Missionary (noun): Someone who leaves their family for a short period of time so that others may be with their families for eternity.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

"I love working with the members!"

September 21, 2011

Today for P-Day I bought a new backpack. The shoulder bag that we bought has outlived its usefulness. It's been leaving giant brown splotches on my clothes. Not too noticeable, but it still needs to go. I'll keep it in one of my bags until further notice.

This week has been amazing! But definitely the highlight was our family home evening on Monday! We had baptized the Vijay Massey family on Sunday, and we wanted to do something special for them to celebrate. So, we asked the Douglas family (another recent convert family) and the Sunny family (long-time members, friends of the Massey family) to get together at the Sunny family’s home for a nice get-together! It was amazing! Elder Sade cooked up some chicken sandwiches, I cut vegetables, and we brought them with us. We started with a short video about the Savior’s ministry in America, played a nice game that involved the children, and then served dinner. Some relatives of the Sunny family were also present; nonmembers that had their first taste of LDS lifestyle. We’re going to arrange a visit to their home soon, if possible. Monday was an amazing day! It took a lot of planning, but it all paid off in the end! I love working with the members!

I baptized the daughter, while Elder Sade baptized the son. Elder Bunga, who had taught them for the first three months before getting transferred, baptized the father and mother. They are a wonderful family! The children are persistently trying to teach me Hindi, but it's a slow process. It's fun though! I enjoy our "conversations."

Being District Leader is interesting. I am Leader over 3 other Missionaries (one of whom is Zone Leader, who is in charge of my and 2 other Districts). The Zone Leader is Elder Varada, my former trainer. Basically I set the agenda for District Meetings for this Transfer. I ask one of the Elders to give a training, and then I also give a training. i.e. A missionary that has been in the field for 4 months is training Elders that have been in the field for almost 24 months. More than 20, anyway. I also do follow-ups, which means that I gather Elder Varada's number of lessons, baptismal dates, and status of investigators. I add those numbers to mine and then give it to my Zone Leader (i.e. back to him). hahaha. All in all, I don't let it get to me head. I'm not better than any of them. More often than not, I'm asking for their help - especially concerning follow-ups. Since Elder Varada was Zone Leader and District Leader for my first two transfers, I've been having a lot of trouble figuring out how it all works. I'm getting better, though. And that's what matters.

We're planning a karaoke night next Saturday. We're gathering members that are interested in singing. It's going to be tons of fun!

Disneyland stuff? Not interested in any candy (unless you REALLY want to send me some). If you do find any pennies that I haven't found yet, I'd prefer that they stay in America until I return. Unfortunately, it's kind of almost impossible for you to know which pennies I do or don't have. I have a list on the compute under "Jarom's Stuff". You can check that. But, I suggest that you look around the exit of Pirates. There's usually a Quarter crusher with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. Should be close enough to Halloween that they'll have it there. If not, it's fine. Disneyland pennies just don't seem as important on this side of the world.

I'm sorry to hear about the Broncos' loss. Interestingly enough, I found a shirt in the apartment. It is a "Glendale High School Broncos" T-Shirt. And it's orange and blue. It looks as if someone had used bleach on it and it got ruined. So they left it here. I'll send it to one of you for Christmas or something. ;D

Happy birthday Brittni! I hope that your children are doing well! It's great to hear the Matthew is enjoying Kindergarten!

INDIA HAS SKITTLES!!! Unfortunately, they cost 70 rupees for a small bag- about 2/3 of one of the bags that you sent me. 70 rupees can buy me an okay lunch. It's too expensive for a missionary budget. I want to buy one bag, though, because it has Hindi writing on it. Just to have the bag. I may send you one (eye for an eye status). But I've seen worse deals. Today we went to the DLF Mall in Vasant Kunj. After getting my backpack, we decided to eat lunch. I saw that one store was selling pancakes. I went over and saw that it was 120 rupees for one pancake. With butter and maple syrup added, of course. I went over to the Subway. I bought 160-rupee foot long. Ham with cheese, lettuce, and tomato (the ham is made of chicken, not pork). Which do you think is the better deal? That's why I choose Subway! hahaha.

We just got two new American missionaries! They should have arrived last night. They'd be in Lajpat Nagar right now. I'm going to get to meet them on Friday for a Specialized Training under President Jackson to the Missionaries (Pakistani Elders excluded). At the end of this transfer, when we receive 5 more South Indian Missionaries, 1 out of every 3 missionaries will be less than 6 months old. Can you imagine how powerful we will become in 2 years' time? That's all that I hear President Jackson say anymore. "We're on the upswing! We are only going up from here!" Speaking of which, this last Sunday, Malviyah Nagar made a new record in total Sacrament Attendance: 96! We are so close to 100! It is an amazing time to be in Delhi right now!
Love you all!
Elder Montgomery

"There is not any other place in the whole world that I would rather be!"

September 14, 2011

This week has been interesting, with Elder Sade and I taking over Elder Bunga’s area for him. Our main priority so far has been to make contact with all of his investigators over the past week. One such family is the Massey family (Father, Mother, Son, Daughter). They are amazing. The first time that we met them, we went over what Elder Bunga had already taught them. That went over quickly. Over the past week, we’ve just been touching up on the last few things that they’ve needed. They received baptismal interviews and are prepared to be baptized this Sunday. We gave the father, Vijay Massey, a Priesthood blessing for what seems to be a disease that he has recently contracted. The entire family has been present at every single one of our lessons with them, except one. Elder Bunga spoke very highly of this family-for good reason. They live next to a family that just moved in from 2nd Branch, where Elder Sade has just been serving. They are very close families. They greatly support each other. I am sure that this baptismal service this Sunday will be great. I am excited for the opportunity to continue serving this family!

Being District Leader is interesting. For the last two transfers, my companion was both District Leader and Zone Leader. So I never saw much of Follow-Ups. He just kind of did them on the side. I conducted my first District Meeting on Monday. I asked the newest Elder, Elder Veeraraj, Elder Varada's new companion, to speak on "Listening" from the Preach My Gospel. Because teaching is the best learning tool, and this is an essential thing that he needs to learn. So, I asked him to teach it. He did very well.

Elder Veeraraj is from Chennai. One the other 2 Elders that came with him from South India is named Elder Aruldas (unsure about spelling). He is from Chennai also. But, according to Elder Veeraraj, Elder Aruldas also lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Shocking, right? So now I want to talk to this Elder. But I won't be able to until a Missionary Conference or a Specialized Training. Maybe Zone Conference. Not sure. I'll fill you in on the details when I find them out.

That story of the French people is amazing. I wonder why they chose to migrate to Northern Italy? "The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm" Maybe? Oh well. I'm glad that they found out about the truth eventually.

I have heard of the bomb blast, but just a glancing mention of it. I don't receive news much. Most news places are not English Speaking. But they always-and I mean always-have the caption "BREAKING NEWS" in English. All of the time. I don't get it. So usually I just ignore those words. And then when I learn that they're speaking Hindi, I ignore the TV completely. Mostly it's just about Indian politics anyway. International News is very limited, if present at all. I don't mind, though. The news rarely concerns what I do now, anyway.

So yeah. I'm staying in the same apartment. Elder Varada is staying in my old room (his old room, also). I moved over to Elder Bunga's old room. Really really weird. I've gotten used to it though. It's different, but for me I think that it's the best-case scenario. I'm enjoying the new families that I am teaching.

Halloween box? You know those big bags that have like Dots, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Rolls, etc? One of those. and Candy Corn. That would be enough. No idea about Christmas though. Not sure what would be useful. Maybe some Music CDs. I'll think about it.

I haven't sent the SD Card yet. Elder Varada told me that it would likely get stolen by the mail workers. I can pictures from here; I saw a picture of Madyson from a few months ago. I'll figure it out. Somehow. Hopefully.

D+C 84:89-91. My new favorite missionary scripture. Acts 2:46 is also good. Dinner appointments in the primitive church! hahaha.

I am truly blessed to be in India. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to serve the Lord. There is not any other place in the whole world that I would rather be! I am thankful that the family is doing well.

Love you all!

Elder Montgomery

"I am District Leader of the Malviyah Nagar District!"

September 8, 2011

I can't remember if the Fireside that we just had was last Saturday or
the Saturday before. I think that it was last Saturday. Anyway, we had
an amazing Fireside on Saturday. The other Elders (Varada and Bunga)
and I helped put up a skit. Elder Bunga's Companion, Balwant, is a
Stripling Warrior on a mini-mission. He helped with the projector and
the food; he had no interest in acting. We had several members join in
our skit, which included a crazy scientist taking a bunch of other
crazy people on a crazy "Journey to the Moon." We loved it. I played a
Tourist, a farmer from America. I wore a cool Indian hat and wore my
India Flag T-Shirt. I looked ridiculous. hahaha. The crowd burst out
laughing when they saw my costume. It was so much fun.

We also asked several of the members to do a Karaoke show before the
Skit. They did really well, and we'll be following-up with that with
another, similar show. Maybe with a movie or something. It's going to
be awesome!

We’ve been working really well with two of our members, Brother Obinna
and Brother Steven. They have been very missionary-minded as of late.
They have brought in several of their neighbors and friends. Two of
these neighbors in particular are George and Michael (reminds me of a
certain Arrested Development). They have been coming to church
consecutively for the last 3 weeks. After every church service is
over, we make very careful efforts to pull them aside and explain
things in detail.

For example, I was asked to give a lesson in Elder’s Quorum Meeting
this last Sunday. I was given about 5 minutes to prepare a lesson. I
decided on Lesson 2: “The Plan of Salvation” from the Preach My
Gospel. So, I gave a discussion on it for my lesson. It went very
well. Many of the members participated in the discussion. I listened
to their comments and shifted my lesson to meet their feedback. As a
result of my lesson, George had several questions about the Nature of
the Godhead, as we have not had the opportunity to teach him that
lesson yet. Elder Bunga volunteered to inform him that we could meet
with him after the meeting to meet his direct needs, as the lesson
that I had prepared was given in a much more general sense. He agreed,
and I sat down with him afterwards with a member, Brother Mark, to
answer his questions. He seemed satisfied with the answers that we
gave.

I felt the Spirit guide me on Sunday. Listening to it had two rewards;
I was able meet the needs of the members, giving a lesson that became
more than a one-sided lecture. I also had the opportunity to meet the
needs of my investigator; I found a concern that I probably would not
have found (for quite some time) otherwise. Brother George and
Michael are due to be baptized on the 18th. I am looking forward to
that time!

Also on Sunday, we had a visit from the General Sunday School
Presidency, President Ozgulthorpe! Wow! What an experience!
Accompanying him was President Perkins, President of the Area
Presidency. They met with the missionaries at 3:30, after all of the
Sacrament Meetings. Then they met with the District at about 6.
President Ozgulthorpe gave a wonderful discussion! He invited some of
the members up to answer questions. He called me up and asked me,
"What is the best way that you can bring the Spirit in a lesson?"
Nerve-racking experience. I gave a weak answer. "Well, we, um, start
and end with prayer." And then the Spirit was like: "Bad answer.
Here's a better answer: Listening. Listening gives the Spirit!" And
then I remembered our Training that we had had just a week prior.
President Jackson had taught about how listening to the investigator
opens the door to the Spirit. It shows that we are willing to put the
Spirit before our own personal opinion. So that's what I said.
President Ozgulthorpe agreed and let me go.

It turns out that listening to the Spirit was an important part of his
talk. A quote by either Elder Bednar or Elder Scott showed the value
of listening to the Spirit. It was an amazing experience for me! And
an ironic one. Either way, I am thankful that I had been paying
attention!

I recognized Braden's handwriting on the package. Thanks Braden! We
have been enjoying the Skittles and Reeses most graciously so far. I'm
not craving anything at the moment. I am satisfied. Thank you so much!
Yeah, peanut butter is regular peanut butter here. Which is excellent.
I don't know about the grape jelly though. I haven't looked for it.
All food items from your first package have long since disappeared.
They served the District very well!

Sorry to hear about the Broncos' loss. I actually saw a Broncos jersey
at a Reebok store (We had gone there to visit with an investigator).
If I find a Broncos jersey that says "Made in India" on the tag, I
know that at least somebody will be receiving a jersey! Or a t-shirt.
Or whatever it may be.

Today was Transfers. Rumors are closed, here are the facts: We will be
receiving 3 new Elders from South India tomorrow night [tonight now].
Elder Varada (my former companion), Varsala, and Bommaji will be
training them. In two weeks, two American Elders will be arriving.
Word is that their names are Elders Hess and Chambers. The
Companionship in Noida, Elders Paul and Penumuru, will stay together
until that time. Then they will split and both become Trainers. Okay.
Confused yet? Moving on. Next Transfer, we will be sending 8 to
Bangalore Mission. October 22. On October 21 or 20, this Transfer will
end. We will receive 5 more Elders from South India.

We have a new Training program that just released across the world: A
new manual for Missionary Trainers. Every Trainer will now train,
without exception, for two Transfers straight. Elder Varada already
knows where he will be next Transfer. He will still be in Malviyah
Nagar Training his new companion. He will inevitably leave in December
to another part of Delhi. He's been in Malviyah Nagar since about
February. Or something. District Leaders should also be receiving some
kind of manual. But I'm confused. Because I haven't received mine yet.
Which leads me to my jaw dropping announcement: I am District Leader
of the Malviyah Nagar District!

This is, according to President Jackson, unprecedented. He said, "you
are the youngest District Leader in Delhi. Ever." That can be applied
two ways, as I see it. One, I am District Leader in my 3rd Transfer.
There've been a few that have become District Leader in their 4th
Transfer, but never 3rd. And two, I am fairly certain that I am the
youngest missionary in Delhi right now. Soon, though, we will be
receiving more missionaries from the South. So that might not be true
after some time. But for now, no other missionary is 19 that has a
birthday after early May. So yeah. I am the youngest District Leader
to ever serve in Delhi. Yeah. Wow. um... yeah. Shocking.

There are two companionships in our District. Elder Varada will be
with his new companion. They are in my old room with my old
investigators. He is Zone Leader. I am District Leader. My new
companion is Elder Sade. He leaves the field in January. He was Elder
Green's Trainer. I have inherited all of Elder Bunga's old
investigators. He moved to Munirka. Elder Varada's new companion will
be arriving tonight.

That's it! I want to cut this short so that you can actually receive
my email this time. I only had to write this previous paragraph. I was
given this opportunity to write to you with permission from the
Assistants, but I am using valuable proselyting time. But this is too
exciting for me to wait a whole other week to emaiI you.

I am very excited for this privilege of becoming District Leader! It's
so amazing! Everyone in the Mission is excited for me! I'm nervous,
but excited at the same time! Wonderful time to be in Delhi right now!

Love you all!
Elder Montgomery

"The other Elders in Malviyah Nagar and I put up a skit for the Branch..."

August 30, 2011

Package received! THANK YOU! I was told that the package was received on about Monday and that it was very big and very heavy. With your previous comment that it only contained Skittles and Reeses and Grandpa's tie, I was confused. I opened it this morning and realized what it meant! It WAS big and it WAS heavy! And I enjoyed it very much. We still have about 30 packs of Reeses Cups sitting in the fridge right now. The Skittles are sitting in the box on my desk. These things may last me... a day? Maybe two? Nah. I'll be enjoying these for a couple of weeks, at least. I only wish that my camera was working - the batteries have been dead for almost two weeks now. And I have already run out of spare batteries. No big deal. Batteries are popular and cheap. I might as well get a battery charger here. I just need to find an electronics shop; they're very popular around here. The only thing stopping me is laziness.

This is my second attempt at writing to you. I was cut off last time by a power outage. We also lost power at our apartment this morning - the longest one I've seen so far. We wanted to go teach a quick lesson, but we can't iron our clothes! So we had to drop the lesson. They understood. Not a big deal. I'm just worried about another power outage here (finger is on the "Save Now" button). hahaha.

Recipes are difficult to come by. Everything is done by sight, and we only eat home-cooked food rarely. Mostly we just eat "daal + rice" or "some kind of curry + rice." We've been fed every night by one family that just moved in from Lajpat Nagar. Very nice people. Their names are Rahul and Deepa. They are a wonderful family!

This Sunday I had my first baptism! His name is Rudra. He’s a great guy and he loves the church! His family is very strong; the same family that has fed us every night for almost two weeks now. It makes teaching Rudra very easy and convenient. He was baptized alongside another sister that Elder Bunga has been teaching. I conducted the actual baptism for Rudra; it was quite an experience! We planned everything very carefully. Although we had a few hiccups, everything went smoothly. We watched “Finding Faith in Christ” in Hindi to bring the Spirit, and it persisted through the rest of the service.

Beforehand, we had made two loaves’ worth of peanut butter and mango jam sandwiches. We cut them in half and distributed them after the service was completed. Somehow some of the children had found the sandwiches and were seen eating them during the service. Not sure how that happened. I feared the worst (a child uprising for the sake of snacks). But nothing came of it. We gave the children sandwiches at their request and pressed forward with the service. The turnout was very well; we had enough sandwiches for those that came. None went home hungry. But other than the children finding our stash, it went off without a hitch. I am very thankful for the opportunity for Rudra’s choice in coming closer to Christ. I am looking forward to his being confirmed this Sunday.

I don't remember writing anything about exact obedience, but I could be mistaken. Generally those letters are a few weeks old, and I may have forgotten what that I wrote it. "Teaching River" is a common term in the New Delhi Mission now. In an address by President Jackson in a Specialized Training, he explained that we should have "Teaching Rivers" and not "Teaching Pools." In the ideal missionary service, missionaries teach and they baptize. That's it. Members supply the investigators and provide support when needed. So, those investigators that are ready to hear the Word go down the River to the waters of Baptism. Those that aren't ready stay where they are in the Pool. When one group finishes, the members (or hopefully, the Recent Converts) bring in the next group. We drop those that want to stay in the Pool and move on to this new group; we discover their hearts and repeat the process. That is why it is so essential for Missionaries to fellowship with the members. And we've been working at that.

That's the ideal missionary service. We're not at that level yet, but we are VERY close. I am coming to India at a wonderful time. if the rumors are true, we will be receiving 5 new missionaries from the Bangalore Mission next week. We are sending out 8 in October to the same place (members becoming missionaries). So we're essentially trading missionaries! Then, also in October, we will be receiving either 2 or 4 more missionaries! AMERICAN missionaries! This means that the number of Missionaries in Delhi will increase from about 24 to at least 30! And, if more missionaries come, we can easily double in size in less than six months! We have one elder leaving in the middle of September, two weeks after transfers. But then we're not losing anyone else until January! We can easily reach 40 missionaries at that time, depending on what rumors are true and which ones aren't. Very exciting times in the India New Delhi Mission!

We had a Missionary Fireside two Fridays ago (totally forgot about it in my last letter). It was a blast. The other Elders in Malviyah Nagar and I put up a skit for the Branch. It was about two missionaries who are discouraged. They eventually decide to visit a place by randomly pointing at it on a map. When they go tracting, they run into several crazy people, one after another. I, the greenie missionary, am obsessed with helping everyone (including a drunken guy and a guy that forgets everything in 15 minutes). The latter's name is Gajini. He's apparently famous in India. So, after a day of tracting, we go home fruitless and frustrated. The next day, we go with one of our members to go teach someone, and we get a baptismal commitment in less than 30 seconds. Although we don't point that out to the members of the branch. We just get the baptismal commitment and are happy.

We're holding another one this Saturday. This skit is about a "Journey to the Moon." Not sure much about it. We've just started planning. I will play a farmer, but we're going to improvise a lot of it. It's fun! Much of it is in Hindi this time; the other elders received complaints from members of the branch concerning lack of Hindi last time, so we'll be sure to include more this time. We're learning through experience and getting the most out of it that we can. It's a very exciting time for the Malviyah Nagar branch!

That picture was my first P-Day, I believe. We had gone to visit the zoo. It was very fun! And yes, India is beautiful. Elder Varada was confused about why I think so. I showed him the picture of Jesus Christ's Second Coming. He's surrounded by angels with trumpets. Beneath the clouds is a desert. So I showed him the desert and said, "This is what Yuma looks like." He understands now. India truly is beautiful. hahaha.

Hindi is coming very slowly. I'm more focused on understanding it and reading it. Those are my two main goals. I've picked up a few words and phrases, but nothing extravagent. "Coy Badinay" means "No Problem." "Paca" is "True." "Tikay" is "Okay." "Tera Dimak Karab Hai" is "Your brain is broken." That was my only line in Hindi during the Fireside. I told it to an auto driver. Best line in the play! (TEH-raw Dee-MAWK kah-RAWB hey)

Next week is transfers. I hope that I stay here. I probably will. I don't know about Elder Varada though. With the 5 new missionaries coming in, we may face really big changes, or President Jackson may decide to make minimal changes. think that transfers are on Wednesday next week. So we'll see!

GB2! Love you all!
Elder Montgomery

Two emails in one day!

August 24, 2011

Okay, so my first mass email attempt ended in failure. I think. I'm not sure if it got sent. I received a return message saying that my message has been truncated. I don't know what that means. Oh well.

Things are going well here. Neither of my companions that were supposed to be baptized next Sunday came to church last Sunday. So I don't know exactly what's going to happen. One of them (Adithiya) won't be available to be baptized until the 18th of September. The other (Rudhra)... I'm not sure. They're both doing really well, and they both will be baptized. It's just executing the ordinance that is the problem here. hahaha.

Last Friday we had a Missionary Fireside. Me and three other elders and a member put together a skit. It was a message about the value of missionary work. I played a greenie missionary. It was fun.

Other than that, not much. We just began teaching a couple of Nigerians. They're friends with one of our Nigerian members. He's very active. Very nice guy.
I ate a hot dog yesterday! Two, actually. I was out in the mall looking for something to take home to eat (getting late, and so most stores are closed). Looking for the Subway and I couldn't find it. So, I went to the first place that I could see in the food court. it was a hot dog stand! Except that the hot dogs are made of chicken! bumb bum BUM! They were still good though. Tasty. Expensive. One hot dog cost 90 rupees - that's a lot for a missionary's budget. Still good, though. I had been craving a hot dog.

For the last week, we’ve been regularly visiting an investigator named Adithiya. He is from the state of Goa, a stunningly beautiful place, or so he says. His grandparents are American (Indian by descent) and so he is very patriotic and outspoken about America. He has been taught the majority of the lessons in his time in Bangalore by some other elders. So we’ve just been reviewing what he has learned so far and teaching him what he doesn’t know yet. We’ve had some really powerful lessons. He’s explained to us how the he has been guided by the Spirit to safety. He has committed to follow all of the Commandments that we have given him so far. Unfortunately, he was unable to come to church last week and so his baptismal date (this Sunday) will have to be postponed until the 18th. He has some work in Bangalore. We’ll continue to teach him until he leaves and then figure out what to do next when he returns. Most likely he’ll be baptized at that time without an issue.
Because of the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he is facing his life in a much more dignified manner. He has always known that God exists but has never known what God wants from him. Now Adithiya knows the Plan of Salvation. He understands that he must keep his body clean. He has, for example, accepted the Word of Wisdom without restraint. He has no doubt that it is what God wants for him. I am grateful for his faith in Jesus Christ. It’s unflinching in the face of changing his life around for the better. It inspires me.

That's about it. The work continues. Life goes on. I got to eat some hot dogs. Pretty good week overall.
Love you all!
Elder Montgomery

"The work is going great in Delhi!"

August 24, 2011

Hello from India! This is my first attempted mass email! My brother just gave me the instructions on how to do it. So if it doesn't reach you, then I am truly sorry. If there are any changes in email addresses, feel free to email them to me so that I can add them to my list!

The work is going great in Delhi! We have 7 branches thoughout the city. 12 Companionships needing to teach a total of a couple million people. The odds are in our favor! The church has almost 2000 members in Delhi. My branch is called Malviyah Nagar. We have about 150 members in our branch. The other branches are called Lajpat Nagar, Noida, Dwarka, Pitampura, Munirka, and Visant Vihar. All very good people. My companion's name is Elder Varada. He's a great trainer. Very patient.

Learning Hindi is a slow process for me. My Mission is not a Hindi-speaking mission, so I don't take any official time to learn it. Just in my spare time, which is fine for me. I'm in no hurry to learn it. My main focus is to read and write in Hindi first. Understand it. I have little interest in actually speaking it. Except to auto drivers and shop keepers.

The people here are very humble. Very hospitable. In one case, an investigator had moved from one branch to ours. We had never met him before, but he had been referred to us by the other elders. We picked up the investigator at the metro station and walked a short distance to his house. He insisted on buying us some mango juice from a small shop before starting the lesson! Very nice people.

Pork and beef are rare, but not as rare as I had thought. I have had pork and beef once each during my time here. Vegetables are more commonplace since many Indians are vegetarian. It's not uncommon for hosts to ask me if I cannot eat chicken due to diet restrictions.

The national currency is the rupee. One dollar is worth about 40-45 rupees. That makes the dollar very valuable here. I once received a haircut for 40 rupees, when the same haircut would have cost me the equivalent to 360 rupees in America. That's 1 dollar versus 9. I've noticed that America has very high inflation.

For the last week, we’ve been regularly visiting an investigator named Adithiya. He is from the state of Goa, a stunningly beautiful place, or so he says. His grandparents are American (Indian by descent) and so he is very patriotic and outspoken about America. He has been taught the majority of the lessons in his time in Bangalore by some other elders. So we’ve just been reviewing what he has learned so far and teaching him what he doesn’t know yet. We’ve had some really powerful lessons. He’s explained to us how the he has been guided by the Spirit to safety. He has committed to follow all of the Commandments that we have given him so far. Unfortunately, he was unable to come to church last week and so his baptismal date (this Sunday) will have to be postponed until the 18th. He has some work in Bangalore. We’ll continue to teach him until he leaves and then figure out what to do next when he returns. Most likely he’ll be baptized at that time without an issue.
Because of the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he is facing his life in a much more dignified manner. He has always known that God exists but has never known what God wants from him. Now Adithiya knows the Plan of Salvation. He understands that he must keep his body clean. He has, for example, accepted the Word of Wisdom without restraint. He has no doubt that it is what God wants for him. I am grateful for his faith in Jesus Christ. It’s unflinching in the face of changing his life around for the better. It inspires me.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve here. I am thankful to be called to serve. It is a great blessing for me and for those that I teach.

For previous emails, since not all of them were mass emails, you can go to "elderjarommontgomery.blogspot.com". My family will continue to update that website throughout my time in India.

Love you all!
Elder Montgomery