I'M ALIVE!!!!!! - May 26, 2015

HI!!!!!!

I promise I didn't die. We just switched our P-day so that we could do shopping and stuff. Apparently in Germany, May 25th is a holiday called Fingsten, so everything is closed. No idea what Fingsten means, just that everything was closed yesterday.

So, yeah, This week has been an adventure, what with getting Sister Bates packed, tschüß termin (good-bye appointments) drivers licenses, and then traveling to Dortmund, going on a drit split (tri-panionship split), having companions get lost, strikes, and then adjusting to having a new companion. It's been great. I think it's safe to say that this has been one of my most adventurous weeks yet.

Yeah, so, Monday and Tuesday were packed full of Tschüß termin (ß=ss). That was fun, and I was glad that I didn't have to say goodbye to people. Wednesday, we had nothing scheduled in, so we went early to the DMV to see if we could straighten out Sister Bates driver’s license fiasco. Turns out our postman just needs glasses. He didn't see her name on the mailbox, so he sent the license back to the DMV. She got it right there. MY fiasco was also easily fixed. The lady who helped us this time was a lot more accommodating, and didn't say I have to take the German driving test. She just looked up some stuff, and asked when I got my license, then gave me a receipt, and we went and paid for it. We'll see if our postman still needs glasses in a couple weeks.

Thursday was a long day. Sister Bates and I got up early (5:30) so that we could get to Dortmund on time for Sister Bates to catch her train down with the others being transferred. It was quite the adventure moving her luggage so early in the morning. One of the handles ha d literally broken off, and the other 2 were not coming up, so we used string and lanyards to attach them all together, which made it easier, but was still fun because they were not swivel suitcases. We had to get down 4 (short) flights of stairs in the apartment building, down the massive hill we live on, back up the hill to the tram station, up the stairs at Bahnhof (the trainstation), onto a train, off the train, and then Elders came and helped us move them from one platform to the other. it was really tiring.

After those of us who WEREN'T going down to Frankfurt for Transfers sent our companions off, I went on a drit split, with Sister Davis (Uathan, serving in Herne, in her 4th transfer) and Sister Merkle (a Swiss in her 3rd transfer serving in Dortmund). we went back to the Dortmund sisters apartment and did studies, and talked about our companions that we just sent off, and had fun telling stories about family and stuff. it was fun. It was weird being the "Senior companion," because I was the "oldest" on the mission ('m in my 6th transfer now), but being the youngest, age wise. it was just an odd situation. But it was fun. After lunch we did some LA go-bys, and some dooring (I got to teach both Sister Davis and Merkle how to door. Never though I'd be the experianced on in these situations. I've always been the one learning, or my companion and I have been learning together. Yeah, it was just weird. Anyway, we found the ODrtmund 2 new potentials dooring and doing some unter wegs (en route) contacting. After that, we went home for dinner, and then headed to Bahnhof to wait for our new companions to arrive. We ended up waiting at Bahnhof for about 3 and half hours. It wasn't their fault. There was a strike, so every plan the Tech Elders made was basically squashed. It was an entertaining couple of hours, not knowing which gleis (track) they were coming in on, whether it was bus, or train, or what time they were going to get there. The Mülhaim Elders were nice enough to wait and watch with us. Mülheim is in my district, just FYI. They finally arrived at Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (main station) at about 7:30 pm, and we all went our ways to get our new companions at least started settling into their new area. 

Friday was Weekly planning, and getting Sister Eden settled in. we talked a lot about missions, and life, and plans she has for the future. Weekly planning was good because we got to talk about our expectations for what we want to learn dooring this transfer, and some of the goals we want to set as a companionship and everything. It was nice to get to know her better. 

Sister Eden is in her last transfer, so she will be ghosting here in Essen. Meaning, I only get her for one. Sad day. She is from Ogden, Utah, will be studying Nursing when she goes home, and is really excited to see her family again, which consisted of her, her parents, 2 younger sisters, and 2 dogs. Sister Eden is a really nice, quiet, silly, fun loving girl, who loves Disney music, has a beautiful singing voice, and can play the piano like a professional.  I'm excited for the new adventures this new transfer will bring :)

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, were typical missionary days, filled with Termin and studies. For my personal studies this week, I've been studying the enabling power of the Atonement in third Nephi. it's really cool to look at some of the choices the leaders make and to try to see how they were inspired of God. Zum Beispiel (for example) in chapter 3, Lachoneous receives an epistle from the Gadianton robbers saying "Give us everything you have, or we'll kill you." What does Lachoneous do? He tells the people what's going to happen, then says "Go pray for strength and encouragement that we'll be safe when they come." Then they proceed to gather everything they have to the land between Bountiful and Zarahemla, fortifying the cities, and preparing in every way they can. What happens next? I challenge you to read the next couple chapters, and you'll find out.

Lots of love from Germany,

-Sister Montgomery

That foot is so grounded - May 18, 2015

HALLO EVERYONE!!!!

My last funny subject line from the oh, so quotable Sister Bates.

So, this week has been adventure. "And, Honestly, I don't remember most of It." almost seriously. This week is probably not going to be as good of a letter because we're a little low on time due to Tschüß Termin (good-bye appointments).

So, this week we had many adventures with Sister Montgomery suffering from allergies (just minor hay fever), and a broken foot. I have been barely able to walk for the last five days without pain. It’s a party. Thursday (day one with broken foot) we were finishing some LA go-byes and headed home, with me limping heavily, and the ever-clever Sister Bates growls "That foot is SO grounded!" she obviously doesn't like to see me in pain. I'll admit, I was milking it a bit (just with the drama). It really does hurt, especially when I walk fast, which is most of the time.

So, as has been hinted, we had transfer calls, and Sister Bates is finally leaving her "birth/Golden area (.i.e. her first area), and is headed to Saarbrücken (sahr-BRUCK-en), after serving here for 9 months, and I get to do another take-over. I strongly dislike take-overs because I always feel so lost and confused, and can't check to make sure I know where I'm going, because there is NO ONE there who knows!!!  Anyway, my new companion will be Sister Eden (yes, like the garden) and she is one of the former companions of my former companion, Sister Ferris. I'm excited to learn about Sister Eden from herself. I've heard some things, and met her (sort of). She was in my last zone my first transfer there. It’s going to be an adventure. I'm excited :)

Also, they gutted our district. Not even kidding. They took all of the senior companions in all 4 companionships and moved them to the far corners of the zone. The might as well have white washed the district!

So, yeah. Those are the highlights of the week. It’s been great to serve with Sister Bates. I'm going to miss her and the other three Elders that are being transferred as well. it was quite the adventure with those kids. You’ll get lots of stores when I get home :)

Another Highlight is that we found out that Dallas Bates (Sister Bates little brother who should be Ammons new best friend) got his mission call to Ukraine, the part where the evacuated all the missionaries. He will probably be one of the first groups to go back in, and so we're both a little worried. Sister Bates a LOT more than I am. 

iPads. Here's the deal. We WILL be getting iPads, but only for the duration of our mission. They will be loaned to us, from the mission, and returned to the mission after we finish. 

Study materials will be provided on the iPads, including the Gospel Library in both English and German, We will have 2 email accounts: this one, which we will continue to use for familial and friendly correspondences. Because we will have Internet access, we will be able to see emails during the week, but will not be able to reply until p-day. And we will also have a Mormon.org email account attached to the area, which we will use for investigator correspondences, but it will not be functional until we get specific apps, which we can't get yet because of certain privacy laws. We’ll see how things work out.

Sorry this is such a short bad email this week. I can't remember a lot of what happened. I'll see if I can get you LOTS more info next week. I love you, and pray for you often

So, that's the update. Love ya!

Bis nächstes mal!

-Sister Montgomery

I want to be a pain in everybody's side. I'm going to serve a mission

HELLO!!!!!!!!!

Guten Tag! Wie Gehst??

So, this week was an adventure :) as per usual, with missions.

Last Monday, for p-day, we went hiking as a district. Which means we went and wondered around the woods for an hour with 6 little boys. It still amazes Sister Bates and I that we can have Elders with such powerful testimonies, and then we can go do something with them as people and they all turn into little boys running around the woods with big sticks and screaming "For Narnia!!" at each other. It's ridiculous. We ran away from them when they got too ridiculous. Do they ever grow up? Miracle: Even little boys can have powerful adult testimonies, and be grown-ups when they need to be. Power of the Priesthood, it's real.

Tuesday, our appointment with Tanja fell out because she was sick, really sick, and had to go to the doctor. She didn't sound good on the phone. it was a little scary. We hope and pray that she's doing better. Then we had Gemeinde Rat (geh-mine-duh Raht=ward counsal) and talked about the people that need help, in the ward, and as friends of the church (i.e. investigators), and what we can do for them. Miracle: The churches organization is inspired, and so are the leaders. Let them help you, it's their job.

Subject line: Sister Bates and I were heading to Gemainde Rat after a service termin, and talking about how sometimes we, as missionaries are annoying, because sister Bates "yelled" (i.e. whisper screamed) at someone across the street "Hey, do you want to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ??" Then we started talking about things we "want" to do. So, I was being snarky and said, "I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to be a pain in everybody’s side. I'm going to be a missionary."  it was really funny, but it was kind of one of those things you had to be there for. 

Wednesday was Zone Training, which we had to leave in the middle of because we had a termin with Dorothee, who is a single, working, student, mother of a 5-year-old ball of energy, so it's really hard to get termin with her. On top of that there was a strike with the bahn system, meaning practically none of the bahns (trains, trams, sometimes busses) were running. That's partially why we had to leave so early. We were asked to try to see if we could change the termin, but we decided not to because it's So hard to get them at all. So, we just left. We snuck out when they gave us a 5 minutes break, and were able to get to Dorothee mostly on time. We were a little late, but it was okay. We had a really good Termin on the Restoration, and were able to reestablish expectations, and everything. we talked about Baptism, and tried to help her understand that Baptism is just the first step, and important, but not the most important. it was really cool. Miracle: Heavenly Father will provide a way for all of his children to hear about the Gosple. Even with Bahn Strikes.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were an adventure. Sister Bates and I have decided that we need to practice more finding, so we made a goal that we would do dooring (tracting): 2 doors for every fallen out appointment. Guess what happened! ALL of our termin fell out. Sister Bates said that when we made the goal she had the thought that she ("and me" I thought when I found out), need to learn how to door and find. but we still want appointments, so (on Sunday) we changed our plan so that we will do more doors after an appointment (especially an investigator appointments), than we will for canceled or stood up termin. It's going to be a party :) Miracle: Heavenly Father teaches us the things we need to learn in the way that will best help the lessons to stick. Usually this is though action. it was quite the adventure.

Saturday. We had a Baptism. Alex Schmitz (the Elders investigator) made a very important covenant, and set an example for several of his friends. His family was not happy with him, and did not attend, but he was very brave and "pressed forward with a steadfastness in Christ" (2 Nephi 31:20) trotz dem (equivalent of "despite that"). it was really cool. He wasn't even my investigator, and I almost started crying. it was the best.

Sunday, Sister Bates and I had the wonderful opportunity to Skype home. Her family lives in Salt Lake City (not a suburb) and has early church, so she Skyped first. We were not alone in the church (the Elders and a kid visiting from Orem, Utah, were also there, talking to family), and so we both just stayed in the room while the other Skyped. It was really fun because her family is one of the silliest I have ever heard. They were so snarky to one another, and to Sister Bates, and just super cute. Sister Bates had a hard time and sent both of her last two companions home, and I helped her bring her sanity back. Her parents noticed that, and thanked me. We were being silly during her session, and her mom asked "Can you just bring her home with you?" it was really cute. Mom, you need to go visit them or move to Utah, before Dallas leaves on his mission so he and Ammon can be best friends, and you and her mom can be best friends. They’re just great. Miracle: Families can be together forever, for which we are very grateful. Because they're important and very helpful, too.

So, life is good. We had some baking adventures, last week, too. We made some adjustments to the recipe, and they were quite interesting. We’re going to try again this week, and not make any adjustments :P it's going to be a party. We’re excited.

Bis Nächstes mal! (Till next time!)

-Sister Montgomery

Not Again! - May 4, 2015

Hello, family and friends!!!

How's life? Mine is pretty great! :D

So, I don't want to give a play-by-play of my week this time around. So I'm just going to talk about the little daily miracles that happened this week.

Monday, we bet with the Tewes (pronounced like Davis with a T) family for FHE. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and how powerful testimonies are, gave them each one of our last Book of Mormon and challenged them to write their testimonies inside and then give them to someone. It was a really short lesson because we had to leave for a split, and were a little late, but the miracle I noticed was that the spirit testifies of truth no matter how simple. Because German is our second language, Sister Bates and I have to keep things kind of short and to the point, but as long as we're speaking truth and bearing testimony, the Spirit is there and he will help us.

Tuesday, we were on a split. Sister Haywood and I were in Essen. We had an appointment with on of our LA, but she wasn't there. We looked around a bit for her, even went to the nursing home where she sometimes likes to hang out, but we couldn't find here. So, Sister Haywood asked if we could do 10 doors before we headed home for lunch. I conceded, and we started. The first few were either no one home, or people that had no interest. Door four, however, was special. A woman opened the door, and her 2 Siamese cats tried to run away, so she invited us in. Of course we accepted. Turns out she is a very stark Christian (married to a Muslim), with a son (about 10 years old). She and her husband are very curious people, and she was very open to hearing what we had to say. We talked to her about her belief in Christ, and then told her a little about our beliefs, and asked if she wanted to learn more, and if she had time then. She said "yes." to both. I was a little surprised. So, we introduced our method of prayer, and said an opening prayer, and then taught her the restoration, and once again asked if she wanted to learn more. She said "yes" again, and we exchanged numbers and made a return appointment for Tuesday, May 5th. Tanja seems golden. She was so curious and open. It was just perfect. Miracle: The Lord has people prepared for us, and we may not like finding, but if we exercise even a particle of faith, we will see many more miracles, and blessings.

Thursday, we had a lesson with Bonnie Tewes, and we talked about the Book of Mormon with her. When we met with Tanja on Tuesday, we had had no spare Book of Mormon to give her (we'd given our last to the Tewes') but Sister Haywood asked Sister Bates to bring one with her when she came back so we could take it to Tanja on Thursday (Wednesday was booked). So, with Bonnie we practiced what we were going to say to Tanja when we took the Book by later that day. Bonnie is a wonderful example. I can't even describe how amazing she is. She speaks English because she served her mission in Canada (don't know which part), so she helped us with grammar and such. It's just wonderful. Miracle: people are willing to help, we just have to ask; this includes God. He wants us to recognize the blessings we want and also our needs, and express them to Him. He's trying to teach us. He's really smart.

Sunday, Sister Bates and I both woke up in the middle of the night a little sick. She woke up vomiting, ("not again!" I thought "poor kid.") And I woke up with a migraine and had to take Advil in order to sleep. It was quite fun. We still made it to church, thankfully. Sister Bates had an interesting stress dream after she vomited: she was a missionary at home, still sick, and her brother was her companion, and she was making a list of all the people we'd have to call if we did stay home sick. Then she woke up. She asked what time is was, "8:15" and she was already getting dressed. She told me "tell me your going to die right now. Otherwise we're going." so we went. Miracle: God will bless you with the strength you need to do his work.

It's all about faith.

May the Fourth be with you.

-Sister Montgomery