McOmber Missionary Memoirs: A Multicultural Mission/Thank you Quigleys

Some mornings we wake up to the foghorn that booms out on the ocean, less than a mile away. The ocean has been the means of bringing many nations to our great country of America! Our missionaries are here to help bring the gospel to these many nationalities.

"Surely there is a way for people of goodwill who love God and have taken upon themselves the name of Christ to stand together for the cause of Christ and against the forces of sin."

Jeffery R. Holland

Cambodian--it says something along the lines of if you study and put forth your effort, the Lord will bless you and help you with a foreign language. On the kitchen wall in one of the Elders' apartment.

We have in our mission many cultures. It is quite impressive to me. We had many in San Antonio, TX when we lived there, but this beats it!
We have the only Cambodian ward in the entire world. We have 6 Elders that speak and read cambodian, VERY IMPRESSIVE to me!! We had one that spoke Cambodian, Spanish and English. The Pres. called him our secret weapon--he could go anywhere and teach the gospel.

This section of town is for India. These are the traditional India Indian dresses.

There are large areas of towns that specialize for just one nationality. We have a Samoan, Tongan, India, Afro American, Hispanic, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Phillipino, Japanese, Korean and other sections of town in our mission. We had a Jewish neighbor for a while here in the campground. Lonnie had some discussions about religion with him. We have Missionaries from Phillipines, China, Mexico, South America, and all over the United States of America. Sometimes I have trouble understanding when they call me with medical problems and need to have their companions interpret for me.

The signs are in many languages.

One elder told us he was teaching some Egyptian people, but had problems getting printed material for them. My hairdresser is Armenian, she was born and grew up in Istanbul and came to America for an arranged marriage 25 years ago. There are Vietnamese in her shop that give pedicures and manicures. There are donut shops on every corner. I have been told that is because the Phillipino people know how to make good donuts and when they come to America, they want to start a business, so they make donuts. Sister Thompson, whose home we helped paint is Samoan.

Two of our Elders with Elder McOmber. The ocean and city of downtown Long Beach in the background.

We have finished our second time at checking the 70 apartments of our Elder and Sisters. We are feeling more confident and it is not taking quite so long to find and check the apartments. The President wants us to keep checking them. Elder McOmber also helps them move as needed. We have recommended that, for health reasons, a couple of sets of Elders be moved. It is fun getting to know these wonderful young men and women!

Elder McOmber showing how to keep the stovetop clean while talking on the phone to another elder. He shows them how to use the comet and other cleaning supplies.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Glen, Sara, Maci, Avri, Quin and Neli for keeping our home up while we are away! We couldn't do it without your support!