I'll be in San Antonio in 27 hours!

So I'll probably be calling sometime in between 6 and 8 in the morning Salt Lake time. I'm not sure exactly sure what time it'll be but sometime in that time slot. I'll be in San Antonio in 27 hours!

July 18,2013

Dad,

I've had a great week and I'm super excited to go. It definitely seems like I've been here my whole life. Yeah I'm sure Ben is great at fixing things just like me. Katie has to practice basketball every day though if she wants my room. Poor Bro G all alone. He does have a great spirit and he knows ssooooo much. Oh I wish I had that cd but it's okay cause there's plenty to do. I like Coach Cottrell's coaching style too and that's good Zach has a chance to play. I know I won't have much time but I've done so much research on schools so when that time comes let me know how it's going. I think they'll be good next year. I'm actually planning on growing another inch over these two years like my teacher's brother who went from 6'6" to 6'8". I'll do my best and keep studying. I finished Jesus the Christ so now I'm going to start the New Testament. And of course I'm always reading the Book of Mormon. It's so genius.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Final Week in The MTC

Oh poor Uncle Curtis. No girl for him this time. Maybe next time. Let's see. Craig, Carl, Chandler, or Chase. I really like Chandler and Chase. Oh and the middle name should be Austin without a doubt. 

That's so cool about Elder T. He sounds like a beast! I wish I could meet him. I'm super excited that you're getting to know the missionaries so well now. 

Well it's been hot and humid for forever here so I think it'll be okay when I get to San Antonio. Hmmm sunscreen. I'll try to remember but I've always had a problem with it. We haven't really heard anything at all about the missionary attire changes except for the no backpack rule and khakis but I think a light gray suit would be sick. My gray pants are definitely my favorites. 

Oh yup Elder P is in our district and he's a great kid. You can tell he grew up in Provo but he's definitely here to do business. His mom is pretty awesome, too. She sends the whole district food sometimes. We fly out of SLC and then have a layover in Dallas/FTW for about an hour until we fly to San Antonio.. Well Lakeview does always start late but they still get out around the same time as everyone else.

So I don't remember if I told you or not but we have had a new teacher for these final two weeks because our other teacher went on vacation. Our new teacher is a HOMIE! He's 22 and served in Uruguay (He got to serve at 18 because his dad was a mission president) and he is hilarious. He has the greatest stories in the world. One of his converts was an accountant and did accounting for the Miami Heat and Google and other sweet stuff. Another convert was a professional soccer player in Uruguay. He's so cool. Oh and his best friend is Ian Harward, the same 6'11" Ian Harward who played for BYU and served in San Antonio speaking Spanish. So he's gonna try and get me the hookup with some good information. 

I also advise you to watch Elder Holland's Safety for the Soul. It's the most powerful testimony I've ever heard. Pay specific attention to his countenance. We had In Field Orientation yesterday for 8 hours but it wasn't too bad. On Tuesday we took a picture in the Mariott Center with everyone in the MTC at that time (which was after we listened to President Hinckley's son of course). So our Branch President, President Jolley, is the coolest man in the world. I want to be just like him when I grow up. He still balls 3x a week and gardens everyday. Him and his wife are so cool! That's about all that's happened here. 

Could you please share to everyone to not send any more things to the MTC starting today because I won't get them before I leave. Could you just put the Mission Address for them?

 I'll call you on Wednesday.

 

Con amor,

Elder Montgomery

Jesting with Padre

No good never works. That's like saying Estoy bueno. It's estoy bien. You're calling me the party pooper! That's ironic, Mr. Pot. I wish it would rain here forever. All I ever hear is how dry Utah is and it has been in the 90s and humid ever since I got here. I guess I brought it with me. I'm glad to hear Mr. Reynolds is doing well. He's an awesome man! You better start biking or else you're gonna be as big as me! I can't wait to get to San Antonio so I can start biking and don't have unlimited food. Have you ever read 2 Nephi 24? It's like the only Isaiah chapter I've ever understood. It gives me so much confidence over sin. Hasta viernes proxima!

 

Con amor,

Elder Nowitski

Week 4 in the MTC

Okay so nothing too interesting happened this week. I saw Elder Bunch on Wednesday in the book store and we took a picture with his camera because mine is somehow already dead. He's going to send it to his parents on his P day and I told him to tell them to send it to you. I'm sorry to hear about Coach Vining's mother. 

I met an Elder named Elder Daniels and he said that his mom knew you and it was pretty dang crazy. I've met so many people with connections to people I know here. It's nuts. On Sunday, we had a devotional from George Durrant and Susan Black (I think that's her name at least). So they both lost their spouse and they got married. They're super well known in the church and I don't really have time to expound on them but I'll share a couple of things that stuck out to me. Elder Durrant was super funny and cracking jokes the whole time but his message was be bold. Being bold doesn't mean being loud though. It means just doing what you should and not being afraid to overcome your fears. After his talk, I've noticed boldness so often in the Book of Mormon. It truly is important. I learned from Sister Black that we shouldn't just read, but we should study! I know I used to be guilty of that. On Monday, we played soccer and I had two assists. I've still yet to score a goal. :( I'm super pumped for everyone's mission calls! They're all sweet! On Tuesday, we heard from Elder Kendrick. One thing that I really liked was about personal revelation. He said, "The Lord never gives us a floodlight when a flashlight is sufficient." I really liked that because we aren't going to have super miraculous things happen to us when all we need is a little prompting. After the devotional, Sister Jolley (Our Branch President's wife) said that Tess said hello and I thought that was pretty sweet. I guess I was meant to start in beginner so I could be transfered to this intermediate district with all these wonderful people and connections. On Wednesday we taught a member and we decided to talk about obedience. We get into talk with him and of course he had fought in Vietnam, been in the Air Force, and worked for the FBI. I think he taught us more than we taught him. Oh and a district in another zone just moved in next to us and guess where they're all going: Atlanta North. So I know you won't see them but I'm gonna give them all the hookups and down low. We have a new teacher because Hermana Kitto went on vacation. His name is Hermano Bulloch and he served in Uruguay. He may be the funniest person I've ever met. He could be Brian Regan's twin. Well that's about it for this past week. Until next week.

 

Con amor,

Elder Montgomery

 

P.S. I just got a package today with all the ties. I'm super pumped to wear them

Letter to Daddy

I sent mommy an email of how we celebrated but it was super awesome. I'm sure Ben loves Jeremiah. They're basically twins.  Oh I've taught close to 15 lessons in espanol. We taught in espanol only two days after we got here. I'm excited for San Antonio but I'm just taking it one day at a time. I've been eating a lot for sure but I dare not try the orange juice. I've played basketball but it's only marginally fun cause the competition isn't too good. Only good thing is that I get to work on my outside game and you should basically start calling me Kobe Bryant because my jumpshot is magical. I've played a lot of soccer too and it might be like my third favorite sport now. It's so much fun. I've been reading Jesus the Christ and it's awesome! That's all I've had time for. I'm only 450 pages in.

Con Amor,

Elder Montgomery

4th of July Week Letter

Dear Family,

Haha that's so funny about Zach and his wisdom teeth out. I guess drugs really do make your true personality come out! What in the world was the eyebrow thing he was doing? Yeah I already love everyone in my district and they're all going to BYU so no there's no chance of me going there. They said they're coming to all my games though to make fun of me and then we'll hang out afterwards. It's hard to think that I won't see any of them (well I'll see 2 of them) for two years. It's going to be a hard goodbye. Jordan Loveridge does seem like a nice guy. I've heard nothing but good things about him. Oh did Jessica finally get her license? I'm so happy! I'm mostly happy that I'll be in Texas for two years while she's on the road but good for her! :) That is different about the Pastor.  I wish it could've been someone who knew Aunt Janie. Wasn't it Grandma Montgomery's funeral where the Pastor talked about her? I really liked that. I'm glad Uncle James was able to make it! I know he's always gotten along great with Grandma and her family. He's a great man. Who all have I heard from? Pretty much everyone I think. I did hear from Mrs. Burt and she's such an angel. Don't worry I've replied. I'm definitely missing your food but the food here is unlimited so I'll be okay for 3 more weeks. I haven't had any chocolate milk or orange juice yet. I was feeling pretty chunky so two days ago Elder Goodman and I set one of our companionship goals to be healthier. He was already super healthy so it was more for me. I've cut out all desserts and juices and fresca and pop. I feel better already! That's crazy that John is going to Poland! I don't know if I've seen anyone here yet who speaks Polish. We're going to apply to be Hosts this next week. Hopefully I'll be able to see Jacob Bunch.

So this week hasn't been too out of the ordinary. I saw Tyler Day and he remembered me. I'll try to get a picture of us for you. Oh but can you please please please please send me an overview of the NBA draft. I've heard it was super crazy but no one could tell me specifics. A Dear Elder would probably be best for that. All of us are dying because we have no idea what's going on outside these gates. During my Spanish language test thingy (You just talk to someone and they tell you what you need to work on), he said I spoke super well and had a good accent but I mostly needed to work on the Imperfect and Preterite tenses. I'm in the middle of writing a letter for you guys but I literally have zero time during the day to write so hopefully I'll send it today. For the 4th of July we had a special devotional. We sang all the great American songs, there was a special Patriot melody by a piano and flute, and there was a speaker who had a son in law in the Middle East. Afterwards we watched 17 Miracles which may just be the saddest movie in forever. Then we got to stay up late and watch fireworks. I was able to talk Elder Kotter and Hartman for like 20 minutes. Elder Hartman gets his reassignment today so I'm going to be on the lookout for him. This week was rather uneventful besides that. Oh and I'm about 450 pages into Jesus the Christ. It's an AMAZING book and I recommend it to everyone. Well that's about it for now.

Con amor,

Elder Montgomery

 The Missionaries in his District

Elder Montgomery and his Comp Elder Goodman