Still There!

Hey everyone! No I wasn't transferred, the mission president is thinking about redrawing area lines for the two areas in our ward, so he asked me and my companion to go in and work part of Trenton (picture included) to see how the work goes and see where the lines should be drawn. We got our first chance to go down there on Saturday, and not going to lie, It felt pretty good. In the two hours we spent there we were able to find two people who are willing to hear our message. We were trying by a .member, but she wasn't home. So we knocked around them and ran into this guy named marquise, he let us in and we ended up talking to him about the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ for about 15 minutes and gave him a Book of Mormon to read. We are looking forward to seeing him soon. On Friday we had the Christmas all mission conference, so all the missionaries in our whole mission got together in Morristown. I got to see elder Follett and elder Merritt, we had a blast! My mission president attempted to do the whip  On Sunday we had the English Christmas Fireside. All the English missionaries in the mission got together and formed a choir. A lot of people came! Huge success and Gillian surprised me by showing up! It was really nice to see her as well as elder Crowther and Kyle (picture included). I love you all! If you have any questions feel free to email me! Elder McOmber

December 12, 2016

Update on Richard: we met with him on Thursday in the Primary Presidents house, with the 10 year olds Sunday school teacher so that he could build a connection with them and feel comfortable at church. It went really well! He was also able to attend church and he had a great time! Loving working with him.

On Wednesday, our ward did a missionary activity. All the youth got mission calls when they came in. They all opened them together and it got a little crazy haha (video included).They all went to their corresponding missions (rooms) in the building. And then the missionary companionships went around and told them about different aspects of the mission. And then at the end the end we all came together and bore our testimonies of this gospel and the importance of missionary work.

On Saturday we had Traditions With the Taggerts (at the mission presidents house) soooooooo much fun. We had an amazing breakfast and then read Luke 2 and sang Christmas songs. 

I have to get going, but I love you all!

Elder McOmber

December 6, 2016

Just loving life in Princeton! Hey everyone, nothing too crazy this week. Just a week full of being a missionary 😊 On Tuesday, We were stopping by some people that we haven't seen a church in a while. We ended up stopping by this guy named Patrick while he was home. We watched the because of him video and got talking. He is a super cool guy who just stopped going to church while he was in the army and hasn't really been back since. He is going through some things and has to work on Sundays, we asked him if he knew anyone that could really use the gospel in their lives and he said, "actually, maybe." He told us to get in the car and follow him. He took us to this foreign exchange program that he helps run. It is full of people from china who want to go to college here in the US. We had the opportunity to talk with them a bit about the gospel. It was SUPER cool because most of them knew VERY little about Jesus Christ. It was a very unique opportunity, even though we didn't get any return appointments it was still a moment in my life I will cherish. On Saturday we met with Yves and his 10 year old son Richard, we taught them about the plan of salvation they are working towards baptism! At the end of the lesson We asked Richard to say the prayer. He said the most beautiful prayer I think I have ever heard. It was a beautiful children's prayer. I literally had tears in my eyes. After the prayer he said, "guys, I just talked to god." It is a moment I will never forget. I love you all and I hope you are all lighting the world! (Mormon.org) Elder McOmber

Princeton, and played football in the Giant's stadium!!!!

Transfer 1 in Princeton is over!

I can't believe it has already been 6 weeks, man time flies. I really love this area and the people in it. Especially the members!

Thanksgiving was awesome! All of the missionaries in the southern half of the mission got together and did a turkey bowl at Princeton stadium! Soooo much fun! You already know I balled out haha but someone got hurt so we had to stop early 😕

After the turkey bowl we went to the LeSuers (our ward mission leader's house) for an early thanksgiving dinner. It was sssoooooo good! After finishing that meal we went to the Marcelinos. The father is Brazilian and an AMAZING cook so we had a second thanksgiving there and it was soooo good... I don't think I have ever been so full in my entire life. 

On Saturday we had dinner at the Owens. I love them SO much! They made some of the best chicken I have ever had in my life, they put it in the oven with pepper jack cheese over it. They were so kind and gave me the left overs.... they are already gone... After dinner we talked about the new Christmas initiative the church is doing. If you haven't heard about it is soooo cool, I don't care if you are a member of the church or not you have to join in! It is a service advent calendar. Instead of eating chocolate everyday of December, the idea is to do a small act of service, but you can eat chocolate too haha just go to Mormon.org it has a cool video all about it, as well as ideas for small acts of service for everyday of December leading up to Christmas! Let's all help god light the world!

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

-Mosiah 2:17 (The Book of Mormon)

Go and serve!

Much love,

Elder McOmber

November 21, 2016

This past week was a week full of tender mercies, here are a few: Yves We were contacting down Nassau st. (Right in front of the university) and we started talking to this super cool guy named Yves (pronounced Eve) we started talking about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important, he said he had one a long time ago and had even come to church. But he had to move for a time and lost contact with the missionaries. We figured out a good time that we could come back and he told us that he wants us to talk to his 10 year old son about being baptized. Jim We were knocking doors in Belle Mead showing people a really cool 3 minute video about Jesus Christ. We knocked into Jim, he was on the phone, we told him that we were sharing the video with everyone and that it is worth a watch. He wrapped up the call and we watched the video. We talked about the Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. We came back 2 days later and shared with him the message of the restoration and we will be going back on Wednesday to discuss the plan of salvation. Super cool guy. Herber We were knocking doors in franklin and it seemed like no one was home or interested. We knocked this one door with this really nice front yard, no one was home but there was a man working in the yard, we started talking to him and he was running behind schedule, so we took off our ties, rolled up our sleeves and went to work. We dug this long trench to hide wires for the lights he had just installed, it took about 2 hours to finish the job, we got to talking and he asked if we do "prayers over sick people" we told him we do. I showed him a picture of Jesus Christ in the restoration pamphlet (with his hands on the apostles head) and we talked about how the priesthood authority that Jesus Christ had has been restored to the earth. He asked us if we could give his daughter a blessing. She had recently gotten a bad knee injury. We said we would love to. He took us to the hospital and we gave her a blessing. SUPER cool experience, the spirit was sooooo strong. They invited us over for thanksgiving, and I am looking forward to it :)  This week is the time that we celebrate one of my favorite holidays. I will always remember the great times going over to my grandparents house and eating crazy amounts of food with my extended family, and taking part in so many great family traditions.  It is a time of the year that we are able to reflect and ponder on what we are grateful for. Thanksgiving gives the people of this great land the chance to take stock and consider how blessed we truly are. Gratitude for life’s tender mercies and blessings will help us all be better people.   For all the wonderful things in my life which God has given me I AM TRULY GRATEFUL. For the Savior and His Atonement. the ultimate gift of Love that he continually gives. For my Parents, and the amazing example of Christian discipleship they were and are to me. For my brothers and sister  who continue to love and support me in so many ways. For the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all that it brings to my life. So many blessings that come because of these unchanging and foundational truths. For the many incredible missionaries, here in New Jersey and all over the world who give and serve each day to Help others come unto Christ.  For Leaders and Servants who have laid it all on the alter of sacrifice to teach me and the people of the world what truly matters. A living Prophet of God who gives us counsel and guidance that brings happiness and Joy. 12 Apostles who are full time consecrated ministers to the world. For many friends who have mentored and molded me, who have supported and sustained me through the good times and the bad.   For this great country of America. Even with the trials and challenges that we face we are still the greatest nation on the planet (in my opinion haha). We are still the bright beacon to the world showing all that Freedom must reign. For turkey, mash potatoes, pumpkin pie and other great food that seem to only come on Thanksgiving.  For Football. Even though I won't be watching it this thanksgiving I am still grateful for it! For all those people who dot the earth who are trying their best to do good things. For the millions who work each day to make life better for someone else. I am so thankful for goodness that abounds in the lives of so many. It is obvious to me that the world we live in is so much better that what we are led to believe by the media. This world is full of wonderful people who want to be happy and are helping others to find it. If we simply open our eyes to all that is good out there we will see it and we can find it. For these things and many, many more I am so Grateful. Much love, Elder McOmber Look everyone! It's Albert Einstein!Â

second week November

This week was pretty cool, On Wednesday we went to the "3 week meeting" where President and Sister Taggert basically make sure that all the trainees and the trainers are doing okay and no one is feeling stressed out. It's my 3rd time going through it, but it doesn't matter how often I go, I LOVE the training that President Taggert gives. In it he talks about the plan of salvation (gods plan for each and every one of us). If you have any questions about where we came from before we came to earth, why we are here, or where we are going after we die, please ask! After the meeting we met with a man named Juan with a member of our congregation. Juan is super cool. We talked to him about Jesus Christ and the church that he set up while he was on the earth, and about how Through Joseph Smith he restored the church to the earth. Juan was super open and wants to find out whether or not it is true, so we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read and pray about it. We are looking forward to meeting with him in the future.  On Friday we went to the Philadelphia temple! Sooooo awesome. Easily my favorite temple. So much American history in the architecture as well as the surrounding sights. I wish we had time to see them all. But even more amazing was the spirit that was felt inside. Man I wish I could feel that all the time but it was definitely a breath of heavenly air before returning to the struggles of life haha (pictures included) On Sunday we had the primary program in our ward. So it was cute seeing all the little ones growing a testimony of Jesus Christ.  Love you all! Elder McOmber

November first week

Man this week was a real rollercoaster. But I only want to share one experience because it truly was an amazing experience. For sure one of the major highlights from the mission. My companion and I have just been doing our best to talk to everyone. 2 weeks ago we started talking to this guy named Kulbir (pronounced Colby). We talked about the Book of Mormon and some of our basic beliefs. After a little while we told him that we would love to come back and talk to him more about our beliefs. He said I would love to but I don't have that kind of time. I said that it would only take 15-20 minutes and he was like, "REALLY?!" We were like yeah! And so we got his number, and we hadn't been able to contact him in 2 weeks until we got a random text from him during district meeting. we set up a time to meet with him and went and met him. We did some HTBT and found out his religious background, that he was from India and he is a doctor. We then started teaching the restoration. It wasn't until we got to Jesus Christ earthly ministry that we really got his interest. When we got to Joseph Smith, I recited the first vision and you could tell that it really hit him. I asked him, how do you feel right now? He said, I feel the Holy Spirit confirming that this is true. I testified that what he said was true because I was feeling it too. We discussed the Book of Mormon and why it is important and the priesthood being restored. And he told us he had been praying for spiritual guidance and help with his faith in the Christian God. With tears in his eyes he told us that we were the answer to his prayer. He then asked us where he could buy a copy of the Book of Mormon, and I told him "you can have this one." Giving him the copy I had in my hand. He took it and said "thank you, thank you so much." And then started writing on the first page. (Picture attached) After talking a bit longer he asked about our belief when it comes to right after we die. He had heard people say things that weren't true about what we believed so we talked about how right when we die our spirits and our bodies separate. Our spirit then goes to a place known as the spirit world, I asked him "have you ever thought about how we are judged based off of whether or not we followed Jesus Christ and his teachings, but there are people who never even get a chance to hear about Jesus Christ? He said "I have been asking that question to christians since the day I became one. I told him that the spirit world was a place where those who didn't get that chance to hear about and follow Jesus Christ get that chance. Tears started to fill his eyes again. I told him that I know that God put us on Nassau street at the same time 2 weeks ago to give you this opportunity to hear about this gospel, he said, "I was thinking the same thing." Kulbir lives in Philadelphia so he will continue to be taught and go to church there, but I know that Kulbir was just as much an answer to our prayers as we were for his. I am looking forward to hearing about his progress as well as finding ALL of those God has prepared for us to find as we continue to "Open my mouth" Elder McOmber