A Montana Parable

Hey. Just FYI. I didnt get Jareds email and I want it. Try to send it when you get the chance. PS Who in the heck is "Grandpa" Stott. How do you think Jared is doing in the MTC?

You all know that we spent the first part of last week in Billings doing our special training. For clarification, the training is meant to make us better teachers. Not anything new, just taking stuff out of PMG and focusing on it a little more in depth. It lasted from 8:30 to 9 the first day and 8:30 to 4 the next day. It was lots of sitting and discussing. It was really good just really long. Elder Brooks and I each had to give a 30 minute discussion of which we found out about 2 days before the meeting. Ive learned a lot about winging it on the mission if you cant tell. And... of course I had the best topic: How to Involve Ward Council and Ward Members in helping Investigators attend Sacrament Meeting. What would you say for 30 mins about that topic? The whole training meeting was very last minute but went really well for how unprepared everyone was.

For Katie, who asked the question of, "What is new?" Well, let me Tell you...Once every transfer we had zone confrences, Interviews, and ZLCmeetings with Leadership meetings every other transfer. Now, Zone Conf's will be quarterly along with interviews, ZLC meetings once a month (instead of once a transfer), Leadership meetings every other month which will now include trainers on top of ZLs and DLs, and Specialized Training once a month. From what I understand, every mission should be doing the new training that has come out now. It will be pretty interesting.

This week we had an awesome lesson with A. I guess I should first start off by saying that we cant figure out why she wont come to church. All she tells us is that she will try to make it and then doesnt come. It is so weird, she has talked about not having a dress and then always solves her own problem by saying she can wear her dress slacks. We called her the other morning and then she said she didnt have enought time to get ready. She didnt come.  There are just so many little different little things that dont add up. She has agreed with our teachings and then has said that she wants to get baptized, but she doesnt do anything about it. Its almost like she invited us in because she was too nice to say no and still just leads us on. For the next lesson we are going to just try and sit down with her and get her problems out on the counter. She is a mystery. She is so nice, just a mystery. We still havent tried everything. It will just take time.

The other  day we had ward conference. It was good. There is something that I thought was intriguing. Our Stake President, Pres Hamblin, gave an interesting talk in our combined meeting during 3rd hour. The things that were intriguing werent really about what he was saying but how he was saying it. He isnt the most eloquent and powerful and intricate speaker, but he speaks so lovingly and gently with lots of conviction. Like I said, the talk that he gave was no Elder Holland, definitely prepared and thought about but not pretty. Even without any huge speaking skills the spirit was just as strong if not stronger because of his testimony, his own personal knowledge and experience with what he was talking about. He was very convincing. It was so cool. I want to be like that. I think its the same way with Pres Gardner. I want to teach like he does too.

Some lady was asking me about our Heywood heritage and if I was related to Heywoods in Calif. Could anyone fill me in on that? 

 

Apart from that stuff, We will be in Wolf Point and Poplar this upcoming week. The great Reservations of Montana ahhhh. Nothin like chattin with and shootin the breeze with the Lamanites. Talkin about the good ole days when Uncle Sammy was up on the wall gettin arrows shot at him, or when Grandpa Ammon chopped off those gang bangers arms. Those were the days. Cant wait to go catch up with the Lamanites.

 

I hope to have another good week. I wonder what the Lord has in store for the town of Glendive. stay tuned.

 

Elder P Heywood

PS  This Parable came from Bro Mclendon. A member in Lewistown. A parable that fits perfectly for MT

 

I was driving one day down the highway, between pastures. I was looking out at the scenery, when I saw a beautiful place out in the distance just on the other side of a pasture. I just had to go to the place and see it, it was so beautiful, so I pulled over and walked over to the fence. Just then, the ranch manager came over. He was a strikingly dressed man, all in white: white boots, white hat, white chaps, and a long white cowboy jacket. He asked me what I was doing.
"Well," I said, "I would really like to go to that place on the other side of the pasture, it's so beautiful. I was hoping I could just walk over there."
"We'll have to ask the ranch owner," he said.
Just then, I heard the ranch owner's voice. He must have been shy, because I couldn't see him, but I heard him, and he said:
"You may walk across. But, there's one rule: in order to get into that place, you must enter with clean boots."
Well, that should be no problem, I thought. I had brand new, shiny boots, and it was just a walk across the scriptures. But the more I looked at the field, the more I became worried: it seemed to be a large bovine minefield.
"To help you get across," the ranch manager said, "I'll give you this cloth to clean your boots."
Grateful, I took it from him and thanked him. I looked at the cloth, and noticed the tag read "Rep, Ent." I head never heard of that company, but didn't think to much about it. I stuffed the cloth in my back pocket and set off.
It took me a long time to get through that pasture, almost a lifetime. Every so often, I would stop, pull out the cloth, and bend over and clean off my boots. Finally, after that long journey, I got to the end of the pasture and to the gate of that beautiful place, and there was the ranch manager waiting for me. I was so excited, but just then I heard the ranch owner's voice again.
"Your boots are just a little bit dirty. I'm sorry, but they need to be clean."
I looked down and my heart sank. There was a little bit of dirt still on my boots. I didn't know what to do. I'd come all this way, and cleaned off my boots as often as I could, but this little bit of dirt would keep me from entering this beautiful place. Just then, the ranch manager spoke up.
"Come, I will clean your boots," and he bent down and, using his white coat, cleaned my boots perfectly clean.
Then, the Ranch owner spoke again, and said, "It is good. You may enter."