Italy at Last

(Anziano Wilkinson)

So as many of you already know, I have finally made it to Italy! And if my mom hasn't already told everyone, my first area is Pisa! After thirty-some hours of lugging my bags across two continents and an ocean, I have made it in one piece, thank goodness! By now I'm mostly over the jet lag and am settled in. We really hit the ground running when I got here, cycling all over in the hot, humid weather to reach appointments and what not. I was severely sore for the first few days and I have to drink my weight in water just to stay hydrated, but I can promise all of you back home, there are few things cooler than riding through the streets of Italy on a bike!

We travel by train a lot in this area; the ward boundaries are quite large (yes, pisa has a ward, thankfully!). So one of the prime ways to find people to talk to is on the trains. Italy is a tough crowd to talk religion with though; finding people who will listen to you, let alone who are interested in your message is very, very difficult. The work is difficult, but evidently not impossible, or else I wouldn't be here! My trainer is Anziano Robinson and he and I get along well; he's been a great help for me as I've tried to figure this place out. He's on his 12th transfer, so he's pretty seasoned already.

Sunday night we had an extremely heavy rain storm, which flooded a good potion of the streets and in particular, ours. The water even reached our apartment building and flooded the basement floor (we're okay though, we're on the third floor). Our bikes we're not so lucky on the other hand, since they were in our tiny little garage space. We had to wade through the water a bit to get them out or else spend an hour walking just to get to the church and then another hour to get back. It just occurred to me that I am completely understating the severity of the flood; I'll just post pictures. Oddly enough, this sort of thing isn't really uncommon in Italy I guess, since the emergency infrastructure is well equipped, enough to have cleared out basically all of the flooding within 24 hours. I'm not sure why they don't just fix the gutter system instead, but oh well; this way is for fun for missionaries!

But really though, we are having a great time in Pisa and I can tell that it is going to be a great experience! Until next week, Can't wait to hear from you all soon!

-Anziano Wilkinson

Giving 100%

(Elder Cummings)

This has definitely been the fastest week yet.  Last Monday my companion and I were making jokes about how it was almost P-day and we were right.  Time flies.  Time flies FAST.  Two weeks from tomorrow Elder LaRose leaves for Milwaukee and I leave for Fresno the next morning.  It is strange to think that of all the companions I will have on my mission, he will be my companion for the shortest period of time.  Hmong Elders don't get transferred much.

I have been thinking a lot this week about what God expects of His children.  It is often said by missionaries that they haven't come on a mission to give less than 100%.  That is a great attitude, but it comes from the wrong mindset.  What is two years in the scope of eternity?  It doesn't matter how hard we work for two years if we don't continue to work for our whole lives.  A better way of looking at it that I am begging to appreciate this week is that we have not entered this mortality to give less than 100%.  We entered this mortality with the intent of returning to live with our Father in Heaven.  That is done when we surrender our whole soul, all the desires and intents of our hearts, to the will of the Father.  It is done when we give 100%.

In 3 Nephi 27 is one of my favorite chapters of the Book of Mormon.  In this chapter the disciples of Christ in the Americas are praying together asking what the name of the church should be called. Christ appears and teaches them.  Whenever I read this chapter I think about how it applies to me.  I substitute myself in for the church.  If I am Christ's I aught to act like it.  Specifically in verse thirteen Christ says "Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you--that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me."  At baptism we covenant to follow Christ's example and the example he has set is a perfect commitment to do God's will, not our own.  If we want to be saved, to return to live with God again, that is what we must do.  We must give all we are to do what God's will.  God loves us all and only desires our happiness.  Disobedience to God's commandments show that we don't really believe He is an all knowing God who want to best for us.  Our actions are an expression of our commitment and understanding.  If we want to understand more we need to be willing and actively trying to live better.

I know that God lives, I know that He loves us, I know that we are His children, and although I may not always live it I know that God wants what is best for us.  Obedience is the way for us to receive any and all promised blessings.  Obedience is how we come to know God.  Obedience brings us into His presence.  All through my mission and throughout my life I intend to be more obedient with every passing day, or in other words I want to know my God better.  I promise you all that if you commit to being more obedient to the will of the Father, if you give 100%, there will be blessings.  The windows of heaven will be open and there will not be room enough to receive them.

I love this work.  I love this church, and I love my God and King.

I hope you all have a great week!

     - Elder Jared Cummings

Last Post

(Elder Slade)

Dear friends and family:

This is the second-to-last email I will send to you while I am on my mission. I only have one more P-day after today, and that P-day will be spent packing and looking forward to seeing all of you just two days later.

Elder Storm and I have had a better week than we had last week, but we're still a little frustrated with the progress that we have been making. We worked really hard, and we were able to improve (progress) in many key indicators, but one key indicator that has notoriously stayed the same is investigators at sacrament. This is the second week in a row that we haven't gotten anybody to come to church; as a matter of fact, these are the only two weeks that Elder Storm and I have been together that we have gotten no investigators to come to church.

Sonia is our only solid investigator right now - her and her nine-year-old daughter. We have been working with them for a week or two now, and she came to the baptism of Alicia and Alvin on Saturday. She loved it, and the chapel tour we had with her afterwards; and she finally offered a prayer, for the first time in 3 or 4 lessons, because of the spirit that she felt there. She was solidly committed to come to church, but unfortunately she took a cold medicine the night before that caused her to sleep in several hours. We were disappointed, but we're going to keep teaching her and get her to church this Sunday so that she and her daughter (and her mother) can be baptized on the 12th. (After I go home... sad face.)

I performed the baptismal interview for Alvin on Thursday, before he was baptized with his girlfriend Alicia on Saturday. (They aren't my investigators, I'm just mentioning them because I did one of the interviews.) It was my first baptismal interview, and it will probably be my last...

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Parable des grenouilles

(Sister Cummings)

Hello everyone! I'm reporting live from the apple store in Laval, Quebec. The Sun is shining and it is a wonderful and beautiful day! My new companions, Sister Rawlings and Sister Meldrum, hailing from the state of Idaho and the province of Alberta respectively, are amazing! They always seem to have a smile on their faces, even when they are force fed all sorts of the Latin or Haitian food that seems to be stuffed down our throats. Not that its a bad thing but the members here LOVE to feed the missionaries. On an average we have been getting at least two dinners a day, though we try to eat healthy ( I even used yogurt in my egg salad sandwich instead of Mayo! Look at us go!) at this rate I may just in fact be rolling home. Whats worse is all this food is so darn delicious that even though force fed, you just HAVE to adore it!

So other than just having way to much delicious food this area has a lot more going for it! The Spanish is going surprisingly well, I can understand most anything that people say and I am able to read and also understand, I haven't quite grasped speaking yet but with the French that I do know the Spanish is coming pretty quickly. I am sure that God has a hand in that.

This week I would like to share a story that was shared in Relief Society this past Sunday and how I was able to apply it. It is called the story of the Frogs.

There was once a race between four frogs. Everyone came to see who would be the fastest and most daring of them all and after everyone had lined up on the line the starting gun was triggered and the four frogs started hopping the fastest that they could. Before too long they came to the first obstacle, a road, the crowd gasped and yelled out "look out! You can't cross that street you are just a frog!" One of the frogs stopped and said "your right, I might get hit" and didn't continue farther.

Meanwhile the three others continue hopping along, hopping along and sure enough they reach the second obstacle. A hole. The crowd reacted much as before yelling out "Oh no! You can't jump that! You are just a frog." Another of the frogs stopped and said "your right that hole looks way to big for me" and stopped.

The last two continue and are neck and neck until they make it to the third and final obstacle. A giant tree. The Crowd in awe says "oh there is no way! You can't climb that! You are just a frog" And one of the two frogs stops and says "This tree is way to tall, your right, I can't climb that" However the last frog made it all the way to the top in no time and after making his way back down the crowd surrounded him cheering and asking "how did you do it??"

The Frog didn't answer.

He was deaf.

The meaning of this story is to show the importance of persevering to the end, and though discouragement comes, whether from a human being or another source, to not give it heed. I can testify of the importance of this principle.

In moving to this new area there are not many people to teach and invite to baptism. However after hearing this story my two companions and I decided to not get discouraged and to not get pulled down by what everyone was telling us. And the Lord has helped us. For not long after making this resolution we contacted a potential investigator and met with her to teach her the first lesson. During which she asked "How can I know if this is true?" After answering her that she may find the answer by praying and receiving the answer herself, she started crying. She mentioned that she had been searching for a church for the past seven years; studying with five different religions including Jehovah's Witness. She said that to each one of them she had asked the same question and each one had tried to prove to her using scriptures and scientific evidence why it was there church that was true. However she had never had someone just tell her that she could go directly to God and ask him. The spirit was so strong and we committed her to be baptized.

The moral of the story is don't give up hope. Don't give into discouragement. We are each one of us exactly where we need to be at exactly the time which we need to be there. I love each and every one of you and I am grateful for each and everyone of you. Please pray for our new investigator Vanessa as she prays to find out what is the truth. I pray for you.

Love,

Sister Cummings

District Leader

Dear friends and family:

This Tuesday I found out that I would be the new district leader for the last few weeks of my mission. I was shocked, but I did my best to give a good district training on Wednesday morning and to find out the needs of the district. I trained about accounting, and being responsible for our efforts, instead of being creatures of circumstances.

We started the week very enthusiastically. We were excited to work hard, and determined to have a turnaround from last week, and to help our investigators progress and be baptized. We had a goal of two baptisms this week, and we still have a goal of five baptisms this month. We fell short, and now our teaching pool is even worse than it was before. We stopped teaching almost all of our investigators, including the three who had been to church several times who could be baptized. (Lucia, Jessica, and Maxime.)

Elder Storm and I feel like the biggest mistake we made this week was that we were so focused on our goal of baptizing, that we didn't stop teaching investigators when their desires and priorities changed. They came to church, and kept some of the commitments we left with them, but ignored others and hung on to a few things in their lives that they didn't want to change. We loved our investigators too much, and so we kept teaching them and we didn't put forth the extra effort to find the remaining investigators who could be baptized at the end of this month.

We are both really bummed about the way that the week turned out. I hate to say it, but despite working hard, we put our efforts into the wrong thing, and we didn't seek the revelation from God that would have corrected us earlier in the week. We're a little discouraged because now we don't have the investigators that we need to meet our baptismal goal, but I'm not going to give up or slack for the last part of my mission.

I'm really excited to hear about the changes in my family, with a new sister, and another brother going off to college. Everything will be different when I finally come home and meet up with everyone again.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Drum Roll Please

So as it turned out everyone who emailed me guessed it... I have in fact been transferred... Which is pretty stinking hard. I have spent nearly an entire half of my mission in the amazing area of Lemoyne. I am so grateful for all the amazing people here but as it turns out I will be headed back North of the island and serving in Laval. Laval is still a French area but unlike other French areas there is no Spanish ward covering the area. So my mission call has changed a little bit and I am going to be teaching in Spanish. The Lord sure works in funny ways because by golly, I have never even taken a spanish class... But hey, apparently God needs me to be there.

Not going to lie my heart is kind of hurting in leaving Lemoyne. I have been in this area longer than I have ever been in New Jersey. So when I was asked to give my testimony instead I asked if I would be able to sing. It has always been easier for me to sing my testimony and I prayed for a good long while that I would be able to do it. So I ended up singing "Where can I turn for peace." The spirit was so strong and I was so grateful to have been able to at least leave one last thing for this ward that I have grown to love.

Don't get me wrong. I am going to love Laval. I will be in a trio for the second time on my mission, so I will be leaving my beloved Sister Ladd. *sigh* I am so grateful for everything that she has done for me. For the example that she has shown me.

There is a scripture that has really touched me so much. It is in Alma 29:10

"And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."

I am so grateful for the wonderful examples these people have shown me as I watch them grow closer to God. They have shown me through their testimonies the way to grow mine. I am so glad that I have been granted a stay so long here and to learn so much. I love you all and I thank you for the prayers you send my way.

I am loving it!

It could definitely be said that Elder LaRose and I have the MTC down.  As of this morning the group that entered the MTC with us are the oldest missionaries in our branch.  We have been here all of six weeks.

This last Tuesday I got a surprise package in the mail from Fresno, California!  The Hmong Elders I will be serving with sent me a box full of Hmong candy and seaweed and some REALLY hot peppers.  Apparently the Hmong eat crazy spicy food with every meal.  The heat grows on you after a while.

To make the week more interesting, for our Sunday Evening Devotional yesterday the MTC invited the Nashville Tribute Band to come do a concert for all the missionaries.  They are an LDS Christian/country rock band.  The choir sang backup on three of their songs.  That is definitely unprecedented at the MTC.  It was neat to see how the Spirit was invited by the music they played, even though their music is not what is typically considered as spiritual in the Church.

Having the Spirit, also called the Holy Ghost, with us has been the topic of much of my thoughts and scripture study this week.  We believe that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinctly separate beings who are united in one purpose.  That purpose, as described in one of my favorite verses of scripture, is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).  With that in mind, every time that the Holy Ghost influences our lives, or anyone's life, it is for the purpose of bringing us closer to God.  If we spend our entire lives turning inwards and focusing on our own needs then we will be prompted about things that help bring to pass our own immortality and eternal life.  If we spend our lives turning our focus outwards, to others, then the Holy Ghost can prompt us into action to help accomplish the work and will of the Father in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of all those we come into contact with.  the influence of the Holy Ghost increases exponentially when we strive to serve others.  We will always be nearer to God as our attention moves farther from ourselves.

Elder Jake Wilkinson, my cousin, is leaving the MTC this week to serve in Milan, Italy.  He and I were born on the same day and we entered the MTC together on June 8.  We have seen each other around pretty regularly and that has never failed to brighten up my day.  We are the best of friends.  I love him and I know he will do great things with the Italian people.

He shared something with me yesterday that I want to share with all of you.  God has not called me to serve in Fresno, California because I know Hmong, will learn Hmong, or even can learn Hmong.  I have been called to serve in Fresno, Jake has been called to serve in Milan, and since the foundation of the church over one million missionaries have served in various missions all over the earth, and all of us have gone where we have because the Lord needed someone who could love the people the way the people needed to be loved.  Success as a missionary comes from the love you feel for all of God's children with whom you come in contact each day.  Learning to love others completely and liberally is one central purpose of our mortality.  I am grateful for the chance I have over the next two years and the rest of my life to apply this truth.

Three more weeks to Fresno!  I can't wait!

love,

Elder Jared Cummings

His Grace is Sufficient

This week my companion and I learned a lot about the importance of hard work to find spiritual answers. Even though we have such fantastic tools as the Bible Dictionary and the Topical Guide and a myriad of other tools to help us research topics, there are some concepts that require more than a few minutes to wrap your mind around and fully understand. This week my companion Anziano Blackwell and I found this to be very true as we prepared a lesson to give in our priesthood meeting this Sunday. The topic was the Atonement, but we wanted to make it a little deeper than the obvious and teach about how the Atonement can better fulfill our purpose as missionaries and better help the people we teach draw closer to Christ. We focused most of our lesson on the "enabling power of the Atonement" which is grace.

We spent a good few hours in total studying this topic and came to a much greater understanding of it and it's relevance to us and to really everyone. We found in the Bible Dictionary that grace is a "divine means of help or strength... to do good works that they would otherwise not be able to maintain if left to their own means." This really stuck out to us because it basically says that grace is the only way we can become better people and stay better people. Without grace, if left to ourselves, we cannot maintain good works, which means we cannot become like our Heavenly Father. This divine means of help and strength is the gift of a loving brother, even Jesus Christ and his Atonement. And the more good we do, the more we humble ourselves, the more we give our all to the Lord, the more grace He will bless us with. And this grace is necessary for our salvation and for our happiness in this life and in the next.

2 Nephi 25:23 says, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." I love this verse because it is so true! If we labor diligently, then will his grace attend us. And through the grace of our Jesus Christ who loves us so dearly and wants the absolute best for us always, we can do anything we are called to do. Another great scripture on grace is Ether 12:27, which emphasizes the sheer importance and power of grace and says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." This scripture is one of my all-time favorites because it's message is so hopeful. I have lots of weak things, we all do, but we have no reason to despair about it, because I know that if we humble ourselves before the Lord and give Him all we've, got he will make our weak things strong! I know this is true. I have experienced grace in my life time and time again. It's one of the major reasons why I know our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ love us. It's so unbelievably uplifting to know that this divine means of help and strength is always there for us is we simply qualify for it. I know that it will only be through the grace of Christ that I will be able to accomplish anything on my mission. I know that I have been aided here at the MTC by His grace and that without it I would not be nearly as prepared as I am for this journey that I will embark on in only a few days.

I hope everyone at home is doing well! I send my best wishes and I'm praying for you always!

-Anziano Wilkinson

The Need for the Liahona

This week we passed the halfway point of our stay at the MTC.  That is hard for me to grasp.  As much progress as I have had with the language so far, I still don't think I'll be comfortable going out and speaking only Hmong to people in just another month.  It is going to come fast.

We sent off two more missionaries since I last wrote.  One was the other Korean roommate we have had and the other was one of the native Hmong elders.  We miss them both.  Class has definitely been more difficult without Elder Vang.  Of the eight Hmong Elders left, four will be joining him next month.  It really has been amazing at how well we have all meshed together.  Each Elder is different, but it works real well.  There haven't been any issues between any of the Elders.  We all get along great.

The topic of sacrament meeting yesterday was the Book of Mormon.  To prepare for it I spent a lot of time in the Book of Mormon, specifically 1 Nephi 16.  This is the chapter where Lehi finds the Liahona to guide them to the promised land and when Nephi breaks his bow and the family goes hungry for a while.  It occurred to me as I was reading it that this chapter is an extended metaphor for the need of continuing revelation.  I ended up taking a few pages of notes explaining all the symbolism and implications. 

The Liahona, a "ball of curious workmanship" (1 Nephi 16:10) that directs Lehi and his family to the promised land is symbolic of continuing revelation.  The pointers which gave direction "did work according to the faith and diligence and heed" that they gave to it (1 Nephi 16:28).  The writing that told them the word of the Lord was "plain to read" and "changed from time to time according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it" (1 Nephi 16:29).  It is the same way with living prophets.  They speak for the Lord in our day today.  What they teach changes from time to time according to the needs and issues that face the world today.  Prophets teach plain and simple truths, inviting all to repent, believe in Christ, and come unto him through making sacred covenants.  We may not understand how they work, but we know that they are of God, and help us to go where we need to go, "keeping [us] in the more fertile parts of the wilderness" that we call mortality (1 Nephi 16:14).

Twice in this chapter Lehi and his family stop traveling for a time (1 Nephi 16:17, 33).  In both instances, what follows is starvation and an inability to access food, symbolic of the spiritual food we need that comes in a large part through prophets who speak in the same way that Moses, Abraham, Adam, and the prophets of old did.  When the family stopped traveling--stopped being guided by the continuing revelation of the Liahona--they were not literally physically nourished and symbolically they were not spiritually nourished either.  This separation from spiritual food through God's appointed way is referred to as apostasy.

We believe that following the death of Jesus Christ and his original twelve apostles the priesthood authority so often referenced in the New Testament as the power by which Christ and his apostles acted was lost from the earth for a time.  This period of time is called the Great Apostasy.  As Paul testified in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, speaking of Christ's Second Coming, "that day shall no come, except there come a falling away first."  The Great Apostasy is what he was speaking of.  This prophecy was known even in Old Testament times as we read in the Book of Amos that "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."  So, for over one thousand years following Christ's death the truth was on the earth, but not accompanied by the authority to teach it and perform saving ordinances.  Many people, such as Martin Luther and William Tyndale, with good intents tried to reform the truths, but to bring back the authority a restoration was needed.

That restoration did come in the year 1820 through a young man named Joseph Smith because he asked in earnest prayer to know where he should go to obtain spiritual food, to know which Church was true.  He was told that the many churches then on the earth had many of the words of God, but that through Joseph the true church, with the same power and authority that Christ and his apostles exercised on this earth, would be restored.  Nephi, when his family, when all those around him were starving, asked his father, just as Joseph as his Father, "whither shall I go to obtain food?" (1 Nephi 16:23).  Nephi did obtain food for his family, and when he returned to those who suffered in famine, "how great was their joy!" (1 Nephi 16:32).  I know that this message, the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring joy.  It will end the thirst for the hearing the words of the Lord.  It will change lives.  It will heal the brokenhearted and raise up the downtrodden.  It does change lives.  I have seen it work miracles.  It is a message of happiness.  It is a message that proclaims that because God loves us he again speaks through prophets, he again gives guidance as in days of old.  The Lord has "bless[ed] us again with food" that we perish not (1 Nephi 16:39).  I am excited to share this gospel, this good news.  I know it is true.  I have seen its fruits, and know that they are good (Matthew 7:20).

With love,

Elder Jared Cummings

For more information on the Great Apostasy and the Restoration through Joseph Smith, visit http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/restoration

The Elders Vang

Dear friends and family:

Last week ended really well, with ten investigators at sacrament, and plenty of dates and new investigators. Starting the very next day, however, almost all of our investigators started dropping off the face of the map. It was like a magic trick, but it wasn't very fun to watch. The only two investigators that remained by the end of the week were Lucia and her daughter, Jessica. (And it took until Thursday to finally get in contact with them.) I'm sorry to report that thus sudden change of direction in our area caused more than a little discouragement between the two of us.

Lucia and her daughter have been to church three times now. They have a baptismal date for this Saturday, which we will do everything in our power to help them keep. Lucia feels like she needs to know more before her baptism, and she also confided in us that she doesn't feel like she has fully repented of everything she has done in the past. We're not going to push her, but we will help her with that process and encourage her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray. We have plans to have her interviewed early this week, to help her see that she is ready.

The other three investigators that came to church are new investigators from this week, that we found while knocking doors. It is a family: Ezekiel, and his two daughters, both of whom have names that I can never remember or pronounce for the life of me. (Someone else who lives in the same house has an interesting name, pronounced the way you would read "qui est la lune" in French, although it is not spelled that way. It means "who is the moon." Just... thought you ought to know :D) We gave them a tour of the chapel before church started, and they were really interested in the story of Joseph Smith. (We had only found them on Saturday, so we had not had a chance to teach it to them beforehand.) They also have soft dates, but their dates are for the 22nd.

Maxime didn't come to church. Apparently, his job required him to drive all throughout the weekend, because school is starting up so soon. We have stopped trying to see him, because he is almost never home and because he can't progress or be baptized unless his wife hops on the bandwagon and they decide to be married. It's sad, but we made the decision and we feel like it's the best thing to do.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Amazing Quebec

Quebec is as usual amazing! All this week we have had such beautiful weather! With the sun shining during the day and insane thunderstorms at night. Sister Ladd and I have taken to planning our following day in the garage overlooking the lightening from a nice dry corner. It is breathtaking!

Anyways this week I would like to share one of my favourite scriptures. It is in Moroni 7, and it reads

 12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

I love this scripture so much because the logic it presents is just so simple. Anything good that invites us to do good is of God. And anything that doesn't is not. However my absolute favourite scripture comes just a little bit later

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

Something that we teach is the importance of free agency, which is the power to choose for ourselves. In French it translates to libre arbitre. Libre, meaning free. Arbitre meaning choice, but what is interesting is that this word, at least in Quebec, is the word used to describe the referee at soccer games. Isn't French so cool?? If we look at what a referee does it is there job to determine what follows the rules and what does not during a game. Thus judging from right and wrong. With this knowledge, agency also takes on a further meaning, the need to choose between good and bad. But we are not alone! That is the best part! The Lord gives us so many opportunities to check up to see what is right, much like a rule book, we are given the scriptures, priesthood blessings, but even more prayers! The Lord promises that if we but ask it will be given unto us. So that we may be able to know with a plain and a perfect knowledge between right and wrong just as we see the difference between the light of day and the darkness of night.

I love you all and I know that these things are true that if we just ask God that he will be able to help us know right and wrong. Often out here we ask others to pray to know if the book of Mormon is true, or that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. These are not vain demands. Each has a purpose. I myself have prayed and I can testify that I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God and it was literally translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith. I thank you for all the prayers that you send my way and know that I pray for you. Have a wonderful week!

The Plague Continues

So in continuation from last week. I am all better from whatever bug I may have caught. However my lovely companion caught my little ball of fun... So we had an entire day of sitting and making calls. And because the Area Book had already been updated and the apartment cleaned to shining, I got the opportunity to make a scripture case, it isn't finished yet but I am so excited about it #bepreparedforpictures

Besides that we had a mini mission this week! Her name was Kayla, so it was really really strange to hear someone calling my name, my REAL name, so often. It kind of gave me a little glimpse at the awkward RM I am going to be... #foreverhandshaking

But besides the random points of trunkiness, Kayla helped me realize something quite vision changing. During the mini mission we had an opportunity to bring our third companion to a district meeting. Or the meeting where all the missionaries in our little area meet with to discuss the needs of our areas and learn from each other. Kayla was asked to give her testimony on how her mini mission was helping her, and what she said was so simple, but it really hit right home.

I have been on my mission for a good bit of time okay? No one can refute that fact. And just like with anything that we have been doing for a while, I have fallen into the habits and life of being a missionary. The things I do just don't always hit the same as they did a year ago. So when Kayla commented on how much it really touched her that we would listen to Mo Tab in the morning before studies, which we did every morning. It made me take a step back and look at what I have been doing out here on a mission. I have been doing and feeling so much good that I just don't see the difference anymore.

This past week my brother wrote about recognizing the spirit, in comparing it to a stop sign. I would like to add another analogy to that, which I discovered at the beginning of my mission and can now farther testify of it. Have you ever moved from one place to the next? I remember moving from Illinois to New Jersey and for the first solid month, we were searching for those moments when the New Jersey accent would appear. After a while the chwaclate and cwoffee turned into normal. Feeling the Holy Ghost is a lot like this. When we are put into a new environment and doing new things we recognize it so often. And then after extended exposure it becomes normal for us, and we don't recognize it until not too long afterwards someone points out to us that we are using this same accent in our own conversations.

I can testify that this is true. I saw it happen this week.

I love you all!!!

Have a wonderful week!

Strong Week

Dear friends and family:

Elder Storm and I are doing very well. We started off the week very strong, working well together and always looking for more things we can do to help our investigators and keep our area healthy. The hard work paid off, and by the end of the week it resulted in... ten investigators coming to sacrament meeting! That is one of the highest I have ever gotten on my mission. Church was a madhouse, we were so worried about getting each of the investigators to their proper classes and getting members to talk with them. In all of the people who came to church, we have...

Maxime. He came for the third time this week. He loves the church, and the only thing that is preventing him from getting baptized is that he isn't yet married with his significant other. They want to get married, but she doesn't want us to help out with it, because she feels like if we do it then we will use that as leverage to get her to come to church with us and to get baptized. (Neither of which are things that she wants to do.) But we'll keep working with them, hopefully she has a change of heart or some other miracle comes along so that he and his kids (and her as well, by preference) can all be baptized together.

Lucia and Jessica. Lucia is a member referral from her cousin, who lives in Canada. She and her daughter, Jessica, have come to church twice, and they have a date for this Saturday! What we're struggling with in helping her get baptized is that she works very late every day, so we have to see her at the end of the evening, so we don't have a lot of time to go over what we need to cover, and even then she isn't always home yet. But we're not complaining, she's great!

Christelle. We knocked into her several months ago, but never went back to see her because she wasn't committed to come to church and didn't have a very strong desire to be baptized. But she called us a few days ago and told us that she wanted to take us up on the offer to come to church. She came, loved it, and has a date for the 15th!

Livesta & her five siblings. We used to call her Abigail, because that's how she introduced herself originally, but apparently her first name is actually Livesta and she told us that that's what she prefers to be called. So... Livesta has been to church five times now. We were really trying to get a big push for her to be baptized last Saturday, but her parents aren't quite on board with it yet. They don't believe that she is mature enough to be baptized. (She's 16, by the way.) So we're going to try to work with them on that and show them that she is old and mature enough to make that decision for herself.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Faith Will Move Mountains

I cannot believe it has already been another week!  Time flies so fast here.  We have taught more lessons, learned more Hmong, and we sent off one of our roommates to Korea and one of the Elders in our zone to Wisconsin.  It has been a great week.  I am so happy to be here serving my Creator with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

In the Book of Mormon there is a passing reference to a prophet named Mahonri Moriancumer (referred to as "the brother of Jared" for short, sadly no relation) moving a mountain by his faith.  I have spent some time thinking about this verse and the applications it has for our lives today.  Moving mountains in our own lives--whether they by literal, financial, health related, spiritual, or otherwise--takes faith.  No one ever approaches an issue unless that have a belief that there will be a resolution.  Do they have proof that there will be a resolution?  No.  That is called faith.  The prophet Alma described faith as a "hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32:21).

So how does faith move mountains?  The brother of Jared's story is not the only reference to faith to move mountains.  What I have found is that the scriptures do not consistently specify 1) the rate at which mountains are moved and 2) the amount of people moving the mountain.  We move mountains shovel-full by shovel-full and shoulder to shoulder--that is the pattern God has set.  None of us can move a mountain, and we really shouldn't even try to move a mountain, on our own.  We aught to work together in faith and labor until the work is done.  As we press forward and endure to the end I know that we will overcome any and all obstacles that block our path and slow our progress.  I know that we all posses that faith, that faith to work miracles.  The greatest miracle of all, that of the Atonement of Christ, was not even realized until after its completion.  Is it reasonable then to expect to recognize all the lesser miracles that occur in our lives before they come or as they occur?  No.  Look back on your lives.  Mountains have been moved.  Miracles have been wrought.  God's hand has always been in your life and it always will.

As I prepare to head out to Fresno in five more weeks I am impressed by the gravity of the work young LDS missionaries across the globe are called upon to do.  We are called to go forth to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people proclaiming that the truth of Christ's gospel is once again available in its fullness.  There are a lot of people in this world.  Missionary work truly is a mountain.  I have absolute confidence that as the efforts to grow Christ's kingdom and prepare the earth for his return continue, as hundreds of thousands young men and women work shoulder to shoulder in faith, in time that mountain will be moved.  In time scattered Israel will be gathered.  The message of the Restoration continues to roll forth.  It will not be long before it fills the earth.  It will not be long until Christ returns to rule and reign forever.  I am so humbled that I have been called to serve a mission.  I am so grateful that I have been called to move this mountain.

This week we watched this video in one of my classes that I loved immediately.  It is an explanation of the Book of Mormon by a living apostle named Jeffery R. Holland.  Elder Holland, like the apostles of old, has been called to to bear a special witness of Christ's divinity.  I would encourage you all to watch it.  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-07-29-gods-words-never-cease?lang=eng

I would like to close this letter with my testimony of the Book of Mormon.  I may not be as eloquent or wise as Elder Holland, but I do know for myself that the Book of Mormon is in fact scripture, as is the Bible.  I know that it truly does teach men the way to follow their Savior, as does the Bible.  What sets the Book of Mormon apart from the Bible is that if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was truly a prophet called of God.  If Joseph Smith truly was a prophet called of God then we can know that God speaks today through a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, that God does live, that He loves us, that His son loves us.  We can know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth, the only church with true authority to baptize unto salvation.  I know all these things to be true because I have prayed to know.  I went straight to the source and asked God.  I have never been content with taking the opinions and persuasions of others as fact.  I encourage you not to either, but rather to go straight to the source, to pray to know what is truth.  I bear witness that as you do so in humility and faith, by the power of the Holy Ghost you can know the truth of all things, even the truth of the Book of Mormon.

I love you all.  Thank you for supporting me in this mission.

-Elder Cummings

Of Faith and Apostles

We had a really special guest speaker at the MTC this last Martedi (Tuesday), Elder Russel M Nelson, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His discorso (talk) was his first as president of that quorum and it was so cool to feel the spirit that he brought into the room and to hear his testimonianza del salvatore (testimony of the Savior). It was also extremely special to sing for him at the devotional.

This week has had an unspoken theme of faith for me personally. I'm come to realize that which is quite frankly obvious, that when we trust everything to the Lord, he will make everything work in the best way possible. For example, in lessons, we as fledgling Italian learners often are so worried about making cogent sentences that we try to plan them out in our heads before we say them. The only problem with this is that it's hard to sincerely listen to what your companion or investigator is saying when you're trying to think of what you're going to say next. But when you take the leap of faith to simply listen and sincerely try to understand the situation, the words are literally given to you to say. One of my favorite experiences with this so far happened during fast and testimony meeting this Sunday. I felt prompted that I needed to bare my testimony, but had absolutely no idea what I should say. So, remembering the principle of faith, I ceased giving the topic any thought and just listened. I stood up to bare my testimony and still have no idea what to say, but I just opened my mouth and inspiration flowed right though me.

I know that faith is a true principle and that we do have a Father in Heaven who love us and wants the absolute best for us. I know that He sent His Son to take the burdens of our sins so that we could become perfected though Him. His Atonement is real and it is sufficient to cover us entirely, all we need to do is believe and try our best to follow his commandments. We were sent to this Earth quite simply to see if we loved our Father in Heaven enough to return back to him. And I am so glad that I get to help the people of Italy by pointing them in the right direction to return home.

One more realization that I had this week was the shear insignificance of my own desires. Who cares what I need or what I want? I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my Life. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ is everything. There are people out there who do not have this. Who am I to be concerned about myself when there are people out there looking for the truth but are kept from it only because they no not where to find it? I have a Job to do, and it's not to satisfy myself, but to serve my God and his children with all my might mind and strength. Salvation is on the line. What else could be more direly important than that?

I hope you all are having a great week! I've only got 12 more days until I take off for Italian soil! I am really excited to say the least!

-Anziano Wilkinson