Sister Monson's Mission: May 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

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

Monday, May 16, 2011

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

Monday, May 9, 2011

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