Monty's Mission Adventures

How fast 2 years passes....

2011-09-02T16:41:00.003-07:00

HE IS COMING HOME 20 DAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-18T21:41:00.001-07:00

Elder L. and Elder Montgomery visiting a recent convert family, the sweet sister sent this picture of them....He looks so Good and Happy.

Brother Support

2011-06-13T11:47:00.003-07:00

Last Monday after we had heard from Greg we heard that his brother/best friend Taylor McBride had an accident on his mission, he was brought home and is in the hospital in Phx. for information on Taylor you can go to his blog link here on Greg's blog. This is Greg's email from today.

6-13-11
Hey Mom,
So this will probably be really short, thanks for everything and for the updates and I'm glad I was able to know about my brother........I'm not gonna lie the scene from "Remember the Titans" flowed into my head as I heard the news from Sister Colton , and asked about my brother, she said wait I thought it was your friend, and I had to tell her that he's (Taylor) my brother ...........when whats his face (Gary Burtier) gets in a crash and Julius his brother comes and talks to him, and says your superman you cant get hurt.........but don't worry I held my self together pretty well......I'm doin alright , and yes it has givin me extra strength , I have to lift up his load and work hard enough for the both of us..........I love the Lord for the strength he's givin me and the sacrifice he's made so that I can have strength, I know its not the end of the world and that he's doin good, but its the last thing I expected.......so but I'm doin alright........the baptisms went really well , everything turned out good and I confirmed Kaitlyn on Sunday it was a really good experience.....the week has been kinda slow kinda fast and everything in between..........I'm glad that girls camp went well........and I hope y'all have a great week . I love y'all and miss y'all...........I'll be alright , lots of mixed emotions, but I'll be good, we are talking this Sunday on fathers day in one of our wards, I think its gonna be hard, I think of dad and g-pa's and I have a hard time so hopefully I'll be able to control my emotions and not make a fool of my self from the pulpit.........LOVES
love, bubba

6-6-11 Email

2011-06-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

wow mom,
That was a long one email, so in response, to the longest email of the year this might be kinda short, sorry it just takes me a long time to read and then I don't have much typing time, that and you know how fast I am at typing anyways so ..............sorry that this will be short,
wow the time is flying , I'm not super trunky or anything but I keep finding thoughts and memories and plans creeping into my head more and more daily..........but I'm tryin to stay more focused......which is gettin easier and easier with all this work that we've picked up......
glad to hear y'all had a great weekend and were all spiritually uplifted and what not....sounds like some great council , last night we got to go up to the IF temple visitors center with one of our investigators for the inv. fireside, and we had one of the senior couple elders teach about the restoration, hes sweet, at our leadership training last week, he gave us a hugely deep discussion on faith and about Joseph Smiths 7 lectures on faith which i wanna read now when i get home.........but anyways our investigator had a great time last night and it was a good trip.
good to hear that everyone is doing good, I'm glad that everyone is safe and happy and healthy , will ya give gramma some loves for me.........and tell Colin that the long hair just ain't attractive and he looks better with it short........you can send Mj this way anytime ya want, it might be a little awkward but oh well I guess, no boggy.................so one of the highlights this week was when in one day I got 2 pairs of new shoes for FREE.99 , it was awesome, a new pair of dress shoes and and a new pair of vans , I was stoked, cause that's one less pair I gotta get when I get home.......so but any ways yeah it was cool.........
well the time is windin down and I gotta get goin, its scary to thing that with in the next month ill be down to single digit weeks, wow kinda crazy huh...........but oh well my time is not far spent yet, I'm just gonna keep on keepin on and try my hardest to serve my hardest..............I love the Lord and I love the names I've taken upon me, and I hope i can always improve on what I'm doin with those names....and how I'm reaping 'em.
love y'all take care
love bubba

5-30-11

2011-06-06T11:42:00.001-07:00

hey mom,
I'm doing pretty good, I got the package thank you so much that was awesome, man the weather up here has been absolutely crummy the last few days, and it was last week to, its beautiful the the first half of the week and then bad the rest of the time and it's makin me mad I'm itching for the out side and I just wanna play some baseball bad, we decided today that if the weather isn't gonna hold up we will go in the gym just to play catch , cause I gotta break in those 2 new gloves now..........so but thanks again for sending them I was so stoked to get them.....
I don't think there is anything else I need , just trying to survive, and not hit any body ;) .........but the Lord has defiantly been blessing us lately with all the new word and responsibilities , we've had some really good numbers the last couple weeks, and we have a baptism for a ten yr old kid named Jordan on the 4Th and then the week after we have 2 more , a nine year old girl Kaitlyn, anyways then the same day on the 11th we have Gramma Kathleen Nichols, its been really cool and we have been being blessed with lots of referrals from bishops and they are a lot more promising than usually so we are stoked, ..........
That's cool that the missionaries down there taught the lesson, we taught yesterday, a combined 5Th Sunday lesson, and 2 primary lessons, it was really fun to sit in primary for a bit and listen and humm along with the songs I used to sing , brought back some fun memories......so yeah the whole flight info and what not, everything should be good to go, and I hope that there are a load of peeps at the air port when I get home........and we will talk more about it when it gets closer unless we need to start ordering tickets and what not for coming back up, but I'm down with either flyin out like Thursday evening or Friday morning so the 29Th or 30Th and then being back by like Monday mornin, we don't have to go to every session of Conf. just one is good with me we can just watch the rest.......
good to hear that graduation went well ...........man he's gotta cut his hair, the hairs gotta go.....
the new responsibilities are goin good, tomorrow is my first district mtg, and I think is gonna go pretty good, I put alot of time into it so we'll see how it goes but I'm not to worried about it........we had leadership training and its was awesome , we talked alot about faith and how we can increase our faith to find more people and all that fun stuff.........
I don't really know what else to say but thanks again for everything and then some, I love the Lord and I love my family with all of my heart I'm trying my best to represent my name well, and more importantly represent His name better..........I know my goals and I know what I want, happiness and joy and peace, and I know where they come from, I gotta get to know Him better, its the only way................tell the rest of the family that I love them soooooo much and miss yall, LOVES LOVES LOVES
love bubba

6-6-11 Email

2011-06-06T11:40:00.001-07:00

2011-02-07T22:03:00.004-07:00

Elder Phelps and Montgomery good thing he bought a new coat today:)
if you give a moose a cookie Elder Montogmery will come help him eat them...
Merry Christmas ~ I need to scan his Christmas card and put it on here for those of you who didn't receive one:)
Fav. Family...
2-7-11
hey mi madre,
I'm doin pretty good, cant complain too much , well i could but it wouldn't do me any good, so there fore I SHANT......word of the day is shant by the way.......so anyways , yes I'm feeling better, and you are totally right , you have no idea what cold is until you walk around in -15 all day ..........we had a light mist /rain last night that just froze and now all the roads are nice and icy.........
So zone conference this last Friday was pretty awesome, I learned alot , we had Elder Webb , one of the area 70 come and talk to us, alot about repentance, and how we have to be pure before we go purify others, so needless to say I'm workin harder on repenting more and showing gratitude, not only to others but Heavenly Father too, that's what Sis Colton talked about and she had us sing in rounds the little song,,"for health and strength and daily food we praise thy name oh lord" it was pretty fun, as are all of her trainings, we always sing somthin with her, she's a mission presidents wife stuck in a 35 year old primary pres mind frame, its funny most of the time, there's usually lots of laughter when shes talking , mostly cause we see president shaking his head a little un-comfortable...

... well that's about it from me, .......I love this gospel and the way it has changed and strengthened me and the ways it changes and strengthens others , I wouldn't give it up for any thing, I love my testimony, and even though I make mistakes I know that it's true, and I can repent .................I love my Savior and I'm eternally indebted to him for all the pain that I've caused him, and lastly I Love y'all my family who God has granted me the opportunity to leave for 2 years to learn and grow and serve and really appreciate what I have more.............this is the true church of Jesus Christ, I know it, I know God knows it, and I sorrow for those who deny , cause I know that I shant deny it cause I know that by doing so I would offend God and receive an exceedingly great sadness when I come to face Him. love, bubba
and Idaho word "GIT'R'DONE"

Transfered mid transfers

2010-10-15T14:56:00.003-07:00

We received Greg's email that he had a call on Sunday night and is being transfered to Lincoln Stake, North Idaho Falls, we do not know why or what his new address is but we will post details as we get them. He was a bit surprised and it was very hard to leave his wonderful contacts and friends in Rigby, but he is very close by:)

HIS EMAIL HOME :10-11-10
"hey mom, k so this is gonna be kinda short , sorry but so this is whats happenin, its all kinda crazy, i've been sick this last week but now i feel great , it was kinda a long week though , not the fastest i've had, and then this morning i get another surprise call from pres, he says hey to make some things easier we are going to transfer ya down to the lincoln stake which is like north ammon just ten minutes south of rigby, he said i'm leaving tommorrow after interviews and that i'll be training again. so needless to say , i been kinda stressed today and i really dont wanna leave rigby and its gonna be hard to say bye to every one i want to cause the short notice .
so thats whats happenin and i have to go pack and get some stuff today done to be ready for tommorrow, so but i hope every thing is going good at home and just want ya to know that i love ya and miss ya and to take care.
love bubba
p.s. im sending a bunch of stuff home that i dont need and that will help me get packed better, and ill send a more detailed email next week to let ya know whats going on, its like an emergency transfer but without the emergency if that makes sence"

Gettin' a hur-cut!

2010-10-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

Greg getting hit hair cut by Sister Nix!

Before
Getting a phone call?
Almost done...
Looking sharp!... or Purdy as Greg would say!

Great Week

2010-10-04T13:09:00.003-07:00

10-4-10

Hey mom,
I’m doin pretty good, it’s been a long week and ill explain that later, but yes I agree conference was awesome , you would have been so proud of me , I didn’t even fall asleep one time and I have some pretty good notes, I’m really excited to get the conf ensign cause I can’t write very fast so I know that I missed some really good things, so in my notes if it was a really good one that I liked and I know I missed some stuff I put a star at the top and the word ensign next to it so I know exactly what talks to read first when I get it, and if you could order an extra one when you get yours and send it that would be awesome because they only give one to each companionship every time they give them out here and elder locklear thinks they are all his and plus we won’t really see them for another couple months because they aren’t so good at passing them out.

So but yes conf. was awesome, I get emotional every time elder Holland talks it seems like now and all I could think about the whole time was yours and dads sacrifices for me to be out and really how much I owe yak. I hope I can repay you both someday for all you’ve done, and to be completely honest with you mom I really do wish I could say I don’t any regrets ,but it feels like every night laying in bed I think to myself "man I could have done that better or this better or I shouldn’t have done that or why didn’t I do this or not do this" so I can tell you right now mom honestly , I regret having regrets, but that what I've seen is one of the hardest things to deal in life along with recognizing the spirit is trying to do better every day to have less and less regrets , and your probably thinking oh your just being too hard on yourself but I’m just being honest , one of the things I’m also working on is being more honest with myself. So I guess ill just apologize right now for that. Sorry..... one thing I can say though, is that excerpt from Joseph Smiths history, that’s my favorite part of it all I CAN honestly say that " I know it and I know that God knows I know it and will be danged if I’d ever deny it" the testimony that I’ve received while on my mission feels like I might as well have seen what Joseph did because it makes more since to me than any other belief, law, rule, or theory presented by man. And may I say with boldness IM DANG PROUD OF IT!!!
I got really good book that this really smart guy in this stake gives to every missionary filled with stories and talks and testimonies and my favorite is a bunch of excerpts from prophets talking about the power of sealed children to their parents , it gives me alot of comfort to know that no matter what we ALL will be together as you and dad are living your sacred covenants and doing your best (which I know you are ) or else I wouldn’t be so faithful for it that you will basically drag us on your coat tails to wherever your going. No pressure, right? ha-ha
so we got to watch conf. on sat up in Rexburg with most of our zone ,both sessions, and then yesterday we just stayed in Rigby at our stake center to watch and we actually got Sadie (one of our investigators ) to come and watch with us. It was pretty cool and then we just had a lesson right there in the church after the session. But other than that we didn’t do anything to amazing.
this week has kind of been a long blur and we didn’t teach as many lessons as we would have liked to because we were on bikes for most of the week , and the other elder M. made a confession that he’s never ridden a bike more than like a mile in his life. so needless to say it was a slow week, cause me and elder locklear are used to cruising on our bikes , and to top it off he was using my bike the whole time cause it’s a bigger bike and he’s a very bigger guy and so I just borrowed a bike from a member and it’s been a week of patience building with someone who doesn’t really understand that’s we need to be one time and ride with a purpose.
on tues we had a zone council , different from a zone conf. .......it was just our zone and the assistants and it was cool cause instead of starting with a standard of excellence and instruction topic they went right in and opened it up to a testimony mtg and the spirit was really strong , I bore my testimony on being as happy as Ammon when he saw Alma that his strength was gone because of his incomprehensible joy , which joy comes from God only and we have to be" truly penitent and humble seeker of truth" (alma 27;17-18) and so as I bore my testimony about that I thought in my mind that we as missionaries can only feel that joy as we are truly focused on our purpose as missionaries which Ammon was super focused on his purpose. But yeah it was a good mtg and after the testimonies we were trained on working with members to gain their trust , so that in turn they will feel the spirit and want to help us more to find people who are ready.
Friday was a crazy day , we got permission from pres. to go up out past zone and help a nonmember couple get fire wood , it was intense we were supposed to leave at 8am and be back by 430pm , but we didn’t leave till about 1030am and didn’t get back till 830pm , and due to a series of unfortunate events I almost cut of both my legs and got some awesome bruises and almost got our missionary phone destroyed. So we left in the morning with them know that we needed to be back by 430, we took 2 trucks and 2 chainsaws. there were us three missionaries and then J. and her Husband K., well me and K. were droppin trees and cutting them into logs and the rest were stacking and everything else we filled the first truck within an hour and the second truck took till about 530 we went to a new place to get more wood and me not paying very close attention got the saw too close to my leg and it caught my jeans and ripped through my jeans and garments but didn’t touch my skin then later I did the same thing again only on my other leg lower than where my garments were and I got my skin just a little bit , no biggy just looks like a fell and scraped my leg a little but needless to say it was 2 very close calls and then we cut one last tree and were staking it , and if you have ever felt aspen when it’s still wet its very heavy and elder L in all his glory thought it would be alright to just start hurling the logs toward us and as I was picking one up I got a good 20lb log right to the shin , it felt pretty good, NOT , but don’t worry I didn’t even cuss, got really close but didn’t do it. then on the way back on the dirt roads one of the trucks had a blow out and that took a while to change and then I being the smarty that I am left the phone on the hood of the truck and it fell off on the way home but we went back and got it and all that had happened was the batteries fell out, it was just one of those days that you get done and people look at you like" man you look like hell" and trust me I felt like it to with saw dust covering me and huge rips in me jeans dirty face and a sore back , I wish I had a picture of it , cause it was pretty manly.
then conf. this weekend slowed it down and we got to relax, except for I think I ate something sat night that gave me food poisoning cause I’ve had a stomach ache since yesterday morning.... so that’s my week and I’m sticking to it. slow, crazy, eventful, slightly relaxing, spirit filled , and sickening, ................gotta love the mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but I think that’s about it, elder M. is doing good and starting to open up a little more and he doesn’t know any cullimores and those aren’t his parents, I'm really excited to hear the great stories of the trek. I hope everybody has a great week and stays safe and takes care , I love yall and miss ya bunches, remember THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!

LOVE, bubba

p.s. I forgot to tell ya last week , I saw a real life moose for my first time last week, it was a momma and her baby in the alfalfa field across from our house it was intense!!!

Staying in Rigby

2010-09-05T22:27:00.006-07:00

Elder M.& L. with Nixes at a FHE.
Elder Locklear and Montgomery Sept.3, 2010
Elder Locklears Birthday
Elder Montgomery's Birthday Party.
The Nix Family
Elder Montgomery, loves Idaho, there are some very awesome families that are like family to him, thank you Nix's and Waters. teh Nix's threw him an early birthdya party , not knowing if he would be there after transfers this week. We so love all of the families from Ammon, Chubbuck and Rigby, that have taken such good care of Greg and his companions. The work is progressing and having everlasting changes on these young dedicated missionaries.
Lots of opportunities for service.
The Lords and Wellers from Ammon.

Good Week,,, 4th Rodeo

2010-07-08T16:00:00.004-07:00

Check out the Boots
7-5-10
Hey mom,
Well don’t worry mom, your email found me well and good today on this windy Idaho pday. I hope all is or was going well at the cabin and everything got taken care of, oh and before I forget, did uncle bob ever get a hot tub for the cabin like he said he was going to do before I left???
so this week has been pretty good we found a couple new investigators and then one totally bagged us later in the week and told us to come back in a couple months. Then on Sunday this 20 yr old kid came up to us and asked us to come talk and teach him and his wife cause they were both members but they want to come back to church after a few rough years not coming and it was really cool, they are so awesome and pretty solid ....patience really is the key here, I’ve been getting alot better with patience lately not only in prayers and studying but in my companionships, lately with Elder L. I feel like I’m doin a pretty good job, he told me last week that I was the most obedient comp he’s had so far and it really helped me feel like I can keep on going , it’s not easy at all but I know as I keep trying my hardest my Heavenly Father is gonna keep helping me.
So this last weekend was pretty awesome we had form 6-11 pm on sat off and we went up to Rexburg to the rodeo and fireworks after the rodeo it was a blast I got some good videos of some broncs and bull riding and I think some good calf roping ones to. it was really fun almost our whole zone was there , talk about a little bit awkward having about 2000 eyes staring at 20 missionaries walking into the stadium but none the less it was fun we had our own little cheer section on the far side and the announcer kept on giving us shout outs the whole time. then the owner of the rodeo grounds came and told us that we get free burgers and so that just made it that much better, plus I was wearing some awesome boots and a sweet belt that I borrowed from doc olaveson, the vet, you know me I can’t do anything even remotely cowboy without getting as cowboy up as possible. If I had my choice I’d of had my wranglers and hat on too. So that was our weekend it was a good time , oh and for dinner 2 nights in a row we had steak and shrimp and it was so yummy in my tummy.
anyways.......Christine is 18 and she's dating the smaller guy in white that’s baptizing her , he’s legit and he’s an RM from Argentina, and then Waylon is a whole different story and he’s been doing really good lately except he’s having a hard time quitting smoking and coming to church but he’s pretty legit. He knows everything is true and has a strong testimony but he’s just struggling right now plus with a brand new baby things aren’t perfect....... my responsibilities as senior comp. are to make sure that we are working hard , and that we are being obedient and that we don’t do anything really stupid, and I get to drive. but really the only big differences, (cause I kind of was doing those things before to the best of my abilities) are that I drive and that I feel alot more goofy if I’m corrected on anything that I should of known.... just a random note kind of, I started reading the BOM over again, and the new testament and Jesus the Christ this last week and its intense, I feel a little smarter every time I read it, it’s neat.
As for lessons out of preach my gospel tell Colin that the best ones for now would probly be chapter 4 recognizing the spirit , or ch6 Christ like attributes, or really any of the lessons in ch3 cause that will get him familiar with what he will be teaching when he goes out........ ......... Preston will come home in about nine months cause he comes home almost exactly 6 months before me.
Well mom I better close but I want you know that I have a very deep and strong testimony of this church, the gospel and the plan that our Heavenly Father has given us out of love. I love striving to increase my faith and testimony each day and I know that our family and I are being blessed for the service in which I am in. I hope you know that I love you and everybody dearly and that we are all so blessed to have the gospel in our lives; I don’t know what I would do without it any more. Have a great week and I’ll try to mail off dad’s letter this week sometime. LOVES
love bubba

Lov'n Rigby

2010-06-30T11:28:00.004-07:00

Elder Fife and Montgomery with W. Judd
Idaho Road Kill
Christine's Baptism

Trip to Ammon for P-day shopping and a visit or two.

2010-06-09T18:18:00.003-07:00

Elder Fife and Elder Montgomery
6-7-10
Hey mom,
Hey thanks for the email this week , I loved it, I’m glad to hear that you were nice to the missionaries when they came , and I hope you didn’t cry too much.................that’s crazy about Jake getting changed, see what else you can find out and let me know that’s crazy ( Greg's friend jake had his mission call to Billings leaving in two weeks, he received a call form Salt Lake that said his mission was being changed and he received his new packet , he is going to Chili) .....................I’m glad to hear that that everybody is gettin more missionary minded, 2 weeks ago we had stake conf up here and it was all about member missionary work to..........I’m doing really good, today we went into Idaho falls for shopping and stuff and we stopped by the Weller's and the Lord's real quick to say , they are awesome families and feels good to know that I’m missed, I mean I know ya miss me at home but like in my mission areas............but I’m doing good, feelin pretty good and we have another baptism tonight so ill send those pics next week I can’t believe that this transfer is almost over its been a quicky..................it’s been pretty wet and windy this week , hasn’t got too cold just wet and windy.........I just finished the BOM this week and so I’ve been reading alot from "Our Search for Happiness" thank you by the way for sending those books, but I love that book and how clear and simple yet how powerful at the same time that elder Ballard is, I got a few copies at Deseret book today to help with investigators, so they can read a little and understand a little more so but yeah I love it and so far my favorite line from it is," faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a power to be reckoned with in the universe" man that sentence is just so powerful to me , the principle of faith is just so intriguing to me where as before my mission I hardly ever even knew what faith was except that is was good to have but faith now is so boss awesome to me now that I love anything talking about it.................work outs are going pretty good, we haven’t done p90x for about 2 weeks, but I been tryin to jump rope alot...........I’m excited for meg and Jared they sound really happy and so I’m excited for them ( moving to San Diego) I just want them to be happy......I’m glad to hear dad could tough out the testing this time , it makes me proud of him, .........I thank you so much for all of your prayers, and love and support, I love you so much and hope you have a great week, take care and know that I love you, and that I know without a doubt in my heart and mind that this is the true church and I love my Savior and having a testimony.
love bubba

The Rigby Experience...

2010-05-26T10:36:00.002-07:00

Hey Mom, 5-24-10
I’m doing really good, sorry about last week, we showed up at the vet. office where we usually do emails and there were already elders here, and so we got jewed out of it , so we did have a baptism last Monday, well actually 2 it was a mom and her daughter, they are way cool , it went really good...........that little house across the street from the vet is the one we live in.......the work is going awesome, we are having so much success and I’m loving every minute of it...............we have like 4 more baptismal dates for the next 3 weeks it’s pretty exciting, Rex who lives next door, we been working a lot on his farm, I’ve learned the last couple weeks that cows are the stupidest animals in the world, we had to help him with some calves, branding and rubber banding of the bull calves, they are so dang ononry and did I mention stupid.............it took us all day just to get like 4 of them done it makes me think twice about having any cattle , horses are still fine but cattle are retarded........by the way burnt cow hair from branding really aren’t that bad.......... rex passed out and so we called an ambulance for him , but by the time they got there, he was up and on his quad ready to work some more he’s the most stubborn old man in the world....................the people here are awesome they help us so much and hook us up with so much free stuff we get all the free eggs and bread we can handle here its awesome.....me and Elder F. are doing great and Elder Q has changed quite a bit, as I look back though now I realize how much of a stubborn guy , I was so stupid , all he wanted to do is work hard and have success as a missionary, and I was to set in my ways and prideful to see it.............but I think we are on pretty good terms now...........Its gonna be so awesome when I get home because the new baby is going to be the same age as Graham was when I left so I can somewhat pick up where I left off , haha ha, that sounds kind of bad but it makes sense to me.....sounds like you all had a blast going to Cali, I’m glad grandma had fun.......
I’ve been feeling pretty good, nothing to out of the ordinary........alright I love you so much and I love this gospel so much it brings me so much comfort and joy into my life......I know without a doubt that this is Christ true church and that we will be together forever as an eternal family.
Love bubba

Elder M. in Pocatello, Just transferred to RIGBY

2010-05-09T17:32:00.006-07:00

Third transfer

2010-05-05T20:58:00.003-07:00

Transfers are today and all he told us was he is going somewhere up North,, guess we'll find out where he is Sunday when we get to TALK TO HIM!!!
5-3-10
hey mom,
I'm doin pretty good, it was a better week , had a couple new investigators, and a couple baptismal dates set, on top of the few that we already had, and then what happens, just like in Ammon, we start pickin up and get some dates and then I get booted to a new area, but I'm trying to stay as positive as possible about it, by the end of my mission I'll be a master sower, just leaving behind investigators for whoever to reap, I dont mind too much , I still count some of them as my baptisms if I've taught them 3 or more lessons, cause there are only 4 lessons.............but I know that its all for my experience, just like what it says in D&C 122 , by the way did you put that on my plack, and you should send me a picture of my plack, in my email next week, I love planting seeds, that's my job.............so don't send anything else to the my Poky address, and I'll let ya know asap what my new address is so that you can tell everybody to send stuff there...........................I'm hoping that I go to like west Yellowstone or something that would be sick, I still remember watching those missionaries there when we went on vacation up there....................I'm glad y'all had a good time at women's Conf. sounds like ya had a blast .
Anyways, so it was a good last week, I don't really know what else to say, other than I'll be calling you this week and its gonna be epic, I do have a calling card, so I'm good, and I'll tell ya all the cool details of where I'm at and everything like that., sorry this is shorter, but we get to talk for a while later on, I love you so much , have a good one, mucho take it easy ,
love bubba

In Poky Id.

2010-04-01T10:09:00.001-07:00

Greg is serving in Pocatello Chuubuck area he is in the second area, fourth companion Elder W. These pictures are of a service project Greg, Elder Price and two other Elders were doing for a Sister in their area. Alot of fun.

These are some random mission pictures.
This is a Elder M. with a quilt that Sister Anderson in Ammon made him before he was transferred

Relaxing at the district leaders apt, where they spent Christmas eve.

Elder M. and Elder Hancock from Gilbert

First Snow Greg loves the cold Idaho is the place for him.

Greg was allowed to go back to his first area for Cami's baptism. He taught her with Elder Hayes and Quillion,she was his first Baptism. A very sweet experience.

Down on the Farm 101

2010-03-15T08:07:00.006-07:00

SERVICE PROJECT 3-14-10

Yep its is Greg-Bubba in true Missionary form:)

2010-03-01T13:34:00.002-07:00

Comp #3
Comp #2
Comp #1
Yes there is Snow in Idaho:)
3-1-2010
hey mom,
wow this week kind of flew by , some days were slow but for the most part it went kind of fast , so last p-day right when I got done emailing you we went shopping and then went to lunch at that mexi food place it was awesome and they the best horchatta ever, I gotta a big cup of it and drank the whole thing and then refilled it right before we left and put it in the fridge at home and so I sipped on it for the rest of the week , yummmmy in my tummmmy, then the rest of the day we played this awesome new game , called glow ball. we went to the church gym and turn off all the lights and put towels and what not at the doors and so there is no light what so ever and you take some like rubber glow in the dark volleyballs and play everybody vs everybody dodge ball with them, its epically awesome..............Tues. was kinda crazy, in the evening we went by the schedule another appt with family we been teaching, he used to be catholic and she was less active , but he got baptized October 09 they are way awesome , but he’s working for a welding co. right now and Tues. at work a big sheet of metal got dropped on his finger and took half of his ring finger off, so we rushed to the hospital to see if they needed anything and or a blessing and when we got there they had just been discharged , so we went back to their house they had just got there, they had some family stuff happen so we were there all night trying to work things out we gave him a blessing, I love being able to give people blessings I helps me feel needed and it testifies to me every time that God loves all of his children........ so that was a crazy night .............Wednesday was good, we had a stake priesthood mtg. and it was really good I got alot out if it, the stake pres. ...Pres. K. talked are we serving God or serving Man....... then he related it to sports and I immediately thought of Colin and his choice to go on the trek , but he was talking about are we shooting to be an all-star for the Lord or an all-star for man , and what’s more important, I know that Colin is being an all-star for the Lord as he chooses to go this trek, it’s such a good experience..........skip to Saturday, we helped for a little while serving food and the stake women’s conference and then stayed to help clean up the we had Candice’s wedding it was kinda crazy but oh well it’s over with, they just had the bishop marry them in the relief society room, then this Saturday coming up is her baptism, which will be my first baptism, I’m not actually baptizing her the bishop is but it still counts as ours...........that should be interesting to.......last night we took T. and J. up to the visitors center for our investigator fireside, it went really good they showed a short video on how families can be together forever , and was made by the church and the people in it were talking about there husband dad and g-pa in it who had died, and I got really emotional the whole time , cause I couldn’t stop thinking about Grandpa Cluff the whole time and how I can’t wait to meet him and how I’m gonna hug him with all my might , I know that its only through this gospel that that can happen and I know that it will, that thought brings such peace to my mind and heart...........any ways I’m a big baby.........Sunday we also taught a Sunday school lesson in one of our wards about sacrifice and how Abraham was so willing to sacrifice his son, and the parallel to God sacrificing is only begotten son........ and how we all give things up in our life’s and sacrifice some things, but as we do that we are sacrificing our will to the father and them inturn that makes us more Christ like because he did the same thing he sacrificed his own will to the father , so that what I’m working on also right now is sacrificing my own will to the will of God, and I know that that will help me immensely.........I got some cool scriptures for ya that I've been reading and that I like Alma 17 ;31-33 its awesome and I never noticed it before but those are total missionary work verses you can totally apply them to the work.............alma 20;18 I couldn’t help but think of ww2 and how much blood was spilt of the innocent Jews and how Hitler really does have it coming , should a known better, he’s screwed, as well as those who killed any saints and Joseph Smith...................alma 26 great chapter on faith and especially humility from ammon.............and alma 29;14-17 it made me think of all my brothas who are in other parts of the world and how great it’s going to be after we all get back and see each other again, and then to go along with that Alma17;2-3 gives some comfort and what kind of joy we all feel for each other who are serving our Lord .,.......... it’s starting to heat up and guess what 5 MORE WEEKS TILL WE GET TO TAKE OUR JACKETS OFF ....YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will be awesome.............. but yes ill talk to the P's. soon about that..........I miss KC and those guys we really did have some good times before I left I hope to hear from them soon, give Shari my address and tell her to give it to kick I want to keep in contact with him..............we been hearing allot about the earthquake in Chile, all I have to really say about it all is welcome to the last days, large scale calamity and earthquakes in diverse places..............I can’t wait to be able to see those videos of graham that’s going to be way funnn..............yeah I haven’t got any Wedding announcements what so ever from anybody , tell Cede this Mark better be cool and treat her like an angel.............. that would be sweet if Colin and Hunter came to school up here cause me and Taylor are both coming up to, now that would be a party...... plus its cheap I have connections, and its awesome , keep encouraging them........plus no out of state tuition.......well I gotta go now, but I love you so much mom and family I hope your all doing really good and keeping the faith I love you all and take care , love bubba

Elder M. in Poky

2010-02-06T20:25:00.003-07:00

We have ways to make them feed us. Christmas at the Lord's
Eldr Price & Elder Montgomery 2-6-10 Poky

Elder Quillion & Elder Montgomery 10-09 Ammon

Jan. 25, 2010

2010-01-27T10:18:00.003-07:00

hey mom, this will be my email for the week.
that's cool that the mountains got that much snow is Colin stoked for that???......today its over cast but still a bit nippy out there and the wind is blowing like usual.
our teaching is going pretty good we should have 2 baptisms by the end of Feb and hopefully a couple more with dates set .
Now I'm excited to here where Tau is going, Isaac will be in Granger's mission, by the way can you get me Granger's address from his madre possibly.
Hey just keep workin on the bleachers they help alot just build your stamina up slow you dont always have to go all out
Tell Colin I'm proud of him for choosing the trek i would love doing that again...........its one of the best experiences before the mission.
well i think that's it, i love you and am waiting anxiously for your letter and package , so thanks, could you tell mama McBride to email me i wanna know all bout my brotha from my otha motha.......i love you so much mom i hope you have an awesome day and better week .....love elder bubba
Greg is sending his SD card home so we will post new pictures asap:)

Loving Pocatello

2010-01-13T10:01:00.002-07:00

1-11-10 Hey Mom,thank you for the email I'm really looking forward to to getting to the new pics of graham and the truck and my room and whatever else you think of to take pictures...............yeah sis Anderson and her family were way awesome , she didn't let me pay her for the quilt but let me tell ya its pretty awesome that is all I have to sleep with at night , mind you our heater in our place doesn't work very good and that thing keeps me way warm it's awesome ...................I thought of graham alot this week cause of his birthday , it was a little hard cause i know I'm missin some awesome parts of his toddler life and I miss him dearly but it just makes me that much more excited for when I'm back to run around with him alot.......
Things in my new area are good , a little slow we only have one progressing investigator but for the working part yes I'm working hard , we have been tracting alot alot alot alot and now its not too bad , I still don't really like it alot but I deal with it because its not as scary when you know what to say and how to say it and so yeah we've been doin that alot............things with Elder Price are going really good we luagh alot about things and its a good time I notice my self getting a little twang in my speech if I aint paying attenion thanks to him is kinda funy , but things are good , I've been working on trying not to talk to much in appointments because I just like talking to people and he's helping me alot of , so it is'nt awkward or anything and its really helping me. His year mark was Thursday and we had some SMOKED GATOR TAIL , his mom had sent it about a month ago vacumm packed it or whatever so but it was way good just tasted like regular old jerky then we had some smoked salmon to, he's big on bbq so he used to smoke stuff ..............
I tried to go out and jump rope a couple days ago and I only lasted about 4-5 minutes casue the whole issue where it happened to be NEGATIVE 8 OUTSIDE so that wasn't fun,......... we are only like three streets away form the mission office so we stop in a couple times a week to say hi and see if we can help with anything ...........our investigator is Elisa J., and wouldn't ya know she is in the exact same boat as Cami was , she wants to gets baptised shes 16-17 and her dad is way anti and doesn't want her to...........good times right?............
Thats cool that dad is gonna be a trail boss for the trek I wish I was there too help with that, it would be way fun............I'm excited to here about Tau's call that would be way freaking awsome if he got called here cause actually there are alot of Poly's here so but I won't get my hopes up too much............alright well I gotta go but I love you so much and hope ya have a good day and and awesome week. love elder bubba

Sweet Kindness given to Elder M.

2010-01-08T23:42:00.002-07:00

I received an email with this picture from a Sweet Sister J. Anderson in Ammon, Greg really like a quilt she had made for her son, so she made one for Greg. HOW SWEET IS THAT?

Jan 4th, 2010

2010-01-07T13:36:00.003-07:00

Greg was able to send an email to my phone to tell me he was on the comp and emailing , he only had a few minutes so this is short, but I will post his letter this week. He was transferred to Pocatello North the Chubbuck area, Dec 30.

"Hi Family,
wow cool for Nate, nashville huh thats way cool , lots of country music that would be neat.
my new
address=632 park lane
pocatello, id 83201
pass that on to every body who needs it . and if ya see any friends give them my email, pres said that i could email friends as long as you come first ;),......packing was no fun at all , i barely got it all i had too leave my pretzels,food, i have way too much stuff.....
elder price is from some where in florida "so small that it dont even got a name", hes 6'5 and easily 270 or so , big hick but we get along so well , he used to trap gators and wild hogs for a living so he has some awesome stories, awesome southern accent , and really bold with just about everybody he isn't afraid to say what he wants to and how he wants to, he's a way good missionary he's been out for a year on thursday. "

Christmas Day

2009-12-26T09:23:00.005-07:00

We had a phone call from Greg about 4 pm , it was so great to hear his voice and feel of his love for the work. He really loves the area he is in (Ammon), but transfers are coming this week, and he is looking forward to that. He says it has been really cold which he is adapting to, but when the wind blows it is brutal. We are so grateful for his good attitude, and the love for the people he is teaching. We are also thankful to the member familes that have taken he and his comp. into their homes, it is a nice comfort to this mamma's heart. Greg has recieved letters from many of his friends at home and Taylor McBride his bud that is serving in the D.R. he loves hearing from them all and says he and Taylor are already making plans for when they get home.
This eveing all of his district were getting together to learn the HaKa from a Hawiian Elder, and play some b ball, He is excited for that.
Greg Wishes Everyone a Great Merry Christmas, and expresses his gratitude for all the love and support from family and friends. He is loving his mission and is growing with patience and hard work. He loves you all.
Here is a goofy video clip that Br.W. took while Greg was talking to Family on Christmas, don't know who is goofier Br. W. or Elder M.

2009-12-09T11:30:00.003-07:00

hey mom yes its freezing up here, last night it snowed again but ive been keeping pretty warm dont worry ....those thermals are pretty much NEAT!!!!!! they keep me pretty dang warm so im good on that end...............you will probly recieving another letter soon from sis l's they are way fun to be with me and bro l's joke around about everything there arent very many serious moment when we are together and then you put him and br. w. together and and its the best and funiest train wreck you'll ever witness they are all really good friends around .........sis l's dropped by last night and gave us a little charlie brown christmas tree, its pretty awesome so ill take some pictures of that and what not and send those....by the way sorry for getting a letter to ya this week it was a busy one so but i need to get a letter written and i have some good pics to send ya , that little printer i bought off hays is awesome i can just plug in my card and pic some pictures leave and in about three min they are printed right there its really nice.................we are planning on meeting C's parents sometime this week hopefully they will see that we are just normal humans trying to make the world a better place..........ok, i got the sheets and hat ,thank you, ....if ya wnat to just send the watkins straight to our apt with two things , the duffel and shoes inside , then send the rest to the weller's cause that's where we will be on christmas ...........thats all i can think of for now that would be awesome.....me and E.Q are gettin along better now still not perfect but who is ya know he has to show alot of patience with me and i have to show alot with him so its hard but its workin so i cant complain too much,, hes a really good missionary , i cant wait till i actually am blessed with a comp that i dont have to try to get along with , i just am excited to ever get one where we just click that would be neat........zone conf was really cool we got to watch that rugby movie forever strong it makes me wanna go play, on the rugby field that would be fun to do after the miss...im excited to here back from kc and chad sounds like they are getting excited to go out..........i hope i get a letter soon from taylor i wrote him a long one awhile ago...........OH HEY i got a letter from E last week ....it was awesome. anyways she shared with me some of her problems about the lds church so i just got done writing her a long one back explaining everything and im sending her bom that i bought for her in the mtc and i asked her if she would be willing to listen to the missionaries down there. ....im not surprised that dad would rather go the f-ball playoffs than have a party tell him to quit trying to change the subject of becoming 50 and old ;)........... im gonna talk to the wellers this week and find out when will be the best time to call while we are there but we will be calling from there phone so but ill find that info out this week....share what i just told ya with meg to...alright i gotta go but i love you all soooooo much hope yall have a good day.......love bubba

Ammon, Idaho "I see the light"

2009-12-03T09:51:00.005-07:00

#13
hey mom ......so thanksgiving was really good we went to these less active members house to t-day it was really fun they had all their family there it was really fun all the guys in the family had a desert contest and that was way good........then we went to bro Johnson's he is the 5th ward mission leader he has 11 kids and over 60 grand kids and we ate some more desert there then we had another dinner appointment with some more less actives it wasn’t very good but oh well................so yesterday was a really long day I had food poisoning or something woke up about 3am pretty sick so I pretty much just slept all day we didnt go to church or anything I was dry heaving alot ...not fun..... then slept most of the night and now I’m feeling a little better still a little woozzy but have my strength back and can get up and move around I’m just gonna have to take it easy the next day or so but other than that its all good.......so I do have a list of a few things for Christmas that I made up this week but I kinda forgot it at the apartment and I dont remember what I wrote down except for my black nike basketball shoes that I didnt use very much before and like 3 or 4 other things that you can stuff the duffel bag with that I want.........I’ll try and get around to writing a letter this week if I have time ....last week I got letters from kc and chad both they were pretty funny...then just the other day I got one from jake degracie so I’m excited to write him back ........we were at a bishop Hobbs house talkin to him when his brother called and started yelling that byu won so thats how we found out it was neat..........umm things are going a little better with elder quillon but I need to work on it ...so we are getting along a little better now its not all to bad.......we committed three kids this last week they will be getting baptized early January so that will be really cool.............so there really hasn’t been much snow believe it or not , it just snowed last Sunday and that was it but most of it hasn’t even melted yet but other than that yeah not much snow , so I’ve only had to put the big jacket on once mostly I just wear my regular suit and my thermal top and I’m pretty comfortable unless it gets really windy then I throw on the gloves and beanie........that special blanket that ya sent me feels really good but it doesn’t keep me as warm as I thought ...so zone conf is on Thursday its from 8am -6pm and we get to watch a movie called forever strong I’m really excited just cause I get to see and spend time with elder hancock and elder medina and some others its gonna be fun.............I think I might have thrown my calling card away so ill most likely need a new one..........and one more thing , start writing down questions you have so when we are talking on the phone there's no silence..........................love you so much tell everybody hi and I love them..... love elder montgomery

2009-11-22T13:05:00.003-07:00

hey mom, I'm really good today,... last night i was feeling kinda sick I'm not sure ,... but I'm fine we went home right after dinner , so we went home i took some medicine and fell asleep at 7:30 didn't sleep very good through the night but oh well all that matters is that i feel better now and ill be alright hopefully. Anyways yeah things are goin pretty good me and elder hays will never see eye to eye on some things but other than that we are doing fine ya just have to learn to live with opposition sometimes...........it was really warm last week and now its gonna start droppin for sure now , I'm staying some what warm, if you could send up a pillow case and fitted twin sheet that would be awesome the reddish striped flannel thick ones those are actually perfect for keeping warm ,............so this week we got a new investigator her name is ---telling shes 18 her mom is a member but not active at all so i guess a couple months ago the relief society pres asked her if she wanted to take the lessons she said no then we stopped by like two weeks ago and she accepted so we taught her yesterday , it went alright it could have been alot better i hadn't taught the first lesson since the MTC i kinda felt like elder rogers of the best two years , so but it went alright she committed to read a little and pray , no church, but i know she felt the spirit when we bore testimony, it was a pretty humbling experience ... not every thing we said came out right , and it hit me that i haven't been studying my PMG enough lately so i made it a goal to make my personal study better next week it will go better , we got this guy who the sisters in our zone had been teaching over at his friends house in there area so sat night we went and met the sisters and his family at the visitors center he is a member but just wasn't active for awhile none of his kids are baptised so he's just working on getting them baptised he's a really cool guy....................so that's pretty nuts what happen at the cabin did every thing go alright is everything back in order up there?????
i really honestly don't know what i want for Christmas , right now all i want is to stay in this area , I've found a new trial for for me , you know my problem with getting attached to people yeah well its happened again the W's are just awesome they want us over for Christmas and stuff and we've made really good friends with the T's he's the best guys in the world just so many families that we have gotten to know now its gonna be really hard if i get transferred which transfers are next week so its soon and i have a feeling that i might be transferred its been happen lately for alot of people that they are in a place for their 1st transfer then get transferred to another place and stay for ever , pres colton is trying to have it so that 6 months is the minimum stay for most elders ..............so I'm a little scared for that and the fact that i have to pack every thing i just unpacked again and carry it some where else............anyways, so tell people if they don't get a letter off this week to write the mission home address when they write me cause i just ain't sure if ill be here that long we will find out this next Sunday night if and where we be goin, then transfers are the 18th........don't know what we be doing for thanksgiving ......tell Bro Ridgeway congrats for me that's awesome!!!!!!!!! i better get a letter from all those peeps soon, chad, paige, chels, and andrew too, if ya see jake again give him my address alright thanks...........i haven't heard from any of those guys yet I'm excited now, ..........well i gotta go but i love y'all so much , this work is awesome , find out if Taylor has email over there and if he does then send that asap cause that will be the easiest way for me and him to communicate.................again i love you all keep the faith ,
Elder Montgomery,

tell every one ya see that i love them no matter what friends or whoever!
He didn't get transferred he stayed in Ammon and has a new companion we are waiting to hear all about it. same address 2792 Ammon Road, #2, Idaho Falls , Idaho 83406

What ??? No Email this week :(

2009-11-09T20:59:00.002-07:00

No email today , I promise I will post when it gets here.
Last week it was only two lines.
We are hearing from him though he has sent us two micro casset tapes which are really cool , it is nice to hear his voice. Twice people have sent us pictures of Greg and his Comp. having dinner at their houses. The perks of being in the states.
I will post his next email or letter :) thanks for checking in on him.

MTC and Ammon Idaho

2009-10-30T10:14:00.003-07:00

10-13-09 I love getting mail !!!

2009-10-18T11:22:00.002-07:00

Dear Mom & Dad, 10-13-09
Pres and Sister Colton are awesome. I thought he would be a big stern guy, but he is quite the contrary.
When we got to airport they were there waiting with arms wide open, The love they have for each of us just radiates from them. It was such a relief… so don’t worry I’m in good hands.
We flew on a small airplane from Salt Lake, the Pocatello airport is about as small as a portajohn.
Mom I’ve been thinking a lot about Grandpa Cluff. Even though I don’t know him I know he is up there looking out for me while I’m doing this great work, I can’t wait to meet him…..
.. tell Frank Hatch ( aka Tyler ) that even though he is injured I still love him.
… Send me more pictures of Graham, I love seeing him grow, the one of him in the popcorn bowl is my all time favorite…man I miss him so much.
When I got to the MTC I had missed seeing Elder Holland by one day he had been there the day before, I was pretty sad about that… Elder Holland’s talk in conf. was just incredible, I try to listen to it every chance I get, we watched it during district meeting yesterday, can you send me a cd with his talk on it?
Pray for my friend that she will feel the love and spirit of what I wrote to her , and that her heart will opened and softened. I am trying to teach her, through letters so pray she feels the spirit.
I’ve been watching what I eat, and only eating small portions so far it is good. It’s gonna be tough, my first dinner appointment what do we have? yep you guessed it , fried chicken and mashed potatoes, I was laughin on the inside pretty hard, don’t worry I didn’t eat very much.
We cover only one square mile area, it is all walking and we average about 10 miles a day so that’s a plus and I don’t need to buy a bike yet.
Monday night we taught a girl named Cami, she is 17 and just so brilliant, she is getting baptized the 31st, next Monday we are taking her to the visitor’s center to see the Joseph Smith movie, I’m excited because, I love that movie, but I’m more excited for her. Last night we taught a family they did have a baptismal date but they are recovering alcoholics, they are struggling a bit with their addiction, but I think they will start getting better.
Could you please send me my speed rope, … so I have been exercising but I need some cardio and since we can’t run , ( Comp doesn’t like to run) the rope would be my best bet. Elder H , was a wrestler in high school and he said ropes is a great way to lose weight.
I was asked to sing in a quartet with 3 other guys for Zone Conf, It's a different song that I don’t know , but I think everything will go alright.
I can have more music then I thought so can you send some mo tab and efy songs I’ll add a list. I’m going to ask Pres Colton if I can have the New “Another Testaments” to show Cami our investigator, I know she would love to see it, plus it carries such a sweet spirit with it. I’ll have to get permission from Pres C. but I don’t see how he wouldn’t, because of the strong spirit and testimonies that are in it. Write soon I love mail, tell everyone I love them and they need to write too.
I love you so much,
Elder Bubba

2009-10-12T21:38:00.002-07:00

Our first email from Elder Montgomery in Idaho I have just given bits of it because there are some personal tid bits he probably wouldn't want me to include. You can see he is still funny Greg with some of the rough edges being polished.
To Be Continued -2011 watch for the growth its bound to happen.
10-11-09
Alright well I’m up here it was a pretty crazy first day we went to Pres. Colton’s house for breakfast then we went trackting for a couple hours in Pocatello central( getto) so that was a nice welcome present , then back to Pres. house for orientation stuff then dinner, then fireside, and testimony meetings, and then location and companion assignments at the end, I have been assigned to the area of Ammon which is cool sense he’s ( Ammon) basically the coolest missionary in the bom , and my comp is Elder Hays , he’s from Houston, Texas he’s pretty big he used to be a wrestler so he used to be in way good shape then his senior year broke his knee or something and gained like 80 lbs before he got out then he gained about 30 more out here but he’s been in Ammon for 4 months now and has lost about forty, even though he eats like there’s no tomorrow, this guy can pack it in......
its really cold up here the 3rd day here it snowed for 2 solid hours none of it stayed on the ground but and the last 5 days it hasn’t gone above 50 degrees yeah I know I just walk around with my hands in my pockets the whole day, it looks like we might get more snow today. ...
We taught a less active guy the other day that has a problem givin up chew but he wants to so he can baptize his boy, we taught him about the atonement and then he asked me for a blessing it was pretty awesome, so far he’s keeping away from it......
elder montgomery
2792 ammon road #2
idaho falls, id 83406
i love you so much mom and dad thanks for all ya do and have done for me, i gotta go now bye loves

The MTC

2009-09-21T15:17:00.002-07:00

We received our first , short letter from Greg Saturday. He is ok with the MTC so far he knows it will get better. ( thats what everyone is telling him) . He thought the roleplaying his first day was kind of fun, and he needed a few things.
Short and sweet to a mama that is for sure, but so glad he is there. His PDays are Tues. so we should hear more tomorrow:) , till then all our love and appreciation to friends, family, leaders, who have pulled, pushed, prodded, and loved this Awesome Son of ours he would not be where he is without your love.
Love you all Mama Montgomery

Airport... sending him off...

2009-09-18T01:42:00.003-07:00

And now we come to the hard day... the hardest day

we've probably had yet in our immediate family.

Sending Greg off... for TWO whole years,

it WILL be hard, and we will MISS him like

no other- but Mom said something I think

was very profound. And in a way, it has given

us peace. We know that this time will be hard,

but she said "At least he's not going to war".

That took my worry as a whole, and cut it in

half. Yeah it will be hard, but at least we know

he'll only be in Idaho. As the saying goes, we'll let

him be a "strippling warrior". Here was our

final farewell for the next two years...

Mama, Greg, Papa

Brothers, who were actually nice to each other for

a whole week! What mission's can do! ;)

Bubba & the Bawden's! Greg's gonna miss little
Grahambo the most I think!

Dun- dun-dun! The very sad moment of the day...

Big sister Meg & her husband Jared missed the

airport in what was a HORRIBLE misunderstanding!

Since I'm writing this post I'll just say that was

one of the worst moments in my life- to say my final

goodbye to him over the phone. This picture says

it all! I could hardly say goodbye between my sobs

and just overall being a complete basketcase to him!

Poor guy, I should have kept my composure!

I told him he just has to give me the first hug when

he gets home since now I haven't seen him longer

than any other family members! ;)

And so it is, and so it will be for the next two years-

Elder Montgomery of the Pocatello, Idaho mission.

Good luck Bubba- we are all prayin' for ya!

LLLLOOOOOVVVVEEEE YYYYYOOOUUUU!!!

Setting apart...

2009-09-18T01:17:00.005-07:00

Sunday night Greg was set-apart as a full time missionary for

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Here are some snap shots of the big night!

Best of friends! Greg & Taylor McBride

Taylor leaves for the MTC 1 week after Greg, and

will be serving his mission in the Dominican Republic!

Just finished the setting apart & hugs- this is

his first picture as an "official" missionary!

Here is Elder Montgomery with brother-in-law Jared &
big sis Meg(older but shorter! ha ha!)

Greg and Taylor in their new mission suits!

What a couple of studs! We love them both!

Greg just taking it all in after being set apart as a full

time missionary. He's gonna be great!!!!

The crew after the big moment! Having a laugh after

speaking our thoughts & shedding some tears...We're gonna

miss this kid!!!

The moment Greg knew it was FOR REAL....

Handing over his cell phone to mom, it was a sobering

moment for him for sure! LOL

♪Goin' the the Temple and we're♫... going on a Mission!

2009-09-18T00:51:00.003-07:00

One of the things Greg had to do to prep for the mission was attend the temple.

Here is with Mama & Papa Montgomery, just after going through for the first time.

It was a very special day for him.

When he got the call....

2009-09-18T00:37:00.003-07:00

Sunny day in July, our family is getting excited for our upcoming trip to Newport Beach, CA... But something more is causing a buzz around the house- Greg's Mission Call.

It came, and we didn't believe it- we joked and laughed, but there never could have been a more perfect call than POCATELLO, IDAHO for our Bubba!

Greg and Taylor going out to check the mail!

Our very lives had been threatened if we opened

that mailbox before Greg! (LOL- Mom peeked anyway!)

It came! It came! It's really here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family gathered around and he was SO worried someone

would steal his thunder he had to open it on the stairs so

he could ensure he was FIRST to see it! ;)

There ya go! In black and white, and suprisingly really

personally signed in blue pen by the prophet..... Pocatello, Idaho!

We thought Greg was joking about the first 3 times he read it. Everyone who knows Greg knows he is the biggest jokester of them all. But when he tried to spell it out to us, we knew it must be true! After the initial shock, and a look at the map- he decided it must be fate since it's really cold there(which he wanted), and part of the mission covers Yellowstone National Park- which is SOOOOO up Greg's alley! MTC here he comes! September 16, 2009

Last "Hawks" game...

2009-09-17T09:03:00.003-07:00

As many of you know Greg is a very loyal fan to his alma mater- Highland High. (Much to my dismay! Go GILBERT!!!!!!) He has even been the Highland Hawk Mascot on occasion. Colin is a junior this year and our family enjoys watching him play on the football team. This was the last game Greg got to attend, as Colin will graduate before he returns home. It was a fun time & a great game- they killed Perry High 14-0! Dare I say...go hawks!(??) ;)

The brothers... nuff said!

One of the many faces of Greg! Seldom is he serious

enough to get a smile the first picture!

The sib's with Greg's BFF Taylor
(who leaves on his mission to the Dominican Rep. in a week!)

Once again a Greg face as I try to get a pic with my bros! LOL

Greg's 19th Birthday!!!

2009-09-17T08:49:00.003-07:00

Our family was lucky to get to spend Greg's 19th Birthday with him, only 6 short days before he left on his mission. We were thankful to be able to have that time with him.

Birthday lunch at Olive Garden!

Bubba, Graham, Chels, Momma, Meg

Uncle Bubba, and Grahambo

Crazy to think Graham will be 2 1/2

when Greg gets home!

Greg getting creative when Mom runs out

of birthday candles. We sure will miss his

constant joking, but look forward to it

in his letters!!!

It was a fun day filled with friends and family. I think

he ate a total of 5 birthday meals if I'm not mistaken!

HAPPY 19th Greggor! We love you!