Hermana in Houston: May 2015

5.30.2015

Week 73: when a door closes, God opens a window

May 25, 2015

Mi gente!

I can literally count the number of weeks I have left on ONE hand! Ahh! Bittersweet!

My new companion is Hermana Medeiros! She is darling! We already have so much fun together.

Heavenly Father really blessed us for our efforts this week.

Our investigator A---- read all the way to 1 Nefi 17... uhh, I could have died of happiness!

We were walking through a neighborhood and saw a house with a gorgeous tree with giant purple flowers on it and decided to talk to the owners. It was a cool young guy, and turns out his cousin is a member in the Woodlands ward that both Hermana Medeiros and I have served with! Ahh! We had the BEST talk with him. No hymn, no prayer, no formal lesson plan, just connecting on a real level and answering his questions. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

Then on Sunday we were tracting in the same neighborhood and another cool young guy answered the door. We taught him a quick Restoration lesson on his front porch and his whole face lit up! He was so into it we gave him a Book of Mormon and he is so excited to read it! He even asked if he could hug us goodbye! It was the sweetest!

And to top it all off... I saw my first real firefly! They are right outside of our apartment. It was magical! I was completely captivated. haha planning on catching one this week.

Funnies of the Week:

I had two guys pull up to me in a car and say, "Hey! Are you the girl that teaches English classes?" haha Yeah, how did you know? "Ohh, everyone we know is talking about the tall, beautiful white girl that teaches English for free!"

Then when they came to class and I asked if they had any questions they LITERALLY asked how to order a hamburger. "I would like to buy a hamburger..."

Les quiero de ida y vuelta a la luna. <3

Hermana McOmber

Saying goodbye to the district and my companion

Transfers

Goodbye Hermana Larson!

My new companion, Hermana Medeiros. District Meeting

District Meeting

At a member's birthday party

P-day with the Elders

More pics from our time with the Mortensens

Week 72: iPads!

May 18, 2015

Mmm hmm, you read that right. IPADS! We won the zone competition so we went out to eat with President and we were the first ones he told! Ahh! Can't wait!

Today I start my last transfer, and tomorrow I get my last companion. {cue hyperventilation} I'm staying in Brazos- so I am figuratively, and quite literally, dying here! Bye Hermana Larson. :( I'm going to miss her SO much.

We had amazing miracles this week! First of all, I helped translate for Stake Conference! I was so nervous, but when I finished the Hermano that was looking up all of the scripture references for me to read said I did it perfectly!

We've had a good group of progressing investigators and it has been so frustrating this last month because we could NOT get in touch with any of them! but in the span of 24 hours we ended contacting them all! Someone obviously has been praying for us- thank you!

We even had a member of the bishopric call US to come out with us! wow! So of course we wanted to have him help one of our investigators, but we received the impression that we needed to visit a menos activo. We followed the prompting and had an amazing lesson. Just as we were walking back to the car the hermano said he wanted to try knocking the neighbor's door, so we do and we were able to teach a new family! AND THEN we decided to try his sister-in-law on the way home and she had just pulled up! She's another one who hasn't let us in or answered us for over a month! He was so lovingly bold and straight up told her to repent for treating representatives of the Lord like that when we give up so much to be here and try so hard to help her. And instead of going off on her typical list of excuses she just quietly said, "thank you." I was speechless! Member missionaries!

I had exchanges with Sister Dastrup this week. It is so interesting because she is having the exact same struggles I had at the beginning of my mission, and it breaks my heart to see her have to go through it and think of the long road ahead, but I felt totally inspired on what to say to comfort her and help her. We had a hard time getting in with people on our exchange, so we tried a new apartment complex, said a prayer, and the very first door we knocked on a woman answered and said, "Sisters! Come in, come in! Did we have an appointment?" It was a less active member of the english ward!

Our recent converts' son is a bit of a tough cookie and it is hard to teach him because he shuts down, but we decided to watch Finding Faith in Christ with them, and throughout the entire movie he asked really good questions! And at the end he OFFERED TO SAY THE PRAYER! uhh.... speechless, again.

We went to the neighborhood where the big group of kids loves to play with us, and they were all so excited to see us again! They wanted to be missionaries too, so they walked around with us and helped us contact people! One kid was begging me for my pass-along cards so he could run around and hand them out to everyone!

We had a huge english class this week! :)

THEN we tracted into a golden family! We had the most amazing lesson with them and they are so prepared!

I am so grateful to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Nothing has brought me more joy than to have this little black tag on my chest, and these sweet words of truth on my lips. I can honestly say that I do not know who or where I would be if I hadn't answered the call to serve. I encourage every young man and woman to serve a mission! It will be the best decision you ever make! I love knowing and understanding more fully the gospel and helping others learn these simple truths that bring so many blessings.

I love and miss y'all so much!

{p.s. this is your last chance to write me. haha}

Hermanita McOmber

Tio serenading us at dinner with an accordion!

It happened - I fell in love with country!

(notice the new boots!)

Endless crafts when the comp is a sicky

Getting gelato with our neighbor - love her!

Translating for Stake Conference

Riccardo got the Melchizedek priesthood - so sweet! Mis cubanos!

Texas Pride

Dinner with the Riveras

Love the picket fences

Zone activity at the Texas prison museum with the Mortensens

Quality time with the Mortensens!

I love Sophie!

5.17.2015

Week 71: I dream you dream we all dream of skyping!!

I LOVE SKYPE.

It was so much fun to see your faces and hear your voices! ...but how weird was it to say, "see you in a month & a half!?"

I had a better week- still long, still hard, but I upped my hope levels and am feeling better about life.

We got to go to Woodlands for Zone Conference this week- I feel as if I have come full circle in all senses. and SURPRISE! I had to give my dying testimony. one word: rough. It was a really good training though and I learned so much. I got to sit down with President at lunch and he helped me figure out my life- still so surreal.

On Mondays we eat with our ward mission leader, but as we were walking up his driveway I felt prompted to meet his neighbors from across the street. As we introduced ourselves they showed us a whole lot less than "southern hospitality" but as we kept trying one of the brothers came out of the house and when he saw me he stopped dead in his tracks. We both recognized each other- but I'm not sure how. He thinks I was the missionary that gave him a tour of SLC temple square in 2010, even though I explained to him I was 16-years-old and very much not a missionary at that time. either way he is really excited to have us come over again! yay!

We have been trying for two stinkin' months to get a member to come with us to a lesson with Sabina, and it FINALLY happened! & even though we have shared that same lesson with her twice already, she finally got it and has a baptismal date for June 6th! Members are the best missionaries!

One day we prayed to know where to go and we

had the clear impression to visit a guy in our ward with his nonmember wife and young family. I was a little nervous because the wife is not a huge fan of the church, but we followed the prompting. Maybe two or three minutes after we pulled up to their apartment, she pulled up with a carload of groceries. We were able to help her out and she even made us dinner! We shared a mormon message and a lesson on building families centered on Christ. She LOVED it! Miracle!

Funnies of the Week:

One hermano in the ward calls us "elderas."

I was proposed to this week by a crazy guy.

When driving back from Woodlands I was so exhausted from having to wake up so early that I purposefully sped so Tiwi's scary voice would keep me awake.

I shook hands with a bounty hunter.

Our district leader quoted something and both Elder Christensen and I said, "Oh, I know what that's from!" I said, "The Bible!" and he said, "Friends!" haha

We got a perfect score on our apartment cleaning check & they even left us $20 bucks to go get ice cream! I'd say that almost makes up for bed bugs and haunted apartments. {the elders were so mad! ha!}

I love y'all so much! Please keep me in your prayers! I'd love to hear from you!

Hermana McOmber

FHE picnic with the G---- family - we love them!

Ward mission leader and assistant

Tio's Taqueria

Perfect cleaning score! Cha-ching!!

Elder Grasse and Sprag - the one's that keep me laughing out here!

Two days old - wish we could have held him!

My desk

So many awkward doorstep moments - had to finally capture one!

Mother's Day barbeque

Skyping with the family - and Coco!

5.09.2015

Week 70: You gotta keep your head up {ohh ohh}‏

Downtown Bryan

16 months! so surreal.

It was another rough week, but I had so many meetings in Houston and Hunstville I was able to keep the stress to a minimum. I had my first real MLC & I learned SO much, and then I got to teach it a few days later in my first zone meeting. Then we had interviews with President, he is so amazing. He helped me so much... and then he gave me homework... to plan out my life. Stress levels: SKYROCKETED. Marriage... I will cross that bridge when I come to it!

This Sunday made it all worth it. When I walked into the chapel I was able to help a woman I met the week before through some really really hard things, and the Elders gave her a blessing {the Spirit was so strong!} That same Spirit stayed the whole rest of the Sacrament Meeting! As we were sitting there singing, more and more people came in! 5 of the 10 focus families we have came!!!! One of which was blessing their baby and invited all of their friends and family! Our attendance goal is 100 and we got 102! Then everyone got up and bore their testimonies on missionary work; they are all converts and all love their missionaries so much. I felt so much peace and love and reassurance. I am making a difference here; Heavenly Father notices it, and these people notice it.

I love being a missionary!

Funnies of the Week:

We got caught in Woodlands traffic on the way home from MLC so Elder Sprag jumped out of the car and gave the lady in front of us a card- he scared her so bad! haha

We went to visit a family in our ward with three older sons that are the definition of "snapback and tattoos." They were all going to watch the big fight on tv but I asked if we could say a prayer as a family before they go and they all said, "Yes ma'am!" and folded their arms like reverent little sunbeams.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Our district's trainee is so cute. He was practicing door approaches and somehow managed to bring up outer darkness in the first two minutes.

Doorsteps are so funny; some have door handles that are literally the height of my knee, and some have toilet rugs or car mats as door mats. We went to a door this week with a larger than life size statue of a surfer, complete with clothes and a hat on top.

We drove past a woman on the street corner with a microphone shouting about praising Jesus and repenting.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana McOmber