Hi, Everyone!
Thank you so, so much for all of the sweet birthday wishes. I seriously feel so loved. I looked all around me at the love I have been receiving, and I just felt so overwhelmed. I don’t know how I got so lucky. Thank you for making me feel so loved and special even from hundreds of miles away! The past few weeks have been super weird, as they have even filled with several “lasts”. I had my very last zone conference which meant that I got to give my departing testimony. Wow, was that moment surreal. You never feel like it will be you, and within the blink of an eye, somehow, suddenly, there you are. This week I will have my last holiday on my mission which is also very surreal. As sad as it is ending, there is still so much to look forward to and strive for these next few weeks! With Thanksgiving arriving, I wanted to share some things that I am especially grateful for this year: We had a mission tour this week with Elder Ringwood and his sweet wife Sister Ringwood, who is the daughter of Russel M. Nelson. They gave the most spiritual, special insights. I walked away feeling so uplifted and so grateful for the opportunity to put on a little black name tag every day. Elder Ringwood brought up how as missionaries, representing Christ and helping His lost sheep come back to Him, we are doing the work of angels. Can you believe that? My heart was struck so deeply as I let that sink in. The work of ANGELS. Every single day, for 18 months, I get to walk with the Savior, who puts His angels on my right hand and also on my left. So, this year, I am grateful for the work of angels. Not only my opportunity to do so, but for every single person who is engaging in the same cause. For those who are making sure someone smiles that day, even though they woke up hopeless. Those who lend a hand, serve a neighbor when they are the ones who need it most. Those who give a piece of themselves, in word or in deed, when behind closed doors there’s hardly anything left to give. To those who stand for their testimony when they feel it being torn apart, or continue to walk in faith though they feel the ground is crumbling. For those who say, forgive, despite the fear of letting go. That is the light of Christ. That is people becoming who Heavenly Father wants them to be, even if they do not yet know it. THAT is the work of angels, and is something to truly rejoice over. I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with love and gratitude. There is always something to rejoice over, because angles are all around. We just have to look. With all the thanks of my heart, Sister McKayla Montgomery
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The craziest thing is happening right now, everyone out here in DC is singing “Go shawty, it’s yo burthday. We gon’ party like it’s yo 21st burthday” I heard it was on the news and everything...
Well the news segments are true. Tomorrow I’ll be 21! It amazes me how fast a year goes by. I think the scariest part is next year I get to sing Taylor Swift. Ah! Every year on my birthday I sit back and reflect on all that has happened and brought me to this point. Looking back, this was the first year I’ve ever been able to say it was all centered on Christ; every single piece. An entire year devoted to repaying my love in the simplest way. I can’t think of a better way to spend a year than walking with my Savior. I’ve been trying all day to think of what I need to write, and the only thing that keeps coming to my mind is this sweet quote I hold dear. I don’t know who needs this today, but I pray it makes a difference, as short and sweet as this email is: “Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstances. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This church needs you. The world needs you.” ~ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland If there is anything I am grateful for this birthday it is the knowledge that we are worth so much because we are so much. We are His. XOXOXOXO, Sister McKayla Montgomery Hi, Everybody!
Well, transfers happened this week and I’ve discovered that I’m going to be a very emotional mother. I had to send my little padawan off to Calvert :’( I seriously felt like I was sending my little baby off to college, ha ha. So, I am officially dying here in GYSA with my new companion Sister Mabey! She is so adorable; I couldn’t have asked for a better companion after being with my soul mate, Sister Spendlove. So far, this week has been really good. Nothing very new or exciting, but John is still doing phenomenally. We are shooting for November 17th as a baptism date, so definitely keep that in your prayers. I sure love him and am constantly taken back by how lucky I am to watch the Gospel change someone’s life in every sense of the word. This week, we had a unique experience contacting. We met a group of four boys who were 16 and 26. We said we were missionaries and they started smiling and said that they had just finished their own “evangelizing.” We started talking about our website, missionary work and the Book of Mormon. While explaining all of it, I said how leaving everything for 18 months is a small price to pay for something that I have such a burning testimony of; I know it’s true. One of them then asked, “Can you tell us your testimony?” Wow! I was kind of taken back. It’s like when someone says, “tell me about yourself!” And you kind of don’t know where to start... Plus, people hardly ever let you, let alone ASK you to bear your testimony. I shared a very brief testimony about how much I truly know that the Savior knows my name; He knows McKayla Montgomery. He knows my burdens, and so He knows exactly how to lift them (Mosiah 24:14). The reason this experience stood out to me so much this week was because sometimes, as a missionary, you really don’t feel all that important. In fact, these past few transfers, I have often laid in bed and thought, “Gosh... did I even make a difference today...? Is my testimony even being noticed?” Because it’s hard when you feel like the thing which is most fragile and important to you is constantly being threatened, mocked, broken and disregarded. This week, I came across D&C 62:3 “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in Heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you....”. How sweet and special it is to know that every single testimony we bear, BECAUSE it is what is most fragile and important to us, it is taken, listened to and then recorded in Heaven. YOUR words, the greatest truths and feelings that fill your soul, are not once gone unnoticed. They are cherished. We often forget that there is just as much missionary work going on on the other side of the veil, if not more so than here on earth. There are beautiful sons and daughters of God that are learning that their family can be together again! That all of their sins and aches can be taken, that Christ knows their name, the God of all the Heavens and stars and creations in the Universe knows and loves THEM, right now, on the other side of the veil! They are earnestly awaiting and seeking that piece of happiness that has been missing, and your testimony, may just be what touches them in Heaven. Never be ashamed of sharing what you know to be true; you are helping His everlasting work and salvation progress in ways we cannot understand or see with our mortal eyes. We may not always be heard by those talking to or walking with us, but we are ALWAYS heard by someone..... Because there are people listening to you and your fragile words in Heaven. Love Always, Sister McKayla Montgomery |