Mormon Missionaries.. What you need to know:

We Rode 30 miles Saturday!

The outcome of the wreck was that... We have to take the car into the shop Wed. morning and we'll be riding our bikes for the next few days. I didn't get a ticket and we were both at fault. I'm still driving, though sometimes I wish I wasn't. I do not recommend the Chevy Maliboat to anyone. Not too much is going on. It's been really hot lately and we rode 30 miles Saturday! New record!!! It's been in the 98-102 range all week and it's supposed to stay that way. We don't really have any investigators right now but I'm positive we will find some soon. The miracles come after the trials of our faith so we must keep the faith! I love the mission! There are so many valuable things I've learned in my short tenure here that I wish to be able to implement when I'm released. The Ward is great. We're still being fed every night. We'd prefer teaching their friends and family but all in due time ;) 

It definitely sounds like Zach has got it good right now, at least on the outside view. I'm positive he'll do absolutely fantastic! They mentioned Pioneer day but we didn't really do anything special for it. I'm glad to hear that volleyball is going well. Katie will eventually figure it out. I assume that I will be staying for the next transfer but I do not know so I'd hold off on sending anything. I'm doing great wardrobe wise. Maybe some more healthy snacks like granola, or dried fruit, or something. I'm sure whatever you send will be great (Don't think sending me any of your delicious desserts trying to fatten me up will work, though ;) I know lots of missionaries who would eat them. I know you don't follow recipes but maybe recipes for the dishes you make. I've really been craving the Chicken Curry Broccoli casserole. I'd say the ones that I've missed the most would be that one, Red Beans and Rice, every single and last one of your desserts/baked goods, and the classic Mormon Sunday dinner. I have no idea how long I'll be home before I leave again, but I'm sure I'll spend a lot of the time observing how such delicious food comes out of our kitchen. I'll try my best to make sure we have no wrecks! 

Love,

Elder Montgomery

The Son Of God.. I've heard lots about that movie from people we talk to. Hahahaha Ben is a clown! Confidence is good! Most of the time. The Lord will shape him, no worries. 

(Yes, right one) The Lord will not allow us to be tried more than we can handle. I read that somewhere in the scriptures recently but I can't tell you exactly where. Where there is faith, there are miracles. Sometimes we have to be humbled so that we realize that normal day things are miracles. How much more blessed are we when we humble ourselves and God doesn't have to do it to us? There's a lot more happiness in that method. I'm glad to hear about Elder Kotter. 

So true!!! As you seek to help others, you will be helping yourself and God. Mosiah2:17. Pray for the gift of charity and remember to study it out in your mind. It takes a lot of effort, but truly seek to understand and discern the true character of people. The Holy Ghost will reveal it unto you. The week was tremendous as always!!! There are good prospects here but we haven't found them yet. We'll baptize them soon, enough, I'm sure. The Lord has his eye on every one of us. I could have a conversation with them but it would have to mainly center about the Gospel. My vocabulary is still fairly limited. I'll see what I can do about pictures. Maybe I'll be transferred to an English ward and they can take care of that for me. Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Don't play on Sundays. Plain and simple. It's a commandment

I'm glad that you got the package! I had almost forgotten about it. The new shoes are doing much better. No worries at all! Interestingly enough, I've eating a lot of American food lately. Burgers and chicken. nothing too crazy. I judged a pie contest at the Pioneer day activity. The pecan pie was easily my favorite but I'd say that none of the pies there could compare to the baking in the kitchen back home. Which reminds me, What do you usually make for dinner? Elder C and i were talking and we both agreed that there was always plenty of delicious food back home but we couldn't remember how often or what you would cook. My flounder was alright. I'll give you a more informative report this next week. This is very true about why people don't get married. It seems that we can never get over that stumbling block, though. I'm glad you were able to talk to Zach! The Lord always answers our prayers! He just waits for us to ask. 

Sounds like a fun time at the volleyball camps!!! I'm very impressed with everyone. I would say don't play on Sundays. Plain and simple. It's a commandment. But i won't give a very specific answer because I'd prefer other people to study it out on their own. I'd suggest Preach My Gospel Chapter 3, Lesson 4, as well as the scriptures. And then there is always lds.org for more information. 

I don't need anything. At least, not yet... I was in a wreck this morning. Very slight damage to our front bumper but the lady's door was dented pretty bad. I was turning out of HEB and as I was turning, all of a sudden she was there, and boom. Crash. None of us saw her or where she came from, but asi es. So we're all healthy but I don't know what the results will be. i'm sure we'll find out soon, though. other than that, I had a tremendous exchange with Elder Jackson. He's grown a lot and we had some great conversations. I learned a lot from him and I hope we'll be able to spend time together after the mission. he only has 2 weeks left. Have a great and accident free week!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

I'll definitely hit the bike trails with you when I get back. I don't ride very fast and my skills aren't super great, but I'd love to give it a shot. I'd write more but I have to fill out a traffic accident report... See mom's email. Say hi to everyone for me. I hope they're all doing great. Don't worry too much about the shoes. Everything is going well. If I'm ever in dire need, I'll let you know. Just make sure that the spiritual and temporal needs are taken care of at home first. How's FHE and daily scripture study going? Even if it's a few verses, we learned in General Conference that those things do take precedent over temporal things, even chores. Just keep trying to find that balance. 

Love,

Elder Montgomery

5th Ward is Fantastic as Always!

5th ward is fantastic as always! I'm excited to hear more about this tall girl volleyball camp my sisters are going to as well. That's fantastic that they have these opportunities to go to these camps. I hope that they prepare accordingly. 

I thought Elder Z. Montgomery might be leaving here pretty soon. Just think tomorrow he goes to Utah and we'll be be in the same state for a little bit. Then in another year we'll be in the same city. I hope his phone call is more insightful than mine. I've heard it's dangerous but there are still missionaries out in the city nonetheless. I've heard that they have some tremendous street food, though, from our members. Cheap, delicious, and lots of it. The work is going well. 

A lot of our people have been in Mexico or just disappeared for some reason so we're always working on finding people. It's fun being on the bike. Lots of fun. Elder C and I get along great. He is from Delta, Utah. He likes basketball and played Varsity Soccer for 4 years. The food we are getting has been pretty good lately. Our Bishop took us to a hamburger joint which was delicious! It's called TJ's. And then the next day the member made hamburgers. And then the next day the members gave us some delicious broiled lemon pepper fish from a good restaurant. So nothing eventful at all.

I'm excited for the opportunity to play with some of the NBA players. Sounds like great things are going on in the world of basketball! 

The Book of Mormon is the cornerstone of our religion. Without it, where are we? Nowhere. It is a testament of Jesus Christ and all those who truly want to develop a relationship with their Savior must study and ponder the message contained therein. The ancient prophets who wrote in the book declared that they did so that they might convince and persuade their brethren (all of us) to come unto an understanding of their relationship with God and his Son, Jesus Christ; than we might learn his doctrine and live his Gospel; that only through repentance made possible through Christ's Atonement, could we be perfected and live with God again. The Book of Mormon is the foundation of my testimony of my Savior. The Bible helps and they testify of one another, but one will grow closer unto God by living the precepts outlined in the Book of Mormon than any other book. All good things come of God! Have a tremendous week and study Chapter 5 of Preach My Gospel.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Sounds like a fun time with all the work at Lakeview! I don't most people know how hard you work there, esp. in the summer. I'm glad my work is something that I enjoy as well. Nothing like Preaching the Gospel! I'm doing fantastic. I really enjoy the bike even though it's going to be over a 100 degrees all week. I'm going on an exchange with E. Jackson on Friday and I'm super excited for that! The diet isn't too hard to maintain. I just portion accordingly. I bought some flounder today. I sure hope it tastes delicious. I'll let you know. Love you too and have a great phone call with Zach.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Freedom is a tremendous blessing from God!

Oh yes we had a tremendous 4th of July! We went to a Ward Breakfast to start the day and then we promptly had 5 lessons fall through. We rode about 20 miles that day and we had to be home by 8. We did go to Chickfila, though, for dinner. It was so tasty! We ended the night by singing America the Beautiful. I'm so thankful for our forefathers who established this country upon freedom. They were guided by our Heavenly Father to this promised land. They set the stage for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because we have freedom of religion, Joseph Smith was able to seek after an answer to his question, "Which church was true that he may join himself with it?" Freedom allows us to continue to practice the true doctrines that have been revealed by God through modern day prophets. We are truly blessed to live in this country. 

That is a blessed day for sure. We don't really have any youth in this ward so I'm not sure exactly what they would do with them. I'm sure you would be able to find somewhere to do that closer to home, though. Sounds great about Coach Connor. I look forward to the opportunity to play for him and Coach K. I've learned so much about hard work and discipline on the mission. It will be benefit me in so many other phases of life. The new area is good. We have a decent amount of investigators but once again, many of them are not married to their current partner. It's a little frustrating but hopefully we'll be able to help them understand the sanctity of marriage in the near future. What he said about 5th ward is definitely true! We are loved here. I was introduced during Sacrament meeting and they gave a brief bio. We're fed every day and people love us. It's great for sure! . It will come soon enough for Z. Have a great week with B!

Love,

Elder Montgomery

We were and are truly blessed to grow up in the Centerville Ward. I would not have wanted to be anywhere else. We have so many tremendous priesthood holders who have taught, guided, and inspired me. They have had a great impact on my life. There is no doubt that is part of the reason why so many of the youth are strong. I could go on and on about them but they already know. I'm glad that y'all had a great 4th of July. Freedom is a tremendous blessing from God! I'm glad that the possible other parts of the family are so great as well. Oh there's no doubt that I'm supposed to be here. More I'm kind of ready for the Lord to need me somewhere else hahaha. No worries! I love the work and I try to get better every day.

Love,

Elder Montgomery

I Now Have a Continuous Chain of Areas

Well it is exciting that I'm speaking Spanish again, at least! It may not be Austin but in due time (I hope haha). Follow along.. My new area touches both Adams HIll and Mission Creek/Highland Hills so I now have a continuous chain of areas. Timber Ridge touches Adams HIll which touches 5th ward which touches Mission Creek which touches 1st Ward and the last two are within Highland HIlls. You can take the ghetto out of the Elder but not the Elder out of the ghetto hahaha. It's good to be speaking more Spanish again. I've gotten almost all the rust off of it. The ward is pretty small, but good. Avg about 75 people at church. I bike every other day. I get fed every single day, July is already full, and the Ward Mission Leader's wife is working on filling out August. No worries about food. My new companion is Elder C from Delta, Utah. 
Yes can your veggies if you can. I LOVE tomatoes and peppers now. I bought some today.
Quietness can definitely be a lot more relaxing.  I'm not living with other Elders. Elder G finally went up to Austin. The P's got married this past weekend. We have a few investigators right now but I'm still meeting all of them so I'll fill in the info next week. So far, the biggest problem seems to be that no one is married. Is this just a Southside thing or is it like this in the really nice areas too? Maybe one day I'll know. 
We played pickle ball and disc golf last Monday. It was super fun! Nothing too crazy going on. 
Oh, I did speak in Sacrament meeting yesterday. That makes 3 talks in Spanish and 1 in English. It really doesn't bother me to talk anymore. I hope that this confidence stays with me after the mission as well. I hope that you have a wonderful week at home without the girls. It's good to have a break but it's also good to spend time together. Let's just make sure we all grow enough that we'll enjoy all of eternity together. :)

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Padre's Letter.

Well that's definitely a start! I was able to do 7 chin ups in a row today. Getting stronger every day! Keep it up and you'll be able to do it in no time at all! It definitely takes discipline. Self discipline is one of the greatest things I've learned so far on the mission and I'm continuing to work on it. A lot of it has to do with what I'm currently studying, which is humility. Humility is much more than just being meek and teachable. It's being grateful at all times and for all things. Why wait until the rainbow to give thanks for the rain? I've been studying it on and off for the past 3 weeks or so but it hit me pretty good today. I was getting a little frustrated that I haven't left San Antonio yet and gone to Austin and that our apartment didn't have a washer and dryer or a gym. When I was studying, it hit me pretty hard. At least I'm not in Central or South America cleaning my clothes with a rock. They definitely don't have gyms. I know it's the little silly conveniences of a State side missionary but it impacted me a good bit. I'm going to make the best of being in 5th ward and this area is going to be on fire. I'm in a car share so I ride the bike every other day. My companion is pretty good. Elder C has been out about 9 months or so. I see a lot of similarities between him and me (missionary wise). He's a pretty good studier and has pretty good Spanish. A really good test taker, etc. The biggest thing I'm trying to help him develop is confidience and passion. These are the two things in which I've grown the most lately and it has helped me tremendously. I realize it's a process but I hope that I'll be at my best by the end. Have a good week off, but as an investigator once said, "Idleness is the devil's playground."

Love,

Elder Montgomery

Going Back to Senior Companion..

Well that is quite excellent to hear, I must say!!! Impressive, indeed. Just have to get the training, I guess. 
No worries, my stuff is pretty much already packed. The mission office is closed on Saturdays but, of course, Mission Creek covers the Alamo, remember? So I'll just leave my stuff in the apartment and they'll take it up. How do you want to communicate the meeting? 
I will indeed be leaving once again. Going back to Senior Companion. Elder G is a new District Leader. Elder J told me on transfer calls to be very excited so maybe that means I'm finally going up to Austin.
Basketball camp is definitely the best. I'm sure that they will have lots of fun with Grandma. 
We had a fantastic week as usual. The P came to church and stayed for all 3 hours. They are getting married very soon. We're going to try to set them with a date tonight for their baptism. We also had the J family come to church. He's a long time LA member and she's "Catholic." Of course, they're not married either but she really enjoyed church and it's looking very promising. Her name is C. We knocked into a tremendous family this past week. Husband and wife with 4 kids, 9 years and younger. They really loved the Restoration and hopefully we'll be able to go by them tonight. 
Other than that, nothing too out of the ordinary happened this past week. I know this week will be great and I'm sure you'll know where I am before I even email next Monday.

 Have a fantastic week at work!

Love,

Elder Montgomery