Six. Seis. ろく. (Week 26)

Tuesday, January 30, 2024   11:57am

Wassup my Pehuajomies!! Espero que todos esten bien!! I know I'm sending this out not on Pday, but I promise I wrote it on Pday, I just don't have WiFi en casa jaja. 

Well, we did it! Well, part of it lol. This week makes six months of the mission, or just about a quarter of the way through, and it went just like that! Pretty wild honestly. The last six months have been incredible though. Looking back, I can see already how much I've learned and grown just by being out here, and I can't wait for what this next year and a half has in store! For now though, I'll just keep focusing on this week, and speaking of which...

This week was an interesting one! Like I've said, people are all out on vacations at the moment, which is making it a bit  difficult to find anyone to have lessons with. This week, Elder Haddock and I were trying to focus on finding new people to teach, so to the streets we went! Overall, we probably contacted an average of 50-60 people in the street every day, and the craziest thing? We probably found only 3 or 4 that are really going to progress at all, otherwise no one was interested! I do kind of understand, a couple of random dudes are asking if your interested in learning about Jesus when you're on the way to work or whatever, it's a bit of a weird situation. But still, so many of them will say, 'Another time, chicos!' and then walk away without giving us any contact information. Lovely. 

That situation made it hard to have a good attitude some days, but every time I started thinking negative, I'd think back to the Zone Conference we just had. We talked a lot about pride and attitudes and how just by being optimistic and trying your hardest every day will lead to success, especially when we keep from judging others, stay humble, and teach anyone and everyone, regardless of their or our situations. It's a pretty powerful message, and it's honestly helped me get into gear with our contacting, especially when it seemed fruitless to do so. 

We did focus on a specific talk for the Conference, which was 'Beware of Pride' by President Benson. It's an amazing talk, and I've already read it multiple times on the mission. I'd just like to invite yall to read it and take a look at where you can maybe leave a bit of pride behind and help someone else. For me personally, I've tried to be in a better mindset about the Argentine culture. A lot of the culture is pretty lazy sometimes, which can make me a little frustrated, but the Gospel can work with that. As long as I can take a step down from my pride and help invite the Spirit into their lives, they will move forward, sí o sí. 

Just to finish, I wanted to tell yall about a milagro Elder Haddock and I saw this week. One of our amigos, Marcelo, who is on date for a baptism, told us something amazing. Since last Sunday, he hasn't drank a drop of alcohol. He told us he'd normally drink maybe two or three beers near the end of most days. We haven't taught him the Word of Wisdom yet, but he still felt that he should stop drinking! Also, he started to get into a routine of praying every day. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!! Anyways, we're really proud of Marcelo, he's progressing amazingly, as long as we can get him in the Church the next fee Sundays, he should be baptized by the end of the month! Exciting!!

Welp, I'll leave it there for today! I hope you all have a great week, January's almost over, just hold out a little longer, and it'll be spring again! Unless you're cool like me, we have fall coming up next 😎

Haha, love you all tons! Mucho exito, capos!!

~Elder Montgomery~

View from the Trenque Lauquen pension

Los Elderes de Holy Rose

Yes I actually drew this

Una gatita 

Another Santa Rosa Zone Conference

 

Heat in the Ghost Town (Week 25)

Monday, January 22, 2024    9:07pm

 Well hello everyone, buenas noches! Hope this week went well for everybody, let me go ahead and launch into mine because it's LATE

So, we have a couple of people on baptismal date right now and they're doing awesome. One of the guys is named Marcelo and he's literally reading every pamphlet and the Book of Mormon so well and has a great handle on the gospel. He actually told us that he needed to be baptized before we put a date with him, it was crazy. The other date we have, Roberto, is a bit older that has a hard time reading, but he still has a great testimony and a knowledge that the church is true. He's been able to come to church the last few weeks, which is incredible, it's so hard to get anyone in the capilla lol. But yeah, I'm excited for them! Can't wait to see how they progress! 

Outside of our baptismal dates, this week was pretty slow work-wise. Right now is summer in Argentina, so everyone is on vacation. That means that there is nobody and nothing in this already tiny town of Pehuajó, it's wild. We have been trying a lot harder to contact everyone we meet, but people aren't very willing to listen usually, but whatever! Always have to keep pushing forward, not going to find the elegidos otherwise!

It's been a bit hot this week! Normally, that's not a problem for me, I'm usually pretty cold, but we don't have an air conditioner in our pension. Yeah. There is no break from the heat. We do have a couple fans, but with how humid it is, they pretty much just move hot air around. Again, it's fine, we're drinking plenty of water and walking in the shade and everything, I'm not getting heatstroke out here. Just gotta think cold thoughts lol. 

I just had a pretty awesome miracle a couple hours ago! Right now, I'm in a different city doing divisions, and the Elder I went with is super cool, he's named Elder Holmes. So, he and I, we walk around, make a few contacts, try to have a few lessons, then we go to the church to try to buy bus tickets online, because we have zone conference this Wednesday. Unfortunately, the computer wasn't working, so we just decided to go to the physical bus terminal later to get them. Well, pretty soon after, Elder Holmes gets a call that he's going to be moving areas in relation to an emergency transfer, and he's getting moved to Santa Rosa, where we have our conference. So we decide, 'oh, we should probably get those bus tickets now then' to gelive him time to pack. WELL, on our way to the bus terminal, we felt like we needed to talk to this dude we saw walking on the sidewalk towards us. So we say hello, introduce ourselves and our message, and he's totally into it. He says his name is Esteban, and he asks a bunch of really good questions about the Church and what makes it different. After we talk for a bit, Esteban tells us that he's going through a really hard moment in his life right now and that the Chuch sounds like something that could help him out. So we gave him a pamphlet, got his number, bore our testimonies, and sent him on his way! It was definitely the coolest street contact I've been a part of thus far. 

The experience just really showed Elder Holmes and I how much God is really in the details of our lives, like how if the computer was working, we wouldn't have gone to the terminal, and how if he didn't get that phone call, we wouldn't have gone down that early either. We were meant to meet Esteban that night, and he's going to do great things for himself and his family because of it. So tonight I want to invite you all to look for those moments in your lives too! Look for where God put you in places where you were supposed to be to further his work! It'll amaze you how much He has helped you and helped others THROUGH you. 

Welp, it is very late and I need to sleep, so this is all for now! 

I love you all very much, talk to you next week!!

Elder Montgomery~~

Took some photos for a zone challenge

Pehuajó: The Beginning (Week 24)

Monday, January 15, 2024    8:49pm

Well hello there my friends!! Hope everyone's doing well! 

Well, new developments have occurred here in the mission de Bahía Blanca, i.e. transfers, and I have left General Pico. Now, I'm living in a pueblito called Pehuajó, and thus far, it's going great!

Alright, before everyone asks, yes, I miss Pico. There's a lot of great people I'm leaving behind there, but that's the mission culture, baby. I leave everything in Elder Sykes hands, he'll do great. But still, I'll miss my people. At least i have the great memories, you know? 

Now, Pehuajó. It's honestly kinda similar to Pico, but it's a bit smaller and a bit less...rico. But still, the people are friendly and the work goes forward. My new comp, Elder Haddock, and I were actually able to put someone on date this evening! It's been a bit odd meeting new people like this again, but at least I can speak Spanish this time lol. The people in the branch here are really nice, but it's small, like, small small, soooo we don't get meals with them here. Which is fine, budgeting ftw. 

Well, nothing much going on this week outside of transfers and I'm getting this sent out REALLY late today so imma end it here, but I love yall! Hope you all have a great week! Be sure to ask for opportunities to serve those around you! Love God and be happy! 

Elder Montgomery 

1 Nefi 3:7

Mis queridos, Agustin y Jenifer

Bye Pico!!! Te voy a extrañar 

A toast to Pico 

Amamos a Jesús acá

Presenting......PEHUAJÓ!!!!!

I Think He Got Transferred

I saw this sweet post on Facebook this morning, so I’m assuming that means he got moved from General Pico.

 

Progress and Potential (Week 23)

Monday, January 8, 2024   8:37pm

Hello everyone! Hope you all are doing well, feeling fresh, hitting that gym, whatever your resolutions might be!

Well yeah, this week has been pretty awesome in regards to the work! We've found quite a few people again and set up quite a few lessons, now that people are getting back from vacations. We've also had some amazing lessons with our progressing friends and I've loved to see them find the truth in the Book of Mormon and begin to glimpse their divine potential. Another thing that has been a blessing to see is people finding peace in the Plan of Salvation, especially with so many of them losing loved ones. It brings me a lot of joy to see their hope and their faith. 

Right now, Elder Sykes and I are really proud of our friends Agustin and Jenifer. Those two are so amazing. Just yesterday, they hit their third church attendance in a row, and since it was Fast and Testimony, Jenifer got up and bore a very powerful testimony about the Plan of Salvation and how she's seen His Hand in her life. Later, we also helped Agustin set up a Family Search account, which he was super excited for. Those two are incredible and progressing so well, definitely some of my favorite people, not just on the mission, but in general lol. 

We also had a very nice and frank conversation with our friend Javier about why he's taking the lessons so well, and he told us that he actually didn't understand it either, it's just that there's something 'different' about us and the message. He's still reading the LdM really well, which has been a relief. 

I did realize this week that being frank with people is honestly the way to go as a missionary. Like, asking people in our first contact with them if they're interested in the Church, telling people that we KNOW, not just believe, but know our message is true. I'm not too much of a confrontational person, so at first I was very...timid? I guess? Yeah, timid with my approaches and lessons, but now, I think I've fully realized that u need to be bold, because their salvation could depend on it. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. 

Welp, nothing too wild this week either, so I'll start with TotS! 

This week's talk is Happy and Forever by Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Oct 2022. I love how he starts off the talk, saying that "happy and forever are not the imaginary stuff of fairy tales," especially when we trust in God and His Plan for us. He then goes on to explain how this plan gives us hope for ourselves and in particular for our families, even though we aren't perfect. He also says that participating in temple ordinances is one of the best ways to gather a family together, both in this life and the next. That struck me really hard after working with Agus in regards to his family history and looking at my own tree and seeing how much work there will always be to do. I honestly feel so connected to so much of my family, and I know it's through all the work that has been done for them, both to record their history and to help them across the veil. I wanted to encourage you guys to take a look at your family trees this week, even just to remember your ancestors and appreciate what they've done for you, I know it will draw you closer to them and your own living family, as is the Plan of God. 

Well, I'm getting this sent out pretty late! I hope you all have a great week, I personally have transfers this week, so we'll see whether or not I'll be mailing you all in Pico next week!

Much love, as always!

Elder Montgomery

Torre de los Estudios

The Imminent Storm

The Blackout Begins (Week 22)

Monday , January 1, 2024   8:50pm

FELIZ NUEVO AÑO MIS QUERIDOS!!! Espero que este año les trate bien!! 

Hope this last year was a good one though, I know it was great for me!

Welp, again, I'm sure some of yall are wondering how Argentines celebrate New Years, and well...they all eat a lot and get drunk. Not too different from Christmas tbh. Did mean that we tried to get home earlier though. Which was a great decision, there were so many loud people outside last night. We did have some elders come in for divisions last night though, so we had some fun making empanadas and chatting it up. 

But yeah, this year for me will be my 'blackout' where I'll be in Argentina for the entirety of the year. Pretty wild! I'm excited though, I've already loved the few months I've been out here, I can't wait for what might be ahead here! I've also hit five months in the mission now! It's incredible how quickly time passes, it just really puts into perspective how much we need to focus ourselves on the work and use every moment to it's fullest to further the work. 

Aaaaaaand speaking of the work, we had a pretty awesome week!! Had a lot of great lessons with people who who are like ACTUALLY progressing, like reading the LdM, praying, asking really good questions, and we finally have had some friends coming to church! Now we just need to get a few of them on date for baptism and we'll be looking amazing! We're also finding news still, somehow. Every time I think I've seen everything in this city, new people just come out of nowhere. Just really shows you that the work will always go forth. 

We had our Christmas Conference and it was pretty awesome. Got to see a lot of old friends and meet some new people as well. We did a White Elephant style gift exchange (Yankee Swap, Dirty Christmas, what have you) and I received some good chocolates as my gift, which was lovely, I can never have enough sugar. Elder Sykes got a pretty awesome gift, fancy Truco and Yahtzee sets, and for anyone who doesn't know what Truco is, it's an Argentine card game that's based off of luck, skill, and betting, so I'm super in love with it. But yeah, a lot of fun, love all the folks in the mission!

We did have an interesting experience a little bit ago with a guy who was trying to bash with us a little. He stared off asking a few good questions but it slowly turned into him questioning the validity of the Book of Mormon without letting us get in our points. It frustrated Elder Sykes and I a little bit, so once we could, we bore our testimonies, gave him a BoM, and got out of there. We wasted a bit of time there and ended up late to a member lunch, at least they were chill with it. We did drop a very awesome spiritual thought with them about how we can find truth in our lives. Felt almost bad for them, it was like we were letting out our frustrations in that thought lol but we had a great discussion with them nonetheless. 

Well, guess I'll share some TotS!! 

Today's talk is 'If Christ Had My Opportunities...' by Elder Paul K. Sybrowsky. Elder Sybrowsky speaks about how like Christ, we should be focused on finding the one. He mentions how his grandparents were converts, how they were taught by missionaries, and how his own parents taught him to live the gospel and keep his own covenants and how he teaches his own kids and on and on and on. It really struck me once again the effect we have just sharing the gospel with one person, we can basically change the course of an entire family tree. It's incredible. 

Well, getting this one out late tonight! I love you all, hope you have a great new year! Set some great goals, love God, and go forth in faith!!

Elder Montgomery

Oh, where could we be?

On the bus to the Christmas Conference, perhaps?

Catching up with the boys

With Elder Sykes-Chan ^w^

The other elders don't have an air conditioner, so we brought these from Bahía. Hope they enjoy them.

Christmas present from Prezzie

Huh?

Pretty lit clouds

He asked for this

I also asked for this