January 25, 2010
Hello from Murray Bridge!
The biggest news in Murray Bridge is that Christina Scott and Bart Harrison are going to be baptized this Saturday. Bart just committed to be baptized on Sunday at church. We have heaps of work to do. This is going to be a crazy week. Christina is a 9 year old girl; she will count towards the mission. Her mom is now active in the church. I have not yet met the father.
Kevin is sweet. One of my favourite things about being a missionary is seeing the change in people. Kevin for the first time came to church in a white shirt and tie. Kevin helped bless the sacrament. He is exercising his priesthood and is planning on going to the temple on February 5th.
Lily and June are getting prepared for their holiday to China, they will celebrate their Chinese new year, and Lily is going to get married to her Boyfriend in China. I think I will be transferred by the time they come back. But they are the most fellowshipped investigators I have ever seen. The members know her, she will be baptized.
Michael and Leigh are progressing. They were intending on getting married in a month or two. But their 7 year old daughter is going to have surgery on her hip in a couple of weeks and will have to learn how to walk again. She will be in a rehab for 3-6 months. So they will not get baptized until the end of this year I reckon.
Beth is a old woman who lives out bush, her “house” could be found in a third world country. She believes the church is true, but she has heaps of questions. She likes how we do not pressure her. She should be baptized this year; it will be a longer process.
The Murray Bridge branch goal this year is 8 baptisms in 2010. By the end of this month of January we will be at 3. We are off to a good start.
Yuma sounds intense! 2 inches of rain and a threat of tornadoes? That is crazy.
Sister Adams is a very nice lady. She is driving Lily in June to Adelaide, so they can fly to Melbourne to China, she is willing to wake up at 5 in the morning and drive all the way to Adelaide for them. Very nice lady. She is one the original members in Murray Bridge, 10 years ago there was like 10 people that went to church. She was one of them. Her son Connor is pretty cool, we take him out to go teaching with us sometimes, he is a prospective Elder.
You best give those Elders a good feed tonight. Any family member or friend who reads this letter best be feeding the missionaries. I and Elder Tuala are going to play cricket with Luke and Carly and other potential investigators. I have been practicing my bowling in Cricket, I am not too bad. I love Cricket; I wish it was in America. I can spin the ball left and right, and do a fast bowl. I have to go. Love ya heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
"The summers here are not that bad. It gets just as hot as Yuma."
January 18, 2010
Hello from Murray Bridge!
Yes I was not transferred, I am staying here. As well as Elder Tualatamaalelagi. There is still work to do. Kevin was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Sunday and received the Holy Ghost. He also received the Aaronic Priesthood. He will be assisting in blessing the sacrament next week. It is so exciting to witness Kevin grow and progress in the church.
Lily and June came to church yesterday. June went into Primary, she is an animated Chinese girl and loves primary. Lily had a talk with President and we committed her to be baptized after she comes back to Australia. I probably will not personally see the day she is baptized. For some reason she really wants to be baptized in the Murray River. There are poisonous snakes in that river.
Bart is close to baptism. We need him committed to be baptized. He has been close for like 3 weeks. I reckon he will be baptized within 6 weeks. Or else I have just misread him. Bart is a unique character. He speaks the aussie language, which in my opinion is a dying language. I can only understand so much of what he is actually saying. The fact that he mumbles does not help. Talking on the phone with him is a mistake. Communication is very visual. We are going to try and get Bart to go on a tea date with us. Get him to be fellowshipped by other members of the church.
Sister Turner is finally back from Malaysia. She is our “grandma” in the area. She has helped us out heaps. She introduced Kevin into the church. And Bart also.
I am going to prophesy that I will stay in Murray Bridge next transfer and train a new missionary and then I will go up north or further out country. I have been wrong every time I have tried to guess transfers.
The summers here are not that bad. It gets just as hot as Yuma. But Yuma is more consistently hot. Its like 32 degrees Celsius here. Just a warm day.
I am going to go sleep and play cricket in the car port and clean today. I once hit wicket three times in a row off of Elder Tuala. He was upset. Nothing too eventful today but we are going to go back to work this evening. Got to go. Love ya heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Murray Bridge!
Yes I was not transferred, I am staying here. As well as Elder Tualatamaalelagi. There is still work to do. Kevin was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Sunday and received the Holy Ghost. He also received the Aaronic Priesthood. He will be assisting in blessing the sacrament next week. It is so exciting to witness Kevin grow and progress in the church.
Lily and June came to church yesterday. June went into Primary, she is an animated Chinese girl and loves primary. Lily had a talk with President and we committed her to be baptized after she comes back to Australia. I probably will not personally see the day she is baptized. For some reason she really wants to be baptized in the Murray River. There are poisonous snakes in that river.
Bart is close to baptism. We need him committed to be baptized. He has been close for like 3 weeks. I reckon he will be baptized within 6 weeks. Or else I have just misread him. Bart is a unique character. He speaks the aussie language, which in my opinion is a dying language. I can only understand so much of what he is actually saying. The fact that he mumbles does not help. Talking on the phone with him is a mistake. Communication is very visual. We are going to try and get Bart to go on a tea date with us. Get him to be fellowshipped by other members of the church.
Sister Turner is finally back from Malaysia. She is our “grandma” in the area. She has helped us out heaps. She introduced Kevin into the church. And Bart also.
I am going to prophesy that I will stay in Murray Bridge next transfer and train a new missionary and then I will go up north or further out country. I have been wrong every time I have tried to guess transfers.
The summers here are not that bad. It gets just as hot as Yuma. But Yuma is more consistently hot. Its like 32 degrees Celsius here. Just a warm day.
I am going to go sleep and play cricket in the car port and clean today. I once hit wicket three times in a row off of Elder Tuala. He was upset. Nothing too eventful today but we are going to go back to work this evening. Got to go. Love ya heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Monday, January 11, 2010
"Things are going well."
January 11, 2010
Hello from Murray Bridge!
Kevin was baptized yesterday! It was a good service. I said the opening prayer. We got a brother in the branch to baptize him. He was baptized in Mt Barker. There is no baptismal font here in Murray Bridge. And it’s too hot for comfort to go outside to be baptized in the river. It was 46 degrees Celsius yesterday. That is close to 115 Fahrenheit. People think we are crazy to go out and work and wear long pants. I tell them it is just like home. Perhaps that’s why I have never really been home sick. Its hot back home just like here in Australia. But I absolutely love serving here in Murray Bridge. I would never want to move my future family here. But as a missionary I am enjoying it.
We got Bart and Lily and June to come to church as well as to the baptism. Bart said the closing prayer at the baptism. It was a great prayer. Bart was training to become a pastor, and then he went to jail. I think he is very close to committing to baptism. As he was praying he was happy for Kevin, who “was in darkness but has found thy light”. We will try and commit Bart to Baptism this week.
Lily and June will be baptized after their trip to China. It is Chinese custom to ask your parents any big decisions you are about to make. Her mom does not care, she is atheist. So was her dad. But unfortunately her dad died of stomach cancer 6 years ago. So she will go to China in February to ask her dad, at his grave, whether she will be baptized. It is a big decision to be the first person in her family to become a Christian. So she will probably be baptized later in a couple months, I just hope she doesn’t loose her fire, or her faith she has now. We were hoping she would be baptized before her holiday to China, so her family could see something different in her; she would have the Holy Spirit with her at that time. I probably will not stay in Murray Bridge long enough to see the day when she and her daughter are baptized. But I pray that when she gets back to Australia she will continue to progress and be baptized. I am going to give her a blessing tonight. I do not know whether I am staying or I am leaving Murray Bridge, I will find out late tonight. She has asked me, in case I leave, to give her a blessing tonight to protect her on her trip to China, and that she may have safety. I will add many things to her blessing.
It is good to hear from everyone. Things are going well. I cannot believe I have been out 6 months. I am ¼ done with my mission. Someone needs to pull the E-brake.
Got to go. Love ya heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Murray Bridge!
Kevin was baptized yesterday! It was a good service. I said the opening prayer. We got a brother in the branch to baptize him. He was baptized in Mt Barker. There is no baptismal font here in Murray Bridge. And it’s too hot for comfort to go outside to be baptized in the river. It was 46 degrees Celsius yesterday. That is close to 115 Fahrenheit. People think we are crazy to go out and work and wear long pants. I tell them it is just like home. Perhaps that’s why I have never really been home sick. Its hot back home just like here in Australia. But I absolutely love serving here in Murray Bridge. I would never want to move my future family here. But as a missionary I am enjoying it.
We got Bart and Lily and June to come to church as well as to the baptism. Bart said the closing prayer at the baptism. It was a great prayer. Bart was training to become a pastor, and then he went to jail. I think he is very close to committing to baptism. As he was praying he was happy for Kevin, who “was in darkness but has found thy light”. We will try and commit Bart to Baptism this week.
Lily and June will be baptized after their trip to China. It is Chinese custom to ask your parents any big decisions you are about to make. Her mom does not care, she is atheist. So was her dad. But unfortunately her dad died of stomach cancer 6 years ago. So she will go to China in February to ask her dad, at his grave, whether she will be baptized. It is a big decision to be the first person in her family to become a Christian. So she will probably be baptized later in a couple months, I just hope she doesn’t loose her fire, or her faith she has now. We were hoping she would be baptized before her holiday to China, so her family could see something different in her; she would have the Holy Spirit with her at that time. I probably will not stay in Murray Bridge long enough to see the day when she and her daughter are baptized. But I pray that when she gets back to Australia she will continue to progress and be baptized. I am going to give her a blessing tonight. I do not know whether I am staying or I am leaving Murray Bridge, I will find out late tonight. She has asked me, in case I leave, to give her a blessing tonight to protect her on her trip to China, and that she may have safety. I will add many things to her blessing.
It is good to hear from everyone. Things are going well. I cannot believe I have been out 6 months. I am ¼ done with my mission. Someone needs to pull the E-brake.
Got to go. Love ya heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Monday, January 4, 2010
First Letter in 2010!
January 3, 2010
Hello from Murray Bridge!
Things are going well here. We had 5 investigators at church today. We had Bart, Kevin, Peter, Lily and June. During gospel principles class, Branch President Smith called in Kevin and talked to him about his baptism. Kevin is now more committed to living the commandments of god. Hopefully he will be baptized next Sunday on the 10th of January. After Kevin, Bart was called in. President talked to Bart about joining the church. He asked Bart questions to see where he is at. President taught him about the commandments; Bart is willing to obey them. Bart is very close to committing to baptism. Bart’s good friend sister Turner is coming back from Malaysia this Thursday, I believe she will strengthen Bart’s decision if he decides to join the church. Bart has a good religious background, he believes he was sitting in an AOG church and was baptized by the spirit. We will teach him about the priesthood and Apostasy. Then after Bart, President Smith called in Lily and June into his office. They had a long interview, over a hour long. Lily has noticed something different about us. President told her that it was that we have the holy spirit with us. Lily said she would be baptized after her two month holiday to China because she was afraid of what her family would think. But we told her she needs to be baptized so she can have the spirit with her so she can teach her family to understand. We will ask her on the 17th of January if she is ready for baptism, and if she is we will baptize her on the 24th of January. I am so happy to witness these 4 investigators progress.
We also took Bart to a missionary Fireside in Adelaide last night. It was very good, the whole theme was the Book of Mormon. There were excellent musical performances as well. I spoke with Elder Inglis, he is now serving in Prospect Ward where Patience now lives. He said Patience wants to serve a mission. That would be sweet if she could. I could so see her serving in Salt Lake City, Temple Square Mission. Or in Liberia, either one would be sweet.
Anthony spoke at the missionary fireside. He was nervous as. But he did well. It was good to see Tammy, Anthony and Robert. They are now married so it is excellent.
Transfer is in 7 days. Once again this has been the quickest transfer. I think I will stay. We saw Claire this week. Taught her about Catholic Apostasy, trying to destroy her Catholic roots. Michael and Leigh will hopefully be married in February, if I stay next transfer I will be able to see them get married. And hopefully even see Leigh get baptized.
Good things are happening in Murray Bridge. Hope all is safe back home. Glad to here you guys enjoyed the holidays. Be safe from those earthquakes, I now pray. I am going to go play cricket in the carport in the backyard.
Love you heaps
Elder Montgomery
Hello from Murray Bridge!
Things are going well here. We had 5 investigators at church today. We had Bart, Kevin, Peter, Lily and June. During gospel principles class, Branch President Smith called in Kevin and talked to him about his baptism. Kevin is now more committed to living the commandments of god. Hopefully he will be baptized next Sunday on the 10th of January. After Kevin, Bart was called in. President talked to Bart about joining the church. He asked Bart questions to see where he is at. President taught him about the commandments; Bart is willing to obey them. Bart is very close to committing to baptism. Bart’s good friend sister Turner is coming back from Malaysia this Thursday, I believe she will strengthen Bart’s decision if he decides to join the church. Bart has a good religious background, he believes he was sitting in an AOG church and was baptized by the spirit. We will teach him about the priesthood and Apostasy. Then after Bart, President Smith called in Lily and June into his office. They had a long interview, over a hour long. Lily has noticed something different about us. President told her that it was that we have the holy spirit with us. Lily said she would be baptized after her two month holiday to China because she was afraid of what her family would think. But we told her she needs to be baptized so she can have the spirit with her so she can teach her family to understand. We will ask her on the 17th of January if she is ready for baptism, and if she is we will baptize her on the 24th of January. I am so happy to witness these 4 investigators progress.
We also took Bart to a missionary Fireside in Adelaide last night. It was very good, the whole theme was the Book of Mormon. There were excellent musical performances as well. I spoke with Elder Inglis, he is now serving in Prospect Ward where Patience now lives. He said Patience wants to serve a mission. That would be sweet if she could. I could so see her serving in Salt Lake City, Temple Square Mission. Or in Liberia, either one would be sweet.
Anthony spoke at the missionary fireside. He was nervous as. But he did well. It was good to see Tammy, Anthony and Robert. They are now married so it is excellent.
Transfer is in 7 days. Once again this has been the quickest transfer. I think I will stay. We saw Claire this week. Taught her about Catholic Apostasy, trying to destroy her Catholic roots. Michael and Leigh will hopefully be married in February, if I stay next transfer I will be able to see them get married. And hopefully even see Leigh get baptized.
Good things are happening in Murray Bridge. Hope all is safe back home. Glad to here you guys enjoyed the holidays. Be safe from those earthquakes, I now pray. I am going to go play cricket in the carport in the backyard.
Love you heaps
Elder Montgomery
"I have never had a white Christmas, but this was my first warm Christmas."
December 29, 2010
Hello from Murray Bridge!
I just want to let you know that everything is sweet as. I had a really enjoyable Christmas in Australia. I have never had a white Christmas, but this was my first warm Christmas. We were at the mission home for two days. We had trainings, we had a testimony meeting, and we opened our packages. We had some good feeds. We ate American food. We ate Hot Dogs for lunch and Ribs for dinner. I believe Sister Poulton decided what the meals were. Good American choices.
Missionary wise we did not get very much done this week. Everyone was flat out. But we will rebound this week and get the work done and progress these investigators. Forgive me for the short email. But I did just call home a few days ago. Thank you all for the gifts! Thank you for the recorder.
Love ya heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Murray Bridge!
I just want to let you know that everything is sweet as. I had a really enjoyable Christmas in Australia. I have never had a white Christmas, but this was my first warm Christmas. We were at the mission home for two days. We had trainings, we had a testimony meeting, and we opened our packages. We had some good feeds. We ate American food. We ate Hot Dogs for lunch and Ribs for dinner. I believe Sister Poulton decided what the meals were. Good American choices.
Missionary wise we did not get very much done this week. Everyone was flat out. But we will rebound this week and get the work done and progress these investigators. Forgive me for the short email. But I did just call home a few days ago. Thank you all for the gifts! Thank you for the recorder.
Love ya heaps
-Elder Montgomery
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