(Elder Cummings)
Before I get on with my letter for this week, I just want to
share something with you that never fails to cheer me up. One word: peanuts. In Hmong this translates to "lub txiv
laum huab xeeb," which translates back in English to "the fruit
tickles pregnant cloud." It makes
sense to the native speakers, so I'm not going to question it. I'll just keep smiling.
It has been a WONDERFUL week and Elder Ballard and I have
welcomed our WONDERFUL new companion Elder Bagley who hails from Rexburg,
Idaho. This morning as we went shopping
he bought a five pound bag of potatoes.
And so the old adage rings true, you can take the missionary out of
Idaho, but you can't take the Idaho out of the missionary. He has a real gift for the language. After nine weeks in Utah he has come out
knowing more words than I do after twelve additional weeks in the field. I haven't been lazy with my time as a
missionary and apparently neither has he!
He is a great missionary. The
three of us get along great and have done some great teaching together already!
A great example is our visit to Song Lu Xiong this
week. He and his wife are long time
investigators and when we taught out of the Book of Mormon as a trio the Spirit
was so thick and there was a tangible energy in the room. Song Lu volunteered to begin praying to ask
God if the LDS church has more truth than his.
He has been invited to do that several times over the last few years,
and has always said no. He and his wife
have changed their hearts completely all because of the wonderful influence of
the Spirit!
Another great example is Dow Xiong, a woman in her late
twenties we met last night (not literally related to Song Lu, but still his
"cousin," there are only 18 Hmong last names). Elder Bagley and I contacted her while Elder
Ballard was busy with a phone call and she changed her mind about the need for
a church completely over the course of a ten minute conversation. She went from not interested to agreeing to
be baptized on January ninth in just six hundred seconds! We bore testimony and taught the message of
the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and now she will be following
the example of Jesus Christ and uniting with His restored church! The Spirit changes hearts.
There was Raquel, a less active member whose brother attends
our Hmong congregation. As we taught her
by the promptings of the Holy Ghost we helped her to reconnect with God in a
powerful way and offer her first prayer in years. She is in the court proceedings of a messy
divorce and the peace that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings was just what she
needed and it was just what the Lord wanted to give to her.
The Lord wants all of us to have that peace. He wants to bless all of us, and He will
bless us as we strive to live in accordance with His laws. Get blessings! Be obedient!
I love you all,
Elder Jared Cummings
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Apparently you have already seen a picture of him, but here
is Elder Bagley smiling, and winking, for the camera! And could Dad send me the picture that
President Clark sent? If you have the
one from when I came in that would be great!
I would love to keep them all in one place.
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