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