The Hole Digging was Tough

Thank you for the pictures! They were great! Sounds like it was a very fun, busy time in Georgia. Elder P is great! He's not really a native speaker. He spoke more French growing up but he's served 7 transfers of Spanish so we are able to practice a lot more. Elder S ended up going to Parkwood ward which is over by UTSA. Full bike. The fence pole digging went well. We left before we had to do any super tough stuff. We had a pretty good week last week but I can't remember it all, especially because I don't have my planner from last transfer. We do have an investigator that is scheduled to be baptized the end of the month. Her name is W and she came to church yesterday. We're also teaching her son and her almost daughter-in-law. Her daughter is already a member up in a different ward. That's how the missionaries found her. I had to wait for Elder P to come down from Austin on transfers so I spent a lot of the day with our Zone Leader, Elder J. He's a super cool guy and he's going to play volleyball in college. We ate at a place calling Raising Cane's and it was delicious. It's very similar to Zaxby's just not quite as good. There's nothing too crazy going on this week. Just normal missionary work. Oh, we did help some members move on Fri. I got a tremendous workout and we moved some decently heavy stuff. It was super fun! I got a haircut this past week and it's even shorter hahaha. We had a good lesson with the P on Thursday in which we watched Elder Corbridge's talk about Joseph Smith and then talked about following the prophet. It was extraordinarily powerful and they loved it! We also taught them the organization of the church. They're getting married so hopefully we'll be able to baptize her and their son shortly thereafter. One of the highlights of the week was yesterday during church. We walked into the building about 20 minutes early and the first person I talked to was the 1st counselor. He pulled me aside and asked me to give a talk about prayer for 5 minutes. Gotta love being a missionary! I was actually fairly excited! I've been waiting to be asked last minute my whole mission. The thesis of my talk centered on two of the most important prayers ever uttered in the history of time. 

Matthew 26:39 "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." 

Prayer is an opportunity for us to align our will with the will of God. We don't usually know exactly what God has in plan for us. We may think that we're meant to do or be something because that is what we want, but God has a greater plan for us. It reminds me of the Mormon Message, The Will of God.

The second prayer that I mentioned was that of the young Joseph Smith as he went into the grove of trees to seek the will of God. He was worried about the salvation of his soul and didn't know where the true Gospel of Christ could be found. His prayer centered on what he needed to do, what church he should join. We learn that our prayers must also be prayers of faith; not simply what we want to do or vain repetition. We will receive answer so much quicker and better when our prayers are specific and we are willing to act. We must act if we ever want to gain true salvation and knowledge. We also learn that God does answer prayers. Revelation has not ceased. God speaks and will forever and ever!

The Church is true, brothers and sisters. Pray for yourself to know. God answers prayers.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

to Padre: Sounds like a fun-filled and exciting weekend! My new companion is great! He's fairly quiet but we get along really well. I already knew him because he served near me when I was in Mission Creek. I'm becoming a lot more outgoing because I don't have a companion who does it for me so that's great! The hole digging was tough. We ran into clay with about 16" left to dig. Lucky for us, it was time to go. I definitely enjoyed it, though. Just don't think I will ever be a farmer!