Here comes winter!❄️ When an AWESOME investigator calls you to repentance. "Hungering" to talk to our Father in Heaven.

Hey everybody! :)

Well. It is now getting cold. The past few days I have had to put on my sweater over my shirt and tie in the evening. Elder Aulner is excited. I am... less excited. :P Nah, it`ll be pretty fun. :)

It`s been a pretty good week. We found out on Saturday that both Elder Aulner and I will be staying in Hochelaga for another transfer, which means I will be finishing his training. My son will be all grown up and saving China by the end of this transfer! *wiping away proud tear* Also, our zone just split, and we are receiving two new zone leaders at the same time, both of whom are from my own transfer! Elder Roubicek (who pretty much taught me what it means to talk to everyone) and Elder Sykes (who is the epitome of optimistic hard work). I am SUPER excited to work with them both; they`re so awesome!

I promise I have funny experiences during the week. It`s just that I never remember them when they happen. I think one of the funnier moments was during Gospel Principles (one of the classes during the second hour of church where we usually take our investigators). I was sitting next to one of our investigators, Valentin. He and I get along well. Before the lesson, the ward mission leader asked if Elder Aulner and I would give the lesson next week in Gospel Principles. We said yes, and then realized that this means we would be giving both the lessons in the second hour class and the third hour class. I whispered to Elder Aulner, "Should we ask him if we can teach the week after and the sisters can teach next week?" I said this in French, and Valentin overheard. He whispered to me, "Why?" So I explained that we would need to prepare two lessons as well as all of our other lessons throughout the week and he said, "So, what`s the problem?" To which I said, "Well, I guess I`m just lazy." So he looked at me with a dead straight face and said, "Elder McOmber, that is a sin." To which I responded equally seriously, "You`re right. I need to repent." I then turned to the ward mission leader and said we would teach the next three weeks in Gospel Principles. Valentin, Elder Aulner and I then promptly burst out laughing. (Luckily the lesson hadn`t started yet. :)) The ward mission leader was a bit confused, but eventually we figured it out and we will now be teaching two lessons next Sunday, because my own investigator called me to repentance. :P

I wanted to share something about prayer this week. I had a great exchange with Elder Udave this past weekend in which we talked a lot about prayer, and how to make our prayers more meaningful. As missionaries, we pray a LOT. Like, honestly, if ya`ll are ever wondering what I`m doing, you can probably be sure that I`m praying. :) But as a result, sometimes it can be a little bit more difficult to make each prayer meaningful. It can become easy to forget that we are having a very personal and real conversation with our Father in Heaven, the greatest Being in the universe (puts things into more perspective, right?).

I love the story of Enos, a character in the Book of Mormon. His father was a prophet named Jacob (different from the Jacob in the Bible). One day Enos was out hunting, and as he was hunting, he was thinking about his father`s teachings about Christ and His gospel. He states at this point, as he was pondering on his father`s inspired words, "my soul hungered." I think that my biggest point to make today is this: if we truly want to have meaningful prayers, we have to hunger to talk to Him! Have you ever spoken to someone and you could tell that they really weren`t into the conversation, like they really didn`t want to be there? Compare that feeling to the feeling you get when you are in a conversation with someone who seems like they are just hanging on to every word you say. They ask meaningful questions and they listen intently. My invitation this week is to do just that: tell Him about your day, ask Him meaningful questions, and listen intently with your heart. I promise you that He will answer and you will know that He has!

I love you all! En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber

The amazingness of starting General Conference with questions! Madagascar Moments. I KNOW the Book of Mormon is true...& here's how you can know too!

Hello everybody!

So it`s been such a great week. Well, the week itself went pretty well, but the weekend was AMAZING! I loved General Conference. A few years ago I followed some advice I`ve heard from several people and began preparing questions to take to General Conference. I always seemed to get all my answers, and this year was no exception! It seemed to me like almost every talk was directed straight at my questions. I love the fact that we have a living prophet and apostles today; they are called of God! :)

There was a pretty funny moment this week during a meeting we had for trainers and their greenies. (For those of you who don`t know, a "greenie" is a new missionary) Elder Aulner and I were talking with some other new missionaries and their trainers and someone asked one of the new missionaries how he felt he was doing with French. He responded quickly, "What`s your favorite number?" The other missionary said, "34." To which this greenie responded, "Ok. Now multiply that by 0." Elder Aulner and I had a pretty good laugh at that one. :)

I also had another great moment this week. To understand, you have to know something about me: Madagascar 2 is one of my favorite movies, mostly because of King Julian, but also because of the penguins.

Ok. So, Elder Udave. Elder Udave is one of my zone leaders; he and I knew each other earlier in the mission, because we were in the same district. He`s an awesome missionary. I was at the office with Elder Aulner when Elder Udave walked up behind me and dropped his planner in front of me and said, "We wouldn`t want these blowing around on the savannah, would we?" We then proceeded to quote back and forth pretty much the entire movie. Life is good. :)

I think the main thing I want to share with all of you this week is just my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is true. I know it. It was prepared by the power of God through His prophets to come forth now, in these modern days, in order to confound false doctrines and help us to find the straight and narrow path. I know that this sacred book of scripture is true by the exact same power as I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that His Father is our Father in Heaven. That power is the power of personal revelation. I have read the Book of Mormon, and I have prayed to know that it is true. And as we can feel the warmth as the sun rises behind the mountains at dawn, I can feel the warmth of the Spirit in my heart telling me that the book is true, each time I read it. I learn from it. I love it. And I would not be who I am today without it. I invite every single one of you, if you are not currently reading the Book of Mormon personally every day, to begin doing so, today. Study it like the Lord is speaking personally to you through those words, because I know He is, and He will.

This is the truth! I know it!

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber

Obedience to God's commandments brings us JOY! He ALWAYS keeps his promises...so I'm doing my best to keep mine.

Hey guys! :)

Good week. The temperature has dropped a ways and I happen to love it. Not sure how excited I am for the snow, though... we`ll see how that goes. :)

I had some fun exchanges this week with Elder Tallon, a missionary from England. He and his companion live in downtown Montréal, so the view from their apartment is pretty sweet. I went out and sat on the balcony for breakfast. It was sweet.

Still getting used to the métros. What is nice is that even in the middle of winter, the métros are supposed to be pretty warm. So that`s exciting. :)

Funny thing this week... eh, honestly, it wasn`t necessarily a super funny week­. A lot of walking and some meetings, and some great insights from zone training meeting, but I guess I haven`t really been too funny this week. I suppose I`ll try next week. :P

I am SUPER excited for General Conference this weekend! It`s so amazing to me how every time I have watched General Conference with a question or a few questions in mind, I have been able to get all my answers. What a great testimony to the fact that we have a prophet and apostles today! :)

The biggest thing I wanted to talk about this week is obedience. (I`ve talked about this a lot, I know) But I realized this week that sometimes (a lot of the time), obedience isn`t really the first thing we want to do. Sometimes as a missionary I wake up and I just do not want to talk to people. And sometimes I really don`t want to go out that day and walk all over the island trying to find our next lesson. Honestly, sometimes missionary work just isn`t what I want to do that day. It can be hard and discouraging and cold and difficult. But I`ve come to realize something important.

Obedience doesn`t have to be easy or fun. But obedience will lead to the greatest joy and contentment we can possibly find. Why? Because we are not given commandments to punish or belittle us; we are given them to fulfill Heavenly Father`s purpose "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Both for us, and for those around us, our Heavenly Father gives us commandments, because He wants us to be happy! That`s why! That`s the whole reason! He has no hidden agenda, no selfish desires. Making us happy is what makes Him happy! No wonder He asks us to lose ourselves in service; that`s what He does every day, and He loves it, and He knows that we will love it too.

I promised when I chose to be baptized that I would take the name of Christ on myself. This became literal when I became an official missionary for His Church. But I`ve come to realize that this promise can be applied in everything I do as a missionary. So when I wake up and I don`t want to get out of bed; when I don`t want to talk to that scary guy on the metro; when I don`t feel particularly inclined to try and stop that woman walking by in the street, I remember that I made a promise, one that I renew each week. And I remember that as we strive to be obedient, we are promised countless blessings.

He will keep His end of the promise.

And I will keep mine.

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber

Big cities are scary...

Hey look! A Hilton! :P