Hermana in Houston: Week 29: I Love Texas...I Love Being A Missionary!!!

Hola!

WE FINALLY HEARD FROM SPENCER! Ahhh! That was the longest three weeks of my life! He is doing great! I am just so proud of him!

What a week, where do I start...

This week I realized it was my five month mark in Woodlands! I absolutely love it here! It has been so much fun to look back and see how much I've learned and progressed. My ability to speak Spanish has doubled this transfer! I keep catching myself thinking in Spanish! So fun!

So heartbreaking to hear about the family that was killed. It happened ten minutes away from me. All week everyone was talking about it, but I couldn't figure out what they were referring to, until finally a member that spoke English told us. It was like a cold dagger was shoved in my stomach to hear it, we could all barely keep back the tears. What a blessing to have the comfort of this gospel amidst this evil, evil world.

Finished True to the Faith- learned SO much!

SANG MY FIRST SOLO! Granted, it was only to six elderly patients in a rest home, and it was in Spanish, but I felt so accomplished!

This week was exchanges with Hermana McCleary. We picked berries, sang to everyone, talked to a lot of drunk men, and she hypnotized a chicken... yes, way.

One night Hermana Chavez surprised us with spaghetti for dinner, and not just weird Spanish spaghetti, but good, healthy, home cooked, unreal good spaghetti. AND THEN as if I wasn't already in heaven, she brought out brownies and ice cream. I literally almost cried. haha

On Pday we went to the mall- so much fun! I got to talk to the cutest family from Mexico and then a man asked me what our views were on life after death. Success!

One day we contacted 27 people! We were over the moon about it! Our goal each day is 25, but depending on the appointments you have and the area you're in it can be more difficult, and we usually don't make it. But we prayed for the faith and courage to talk to everyone, and we got to work! It was so much fun! I loved it!

It is amazing to see that people really are being prepared. I remember multiple times we have had encounters with this one woman, and she seems to have taken baby steps in the right direction to be willing to talk to us, and one day we knocked and she let us in! We had the BEST lesson with her and she wants us to come back and teach her whole family, immediate AND extended! So neat! I've never seen someone light up like she did when I handed her a Book of Mormon.

There was one man we met this week who I didn't think was interested because he was so shy, but at the end of the lesson he literally took the Book of Mormon from my hands and started reading. We sat there quietly as he read to himself for five mintues! Then he looked up and said, "When can you come back?"

There is one menos activo (less active) woman we have knocked on her door twice a week for five months, and I've never met her... until this week! She was outside her house and I had to keep myself from running over to her. haha She invited us to sit down and we talked for over an hour! She and I just clicked and it was the neatest experience! Her daughter has talked to me a few times now and is really interested, and now her mom is willing to sit in on the lessons too! Miracle!

The best moment of the week, and one of the best moments of my mission, and possibly even my life, was when we got to talk to my friend Joanne. She rents a room with a member and I met her my first night in the mission field. She has had horrible, unspeakable things happen over and over in her life, so much death and sadness, and I met her around the time she found out her mother's cancer was terminal. She saw us praying and it made her weep. I've met with her a few times since that first night, always just letting her cry and let everything out. She doesn't speak Spanish, and she doesn't necessarily want to hear the lessons, but I always felt that our time with her was still important. The other day we got back in with her and were able to catch up with her. She told Hermana Clement a little bit about her story and ended it by saying, "In the lowest point of my life, when I had absolutely no one, God gave me Hermana McOmber. She was my only friend in the world. And she will never know what that means to me." Words cannot express how I felt in that moment.

Funnies of the Week:

Ate cactus for dinner last night!

There is this mean old man that lives on River Oaks that really doesn't like us. We visit his daughter and wife, and I just love that every time we walk through their garage he has his little corner that is filled with smoke, beer cans strewn in huge piles among the garbage and car parts lying around, and he's sitting in his rocking chair watching old black and white movies. This week was My Fair Lady. :)

I asked C how to say "the chills" in Spanish (like, "I have the chills") and he said,

"Calos frios"

and to me it sounded like he said "Carlos cold" in a Boston accent. Haha.

I love hearing from people that they read my blog! It always makes me laugh, like, "Ahh! Someone other than my mom reads this!"

Love you all so much!

Hermana McOmber