After Throwing for a Little Bit, I Realized how much I Missed Pitching

That's great about the passport! I'm glad it was a good movie but I definitely don't have a list of things to do when I get home. I don't worry about stuff so if you want to make a list for me, that'd be great. I probably will end up not doing much of it but at least I'll be able to revise the rough draft :) That's great that you were able to find shoes and a suit so quickly! That's smart about sending the suitcase with Sis. Regan. I've known a few missionaries to send stuff home while members were going to Utah but no one ever seems to be going to Georgia for some reason. I couldn't tell you too much what to pack for the Mexico MTC. I don't know what they're appliance situation is like. That's great about being interviewed by the Gainesville Times. So Zach is still planning on going to HI but just for 1 year?  The ward is great as usual. A lot of the members live pretty far out in the country so we don't get to know them too well. We're working on it. Not really too many pictures. Sis H hasn't taken many pictures lately. She was actually released as a ward missionary yesterday. The weather is warming up but I definitely miss the bike. I could burn extra calories and talk to more people! Hahahaha Marsh!!! That was about 2 years ago that he ran around with the Easter Bunny head. Crazy! That's fine about the packages. I don't really need anything. 

Doubt not, only believe. How great are the Gospels found in the New Testament! The teachings of Christ are so tremendous. What manner of men ought ye to be? We should be perfect like our Father in Heaven. Christ did not say that in jest. That is a true teaching. We are always striving for perfection. We're striving to develop the attributes of God so that we may someday be like him. How much better would this world be if we all applied the teachings found therein!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Time is definitely flying! I thought that school had just started and here it is coming to an end! That's good that Ben is enjoying baseball and hitting well. I'd help him if I could but I guess it'll just be left up to his coaches. Elder Snow was getting recruited for baseball and he brought an extra mitt so we've thrown it around a little bit. We have a 10 year old investigator who loves baseball so we play a little bit of catch with him. After throwing for a little bit, I realized how much I missed pitching. I miss it a lot! It's crazy! Elder Snow said I'd have the chance to play in college. Maybe I'll pull something out of "The Rookie." :) That's exciting about Matthew! I'm so glad that he was able to give the talk in front of everybody. I'm doing great! No skyping yet :( But we'll have iPads by Christmas so who knows then? I made a video diary this past week and maybe I'll make one today. We do meet interesting people but no one really has tried to bash us, especially since we're in a poorer area. My new shoes are doing great! Good luck with Madeline driving. That's weird...

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

I'm Pretty Sure My Area Right Now is Bigger than his Entire Mission

Utah Salt Lake City South Spanish...The Assistants already called this morning to tell us. We heard it very clearly! Rumor is That he gets to go on splits with GA's. That'd be pretty nerve wracking, especially in Spanish. 

Sounds like it was a party at home last night! I am happy Zach had such great support from everyone! No worries about Utah. It's actually pretty funny because Elder G always said that if I'd gone SLC, I would've learned much better Spanish and it's very true. People who serve in SLC have great Spanish. Will I make fun of him just like I make fun of all Utah missionaries? Of course! But everyone who serves in Salt Lake loves it and he will be able to baptize so many people. Haha and he'll probably get fat too from all the delicious Mexican food. Oh and I'm pretty sure my area right now is bigger than his entire mission but that's okay haha. Also, I'm sure everyone has already realized this, but we will be literally about 20 minutes away from each other for about a year. So we'll see what happens there. Maybe I'll go visit some Spanish branches to keep up my language... People in Utah will send you pictures! I'm not sure if the Spanish members will but random people will. 

Yes, I did wear the pink tie. Thank you very much for the Easter package. Copenhagen..Maybe that's where you two will go on a senior mission , since you both picked it for one of us! 

The singing is going pretty well. We as a district sang in Sacrament meeting yesterday and the temple president just happened to be there. We sang Come Thou Fount and he said we knocked his socks off. We did pretty well for a bunch of unmusical Elders. We're still just trying to meet everybody. We have a long list of less actives so we try to meet everyone and clear the blind spots, so to speak. Find people to teach through them. 

I still am just in awe of how time flies. It was almost exactly a year ago that I opened my mission call. I remember it being a very distant thought of Zach opening his call and now we know where he's going! I'll have to figure out what I can do to help in Spanish but I know he'll come back with better Spanish than me, especially going to Mexico! That will be so much fun! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

To Padre:

 Hahahaha before my mission I would've put Salt Lake as one of my top 5 place to not go as well, but now, I'd definitely put it in the top 5 places in the US I'd want to go. Especially since he gets to speak Spanish. He'll be completely taken care of and he'll baptize like crazy!

 Elder S said there was no fiasco at the Mexico MTC when he landed so I don't know what happened. He said it just goes by really quickly and to start practicing Spanish because as soon as he lands, it will only be Spanish. 

Sounds like it will be a busy few weeks but it shouldn't be any other way. Being busy is definitely the way to be. My week went pretty well. We still don't have anyone that's very close to baptism but we'll get there pretty soon. My studies are going pretty well! I started in John and then went to Matthew and now I'm in Mark. Starting in John was definitely a good idea. I still haven't gotten my tire fixed because they said it was going to be a new rim which is pretty pricey so hopefully I just won't be in any bike areas for a while. I don't speak too much Spanish with Elder S but we're doing better and he's improving. I help him out more with grammar and such and I speak more with Elder. T, our district leader who's a native speaker. His parents also live in Zach's mission so he was pretty excited! A little less than 3 weeks and I'll be able to talk to you. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

I'm Just Hoping He Goes Spanish Speaking!

Alright! Hooray that you think the call is coming this week and happy he has been assigned a call. This will be the LONGEST week of waiting. Opening it Sunday evening sounds like a plan! Since I probably won't be able to be a part of it live, I'd rather wait and watch a video of it on Monday so it feels like I'm there. I'm just hoping he goes Spanish speaking! It always feels weird to see basketball on tv nowadays. Or just tv in general. I've gotten to the point where I just feel like a missionary and I can't imagine anything else. That's sad that Matt already left but it will be great to have so many people tuned in for Zach's Mission Call.
 We actually got a brand new bishopric yesterday. The new bishop is definitely younger than Dad. But he basically did exactly what Bro Frandsen is going to do. He was in the Bishopric for a few months and then he became the new bishop. So make sure you tell him that for me :) My companion is great! Elder Snow is a ton of fun! I've been blessed with really good companions so far! 
 That's very true about the pioneers. When it was cold and rainy and we were on the bikes, I could not figure out how in the world the Pioneers were able to go through the snow. It was just no fun. But they did indeed leave their legacy. They were not fools. They were not blind mice following a false prophet. Some of the most intellectual and noble minds were a part of that group. They were not deceived. They knew exactly what they were doing. The commandments of the Lord override all else. Perhaps people will think we are weird or even maybe crazy. But they would do it all over again in a heart beat. And so would I. I don't think there's any coincidence that the message of 1 Nephi 3:7 in found in the first pages of the Book of Mormon. I will go and do the thing which the Lord commands for he does provide a way. The Lord doth provide. Trust in that promise and keep his commandments.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Hahaha I do remember feeling the same way. I'm sure glad I'm not in school right now. It does feel like I just graduated, though and I was dressed up all silly with the gloves and whatnot. The CDs in Spanish,It should work. We listen to other talks in the car so I'm sure that one will. Oh I'm excited now!!! Being able to hear and read doctrine in different languages adds so much more to the depth of my understanding. Sometimes it's just expressed better in Spanish.  I'm doing great! I really don't need anything. Just make sure Zach has good, durable stuff. Good shoes, pants, shirts and suits. Especially suits.. I'm super excited for Zach's call! It'll be so much fun! Have a fun week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

PS Elder Snow his companinion, is much more informative of what they did during the week. You can read it here. http://eldermasonsnow.blogspot.com/2014/04/loving-new-area.html

The Mission is the Ultimate Refiner's Fire.

It's definitely interesting to be back covering the same area. It's like going back to middle school and realizing how much you've changed. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. And I'm sure in 6 months I'll look back and say the exact same thing. The mission is the ultimate refiner's fire and if you're willing to push yourself, you will see tremendous growth. Well since it was conference, there weren't a whole ton of people there at the building, but the ones that were there were pretty surprised to see me again. I can claim to have served in every single ward in that building. Yes we were both surprised that we were being doubled in. They gave us no heads up. But it's okay because the last Elder who was there became a Zone Leader and he had the area super nice and organized for us. It's going well with Elder S. It's really, really weird having a companion younger than me now. I've been the youngest in every single one of my districts since I started. I am very excited to be back in the district. We have some of the nicest apartments in the mission so I cannot complain one bit. Elder G is not still around. He was actually in my zone last transfer. 

General conference was as good as I could have ever hoped for. I honestly can say I loved it more than Christmas! I was just so uplifted by the speakers. One of my favorite would definitely have to be by Elder Uchtdorf about gratitude. Rather than being grateful for things, we must be grateful in things. It is imperative that we have an attitude of gratitude! Rather than drinking from the bottle of bitterness, we should raise up to our lips the goblet of gratitude. No matter what we have or where we are, we should be grateful and cheerful. Nothing will drive out the bitterness like a good dose of thankfulness. Another one of my favorites was Elder Oaks' discourse during the Priesthood session about how we all work under the power and authority of the Priesthood. It is my sincere prayer that we will take what we have learned from Conference and apply it. As Elder Hales said in the October Conference, the greatest blessings come afterwards. If you haven't yet had a chance to see all of conference, I encourage that you do so by going to LDS.org. Soon the talks will be uploaded for both watching and reading. Lives do truly change because of Conference. Have a tremendous Spring Break!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

I'm Leaving Adams Hill this Week

Drumroll please.

For transfers,

We will start with the Heritage A companionship. Elder Le S is staying and Elder C is leaving. And now for Adams Hill. Elder McM is staying and will be finishing his mission in Adams Hill. Elder Montgomery is....... leaving! Elder McM will be training a new missionary during his last transfer. 

So I'm leaving Adams Hill this week. I've really enjoyed these three months here and I've definitely become a much better missionary and person during this time (Lots of thanks goes to Elder McM for that). I may even say that this has been one of my favorite areas! I've absolutely loved it! Now we'll see where I'll be spending General Conference! 

Guesses for Zach:

Elder McM- Japan Tokyo

Elder Le S- California Arcadia

Elder C- California San Francisco

Me- California Ventura

So it looks like Zach might be going to California. 

It's quite unfortunate to hear about BYU-HI but it will all work out I'm sure. I'd definitely look into Westminster. Other than that, I don't really have any other ideas right now. Sounds like it should be a pretty busy and exciting week! 

It is indeed starting to warm up here in Texas. Thank goodness. I would much rather be on a bike in the summer than in the winter. 

We had a very interesting week. So my shoes were absolutely trashed. I'm sending them home so you can bronze them. But there was more tape than shoe so they weren't very functional. We called the mission office to see what they could do and they could only find one store nearby who had size 16 shoes. The name of the store is Big Shoes and they actually have a site online.  I'd say with Zach's shoes to make sure that you just go ahead and get the super durable name brand shoes and stay as far away as possible from the shoes I had. It's definitely worth it and much cheaper in the long run. On Saturday, I was on exchanges with Elder M in Heritage B. It was great fun! We talked to a lot of people and rode about 20 miles! I did somehow, however, manage to mangle my front rim. It's bent pretty badly but still barely rideable. I'm going to see if I can get it fixed when I go to Transfers. 

I'm so very excited for General Conference this weekend!!! I can honestly say that I look more forward to Conference than I do Christmas. There is so much spiritual nourishment that it takes 6 months to soak it all in! I invite all to listen to and watch conference. Take notes. We have living prophets today so we should make sure we know what they are talking about. What a blessing it is to live in this day and time in which we can instantly hear and see these men and women of God! Soak in Conference for all its worth, and then apply what you learn. 

Love,

Elder Montgomery

To Padre:

Wow! Spring break already! I feel like the school year just started! You definitely need to go do some biking! Just make sure you don't bend your rim like I did this week :)! That would be fun to have them go to some camps during the summer! It can definitely be hard but maybe this is your chance to really learn volleyball, just like you tried to with football and baseball! Oh I'm definitely not the perfect child! Close, but not quite :) I'm sure you'd be interested to know that my English has become gradually worse with the more Spanish I speak. Don't be surprised if I say some funny sounding things. I'll try to remember to do some video diaries. I just lose track of the time sometimes. I can't believe I'm already getting transferred! I'm trying to take more pictures so hopefully that will help me remember. Have a good week and have fun at Smoothie King on Saturday.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

I'm Excited for Zach!!! About the Mission Papers!

Oh I knew Duncan would go to Arizona!!! He'll do great! I'm excited for Zach!!! About the mission papers! And who knows about BYU-H? Maybe it will end up being for the best? I'll send you back the National Merit thing but the biggest problem right now is that I still don't know which semester I'll start. I'll leave the month up for you to decide so you can choose whichever one would be easiest to change. I am definitely still planning on going to Utah. The baptism went tremendous and I sent some photos. Nothing too interesting this week except I went to the temple!!! Tremendous experience to say the least!!! The biking is still going, that's for sure. We had good dinners. I'm out of time today but I'll let you know about transfer news next week. Who knows! And don't worry about the bracket. That'll distract me a little more than I'd like, unfortunately. :)

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Dad,

I'm doing great! I'm not eating as well and not working out as well but I could tell I was starting to burn myself out so I'm taking it slowly. There's more important things. My scripture study is going fantastic as usual! I finally finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish this week! Now I'm reading it out loud for pronunciation practice during Spanish study. In my regular studies, I stopped the close examining, because of course, I got burned out on it. I've switched to the New Testament so that I can focus on the life of Christ. I started with John because I'd always get stuck in Mark but I've finished John and am now in Matthew. Interesting order, right? I plan on reading the Doctrine and Covenants afterwards and then the New Testament in conjunction with Jesus the Christ. It ended up not costing too much and right now I have two elders in the district who are extremely handy with bikes. We did have a rash of flat tires this week, though. Bike repairs sure do cost a lot of money in the long run. I did make a trip up to UC though and did meet the famous Howard. Turns out he's not a member but he knows more about what's going on in the mission than I think even mom does :) He's a super cool guy and was telling me about how Schwinn made a custom size bike for Artis Gilmore. My Spanish is definitely improving and no... I still can't roll my r's. I'm a lot closer than before but I'm trying to move out of the "Chewbacca" sound. I probably won't be able to talk to you until Mother's day but even then, that's in less than 2 months. Have a tremendous week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

There is Definitely no Cafe Rio in Texas.

I did get the St. Patricks day gift. Thank you very much. Hahaha I'd guess there's only one person who would Shamrock you that wasn't at church with you. Maybe a neighbor across the street or someone.  Of course it would be a Hawaiian girl that asked Zach to prom. Does that mean he's not asking anyone else? It seems really soon for all this to be happening. It's already been a year since that was me. Crazy. 
We just had 2 of the 3 this week investigators at church yesterday. J is getting baptized Sat.y So we have a lot to do to make sure everything is prepared. He's 10 years old so I guess that my next baptism will be an 11 year old jajaja. Nothing too interesting happened this week.
Transfers are coming up,  I think I'll probably leave but I don't know. Elder M finishes next transfer so if I stay, then I'm almost guaranteed to stay another one. 
There is definitely no Cafe Rio in Texas. Still car sharing. The bike is doing great as far as I can tell. Just logging the miles. Elder L knows about bikes so he's making sure mine stays in good shape. We studied about knowing the Church is true this past week and it was great. Some of the talks we read included Come, Join with Us by President Uchtdorf, The Caravan Moves On by Elder Bruce McConkie, and Knowing what we Know by Douglas Callister. The most important thing we should do is find out if the church is true. Once we know that we know, there are no bounds. Stay true to the church. The caravan is the church and only those on the caravan will reach Zion. We are lead today by inspired leaders, prophets and apostles. Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

To his Padre..

I can definitely understand the tiredness. It's been hitting me pretty hard lately. Something just always comes up right as we try to make that break through. Well as long as Ben only balked once hahaha That's good that he pitched the first little bit though. That's the most important part anyways :) 

 I can't believe it's been 9 months already either! Interestingly enough, one of the biggest pet peeves I have is that people don't say Yes Sir and Yes Ma'am. That may have been the most frustrating part with all those Western people in the MTC :) The locals use Ma'am and Sir, not Yeah, Huh and What?  What some fail to see is that Sir and Ma'am go a LONG way down here. Time goes by very strangely on the mission. The days are very long. The weeks are shorter. Sometimes it's long. It all depends on what your focus is. There's nothing that I can ask of you guys right now. I love you so much!

Love,

Elder Montgomery