Hermana in Houston: Week 38: Best Birthday Ever!

I had the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

I've been joking the last couple months about how "great" my golden 21st birthday on the 21st was going to be as a missionary... little did I know that it literally was going to be the best.

Hermana Miller woke up at 5:30 and decorated the apartment before I woke up! They all got me presents and signed a giant card and everything! Then they made me crepes while I opened my presents! Mom, you did SO good. & I cannot believe my Young Women! They sent me a giant package with so many letters and presents!! I am so so so blessed!

Then we spoke in church! It felt so good, I am finally getting this language under my belt!

Then we had the Mission President's fireside. UNREAL. One of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my entire mission. We sang in a big choir of missionaries and it was priceless to watch the spirit hit people like a wall as we sang "Army of Helaman." Not a dry eye in the place. During the dress rehearsal they all sang Happy Birthday to me! So nice!

It was the best birthday I've ever had!

The day before was the birthday of a member's son in our ward, so she invited us over for dinner and cake. The whole family was there and it was such a party! haha It was SO MUCH FUN! We had fajita and pico de gallo {to die for} and they told us so many stories about growing up in Mexico and their conversion stories. I absolutely loved it!

It was such a tender moment this week to realize how far I've come. We were doing a practice teach during companion study and I could tell that Hermana Perry was disappointed with herself. I decided to pause and just remind her how great she's doing and how loved she is. I had a flashback of when I was being trained and I HATED practice teaching and I would just cry, and I remember Hermana Hoj or Hermana Driesel just hugging me and telling me I could do it. I realized how much I've grown! I'm on the other side of it! I am so grateful for the things that I've learned on my mission and the person I have become.

Remember that "bad allergic reaction" Hermana Miller had to the bug bites last week... they progressively got worse and worse to the point her eyes were swollen shut and I finally called the nurse for her and made her get the soonest available doctor's appointment. The doctor couldn't figure out what it was, but gave her a shot and a bunch of medicine. That night we were in the apartment and the English sisters we live with were freaking out about her bites and asked her if they were bed bugs. Hermana Miller was like, "No! I've checked a million times! Look!" Lifts up the mattress to prove her point.... and two bed bugs are sitting right there. They came in on the stupid bunk bed they were so excited about. Had to take the stupid thing apart and get it out of our room, but it was already late at night so Hermana Miller slept on her desk and Hermana Perry slept on the floor. Then the Assistants brought in all new bed frames and mattresses {I swear all we have done this transfer is put together their beds}. Quite the adventure and I am happy to report that I don't have any!

One day we went to visit this family the English sisters had found for us, they speak very limited English so they had us go visit them. They have been telling us for weeks how amazing they are, and we were finally able to get in with them. It started out so good, and somehow it got so so so wrong. We sang them a hymn and before we could even say anything they went off about how they created their own religion based on information found on the internet and their own ideas from the Bible, and how they are the only three people in the world who know the truth. The way he spoke was so creepy and ritualistic and condescending. The Spirit was gone before you could blink and left this disgusting, twisted feeling in my stomach. I never want to feel like that again in my life! Hermana Miller wanted to try to teach or testify but I got us out of there as fast as I could. He told us his hobby is to teach missionaries of other faiths the truth. They set an appointment to convert us next week. haha

A neat miracle from this week was during the first lesson with one of our new investigators. I started to introduce the Book of Mormon and she reached over and touched it, complete shock on her face. She told us that she was taught by missionaries when she was 10 in Honduras, and that she had read the Book of Mormon before, but that she never found the church again! Ahh! ALL missionaries make a difference.

My favorite miracle from this week was the lesson we had with the professional martial artist in the English ward, the one where we met him because he was doing jiu jitsu in his garage as we were walking by? Turns out he has actually been less active for a while but when he saw us and talked to us in Spanish it brought back all of the memories from his mission. Another day I felt prompted to stop by and ask them for some water. He was so excited to see us again and asked for the direction of the church. He came to our ward on Sunday and loved it, and then called us over to his house for a lesson. It was such a good lesson and he is so excited to reactivate himself and he wants his whole family to go to the Spanish ward. It made me so grateful that we were in the right place at the right time and that we opened our mouths, AND that we followed promptings to follow up. I love being a missionary!

Funnies of the Week:

"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs... ohh wait."

We saw a cat "sail" jump off an apartment. Laughed UNCONTROLLABLY.

Only in Texas would they BBQ at 7am.

Only in Texas would they start wearing winter coats when it reaches 80 degrees.

Met a real nun!

At a member's house for my birthday lunch. "And for dessert... broccoli salad!" Literally.

We all admitted to thinking the crazy family tried to poison us. hahaha

Make Bishop cry during our lesson at his house: check. Be asked to speak on Sunday: check.

We are always in this certain block of apartment complexes and we always run into a guy coming home from work at the metro station across the street. He called out to us one night and said, "You're here more than I am! They should start making you pay rent!"

I love you all so much! I'd love to hear from you.

Hermana McOmber