July 4, 2011
Hello from Paralowie!
Happy 4th of July! An American brother and his family are feeding me tonight. I don’t really see the point in emailing too much. I will be seeing you all eventually. We set another baptism date this week with a 16 year old named Prem. I have one week left; I am going through my “lasts”. I had my last monthly Multistake Missionary Fireside yesterday, I conducted it. I want another 6 months to serve. I love this work. I felt the spirit very strongly twice this week. So much that it will further strengthen the foundation of my testimony. I can add them to my core experiences. We found a potential investigator from India this week. We have an appointment with him on Tuesday. I will be thinking of Jarom and what he is experiencing on his mission.
There is a Tongan family that is cooking lunch for us today. It is going to be a big feed.
I am going to go now. It is my last week and want to go hard out.
Love you all heaps
Elder Montgomery
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
"I am going through heaps of “lasts”."
June 26, 2011
Hello from Paralowie.
Man I was reading Jarom’s email. Indian is way more intense than Australia. It is pretty Americanized. The culture is pretty much the same. We had a pretty good week. Probably the most exciting thing is that we set another baptism date with a guy named Chandra. He is from Bhutan. He had read most of the bible back in Nepal. His families’ faith since coming to Australia has dwindled concerning Hinduism. So he will have less family pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has pressure from his peers. We will help him out. We have given his some time to prepare him for his baptism. This will be on August 27 because he doesn’t have a solid Christian background. He hasn’t attended church yet, so these are the things we are working on with him. Really nice guy, his brother Prem has been to church a few times. Also Jaylan and Tiara are still both solid for their baptism on August 13th. We found them through our work with the less actives.
I am going through heaps of “lasts”. My last dinner date with so and so. My last time going on tradeoff to this area. My last training meeting. I am battling that at the moment. Trying to purge the thought that I only have two weeks left. June is almost over, shucks. I am just staying connected to my purpose and trying to leave this area better than I found it. We have a flowing teaching pool. We are successfully dropping the dead weight and picking up new investigators quite successfully. We have been working heaps with the members. The zone is doing quite well. Everyone had good weeks. Many referrals and new investigators.
I am going to go now.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Paralowie.
Man I was reading Jarom’s email. Indian is way more intense than Australia. It is pretty Americanized. The culture is pretty much the same. We had a pretty good week. Probably the most exciting thing is that we set another baptism date with a guy named Chandra. He is from Bhutan. He had read most of the bible back in Nepal. His families’ faith since coming to Australia has dwindled concerning Hinduism. So he will have less family pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has pressure from his peers. We will help him out. We have given his some time to prepare him for his baptism. This will be on August 27 because he doesn’t have a solid Christian background. He hasn’t attended church yet, so these are the things we are working on with him. Really nice guy, his brother Prem has been to church a few times. Also Jaylan and Tiara are still both solid for their baptism on August 13th. We found them through our work with the less actives.
I am going through heaps of “lasts”. My last dinner date with so and so. My last time going on tradeoff to this area. My last training meeting. I am battling that at the moment. Trying to purge the thought that I only have two weeks left. June is almost over, shucks. I am just staying connected to my purpose and trying to leave this area better than I found it. We have a flowing teaching pool. We are successfully dropping the dead weight and picking up new investigators quite successfully. We have been working heaps with the members. The zone is doing quite well. Everyone had good weeks. Many referrals and new investigators.
I am going to go now.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
"I looked on their mobile phone and I saw the name of Neo."
June 19, 2011
Hello from Paralowie!
We had a pretty good week. It was very well balanced. The office gave us new bikes so that is good. We have a car anyways but it is convenient to have both the car and the bike. Peter and Thomas have not been baptized yet. I know the Elders have pushed it back a bit. Eventually they will be baptized. Some exciting news on our part is that we set two new baptism dates this week with Tiara and Jaylan. It is set for August 13th. I will not be in the country but it is not about me anyways. They both felt good feelings when they prayed. We had one investigators finish the book of Mormon. She read it in about two weeks. Due to the inconsistency of us being able to see her, we have only taught her once! We did commit her to pray about the book so that is good. We have an appointment with her tomorrow. She is living with a less active Sister. We will probably give her a Gospel Principles book to read next. Throughout my mission investigators have had excellent feedback with the Gospel Principles book. They love it.
The Zone is doing quite well. There is a dodgy companionship that we are working with. They are disunified but they are united in disobedience here and there. This mission is way more obedient since the beginning when I came in. But we have probably the most disobedient missionary in the entire mission. So yes we are dealing with that. Other than that northern Adelaide is rocking.
This week we had a full day of meetings and trainings. I went on a tradeoff with the assistants back to my first area of Firle. The area has changed so much since then. I looked on their mobile phone and I saw the name of Neo. He was my 2nd baptism on my mission, I was aware he had moved but didn’t know where. I asked the assistant which Neo this was on the phone and he didn’t know. I called the number and it was the same Neo. It was sweet to talk to him. He has moved to Melbourne, ages ago. He says there are many Chinese members of the church in Melbourne. That was sweet to hear from him.
Well I am going to go now. We have a jampacked P-day today.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Paralowie!
We had a pretty good week. It was very well balanced. The office gave us new bikes so that is good. We have a car anyways but it is convenient to have both the car and the bike. Peter and Thomas have not been baptized yet. I know the Elders have pushed it back a bit. Eventually they will be baptized. Some exciting news on our part is that we set two new baptism dates this week with Tiara and Jaylan. It is set for August 13th. I will not be in the country but it is not about me anyways. They both felt good feelings when they prayed. We had one investigators finish the book of Mormon. She read it in about two weeks. Due to the inconsistency of us being able to see her, we have only taught her once! We did commit her to pray about the book so that is good. We have an appointment with her tomorrow. She is living with a less active Sister. We will probably give her a Gospel Principles book to read next. Throughout my mission investigators have had excellent feedback with the Gospel Principles book. They love it.
The Zone is doing quite well. There is a dodgy companionship that we are working with. They are disunified but they are united in disobedience here and there. This mission is way more obedient since the beginning when I came in. But we have probably the most disobedient missionary in the entire mission. So yes we are dealing with that. Other than that northern Adelaide is rocking.
This week we had a full day of meetings and trainings. I went on a tradeoff with the assistants back to my first area of Firle. The area has changed so much since then. I looked on their mobile phone and I saw the name of Neo. He was my 2nd baptism on my mission, I was aware he had moved but didn’t know where. I asked the assistant which Neo this was on the phone and he didn’t know. I called the number and it was the same Neo. It was sweet to talk to him. He has moved to Melbourne, ages ago. He says there are many Chinese members of the church in Melbourne. That was sweet to hear from him.
Well I am going to go now. We have a jampacked P-day today.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Tradeoffs in Golden Grove and Elizabeth
June 13, 2011
Hello from Paralowie!
This week I went on a couple of tradeoffs with other Elders in the Zone. They were the complete opposite areas in some ways. One tradeoff was in Golden Grove, which has very rich suburbs. The other tradeoff was in Elizabeth. This is the ghetto of Adelaide. Everyone in Elizabeth pretty much lives in housing trust homes and live off the Government, which isn’t very much money, just enough to survive. I had heard rumors about Elizabeth that there are many young mothers there. And sure enough when we left the flat to go out to proselyte I saw two very young mothers pushing a pram. It confirmed the rumor. The people in Salisbury and Paralowie may be rough, but the people in Elizabeth may be Feral. Unfortunately our bikes were stolen from our flat in Salisbury North; they must have cut them from the pole it was attached to in our backyard. Fortunately I have only a couple of weeks left. I will not need to buy another bike. I will just borrow a bike off some missionary that is up north from the office when we need it. My eyes are always alert to see someone riding on the streets with my blue diamondback bike. Maybe they sold it.
The baptisms for Peter and Thomas have been pushed back a couple of weeks. They haven’t overcome the addiction to smoking yet. The Brahma Lodge Elders are onto it. We helped the Elders move into a new flat this week. We have quite a few investigators we are working with. We have some good potential investigators. We are trying to point their sails towards progression.
Yay Claire is born! And Jarom is on his way to India. The weather has been nice lately, not much rain. It is quite cold at night and in the mornings. It will be a big weather change shock for me when I come home.
I am going to go now. We are not sure what we will do today. It is nice weather; I would like to do something outside.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Paralowie!
This week I went on a couple of tradeoffs with other Elders in the Zone. They were the complete opposite areas in some ways. One tradeoff was in Golden Grove, which has very rich suburbs. The other tradeoff was in Elizabeth. This is the ghetto of Adelaide. Everyone in Elizabeth pretty much lives in housing trust homes and live off the Government, which isn’t very much money, just enough to survive. I had heard rumors about Elizabeth that there are many young mothers there. And sure enough when we left the flat to go out to proselyte I saw two very young mothers pushing a pram. It confirmed the rumor. The people in Salisbury and Paralowie may be rough, but the people in Elizabeth may be Feral. Unfortunately our bikes were stolen from our flat in Salisbury North; they must have cut them from the pole it was attached to in our backyard. Fortunately I have only a couple of weeks left. I will not need to buy another bike. I will just borrow a bike off some missionary that is up north from the office when we need it. My eyes are always alert to see someone riding on the streets with my blue diamondback bike. Maybe they sold it.
The baptisms for Peter and Thomas have been pushed back a couple of weeks. They haven’t overcome the addiction to smoking yet. The Brahma Lodge Elders are onto it. We helped the Elders move into a new flat this week. We have quite a few investigators we are working with. We have some good potential investigators. We are trying to point their sails towards progression.
Yay Claire is born! And Jarom is on his way to India. The weather has been nice lately, not much rain. It is quite cold at night and in the mornings. It will be a big weather change shock for me when I come home.
I am going to go now. We are not sure what we will do today. It is nice weather; I would like to do something outside.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Transferred to Paralowie Ward
June 5, 2011
Hello from Paralowie!
Yes as you may have heard I have a new companion. I have been transferred to the other area in the Ward. I wasn’t happy when I found out I was packing my bags from Brahma Lodge. But I was happy when I found out I was going to serve in Paralowie. I do not have to relearn names of members, investigators etc. I generally know the main streets in the area. I can just focus on the work; it is great for my last stretch.
Thank you for telling me the news of the shooting back home. I can pray for everyone involved.
We had a good week. I met some new people. There isn’t much to do at 8:30 PM just before the night is over. There is this train station we go contacting at. We meet some unique people. We catch the stragglers at the end of the day. Many times on my mission I have given people that are intoxicated Book of Mormons or pamphlets. I wonder what their reactions are when they are sober and they find they are in possession of these things. For the first time in my mission I was talking to someone who was a huge NFL fan, I had never been tempted to talk about footie to anyone. I did quite well I think staying connected to my purpose. He accepted a Book or Mormon, if only I could carry on a conversation about AFL or rugby I wonder how many more Book or Mormons I could have given out in my time.
Thank you for updating me on the family. I look forward to hearing about the new niece on the way. Thank you for signing me up to that fafsa thing. I want to be educated. I love learning, I like studying. Well I just enjoy studying the scriptures I do not know about studying something else but I do enjoy some aspect of studying. So I am capable. What is the new address to the house again? I may i have received it but now i cannot find it.
Well I am going to go now.
Love you all heaps
Elder Montgomery
Hello from Paralowie!
Yes as you may have heard I have a new companion. I have been transferred to the other area in the Ward. I wasn’t happy when I found out I was packing my bags from Brahma Lodge. But I was happy when I found out I was going to serve in Paralowie. I do not have to relearn names of members, investigators etc. I generally know the main streets in the area. I can just focus on the work; it is great for my last stretch.
Thank you for telling me the news of the shooting back home. I can pray for everyone involved.
We had a good week. I met some new people. There isn’t much to do at 8:30 PM just before the night is over. There is this train station we go contacting at. We meet some unique people. We catch the stragglers at the end of the day. Many times on my mission I have given people that are intoxicated Book of Mormons or pamphlets. I wonder what their reactions are when they are sober and they find they are in possession of these things. For the first time in my mission I was talking to someone who was a huge NFL fan, I had never been tempted to talk about footie to anyone. I did quite well I think staying connected to my purpose. He accepted a Book or Mormon, if only I could carry on a conversation about AFL or rugby I wonder how many more Book or Mormons I could have given out in my time.
Thank you for updating me on the family. I look forward to hearing about the new niece on the way. Thank you for signing me up to that fafsa thing. I want to be educated. I love learning, I like studying. Well I just enjoy studying the scriptures I do not know about studying something else but I do enjoy some aspect of studying. So I am capable. What is the new address to the house again? I may i have received it but now i cannot find it.
Well I am going to go now.
Love you all heaps
Elder Montgomery
"Lost my whole email..."
May 29, 2011
Hey i am at a different and smaller library today with horrible internet conncection. I lost my whole email i had written to you. but now i am out of time. sorry. No transfer news. I hope i die in this area. I do not want to go to a new area and learn new names and streets and then leave. Thomas and Peter still good for June 11th.
Hey i am at a different and smaller library today with horrible internet conncection. I lost my whole email i had written to you. but now i am out of time. sorry. No transfer news. I hope i die in this area. I do not want to go to a new area and learn new names and streets and then leave. Thomas and Peter still good for June 11th.
Monday, May 23, 2011
"Surely there will be blessings for riding in the rain."
May 22, 2011
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. Very eventful. We had Elder Tad R Callister from the Seventy visit our mission. We had a giant metro conference. It was nice to see so many missionaries. In this mission we are very spread out. I met some new missionaries this week. One of them was a Sister; she has been out over a year. I took many notes from what Elder Callister addressed us about. He also had a Fireside later that night for all of Adelaide. He speaks and teaches doctrine so clearly, he is definitely a General Authority. You can feel the power in his words, he is a man of God. Because we were at Firle Chapel for our long conference and the Fireside was later that evening, Elder Tasi and I just did some proselyting in the surrounding areas. I had a reunion with my first baptism, Patience Barlee. We were just on foot and I saw her get into the car and about to drive away from her house but I waved her down. It was a sweet reunion, very joyful. Other of my first earlier baptisms have moved out of town like Black and Neo.
On Saturday we had a Ward Activity at our chapel. It was a pot luck dinner. Except we didn’t have to bring any food. It was a Hawaiin or Polynesian theme. Every one was dressed tropical style. I wore a flowery tie. We had quite a bit of investigators and nonmembers at the activity. Two former Sister missionaries that have gone home did a surprise visit to the activity, they both served in this area. Interestingly enough I saw an old investigator from Mt Gambier. She had moved to Adelaide and we lost track of her. She is the niece to an active sister in Paralowie Ward. They are Maori. But she lives far away from Para Lowie Ward but she just came to help set up the activity and cooking. The main reason it was a Hawaiian them was because also that night the bishopric shared with everyone the New Ward Vision. The key word was “Ohana”. This in Hawaiian means one big family. They addressed the need for the ward to have more love and unity and be like a family. The Ward responded well. I noticed from then on the members were friendlier and if they hadn’t introduced themselves to our investigators they did so afterwards. The investigators all enjoyed the activity. They really caught the vision as well that this is a big 2nd family to them. Also on Sunday I noticed a change in the Ward. Ohana was said not a few times yesterday, from member to member in the Corridor, to it being mentioned in classes. Hopefully this becomes the Culture and doesn’t die off.
Thomas and Peter are set to be baptized on the same day on June 11th which is not too far away. This Sunday we also had our Ward Conference. The Stake President taught priesthood and it was all about missionary work and how to be meaningful Home Teachers. We shouldn’t just go Home Teaching for the sake of a statistic but we need to do it as men holding the holy priesthood of God.
I am telling all the Indian and Nepali families that I know about Jarom leaving to serve his mission in that part of the world.
Well I am going to go now. It is bit cold and rainy now. Surely there will be blessings for riding in the rain.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. Very eventful. We had Elder Tad R Callister from the Seventy visit our mission. We had a giant metro conference. It was nice to see so many missionaries. In this mission we are very spread out. I met some new missionaries this week. One of them was a Sister; she has been out over a year. I took many notes from what Elder Callister addressed us about. He also had a Fireside later that night for all of Adelaide. He speaks and teaches doctrine so clearly, he is definitely a General Authority. You can feel the power in his words, he is a man of God. Because we were at Firle Chapel for our long conference and the Fireside was later that evening, Elder Tasi and I just did some proselyting in the surrounding areas. I had a reunion with my first baptism, Patience Barlee. We were just on foot and I saw her get into the car and about to drive away from her house but I waved her down. It was a sweet reunion, very joyful. Other of my first earlier baptisms have moved out of town like Black and Neo.
On Saturday we had a Ward Activity at our chapel. It was a pot luck dinner. Except we didn’t have to bring any food. It was a Hawaiin or Polynesian theme. Every one was dressed tropical style. I wore a flowery tie. We had quite a bit of investigators and nonmembers at the activity. Two former Sister missionaries that have gone home did a surprise visit to the activity, they both served in this area. Interestingly enough I saw an old investigator from Mt Gambier. She had moved to Adelaide and we lost track of her. She is the niece to an active sister in Paralowie Ward. They are Maori. But she lives far away from Para Lowie Ward but she just came to help set up the activity and cooking. The main reason it was a Hawaiian them was because also that night the bishopric shared with everyone the New Ward Vision. The key word was “Ohana”. This in Hawaiian means one big family. They addressed the need for the ward to have more love and unity and be like a family. The Ward responded well. I noticed from then on the members were friendlier and if they hadn’t introduced themselves to our investigators they did so afterwards. The investigators all enjoyed the activity. They really caught the vision as well that this is a big 2nd family to them. Also on Sunday I noticed a change in the Ward. Ohana was said not a few times yesterday, from member to member in the Corridor, to it being mentioned in classes. Hopefully this becomes the Culture and doesn’t die off.
Thomas and Peter are set to be baptized on the same day on June 11th which is not too far away. This Sunday we also had our Ward Conference. The Stake President taught priesthood and it was all about missionary work and how to be meaningful Home Teachers. We shouldn’t just go Home Teaching for the sake of a statistic but we need to do it as men holding the holy priesthood of God.
I am telling all the Indian and Nepali families that I know about Jarom leaving to serve his mission in that part of the world.
Well I am going to go now. It is bit cold and rainy now. Surely there will be blessings for riding in the rain.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
"Elder Tad R. Callister, who is the Pacific Area President, will be visiting Adelaide this week."
May 15, 2011
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. Peter is progressing towards his baptism. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he has committed to live it. We are helping him overcome smoking. As of yesterday he hasn’t smoked for 24 hours. We will see him tomorrow and see how he is going. Peter has a friend named Thomas. After Gospel Principles class we committed Thomas to be baptized. He will be baptized In June. We are excited about Peter and Thomas. We see them just about everyday. We want them to be involved In the YSA. We have been taking members to help us teach, it is a bit more difficult to get the best I-care because we can only see Peter and Thomas during the day.
Elder Tad R Callister, who is the Pacific Area President, will be visiting Adelaide this week. I remember him giving an excellent talk about the Restoration during the beginning of my mission during General Conference. I believe he will also become apart of the presidency of the Seventy shortly. He will be holding a Missionary Fireside this Wednesday evening specifically for investigators, new members and less actives but probably more exciting for me is we have a Metro Zone Conference personally with him, except for missionaries in the Northern Territory, poor guys. We are looking forward to that.
We have been inviting members to invite some of our investigators for dinner for fellowshipping and it has been really good. I haven’t eaten anything too intense lately, no pig brain, eye ball and intestines this week. Although I did eat curry based meals twice last week.
I can’t believe Jarom is leaving soon. I remember the first hour or so after I was set apart. I was glancing at the television and realized, shoot! I am not supposed to watch that. I remember flying alone to Utah and thinking to myself this is the last time I will be alone for 2 years. I enjoyed it by eating at the burger king in the air port. It will be weird for me to drive a vehicle back on the right side and also to be driving a vehicle alone. There will be some changes for me when I do come back. Especially hearing my first name, I imagine I will get use to that pretty quick. I want to serve a mission for sure when I am older. And with my wife. That is my long term goal one day. I love missionary work.
I am going to go now. We are going to have a Zone P-day. Because the Wyhalla missionaries are down for the metro conference. We are going to play a big game of touch rugby. One half of the Zone against the other. I am the only American in the district, the rest are islanders and one other Australian. We are going to own.
Love you heaps
Elder Montgomery
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. Peter is progressing towards his baptism. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he has committed to live it. We are helping him overcome smoking. As of yesterday he hasn’t smoked for 24 hours. We will see him tomorrow and see how he is going. Peter has a friend named Thomas. After Gospel Principles class we committed Thomas to be baptized. He will be baptized In June. We are excited about Peter and Thomas. We see them just about everyday. We want them to be involved In the YSA. We have been taking members to help us teach, it is a bit more difficult to get the best I-care because we can only see Peter and Thomas during the day.
Elder Tad R Callister, who is the Pacific Area President, will be visiting Adelaide this week. I remember him giving an excellent talk about the Restoration during the beginning of my mission during General Conference. I believe he will also become apart of the presidency of the Seventy shortly. He will be holding a Missionary Fireside this Wednesday evening specifically for investigators, new members and less actives but probably more exciting for me is we have a Metro Zone Conference personally with him, except for missionaries in the Northern Territory, poor guys. We are looking forward to that.
We have been inviting members to invite some of our investigators for dinner for fellowshipping and it has been really good. I haven’t eaten anything too intense lately, no pig brain, eye ball and intestines this week. Although I did eat curry based meals twice last week.
I can’t believe Jarom is leaving soon. I remember the first hour or so after I was set apart. I was glancing at the television and realized, shoot! I am not supposed to watch that. I remember flying alone to Utah and thinking to myself this is the last time I will be alone for 2 years. I enjoyed it by eating at the burger king in the air port. It will be weird for me to drive a vehicle back on the right side and also to be driving a vehicle alone. There will be some changes for me when I do come back. Especially hearing my first name, I imagine I will get use to that pretty quick. I want to serve a mission for sure when I am older. And with my wife. That is my long term goal one day. I love missionary work.
I am going to go now. We are going to have a Zone P-day. Because the Wyhalla missionaries are down for the metro conference. We are going to play a big game of touch rugby. One half of the Zone against the other. I am the only American in the district, the rest are islanders and one other Australian. We are going to own.
Love you heaps
Elder Montgomery
"Happy Mother's Day!"
May 8, 2011
Hello from the Brahma Lodge
Happy Mothers day!
I just talked to you not long ago.
There really isnt much i can write to you, you are pretty updated i feel. We are just doing the work, We are pretty excited about Peter. Who received a dream that the church is true. June 7th is the date that is set as of now. We know he does smoke so we are going to teach him the Word of Wisdom in his next lesson. It was great to hear from everyone. That was my last phone call home. Amazing this chapter in my life is almost over. I need to make sure i live it today and take it all in.
Yes that is quite an update about Dan's graduation. Those are some crazy obstacles you guys went through. That poor car. Glad to hear everyone is okay
Talk to all later.
love you heaps
Elder Montgomery
Hello from the Brahma Lodge
Happy Mothers day!
I just talked to you not long ago.
There really isnt much i can write to you, you are pretty updated i feel. We are just doing the work, We are pretty excited about Peter. Who received a dream that the church is true. June 7th is the date that is set as of now. We know he does smoke so we are going to teach him the Word of Wisdom in his next lesson. It was great to hear from everyone. That was my last phone call home. Amazing this chapter in my life is almost over. I need to make sure i live it today and take it all in.
Yes that is quite an update about Dan's graduation. Those are some crazy obstacles you guys went through. That poor car. Glad to hear everyone is okay
Talk to all later.
love you heaps
Elder Montgomery
"There was a prompting and we needed to follow it..."
May 1, 2011
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. We had a number of powerful lessons this week. One we really had to be patient and work for. We are teaching this family and we had a good discussion about temples. I wanted to help them with a vision that was past baptism. I wanted them to look towards the temple. They are excited to be sealed for time and all eternity. I felt prompted to share a certain video that was on the “Church History” DVDs under the video, “Nauvoo, a Temple Reborn”. We brought a member to the lesson and he brought the DVD. We were in the living room and ready to watch this video about temples. But the family we are teaching didn’t have a remote controller to the DVD player. We couldn’t scroll down to watch the correct video, when we pressed the button on the actual DVD player to skip chapters it went straight back to the main menu. There was a prompting and we needed to follow it and do whatever it takes to have this family watch this video. The next day we brought another member to the house and this time he brought a lap top so we could watch the DVD on that. But of course he had thought he left the DVD in the lap top but we soon found out the lap top was indeed empty. We asked the brother if he would go home to retrieve the DVD. This he did, he didn’t live too far away. He returned, put the DVD into the lap top and of course the lap top would not read the DVD. I felt beaten by this time. But one of the brothers of the family reckoned that he could work the DVD player and we would be able to watch this certain DVD. I admit I doubted he could make a difference; I had pressed every button trying to work this DVD player to make it do what I wanted it to do. This brother wasn’t home the first time we attempted to watch the video. Thankfully this young man was able to work the DVD player, he scrolled down and we finally began to watch the DVD. I don’t even know what he did differently than me but it doesn’t matter, I will take it happily. The spirit was so strong in this house as we watched that DVD. I know they felt the spirit. Opposition was so strong, definitely there was something initially keeping us from watching this DVD. But God will always win.
My companions English is great, he will have an American accent in no time.
Yes we are still in a bike area.
We were given a chicken by a member, the district had another Barbie, we are big into those at the moment, but I brought a live chicken. It took work to prepare him but we chucked him on the Barbie and ate him, even the organs. I don’t think I have actually killed, eaten or prepared anything before my mission. I think every Boy Scout should. Surely in wilderness survival you need to know how to do these things.
Thank you so much for the package mom. I am almost finished eating all of the lollies. I love Reeses. I have shared some of course.
Yes that wedding was pretty big here in Australia. These natural disasters are occurring way too quickly. Heaps of people were telling me about the Tornadoes in America. I had to tell many people I do not live near there.
I don’t know what we are going to do today for P-day. I think it will be a quiet one, I am going to get a haircut from a member for free, and that is exciting. I haven’t paid anyone to cut my hair since I was in Yuma. Usually I just cut it myself.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
We had a good week this week. We had a number of powerful lessons this week. One we really had to be patient and work for. We are teaching this family and we had a good discussion about temples. I wanted to help them with a vision that was past baptism. I wanted them to look towards the temple. They are excited to be sealed for time and all eternity. I felt prompted to share a certain video that was on the “Church History” DVDs under the video, “Nauvoo, a Temple Reborn”. We brought a member to the lesson and he brought the DVD. We were in the living room and ready to watch this video about temples. But the family we are teaching didn’t have a remote controller to the DVD player. We couldn’t scroll down to watch the correct video, when we pressed the button on the actual DVD player to skip chapters it went straight back to the main menu. There was a prompting and we needed to follow it and do whatever it takes to have this family watch this video. The next day we brought another member to the house and this time he brought a lap top so we could watch the DVD on that. But of course he had thought he left the DVD in the lap top but we soon found out the lap top was indeed empty. We asked the brother if he would go home to retrieve the DVD. This he did, he didn’t live too far away. He returned, put the DVD into the lap top and of course the lap top would not read the DVD. I felt beaten by this time. But one of the brothers of the family reckoned that he could work the DVD player and we would be able to watch this certain DVD. I admit I doubted he could make a difference; I had pressed every button trying to work this DVD player to make it do what I wanted it to do. This brother wasn’t home the first time we attempted to watch the video. Thankfully this young man was able to work the DVD player, he scrolled down and we finally began to watch the DVD. I don’t even know what he did differently than me but it doesn’t matter, I will take it happily. The spirit was so strong in this house as we watched that DVD. I know they felt the spirit. Opposition was so strong, definitely there was something initially keeping us from watching this DVD. But God will always win.
My companions English is great, he will have an American accent in no time.
Yes we are still in a bike area.
We were given a chicken by a member, the district had another Barbie, we are big into those at the moment, but I brought a live chicken. It took work to prepare him but we chucked him on the Barbie and ate him, even the organs. I don’t think I have actually killed, eaten or prepared anything before my mission. I think every Boy Scout should. Surely in wilderness survival you need to know how to do these things.
Thank you so much for the package mom. I am almost finished eating all of the lollies. I love Reeses. I have shared some of course.
Yes that wedding was pretty big here in Australia. These natural disasters are occurring way too quickly. Heaps of people were telling me about the Tornadoes in America. I had to tell many people I do not live near there.
I don’t know what we are going to do today for P-day. I think it will be a quiet one, I am going to get a haircut from a member for free, and that is exciting. I haven’t paid anyone to cut my hair since I was in Yuma. Usually I just cut it myself.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, May 22, 2011
"This is my first time training on my mission."
April 26, 2011
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
I have a new companion, his name is Elder Tasi. He has been on Australian soil for less than a week now. He is from America Samoa, which is an American territory. He learned how to speak English in 3 weeks at the MTC in New Zealand. He probably was exposed to English growing up. But still we have language study to help him learn.
This is my first time training on my mission. I am enjoying it so far just starting from scratch teaching everything on how to be a missionary and Preach my Gospel. Also one thing is new for me. For the first time in my mission I am in a bike area. I almost went through my whole mission in a car. So this is definitely a whole new chapter in my missionary life. But it is good, you can definitely talk to more people on the bike than you can in the car. My legs are a bit sore. My area has hilly suburbs. When I feel the burn in my legs I say to myself in my head sometimes, Glory to God Glory to God.
This week I have been introducing Elder Tasi to all the members and investigators in our area. The Hunts had us over for dinner last night, which was also my birthday. They put a candle in a cookie, it was sweet.
Ya it is pretty weird I am 21 now. I miss telling people I am 19 or 20, people are always shocked to hear my age. They usually think I am 25. I think it must be the tie. It makes me look mature.
Yes I will live with you for a year. I will choose Glendale and then transfer to Mesa community or to ASU a year later. I am not decided what I want to do when I go home. I really should start praying about that. I have a question, how much are you going to sell the house for? Maybe I have someone who is interested in buying our house, with a bit of money up front. He has family in America who could do the transaction for him.
I am glad you enjoy the videos and pictures of Darwin. Special place it was. I wouldn’t mind going there for a holiday in the distant future, during the dry season. I do know Elder Carlson. He is out bush at the moment, I might not see him before I go home.
My package is at the office the mission secretary tells me.
Yes I told Sister Maude you loved Donny Osbourne. J/k Osmond.
I will have to buy a phone card. I will have more details of what time I will call you later. I know skype is used in some missions but there is no word we could do it in this mission.
Well I am going to go and celebrate my birthday this P-day.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
I have a new companion, his name is Elder Tasi. He has been on Australian soil for less than a week now. He is from America Samoa, which is an American territory. He learned how to speak English in 3 weeks at the MTC in New Zealand. He probably was exposed to English growing up. But still we have language study to help him learn.
This is my first time training on my mission. I am enjoying it so far just starting from scratch teaching everything on how to be a missionary and Preach my Gospel. Also one thing is new for me. For the first time in my mission I am in a bike area. I almost went through my whole mission in a car. So this is definitely a whole new chapter in my missionary life. But it is good, you can definitely talk to more people on the bike than you can in the car. My legs are a bit sore. My area has hilly suburbs. When I feel the burn in my legs I say to myself in my head sometimes, Glory to God Glory to God.
This week I have been introducing Elder Tasi to all the members and investigators in our area. The Hunts had us over for dinner last night, which was also my birthday. They put a candle in a cookie, it was sweet.
Ya it is pretty weird I am 21 now. I miss telling people I am 19 or 20, people are always shocked to hear my age. They usually think I am 25. I think it must be the tie. It makes me look mature.
Yes I will live with you for a year. I will choose Glendale and then transfer to Mesa community or to ASU a year later. I am not decided what I want to do when I go home. I really should start praying about that. I have a question, how much are you going to sell the house for? Maybe I have someone who is interested in buying our house, with a bit of money up front. He has family in America who could do the transaction for him.
I am glad you enjoy the videos and pictures of Darwin. Special place it was. I wouldn’t mind going there for a holiday in the distant future, during the dry season. I do know Elder Carlson. He is out bush at the moment, I might not see him before I go home.
My package is at the office the mission secretary tells me.
Yes I told Sister Maude you loved Donny Osbourne. J/k Osmond.
I will have to buy a phone card. I will have more details of what time I will call you later. I know skype is used in some missions but there is no word we could do it in this mission.
Well I am going to go and celebrate my birthday this P-day.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
"...zone barbie today and also go to St. Kilda"
April 17, 2011
Good to hear from you!
I have only 2 minutes left! sorry. short Email. safe and healthy. We will find out transfers tonight. I have a feeling i am being transfered. but i have been wrong many many times. I will get those scripture cases to you, i hope they werent wiped out from the floods.
We are going to have a zone barbie today and also go to St Kilda, i went there back in october 2009 with my district.
I love this work.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Good to hear from you!
I have only 2 minutes left! sorry. short Email. safe and healthy. We will find out transfers tonight. I have a feeling i am being transfered. but i have been wrong many many times. I will get those scripture cases to you, i hope they werent wiped out from the floods.
We are going to have a zone barbie today and also go to St Kilda, i went there back in october 2009 with my district.
I love this work.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, April 10, 2011
"I want to travel the world someday but I need to start on my own country. "
Hello from Adelaide!
We had a good week. We found the most total new investigators this week than any other since I have been in Paralowie Ward. There are also a handful of good potential investigators still awaiting further follow up. Overall on the mission I haven’t been great with taking photos but I have gotten better than the beginning of my mission. We taught a pretty good amount of lessons this week, above average of what we have done so far in this area. The area has greatly improved since Elder Latu and I got flushed into the area together. But there still haven’t been any baptisms yet, not yet. One investigator we found but moved recently to a different ward is going to be baptized in a couple of weeks. We caught up with that investigator on Saturday so that was cool.
I watched conference this weekend. I missed the Saturday afternoon session but I heard the prophet speak so that is most important. We had a district companionship study briefly in-between one of the sessions. We shared what stood out to us and what we learned. I have been out on my mission the longest in the zone. They were joking with me about getting married. Everything goes round circle; I did the same to older missionaries in their last stretch of their mission. The talk of marriage also stood out to me while I was listening to conference, the speakers did mention it a couple of times didn’t they. I will marry when I am ready to be married. Rushing into anything is not wise. There is a balance to everything.
On my flight plan home I should of just told the office to fly me to South Dakota and then to Indiana and then make my way to Arizona. I probably wouldn’t be able to pull it off. It is pretty dishonest anyways. I told them the best way to get me home. I am excited to visit my siblings out of state. I haven’t been to either of those states I believe. One ice breaker I use when contacting with people is that I let them know I am American, if they couldn’t catch my accent. So many Australians talk about how they visited there and visited here in the states. Many of them have been to places I haven’t even been to!
I want to travel the world someday but I need to start on my own country.
I am excited to hear Fort Collins, Colorado is going to have a temple built there. I wouldn’t mind moving to Fort Collins eventually in my life. I wouldn’t mind living with you mom for while if things don’t work out with Tanner and I. I know some of my friends talked about everyone chipping in to rent a house, the same situation that Dan did when he was in Phoenix. But you know how I do like to save money. I probably have changed on my mission, but not that, I think. I can’t remember if I answered one of your questions about my shoes. But to answer, I am doing fine on shoes. There is a member who owns a clothes shop. And he hooks up missionaries with free shoes. The echoes are long gone; I haven’t even worn the other shoes I brought with me on my mission, still brand new.
It is amazing everyone is coming home this summer, the weeks are flying by. I remember being nervous and not too excited about sacrificing two years of my life. I remember looking back the previous two years and thinking about how much happened in that time span. I wish I still had 6 more months added to my mission. People tell me they are going on holiday and they will be back in August and I think to myself, man I won’t even be here when they get back.
That is exciting Jarom will receive his endowment. I definitely want to attend the temple often in the future. Going to the temple last month which was the first time in a year for me is not enough. There is power in the temple.
Even though you will all be in Phoenix, will I be able to speak in 2nd ward in Yuma? I want to speak to my home ward.
I will send a little box to you. It has some souviners and stuff in it, and a Sd Card. I should of sent this ages ago but i get to busy on P-day. I can't beleive i am almost 21.
I think we will have a district Barbie today.
Going to go now. Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
We had a good week. We found the most total new investigators this week than any other since I have been in Paralowie Ward. There are also a handful of good potential investigators still awaiting further follow up. Overall on the mission I haven’t been great with taking photos but I have gotten better than the beginning of my mission. We taught a pretty good amount of lessons this week, above average of what we have done so far in this area. The area has greatly improved since Elder Latu and I got flushed into the area together. But there still haven’t been any baptisms yet, not yet. One investigator we found but moved recently to a different ward is going to be baptized in a couple of weeks. We caught up with that investigator on Saturday so that was cool.
I watched conference this weekend. I missed the Saturday afternoon session but I heard the prophet speak so that is most important. We had a district companionship study briefly in-between one of the sessions. We shared what stood out to us and what we learned. I have been out on my mission the longest in the zone. They were joking with me about getting married. Everything goes round circle; I did the same to older missionaries in their last stretch of their mission. The talk of marriage also stood out to me while I was listening to conference, the speakers did mention it a couple of times didn’t they. I will marry when I am ready to be married. Rushing into anything is not wise. There is a balance to everything.
On my flight plan home I should of just told the office to fly me to South Dakota and then to Indiana and then make my way to Arizona. I probably wouldn’t be able to pull it off. It is pretty dishonest anyways. I told them the best way to get me home. I am excited to visit my siblings out of state. I haven’t been to either of those states I believe. One ice breaker I use when contacting with people is that I let them know I am American, if they couldn’t catch my accent. So many Australians talk about how they visited there and visited here in the states. Many of them have been to places I haven’t even been to!
I want to travel the world someday but I need to start on my own country.
I am excited to hear Fort Collins, Colorado is going to have a temple built there. I wouldn’t mind moving to Fort Collins eventually in my life. I wouldn’t mind living with you mom for while if things don’t work out with Tanner and I. I know some of my friends talked about everyone chipping in to rent a house, the same situation that Dan did when he was in Phoenix. But you know how I do like to save money. I probably have changed on my mission, but not that, I think. I can’t remember if I answered one of your questions about my shoes. But to answer, I am doing fine on shoes. There is a member who owns a clothes shop. And he hooks up missionaries with free shoes. The echoes are long gone; I haven’t even worn the other shoes I brought with me on my mission, still brand new.
It is amazing everyone is coming home this summer, the weeks are flying by. I remember being nervous and not too excited about sacrificing two years of my life. I remember looking back the previous two years and thinking about how much happened in that time span. I wish I still had 6 more months added to my mission. People tell me they are going on holiday and they will be back in August and I think to myself, man I won’t even be here when they get back.
That is exciting Jarom will receive his endowment. I definitely want to attend the temple often in the future. Going to the temple last month which was the first time in a year for me is not enough. There is power in the temple.
Even though you will all be in Phoenix, will I be able to speak in 2nd ward in Yuma? I want to speak to my home ward.
I will send a little box to you. It has some souviners and stuff in it, and a Sd Card. I should of sent this ages ago but i get to busy on P-day. I can't beleive i am almost 21.
I think we will have a district Barbie today.
Going to go now. Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, April 3, 2011
"I can’t wait to hear from the prophet and hear what he has to say to us."
Hello from Brahma Lodge!
It is good to hear from you mom. Glad to hear the family is doing well. We have Conference Weekend this coming Saturday and Sunday. I can’t wait to hear from the prophet and hear what he has to say to us.
Elder Latu is from Tonga, He is probably related to that Elder who hurt his knee. Everyone on the Pacific Islands is related to each other, they are all “cousins”. What is that Elders name?
We are going to set a baptism date hopefully this week for Til Chen’s son whose name is Tecorum. Til Chen has a baptism date for the end of April.
That sounds pretty wise renting out the house. I am just interested how much you are going to rent it for. I wonder how the market and economy back home are going, actually not so much me but many Australians. The Australian dollar is better than the American as of now. This is good for me when I convert a bit of money back into American.
We had a Zone Conference this week. I got heaps out of it. Some very good training. I like the direction the mission is working towards. We are much more Preach My Gospel and more obedient than the beginning of my mission or from the traditions from the previous Mission Presidents era. President Poulton is an amazing man.
From the people we have contacted this week I am not sure who will progress and who will go on by the way side. We found a family from Liberia, they seem to be the most promising. I reckon Africans from Liberia have the most potential.
We had a Missionary Fireside in Modbury Chapel. I saw some members from my previous areas and old friends. We had a handful of investigators show up to that so that is good.
Today we are going to have a barbie with the Modbury Elders. And then we will play basketball at the chapel. Clean the flat and shop for tucker.
I want some Reeses.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
It is good to hear from you mom. Glad to hear the family is doing well. We have Conference Weekend this coming Saturday and Sunday. I can’t wait to hear from the prophet and hear what he has to say to us.
Elder Latu is from Tonga, He is probably related to that Elder who hurt his knee. Everyone on the Pacific Islands is related to each other, they are all “cousins”. What is that Elders name?
We are going to set a baptism date hopefully this week for Til Chen’s son whose name is Tecorum. Til Chen has a baptism date for the end of April.
That sounds pretty wise renting out the house. I am just interested how much you are going to rent it for. I wonder how the market and economy back home are going, actually not so much me but many Australians. The Australian dollar is better than the American as of now. This is good for me when I convert a bit of money back into American.
We had a Zone Conference this week. I got heaps out of it. Some very good training. I like the direction the mission is working towards. We are much more Preach My Gospel and more obedient than the beginning of my mission or from the traditions from the previous Mission Presidents era. President Poulton is an amazing man.
From the people we have contacted this week I am not sure who will progress and who will go on by the way side. We found a family from Liberia, they seem to be the most promising. I reckon Africans from Liberia have the most potential.
We had a Missionary Fireside in Modbury Chapel. I saw some members from my previous areas and old friends. We had a handful of investigators show up to that so that is good.
Today we are going to have a barbie with the Modbury Elders. And then we will play basketball at the chapel. Clean the flat and shop for tucker.
I want some Reeses.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Sunday, March 27, 2011
"I love eating Kangaroo"
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
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
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
Sunday, January 23, 2011
"I am getting transferred....Flying into Adelaide."
January 24, 2011
Hello from Palmerston
For the last time! I am getting transferred. Pretty crazy turn of
events. I so did not see that coming. My flight leaves in 2 hours.
My guess is I will be transferred somewhere to Adelaide. I am happy I
did see a different side of the world. Darwin is a beautiful place.
It will be interesting going from a wet heat to a dry heat. It is
summer in Adelaide. I am escaping a potential cyclone so that is
good. There might be one hitting Darwin this week. I have noticed a
pattern in my mission, the areas I take over, I take over very
quickly. The areas I do not take over I am transferred out very
quickly. Australia Day is coming up. It will be fun to try and play
some cricket.
We had a good last week in Palmerston. We have Sara, Scott and
Andrew all progressing. Kimberly and Diego are also being taught.
There should be a couple baptisms in the near future for this area. We
finished strong in the transfer. We taught the most lessons this week
than any other.
I am going to go now. Flying into Adelaide.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Palmerston
For the last time! I am getting transferred. Pretty crazy turn of
events. I so did not see that coming. My flight leaves in 2 hours.
My guess is I will be transferred somewhere to Adelaide. I am happy I
did see a different side of the world. Darwin is a beautiful place.
It will be interesting going from a wet heat to a dry heat. It is
summer in Adelaide. I am escaping a potential cyclone so that is
good. There might be one hitting Darwin this week. I have noticed a
pattern in my mission, the areas I take over, I take over very
quickly. The areas I do not take over I am transferred out very
quickly. Australia Day is coming up. It will be fun to try and play
some cricket.
We had a good last week in Palmerston. We have Sara, Scott and
Andrew all progressing. Kimberly and Diego are also being taught.
There should be a couple baptisms in the near future for this area. We
finished strong in the transfer. We taught the most lessons this week
than any other.
I am going to go now. Flying into Adelaide.
Love you all heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
"...God will provide a way."
January 17, 2011
Hello from Palmerston!
This week has been good. We received a good referral this week. A returned missionary came home last Sunday and he set us up an appointment with a less active man. We are to teach him the quit smoking program. This man is named John, he has a brother name Don, Don is a prospective Elder and is working towards going on a mission. John has 8 kids, none of them are baptised. Five of those eight kids are baptismal age. So by teaching the quit smoking program to John we hope that this will open the door to teaching the gospel to these kids and even reactivating John.
We had a baptismal date with an investigator named Andrew. He is from Papua New Guinea. He was in Cairns for a couple weeks visiting his wife. They have been separated for almost a year now. They have made certain reconciliations and she has agreed to move back with him in Palmerston. One of those conditions was to not be baptised Latter Day Saint. She is Catholic. When Andrew told us this he was on the verge of crying. He knows the church is true, and he desires an eternal family. We taught him a powerful lesson based on 1nephi chpt 3 which talks about a commandment from god to retrieve the brass plates from Laban. We shared with him that god gives no commandment unto the children of men unless he provides a way for them to succeed in keeping the commandment. Basically to melt down our message, God will provide a way. We went into fasting and we had a discussion, committed him to read about fasting in the Gospel Principles book. We are fasting for all our investigators, but for Andrew we are fasting that his wife’s heart will be softened. He has also expressed he will fast as well.
Scott is progressing through the Book of Mormon. He is up to 3rd Nephi. By now he has probably read through the climax of the Book of Mormon, we will see him on Wednesday.
Sara’s daughter was sick this week. So her sleeping patterns have been atrocious. One day she went to bed at noon. So we didn’t have the opportunity to teach her this week. But we did teach her less active mum and her little sister who is not baptised either, this bunch live in a separate house. They went to a cottage evening at a members home this week which was great, they were about to go to church but then Sara’s mum was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. She has a hernia. Surprisingly her husband actually showed up to church, that totally shocked us.
Today for P-day we had Megan’s husband named Kim, Megan was baptised in December, and Kim took us to Litchfield national park. It is a beautiful place. There are multiple waterfalls. There was no danger of crocs because of the fast moving streams (and waterfalls). If anything a fresh water alligator could have unfortunately made himself into some of these streams, but that doesn’t matter because those guys are more afraid of us than we are to them. There was many people swimming. Being in the wet season those waterfalls had heaps of water. Fortunately the roads were not severely flooded. I saw my first frilled neck lizard and goanna.
Well I am going to go now. Love you all heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Palmerston!
This week has been good. We received a good referral this week. A returned missionary came home last Sunday and he set us up an appointment with a less active man. We are to teach him the quit smoking program. This man is named John, he has a brother name Don, Don is a prospective Elder and is working towards going on a mission. John has 8 kids, none of them are baptised. Five of those eight kids are baptismal age. So by teaching the quit smoking program to John we hope that this will open the door to teaching the gospel to these kids and even reactivating John.
We had a baptismal date with an investigator named Andrew. He is from Papua New Guinea. He was in Cairns for a couple weeks visiting his wife. They have been separated for almost a year now. They have made certain reconciliations and she has agreed to move back with him in Palmerston. One of those conditions was to not be baptised Latter Day Saint. She is Catholic. When Andrew told us this he was on the verge of crying. He knows the church is true, and he desires an eternal family. We taught him a powerful lesson based on 1nephi chpt 3 which talks about a commandment from god to retrieve the brass plates from Laban. We shared with him that god gives no commandment unto the children of men unless he provides a way for them to succeed in keeping the commandment. Basically to melt down our message, God will provide a way. We went into fasting and we had a discussion, committed him to read about fasting in the Gospel Principles book. We are fasting for all our investigators, but for Andrew we are fasting that his wife’s heart will be softened. He has also expressed he will fast as well.
Scott is progressing through the Book of Mormon. He is up to 3rd Nephi. By now he has probably read through the climax of the Book of Mormon, we will see him on Wednesday.
Sara’s daughter was sick this week. So her sleeping patterns have been atrocious. One day she went to bed at noon. So we didn’t have the opportunity to teach her this week. But we did teach her less active mum and her little sister who is not baptised either, this bunch live in a separate house. They went to a cottage evening at a members home this week which was great, they were about to go to church but then Sara’s mum was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. She has a hernia. Surprisingly her husband actually showed up to church, that totally shocked us.
Today for P-day we had Megan’s husband named Kim, Megan was baptised in December, and Kim took us to Litchfield national park. It is a beautiful place. There are multiple waterfalls. There was no danger of crocs because of the fast moving streams (and waterfalls). If anything a fresh water alligator could have unfortunately made himself into some of these streams, but that doesn’t matter because those guys are more afraid of us than we are to them. There was many people swimming. Being in the wet season those waterfalls had heaps of water. Fortunately the roads were not severely flooded. I saw my first frilled neck lizard and goanna.
Well I am going to go now. Love you all heaps.
-Elder Montgomery
"...the spirit is the only thing that can convince them."
January 14, 2011
hey mom, i dont have much time left, i emailed kyle.
But things are good here in Palmerston We are teacing and finding.
Sister Lisonbee is pretty Sweet. I hope those sources work. But really the spirit is the only thing that can convince them.
I havent watched them myself so i hope they are good.
I am going to go now, sorry for the short email!
I have to email president.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
hey mom, i dont have much time left, i emailed kyle.
But things are good here in Palmerston We are teacing and finding.
Sister Lisonbee is pretty Sweet. I hope those sources work. But really the spirit is the only thing that can convince them.
I havent watched them myself so i hope they are good.
I am going to go now, sorry for the short email!
I have to email president.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
"Members named the Bryants are the Mum and Dad to us in the area...took us on a road trip near Jabiru and we did some sightseeing out in the bush."
January 4, 2011
Hello from Palmerston!
Tuesday is P-day this week; it is different every day of this transfer it seems. We did things a bit different this P-day schedule wise. Members named the Bryants are the Mum and Dad to us in the area and they took us on a road trip near Jabiru and we did some sightseeing out in the bush. I was very careful because I will admit there was quite a bit of water and you just can’t trust that there isn’t a crock inside it. Even the smallest water hole could have one. We went to the Adelaide River, where there is the famous jumping crocks boat tour, we didn’t go on the boats it makes you feel better mum. It is pretty crazy to think that river had thousands of crocks in it. Maybe we will go on it on another day. I saw some birds I had never seen before. Dad would be jealous. We finished off today when the Bryants took us back to Darwin city and we went to the Museum. That was pretty cool. There was a sound room recording of cyclone Tracey that hit Darwin in 1974. It totally destroyed Darwin. The noise of the wind and the metal scraping for multiple hours would have been a nightmare.
We had to be in our flats by 5 pm on New Year’s Eve and we couldn’t leave the flat until 2pm the next day. People just would not be in their right state of mind if we had called in on anyone. It was the same deal last year. Traditions in Australia are the same in America. Heaps of fireworks throughout the day went off. There were no guns fired unlike in America. In a drunken frenzy some guy shot his wife with a crossbow and killed her. That is pretty nuts. We went to bed at 10:30 didn’t do anything interesting, we just did our weekly planning. We ordered a pizza for Dinner.
This week we had really good lessons with some of our investigators. Scott has read up to Alma. He is on fire with his reading. He has been praying earnestly for his answer. His wife Jen is going through a hard time with chemotherapy. Scott has been unavailable to go to church to take care of her while she is going through this tough time. Scott believes that the events and people in the Book of Mormon are real but he is pondering whether the religion is real. Quite a different concern from what I have come across as a missionary. Scott will be baptized as soon as he gets his answer.
Sara is going well. We visited her 3 times this last week all with different members present. We taught her again the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration, we also taught her about Temples. Her reading of the Book of Mormon is much slower than Scott. She is in the latter end of first Nephi. Sara is set to be baptized in April; she has already felt the Holy Ghost. She just needs to obey the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity.
I am just going to finish up anything else I need to do for P-day. I live on number 19, unit 5 on Mannakin Ct in the suberb of Bakewell. First units on the left if i was driving into the street. P-day will be on Monday next week and from now on.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
Hello from Palmerston!
Tuesday is P-day this week; it is different every day of this transfer it seems. We did things a bit different this P-day schedule wise. Members named the Bryants are the Mum and Dad to us in the area and they took us on a road trip near Jabiru and we did some sightseeing out in the bush. I was very careful because I will admit there was quite a bit of water and you just can’t trust that there isn’t a crock inside it. Even the smallest water hole could have one. We went to the Adelaide River, where there is the famous jumping crocks boat tour, we didn’t go on the boats it makes you feel better mum. It is pretty crazy to think that river had thousands of crocks in it. Maybe we will go on it on another day. I saw some birds I had never seen before. Dad would be jealous. We finished off today when the Bryants took us back to Darwin city and we went to the Museum. That was pretty cool. There was a sound room recording of cyclone Tracey that hit Darwin in 1974. It totally destroyed Darwin. The noise of the wind and the metal scraping for multiple hours would have been a nightmare.
We had to be in our flats by 5 pm on New Year’s Eve and we couldn’t leave the flat until 2pm the next day. People just would not be in their right state of mind if we had called in on anyone. It was the same deal last year. Traditions in Australia are the same in America. Heaps of fireworks throughout the day went off. There were no guns fired unlike in America. In a drunken frenzy some guy shot his wife with a crossbow and killed her. That is pretty nuts. We went to bed at 10:30 didn’t do anything interesting, we just did our weekly planning. We ordered a pizza for Dinner.
This week we had really good lessons with some of our investigators. Scott has read up to Alma. He is on fire with his reading. He has been praying earnestly for his answer. His wife Jen is going through a hard time with chemotherapy. Scott has been unavailable to go to church to take care of her while she is going through this tough time. Scott believes that the events and people in the Book of Mormon are real but he is pondering whether the religion is real. Quite a different concern from what I have come across as a missionary. Scott will be baptized as soon as he gets his answer.
Sara is going well. We visited her 3 times this last week all with different members present. We taught her again the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration, we also taught her about Temples. Her reading of the Book of Mormon is much slower than Scott. She is in the latter end of first Nephi. Sara is set to be baptized in April; she has already felt the Holy Ghost. She just needs to obey the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity.
I am just going to finish up anything else I need to do for P-day. I live on number 19, unit 5 on Mannakin Ct in the suberb of Bakewell. First units on the left if i was driving into the street. P-day will be on Monday next week and from now on.
Love you heaps
-Elder Montgomery
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