Elder Montague's Mission

April 29th, 2019 33 days remaining Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net Much has happened, much has been similar to a lot of other times.  I have been focusing on patience lately, and it seems the Lord is trying to jam-pack in as many intensely trying experiences as he can. There is much to complain about, but I am doing my best " to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious." (PMG, chap 6). One guy we have met with stopped coming to church because they kept the curtains closed during sacrament. That's one of the funnier reasons I've come across.  This work is exhausting, but I am glad to burn through until the end. President Ballard is coming the week before I leave.  I am having fun and great experiences with my companion.  Pictures have more words than I have energy to write! Elder Montague เอ็ลเดอร์ มอนทากิว Thailand Bangkok Mission Just a wal...

May 6th, 2019 26 days remaining Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net what a week this has been First off, we had zone conference. President came up  a little bit early and he  loves  going and teaching with us. He was a little more specific in who he wanted to visit this time, but it can sometimes be a little difficult to plan With Pres Hammond when President Hammond comes, because the schedule always gets wonky. There are always surprise meetings and phone calls and he takes a hot second when meeting with people. But he truly is a great example in teaching and it is a privilege to learn so close to him. Zone conference was pretty good. Last transfer's was a downpour of doctrine, this time was a more typical instructional set of trainings. Included is a list of gathered quotes. I was entertained. I gave my testimony, it being my final zone conference. :( sad as realizing my time here is coming to an end. We had a ...

April 22nd, 2019 40 days remaining Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net Soooooo, I didn't send an email last week. That is because it was.... SONGKRAN! I do not remember how much I wrote about it the week before, but it is the Thai new year, celebrated as a water festival. We were able to go out and play on both Saturday and Monday, but Saturday also held General Conference in Thai (I have since finished it in English, and it is amazing!) and Monday included talking to family (which took precedence to weekly email). We took to the streets and just walked down a few streets that were heavily concentrated. There were people in front of their houses and stores with buckets of (ice) water for splashing and refills, people driving by slowly in truck beds with a similar set up but more mobile, and people walking up and down like us. There was so much music, so much water, and so much baby powder (they put it on your face). Incredible second Songkra...

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...