Miracle fellowshipper and getting excited for the Gilbert Temple

Weekly Email

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MA!!!! I hope you have a great day today. Love you!
So this week was another good one, full of a ton of stuff, really busy. We had interviews with President Nattress this week, which was super awesome. Those happen about very 10 weeks or so. It was great to sit down with him and talk. He is so understanding and caring, you feel like he really loves you when you talk with him. So that was a great experience. We had two really good lessons with T--- and his family and they came to church again and loved it. We had a miracle happen yesterday with them that was amazing. We needed a ride to the lesson, which was in between our two wards, one ends at 11am and the next starts at 2pm. So I stood up in elders quorum right after the lesson to ask if there was anyone available to give us a ride and sit in on the lesson, if they would like to. Brother B volunteered, I had never met him before, he had only seen T--- but was excited to go to the lesson. At the lesson Elder Davis and I just wanted to answer questions they may have had and talk about prayer, just a quick visit. But it turned out that Brother B and his wife, who also came along, were one T---'s next door neighbors, and also in the exact same situation as T--- and A---- are in. Both have been married before, both have kids the same age, both had a ex spouse that is strongly against the church, and Brother B just recently reconverted, about a year ago. It was amazing, they related so well and gave advice and counsel that we could never give. Elder Davis and I hardly spoke at all actually, that's how it should be, haha. It was so cool, we couldn't have found better fellowship if we researched the ward for hours, haha. We also have been teaching S----- and her three children. the youngest, M------ who is about 15, came to church. First time he had ever been to church his whole life, so he was a bit confused, but he really liked it. We really want him to get involved and we think he will be the 'in' for the rest of the family. We have been going by and teaching a ton of less actives, which I love. One that we have been working with is Sister C------- who actually grew up in Brazil until she was a teenager, her parents moved their for work or something. She knows Portuguese, which is really awesome, she has been giving me a lot of pointers. We worked again in Sister S---------'s garden and mowed Sister L-----'s grass, I love to get out of church clothes and get dirty, haha, plus help them out any way we can.

Gilbert Arizona Temple

We are going to be doing this really neat finding idea that President Nattress and the stake presidents came up with. We are going to have the members invite their friends to have the missionaries give a 15 minute presentation about the Gilbert Temple. The mission gave us a DVD which has 4 videos about temples, they are all mormon messages, I think. So we will play one of those, answer questions, ask if they would like to know more, then get out the door. The idea is to have a powerful spiritual experience, then have then wanting for more, plus they will be able to see the temple soon, it opens January 18, 2014. It will be an awesome missionary tool, I kinda hope I'm around for it, haha, that would mean I'm here for 6 months or more though. (It will be a hard adjustment when he leaves for Brazil! His heart is where ever he serves, as it should be.) I hope you guys have had a good week, especially Ma, hope you have a good bday.
Love you guys!!!

love,

Elder Mountain

 

Crazy van that caught his attention :)

 

16 lessons in 1 week!!!!

Weekly email

This week has been awesome!!! We taught the most this week than I ever have before, 16 lessons!! Elder Davis and I have a goal of 21 in a week, or 3 a day, we totally are going to get it this week. T--- and his family are doing amazing. We had three lessons with them this week which is so awesome, they are progressing so quickly. They had us over for dinner one night and they made the best burgers I have ever had in my life. Seriously so good. Made them out of ground beef like Sloan, so tasty. They also gave us some elk jerky and sausage, T--- is a hunter, that is some really good stuff too. They all came to church and they really enjoyed it. They said the church they went to years ago wasn't too friendly but the ward did an awesomeeee job at introducing themselves and making them feel welcomed. It went better than we could have dreamed. We had a quick lesson with them in the evening right after church and he said 'Okay, I want to a member of this church, what do I have to do to be baptized and be sealed to my wife in that temple down the road?". If that isn't golden I don't know what is, haha. (golden means a dream investigator that is so ready for baptism) It is amazing how the Lord prepares people. We are going to extend a date to him on Tuesday, we are thinking about the 9th of November. Man I love them. We met with J---'s parents this morning, he is still good for the 9th for his baptism. His father is catholic and his mother is Buddhist, I believe, so an interesting back ground. But they have expressed that they have seen a positive change in J---'s life since has been coming to church and they fully support him. The meeting this morning was mainly about what is expected of them for the baptism but we really have hopes to start teaching them. One of our ward's (he & his companion cover 2 wards/congregations!) had a fall festival on Saturday and one of the families we have been working with, S----- and her 3 kids were there. They have a lot of friends in the ward and one of them invited them to church, which was so awesome. They weren't able to make it but they also have a ton of potential. We taught them most of the first lesson right there at the fall festival which was interesting, haha but it went well. We are still working with our neighbors. They work a lot but we have been able to catch them home here and there. Our next goal for them is to get them to church. Our wards have given us a ton of less active members to visit, which has been great. We have set up a time with them to go through the lessons as 'practice' for us once a week. We have three or four families now where its set every week. It's great to teach and great for them to feel the spirit. I hope you guys are doing well. I love and miss you. I wish I could've been at the wedding. (his uncle got married this past weekend) Have any pictures of it? Sounds like the Hutchens crew joking around like that, haha I love them. I love you guys!!!

love,

Elder Mountain

Busy with the work in Gilbert, Arizona!!

Weekly email


Man another week gone, time sure is flying. This was a great week, we had a lot of success finding and teaching. We are getting to know our neighbors really well, their names are Cory and Ariel. They have been really open with us and super friendly. We have been going back and forth dropping off cookies at each other's door. It was super funny, they dropped off some cookies with a poem on it saying they probably aren't as good as the Relief Society (womens organization at church) but enjoy, haha. It's funny everyone knows all the Mormon lingo down here. Last night we had a great lesson with them, and introduced another neighbor (Bro Hurvey) who is super great at missionary work. He was awesome, they are all about the same age (25ish), they both just graduated college and just had their first child (they are just a few weeks apart). So they have a ton in common and got along great. It was awesome to see. We shared a simple message about Christ and about hope. Cory and Ariel have gone though some tough experiences but they have an amazing hope for building a strong family. They are awesome. Our investigator Todd is doing awesome. He didn't make it to church because he had to work but he is awesome and absolutely full of questions, which is so nice. Normally we gotta pry the questions and concerns out, haha. Last lesson he said, "man I'd be baptized if i could see these gold plates", our next lesson probably will be about faith, haha. Our investigator Joey was at church, he is doing well, he is good to go for baptism. He is really excited to be baptized. We had some great oym's (open your mouth) this week. One I especially remember was with a Presbyterian minister. At first he was kinda stand offish and wasn't interested but we focused on Christ and the bible, he was interested and almost surprised. He thought we only read the Book of Mormon, I'm pretty sure. It was really cool, we got him to see we are one fellow christian talking to another. I wasn't able to attend Alfonso's baptism unfortunately. The baptism was before church, and we had a meeting with the stake president (leader of multiple congregations) at that time. I'm sure it was great. I am super excited for him. I really hope I can see him again some day. As far as I know, Jose is still good to go for baptism as well, hopefully I can make it to that one. Our lesson with Jordan (the less active we oym'ed on the street) went super well. He says if all goes well he wants to go on a mission, which was so awesome. He is 21 so he for sure has time. We talked about 2 Nephi 4 a lot, which is an amazing chapter about repentance and forgiveness. It's one of my new favorites. We have been doing a ton of service this week. We mowed a lawn, picked a ton of weeds, trimmed a tree, and cleaned out a garage. I really enjoy doing service, get in some regular clothes and work outside. It really builds strong relationships as well. I hope you guys have a super week. Thanks so much for the package Rae, I sure love your notes and letters and the gum! Thanks Ali for the nice picture of me and Solo, I hung that up soon as I got it. Tell the Larues howdy for me. 
Love you guys!!! 

2 Nephi 4:35

"Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, mine rock and mine everlasting God. Amen."

love,

Elder Mountain

Elder Davis, Elder Mountain and a ward member from Mesa, AZ.

Where will you serve?

We sure love and miss this missionary right here!!!

Biking in a new area & loving conference!

Weekly Email

Hey everyone!!! Sorry for the late email be have a bit of a different schedule in the new zone. We had transfers this week, I am now in Mesa, English speaking. My new companion is Elder Davis, he is from Draper Utah and has been out about 10 months. We have a tiny, tiny area, we cover two wards (congregations) which is about the size of 4 or 5 neighborhoods here, haha. It's crazy. So we are on bikes of course but im happy about that, its fun to bike around. 'Real missionaries bike' as they say down here, haha. The area unfortunately is kind of dead. Elder Davis had only been here for 6 weeks so he is still learning the area as well. We have seen some progress already though. We got in with two young couples in our apartment complex who are going to ASU and they seem to have a ton of potential. That was super exciting. We have one investigator on date in November, he is a teenager about 17 years old, we watched conference on Sunday with him and with his member fellowship. He and my companion both actually have mild forms of autism, so they relate to one another perfectly. You would never know it about my companion, but he says it was worse when he was a kid. He really is a great guy. Really different from Elder Macfarlane personality wise but we have gotten along really well already. It was kind of a hectic week overall moving places and getting used to the area but I'm settling in. I am really excited to serve here. I miss the spanish ward a lot, it's really tough leaving an area, but they are in good hands with elder macfarlane and his two new companions. I am really excited I will be able to go to Alfonso's and possibly Jose's baptism. Thanks for all the pictures you guys sent me, I'm gonna have to print a few out. Thanks for taking the truck out, don't be bashful about giving it a wax ;) I have a bunch of Rae's drawings and notes she has sent me on my desk area, they are so nice to see. Looks like Solo is sure growing up, I hope he had a great birthday. Conference was so awesome. All of the sessions, the Saturday evening I think was my favorite. I loved the talk about meekness from Elder Soares, and the one about exclamation points from the member of the seventy with the wavy hair I can't remember his name, haha. They sure talked a lot about missionary work and preserving the family. President Monson's talk about his wife was very powerful also. It's really amazing we have the chance to hear from them, to hear from modern day King Benjamin or Abinadi. I sure love you guys. I have two letters in the mail that should be there any day. My new address is 4776 East Guadalupe Road, apartment #2088, Mesa Arizona 85209. Sounds like the corn maze was sure fun, can't believe you guys did a haunted house, haha.

 Love you!!!
Elder Mountain

 I find it wonderfully amazing that Nate is serving with an autistic companion! He spent months in 11th grade working with a Special Olympics baseball team and one of his closest friends is a player on that team. Nate sees the best in all people but to him those in this life with any type of limit or restriction to their abilities are truly some of the choicest Spirits. As we have recently went to the corn maze, I am reminded of 3 years ago when we went as a family. When exiting the hayride we heard someone calling Nate's name, we then spotted many of the members of the team he helped coach. The joy they had on their faces to see Nate and to watch him interact with them left his father and I in tears. He fully embraces charity, the true love of Christ. I never was quite sure who was happier to see who that night, the group of players or Nate...

New companion, Elder Davis :)



LOVE to see that smile!!

Packing for transfer & excited for conference!

Weekly Email

 

Hey everyone!!! Great to hear from you all. It has been a super great week. Still not sure if I'm going to be transfered or not...waiting for a call from the district leader. Elder Duval, one of the elders in the house, just got a call from the mission President because he is going to be a zone leader. He can't believe it, haha. I'm hoping I stay here, I love the people here and the spanish is clicking a lot more this week for some reason. Alfonso is on date for October 26th, we had a great lesson with him this week. He is really going through a hard time. He is about to loose his house to the bank, but he is solid, he has a lot of courage and faith. He has a bunch of LDS (Latter-day Saint) friends that talk to him at work too so if we aren't able to talk to him because he is working, he still learns. We were really excited about a lady named Carmen and her family. They are super nice and just after two lessons we felt were ready to be put on date. But the thrid lesson that was supposed to be this saturday fell though because they weren't home. That was really rough, but we will see them again soon. We got a new investigator this week named German, we had a really powerful lesson with him. We had a guy who just got home from his mission, from North Carolina spanish speaking about a month ago, with us. He is still in missionary mode so he knew just what to say and where we were going with the lesson, it was great, haha. The ward is doing really good. Yesterday the missionaries taught the combined 3rd hour for the fifth Sunday. Hopefully they understood my Portuguese, haha. The ward had the goal of 100 percent home teaching, so we went out with the Elders Quorum President a lot visiting members who don't have home teachers. We have gotten really close to him and he is one of our go to guys if we need help in the ward. Well some exciting news my companion, Macfarlane just got called from the president, he is going to be training two greenies (new missionaries) and be the district leader for the first Spanish district. Man he is excited but scared to train two at once, haha. That means I'm going English (an English speaking area) for sure, haha and it means I got to pack all my stuff, oh well. I'll find out Wednesday who my new companion will be. I got my hair cut again, I'll send a picture. I like it short.  I hope you guys have a great week,

 I love and miss you guys. I love it out here. I'm super excited for conference next week, can't wait to hear from the Prophet and apostles.

 

Eu sei que Jesus Cristo vive. eu sei que este e o lugar o Senhor quer mim. eu sei que o livro de mormon e o palavra de Deus e como aprendemos mais sobre o evangelho. eu sei que Thomas S Monson e o profeta de Deus. eu amo Cristo, ele e minha luz. 

 

translation:

I  know that Jesus Christ lives. I know this is the place the Lord wants me. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and (with it) we can learn more about the gospel. I know Thomas S Monson is the prophet of God. I love Christ, he is my light.

 

Elder Montanha ( I LOVE how they pronounce Mountain is Spanish!)

 

 

Elder Mountain LOVES San Tan Valley!

 

Certainly not in Georgia anymore!

 

 

 

Lots of teaching, mega lesson & possible transfer coming :(

letter home - written September 19, 2013

Howdy Familia!
I hope you guys are doing well. This week has been awesome. I went on exchanges yesterday with Elder Benson, one of my zone leaders. He is an awesome missionary, I really learned a lot and had a great time with him. We handed out 4 Books of Mormon which was so cool. He really taught me a lot about 'OMYing' (open your mouth) and how to approach people and having a normal conversation and making a smooth transition into a gospel topic. He taught me that it's all about the questions you ask, then you discern what part of the gospel to introduce to them. It was a great learning experience, he is really awesome at it. It also was really neat talking about our background. He grew up in Rexburg, Idaho where it is like 90% LDS. It is really neat, I think we are all born where we are supposed to be. He was telling me about experiences he had that could only happen in a place like that, and it is the same for me. I think basically having mostly nonmember friends growing up has taught me to really see the differences and blessings that the gospel brings families. It was a really interesting conversation. But anyways, we also had a lesson with one of his investigators that was probably the most powerful one I have been in. It was amazing. The investigator is on date (committed to baptize on certain date) and has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. We went into the lesson just to talk about the first half of the restoration up to the First Vision. Not quite a lesson really, just a quick message to feel the Spirit but as we learned more about her Elder Benson knew some of the details but not all of them we ended up teaching a lot more. She has a stressful life, she was abandoned by her parents, ( I think they both are in jail) works two jobs, and goes to school. She is about 20 years old, first year taking college classes. She just needs a lot of help, so we ended up talking about the atonement and how we aren't on our own in this life, the Savior is with us every step of the way. That he knows how we feel exactly so we can turn to him for anything. It was very powerful, a great lesson. I have one more experience that I would like to write about. We had an insane lesson with Jonathan last night. We weren't able to see him for a while, we were afraid he was losing interest. It was just because he has been working a ton. He works for a company that builds pools for neighborhoods or personal back yards. It is really hard work and most of their business is in Glendale or Phoenix so he has to be picked up at 4am and doesn't get home until 8pm. He finally had a free evening last night. He was on date for the 29th but we had all the commandments to teach him so we were thinking of moving it back. First we asked him to bear his testimony of what he does know. He knows that the Book of Mormon is true, he knows Joseph Smith is a prophet and that baptism is what the Lord wants for him. So since we felt he was ready, we explained this is gonna take some work but the 29th could still happen. He was excited that it still was a possibility. So in a 2 hour lesson we taught the law of chastity, the word of wisdom, the ten commandments, tithing, following the prophet and the commandment of baptism in one lesson. I had no idea that it was possible! He took it all great, committed to them all, and is totally gonna be ready on the 29th. I'm so excited for him. His faith is incredible. I can't believe transfers are a week away. I'm probably headed to an English speaking area, which will be tough to leave all of these investigators and members I have grown to love. Hope you guys have a great week! Talk to ya on Monday. Love ya!
Love,
Elder Mountain

Weekly email - September 23, 2013

Hey family great to hear from you guys!!! Thanks for that video of Solo, Ali, that was really cool to see, I'm sure he is having a blast. Glad Albert got his letter too, miss that guy. I sent a letter on Saturday, maybe today or tomorrow it will come. This week has been a great one, a lot of work. I can't believe we are already starting the last week of the transfer already. It'll be tough to leave the area if I get moved out, which I probably will from the sounds of it. But anyways, it was a great week. Alfonso came to church and brought his son, his two step sons, and his mother in law and they were really interested! We had to move his date back because he works a ton and Sunday is his only day off, but he still is committed to be baptized. He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. It was an interesting week with Jonathan. He also works a lot, and we hadn't had a lesson in 4 or 5 days and his date was apporaching so we asked him is this something you want to work towards? He bore a really powerful testimony and said he will do what it takes. So, then we taught all of the commandments in a cazy two hour power lesson. We taught everything from law of chastity to tithing to keeping the sabath day holy to the word of wisdom. It was quite the lesson. We taught all that so he could still be baptized on the 29th, but he had to work on sunday so it is going to be moved back a week as well. But he his solid, a strong testimony. just getting him to church is the hard part at this point. He really wants to go, he just doesn't want to loose his job by asking for days off. We also had a great week with Jose. He also is pretty much good to go we are just working through giving up alcohol. This week we learned at church on Sunday he made it a whole week without any at all! that was so awesome to hear. We are going to put him on date next lesson for sure. We haven't taught the family yet, the friends that are members are going to set up a FHE and we will come and teach. That should be this week. We got three more new investigators. One lady who has a ton of mormon friends in the ward and is curious, her name is Liz. We have an appointment with her this week. Another lady named Carmen who was a referal from some English  speaking elders who gave her a Book of Mormon. It took forever to catch her home but we had a great lesson with her last week and have a return appointment tonight. The other one is a guy who moved to Queen Creek from Mesa who has a wife who is a member and he has been taking the lessons and is on date for December. We have a lot of people to teach for sure! It's great to see the progress, see what the gospel can do in people's lives. I gotta tell you guys about a sandwich I make all the time that I think you guys would like, its so good. Make an avacado sandwich but add pepperjack cheese and bacon and a bunch of turkey sandwich meat. Then put it on a George Forman to melt the cheese and toast it. It's soooo good. That with some grits are pretty tasty. The people here feed us really, really well. They are so nice too, some of the friendliest people I have ever met, even just people on the street will talk to us and tell us "we are men of God" and leave us with a funny laugh or joke. They are just really friendly. Oh I forgot, two sisters from Brazil have started coming to our ward because they can understand Spanish better than English so I was able to talk some Portuguese with them, which was really cool. Kinda hard though. I hadn't heard Portuguese in a while, I was a bit rusty, haha. It has been really nice weather wise here. It's still like 89 degrees but because its so dry it feels much cooler. Summer will be in full swing once I get to Brazil so I'll enjoy it while I can, haha. If you guys want a laugh, read a chapter or two in your thick southern accent and replace 'ye' with 'ya'll'. My roomies got a kick out of that, haha. Have a super week!!! Eu muito amo voces, tem otimo semana!

 

Amo,

Elder Mountain
 

                                                  Nice pic of the Arizona night sky!

Service & loving the people of San Tan Valley

Weekly Email and letter in the mail (which I LOVE!)

 

Its has been another awesome week!! Thanks for the package you guys sent, that was a great surprise. I also got a letter from the Lunt family which was super nice of them. (Thanks Lunt family!) I mailed you guys a letter Saturday, mailed another one to give to Albert, and mailed one to the Lunts. I did a lot of writing, haha. This week we did a lot of teaching which was awesome. Our investigators are progressing great, they are just so darn busy its hard to meet with them as much as we would like. Johnathan couldn't make it to church because he was at a family reunion type thing in Mesa, but we hope to have him at a FHE (Family Home Evening- a night with family & a gospel centered lesson & activity) at one of the ward missionaries homes tonight. We got a whole new family this week to teach which is so exciting. They were referred from some English speaking members, we met them at a ward social and gave them a tour of the chapel and we are also having a FHE with their member friends and them. They have a ton of potential, I am super excited for them. They have a two boys who are 11 and 13 who have a ton of school friends at church so they really want to go, which is super. Alfonso is doing good, he just is super busy. He is a cook at Chipotle and because he was out of town last week he is working a double shift, like I used to at Sonic, everyday this week exept for Tuesday so we gotta see him then. I went on exhanges again this week, this time with Elder Olkjer (j is silent) who is from Alaska. I talked about it a lot in my letter but we basically did service all day for three different people, then had some lessons in the evening. It was a super day. We painted a few walls of a house, cleaned up a yard, and assembled a massive desk for two investigators and one less active. One of our investigators is on a vacation in Mexico, hopefully she returns soon, she really progressed last week. It seems if we can meet with people the work flies but people's schedules are so jammed packed. One of the pictures I'll send is of me and Elder Macfarlane and two guys our age who are recent converts of about a month. (he didn't send it, maybe next week) They are part of a huge family and extended family of about 20 who all have slowly joined the church one after another the past few months. We didnt teach them, the sisters did, but they have been going on splits with us a lot and have become great friends. they both really want to go on a mission as well, which is really cool. I heard Elder Evans got his VISA this week, I am so happy for him and wish him the best. (not sure if he has left for Brazil yet) I really hope that I can see him down there. I really have been amazed by how nice the ward members are here, they are such great people. There is an older guy named Brother Meija who loves the missionaries, I have gotten to know him. He always runs up to us and gives us a hug and ask how the work is going whenever he sees us. And there is another older guy who I told Pa reminds me of G'pa Bob a lot, who calls me 'Montanita' whenever he sees me which means 'little mountain' which cracks me up. They are all just great people, I really love them. Well have a super week you guys!!! Rae-Rae thanks soooo much for the drawings and pictures. I have them hanging up everywhere. They are great!!! (he must really like them because he uses his explanation marks VERY sparingly!) Tell the LaRues I said hey. love and miss ya!

 

Com amor, (with love)

Elder Montanha

 

**Letter to follow pictures**

 

                    First vision picture that Rae drew for Nate. He hung it above

a door... that's funny to me. Real funny! :)

    They learned how to cover their study guides with some cool

photos and contact paper. Pretty crafty for Elder Mountain!

                                                    I'm sure he was all smiles to see 2 of his

 MTC buddies at Zone Conference.

 

 

Hey guys, just got your package in the mail last night, that was an awesome surprise! Thanks so much for all that you sent. Rae, you sure must have worked hard making all the pictures and the swan and your little envelope. (she has been doing some origami) I love them! I have all the stuff hanging up in my room. My companion and the other missionaries that live with us really like the Joseph Smith's first vision you drew, it is so good! It is hanging right above the door so everyone sees it. It has been a really good week so far. I went on exchanges again on Wednesday, which was neat. We did a ton of service, 3 different members we helped out. We helped one lady paint 2 rooms in a house that she is flipping, helped one guy, who is going through some extremely tough trials right now, clean up his garage and yard and then we helped a super nice older guy put together a massive desk. It was great to serve and help some people out (and speak some English, haha). There was a baptism last night in our ward. It was a mother  and son that the sisters in our ward have taught. It was a great service. I have never been to a baptism with so many people there. There was more in attendance than there is on a normal sacrament meeting (Sunday service with the entire congregation). It was awesome. We had one of our investigators there, he really enjoyed it, especially the support the ward gave. We really wanted one other investigator there, Johnathan, but he had to work. Johnathan is progressing so fast, it is amazing. He bore his testimony to us earlier in the week that he knows the Book of Mormon is true and that God wants him to be baptized. It was so powerful. The 28th is for sure gonna happen, I'm so excited! Thanks again for the package and the goodies and the letter! Oh, and for the tie! Keep sending ties! I have been getting a lot of new ones lately from other missionaries and we found a ton in one of the closets in our house. I love you guys! Have a great week! Talk to ya Monday! Time is flying by, I can't believe it's already almost week 5! (since leaving the MTC)

 

Love,

Elder Montanha