them.  I now have a shirt with my face on it.  Pretty exciting.

 

We had a goal last week to reach 20 lessons, which we've never been able to do before.  We determined that since it was Sister St. Clair's last full week in the mission field, we would finally make it.  We had 7 lessons planned for Thursday, which was going to be our pivotal day, but throughout the day 4 of them canceled.  It was cold, my stomach was hurting, we ran into an anti-Mormon preacher who wouldn't leave us alone, and people were laughing at us and making fun of our helmets all day, so all in all it was pretty sad day.  I was kinda wishing I was at Cindy's wedding instead. Over the next three days, though, we got to see all the people who canceled and we got exactly the right amount of lessons and saw a lot of miracles.  I was so grateful to experience a little hardship for the Lord but then to get so many blessings afterward. 

 

It turns out that Dave's next door neighbors are members of the church, and they are the sweetest people ever.  We had his lesson at their apartment and they will invite him to go with them to church every week.  He said the prayer at the end of the lesson and said he had a wonderful, life-changing event last Easter that helped him be a better person, and this Easter he met us.  He knows it isn't a coincidence and that this is a good thing.  It was so wonderful.

 

Update on Frank from the Elders: he's sober (for the most part) everytime they see him, he still loves coming to church, and he's started parting his hair (maybe to copy the Elders). 

 

Sister St. Clair leaves on Thursday.  I'll miss her a lot!  My new companion's name is Sister Gray.  No one I know has met her, but Sister St. Clair has heard that she's quirky.  It should be fun.  We got more pictures, since she's leaving. 

 

Have a wonderful week, everyone!  I love you all so much!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

 

149 - the flower Frank got us

150 - the Elders toilet papered our bikes

155- Our zone. The Elders are goofy.

156 - our district.  I don't know why Elder Gunnell and I look like we're at Prom.  I'm embarrassed about that. 

166 - a pretty cemetary across the street from our apt

153 - Easter morning

---

6 Images | View Slideshow | Download Selected | Download All  

P1000149.JPG (4229KB)	P1000150.JPG (4348KB)	P1000155.JPG (4529KB)
P1000156.JPG (4436KB)	P1000166.JPG (4144KB)	P1000153.JPG (4239KB)