Week 8: First Transfer is over!

Vanakkam! That's how you say hello and goodbye in Tamil, the language our Indian investigators speak.

I can't believe that my first transfer has already come and gone! Time's really just flying by out here! I thought I'd be sticking together with my trainer, Elder Zarse, but it turns out he's being transferred to Northampton to be a Zone Leader. My new companion's name is Elder Evans - he's been out 6 months, so it might be his first time training. I hear he's not quite as tall as Elder Zarse (he'll probably come to my shoulder), but I'm really excited to meet him!

I've seen some interesting things this week: first off, I saw 10-foot tall sunflowers big enough to be shower heads as we were going to one of our appointments; second, I watched my ears catch fire as I was getting my hair cut at the barber's today (that's how they get rid of the peach fuzz on your ears); and lastly, I saw stars when we realized we had 5 minutes to run and catch the bus back to town (I may have already said this once, but I'll say it again: I'm REALLY out of shape).

I've also had some really great experiences this week. As we were driving back from one of our dinner appointments about an hour from our flat, we noticed a car tipping over on the side of the road. I'm not sure if I would've pulled over to help if I were back in Utah, but the member took the time to stop his car and back it onto the dirt road where the car was tipping over into a gigantic hole. We tried to help them by tipping and pushing the car back up, but that only got it farther into the hole. The member was about to try pulling their van out with his little car, but the couple who was stuck called their friend just across the street who came out with a forklift to tow them out. We still had to push and tip the car back upright as it was towed out of the hole, but we were eventually able to get their van back onto the road. I laughed a little bit afterwards because the member who was with us works for a carpeting company and promptly offered the couple a good deal for their carpets, which I think they might've accepted. It was really cool to see how nice and how selfless the members are to do so much for total strangers.

Another good experience came while we were on a blitz with the sister missionaries in our district. A blitz is when we do a brief companion exchange with the sisters but remain within sight and sound of each other. We went finding for a couple hours on the blitz, and it actually went pretty well. In particular, there was one man, S, who we met around our flat. He'd met with the missionaries before, and he said that he had a copy of the Book of Mormon back at his house. We had a great conversation with him about families and the gospel, and he accepted one of our cards with the sisters' phone number on it. Even though he wasn't quite sure about meeting with us again, he said that he'd go home and read the Book of Mormon and call us if he had any questions. While this wasn't exactly the golden finding experience, it was testimony-building to see how God really does place prepared people in front of his prepared servants.

The final experience I wanted to share experience that I thought was really neat happened on Thursday. We'd been trying to get into contact with one of our less-active members, but all we'd been able to do was send her a few brief Facebook messages. As we were sitting in the church, working on the Progress Record, the less-active had a panic attack right in front of the church. The kids came running in and told us to come out and help. We gave her a glass of water and a big chocolate bar we happened to have on hand, and after a good conversation committed her to come to church again on Sunday. Even though she was sick and couldn't come, we think that this could be a step towards helping her get active in the church again.

That's pretty much my week's experience in summary! Thanks everyone for reading! Hope to hear from you all soon!

Much missionary love,

Elder McOmber

P.S. Some friends and family gave me their emails before I left, but I don't have those now that I'm out here. If you email me at spencer.mcomber@myldsmail.net, then I'll have your email and we can start writing back and forth.

Funnies of the Week:

I hit my head at least twice every time I go to the Bishop's house, and I hit my head at least once on a daily basis. So many overhanging lamps, bars, and ceilings here in England.

We were talking to this one person who wasn't particularly interested in what we had to say, but we still hugged him goodbye. I don't think I've ever had a more awkward hug in my life. I'm pretty sure I shouldered his face.