(Elder Cummings)
Good morning y'all!
A little bit of context:
There's this park here called Reverend Peter Atkins Park,
commonly known as Rev Atkins, or even The Rev. Just being here for about a
month now, I don't know who this Reverend is or was, just that he was a pretty
awesome guy and very well loved.
Then just yesterday we join someone the other Elders are
teaching at their worship service. His name is John and he is 83 and he is so
cool. He goes to the Bethel Reform Methodist Church just down the road from us.
There's a lot of clapping and swaying and singing and praying and it was a
great time. But turns out that Reverend Atkins was a pastor that started the
Bethel Reform Church about 60 years ago that got killed when he was in in his
40s. The current pastor is his son, so that was super cool to meet him and
figure out his story.
One of the cooler experiences of my mission though happened
at this church. They were having a mini testimony meeting like we usually do
the first Sunday but people would just stand up and bear it from there. When
there was a pause I stood up and had an opportunity to bear pure testimony
about Jesus Christ, His Atonement and the power it has in our lives to a
congregation of at least 50 people of another faith. There was the occasional
"Amen" or "praise Jesus" and I greatly appreciated the
opportunity they gave me to do that. What made it even more cool was that a
couple other people in the congregation stood and bore their testimonies about
how they've seen us around on the bikes and love what we do and know we're
doing the Work of the Lord and gave us a big shout out for His sake. Another
bore her testimony about us helping her with hurricane clean up about a month
back and how it was an answer to her and her sons' prayers. That was awesome. I
love the South.
A cool thought that was shared with me this week comes from
the story of Joseph Smith. Joseph was a young boy, worried about his salvation
and wondering which of all churches and denominations was the one established
by Jesus Christ. He knew that it was only through Christ that he could find
mercy, but so many different preachers and leaders preached different means of
salvation and definitions of salvation. God knew his concerns and his
questions. He knew Joseph's desires and worries of his heart. He was also fully
aware of Joseph's efforts to find answers. But it wasn't until Joseph knelt in
prayer and ASKED for an answer from our Father in Heaven that an answer, and a
miraculous one, was given. It just struck me the importance of asking. I
believe God wanted Joseph to exercise his faith in prayer. When Christ teaches
in Matthew "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you" not only is it a promise, but an
invitation, even a commandment. There is power in asking our Father for help
and answers. "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to
secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to
grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them".
Have a blessed one!
Elder Cummings
Photos:
1. John and the quad. He's awesome
2. Tex Dr🔥
3. Nancy gave me her late husbands jacket because "it
was doing no good staying in a closet". She's so sweet
4. We destroyed a shed
5. Ms. Pat
6. Dorothy and Wilmer stunting with their mowers
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