Elder Montague's Mission

March 25th, 2019 68 days remaining Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net There once was a tale of a tragic mess. Of an elder who gave his all, but always seemed to be less. He tried and failed (the latter more often), But no matter what the trials never seemed to soften.  He would be happy then sad, each day who knew Until he learned a principle anew HE WAS THE BETTEREST OF THEM ALL  How the flagnard have y'all been? As the poem shows (dramatically), my mission has been a roller coaster of being happy and proud of my spiritual experiences that happen and other great things tempered with many days of doubt and low self-esteem. In a society where perfectionism and competition run rampant, it is hard when you don't measure up. Being on a mission doesn't make one immune- language, finding, teaching, leadership, singing, and so many other things demand the best. But what are we measuring against? The best of others? That is WRONG.  ...

March 18th, 2019 75 days remaining Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net We have been finding and teaching FAMILIES. Families are literally the best because they can be together forever. They progress together in the Gospel, helping each other along (see the new Come, Follow Me program and associated materials), they keep each other in appropriate behavior during lessons, and they are so cute. Missionaries leave their families for 1.5-2 years so others can be with theirs for eternity. It feels right to teach them as units.  The members took good care of me for my 21st birthday! I totaled 5 cakes and 2 birthday meals. I also got to serve a lot on that Tuesday!  Relief Society celebrated a birthday this past week! Why do I know? Because the Relief Society President came up to me 5 minutes before sacrament started on Sunday and asked to change literally all the songs from the ones I had practiced. Through a small miracle, I happened to hav...

March 11th, 2019 1 year, 9 months Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net The big highlight of the week was district conference! All of the neighboring units from around came together to receive instruction, be edified, and have a party! I was able to see some awesome members and a few returned missionaries! It was a blast. Myself and another elder translated the talks.  The missionaries performed an original hymn/hymn arrangement, composed by Sister Harris in my district. I translated the lyrics from Thai (script) to Romanized Thai, so that the Hammonds, who were participating, could sing along. President Hammond and his youngest child can both read Thai. His wife and two daughters can't, so I essentially translated the sounds into English so they could read it. That took some focus for me as I hadn't done something like that before.    One of the speakers spoke of the fearless independence of Ruth and Esther. Both of thes...

February 25th, 2019 1 year, 9 months Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net I hit my 100 day mark (days before I return home) this past week. Tragic.  I interviewed the girlfriend of this old white guy member for baptism. It was a great experience of sharing testimony and teaching gospel truths except for 2 moments. Her boyfriend interrupted our interview to let me know I was taking too long and that I should ONLY be asking the questions and not teaching or talking about anything else. Afterwards, in letting him know why she was needing to postpone the baptism, he repeated everything he said before with the source that "he knows how these things go. He has done this before."   It took every ounce of patience I had to respond politely and not explain how inappropriate he was being.  We had a stimulating zone conference focusing primarily on working with the members! I had the fun privilege of translating the entire meeting in...

February 18th, 2019 1 year, 8 months Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net What a week. I can talk to my family in video chat now, which I support. That means these weeks are probably gonna get way smaller.  So last week we went to sister fish's house. There we met with her children named (translated), oldest to youngest: Urim, Thummim, Scripture, and Pearl (of great price). It was amazing. They aren't all the most active 555 but I love how she is trying to help her children find their own testimonies.  I have felt so much charity for the Thai people this week. This has been especially helpful for a few of our challenging encounters and lessons.  It's an amazing time to be alive and an amazing to to be a patriot. We are TBM. Also, being productive and efficient is amazing. Try it out.  We had a super fire day on like on our two days with finding so many prepared people. It was a moment standing in the blast of the fire. Valenti...

February 11th, 2019 1 year, 8 months Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net This week has been a blur. I feel like I never have enough time in my life anymore.  Like everything has opened or is about to open school wise so I've been stressed trying to figure that stuff out but also still be a missionary. I look forward to the day that should hopefully be in a month where I've registered and have gotten everything signed up and I don't have to have BYU lurking as a monster in the back of my mind.  Other than that, life has been swell! We've started teaching a second English class on Saturdays so we have double the service and fun! It is mostly a different crew that is coming, but I've been reusing old lesson plans so I plan a lot less.  Trying to find someone new to teach everyday is hard, especially as return appointments start to stack up. We aren't successful everyday, but we are being clearly blessed for our efforts. I am meeting...