December 31, 2012

Hi Everybody,

I am loving it here in my second area!  The ward is great and I really love it!  We have the car for two weeks and then we are on bikes for a week.  The work has been a little slow this week all over this area, but our faith is still strong and hopes are bright!  Please pray for this area, that we can find those who have been prepared.  "The prayers of the righteous availeth much." 

I cut my own hair!  Yeah, it was really scary!!!!!!  I said a prayer that I wouldn’t butcher it too bad and Heavenly Father hears our prayers.  It didn’t turn out too bad.  A couple of nicks here and there and there’s a good line right above my neck in the back, but it is pretty good.  Elder Scott gave me a nice clipper set for Christmas, before he left.

Elder Child (my new companion), the two other missionaries, and I get along great!  We are a great team and we have lots of fun while we work in this ward.  It is nice the have the support of other missionaries.

Christmas Packages

Christmas was great!!!  We had so many meals it was amazing!  I thought I was going to pop!  I did get to call my parents and have a very spiritual experience with them.  I am grateful for their love and support!  I hung up the phone and got right back to work.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and everyone else for the great Christmas gifts!

Congrats to those who have received their mission calls!!!  (My mom keeps me up to date.)  The field really is white!  For all of you that are preparing to serve a mission or have received your mission call, and to all the other members of the Church, please read the first chapter of Preach My Gospel.  And then start now to understand your purpose and the Doctrine of Christ.  Not only understand it, but live it.  Learn it with all you might and love it.  It will be what makes you a missionary.  It is the secret to missionary work and success, when you understand that it will strengthen you, purify you, and give you a special ability to "desire the salvation of souls."  You are promised to have the Holy Ghost to be your constant companion; it will give you happiness and peace in your life.  

For the first time in my life I am at total peace!  It is because I am living my purpose and the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  I have been purified and sanctified through the amazing power and love of the Savior.  We ALL NEED to strive to understand this simple, circular, doctrine of: having faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and then enduring to the end.  That is the only doctrine that Christ himself taught, and when we live this and share this, we will all stand spotless before Him at the last day.  I testify of these things in the name of the beloved Son of our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love,

Elder Gomm

Please write!

Christmas Eve 2012

December 24, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow what a crazy week!!!!!!   I am now in my second area!!!!!!! 

It is a country town with a town square and lots of churches! It is a lot different than my last area, but I love it!!!! 

It is a town a lot like Placerville and about that size. There are two sets of missionaries in this area.  This is really fun! One is Samoan and he and I are best buds.  He came out from the MTC with me and he is now training a new missionary.  The new missionary saw me at the gym in Rexburg, Idaho where he was a gymnast and I was always there at the rock climbing wall.

My new companion is pretty cool.  We don’t have anything in common but we get along great. Interesting how that works.

The work is really slow here at the moment and hopefully my new blood will help out.

Baptism Day for Vincent

The baptism last Saturday was amazing!!!  I was able to baptize Vincent in my last area before I moved. He and I stayed in the font for a few moments and we had one of the most spiritual experiences ever.  He said that he felt like things were just dripping off him and that he wanted to stay under water forever.  I watched as that wonderful saving ordinance, preformed by the priesthood took hold of him.  And then he started to tremble and I watched the joy fill his soul. When I felt the power and virtue as Christ talked about come out of me, it was a witness to me that I am a worthy conduit of the priesthood and the Spirit.  It was quite amazing. 

Please read the Christmas story with your families.  Remember the greatest gift that God gave us, His son.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Love,

Elder Gomm

Thanks for your prayers, letters and packages.

If you would like my new address please email my Mom.

December 15, 2012

Hey Guys, 

My Last Days in my first area

Wow this last week has been quite the whirlwind!!!

I am being transferred!!!! I don't know where yet but I know it will be great. Transfers are on Monday.  I will get a letter out with my new address. So please no more packages or letters until y’all find out my new address.

Today we are having a White Christmas!! It’s not snowing, even though it is pretty cold. We are having a baptism. We call it a White Christmas because we wear white when we are baptized.

Mom, I can’t keep it from you any longer, Vincent asked me to baptize him.  So, yes, I am baptizing him. I am really excited!!!!! I was going to keep it a surprise and then mail you a picture and of us together in white.

Elder Scott and I have had quite a bit of fun together and have had lots of success. Today he has been out for 2 years so Tuesday he will be going home. With me being transferred to a new area this means that two new elders will be transferred into this area. In missionary lingo this translates into 'being white washed'.  Being transferred is really hard.  I will miss all those whom I have gotten really close to! I know that the Lord will help them and strengthen them. (My Mom has to remove their names from my letter for the blog, but they know who they are).

To all of you who have written me letters, I am trying to write back but it has just been really crazy lately!

I love you!!!! Mom, Jess, and Teresa I am sending y’all Christmas packages so be watching for them :)

My President has been talking a lot about the Christmas phone call.  He would like us to talk about the Doctrine of Christ. You can find it and study it in 2 Nephi 31, and 3 Nephi 11.

Love y’all!!!!  Merry Christmas!!!!

Love,
Elder Gomm

Off to My Second House on Monday

December 10, 2012

Hey Family and Friends,

Well, this week was good. The crazy stuff is over, but I was sick this last week, maybe it was all the stress and stuff. 

But that doesn't matter! Vincent IS getting baptized this weekend!!!!!!! On Saturday!!!!! I will send you pictures.

As far as transfers, I will most likely be staying here because my companion has completed his mission and will be going home and I know the area. I will find out Thursday and on Saturday it will be our P-day because transfers are on Monday this time.

That's really it; just a short note this week.

Happy Birthday Brayden!!!!!! And Happy Birthday Mom!!! I will be sending out some packages here soon!

I have a lot of letters to reply to. Thanks to y’all that have been sending letters out to me. It has gotten me through. I got Teresa's package and Mom’s packages. Thank You!!!!

The pictures are of us mountain biking last P-Day. We both got flats at the same spot so that’s why I was carrying my bike.

Love Elder Gomm

I will email y’all again on Saturday!!!!

December 3, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

This last week has been crazy. Tuesday I was on exchange with one of the Zone Leaders and we had a lot of fun working and finding new people. Wednesday was a crazy day we had Zone Conference in Kernersville and that lasted all day.  We received a lot of training. Thursday was a great day; we had a few great lessons with some people and with Vincent who will be baptized on the 15th!!!!! He is really excited and loves the Gospel.

That night is when things really hit the fan. We had some very challenging experiences.  We were being persecuted.  I became very discouraged.  As senior companion I felt the weight of responsibility for the area on my shoulders with all decisions and knowledge in my end of the court alone because my companion is so new to the area.

I knelt down in prayer and asked my Heavenly Father to help me, to give me strength, to send me a miracle. An overwhelming feeling of peace came over me and I felt love for those who were trying to stop our success. I also quickly forgave them. The next morning I was sick because I was so discouraged. We were not able to really get things done, the spirit just wasn't there, so we cleaned and did all we could to make the apartment feel better.

That night I got a phone call from a member of the ward, my favorite guy in the whole world. He said he would like to bring some cookies over that his family made. He came over and told me what a great missionary I am. He told me how much he looks up to me and what a fantastic job I have been doing. I told him about the struggles the work has been going through the last two weeks and he told me that this is an experience that I will cherish the rest of my life. He gave me a drawing from his son and one from his daughter. He left after a big hug and a few more encouraging words. I was feeling better about the work then.

I went to my desk and looked at the picture of a dinosaur that his son had colored. I flipped it over and read the one simple sentence that this 7 year old had written,

"I want to be just like Elder Gomm"

"I Lov you!"

Tears filled my eyes and I began to weep.  I knelt down and prayed with thanksgiving that my prayers had been answered, that my Father in Heaven had heard my humble prayer and that He blessed me with a miracle. This little boy had no idea what I was going through, neither did his father.

I am sooooooo grateful for the example that the children are to me and how truly in tune with the spirit they are. Because of a 7 year old boy..... I didn’t give up. I will be forever in his debt for the love that he showed to me and how he lifted me up in my darkest hour.

I am back in action now and am living up to my full potential, because I want to be a good example for everyone. I am grateful for the encouragement and the examples of my fantastic nephews and nieces.  Thank you everyone for your prayers, pictures and letters, they really have gotten me through a difficult time.

Sunday was fantastic many of the people we have been teaching came to Church and felt the spirit of it. I bore my testimony and watched Vincent's excitement as they announced his baptism.

Despite even the hardest of times the work moves on, the Gospel is true, and the Savior does love us. I bear my solemn testimony, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that He really does love us, in His name. Amen.

Love, Elder Gomm

PS  I saw the former Elder Hatley at Zone Conference. He served in my mission back home in California and has now returned home to North Carolina.  It was so good to see him!!!

I am trying my best to write all of you who have written me lately, I am kind of backed up but I will be working on it today!

I love all ya’ll!!!

Oh and we got an award because our apartment is so clean!!! It’s a big trophy!!! We even cleaned the light bulbs. Yeah I am not the same guy I used to be. 

Elder Scott is also teaching me some P90X the workout thing and my arms are not that skinny any more, I will just say that, hahaha. We are going mountain biking today.

Oh and check out mormon.org/christmas I will talk about that next week.

Merry Christmas!!!