(Elder Cummings)
This has been another great week! I'm pretty sure I say that every time, but it
is always true!
This week I gave my first blessing in Hmong and had my first
teaching appointment in Hmong that didn't feel much different than an English
speaking appointment. The language is
coming as fast as I am willing to study it!
I see the literal blessings of the gift of tongues daily.
This week we witnessed another miracle that has been on my
mind. My companion and I were leaving a
teaching appointment at McDonalds (yes, it was for teaching only) intending to
rush a few blocks over to make it to a Shoua V.'s house for dinner. Shoua is an incredible example of faith. She taught herself to read Hmong by staring
at the pages of the Book of Mormon and praying.
I could go on and on about the miracle of a person she is. This miracle isn't about her though. This miracle is about a less active man who
God loves.
As we were leaving McDonalds Elder Ballard stopped to talk
to a man in his late twenties or early thirties, arms covered in tattoos, a
longboard at his side, and some serious face scruff. We were already late, so I was not terribly
happy that he was using more of our time.
In the words of the Savior found in Doctrine and Covenants 61:3, I was
"moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side
[were] perishing in unbelief." The
man sat on the curb unresponsive, making me even more impatient as my companion
continued to try to get him to talk.
Eventually we got in the car and, as per missionary rules, I
guided my companion to back out of the parking space. As I was doing this the man walked up and
began to apologize. He told me that he
was raised a Mormon, that he knew the Church was true and that God lived. He told me about the path he followed that
led him to where he was now, living on the street stuck on crack and crystal
meth. He felt defeated and I felt humbled.
I did the first thing I felt prompted to do, bear testimony
of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the potential for all of God's sons and
daughters to be saved by its power. I
told him that he was right, that God did live and that he does love him, one of
his sons. I told him that God intends
for him to return to live in the Celestial Kingdom, and I bore testimony that I
will one day see him there. I was taught
by the words that came out of my mouth.
In front of me stood a man who minutes ago I was not interesting in
talking with and now I was promising him access to salvation and eternal
life. The Holy Ghost was guiding my
words and was changing my heart. I began
to love this man and made sure that we did not leave before he accepted a copy
of the Book of Mormon. It is miraculous
that my companion and I continue to run into less active members everywhere we
go. It is miraculous that God put is in
the right place at the right time, a place we were not even intending to be
when we planned the night before, and that my companion listened to the Spirit
in reaching out to one of God's children that felt he had been lost by the
wayside.
The Atonement is a real power. It is capable of freeing us all from all our
guilt and cleansing us of all our sins.
As the prophet Isaiah wrote,
through the Atonement "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool" (Isaiah 1:18). All of us have
access to it through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy
Ghost, and enduring to the end. This
gospel is true, and it does change lives.
Have a wonderful week everybody! I hope you all find an opportunity to reflect
on all the ways the hand of God is active in your life.
With love,
Elder Cummings
No comments:
Post a Comment