Hello from Brahma Lodge!
Concerning people I have contacted this week, this will be of interest to Jarom. We were going through a “Former Investigators” list, the particular family we were after had moved, we were walking down the stairs and walking away from the complex. Then we saw a man sitting at his computer inside his flat. So we felt prompted to knocks on his door. It was a man from Bhutan; he is a refugee and lived in Nepal for 20 years. His parents were killed when he was only 9 years old. His siblings are allocated all over the world. He is also recently divorced. We left with this man Mormon.org and we gave him our office number and never really expected much potential with him, he was not completely receptive to Christianity. The next day we received a call from the office, the man wanted us to visit him that day. He said he wants to come to God. So that was a pleasant turn around. We taught him twice this week and he attended church. Unfortunately he is moving to Port Adelaide this week. Although it doesn’t matter because we are all on the same team. We will refer him to the missionaries in that area.
Yes we do have plenty of invites for tea now. When I came into the area we had two tea dates a week, the worst amount in my mission. Now we have a tea date 6 or 7 times a week. I have gained a couple of Ks on my mission; I think I have already told you that. I have lost 2 Ks since coming down from Darwin, I think this transfer though I do not believe I have lost weight. We have had some pretty good feeds lately. I love eating Kangaroo; it is also a very healthy meat. Whether it is Kangaroo Burgers, steaks or sausages, it is all good.
We haven’t really planned what we are going to do today. We will probably go to the church and play volleyball or something.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
"I invite you all to be mindful of missionary opportunities and then follow through. Have the faith to act."
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
I did not get transferred I am staying put. Elder Latu and I are staying in Paralowrie Ward. Time goes so much quicker when you stay in an area and you have the same companion. This past week went by in a flash. We are teaching a couple people from Africa. Africans as a whole must be one of the most faith devoted people to Jesus Christ in the world. It is amazing how humble they are. It is interesting to see the contrast from Africans who have been here for a couple of years and from Africans that are new to the country. It is sad to see that there are Aussies that are bullying the Africans now. This week we were at a park with an investigator and some of his mates. There were these bullys that were circling the park with there P plated car and motor bikes revving their engines, they wanted to beat up our investigator, he is only a teenager. They did not approach us at all when we were there. They might have thought we were cops, which people think sometimes. But it is sad that they don’t have a life except to stalk and cause contention.
It is horrible to hear about Japan, it was definitely the talk of the week. People are recognizing that there is something big happening around the world. Some say it is science, other say that the world is going to end in 2012. We are trying to lead people to the truth to all these disasters. Many discussions recently with members or anyone have been about what the signs of the second coming will be. So it is definitely on people’s minds, we just have to help them act with their faith. Real faith leads to action. Australia has been hit hard recently, perhaps not to people in Adelaide directly, but everyone seems to have relatives that live in Queensland. You can definitely see how God is taking away any gray areas. These disasters give people a black and white choice to either turn themselves towards God or turn away and curse God. Nevertheless it definitely helps people to refocus on their life and their loved ones. It helps people generate sincere questions of the soul, they are searching for answers. Now it is their time to either accept or deny the message we bring to them.
The Plan of Salvation is marvelous. I am amazed at how something that is eternal and complex, a mature child could explain it. I have witnessed people experience pure intelligence flow through them or the Holy Spirit. I have also witnessed the opposite, of people who are closed off and they cannot not fathom the principles we teach them. Without the Holy Ghost people cannot fully comprehend the truth. Jesus Christ is the Truth, he is central to this plan. The Bible says it best, No man can know Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Ghost. There are people who are prepared by God to accept the message of the restored gospel, whether they are In Australia, Arizona or elsewhere. They are out there. We are the Lords hands; it is up to us to recognize people God has placed in our paths, for the purpose of accepting his gospel. We can only invite them to look and see. I invite you all to be mindful of missionary opportunities and then follow through. Have the faith to act. Have the faith to share the greatest treasure in your life.
I found out today from another missionary good news that Kevin Stiecke, a convert from my old area in Murray Bridge, has received the Melchizedek priesthood. Bart Harrison will probably receive it in another 6 months.
I am going to go now. I have been teaching Elder Latu how to play American Football. He is aspiring to play in the NFL. I am not the best coach but I try. I will go over a few things with him today on this P-day.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
I did not get transferred I am staying put. Elder Latu and I are staying in Paralowrie Ward. Time goes so much quicker when you stay in an area and you have the same companion. This past week went by in a flash. We are teaching a couple people from Africa. Africans as a whole must be one of the most faith devoted people to Jesus Christ in the world. It is amazing how humble they are. It is interesting to see the contrast from Africans who have been here for a couple of years and from Africans that are new to the country. It is sad to see that there are Aussies that are bullying the Africans now. This week we were at a park with an investigator and some of his mates. There were these bullys that were circling the park with there P plated car and motor bikes revving their engines, they wanted to beat up our investigator, he is only a teenager. They did not approach us at all when we were there. They might have thought we were cops, which people think sometimes. But it is sad that they don’t have a life except to stalk and cause contention.
It is horrible to hear about Japan, it was definitely the talk of the week. People are recognizing that there is something big happening around the world. Some say it is science, other say that the world is going to end in 2012. We are trying to lead people to the truth to all these disasters. Many discussions recently with members or anyone have been about what the signs of the second coming will be. So it is definitely on people’s minds, we just have to help them act with their faith. Real faith leads to action. Australia has been hit hard recently, perhaps not to people in Adelaide directly, but everyone seems to have relatives that live in Queensland. You can definitely see how God is taking away any gray areas. These disasters give people a black and white choice to either turn themselves towards God or turn away and curse God. Nevertheless it definitely helps people to refocus on their life and their loved ones. It helps people generate sincere questions of the soul, they are searching for answers. Now it is their time to either accept or deny the message we bring to them.
The Plan of Salvation is marvelous. I am amazed at how something that is eternal and complex, a mature child could explain it. I have witnessed people experience pure intelligence flow through them or the Holy Spirit. I have also witnessed the opposite, of people who are closed off and they cannot not fathom the principles we teach them. Without the Holy Ghost people cannot fully comprehend the truth. Jesus Christ is the Truth, he is central to this plan. The Bible says it best, No man can know Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Ghost. There are people who are prepared by God to accept the message of the restored gospel, whether they are In Australia, Arizona or elsewhere. They are out there. We are the Lords hands; it is up to us to recognize people God has placed in our paths, for the purpose of accepting his gospel. We can only invite them to look and see. I invite you all to be mindful of missionary opportunities and then follow through. Have the faith to act. Have the faith to share the greatest treasure in your life.
I found out today from another missionary good news that Kevin Stiecke, a convert from my old area in Murray Bridge, has received the Melchizedek priesthood. Bart Harrison will probably receive it in another 6 months.
I am going to go now. I have been teaching Elder Latu how to play American Football. He is aspiring to play in the NFL. I am not the best coach but I try. I will go over a few things with him today on this P-day.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, February 27, 2011
"We are going to continue to recycle through people, finding and teaching and discerning whether they are ready to receive the restored gospel."
Hello from Adelaide!
We had a pretty good week. We are only allotted a certain amount of Kilometres per month in the car. Elder Latu and I smashed them, we drove too much. To save Ks we went biking most of this week. It is definitely the most biking I have done on my mission in a short period of time. In the smaller towns of Murray Bridge and Mt Gambier I would mostly walk and seldom ride the bike. But we rode all week. There are 3 hilly suburbs in our area. We cover Salisbury Heights, Gulf view heights and Para Hills. Salisbury East is pretty flat. My former Companion Elder Taufa is going home next week. We are going to an all you can eat buffet today and celebrate.
This week we caught up with our investigators. We dropped a few of them who are not progressing. We are seeking for some more quality investigators. We are going to continue to recycle through people, finding and teaching and discerning whether they are ready to receive the restored gospel. There are people out there who are prepared. I have found them before. We are going to emphasize seeking for referrals from members to help us find new people to teach. We feel we can do better.
Even missionaries that are going to serve here in Australia are struggling to get visas to come into the country. They serve temporary missions somewhere in the states and then they fly out. Well I am going to go now.
Love you heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
We had a pretty good week. We are only allotted a certain amount of Kilometres per month in the car. Elder Latu and I smashed them, we drove too much. To save Ks we went biking most of this week. It is definitely the most biking I have done on my mission in a short period of time. In the smaller towns of Murray Bridge and Mt Gambier I would mostly walk and seldom ride the bike. But we rode all week. There are 3 hilly suburbs in our area. We cover Salisbury Heights, Gulf view heights and Para Hills. Salisbury East is pretty flat. My former Companion Elder Taufa is going home next week. We are going to an all you can eat buffet today and celebrate.
This week we caught up with our investigators. We dropped a few of them who are not progressing. We are seeking for some more quality investigators. We are going to continue to recycle through people, finding and teaching and discerning whether they are ready to receive the restored gospel. There are people out there who are prepared. I have found them before. We are going to emphasize seeking for referrals from members to help us find new people to teach. We feel we can do better.
Even missionaries that are going to serve here in Australia are struggling to get visas to come into the country. They serve temporary missions somewhere in the states and then they fly out. Well I am going to go now.
Love you heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, February 20, 2011
".....my mind is just on Jarom. I can’t believe he is where I was at just a short time ago."
February 20, 2011
Hello from Adelaide!
I am so excited to hear about Jarom! India will become a great nation in the future I reckon, especially as the Restored Gospel is expanding. Indians do make some good food. Nice spicy Curry. I am going to tell all my Indian and Nepali friends. I am sure they will be just as excited. They are such nice people. I will ask heaps more about the Culture and what Jarom should expect as a missionary.
We had a pretty good week. We found a few quality investigators this week. I am looking forward to continue teaching them. We will see how they progress.
It is hard for me to email my mind is just on Jarom. I can’t believe he is where I was at just a short time ago. I remember opening my letter; I remember dancing with you in the Living Room. I remember looking up on the internet everything about Australia. I remember calling pretty much everyone. I can’t believe so much time has passed. I will surely miss him; I won’t see him until 2013.
Today for P-day we are going to play sport at the Chapel. Clean the flat and the car. And do other P-day activities.
Darwin got hit by a Cyclone. Adelaide is very cool. We are wearing our jackets almost everyday; we have to when it is below 28 Celsius. This translates to about 80Fahrenheit. It is nice weather. No Danger here in Adelaide. No flooding here either. No wild fires. I am in the safest place in the country it seems.
Mom, I can't remember, in your Patriarichal blessing did it say something like your influence or name or something will be known around the world? If that is the case than certainly Dan in Honduras, Me in Australia and Jarom in India are fulfilling that blessing. Not to mention the Millenium for my other siblings who didn't serve missions, they will help fulfill as well.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Adelaide!
I am so excited to hear about Jarom! India will become a great nation in the future I reckon, especially as the Restored Gospel is expanding. Indians do make some good food. Nice spicy Curry. I am going to tell all my Indian and Nepali friends. I am sure they will be just as excited. They are such nice people. I will ask heaps more about the Culture and what Jarom should expect as a missionary.
We had a pretty good week. We found a few quality investigators this week. I am looking forward to continue teaching them. We will see how they progress.
It is hard for me to email my mind is just on Jarom. I can’t believe he is where I was at just a short time ago. I remember opening my letter; I remember dancing with you in the Living Room. I remember looking up on the internet everything about Australia. I remember calling pretty much everyone. I can’t believe so much time has passed. I will surely miss him; I won’t see him until 2013.
Today for P-day we are going to play sport at the Chapel. Clean the flat and the car. And do other P-day activities.
Darwin got hit by a Cyclone. Adelaide is very cool. We are wearing our jackets almost everyday; we have to when it is below 28 Celsius. This translates to about 80Fahrenheit. It is nice weather. No Danger here in Adelaide. No flooding here either. No wild fires. I am in the safest place in the country it seems.
Mom, I can't remember, in your Patriarichal blessing did it say something like your influence or name or something will be known around the world? If that is the case than certainly Dan in Honduras, Me in Australia and Jarom in India are fulfilling that blessing. Not to mention the Millenium for my other siblings who didn't serve missions, they will help fulfill as well.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, February 13, 2011
"We had Stake Conference this Sunday. It was a live broadcast from Salt Lake City to all of Australia."
February 13, 2011
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. We taught more lessons this week than we had our first two weeks in the area. Things are starting to roll. We have a handful of investigators now that we are teaching. There will be more investigators more to come. We go out finding heaps. Maybe more so than at any other point in my mission. We have used our Area Book and we have contacted most of the potential investigators, we have gone through many of the former investigators. We have also knocked on a couple of choice streets. One thing I think I could work on is receiving referrals from members of the church, or really anyone. I will try and do that more often. Referrals are usually the best investigators because they have that foundation of trust with their relationship with the member.
At the beginning of my mission I learned how to speak Chinese and Swahili phrases and other languages. I have forgotten them and if I did forget them, my pronunciation is incorrect. Now that I am back in Adelaide it is like refreshing my memory. Maybe when I go home I can show off the entire lingo I have picked up. Really I could just something up and you wouldn’t know the difference, same with Australian slang.
Yes that is the units of my flat. Adelaide is actually a bit green at the moment. More alive than that Google earth photo. I remember last year by December everything was dead, or at least everything in Murray Bridge was dead. We are having a more cool summer. Some days have reached over 100 but not many. I reckon today it will be around 80.
My area is quite small so there isn’t much sight seeing. Murray Bridge, Mt Gambier and Palmerston were all regional areas and were ridiculously huge and there were things to see. But I am in the middle of the city.
We had Stake Conference this Sunday. It was a live broadcast from Salt Lake City to all of Australia. That was pretty cool, we heard from Richard G Scott and President Utchdorf (sp?). It was cool to see the old members from Modbury Ward. Some Sisters were pregnant when I was in the area but now the babes are well and truly crawling, it is crazy. I also went on tradeoff in my old area of Modbury Ward. I visited some old converts, Tammy, Anthony and Robert. I hadn’t seen them in over a year; they had gone less active a couple of months ago. After visiting with them we helped them get a vision of having an eternal family. I invited them to Stake Conference and they came! They also spoke to the Modbury Bishop and they will receive help preparing to go the temple. The invitation from me shouldn’t have gotten them back to church. They will need to receive a strong enough testimony to endure to the end. As we all do.
I am going to now. It is good to hear from you mom. Glad to hear everyone is alive and generally healthy, kind of. Remember to tell me even the sad news, you have done well. I want to come home rejoicing and not in grievance. Yes I would like to know any information on any of my friends, especially Moroni. I believe Jarom will receive his mission call this Thursday as well. I can’t wait to find out. Where ever he is called to go, I know there is a purpose behind it.
I received the package of the SD cards. Thank you. I will probably send a small package home pretty soon. I have collected a few things that I wish to send to you guys.
It didn’t even faze me it was Valentines Day. It is just another day; well it is P-day.
I think we are just going to play sport at the chapel today. I need to loose weight.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. We taught more lessons this week than we had our first two weeks in the area. Things are starting to roll. We have a handful of investigators now that we are teaching. There will be more investigators more to come. We go out finding heaps. Maybe more so than at any other point in my mission. We have used our Area Book and we have contacted most of the potential investigators, we have gone through many of the former investigators. We have also knocked on a couple of choice streets. One thing I think I could work on is receiving referrals from members of the church, or really anyone. I will try and do that more often. Referrals are usually the best investigators because they have that foundation of trust with their relationship with the member.
At the beginning of my mission I learned how to speak Chinese and Swahili phrases and other languages. I have forgotten them and if I did forget them, my pronunciation is incorrect. Now that I am back in Adelaide it is like refreshing my memory. Maybe when I go home I can show off the entire lingo I have picked up. Really I could just something up and you wouldn’t know the difference, same with Australian slang.
Yes that is the units of my flat. Adelaide is actually a bit green at the moment. More alive than that Google earth photo. I remember last year by December everything was dead, or at least everything in Murray Bridge was dead. We are having a more cool summer. Some days have reached over 100 but not many. I reckon today it will be around 80.
My area is quite small so there isn’t much sight seeing. Murray Bridge, Mt Gambier and Palmerston were all regional areas and were ridiculously huge and there were things to see. But I am in the middle of the city.
We had Stake Conference this Sunday. It was a live broadcast from Salt Lake City to all of Australia. That was pretty cool, we heard from Richard G Scott and President Utchdorf (sp?). It was cool to see the old members from Modbury Ward. Some Sisters were pregnant when I was in the area but now the babes are well and truly crawling, it is crazy. I also went on tradeoff in my old area of Modbury Ward. I visited some old converts, Tammy, Anthony and Robert. I hadn’t seen them in over a year; they had gone less active a couple of months ago. After visiting with them we helped them get a vision of having an eternal family. I invited them to Stake Conference and they came! They also spoke to the Modbury Bishop and they will receive help preparing to go the temple. The invitation from me shouldn’t have gotten them back to church. They will need to receive a strong enough testimony to endure to the end. As we all do.
I am going to now. It is good to hear from you mom. Glad to hear everyone is alive and generally healthy, kind of. Remember to tell me even the sad news, you have done well. I want to come home rejoicing and not in grievance. Yes I would like to know any information on any of my friends, especially Moroni. I believe Jarom will receive his mission call this Thursday as well. I can’t wait to find out. Where ever he is called to go, I know there is a purpose behind it.
I received the package of the SD cards. Thank you. I will probably send a small package home pretty soon. I have collected a few things that I wish to send to you guys.
It didn’t even faze me it was Valentines Day. It is just another day; well it is P-day.
I think we are just going to play sport at the chapel today. I need to loose weight.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
"We are mostly working with people who are from Africa and Nepal."
February 9, 2011
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
This week we have been definitely finding new people to teach. At the moment we are networking with heaps with people. We have found people who were once taught by missionaries, we didn’t even use the Area book. They just fell into our paths. We are mostly working with people who are from Africa and Nepal. We have few Aussies that we are working with. I think I am scared for life, we visited this one family from Nepal and they were watching this 48 hour long DVD, yes 48 hours and it was a religious DVD from the 1960s, with 1960 special effects, and to top it off it is not American standards but Nepali standards. Hindu is a very interesting religion.
I met someone who remembers Brother Groggett! Brother Groggett must have served in this area. Their names are Brother and Sister Hunt. I wish I knew all the area’s Brother Groggett served in.
The members and leadership in the Ward are very missionary focused. There are two brothers in the ward that were in my first area in the mission that remember me. So that was cool to catch up with them. It seems like such a long time ago that I served in Firle Ward but yet it doesn’t seem too long ago. I live on number 113 Winchester Ave in Salisbury East in the set of flats there. I have not been asked to help in the clean up process in Queensland. Nor has anyone in this mission as far as I am aware of. Poor Queensland has been hammered; it got hit by a Cyclone last week. Queensland was a pretty dodgy state.
I do not remember Aunt Harriet, I remember we had some kind of family reunion in California, she must have been there. How was she related to us?
I do intend to live with you guys in Phoenix for a while but I do not intend to stay for long.
I am excited for Jarom. I can’t wait to hear where he is going. I remember the anticipation of finding out just two years ago. Two years ago I got my call to Australia. Hard to believe.
How is everyone from back home, no news of my friends? Moroni?
I am going to go now.
Elder Montgomery
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
This week we have been definitely finding new people to teach. At the moment we are networking with heaps with people. We have found people who were once taught by missionaries, we didn’t even use the Area book. They just fell into our paths. We are mostly working with people who are from Africa and Nepal. We have few Aussies that we are working with. I think I am scared for life, we visited this one family from Nepal and they were watching this 48 hour long DVD, yes 48 hours and it was a religious DVD from the 1960s, with 1960 special effects, and to top it off it is not American standards but Nepali standards. Hindu is a very interesting religion.
I met someone who remembers Brother Groggett! Brother Groggett must have served in this area. Their names are Brother and Sister Hunt. I wish I knew all the area’s Brother Groggett served in.
The members and leadership in the Ward are very missionary focused. There are two brothers in the ward that were in my first area in the mission that remember me. So that was cool to catch up with them. It seems like such a long time ago that I served in Firle Ward but yet it doesn’t seem too long ago. I live on number 113 Winchester Ave in Salisbury East in the set of flats there. I have not been asked to help in the clean up process in Queensland. Nor has anyone in this mission as far as I am aware of. Poor Queensland has been hammered; it got hit by a Cyclone last week. Queensland was a pretty dodgy state.
I do not remember Aunt Harriet, I remember we had some kind of family reunion in California, she must have been there. How was she related to us?
I do intend to live with you guys in Phoenix for a while but I do not intend to stay for long.
I am excited for Jarom. I can’t wait to hear where he is going. I remember the anticipation of finding out just two years ago. Two years ago I got my call to Australia. Hard to believe.
How is everyone from back home, no news of my friends? Moroni?
I am going to go now.
Elder Montgomery
Sunday, January 30, 2011
"I am now in an area called Brahma Lodge...I am back in Modbury Stake."
January 30, 2011
Hello from Adelaide!
I am now in an area called Brahma Lodge. This is my first P-day in Adelaide since 2009. I am back in Modbury Stake. I went on Tradeoff to Brahma Lodge twice when I served in Modbury when I was finishing my training. I am part of Paralowie Ward. Our Ward Mission Leader and Bishop are very missionary focused. There is no reason why I got transferred out of Darwin so quickly except the spirit has called me another way. My companions name is Elder Latu he is from Tonga. We were flushed into the area; we replaced Sister Missionaries In the area. Sister Tierchert who was in my intake went home, she served in Brahma Lodge. Also Sister Rau in my intake went home. It is weird to think both the Sisters are home now. I can remember coming into Australia with them. So this whole week we have been trying to get to know everyone in the area. We have met heaps of people. We have been mostly finding this whole week. My former companion in Murray Bridge Elder Taufa is in my district. He has one transfer left until he goes home. He is my brother in the mission, he was trained by Elder Inglis as well. We have served around each other for a total of a year now. This mission is becoming very young rather quickly.
We didn’t do anything on Australia Day; we wanted to meet as many people as possible. Since that day is a national holiday, many people were home.
Well I am going to go now. It is good to hear about everyone from home. I am excited to hear where Jarom is going to serve his mission. Where ever you are called, it doesn’t matter where you serve; the work is the same.
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Adelaide!
I am now in an area called Brahma Lodge. This is my first P-day in Adelaide since 2009. I am back in Modbury Stake. I went on Tradeoff to Brahma Lodge twice when I served in Modbury when I was finishing my training. I am part of Paralowie Ward. Our Ward Mission Leader and Bishop are very missionary focused. There is no reason why I got transferred out of Darwin so quickly except the spirit has called me another way. My companions name is Elder Latu he is from Tonga. We were flushed into the area; we replaced Sister Missionaries In the area. Sister Tierchert who was in my intake went home, she served in Brahma Lodge. Also Sister Rau in my intake went home. It is weird to think both the Sisters are home now. I can remember coming into Australia with them. So this whole week we have been trying to get to know everyone in the area. We have met heaps of people. We have been mostly finding this whole week. My former companion in Murray Bridge Elder Taufa is in my district. He has one transfer left until he goes home. He is my brother in the mission, he was trained by Elder Inglis as well. We have served around each other for a total of a year now. This mission is becoming very young rather quickly.
We didn’t do anything on Australia Day; we wanted to meet as many people as possible. Since that day is a national holiday, many people were home.
Well I am going to go now. It is good to hear about everyone from home. I am excited to hear where Jarom is going to serve his mission. Where ever you are called, it doesn’t matter where you serve; the work is the same.
-Elder Montgomery
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