"I have never had the scriptures speak to me like they do now." <3

Letter in the mail - arrived Sept.6, 2013

Hey family,

I hope everyone is doing well! Finally have some free time after church today to write you guys. It's been a great week. Great progress with our investigators. We had two of them at church and got one of them to commit to be baptized on the 28th, so that's super exciting. We have a total of 6 progressing investigators, we definitely hope to get them all there next Sunday. Let's see what else has happened.... there was what the people call a "monsoon" a couple of days ago. It basically was a heavy rain storm that lasted 30 minutes or so , no big deal in Georgia, but here in the desert the water has no where to go because the ground is so hard. It was a mini-flood. We had a good looking mesquite tree in front of our house that split because of the wind, so we had to get it removed. I'm starting to get to know everyone in the ward, they are all so nice and feed us some amazing food, haha. We try to go out with members as much as we can, especially with the priest who are perspective Elders.  We try our best to have a member present at all of the lessons, it's really effective to have a member bear their testimony so the investigators can see that real life people know that it is true, not just the missionaries. Thanks so much for the package by the way! That was a nice surprise. I love the tie and the sunflower seeds are sure tasty. Thanks so much for the notes and pictures also, they sure made me smile. Solo sure has good handwriting, looks like he is learning a lot. Tell him I love him (angry face - inside joke) and to keep being a good boy. Ali and Rae, take him fishing, haha. I sure miss messing around with you guys. You know I said that we have an investigator on date? I really have enjoyed teaching him. The moment when we asked him to be baptized was really powerful. I felt like jumping for joy when he said yes, haha. I really love that guy. We have taught a ton of lessons this week, if we get the ball rolling with baptisms it could be something special. I really like Elder Macfarlane, he is a great trainer. He really pushes me to do my best, and is patient with my lack of Spanish. I really like the other two elders in our home (Duval and Fa'amuli) We all get along great and laugh a lot. This is Elder Fa'amuli's 2nd transfer so he is a newbie as well. Both Elder Macfarlane and Duval have been out 9 months. I really have enjoyed having 2 to 3 whole hours to study the scriptures each day. I have never had the scriptures speak to me like they do now. I don't want to put them down, haha. I love them. We do these things called "OYM's" Open Your Mouth. We individually have to get 10 a day. They are simply talking to someone you don't know, have a conversation, and invite them to do something (accept a Book of Mormon, come to church, etc). Those were sure tough at first. First you have to talk, then weave in the gospel in there somehow and make it apply personally to them. They are hard! But I'm starting to get the hang of it. We don't tract, but OYM's have been toughest so far but I have learned to talk to them like a regular person, just like a friend, it is not so bad. I hope you guys have a great Sunday! I love and miss you. Sorry we don't have much email time. I will write you guys at least one letter a week so I don't forget anything.

Eu amo voces! Eu espero que vao ter otimo dia. Jesus e minha luz.
Translation: I love you guys! I hope that you have a great day. Jesus is my light.


Love,
Elder Montanha (think this is how Mountain is pronounced in Spanish)

1st Baptism commitment, looking forward to next week & sunrise hike :)

I hope everyone is doing good!! It has been a crazy, eventful week. Thanks for all of your emails, its great to hear from you guys. I sent a letter yesterday with some stuff I forgot last email, it should be there soon. The work is going amazing. Elder Macfarlane and I extended our first baptismal commitment together to one of our investigators. It was really powerful. He has a date set to be baptized on September 28th. Elder Macfarlane is from Orem, Utah. He is great guy, a great trainer, he really pushes me to do my best. The spanish is going okay, I am understanding more and more, but I mostly speak portuguese to the investigators and if they dont understand fully Elder Macfarlane will translate. Since I have been speaking portuguese so much it really has been improving, which is so awesome. I was scared that I would loose a lot of it being in the states. This morning our district woke up at 4am and all met and climbed about a 1.5 mile trail to the top of a mountain and saw the sunrise. That was really early, but really cool. I'll send some pictures of it. We had a pretty cool teaching experience with a potential investigator last night. It was my first time meeting with her and only the second for Elder Macfarlane and it had been 2 weeks since the last visit, so we weren't exactly sure what to expect. In the beginning of the lesson, she basically dropped us and said she wasn't interested and didn't see why the Book of Mormon is necessary but would just listen to this lesson. So it was a rough start but the lesson turned out to be really good. Out of no where I had an idea to explain the Book of Mormon and a certain verse we were reading by comparing it to cooking food and a recipe. You can't make something delicious without following the directions. The Book of Mormon and the verse we read in Moroni  chapter 10, where there are instructions to growing closer to Heavenly Father. After that something clicked in her, her whole countenance changed and she committed to read and pray about it everyday. It was a really cool experience. I had never thought of that before, it was really neat. It has been really awesome to get to know the ward, they are all super nice and feed us some gooood mexican food, haha. It's Cabos every night, haha. (Cabos is his favorite Mexican restaurant near us) They aren't near as many members in the latin community but it's starting to really grow. Elder Neil L Anderson (One of the 12 Apostles) is coming to speak to the mission next week, we also get to go to the Mesa temple, so that is going to be an amazing week. I can't wait to meet and shake his hand. It has been nice seeing Elder Papworth often, I also got to see Elder Neu and McStraw at Zone conference, which was cool. They are all doing really well. I'll write a letter to you guys in the middle of the week from now on so I dont forget anything. Thanks so much for the package, that was a great surprise. I especially liked all the letters and pictures. They were sure nice. Really like the tie too. Tell all the girls and Solo hey and I love them. Take some pictures of Solo at a baseball game sometime. I miss that boy. I hope everyone has a great week!!

 

Eu sei que a igreja é verdadeira. Gosto de servir a Jesus Cristo. Eu amo Jesus Cristo, ele é meu tudo e minha luz. Adoro as escrituras, especialmente o Livro de Mórmon. Eu amo vocês!

Translation:

I know the church is true. I love to serve Jesus Christ. I love Jesus Christ, he is my all and my light. I love the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I love you guys!!

Elder Mountain 

 

 

Sunrise hike.

 

Elder Mountain & Elder MacFarlane on morning hike.

 

House that he lives in.

                                                        Nate with goodies from his Aunt Kathi :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Called to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro Mission to speak Portuguese, reassigned to Gilbert, AZ and speaking WHAT?!?!?!?

 

Hey everyone!!!

 

Man this week has been one of the most action packed of my entire life. There is some huge news that happened but you gotta keep reading, haha. So my very first day in the field was spent at an orientation type thing at a Stake Center (a larger church building) with all of the newbie to the mission that arrived that week. All of the members of the mission presidency spoke to us about of a lot of stuff. I really like the mission president, he is very easy to talk to, reminds me of Bishop Haycock a lot. So we spent the day at the building, getting trained, and members fed us. They feed us very, very well here, haha, its nice. This is for sure a weight gaining mission, if you dont watch yourself, haha. That night we spent the night at a members home with a companion we had for a day. I was at a bishops house, really nice family. I crashed at 7 oclock though, haha. I was dead tired. The next day was transfer day, which was super exciting because we would get our new companions and find out what areas we had ( more like what 2 neighborhoods we would cover, haha) (there are LOTS of church members in Gilbert). It was cool how they announced it. Everyone was in the chapel with the trainers on one side and us greenies on the other. Then the mission president announced one at a time the trainer, then the newbie who would be companions. It was super exciting. So my companion's name is Elder Macfarlane, a really great guy. Kind of quiet like myself, but we laugh a lot together already. In my first few moments with him I learned some news that would rock my world, haha. He told me that one, we had a car, and that there is only one reason we would have a car in such a small mission....we were the spanish elders!!!! holyyy cowwwww!!!! spanish????? I dont speak spanish!!! I hardly speak Portuguese!!! Well that just blew my mind. For the whole mission there are only 3 companionships that speak spanish, and I was one of them haha. So...after that we go to our home. We live in a home, not an appartment with another companionship. Its really nice actually. So I unpacked a little, got to know Elder Macfarlane some more, and then we headed out. We headed to one of the investigators he had an appointment with, really nice guy. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and about praying about its truthfulness (keep in mind this is in Spanish, haha). My companion did the teaching for the most part, then I bore my testimony in Portuguese. He understood most of it, which was really neat. The past week I have found out that I can sorta kinda understand Spanish. I can get the basic point of what they are trying to say and it's the same when I speak Portuguese to them, its really neat. I have also learned some basic Spanish, of course like how to greet people and stuff like that. My portuguese has really accelerated though. I thought I would loose a lot of it in the field here but turns out I have been using it non stop. The past few days have been filled with amazinggggg experiences. We went out with a recent convert of 2 weeks who is about 16. He bore his testimony and it was so powerful. We also taught a potential investigator who understood my Portuguese perfectly about the Book of Mormon and how to pray. That was so powerful too, especially when she prayed for the first time. The spirit was intense. Elder Macfarlane and I have had some amazing personal and companion studies, which are such a great way to start the day. I have learned so much with him, he is a great trainer. The scriptures have also never meant so much to me before, I can't read enough of them. We have had some great lessons. There is an area here called little Mexico, I have never met such humble poor people, they will listen to anything you have to say. It is amazing to experience the love I have for the people, like you hear others talk about. Its just a glimpse of how the Savior feels. One the other Elders in the house, Elder Duval actually knows the people that made Nacho Libre and Napoleon, he is my hero, hahaha. So we crack up nonstop about those movies, he is a hilarious guy. Elder Papworth (an Elder from his zone in the MTC) is in my zone here which is cool, I see him 2 times a week about. I really love the members here. There have been a couple I especially have connected with, that 16 year old covert, and a less active who we visited and me and him really hit it off talking about fishing and hiking and other stuff. Then we talked about the gospel, you've got to be people's friends, if you want what you say to stick. It has been an amazing week, I cant believe I'm actually in the field. I love you guys I hope all is going well back in Georgia. Wish me luck with Spanish, haha, I'm going to need it.

 

Love

Elder Mountain


 A picture of Elder Mountains and Elder Macfarlanes study guides, 1 in Spanish and 1 in Portuguese!

                                                     A view of the living room.

 

Tender mercies for Mommy

Last night, Nate's 2nd night in Gilbert, Arizona, but first night in the field, I received the following text message :)

"Hello Sis. Mountain! I'm Laura Runyan. A member in your son's area. Today his first day out and he has a great spirit about him!!! He's very faithful :)"

                                                    
                                               Elder Mountain in a members home in Gilbert, Arizona.

As a mother, this was an answer to many prayers. I so wanted to see his face. Know he was happy. Some type of reassurance. With him being our first chick to leave the nest there have been some difficult moments yet never a doubt that he is on the Lord's errand. I am grateful to a fellow sister in Arizona that felt prompted to send this concerned Mother a text message that would still my heart and fill my soul with peace. I love you Sister Runyan. I know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers.

He arrived in Gilbert, Arizona!!!

We were so very happy to wake up to the following email and picture this morning! All is well.

 

 

We are so happy to have your sons in our home tonight.  Tomorrow morning we take them back to the church where they will receive their permanent companions and first area.  Let us know if you have a message we can deliver them at breakfast.

 

Thanks for sending your sons.  We will love them!!

 

Norm and Sue Watkins

Gilbert, AZ

 

 

 

Apostle, Gilbert Mission & got to host

Last Email from MTC - August 17, 2013

 

 

How is everyone?? Been an exciting week for sure. Forgot to tell you guys that Richard G. Scott spoke to the MTC at the Tuesday night devotional. It was so cool for hear from an apostle. He spoke about the importance of prayer and what a great gift it is that that our Heavenly Father wants us to talk with Him. I really enjoyed it. I like the way he spoke, different from the fiery way Holland or Bednar speak, he spoke very calmly and softly and simply. The spirit was so strong. I am sooooo excited for my my reassignment. Apparently some mission presidents won't put visa waiters with a trainer, they put them with another visa waiter from the MTC. So I could be companions with Siebers or Neu or Papworth, that would be so exciting. I doubt it will happen but it would be cool. Besides hearing from Richard G. Scott and getting the reassignment not too much happened this week. We have been teaching one another lessons in portuguese and english. It is actually hard to teach in english. Because I know so little vocab in portuguese it forces me to speak very simply. But teaching simply is teaching powerfully and with the spirit. When teaching in english its hard to keep it concise and simple. It'll be something I'll have to learn. Did you guys see a map of my mission? It's soooo small. I didnt know missions could be that small. It looks like the size of Buford and Flowery Branch. Gonna start packing today, not too worried about it though, I didnt take out anything I didn't need. Going to really miss the district when we leave. I've grown very close to them. They are great friends. I feel like I've known them for forever. Been talking a lot with the teachers about what Brazil and Rio is exactly like. Rio has a accent kinda like Portugal, so that will be tough at first to get used to. they talk quickly and slur words together and fill spaces between words with the shhh sound, haha. Sounds interesting. They talk very rhythmically like a song too. Learned today that we will be teaching during carnival, we just have to find the right places to find people. I thought we would be on total lock down, haha. My teacher told us its a great time to teach, everyone is so happy. I'll send some pictures later, dont have my camera on me. I'll send a pic of me and my two teachers. I'll call ya Monday morning, bought a calling card yesterday. Oh, I forgot I was able to host on Wednesday (pick up newbies from the curb). The whole district did, it was alot of fun. Kinda of funny how wide eyed and scared they were and to think that was me just 6 weeks ago. Glad I got the opportunity. 

Eu sei que esta igreja e verdadero. Eu sei que Jose Smith fui um profeta da Deus e Ele trazui Livro de Mormon. Eu sei que Livro de Mormon e palavra de Deus e esta testifa de Jesus Cristo e nosso Salvador. Eu amo esta o evangelho. Quando nos oramos, ei sei que Deus sempre resposta nos. sempre sempre sempre resposta!!

Love you guys!!!

Eu amo minha familia!!!

Elder Mountain

 

 

                                               Elder Mountain with his MTC teachers.

 

Reassignment!!!! :):)

Stream of emails from MTC -  August 15, 2013

1st -Just got my reassignment 5 minutes ago.....Gilbert, Arizona mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! soooo excited!!!!

2nd - I fly out Monday, 6 in the morning. Apparently Gilbert is a brand new mission which is way cool. Man, I am so excited!!!!


3rd - Gilbert is by Phoenix I think. Its gonna be hotttttt, haha. Man, I'm so excited. It's gonna be great. 4 of the elders of the district are going there. Man it's crazy here, everyone is so excited. The other missions in the district were Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Washington, and South Dakota.

4th - Love you guys!!!! I'll call you guys earlyyyy Monday morning. I will be having pday on Saturday so I will email then.

Love,
Elder Mountain