ELDER BRYAN MCOMBER Canada Montreal Mission: My new companion FROM GILBERT! & The Atonement: Being Trimmed Back So We Can Grow. More pics!

Well hey ya'll!

Ha. Ya'll. I haven't used that word in FOREVER. I miss the south! :P Or maybe I just miss the warmth... eh. Meme choses. (Same thing)

Well. Elder Boscan goes home on Wednesday. My new companion will be..... drum roll.... thank you to those of you who actually heard a drum roll in your head when I said that... to those of you who didn't, your loss... :P.... Elder Gutierrez! It's CRAZY because he's actually the only other missionary who Elder Boscan has trained! So Elder Boscan's two greenies will be companions in Victoriaville! AND what's crazier is that, he's actually from Gilbert too! He went to my rival high school! WHAT? That's seriously insane! Anyways, he sounds SUPER cool and I'm pscyhed to destroy this town with him! It's gonna be awesome!

Our branch president here in Victoriaville, President Furlano, and his wife had us over for lunch with them and their five kids today. It was a BLAST. They're so fun! For dessert we had these things called "Whippets"... it's like a little cookie with a marshmallow on top, covered in hardened chocolate. They have a tradition where you have to take the Whippet, count to 3, and smash it on your forehead, and then eat it. Yeah. Don't ask me, I don't know. Strange. But... I did in fact participate. It was a strange ritual to be sure. But hey, they tasted good, so ca va!

I have begun a study on the Atonement of Jesus Christ this week. This morning as I read the accounts of His suffering in Gethsemane, a thought came to mind as I read in Luke. The Savior was completely alone in His hour of greatest trial. Forsaken by many of His friends, He knelt and struggled while His closest disciples slept nearby. None were there to stay awake with Him; no mortal could lift Him up. He asked to have His cup of suffering lifted from Him; was there no other way? Could He find some easier method to save us all? Yet He followed His request with the masterful and obedient, "Not my will, but Thine, be done." There was no other way to save us from ourselves but through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He chose to do that for us. BUT. The Lord DID send "an angel from heaven, strengthening Him."

I think at times we all ask this question. "Father, is there no other way? Why does it have to be this hard? Why do I have to struggle so much? I don't understand! Can't we do this an easier way?" But if we choose to continue and trust Him, the Father responds, "Child, I know what I am doing. I know what you can become, and there are times when the only way to help you grow is to trim you back a little bit. But I can strengthen you through this. You are not alone. You are mine, and I am always here."

Our Savior had to walk alone through much of His struggles; and because of that, we do not have to. Never forget what He has done. If we will but trust Him, hand our will over to His Father and ours and say, "Here's everything I've got. I will be a tool in Thy hands," He will make us SO much more than we can imagine. Happiness does not come through us, it comes through giving ourselves up and serving Him.

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." - Mark 8:35

I love the Savior. Let it never be said otherwise. I know He lives, and I know He made it possible for all of us to live with Him again. I trust Him with my life and I know He is there for me every step of the way, as He is for all of us.

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber

Outside the Lalonde's house