(Elder Cummings)
It's been another week of hard work, fun times and learning
opportunities...
We're on the home stretch to the end of MTC(about 3 more weeks
I think) and it's been awesome. You know the drill, it's a similar schedule
every day, but I've never been this productive in my life. In 6 weeks I've
learned more and advanced more in Mandarin than I have in the past 7 years I've
been "studying" it. Yes, that says something about how I was studying
the past few years, but it highlights the efficiency and amazing-ness of the
MTC and my teachers, and the truthfulness of the Gift of Tongues. Young
adults(basically old teenagers) from 18 years old to usually around 20 spend
6-9 weeks learning a language(often times brand new) how to effectively teach
people, and then go and do it all in some foreign country for the next 18
months to 2 years of their life: there has to be some divine help or that would
not happen.
I did get a bit out of my usual schedule this week, when the
Elders(missionaries) from my ward invited me to play the piano as part of a
video they're making as an attempt to spread some light and gospel through
social media when quarantine makes in-person lessons hard. I don't know what
their plan is with the video but all I know is when I walked into the room to
record me playing, there were 6 missionaries, all over 6 feet, all bigger and
more confident-looking than me. I felt very very new and inexperienced. It gave
me a real sense of what getting thrown into the mission field will feel
like(except hopefully they're not all over 6 feet too). These guys were
"seasoned veterans" in the Lord's work. They weren't over confident.
They weren't confident in themselves and they're ability to do things. They
were confident that the Work they are about is true, and that it changes lives.
They were confident in the Lord to fill in their inadequacies and weaknesses
with His Grace and Love. They were confident that anything is possible with
God, and that they are able to do anything with His help. I may have felt
inexperienced being around them, but they quickly lifted me up and made me feel
like I was in the field with them as well, and that my job is the same as
theirs', and that makes us equals. It was awesome.
That brings me to my spiritual thought. During Elder Liang
and my first Mandarin TRC(mock lesson with a native Mandarin speaker), I 100%,
completely, fully relied on my Chinese skills, but mostly my awesome
companion's Chinese skills. That made me so nervous and scared to do it,
because I knew my Chinese is not perfect and super slow, and not correct
grammar, etc etc. Throughout the week though, many times it impressed me this
IS the Lord's Work. This is not Elder Cummings teaching his lesson. It's Elder
Cummings and Elder Liang relying on the power of the Holy Ghost so they can be
instruments in the Lord's hands to help someone better understand Heavenly
Father and His plan for us. I better realized the importance of relying on God
and His help. The Holy Ghost is the Comforter, He testifies of truth to
people's souls. We are able to know things are true and do exist because of the
Holy Ghost. In order to effectively help someone understand the truth of the
message that I have been called to share, I need to rely on the Holy Ghost to
be there and testify it to those we teach. They can believe my words all day
long, but unless they do not feel the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost in
their soul they cannot have a true, personal, testimony where they know it is
true. I cannot rely on my own teaching and Chinese skills to do that for them,
or they would never have that witness, I need to do my part and then rely fully
on the Holy Ghost to teach them through the words we speak. An awesome lesson
that I am beginning to better understand.
Elder Cummings
Pictures!
1. Crawfish boil with the fam to celebrate me going to
Louisiana before Taiwan. Sooooo good!
2. some more zoom shenanigans, our teacher got corona a week
and a half and is now fully recovered and joined us again all this this week(a
miracle in and of itself) but we showed our love by making sure to wear our
masks
3. Weekly view: I went to Down Under this week, a blast!
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