Alma 5:14

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjenare!

This week was great! Sorry I don't have a lot of time, so I'll have to keep this kinda short.

We had so much fun this week working hard finding and teaching. The weather is incredible and makes you almost forget that you're working at all when half your day is spent outside walking around!

We're seeing some really good success in our area and with our investigators. I'm really excited to see how it plays out! Let me tell you, coming to a knowledge of Christ's gospel and learning to "see Him as He is"(1 John 3:2) changes people. The more we work with people and teach them the gospel and the more contact they have with the Holy Ghost, the bigger that change is.

It is God's gift to us that we can be spiritually reborn and receive a "mighty change in [our] hearts" when we turn to Him and humbly lay our burdens at His feet. Happiness, comfort, and even life itself begin with a desire to follow Jesus Christ.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. God is alive and well in Karlskrona.

2. Classic elevator pic.

3. Elder Bjornn, get out of the way.

4. Thank you.

Alma 56:48

(Aldste Cummings)

Hejsan!

This week was fantastic! Summer has come early and it is GORGEOUS here in Karlskrona. I wish I could show you guys what it's really like just to walk around out here but I guess I'll just have to send pictures and brag about it incessantly instead. Maybe then you'll understand how truly beautiful it is.

We had the opportunity to teach our investigator Kristoffer a couple times this week. On Tuesday he taught us how to make some absolutely incredible vegetarian food. Pictures are attached.

I also got to call my family and talk with them! It was so great to see them. It's been a fat stund since I had the opportunity to really be with them and I'm thankful for even just the small opportunity I had to talk to them on Sunday.

In light of Mothers' Day, I thought I would share a few words about my own mother.

For all of you who know my mom, you already know that she is an incredibly hard-working, diligent, and faithful woman who touches and blesses the lives of everyone she meets. She has taught me so much not only through word, but by example.

I am eternally grateful for who my mom is and the sacrifices she has made to raise me and my siblings. I wish words could express my gratitude and love. She truly is a woman of God.

I love you, Mom.

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. Mhmm

2. Kristoffer and us at our little brunch

3. pt 2. Would not recommend.

4. That's right, I live here (pt 3).

Luke 11: 11-13

(Aldste Cummings)

Hejsan!

This week was great! We were able to see some good progress in some of our investigators as well as had time to do some classic finding work. I love being a missionary and love talking with people about Christ's restored gospel! It brings so much joy.

This week, all the Swedish high school students in their last year celebrated graduation by putting on white caps and parading through town while screaming and whistling. That was a sight to see. I definitely didn't get to do that when I graduated high school.

This week was the last week of the transfer, but because I'm training Elder Burns, we'll be staying together for at least 6 weeks more while we finish up training. I'm looking forward to spending some more time in this beautiful city as summertime comes around!

I've thought about this scripture a lot this week. The Savior teaches us here that the Lord will always answer our prayers by using the analogy that any rational, loving father would never give his son a stone when he asks for bread. What I've learned in my admittedly short life is that God does really answer our prayers and would never give us a stone if we needed bread.

However, sometimes we ask for cake when the Lord knows that what we need is the nourishment that comes from a loaf of bread. We may not receive what we ask for, but if we ask in faith, the God will surely bless us with what we need. The question is then, how do we react when we receive the bread we need instead of the cake we wanted?

I know that our Heavenly Father is conscious of us--our wants and our needs. I know that an active faith in Him will lead to the joy, comfort, and confidence that we need in this life.

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. The parade

2. Our boy was a little late to the party

3. This Persian guy was rocking the rollerskates

4. This was super fun

Alma 32:21

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjena!

This week was great! As usual, we worked hard. But it wouldn't be a great week if we didn't! We were able to spend a lot of time finding, teaching, and serving this week. And it feels great to be able to work as the Lord's servant in this little corner of His vineyard.

One of the people we met on the street this week showed up at church on Sunday! He loved it and is excited to have us come over and teach him more an we're more than excited to come over and teach him more.

This week was also the Swedish holiday called Valborg. To celebrate, one builds a giant pile of wood and then burns it. It symbolizes burning away winter and welcoming the spring. It's so raw, primeval, and Scandinavian. I love it.

Elder Renlund, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles--one of the highest governing bodies of the church--came to Sweden this week to speak to the members and the missionaries. It was fantastic. He's Swedish too so he gave his talk in Swedish! The members were so happy and proud, it was adorable. He spoke a lot about faith and what it means to hold on and act in faith. It was a very inspiring and inspired message tailored for the people of Sweden.

Again, I cite Alma 32. One of the best discourses ever written and perhaps my favorite chapter in all of scripture. Faith does not mean we know everything and it never will. That's made clear by this verse. But something else we learn by this verse that I think is very meaningful is that faith is a hope. Belief without hope is not and cannot be true faith. Faith is inspiring and motivating. The hope our faith brings us motivates us to act and it is then that our faith grows and testimony as well as blessings are received.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings