Well hey there ya'll! :)
I am slightly upset. It snowed this morning. Not a lot, and
not for very long, but still. WHY MUST SNOW CONTINUE TO FALL. It's seriously
MAY. People have been wearing T-shirts in my hometown for months, and I'm
currently wearing my snow jacket. Quit messing with me Quebec! I just want San
Diego weather year-round! Is that too much to ask?! :P
Okay. Rant over.
Aside from that, my week has been pretty good. The rest of
the week has actually been pretty warm; so warm, in fact, that many rather
overweight Quebecois men have decided it is a great time to sit outside on
their balconies in short shorts and just tan while smoking. I don't know who
invented this part of the culture, but they should be cursed to spend forever
walking down a dark hallway littered with Legos.
Oh, and yeah. I got to talk to my family. That could
probably be mentioned. You know that feeling when you haven't seen your
favorite people on the planet for like 5 months and then you get to talk to
them for an hour? No? Well, it's like the best feeling in the world. All you
people who don't spend much time with your parents and siblings, STOP IT! Go
hang out with them cause they're like the best people ever! Even if they steal
all of your clothing while you're a couple thousand miles away freezing to
death. :)
Funny story from this week: Well, it's better explained in
pictures, which I will send, but during our weekly planning session this past
Thursday, Elder Peery and I were getting REALLY bored of just sitting there
(weekly planning takes FOREVER). So, in order to stay focused, we had to keep
changing how we were sitting in our chairs. At one point, I was talking about
an investigator while simultaneously adjusting my position in my chair until I
looked pretty much like a human pretzel. I asked Elder Peery a question and he
didn't answer, so I looked up from my notebook and he just said, "That can
NOT be comfortable. Where is my camera." Sadly, I couldn't hold the way I
was sitting so I fell out of my chair before he got a picture. But we did get a
couple pictures to send.
This week, one of the biggest things I've learned is that
forgiveness is real. Both in people with whom I've served and in my own life, I
have seen the power of forgiveness change people's hearts. I promise that no
matter what you may have done, no matter how many times you may have fallen, no
matter how far you may have strayed, you have never gone so far that the
Shepherd will be unable to seek you out and bring you back. Repentance isn't
easy; it takes humility and courage and work. It takes a recognition of our
failures, and an understanding of His chosen path for us to return to Him with
"clean hands and a pure heart." Forgiveness has never come free; but
it brings freedom. I promise that any regret or pain or guilt we might feel
from past actions can be totally and completely removed from our souls if we
are willing to let Him take it all; if we are willing to do what it takes to
lay down our heavy burdens at His feet.
His path is an uphill one; but how beautiful the climb! His
way is not without responsibility; but how light His yoke! I promise that the
peace Jesus gives is worth all of the pain of repentance. I promise that He
wants nothing more than for us to continue to accept His Atonement and let Him
change us for the better. I promise He is real. I know He lives!
En avant!
Elder Bryan McOmber
District photo! :) Left to right, back to front: Back row:
Me, Elder Obering, Elder Noorda, Elder Pinkham, Elder Peery, Elder Perkes.
Front row: Sister Clark, Sister Goaslind, Sister Calderon, Sister Sheehy,
Sister Westover, Elder Westover.
Weekly planning...
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