Monday, September 28, 2015

Elder "Cucumber" & IT'S COLD!!! - Pictures too

Hello family and friends!

Um. It's cold.

I'm from Gilbert Arizona. Where the coldest it really gets during the middle of the winter, in the middle of the night, is around like 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is currently hanging around 50 or 55 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of the day here. And it drops below freezing often during the nights.

I think that I'm going to die. It's September. I'm legitimately terrified for this winter. People usually just laugh at me when they hear I'm from Arizona and that I'm going to be here for not one, but two winters. If you don't hear from me... send help. Preferably in the form of hot chocolate, 12 electric blankets, and a large dog with a keg of apple cider around his neck who will be willing to sleep in my bed and keep me warm.

For those of you who haven't already made the connection, the name McOmber has an uncanny resemblance to the word "cucumber." I had made the assumption that this would change when I switched countries and languages.

I was wrong.

The word "cucumber" in French is in fact, "concombre." Which is even MORE similar in its pronunciation to my last name. You are now reading the words of a missionary who has been lovingly (I think) designated as "Elder Concombre." Not sure how I feel about this yet. Do the people here like cucumbers? Would they be willing to take the missionary lessons from a cucumber? We shall see. Challenge accepted.

I have truly enjoyed this last week. We've had some really awesome lessons with our investigators, but I would like to talk a little bit about one of them. His name is Merville. He's 15 years old, and he and his father are both taking the missionary lessons, but separately. We had a great lesson with Merville this last week, in which we spoke about faith. He made a comment to the effect of, "It's alright that I don't keep this commitment to go to church on Sunday, because God knows my heart and He will forgive me. He knows that I love Him." I've thought about that a long time this week, and I have come to this conclusion. Merville made a great point. God knows our hearts, He knows how we feel about Him. So why is it that we go to church on Sundays? Why is it we should keep the commandments and keep the Sabbath Day holy and read the scriptures and pray and do all the things religious people who love the Savior do? If God knows how we feel... why do we do those things? Well, the only problem with Merville's point is that... he's wrong. His attitude toward why we do things is completely off the mark. We don't keep the commandments to show God that we love Him; He knows our hearts. I think we keep the commandments for three reasons (I assume that there may be more; don't take this as doctrine):
1) Because we love God. But we don't do it to prove to Him that we love Him, as He knows us all perfectly; we do it to prove to ourselves what we're willing to sacrifice to show our love for Him.
2) Because the commandments are there for our good. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. We NEED to keep the commandments so that we can progress. Keeping the commandments and reading our scriptures and praying is not for God; it's for us!
3) Because we have been asked by the Lord to "be thou an example of the believers." He wants all the world to come to Him, and if our Lord isn't important enough to us to try to keep His commandments, why would anyone around us think this gospel is important enough for them to learn it? "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see YOUR good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16; emphasis added by me :P) It's our good works that can help others recognize the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ and help them want to be a part of it!

Everyone, I love this gospel. I love it with all my heart. Why else would I be out here? I can't think of any other reason. I just love this work. I love the Savior. And with the missionaries and prophets before me, as well as those today and those to come, I stand as a witness that He lived 2000 years ago, that He gave His life that we might live with Him again someday, that He was resurrected three days later, and that He lives today and continues to speak to us through the words of modern-day prophets and apostles and through the Holy Ghost each time we pray.

I love you all and miss you daily. You are in my prayers always. Never give up! Keep trying to choose the right; it's so so worth it!

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber
 
 The river that runs through Victoriaville.
 
 Another picture of the reservoir here in Victo.
 
 Elder Rodriguez, one of my zone leaders, who I went on exchanges with this last week. He's awesome!
 

Monday, September 21, 2015

"Gangster" French, Charity, and More Pics!

Hi everybody!!!

Okay. Um. I know I've said this before. And I will probably say it again. A lot. But.

THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

I just LOVE my mission. The people have finally started to open up to me, and I actually understand what they're saying! Sort of! I really only get like 30% of what they say. But hey, that's not bad for having been here for just over a month! :P These people are just the best people on the planet. The French has this strange sound to it... called Quebecois... and I'm actually beginning to like it. I feel like a French speaking gangster! :P We actually have this really cool French member here in our branch, Brother Denis ("duh-nee") who we visit each Friday and read the Book of Mormon out loud with while he corrects our French pronunciation. It's super helpful, and he's the greatest!

We've had some... interesting experiences. We had a meeting in Montreal this week. I was on exchanges in Victoriaville with Elder Bird (he's one of the elders I was in the MTC with, he's the greatest!) and the meeting was at 9 AM Thursday morning. Since Montreal is about 3 hours of driving (with traffic) from Victoriaville and we had to be an hour early to the meeting, Elder Bird and I had to wake up at about 4:30 in the morning so we could leave on time. Only to find out when we arrived in Montreal that the meeting was actually at 10 AM. So we took a 30 minute power nap with Elder Boscan and Elder Herring in the car (Elder Herring is Elder Bird's regular companion) and then went to a bakery down the street. First of all... French croissants are AMAZING. While we were eating our croissants, a Quebecois man walked by us on his way out the door. Elder Herring smiled and said "hello!" The Quebecois man immediately turned on us and started yelling at us and flipping us off. Elder Herring said, "Okay, have a nice day!" when the man finished with his schpeel about how evil we are, and then the man walked outside, turned in the window and looked me in the eye. He threw up both hands with his middle fingers up and mouthed a very profane word. It was an enlightening experience for me to realize that some people, no matter what religion they are in, don't quite understand what it means to be a Christian. If we believe in Christ, if we tell others that we believe He is the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind, then we have the responsibility to act as He would, no matter who we are speaking with or what their beliefs are. It is alright to believe different things; that is a part of life, a beautiful liberty we have today. But... charity goes so much farther than simply loving those who believe like we do. We've been asked to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us. So... I guess that's one of the biggest challenges I'm going to face. Considering... I have definitely been cursed quite a bit. :P

On that note, I would like to talk about charity a bit. Charity has been described as "the pure love of Christ." In a talk given by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve, he spoke on the character of Christ, on His tendency to "look outward when the natural tendency in all of us is to look inward." I would encourage any of you to search the life of Christ for examples of this, because they are numerous, and I don't have enough time to list them adequately. But our perfect example, our Redeemer, lived a life in which He was ignored, rejected, cursed at, spit on, denied, betrayed, and crucified. And yet He was willing to give every last drop of blood, every tear He ever cried, in order to allow us the possibility to repent of our sins and come unto Him. He laid down His life for every person who ever has lived, who lives today, and who ever will live. And yet we excuse ourselves from forgiving and loving those around us.
"What she did was unforgivable."'
"I can't trust him anymore."
"She's not putting any effort into fixing things, so why should I?"
I would present something I've learned about charity that I hadn't truly realized before. Charity is a willingness to love those around us, no matter who they are, or what they've done or are doing, even in the midst of our own trials. If a man could kneel in a garden of olive trees and shed drops of blood for you and I, who inevitably sin and fall short of His requirement to "be ye therefore perfect," then how much more need have we to love and forgive and put effort into serving those around us who fall short of our own manufactured expectations of them?
I invite all of you to work this week with me on our charity. Apologize to someone you've offended. Forgive someone who's offended you. Serve that neighbor who's treated you badly. This is His work and His glory. After His parable of the Good Samaritan, He extended the call to His disciples as well in times of old as today; "Go, and do thou likewise."

I love and miss each and every one of you. I feel your love and prayers and am thankful for the lessons I've learned from you. Never give up on yourself or on others! Life is too short, and eternity is too precious! En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber
 
 We visited Mont Arthabaska, just southeast of Victoriaville.
 My exchange with Elder Bird. Super fun! Two greenies taking on the town!
 
 
 Left to right: Javier, Jose Luis, Elder Boscan, Daniella, Brianna, Itza, Nathan, and Camila. Camila is an investigator, and JL, Daniella, Brianna and Itza are all members of the Lucero family. They're the greatest members ever! :)

Monday, September 14, 2015

French Is Getting Better & Heath Cake Nightmares (also more pics!)

Hello friends and family!

Okay. First of all. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS. I love these people, I love this gospel, I love this mission, I love the town, I love the beauty all around here in Canada... I JUST LOVE IT HERE!!!! The French is coming along; I can't quite hold a full conversation yet, but I'm beginning to understand a lot more of what people are saying, and I can explain things pretty well in French. My vocabulary expands each day. :)

Something pretty funny happened last night. Apparently, I woke Elder Boscan up because I was yelling in my sleep about how someone was not allowed to do something. I think it had something to do with the dream I had about somebody stealing the Heath Cake that I made this week. I love Heath Cake, for the record. If any of you would like an explanation of what it is... check with anyone from my family. Trust me... we all know it very well. It's amazing. So yes... I dreamed about somebody stealing my cake. XD

I had a very incredible time this week as to the work itself. A few nights ago, we were able to teach the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a 13 year old girl named Camila. I found myself explaining how Joseph Smith received a vision from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and how the Book of Mormon came to be, and what occurs in the Book of Mormon.... in French! And she understood! The lesson just went really well. But the greatest thing I have felt this week, through experience after experience, is the great and incredible love which our Heavenly Father has for each of us personally. He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to live and die for us. I testify that Jesus Christ lives today, and that He and our Heavenly Father speak to us today through the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the words of modern day prophets, including our current prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. This gospel is absolutely and unalterably true. I know that with all my heart.

I love each and every one of you and wish you all the best! Never hesitate to shoot me an email if you would like to talk to me! You are all in my prayers. Never give up, and never forget Him!

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber
 
I found a lacrosse stick and a tennis ball in the apartment, and I am constantly messing around with it. I've gotten pretty good at annoying Elder Boscan with it ;) But seriously. I think I'll be a pro when I get home. :P

View of the Canadian countryside!

This is right across from the Victoriaville chapel!

Another view of the Canadian countryside, on the way to Quebec!
 

Monday, September 7, 2015

I LOVE MY MISSION & THE BOOK OF MORMON!!! (pictures too!)

Hello everyone!

Well. Victoriaville is officially my favorite place ever ever ever.

For starters, there's some seriously cool French people here! Like the Becquereau's. They're this French family (both the mom and the dad are from France) in our branch, and yesterday they had us over for dinner. The dish was called "raclette;" basically, there's a special grill sort of thing that you cook meats on top of while you melt cheese underneath, and then you put everything on top of potatoes and eat it and then you die because it tastes so good. It's apparently a very French/Swiss dish. So... I happened to enjoy that very much.

We have had the same awesome experience on two different occasions this week. First, a young girl named Valentina came running up to us as we were teaching Merville by the side of the road. She's about 8 years old, I'd say, and she tugged on my comp's shirt and said, "Hey! Come teach my family! We need you guys!" So we went and visited them and they told us we could come back and share a lesson this week! And then a few days later, we were talking to some kids on their balcony from the street and they said, "Come teach our family! Mom, can the missionaries come? Alright guys, come on up!" So we came up and knocked and the mom said we could come back today and teach a lesson! I'm super excited! These kids are hilarious! Elder Boscan and I couldn't stop laughing at the way they wanted us to come and teach them. It was so cool!

This week has been full of miracles. Too many to attempt to explain in detail. People have forgiven each other of grudges, several families have invited us (of their own accord!) to come and teach them, others have simply passed by and asked if they could come to church with us. It's been very easy to see the hand of God visible here in Victo. I love this place. But the greatest miracle this week has been in my own life. I'm not going to lie... everybody always said "You'll love your mission!" but up until this past week... I wasn't so sure. I missed home, I missed English, and I was just exhausted all the time. But Elder Boscan got sick for a couple days, which gave me unexpected free time to pray and study my scriptures. And I received undeniable testimony that our Heavenly Father can help us be happy even as we struggle! I have been able to go to bed smiling for a week because I now LOVE MY MISSION!!!! This is the greatest work on Earth! I love it! And especially, I LOVE the Book of Mormon! It's just absolutely the greatest book I have ever read! Reading it each morning and night feels like coming home. The words I read... I know they're true. I know it with all of my heart and soul. Please, if you do ANYTHING, gain a testimony of that book and NEVER let it die! It's the best thing that ever happened to me! I love it!

I love you all so much, and you're always in my prayers. You're the best friends and family anybody could ever ask for! Never give up! We're never alone!

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber