Can I just say that
missions are AWESOME!!! I LOVE being out here! It's super stressful, I'm
exhausted all the time, people yell at us and ignore us... and yet this
is seriously one of the best things on the planet! Why? Because there's
also SO much love around us; the members here really love the
missionaries, and several of our investigators are really starting to
progress! I love being here and I love serving the Savior!
It's getting colder. Like... consistently dropping below freezing until about 10 AM.
I sleep under about 4 or 5 blankets every night. It's pretty
interesting. Many of the trees have already lost most of their leaves.
But the way people talk about winter here... it feels like the Germans
are coming. Everybody talks like all happiness has left the planet once
snow comes. I feel like I'm going to be that one missionary who's
skipping through the snow (at least... until I freeze to death) while
everyone else walks with their heads down, singing depressing songs and
refusing to make eye contact. Honestly... it's SNOW!! How can someone
NOT be excited about snow? I realize I sound completely naive and
foolish to those of you who have lived in snow. But hey, I'm embracing
it! Because snow depression is seriously a real thing and I refuse to be
a victim! :P
Yesterday, we went over to the
retirement home to visit a recent convert of ours, Ginette Girard. She's
been on oxygen support for most of her life, and she struggles to walk
so she spends most of her time in her walker/chair thingy or in a
special electric-powered scooter she's got. She's got a really bad
memory, but she remembers the lessons we've taught and she loves the
Savior. Yesterday, we watched a movie with her called "Finding Faith In
Christ." (It's REALLY good, I'd recommend it to anybody) As I watched
the scenes from the life of Christ unfold, I received a profound
impression. Up to that point, my day hadn't been going super well. I was
a bit discouraged and a little bored, honestly. But. While watching
that video, my attitude changed. Why? Because I realized some very
important, basic truths that EVERYONE needs to know because they're SO
important.
Jesus Christ is REAL. He was born to
a mortal mother named Mary, 2,015 years ago. He grew up under the
watchful eyes of both His earthly and heavenly parents. He was baptized
by a prophet, Jean the Baptist, who held the priesthood authority to
perform such an ordinance. He then commenced His ministry among the
Jews. He walked the lands of Jerusalem and Galilee, teaching all those
with whom He came into contact. He DID heal the sick. He DID raise the
dead. These are not stories, made up by power-hungry pretenders intent
on gaining control over naive believers. He knelt in Gethsemane, crushed
by the sins, weaknesses, and infirmities of all mankind, and then
overcame ALL of that so that He can stand with us and lift us in our
darkest moments. This is not a story, and I cannot deny the truth of His
divinity. He was more than a man, and after He willingly gave up His
life on the cross, He took it up again three days later. He and our
Heavenly Father visited a young 14 year old boy in 1820 to restore His
gospel here on the earth, and that gospel is found in The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He lives today, and He ministers
among His children through the Holy Ghost. I know to the deepest corners
of my soul that this is true. I would not be here, thousands of miles
from home and family, if I didn't. If you desire a testimony, trust
mine. I stand as a witness that He lived then, and He lives today. Jesus
was, and is, the Christ, and He stands with those who stand with Him.
Never forget or deny that truth, because it IS the truth, and none can
avoid it. If we yield our stubborn instincts into His masterful hands,
He will build us into more than we could ever be on our own.
I heard this quote from someone I looked up to very much last summer, and it has stayed with me ever since.
"Remember, when we hit rock bottom, that the rock, who is Jesus the Christ, is still beneath us."
He will lift us. He will carry us.
Come unto Christ.
I
love and miss all of you very much. You are in each of my prayers and I
enjoy getting your letters and emails. Don't forget me while I'm here
in Canada, eh? (see what I did there? See, it's funny, because Canadians
say "eh" a lot.)
En avant!
Elder Bryan McOmber
Elder Boscan and I... NO idea why he does this face.
Frere Denis playing the violin for us.
Elder Valencia, a very new greenie, and I on exchanges! Finally someone younger than me!
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