October 12, 2009
Hello from Australia!
It was a great feeling to see all my old friends in my old area. I am the worst missionary at taking pictures I think. There seems to be not enough time for that. I would take pictures on P-day, but it is raining here again. It’s crazy it was just warming up this week, and we thought it would rain no more and be the desert Adelaide is advertised to be. But it is cold and raining off and on again. But the heat will come; people talk about it all the time. I will attempt to take more pictures.
I have that feeling of amazement being on a mission all the time. Of actually doing it, I am a missionary. I feel like this is the climax of my life so far. I have worked the majority of my life to get here. I can say it was a good decision for everything I did. I want to thank you for giving me support throughout my life. I can’t believe it is October; I got my call in February. That is just insane; February is just around the corner. My mission is going heaps fast. I remember the ¾ months I had to wait to finally leave for my mission. That was the slowest span of 3 months of my life. The opposite has occurred on my mission. This has been the fastest 3 months of my life.
I have never met Elder Marsden. Elders that get called up north, stay up north for a long time, to save airline costs. So I probably will not see him for a while. But he is a younger missionary so I will see him eventually. He probably heard of me the same way I have heard of him. By you talking on the missionary moms list.
I have all the music on a MP3 disc that I burned. So I am okay. It’s easy to get music. Also I can just get a member to burn Elder Holland’s talk on a DVD. Or I can lead them to LDS.org. That was a great talk by Elder Holland! Oh my goodness. I have already committed a less active bloke right after I watched conference yesterday to watch that talk on the internet. I am so going to use it for numerous people who would need to hear this talk. I am sure Dad gave a really good talk, sad I missed it.
Okay I will start thinking about what I could get you all for the holidays. Missionaries do not bring back didgeridoos when they go home, they are not very popular. They just sit on a corner of your house, and I could make one, it just wouldn’t have the pretty designs. That and they are expensive. I hear that there are heaps of didgeridoos left up north in missionaries flats, they just leave them. But if you really want one, I will come home with one. I will get you guys something for the holidays, but remember who it is who is shopping.
Yay Cibola beat Kofa. Good on them. I hope people will stop being stingy with their money and invest on my puppies. I am sure they are cute, I am not sure how people could resist. Perhaps dad should have mentioned something over the pulpit. Just kidding.
How exciting I am going to have another nephew in a month or so. I can’t wait for the news. Geesh my family is always going to Disneyland. That’s really good Tanner is helping you with the puppies, I kind of feel bad I left you with that burden.
I do not want anything particular from Disneyland. Maybe something I can give to an African family or something.
Things are going great here in Adelaide. I have never been so excited for Conference. I enjoyed watching that just yesterday. I got Tammy, Anthony and Robert to come and hear a prophet’s voice. Anthony and Roberts baptism is this coming Sunday! We have taught them everything, so now we are just reviewing. Last night we watched the movie “The Testaments” with them. So that was really good, help them understand the relationship and time line of the Book of Mormon and the Bible. I love seeing the transformation of people. Anthony has shaved most of his beard. Just a bit left on his chin and upper lip. He has taken one ear ring off and only has one ear ring left. And he now has an old suit our Elders quorum president gave to Anthony. Anthony bought a white shirt and is looking great. Tammy and Anthony will be married in December. Anthony’s five girls will not move in with them in the near future, but eventually.
This week we are going to work heaps hard. Get as many members involved and have them go teaching with us. Last week the whole stake went on Trek. They all went out bush and pulled handcarts just like the Mormon pioneers. So they were all at this stake activity for a week. We want to finish this transfer up strong. I can’t believe there is only one week left of this transfer. This 2nd transfer went heaps fast.
I love you all heaps. Do not be afraid to email me.
-Elder Montgomery
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"I want to travel the world someday."
October 5, 2009
Hello Family! Yesterday was Australian Labor Day. So all the kids had no school today. And in consequence heaps of them went to the library to use the computers. So we decided to change our P-day to Tuesday. So we could email you.
Church was good this week. We had 5 investigators at church. Two Fijian teenagers named Susan and Ashwen, Anthony and Robert (Australian) and a Liberian girl named Mariah. Mariah and her less active brother, Chris, came to church. We are trying to get her less active mother, Sata, to church; she was baptized in Sydney a couple of years ago. Her partner, Williams, is not a member. He is really nice. We visited them on Monday and they fed us their incredibly hot Liberian food.
Right across the street from our Liberian friends is a new investigator we contacted in front of her house. She is from the Philippines, her name is Irene. We got a Sister who is also from the Philippines and we went and visited her. She really opened up and revealed the harsh life that she has had. So we will work with her and start teaching her some lessons. She couldn’t come to church this week, but hopefully she will come this coming Sabbath day.
Also a new investigator moved into our area. A Chinese man named Jack and his wife Rita. They lived in Germany for two years. We helped them move in. They speak fluent German, Chinese and English. We have coordinated the relief society to give them meals this week. We want them fellowshipped ASAP. So they can be baptized and join the church. It is exciting because they are not students, they are permanent residents. We are going to work with them immediately and see where they are at with their faith.
Anthony and Robert are both sweet as. They are now committed to live the word of wisdom. We are not going to see them today but we are going to see them on Wednesday. We have to teach them the law of Chastity and the Law of Tithing and how obeying both of these commandments will bless their lives. Anthony is going to marry Tammy in December. Anthony’s five daughters probably will not move in with him for about a couple of months.
Chris my Pilipino friend is making progress. He was supposed to be baptized in August but stumbled upon anti Mormon literature. Instead of never having anything to do with the church, he is warming back into it. He says he will go back to church.
We had the Missionary Presidents fireside Sunday night. That was really cool, I got to see my old friends from Firle. I saw Chris, the Aussie man who struggled with the word of wisdom. He has stopped smoking and drinking and is getting baptized on the 17th! He actually gave the opening prayer, he told me as he sat down after the prayer in front of everyone that he was sweating. That made me laugh. It makes me so happy to hear he is getting baptized. I also saw Patience, my first convert! It was great to see her. And also I saw Neo, my 2nd recent convert. He actually talked at the fireside, he is funny, he said he has noticed the church talks about families being together forever and it has caused him that he wants to be married. Everyone laughed. He is a funny guy. Unfortunately Black was not there, my 3rd recent convert.
Out of my friends in Modbury, I got Jane, John, Anthony and Robert to the Fireside. Jane is doing great. I think she will be next to be baptized. Problem is she is Chinese and way busy with school work. So it is hard to see her. John is struggling with the father figure; he can’t comprehend a loving father, even a heavenly father. John has had a really rough life. So we are trying to fill that void of love that was missing in his life. And show him that god does love him.
I am excited for General Conference coming up this coming weekend for me. I know I will get more out of it now then I ever have before. You mentioned there was some great talks. Looking forward to that. We are going to invite all of our friends to watch it with us. So they can visualize and see the leadership of the church.
The tsunami did not affect us. That is scary what has happened. It will start to get hot here shortly. But today is actually cold. We have had heaps of rain this year. More than usual.
Yay for Disneyland challenge! You guys were so close to winning.
I hope those puppies start selling. I want that money. You best let them go, do not be too attached to them.
Aw Cibola has gone downhill ever since my class left, no good.
I do not know what I want for Christmas. But the MP3 is a good start. I have burned all the Music I can listen to. So I am okay there. What do you want for Christmas? I want to send stuff before December, before the post office goes nuts. Sending stuff before December is a good idea.
Let me know how everything is going. I do not want to be out of the loop. Also other major world events. Like the Tsunami.
I have found out from other missionaries that my first two areas are some of the most diverse in the mission. It is cool to see different people from different cultures. I can tell what part of Africa Africans are from. And I am picking up little bits of different languages. I have met with people from Sudan, Liberia, Congo, Somalia, South Africans and many Africans born in refugee camps somewhere in Africa, Arabs, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Philippines and many Polynesians from islands I do not know where, Chile, Venezuela, Canadian and of course Australians. Hope I didn’t forget anyone, probably did. It is really neat to be here. Meeting all these people from around the world makes me really want to travel the world. The Africans want me to visit Africa; the Chinese want me to go on holiday to China. Just everybody encourages us to go to where they are from. I want to travel the world someday. We were offered an old grill from a less active sister. So now we have the coolest flat. We got a grill! We are going to have a nice feed today.
Love ya heaps mom!
-Elder Montgomery
Hello Family! Yesterday was Australian Labor Day. So all the kids had no school today. And in consequence heaps of them went to the library to use the computers. So we decided to change our P-day to Tuesday. So we could email you.
Church was good this week. We had 5 investigators at church. Two Fijian teenagers named Susan and Ashwen, Anthony and Robert (Australian) and a Liberian girl named Mariah. Mariah and her less active brother, Chris, came to church. We are trying to get her less active mother, Sata, to church; she was baptized in Sydney a couple of years ago. Her partner, Williams, is not a member. He is really nice. We visited them on Monday and they fed us their incredibly hot Liberian food.
Right across the street from our Liberian friends is a new investigator we contacted in front of her house. She is from the Philippines, her name is Irene. We got a Sister who is also from the Philippines and we went and visited her. She really opened up and revealed the harsh life that she has had. So we will work with her and start teaching her some lessons. She couldn’t come to church this week, but hopefully she will come this coming Sabbath day.
Also a new investigator moved into our area. A Chinese man named Jack and his wife Rita. They lived in Germany for two years. We helped them move in. They speak fluent German, Chinese and English. We have coordinated the relief society to give them meals this week. We want them fellowshipped ASAP. So they can be baptized and join the church. It is exciting because they are not students, they are permanent residents. We are going to work with them immediately and see where they are at with their faith.
Anthony and Robert are both sweet as. They are now committed to live the word of wisdom. We are not going to see them today but we are going to see them on Wednesday. We have to teach them the law of Chastity and the Law of Tithing and how obeying both of these commandments will bless their lives. Anthony is going to marry Tammy in December. Anthony’s five daughters probably will not move in with him for about a couple of months.
Chris my Pilipino friend is making progress. He was supposed to be baptized in August but stumbled upon anti Mormon literature. Instead of never having anything to do with the church, he is warming back into it. He says he will go back to church.
We had the Missionary Presidents fireside Sunday night. That was really cool, I got to see my old friends from Firle. I saw Chris, the Aussie man who struggled with the word of wisdom. He has stopped smoking and drinking and is getting baptized on the 17th! He actually gave the opening prayer, he told me as he sat down after the prayer in front of everyone that he was sweating. That made me laugh. It makes me so happy to hear he is getting baptized. I also saw Patience, my first convert! It was great to see her. And also I saw Neo, my 2nd recent convert. He actually talked at the fireside, he is funny, he said he has noticed the church talks about families being together forever and it has caused him that he wants to be married. Everyone laughed. He is a funny guy. Unfortunately Black was not there, my 3rd recent convert.
Out of my friends in Modbury, I got Jane, John, Anthony and Robert to the Fireside. Jane is doing great. I think she will be next to be baptized. Problem is she is Chinese and way busy with school work. So it is hard to see her. John is struggling with the father figure; he can’t comprehend a loving father, even a heavenly father. John has had a really rough life. So we are trying to fill that void of love that was missing in his life. And show him that god does love him.
I am excited for General Conference coming up this coming weekend for me. I know I will get more out of it now then I ever have before. You mentioned there was some great talks. Looking forward to that. We are going to invite all of our friends to watch it with us. So they can visualize and see the leadership of the church.
The tsunami did not affect us. That is scary what has happened. It will start to get hot here shortly. But today is actually cold. We have had heaps of rain this year. More than usual.
Yay for Disneyland challenge! You guys were so close to winning.
I hope those puppies start selling. I want that money. You best let them go, do not be too attached to them.
Aw Cibola has gone downhill ever since my class left, no good.
I do not know what I want for Christmas. But the MP3 is a good start. I have burned all the Music I can listen to. So I am okay there. What do you want for Christmas? I want to send stuff before December, before the post office goes nuts. Sending stuff before December is a good idea.
Let me know how everything is going. I do not want to be out of the loop. Also other major world events. Like the Tsunami.
I have found out from other missionaries that my first two areas are some of the most diverse in the mission. It is cool to see different people from different cultures. I can tell what part of Africa Africans are from. And I am picking up little bits of different languages. I have met with people from Sudan, Liberia, Congo, Somalia, South Africans and many Africans born in refugee camps somewhere in Africa, Arabs, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Philippines and many Polynesians from islands I do not know where, Chile, Venezuela, Canadian and of course Australians. Hope I didn’t forget anyone, probably did. It is really neat to be here. Meeting all these people from around the world makes me really want to travel the world. The Africans want me to visit Africa; the Chinese want me to go on holiday to China. Just everybody encourages us to go to where they are from. I want to travel the world someday. We were offered an old grill from a less active sister. So now we have the coolest flat. We got a grill! We are going to have a nice feed today.
Love ya heaps mom!
-Elder Montgomery
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