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

Dragonfly

I stood in this same place - in this same dress -

 exactly five months ago!

I love the Woodlands!

Woods and a Big Sky

I love singing at the Rest Home

Exchanges with Hermana McCleary - she hypnotized a chicken!

Letters from my friends and family!!

Thank you!

I love "C"

I love running into other missionaries!

"G" and "I" eating tamales

Cutest gifts from Hermana Clements family

I love Texas!

I love being a missionary!

Week 28: Ole, Ole, Ole, Oleeeee!

Mis vidas,

Mundial (World Cup Soccer) is FINALLY OVER. Praise the Lord. We can finally start teaching people again! haha

Finished the Bible Dictionary this week! I loved it, connected so many dots for me. Now on to the missionary library!

This week we had a fun service project! We got to work in the garden of one of our members, so much fun! We picked basil and weeded for two hours! Let me tell you, 2 showers later and I STILL smell like basil.

Ready for the BEST MIRACLE EVER? Hermana Burnham loved Smashburger so we always stopped by when we were in that area. We met the same cashier each time- this stunning girl with crazy curly hair. I had such good conversations with her each time and always left her a card. In the meeting a few weeks ago when we met President Mortensen he told us a story of one of his first days here, when he took his family to Smashburger and talked to the cashier and got her information to learn more! I almost screamed in the meeting! I couldn't believe it! Then he called me a few days later and told me that she had met with the missionaries AND went to all three hours of church on Sunday! He told me he was so proud of me for planting seeds- what a blessing to see some growth! I love being a missionary!

2nd BEST MIRACLE EVER. Our Assistant Ward Mission Leader was a recent convert who was on fire, and then suddenly he dropped off the map for two months. No one had seen or heard from him! One night it was 8:30 and we couldn't get in with anyone and I was completely out of ideas of how to use the last twenty minutes effectively. A distinct idea came to my mind to go to McDonalds (YUCK), but I followed the prompting and drove us there. Then I had the distinct prompting to sit down, so we did. Within ten seconds of scanning the faces of the people in the McDonalds I FOUND HIM. He was just sitting by himself on his computer. So I ran over and sat by him and we caught up with him. He was really overwhelmed with work and had a lot of family things going on. I felt so mean, but I followed another prompting to call him out. I told him that if he wanted things to improve, he needed to make God the priority in his life again. THE BEST MOMENT OF MY MISSION was a few days later, seeing him walk through the doors of the chapel on Sunday. I will NEVER forget that.

Another neat miracle from this week was last Monday when we were grocery shopping. We walked through the doors and the first person we saw was a man I had given a card to before, and he stopped me and with tears in his eyes begged us to come teach him. He said he knows he needs to make changes in his life to be happier and needs our help. So neat! Then we took (maybe) TEN STEPS and ran into another man I had given a card to! We had a great chat with him too! I'd say it was a successful P-day!

My favorite part of this week was playing soccer with some kids while we were waiting for a dinner appointment. It was so much fun! Afterwards I taught them some other little games and we had the best time. Then I gave them all mints and ctr rings, and taught them how to pray. Now we have three new potential families to teach!

The best lesson this week was with P and J. We decided to suprise attack Ja and come unexpected (he's such a punk. he "doesn't have time" for us now that he's baptized and it's been almost 2 months since we've seen him). He said hi and then ran out the door, but we got to talk with his family and had a lesson with his younger siblings. We were just going to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon with them but little J started dishing out all of these questions! So we whipped out the plan lesson and had almost a 2 hour lesson with them! Just answering all of their questions! THEY ARE SO READY! They both want to be baptized so badly but their parents won't let them- the only reason J was baptized is because he turned 18. I absolutely love teaching kids. It was such an amazing lesson.

Funnies of the week:

Everyone calls us Clementina & Pepina (Clement & McOmber- which sounds like cucumber to some people)

One day I wore a thick wrap headband- was actually the BEST IDEA EVER for helping the make-up melting off situation- and literally every hispanic I encountered was obsessed with it. We went to the chapel for our English class and every single person there touched it and went crazy over it. 

I love you all so much!

Thank you for your love and support!

I'd love to hear from you!

Hermana McOmber

Police on horseback in The Woodlands

I pamper my poor stomach with normal food when I can!

Crazy bugs here

After only four hours of work we had accumulated a lot of water - everyone is so generous here!

Cute picture I took of my companion and the Pingrees!

Dinner at the mall with Hermana Avila - her son is on a mission, too

I love our ward!

Hermana McCleary is always baking :)

I love "R" !!

Service

I love playing soccer with the kids!

Such a sweet but Guilty little face...haha!

Week 27: New Mission President :)

Hoooooola!

This week we were able to meet President and Sister Mortensen and their family! AHH! They are DARLING!!! I am so in love with them already. I was so heartbroken when the Pingrees left, but I feel so much peace having the Mortensens here. 

The 4th of July was so weird this year! We're basically in Mexico, so no one we visit celebrated. But as we were driving home we passed this giant field and you could see fireworks for miles, it was so pretty! It was such a tender mercy to see them for a few seconds! It felt so strange to remember how much we really are set apart from the world.

Funnies of the Week:

Passed a little girl as we were tracting that kept calling out, "$10 for sale!"

R was showing us his notebook for all of the transactions for the "jobs" he does on cars in his yard, the cover of which is a fluffy puppy with glasses.

R's nickname for Hermana Clement is "parientita," (relative) because he thinks we look so much alike. haha

I asked one of our investigators what the difference is between "vamos" and "vamanos."

He said the first is, "let's go" and the second is "LET'S GOOOOOOO!" hahahah

The name Miriam is pronounced "medium."

Everyone takes Mundial (World Cup Soccer) SO SERIOUSLY. One hermano in the ward ended his testimony by saying "No era penal." (Wasn't a penalty, wasn't fair Mexico lost). hahaha

Love you all so much!

I would love to hear from you!

Hermana McOmber

Pampered myself to celebrate my 6 months out!  

Bought a watch and painted my nails!

Found the highest mountain in Texas!

Finally found a Fro-Yo (frozen yogurt) place!

Korean treats from a man in our ward who works in Korea every other month.  So fun!

Sister Missionaries with the new Mortensen girls

Love the Mortensens!

Love Hermana Koch!

My wonderful companion!

Happy 4th of July!

Dinner with A

Made cookies for everyone in the ward!

Beautiful!

Found these great "trees" while tracting