John 16:33

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjabba grabbar

 You guys are in for a treat today. What a big week.

 On Tuesday I had the privilege of donning my new jobbabyxor and hitting the big dig to commission them. It was funny, the first thing the member we helped said when he saw us was "Nice pants! Are they new?" 😎

 After the big dig we hit the big eat with some Sri Lankan friends of ours. It was the Sri Lankan New Year this week so they made us some really tasty traditional New Year food. They made us eat with our hands and just kept feeding us more and more. We were so full when we left.

 After the big eat came the big boy because I turned twenty on Wednesday. Woooo. It was a little sad to be away from my friends and family but it was a great birthday anyway. Elder Seely and I made some Peanut Butter Pie to celebrate. Big yum.

 Then came the big stink 🤭. So over the weekend we had a couple dinner appointments and on the way home from one of them, I was having a little tummy troubles kan man säga. While we were waiting for the train, I figured I would let out what gas I could while we were outside and before we got on the train. I didn't look around but I was pretty confident we were alone but even then the gas ended up being far louder than I had expected and I was startled when I heard a man's voice from about 2 meters behind me chuckle and say "nice." In a frantic moment of decisiveness, I determined that the only way we could walk out of this without embarrassment was if this man thought we were cool so I once again whipped out our secret missionary weapon: English.

 I just turned around and said "Timeless classic, amiright?" and Elder Seely and I immediately hit it off with this guy. He was so cool. He had lived in Barbados for like 6 years and was a hotel manager in a city a little south of here. He sat with us on the train and we just talked all about what we do as missionaries and talked about the Gospel. Every time we said something about how we live our lives as missionaries that people usually respond very surprised to or are impressed by, it didn't seem to faze him at all. Then he said "Sorry you guys probably think I'm super mellow but actually this is all blowing my mind but I don't know how to express my amazement without swearing."

 By the end of the conversation, he had gratefully accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said that our conversation had opened his eyes and may or may not have "changed [his] life." So that was pretty incredible. We'll be meeting him again soon to talk more about it. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

 After the big stink 🤭 came the big fun. In Sweden, Easter is a very big holiday despite the fact that nearly no one celebrates it for the original religious purpose. Friday through Sunday was chock-full of house parties with members and it was so great. Most of the ward is extended family so it was basically the same party with the same people in three different locations for over a period of three days. Wild. Needless to say, it gave the little kiddos plenty of opportunities to steal our nametags and run around with them. The most fun was probably when we got all the kids to settle down and play a game that didn't involve stealing and running and we started playing a game I learned from the youth in Gothenburg which ends up with everyone making hilarious animal noises at each other. Bishop's dog and our ward mission leader's cow impressions were priceless.

Oh, I also took my really worn out shoes and sewed them up with stuff I found in the apartment. Big good if I do say so myself.

Despite all the craziness this week, it felt good to take some time each day to ponder on the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and that His power is real. When we turn to him, we feel how the very power that gave Him life again can give us peace, health, and happiness again. There is safety in His love and we can overcome everything before us because He has already overcome the world through his perfect life and infinite Atonement.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

 1. "He touched the [rice]."

2. That's right. I live here (pt.19).

3. The children treated us to a spirited spectacle of equestrian showjumping.

4. Before.

5. After.

6. Dilpa's first Easter egg.

Spiritual Soldiers

(Sister Slade)

Happy Easter!

It was a great week. Zone conference, service, and lessons! There are two things though that really stuck out to me this week.

On Friday we were able to get everything cleared for James' baptism. That night we had a lesson with him and were able to tell him the good news. Something about James is that he doesn't really show emotion and he tries to hide it when he does. But when we told him that he could be baptized on the 4th, he smiled so widely and said, "I'm ready to be a part of God's army now." He talks about how he wants to go on a mission and serve in the church all the time, so it's not too hard to picture him as a spiritual soldier especially considering the words of Paul to the Ephesians. "13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The other thing from this week that is important for me to share actually happened 3 years ago. 3 years ago today, my little sister Ellyn passed away when she was just 11 months old. I don't think it's a coincidence that this anniversary happened just the day after Easter; the day that we celebrate the Resurrection and the renewal of life. I know without a doubt that I will see my little sister again some day because of the amazing plan that our Father in Heaven has created for us. I am eternally grateful for the blessing this knowledge is in my life. This knowledge is one of the reasons I came on a mission. Because I know what joy and happiness the Restored Gospel brings me, I have to share it with others. I know that Ellyn is another "spiritual soldier" for the Lord. She is serving Him just as much as I am here.

What ways can you be a "spiritual soldier" for the Lord?

God is Good!

Sister Slade

Pictures:

 1. I saw this book during service at the Literacy council

2. A fun hat I saw at a farmer's market

3. I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but it's all of the pollen on our car (We washed the car the night before).

4. My favorite picture of Ellyn and I

Easter

(Hermana Ellsworth)

I wanted to write a little bit about being a missionary. It's an interesting thing. You may at times think, "This is what we should do" and then you get a feeling of "no thats the wrong thing to do" and then you just don't understand. But I will say that I know that this is Heavenly Father's work and not mine. He knows the people that I teach 10,000X better than I do. There have been many times where I have felt like I needed to share something that did not fit into the lesson or make any sense but is exactly what they needed to hear. I am also very thankful that I have been sent into a Spanish speaking mission. This has forced me to listen to the spirit more because I CANT listen to my investigator half the time and come up with my own ideas of what to do. I am so grateful for that.

We had 4 people come to church this week which is 4X more than I have ever gotten before. They loved it and they loved how reverent the ward was at the beginning. The ward here is incredible. The members are the definition of meek. My definition of meek includes "Spiritual Receptivity, Righteous Response, Willingly Submissive, And a Strong Self Restraint." The ward here did an incredible job with the "Righteous Response" when Elder Holland called for a more reverent environment during sacrament. The bishop stood at the microphone silently calling for reverence until it was perfectly still. The spirit was incredibly strong and the members knew what they needed to do. This ward is wonderful. After church one of our investigators, Felicita, was approached 6 times by the members. After word got around that she had no car and would need a ride each week to come these 6 different members offered their help. She left her first church attendance with 6 numbers to call when she needed a ride anywhere and a feeling of love in her heart. Missionary work is not possible without the help of the members.

I love you all and I hope everything is going well! Here are some random but fun pictures for all of you that only look at the pictures :) LOOOVE YYYOOUU!

I Never run out of funny pictures of Hermana Boston. This week she got gum stuck in her hair!

John 4:19

(Aldste Cummings)

tjena tjena

This week was tons of fun. I feel like I always say that but I guess that means it's always true.

While walking over a bridge across the river that runs through the middle of Halmstad, I saw a low-flying seagull approaching. As it neared, I saw the B-17 Flying Fortress release it's payload and watched startled as the explosive projectile barreled toward us. Instinctively, I switched into emergency mode and as any good companion and mission-father would do, I dodged the incendiary device and allowed it to make contact on Elder Seely's left knee. Nice try, seagull 👀.

So in Sweden, anyone and everyone who works with their hands owns at least one pair of "jobbabyxor" or workpants. What started out years ago as a very durable pant with convenient pockets hanging from the waistband has now become massive array of fashion-forward options to choose from; perfectly combining style and practicality. I talked to a member here who owns his own construction company about his pants and his face lit up and he and I talked about all the different brands, styles, materials, and accessories that can provide varying levels of durability, comfort, breathability, and style. Unbeknownst to me, not all jobbabyxor are created equal. He inspired me to go out and buy my own pair. Now tomorrow when we go back to dig that big hole again, I can confidently and comfortably strut my stuff.

We had our first choir performance this week! It went incredibly well. Our pianist was transferred last week so I hurriedly tried to learn the song and was able to get it down pretty well but not as well as I would have liked but come Sunday, we found that a senior missionary couple ending their missions in Oslo were visiting our ward and what do you know the woman could play piano and stepped in to accompany us while her husband sang bass to support the lonesome Elder Seely. Conducting the choir during our performance in sacrament meeting and seeing our our ragtag choir's smiling faces made me overjoyed. Dream come true.

One of our choir members' mom came to church to watch the performance although not having been to a sacrament meeting for many years. She shared a very sweet testimony during the meeting and said something that really touched me. She said "I believe that if we were on a deserted island with no books or anything, we could still have a loving relationship with God."

I agree. I testify that God loves us and no matter where we are or what we do or what we know, He is reaching out to us and wants us to feel His love. Easter is the perfect time of year to reflect on the love God has for each one of us. He loved us enough to send His Only Begotten to die for us that through Him we might be saved. Give yourselves opportunities this week to ponder on the infinite love God has for us and how it is perfectly embodied in Christ's life and death and life again. I know He lives and that His power and love is real.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. 🅱ig 🅱oy got poo🅱ed on.

2. This guy's yard had us dying.

3. Jobbabyxor baby 😍

4. No explanation needed.

5. Choir picture for the yearbook.

TRANSFERS (Hint i am staying)

(Hermana Ellsworth)

Hello Beautiful people of the world! Transfers were this week! President Smart decided to send out the information at 10 at night a day early! So all 4 of us in our house went to bed at 9:30 after a hard days work and woke up to 6 missed calls from our district leader at 10:25 that night. We finally answered the 7th call when He let us know that we would be serving a trio now! So Hermana Nelson (My current trainer) and Hermana Boston (the one wearing a green bucket hat) are my companions for the next six weeks!

We are also saying goodbye to our beloved Hermana Cordova. She is headed back to Utah this week :) Show her some love out there my Utah Friends :)

On a more mission related note :) Our district had two baptisms this week and it was an amazing experience. Jose and Gloria. I am so proud of both of them for the decision they have made to become closer to Heavenly Father by keeping commitments with the Lord. It has been full of ups and downs. Jose at one point was about to stop taking the mission lessons because he found a lot of anti-church literature on the internet. The other sisters came to the lesson ready to teach him more when he pulled out a stack of anti-church documents and pointed at them to explain all these questions that he had. The sisters took a moment to breathe and then asked Jose a very important question that we should all ask ourselves. "Are you going to listen to the words of angry men and words of people who do not know all things or are you going to listen to your Heavenly Father?" We don't know everything and the people in the world don't either. We have resources to learn more but we have the most important resource and that is prayer. Heavenly Father knows everything. Trust in the words and advice and testimony he has and will give you at every moment of your life. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. After hearing this question and seriously reflecting on it Jose decided to continue his search for answers through prayer and inspired resources. He wanted to listen to the words of his Father in Heaven over the words of men. In silence Jose stood up and tour the documents of anti-church literature into the garbage can. Jose has been baptized this week and in his own words, "This is what I have always been looking for without knowing it"

The Chruch is True and Joseph Smith is a Prophet. If you struggle to know or believe then search the scriptures and get on your knees to pray. Heavenly Father will answer you.

From Left to right: Hermana Cordova, Hermana Boston, Jose , And Devon

Central Park is mine!

(Sister Slade)

Transfers were this week. And thus begins my 6th transfer in Central Park. At this rate, I'll just spend my whole mission here.

I can't really think of much else that happened this week. We had a bunch of really good lessons this week with James, Bev, Jessica, and Jerry. James, Bev, and Jessica are all really close to baptism, so we're working with a lot of faith to see that happen in the next 6 weeks. It would be a huge miracle because this area hasn't had a baptism in 2 years.

I finished the Book of Mormon on Monday. With all of the times that someone has asked me what my favorite book is, I wish I had said the Book of Mormon. There is so much truth in it and people really can get "nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." If you haven't recently, please read from the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true. I promise that you will get an answer and it will bless your life. I know it is the word of God.

God is good!

Sister Slade

Pictures:

D & C 11:9

(Aldste Cummings)

Hey everybody!

This week was pretty crazy. We got a lot of stuff done and had tons of fun.

On Monday, we and the sister missionaries had a little game night with the father and daughter that came to church last week. To make a long story short, we starting playing a Swedish card game, and ended up forming a ward choir. We ran the idea by the bishop--who had already asked us to find a way to provide more musical numbers for our worship services--and he was all for it and wanted to join the choir himself. So on Sunday, we had our first choir practice between sessions of General Conference. It was glorious. The choir itself was only 5 people, 1 accompanist, and 1 director (me haha). It's not the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square under the direction of Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy with Andrew Unsworth and Brian Mathias at the organ but we do our best. All you need is a willing heart. "Therefore, if ye have desires to [sing] ye are called to the [choir]" (D&C 4:3).

Wednesday, we went to a local high school to talk to some English classes. It was really really fun. The students were well behaved and talkative which helped a lot. They asked lots of good questions and we told them all about American culture and showed them pictures of our houses on Google Earth and taught them some American slang words. I couldn't remember any slang words other than "sauce" and honestly, I'm not sure what people are saying nowadays so we started telling them mission lingo that has worked it's way into the missionaries vocabulary here. Stuff like "big dog," or "big boy," or "dad." Really funny stuff. By the end of it, you could hear them calling each other "biiiig boyyyyy." Good content.

On Wednesday we went down to a city a little south of us to visit a couple that were taught and baptized by my good friend, Elder BIRD. I had heard a lot about them so it was so fun to actually meet them and get to know them and hear their stories. The husband is from Venezuela and has a pretty crazy backstory which has resulted in a number of things. One of them being that he has some pretty sick dribbling moves in basketball. He wiped the floor with us. I love them so much already.

Speaking of basketball, between sessions of General Conference, three 15 year old Swedish kids biked to the church parking lot and started playing basketball on the outdoor hoops. We decided to challenge them to a game of basketball. So, knowing that this would only work if they thought we were cool, I used our secret missionary weapon: English. I just walked up to them and said "Hey big dogs you wanna ball?" and we were in. We played basketball with them for about an hour and beat them pretty badly but we all had a good laugh by the end.

For those of you who don't know, we had something called General Conference this weekend which was many hours of inspired teachings and guidance from the leaders of the Church who we believe to be prophets and apostles who are given inspiration from God to convey His messages to us. This time around was as good as always and full of plenty of great counsel and specifically loving calls to repentance. President Nelson is particularly adept at given correction and encouragement to shape up, so to speak. I think it's exciting. It's always good to know that there is still room for improvement. The more we repent, or in other words, the more we change the way we think, feel, and live to be more in accordance with God's will, the closer we come to Christ. Isn't that wonderful?

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. Mauro and Sara sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g 😘.

2. Elder Seely was really self-conscious about sweating through his pants after a gentle 15 minute bike ride until we discovered that the culprit was the cracked leather on the bike seat and the soaking wet foam underneath.

3. Big Boyyyyyys

4. Eating tons of candy for General Conference. Timeless classic.

We just created a geometric proof for the church

(Sister Slade)

The title for this weeks letter is based on a very interesting companion study that sister Minor and I had. Somehow we proved the church based of scriptures in the Book of Mormon. If anyone is interested, I can send it to you.

This week has been a wild ride! We have been covering both Springdale as well as central park this whole week, so we've been going back and forth every other day. It was a lot of fun but it was super stressful, especially the day when we forgot our phone chargers in the Central Park apartment for the whole weekend. :)

We had a really good lesson with Nancy this week. We read 2 Nephi 31 with her and she really thought it was important to be baptized by proper authority. When we asked her too be baptized, she said she would have to pray about it, but she knew the Book of Mormon was true and she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Pray for Nancy! She also watched most of conference this weekend and loved it!

Wasn't general conference amazing! Did anyone catch how many times they talked about missionary work? Almost every single talk! I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk, because missionary work really is just loving God's children. If you think about it, the first great commandment is to love God and the second is to do missionary work. I also loved Elder Bednar's talk about the temple. I love the guidance we can receive from modern prophets and apostles! Still no temple in Arkansas, but we'll keep waiting. :)

We had transfer calls on Saturday. Surprise, Surprise, I'm staying in Central Park. My new companion will be Sister Najara. Sister Minor will be going back to Springdale and will be training a missionary that doesn't know English, so that should be exciting for her. I'm kind of upset that Sister Minor and I only have 11 days together, because we're already super close.

I love you!

Sister Slade

Pictures!

GENERAL CONFERENCE!

(Hermana Ellsworth)

General Conference is such an amazing opportunity to have. While inviting people to come to general conference I would say things like, "if you had the opportunity to listen to Moses speak and reveal the ten commandments would you want to go?" and they would always say of course! Conference is a time to hear what we need as a church and individuals at this time.  Some of my favorite talks were Elder D. Todd Christofferson's about Zion who said "Christ is the seed of the Ultimate Hope"  and Elder Ronald A Rasband who spoke about being spiritually prepared. We should be so spiritually prepared that we surprise satan with how prepared we are. That all starts in the home. I learned a lot in my home and I had a great opportunity to have parents and step-parents who were strong in their testimonies even during hard trials. They taught me of the gospel and they showed how to in their actions. I am eternally grateful for the home I grew up in and the friends, young women’s leaders, and members who have all helped me grow my testimony and strengthen my commitment to stay close to the gospel. As we strengthen our homes we strengthen our spirits and become closer to Christ. With spiritual strength we can go forth with confidence with the Lord by our side to declare the gospel without fear. Continue to strengthen others during this time of spiritual war. Start in your home and INVITE all to come and hear of the Goodness of Christ and his Gospel.

Why is Christ called Alpha and Omega? This has been one of my questions and if anyone has some answers that would be great. I Learned that he is called Alpha because he was the first. The first to rise from the dead. The first born of God. The first and same which looked upon the wide expanse of Eternity and all the seraphic hosts of heaven before the world was made. And he is Omega because according to the bible dictionary he is our end Goal. Christ is the beginning of our change and Christ is the final goal of all creations.

We finished our English fast this week and celebrated with some high quality smoothies! The Guayama Llamas are doing well with our Spanish and well with our frozen treats!

We visited our dear loved Martita who is an amazing member missionary who is leaving this week to go serve in the DR Temple! We made her tacos and salsa as a goodbye!

This is the story of how I died

(Sister Slade)

So this week I ran a half marathon and I died. Sort of. I'm really sore right now and my foot kind of hurts because I did something to it, but I didn't die. I ran the race with two other sister who wanted to run. We just had to run together to follow the sight and sound rule. All three of us wore matching "Team Jesus" t-shirts. It was actually a really cool thing. Everyone we ran past would yell that they liked our shirts and we would yell back something like"Jesus loves you!" or "It's the winning team!" It was really fun to show people that missionaries are real people.

I was able to sing at Brian's funeral yesterday. It was really special, and it meant a lot to everyone that was there that we were there and that we had done what we did to take care of Beverly and Brian. A lot of people there told us that over the last couple of months, Brian had talked a lot about the young LDS women who come visit and sing to him and how much it meant to him. It meant a lot to us to hear that we had made a difference in his life.

So Sister Davis is on her way back to Nauvoo right now. We found out what was going to be happening to me for the next two weeks before transfers about 20 hours before she left. My new companion is Sister Minor. She is still in training, so I am finishing her training. For the next two weeks, we will be covering the Springdale 1st ward and the Central Park ward. It's going to be a party. From the last 19 hours that we've spent together, I can tell you that she is super sweet and loves being a missionary. She is super hardworking and loves to have fun.

I love being a missionary!

Sister Slade

Pictures

A whole bunch of race day pictures

A few pictures of Sister Davis and I

Sister Minor and I