So this week has been
pretty interesting! WE GET TO GO TO MONTREAL IN A WEEK!!!! SO EXCITED!!
But Elder Niederhauser had a kidney stone that wouldn't pass, so he had
to go in and get surgery on Friday.
They pulled out the stone, but there was a complication (something was
really tightly shut in his body so they had to open it and put in a
stent) and so he may have to stay in the MTC a couple extra weeks which
is REALLY hard for him. But he's still possibly able to come with us to
Montreal... so we'll see. Please pray for Elder Niederhauser!
One
night this week, we were going to bed and just kinda laying in bed
quietly. Elder Woo started to tell us this story. "So there was this
boy, a really long time ago. And he was a pretty special kid. Like...
really special. But he was living in this really poor town with his mom
(his dad was gone). He was also super smart and loved building and
fixing things, but the town where they lived was in the middle of the
desert so there wasn't really a lot to build and fix, except for these
race cars that the people of the town all loved to watch race. It turns
out this kid was pretty good at racing those.
"One day these
two older guys got stranded near the town. And they had this really
beautiful girl with them. They went to the little shop the boy worked in
(by the way, the shop owner was kind of a jerk and he really took
advantage of the boy and his mom, who were basically his slaves) and
asked the shop owner if he could give them some stuff to help them make
it where they needed to go. But they didn't have enough money to pay for
the stuff, so they started to leave. But the boy felt bad for them so
he decided he'd help them. In order to help them, he had to win one of
the races they had in this town."
Here the whole district is
enthralled in his story. But then Elder Bird goes, "Wait. Is this Star
Wars??" And Elder Woo goes, "Dang. I thought you guys would think I was
the best storyteller ever." We DIED laughing. Now we've begun a
tradition of telling really vague stories with no names involved and
seeing if everyone else can guess the movie. It's crazy funny.
I
was reading a talk this week by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is an
Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The talk is
entitled, "Lord, I Believe" and I would encourage all of you to look it
up. But Elder Holland addresses the story of a father who approaches
Jesus Christ with his son. His son is possessed by a devil and he has
tried EVERYTHING to help his son, to no avail. Then he hears of this
rabbi, who people are calling the Son of God, and who has relieved other
demoniacs of their burdens. With all the desperation of a parent with a
very sick child, he rushes to the Savior and asks Him a question that I
love. "If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help
us." This father is desperate for ANY help he can get, and while he
doesn't know if the Savior can actually help ("if thou canst do
anything"), he's trying hard to get help from our Lord. The Lord
responds with "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth." The father immediately cries back, "Lord, I believe,"
but follows that statement with, "Help thou mine unbelief." The Lord
then heals his son.
Sometimes we feel that in order to
receive help from God, we have to have perfect faith in Him. That is NOT
true. Elder Holland says something I think we could all learn from: "In
moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have
already won, even if that ground is limited." If we are willing to pray
to ask God for help, we are in essence declaring, "Lord, I believe!" And
then all we need do is ask for aid from our loving Heavenly Father and
His Son, Jesus Christ, and they will strengthen our conviction, deepen
our resolve, and calm the tempests that rage around us. And because of
the help they have given us, we will recognize that they have helped our
unbelief.
I testify that we have a Savior. I testify of the
truth that He knelt in a garden two thousand years ago and felt every
pain we will ever endure and took our sins on Himself so that we could
be forgiven of all of our mistakes as we come to Him and so that we
could return to live with Him again. To ANYONE at home who is struggling
with faith, with doubt, with uncertainty, I beg you to do what this
father did. Explain your struggles to your Father in Heaven, ask Him for
help. Remember that we are NEVER too far away for Him to hear us and
help us. He will help you and all who have just enough faith to hit
their knees and ask him to help them carry the burdens placed on their
backs. He has helped me countless times, and He will help you. I KNOW
that, and I bear witness of that truth in His name, even Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I love and miss every single one of you. I can't wait to hit the field, and I will see you in 23 months. :)
En avant!
Elder Bryan McOmber
Elder Woo and I forgot what the Mexican flag looked like... so we drew this.
Left to right: Me, Elder Woo, Elder Niederhauser, Elder Bird
Elder Woo and I outside the Provo Temple
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