Rough Week

Dear friends and family:

This week was a rough one for Elder Storm and I. We worked hard, but we had very little success regardless. We knocked doors for much longer than we usually do, and we focused on asking for referrals from everybody, but even with all of that we still did not find anyone to teach throughout the week. We had one new investigator for the week, and she is going to be out of town (in Canada) for the next two weeks.

The family of 8 who came to church last week also came this week, but they were late to sacrament meeting again, so they still won't be able to be baptized (the four baptismal age, at least) until the 18th. It's a struggle to teach them, because other than on Sundays, they are never together at home. They all have different schedules, and no matter what time we go over we usually only find one or two of them there. We're excited to work with them more, we're just hoping that they stay strong and keep working for their dates, even though in some of their cases we can't really see them on days other than Sunday.

On the fourth of July, we had to be home at 7:30 instead of 9, because of the nature of celebrations here in Miami (and south Florida in general.) So I made funnel cake for the first time in my life. (Epic failure.) Then we watched the Testaments. (Another epic failure. Did you ever notice the cameraman in the one scene? Or the random black guy in the background in another? Or...)

Thanks,

Elder Slade

By Small and Simple Things

Well first off before I forget, we received transfer calls this past week, I will continue to stay in Lemoyne as my companion Sister Ford will be heading down to Ottawa and my new companion Sister Ladd, coming from there. I am so grateful for the wonderful companion she has been for me and wish her best down South with the actual Canadians.

Speaking of Canadians, happy belated Canada Day! We spent the day like all the Quebecois here in Lemoyne, helping people move. Ya I know, quite a stark difference from the independence day of the United States. A wonderful woman in our ward explained it as such, "Quebec has been trying to get its independence from Canada for so long, but never really is able to. So to stick it to the man, they have their independence day the week before Canada Day and then have all rents and contracts end on Canada Day." There were SO many people moving that day that even us Sisters had gotten asked to help three different families move. It was quite a day full of service that is for sure.

This week has been full of incidents that bring to mind the scripture "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass;" Alma 37:6 One of the most plain ones is that of it just so happened that the International competition for fireworks was happening in a nearby amusement park the day of the fourth of July. So this proud American was able to still have a day of independence with fireworks. #Godbless'murica

On a more spiritual side we were able to give service to one of our neighbors in helping her weed her garden. It turned out that very day that it was her mothers birthday, who had long since passed away. And by us being there just willing to help and talk it gave her great comfort. It also gave me comfort in the knowledge that I was exactly where I needed to be at that time, helping this woman with something so little as a weeding.

But the most amazing moment was when I finally understood something. About six weeks ago I broke my toe when a copy of Jesus the Christ landed on it, in a blessing I had received an answer that "the Lord had a sense of humor and wished that I would study the life of Jesus Christ." Which I did and read religiously at least two pages a day if not more. This small and simple thing helped me to be prepared for when during a zone training I was asked to give a testimony. In which I shared this incident and how it had helped me in not only the understanding of the simple phrase "what would Jesus do?" but "why would Jesus do it?" I know that the Lord had prepared me to share that testimony, even though the circumstances were strange I was able to see immediately one of the great things that the Lord was able to bring to pass. The spirit was so strong during that training that it felt as if you could tangibly hold it in your hand. I am so grateful that the Lord was a able to prepare me to give this simple testimony that when combined with a simple training became one of the greatest memories that I may hold on to. I love you all! have a wonderful week!

New address

Dear friends and family:

We baptized Louisane and Jonal this week! It was one of the most stressful baptisms I've had on my mission. It seemed like everything was going wrong. The baptism was scheduled for 3:00 pm, but as we started preparing for it we discovered a leak in the church building, and our bishop (who was going to baptize them) called and said that he couldn't come anymore, he had an emergency that he had to take care of. He was also going to give them a ride to the church for the baptism, because they don't have access to a car on Saturdays because somebody else uses it to drive to work. So we tried our best to get everything resolved and to keep the baptism at 3:00, but when we drove the the investigator's house to help the other member we asked to give them a ride find them, we discovered that Jonal had been in a car accident earlier that day, and that both of them were very shaken up. Louisane was worried that Jonal had some sort of health complication despite the fact that he said he didn't feel any pain. We weren't sure what to do, but the baptism definitely wasn't going to happen at 3.

Then we decided to try to join our baptism with the baptism for the Spanish ward that was going to happen at 6:00 the same day. So we scrambled to make all of the phone calls, and to talk with Louisane and Jonal and to convince them that God still wanted them to be baptized on the same day. To make a very long, stressful story short, we finally managed to get them to the church and to have them baptized. The baptism started a little late, and it was a bilingual baptismal service, so it took twice as long as it would have in normal circumstances... but Louisane and Jonal are baptized finally, and they were confirmed yesterday!

IMPORTANT! By the way, our mission office is changing the way that we handle mail. They will send you a letter with more details. Basically, don't send my anything at the mission office address any more. They don't want to worry about forwarding things to wherever we live. Instead, send things to our home address. Currently, I live at:

18441 NE 20th Ave

North Miami Beach, FL 33179

...No, I don't live on the beach. The mission doesn't want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for a single apartment there.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Supreme Court and Little Bros

This week a lot has happened but the thing I wish to share most is something my brother posted on facebook not long after the supreme court ruling. My little brother Jared has already been set apart as a missionary and leaves next week to go and serve the Hmong speaking people of California. I am so proud of him and all the choices he has made. With this I leave the words to him, which I can testify at every moment is the truth. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

"With the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage I would like to explain the reason why I don’t support the ruling. I expect that my views are soon to be stereotypical of a dwindling minority. Rather than leave doubt on why I believe what I believe I would like to explain myself to anyone willing to read.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church does have a spotted history with the LGBT rights movement, and I recognize that. The Church’s stance on marriage has been clear since “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” was publish in 1995. If you are not familiar with the document you can read it here: https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng

I have spent many hours pondering on why the Church’s stance on gay marriage is what it is. It has not been something I have chosen to believe in blindly. I cannot say for sure, but I think it is possible to have a relationship between two people of the same sex that can be loving and happy much in the same way that traditional marriages in this life can be. That being said, happiness in this life is not remotely the most important thing. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has doctrine on where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going that is unlike any other religion that I am aware of. It is called the Plan of Salvation and you can read more about it here: http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvation.

What makes this plan so unique is that, number one, unlike other branches of Christianity there is no everlasting hell. It is a well established doctrine in the LDS church that God loves us immensely and will bless us with a type of eternal glory unless we knowingly deny it, something a tiny minority are even capable of doing. God does not punish the sinner eternally. That being said, the second defining component of the Plan of Salvation is that not all glories are equal. There are three major divisions: the Celestial represented by the glory of the sun, the Terrestrial represented by the glory of the moon, and the Telestial represented by the glory of the stars. Furthermore, we are taught that the greatest degree of glory, the Celestial, can be divided into three subkingdoms, the highest of which has among its requirements a marriage that has been sealed in an LDS temple for time and all eternity. As you read in the Family Proclamation only heterosexual marriages can be sealed. You can read about this doctrine of eternal marriage here: http://www.mormon.org/faq/together-forever.

That is the key. The highest degree of glory is what God wants for us. It is there and only there that family relations can continue beyond the grave. God gave us this Plan of Salvation so that we can become like Him, in all His glory, happiness and perfection and it is in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom that we do become like God. Yes, that means that it is LDS doctrine that we not only have a Heavenly Father, but a Heavenly Mother also. They are both perfect exalted beings. Their happiness, eternal happiness, is the only happiness that lasts beyond the grave. The happiness homosexual couples can experience in relationships together in this life will not continue after death. Where there was happiness in this life there will be an emptiness. The same goes for all heterosexual marriages not sealed in LDS temples. I do not support same-sex marriage because it is my firm belief that eternity will not be as happy as it could be for them. I want all people to have a full measure of eternal happiness, regardless of any discriminating factor.

I want more for my gay brothers and sisters just as I want more for all of my brothers and sisters who do not yet know the full truth of the gospel of Christ. I believe in the potential of all of God’s children to become as their Father in Heaven and I believe the Plan of Salvation to be the only way for that to be possible. If I were to support gay marriage I feel that I would be denying my LGBT brothers and sisters of the full measure of my love. I do not support gay marriage because I support gay exaltation.

I know that God loves all of us perfectly. I strive daily, hourly, by the minute, to have that kind of love for everyone. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the full truth of Christ’s gospel on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith was indeed called to be a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. It is my testimony that Christ lives, that He died for not only our sins, but every shortcoming and pain we experience. Know that I love you, all of you.

If you have any questions about what I have said, I would encourage you to send me a Facebook message to help clarify what I have said. I hope I have not angered anyone. That was never my intent. If I have I would ask that if you do message me with questions know that I am sorry and while I find it acceptable for you to vent that anger, do not slander me, my religion, or my God.

If you have made it this far I must thank you for reading this. I hope why I believe what I believe is clear."

Baptism!

Dear friends and family:

We baptized this week!

The story: A few weeks ago, I thought of a less-active member who was baptized the week before I got into Florida, almost 2 years ago. Her name is Mikerlange. I thought, 'we should go and see her.' And so we went and saw her. We found out that her daughter, who had been 7 at the time that she, her husband, and her other daughter were baptized, was now nine. We went back to see them several times and got the ward involved in supporting them and encouraging them to go to church. And we set her daughter with a baptismal date for the 20th.

Skip ahead until last week: Mikerda is now ready to be baptized, we set up her interview with the zone leaders (because the district leader is sick.) We show up to the interview early to fill out the baptismal record. We write in all of the information, and I notice something odd about her birthday. As it turns out, when Haitians say that they are nine, they really mean that they are eight years, eleven months, and two weeks old. So we cancelled the interview, scheduled another one with the bishop, and went ahead with the baptism as a child of record baptism instead.

So... no baptisms in the mission. Instead, we helped the ward do a non-convert baptism!

Next week we will have two solid convert baptisms as well. Lusane and Jonal have been to church three times now, and they finally accepted a hard date for the 27th. We've scheduled their interview for this Wednesday, and their baptism will be on Saturday. Hooray!

Also, our ward had a father's day activity after the baptism on Saturday. It was really slow at first, with not a lot of participation, but after 30-40 minutes the entertainment came. Apparently, they had hired a Mariachi band to come and play for the activity. Everybody was very excited for that, and many people got up to start dancing. It was really fun to watch. I recorded several minutes of audio, but I lost my cord to connect my recorder to the computer, so I can't send it to anybody unfortunately.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Father's Day

So I must admit that I completely forgot about fathers day until we walked into church yesterday and all the little boys were wearing matching ties with their daddies. After the first reaction of "oh that is so cute!" I then wondered why...well that answer came pretty quick after the primary came up and sang "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home"... so happy fathers day!

This week was amazing! We worked and worked and worked resulting in just under twenty lessons for the week! Nearly record breaking numbers for those on the Northern frontier! We were ecstatic! Although as what normally accompanies missionary work we had our fair share of awkward moments. Seriously though. I have often wondered if one of the reasons I am out here is to build up an immunity to awkward moments. For example, no matter what time of day, what type of dog, what kind of weather, if we see a dog being walked by its owner, just as the thought comes into our head thinking it is cute, it decides to take a dump. This is the case WITHOUT FAIL. However on a more applicable note, we witness these awkward moments even in lessons. But you know sometimes these moments are in a way the answers to our prayers.

I am most often a loving person however these past three weeks I had found it inexplicably hard to have charity towards one of our investigators, as she called us all the time telling the exact same sob story. I had been praying so hard that by some miracle I would be able to find a way to love her, as it is one of the most necessary ways to help her. Well Heavenly Father answered with an awkward moment. Our investigator not thinking we believed enough that her mother never came and visited her and didn't care about her called us in a conference call with her mother. The clip from "Mean Girls" most certainly came to mind as we sat silently listening to daughter accuse mother and mother patiently love daughter. I felt tempted to yell out "*gasp*! Is that what you really think of me?" and hang up. But I didn't. After a while our investigator acknowledges our existence, introduces us, and then kicks her mother off the line. It was horrible. It was awkward. And most definitely not the most treasured of moments.

After explaining and asking that whatever had just happened not happen again we finished with a scripture about patience and hung up. Immediately afterwards we called her mother to apologize. Her mother, who was a 91 year old blinding woman just thanked us. She thanked us for having love for her daughter. She said that we were an answer to prayers that she prayed for every day. She was so grateful that her child had friends like us who were able to see the good in her. And that though she had problems were able to have patience and were willing to help her change.

I nearly cried as I felt at that moment the love that this mother had for her daughter. It was so real and tangible that I recognized at that moment that my prayer was being answered because it suddenly clicked. This mother loved her daughter no matter her problems, and prayed for her everyday. The scripture came into my mind when Jesus says "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" If this parental love that this woman had for her daughter was just this strong, how much stronger was Heavenly Father's love for her. I could love her too.

I am so grateful for all that I learn out here. This experience was quintessential in a following feeling. A gratitude to my own parents, and particularly my father. I recognized just the amount of love that he holds for me, as he was willing to help me understand the math homework I was having trouble with, or help me make and design a project for school. I love my father so much and am so absolutely grateful for the patience that he has had with me and my siblings as we have been growing up. I am thankful also for my father in heaven who has sent me here at this time to be a messenger of his goodness and mercy. Thank you so much for all of the prayers that you send my way. I love you all and pray for you daily.

Love,

Sister Cummings

Good Week

Dear friends and family:

We had a really good week again. We're very excited for many of our investigators. We had six total investigators come to church this week, and three of them can be baptized this Saturday.

Mikerda is extremely solid. She is the daughter of a member who was baptized the week before I got into Florida almost two years ago, and she is very prepared to be baptized and she is excited to come to church each week, and to help others receive the gospel as well. We had a lesson on missionary work, and we asked her what she can do to make sure that as many of her friends as possible get to live with her and God in the celestial kingdom. She told us that she wanted to help others come to church and want to be baptized, because otherwise it would be really lonely when we got to heaven and some of her friends weren't there!

Lusane and Jonal are also excited to come to church. Lusane had a dream where she went to a restaurant and she was served a half-plate of white rice and a half-place of brown rice. And here we come, a half-companionship of white missionary and a half-companionship of brown missionary. I'm not being racist, just frank. She wants to be a part of the church, but she is very hesitant because she is afraid that she will be baptized and then will realize that she made a mistake and will regret doing it. So again we're hoping to help her recognize her answer as she reads the Book of Mormon so that she can be baptized with Mikerda this Saturday.

I don't have much time today, so that's all I have time to tell you!

Thanks,

Elder Slade