July 9, 2012

Hello Family!

This week was good. I think I always start off with that. All weeks are good as a missionary :).  

We had a good, hot 4th of July. We were walking around in the evening and came across a former investigator and her family shooting off fireworks. She was excited to see us and wanted us to come over. She isn't really interested in religion, but tonight she's feeding us and we're teaching her how to do family home evening. That will be good.

We met a teenage girl recently from a struggling part member family. She was happy to see us and told us she wanted to take the missionary lessons and get baptized!  On Thursday we'd planned to stop by again but every time we went by their house we didn't feel right about it. At about 8:30 we went by again and she and her mom and friend and brother were all outside. They were happy to see us and all wanted the lessons. I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost.  

We were able to see Cassie again this week. We didn't get to see her last week and she hadn't read. She recognized that her week went better when she had. Her sister was there, too, and had actually met sisters before and had some lessons because she'd had a friend who was a less active member. She accepted a baptism commitment, when she finds out what she's learned is true. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Stay cool!

Love,
Sister Monson

 Sister Meredith is at the end next to Sarah

Their apartment is on the top floor

July 3, 2012

Hello Family!

This past week was a good one, and a full one. We had a mission tour yesterday and met President Shumway so our preparation day is today.  

My new companion is Sister Meredith. She's a sweet girl, very excited and energized to do missionary work (it's hard for her to even take time to eat lunch :) ).  She's from California. 

The day of transfers we were told we would be there all day in order to be companions with a sister who would be companion-less because of transfers, so I didn't plan anything. When we got there, though, we found out she had other sisters to stay with, so I had an empty day and a brand new missionary. It ended up being one of the greatest days of my mission, though. All day long we met people and had lessons and saw miracles. 

In the evening we were walking by a house that me and past sisters had been to before for different reasons, never with success. Our branch president's cousin lives there so he sent us, and sisters had gotten a media referral for a girl who wanted a Book of Mormon, but had been told she didn't live there.  Some people were outside so we went to talk to them. One of the girls said she had met lots of missionaries before and had several Book of Mormons but as we talked she started asking us questions and then let us come up and teach her and the other people there. We met the girl who had requested the Book of Mormon (she lived there after all) and we were able to finally give her one. The first girl is overcoming alcoholism and is so receptive! We asked if she wanted to come to church with us and she said she did. It's amazing how the Lord sent missionaries there over and over.

We have an investigator who was struggling with the Word of Wisdom. He didn't understand why it mattered if he drank coffee or not. We asked him to pray about it. We saw him yesterday and he told us he hadn't drunk any coffee before church on Sunday. He had mountain dew instead and was fine. He looked so happy. It was wonderful.  

President and Sister Shumway are wonderful!  When we got to mission tour I was feeling a little unsure about things. I knew the Lord had called President Shumway but I wasn't ready to let go of my allegiance to President Merkley. As he spoke and as I met him, though, the Spirit confirmed to me that it was right and good and that I could look forward and not backward.  That was a blessing.

I love you all so much!  I hope you have a wonderful week! Happy 4th of July!

Love,
Sister Monson

June 25, 2012

Dear Family,

This week was a good one! We set a baptism date with Cassie! We're very excited about her. She's so sweet and so receptive.

Transfer calls were shocking again. It's been that way every time, so my last transfer call fit in with the rest.  President had told us the 2nd week of the transfer that Elders would be coming into the area. We let everyone know and got things ready for them.  Friday, the day before transfer calls, President called and said they wouldn't be able to bring Elders in after all. The next day Sister Merkley called to see if our apartment could fit three sisters.  When the call came, though, we found out that Sister Birati is going to Indian Springs (which is pretty close by) and I'm going to be training my last transfer. Because President Merkley is leaving transfers are different and instead of happening on Thursday they're happening tomorrow, so at 6:30 am we'll go and pick her up!  Two sisters are coming in and I don't know which one will be my companion yet.

I forgot to tell you last week about a neat thing that happened in the mission.  An Elder in our district came from a part member family. On Saturday his dad flew in to Tulsa and he got to baptize him! It was a really special day.  

Sister Paff's parents came to church and liked it!  That was wonderful.  We also had a fun lesson with the adopted neice of a recent convert in Cleveland.  We had a good lesson with a new investigator named Tyler. Some recent converts from the ward came with us and bore their testimonies of how they came into the church and how they know it's true.  We also met with a less active lady who is ready to come back to church and she was so kind to us.  We saw a lot of blessings this week.

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

Love,
Sister Monson

June 18, 2012

Hello Family!

This past week was a good one.  We met some good new people.  

We have an investigator named Sister Paff. She and her boyfriend have been meeting with the missionaries for a long time. She's always spoken highly of the sisters to her parents who are really good Christian people. They invited us to dinner with them last week and want to come to church with her next week. We're excited for them.

We met with an old lady named Dolorus who is such a character. She's a Catholic, but she told us she could convert more people to Mormonism than Catholicism.  She loves the church. Her best friend is a member.  She gets on a Mormon soap box and can talk forever about how misunderstood we are. It's fun to visit with her.

We had such an amazing lesson last week with a girl named Cassie. Her boyfriend's grandpa called us and referred her. He let us right in and the Spirit was so strong during the first lesson. She was so sincere. She happily accepted a soft baptism commitment (meaning we ask if they'd be baptized if they knew the things we taught were true) and said she thinks it is true. I was so, so happy. There's no greater joy I've felt than seeing someone accept the Gospel.

There's an old couple in the Cleveland ward that we've visited with. He is a descendant of BF Johnson and grew up in Mexico in the same place as great grandma.  I told him her name was Anna Turley and he said Anna Turley was his aunt! I don't know if it's the same Anna Turley, but that was pretty neat.  His last name is Jarvis.

I love you all! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Monson

June 4, 2012

Dear Family,

I hope you all had a great week! Mine was good. We had Stake
Conference and interviews, so that was fun. They broadcasted the
conference from two buildings, which was interesting. Half the
speakers were in our building and half were in the other. One of the
new Melchizedek priesthood holders was a Durney! They were in the
other building so I didn't get to meet them, but it was neat to know
that Dad's cousin is in my stake after all.

We had a good lesson with a part member family we live with when we're
in Skiatook. The husband isn't a member.  I've felt strongly that we
need to talk to him about The Book of Mormon. We did and committed him
to read it. He told us that just a couple weeks ago a visitor at
church committed him to read it, too, and he thought that was funny.
He said that he would and then said a beautiful closing prayer that we
would have success and that he and his wife could read The Book of
Mormon.

We had a couple of interesting days last week when we ran out of miles
we could drive and we left our phone charger in Skiatook so our phone
died.  I was a little stressed :).  We were miraculously able to get
the rides we needed, though, and it all worked out and we met a lot of
people. At about 8:30 on the last day without a phone or car I was
exhausted. We'd been walking around a lot and everywhere nearby had
already been tracted. I didn't want to go home early but I knew I
couldn't walk anywhere else. We got to a park and I sat down on a
bench while Sister Birati put some pass along cards around. Three
teenagers walked into the park. One of them was a girl who had come to
church before with her best friend. She said she'd talk to her friend
about coming again. Then as we were walking away from them a less
active teenager and his friend came to the park and we were able to
talk to them. By the time we were done it time to go home. I was so
grateful to God for once again providing me with a miracle when I was
lost and tired. I know He's there and He answers prayers.

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

Love,
Sister Monson

June 11, 2012

Dear Family,

Happy Father's Day on Sunday, Dad!  I love you!

This week was a good one.  We had a lot of tender mercies from the Lord and found some good new investigators.  We taught a couple in Hominy. She's black and he's Mexican. She's Baptist and he's Catholic. They were really sweet and open. We didn't get through the whole first lesson so we're excited to teach it to them this week.  

We also had a fun first lesson with a lady named Taima in Skiatook.  She was so excited when she heard about the Restoration. She wondered why she'd never heard of it before and wanted to know why there wasn't a movie about it :).  We showed her how to watch the Joseph Smith movie online and she said she'd share it with her family and friends. It was a great lesson.  

Yesterday we visited with a family we found last week for the 2nd time. We read from 3 Nephi 11 with them and the Spirit was very strong. There is a lot of power in The Book of Mormon.

We were walking in an area on Friday where a less active lady lives. We've stopped by before and she didn't seem interested in visiting with us. On Friday, though, she came running out of her house when she saw us and said she wanted to visit with us. At the end of the visit she talked about how she wants to give a talk in church and how she would be there Sunday. I was very grateful for that experience.

I love you all very much! I love the Gospel. I'm very grateful for the evidences of Heavenly Father's love in my life. 

Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Monson  

Jasper the cat with a tarantula

Sister Birati

Scorpion Sarah found in the bathroom

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Hello Family!

 

We're taking our preparation day today since yesterday was a holiday. This past week was good. We taught a boy who is friends with a recent convert and has been coming to church and activities. He wants to have the lessons and is very sincere. He had heard a lot of things about Mormons that weren't true, which he's discovered from coming to church, and teaching him was great. We're excited for him.

 

We also taught a part member family (there are so many here - lots of stubborn husbands :) ). The wife came back to church about a year ago and the husband has never been very religious. As he's made friends in the branch and started coming to church he's changed a lot, though. He told our branch mission leader last week that he can't stand up and say like everyone else that he knows the church is true, but he knows that he feels good at church. He told his wife the day before we taught him that he thinks he should start reading The Book of Mormon.  We're excited for him, too.

 

Yesterday for Memorial Day we walked around a lot (and got pretty burned - Sister Birati always says she burns like a chocolate cake) and went to a get-together the branch had. A lot of our investigators came and some more part member families, so that was good.

 

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

 

Love,

Sister Monson

May 21, 2012

Hello Family!

This past week was a good one. We had Danny's baptism in Sallisaw and it was great. We had a lot of investigators come and he was so happy.  Transfers came and went. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone. I'll miss them and I'll miss Sister Bullough. This new area is good, though. We serve in a ward and a branch. The ward is Cleveland and the branch is Skiatook. I've been in both places a little bit.  We live with a family in Skiatook, where we go on the weekends, and we live in an apartment in Cleveland. The family we live with in Skiatook is a part-member family. They have a beautiful house and they feed us every meal and make ice cream for us. Very sweet people. Sister Birati (pronounced Beedus) is great. She's from Kiribati (pronounced Kittybus). She's a character.  She's a lot of fun and she has a beautiful testimony. Her parents have sacrificed a lot to join the church. She has a twin sister who just got back from serving in temple square and she has a brother serving in Washington DC. Her brothers' names are Sol, David, and Mosiah.

Last night we taught a lady in Cleveland who has met with sisters for awhile but stopped progressing when she learned about the Word of Wisdom. She told us that she's ready to stop smoking now, though, and that she wants to join the church. That was exciting.  

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

Love,

Sister Monson

 Sarah with Sister Watts and Sister Mitchell. Sister Mitchell got baptized the first weekend Sarah was in Sallisaw

 Sarah with Sister Johnson and Brandon

 Sarah with the Lowders whose kids got baptized while she was there

 Danny at his baptism

 Sarah with the Relief Society president

 Sarah with Sister Bullough at the transfer point

On the drive from Mannford to Cleveland, Oklahoma

May 14, 2012

Hi Family!

 

It was so wonderful to talk to you yesterday!  It was fun to hear all of your voices again.  It sounds like you're all doing well!

 

I'll update you on things we didn't talk about on the phone :).  This past week was good.  The brother from the brother/sister pair we're teaching is progressing well. He comes to church and reads and prays and knows the church is true. His baptism is set for June 9th. He doesn't have a testimony yet that the church is the only true church so we're working on that. His sister likes to come to church sometimes and she sits in on the lessons but she doesn't want to join an organized religion.

 

We didn't get to teach the man with 5 kids this week (Ryan) just because of the way things went but we (or the sisters here) will see him soon. Our Cherokee investigator, Henry, wasn't able to come to church but he took the initiative to let us know beforehand and told us why, which doesn't happen often, so we were excited about that. 

 

We taught a member we found tracting and her mother this week. She converted a few years ago but things in her life went downhill and she fell away really quickly. We found out she's the aunt of two Ryan's kids. It's a small world here. All of the people we teach are related in some way, if they're from here originally :).

 

We taught a new family this week. We gave a Book of Mormon to the dad about a month ago. They live down a dirt road in a trailer. We knocked on their door and he answered and was on the rude side. He asked what we wanted and we told him about The Book of Mormon and gave him one. He said he'd read it. I was a little apprehensive to stop by again, but we did and we had a good lesson with their family. He's been reading. Just goes to show, you never can tell :)

 

Tell Charie I loved the package she sent! The trail mix was delicious and the chocolate was too :) A man came to our church last week who was from Payson! He was driving truck. His name is Riley Martin, I think. I may have his name wrong. He knows Charie and Danny and probably some other Quackenbush's too, but I didn't get to talk to him long. It was fun to meet him.

 

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

 

Love,
Sister Monson

May 7, 2012

Hello Family!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!!!!! I'm happy that your birthday has fallen on Preparation Day so I get to tell you on your actual birthday :)

 

This week was very good.  President Merkley came to our ward yesterday! He visited with our investigators and gave the go-ahead for three special needs people to be baptized.  One of them is a 70 year old man named Danny who is like a 7 or 8 year old. He is the cousin of a recent convert. He has such a sweet testimony of the Gospel. Every time he says a prayer he tears up and he always tells us he loves the Lord "every day."  He told President Merkley and then all of us after the interview that he's getting baptized on May 16th, which unbeknownst to him is the day before transfers. We feel like he was very inspired to choose that day.

 

Thank you for your prayers for Sister Johnson!  She bore a beautiful testimony yesterday. Hopefully she'll be able to be baptized soon, with her son who President Merkley also visited with.

 

We had a powerful lesson with the man I wrote about last week who doesn't want to forgive himself. He feels that every church is man-made and corrupt. He felt the Spirit as we talked about the restoration and when we asked if he would read the first chapter of The Book of Mormon he said he would probably read more than that. 

 

We also had a great lesson after church yesterday with a man named Henry. He's Cherokee. We met him about a month or two ago and we've had one lesson with him. Yesterday we read from 3 Nephi 11 and he felt the Spirit strongly and told us he needed to spend more time on this and promised that he would be in church (in the back) on Sunday.  The Book of Mormon is so powerful.

 

About halfway through the week Sister Bullough and I were feeling like we were in a slump.  We decided to have an "out-of-slump day" and made signs and put them up and said a lot of prayers. Heavenly Father blessed us with a lot of wonderful lessons that day and the next.

 

I love you all so much!  I can't wait to talk to you on Sunday!  I'll be calling around 7:30 my time, so 6:30 your time.  I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

April 30, 2012

Hi Family!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW ALLY!!!!!!!!  I'm in denial that you're almost 17, so I'm going to pretend that you're turning 15. HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY!

 

This week was a good one. We met "Lloyd the Drifter" as we were tracting down a dirt road. His name isn't really Lloyd, but it's the name he goes by when he sells the arrowheads he makes. He had made several big birds out of old rakes and tractor parts. He was fun to talk to. 

 

Our investigators are doing well. We've been teaching a brother and a sister. The brother has been reading The Book of Mormon and praying about it and the sister hasn't been interested in really finding out if the church is true, but likes learning about it. They come to church every week. Yesterday after church the brother said he knew The Book of Mormon was true and that he needs to get baptized. He had a powerful spiritual experience that brought him to tears one day when he had read and prayed. His sister decided to get more serious about studying and said she would read and pray as well.  It's amazing that when people really follow Moroni's advice and read and pray sincerely, the Lord will always answer and they'll always know it's true. 

 

We taught a new man this week from Roland who we met one night when we were tracting. It was getting late and everyone we met was telling us we needed to go home so we were debating if we should or not. We decided to go to just one more house and we walked up and he was sitting on his porch looking really discouraged. He told us he believes in God but isn't close to him. He has 5 kids and he's a single dad and he's got a lot of hard things going on. When we came back and taught him he expressed all the guilt he has and his unwillingness to forgive himself. I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves or be forgiven, but because of Him we can. We can change. We can be different people than we were before. He said if he could really be completely free from his sins in the past, he'd die of happiness. That's the joy that the Gospel brings.  There is no greater happiness.  I'm grateful for this life. I'm learning that it is for changing and becoming more like the Savior, which we can only do with His help. 

 

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

 

Love,

Sister Monson

April 24, 2012

Hello Family!

 

This week was the best of times and the worst of times :).  We had less people come to church than we expected and our baptism can't happen yet because of cigarettes, but we taught the most lessons I ever have in a week, set several baptism dates, and got a lot of new investigators.

 

Zone Conference yesterday was very good. We learned a new way to tract where we pray about a place to go and then tell the people that we are servants of Jesus Christ and we've been led to them. We ask if we can pray for their family. We tried it right after the meeting and got a return appointment with a cute little family that already have a church they attend and might've turned us away if we'd tried something different.  It's always neat to see how our mission president is inspired.

 

We set a baptism date this week with a man named Brother Jackson. He and his wife are going to have their second baby any day. He opened up to us about struggles he's had with church and religion. He's had some bad experiences and he's never known how to tell is something is the truth or not. It was wonderful to teach him about the Spirit and to feel the Sprit testifying to what we taught.

 

We had a talent show this week and it was really fun. We had several investigators come. One of them was Sister Johnson's little autistic son. He sang "I am a Child of God" and he made really funny comments during the rest of the talents. One little boy did gymnastics and he yelled, "he's even handsomer than me!"  It was pretty cute.

 

We met a few bikers who live near the church. One of them had Seventh-day Adventist/Jehovah's Witness views, which make for a pretty intense person, but the visit went well and the Spirit was strong.

 

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

 

Love,

Sister Monson

April 16, 2012

Hello Family!

We're pretty much going to email on Mondays now as much as we can. We
have a limited amount of miles and it takes a lot to drive to Sallisaw
on Mondays, which is why we got permission to email on Tuesdays when
we're in Sallisaw. We've decided it's worth the sacrifice, though, and
we'll save miles somewhere else. Next week we have Zone Conference on
Monday, though, so we'll be emailing on Tuesday.

This past week was very, very good. Our branch became a ward on
Sunday!  That was very exciting.  They've been struggling to became a
ward for years now, and Sister Bullough and I are very lucky to be the
missionaries here now that it's happened. There's a Bishopric now and
a lot of changes in callings. We had a lot of investigators come, and
it was cool for them to see how the church works.

Our investigators are doing well. Sister Johnson is doing great with
not smoking!  It's been such a struggle for her, but her testimony of
the Lord's love and the help He gives has grown very much. We're
looking at having a baptism next week!

We met a lot of new people this past week and several of them were
families. A lot of them have been looking for a church and were very
open to learning. We're excited to see what happens.

We met with a Baptist pastor at his church Friday morning. It was a
little on the intimidating side to talk to him, and he wasn't
incredibly open, but it was a good opportunity to share our
testimonies of the Restoration with someone who influences a lot of
people in the community.

We met an inactive member a couple weeks ago who hadn't been to church
in years. He wasn't raised in a strong LDS family and his records were
never moved when he moved. We met with him last night and he's excited
to come back to church and to bring his kids and start doing Family
Home Evenings.

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

Love,
Sister Monson

April 9, 2012

Hi Family!

First of all, I am so, so excited to hear that Kristen and John's baby
is a healthy boy!!  Yay!  I hope your Easter was wonderful!

This week was adventurous. And a little disastrous.  But, the work is
moving forward :)

Sister Johnson is still doing very well. She has such a strong
testimony. The only thing standing in her way of baptism is
cigarettes.  I hate those guys.  She is so determined, though, and I
think this time she'll be able to stop for good. She's started the
church's addiction recovery program. She is working on converting her
whole apartment complex and has set up appointments for us to meet
with her friends and family. Her sons invited their friend to church
and did well there.

We taught a new family last week who let us right in while we were
tracting in Muldrow. They were so open and the Spirit was strong. It's
wonderful to have experiences like that.

This week was disastrous in part because three of our investigators
were excited and ready to come to church but didn't get to for reasons
that weren't their fault or ours.  It was good that they were wanting
to come, though!  Next week...

Our Easter was good. Thank you so much for the baskets!  We've been
enjoying them :).  We had a delicious meal with a family in the ward
and a couple of families gave us baskets.

Transfers were last week and we are in the clear for another six
weeks. It's great being companions with Sister Bullough.

I love you all so, so much!

Love,
Sister Monson

April 3, 2012

Dear Family,

 

Happy Birthday Mom!!!! I love you!!!!

 

This week was a good one. We got a wonderful new investigator we weren't expecting. We had dinner with a family in the branch who is a little less active and their son's girlfriend was there, wanting to learn about the church!  She'd already been on mormon.org.  She's been reading and praying and she's felt the Spirit.  She happily accepted when we asked if she would be baptized as she continues to feel good about the church.

 

Sister Ramos had a lot of medical problems this past week. It's amazing all the junk Satan throws in the way when people are working towards baptism. She's feeling better now, though, and she and her son should be getting baptized this month!

 

General Conference was amazing! We watched it at the church and at members' homes.  A few of our investigators got to watch it and felt the Spirit. I wish everyone in the world had watched it! I've really, really seen on my mission the difference in the lives of people who have strong families. We talk to a lot of poor people who are in bad circumstances spiritually, and none of them were raised in a family with a good mom and dad who were married and taught them about the Gospel. It makes me very grateful.

 

My testimony of the Holy Ghost has been strengthened a lot on my mission. Last night a couple of our appointments fell through and we both felt like we should visit an older lady who can't really progress as an investigator that we met a few weeks ago. We stopped by and met her daughter who is a lost member of the church and has been thinking about coming back. We also were prompted to talk to some people who were sitting across the street from an appointment we'd just come out of. The wife had done a lot of family history work at church libraries and had a lot of other run-ins with the church, and the husband had been baptized when he was a lot younger. God loves His children so much, and He leads us to them. It's a great feeling to know you are where you are supposed to be.

 

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

 

Love,

Sister Monson

March 26, 2012

Hi Family!

 

We're emailing on our actual preparation day again because we were able to get a ride to Sallisaw.  Sorry to throw you off! 

 

This week was a good one. Sister Johnson finished The Book of Mormon!  It took her a month and two days. She bore her testimony on Sunday and it was really beautiful.  Her two sons, who are autistic, came to church with her, and we're still teaching her husband. They are trying to quit smoking together now, so that will make it easier on her.  We helped her husband move his stuff out of a house he left in a rush so that was fun. 

 

We met a girl walking down the road in Muldrow a little while ago. We set up a time to visit her and met her family. They are pretty much already LDS. There are 8 kids in the family and they homeschool. They've met with missionaries before, when they lived in North Dakota. Two of them came to church on Sunday, so that was exciting. 

 

Today we went as a district to see some runes left by Vikings who rode their boats up the Poteau river. That was fun.

 

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

Love,

Sister Monson

March 20, 2012

Hi Family!

 

This past week was good.  One day we were tracting in a little town called Gans and we met a lady in a trailer who told us she was a "full-blooded Pentecostal preacher" and then peared around us and said, "That's a skunk. It's probably rabid because it's out in the daylight."  We made our way carefully around it and then a few minutes later heard some gunshots. Then we smelled it.  Also, at dinner the other night our conversation was interrupted when their chickens got in the house and their dogs chased them out.  Lots of adventures!

 

On a more spiritual note, our investigators are doing well!  Sister Johnson is almost done with The Book of Mormon and she got a blessing to help her stop smoking. We started teaching her husband who she's been separated from, and he was very open and receptive during the lesson.  We're teaching him again today.  They're separated right now but she told us that if he accepts the Gospel she will probably stay with him. The Gospel Principles lesson on Sunday was about eternal marriage and she wants that.

 

We taught a lady this week who just had twins a little while ago but one of them passed away. She has three other kids and the baby who made it is really sick and she and her husband are having such a difficult time. We're hoping that they will accept the Gospel and be able to have the peace of knowing they'll be with their daughter again.

 

President Merkley is coming to our Sacrament Meeting on Sunday to meet a couple of handicapped people in our branch who would like to be baptized. We're excited for that!

 

I love you all so much!  I love this Gospel.  I know we have a loving Father who watches out for each of us and is in control. 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Monson

March 13, 2012

Hello Family!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes and for the wonderful package!  I had a good birthday. A family in the ward got a cake for me and made me a nice dinner. :)

This week was a good one. Our investigators are doing well. Sister Johnson has read up to Helaman 5 and is participating in church like a regular member. She'll be a great strength to the branch when she's baptized.  She's getting us new investigators, too, because she's so excited about finding the truth and wants everyone else to have it too!

Sister Ramos' daughter has been unsure about baptism for a long time, but she's decided that she's ready to commit! She wants to get baptized with her mom and brother. That was a great blessing, too.

We had interviews with President Merkley last week so that was fun. It's always good to see the Merkley's. Their mission is ending the end of June/beginning of July, a transfer before I come home.  It'll be sad when they leave. 

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

Love,

Sister Monson

March 5, 2012

Hello Family!

 

I'm sorry to throw everyone off and email today!  The library is far away from our house so we have permission to email on Tuesdays, but today we had more things bring us up to Sallisaw so we're taking advantage of it and emailing on our actual Preparation Day. 

 

This week has been another great one. Sister Johnson is the most golden investigator I've ever had! She got the Gospel Principles manual at church last Sunday and she read the whole thing. We've only taught her a couple of lessons, but she it all now. She read about the Word of Wisdom and started working on quitting smoking and she knew that is was going to be Fast Sunday before we told her. She is so happy. She told us she was having doubts about baptism, but every time they came she would come across something in her reading about it. She wants to be baptized!  When we expressed our amazement at how much she's done she explained that she's found what she's been searching for her whole life.

 

Sister Ramos and her son came to church yesterday as well. She's still not smoking :).  She bore her testimony and it was beautiful.

 

A recent convert in the ward named Sam has a cousin who is an old man and handicapped but wants to be baptized. We talked to him about prayer and he teared up. It was very sweet.

 

I'm so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope that it brings into my life and the lives of others. 

 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Monson