Nyob Zoo!

Hey all!

I am officially done with my first week of missionary service and my first week at the Missionary Training Center!  Time has flown by very fast here. My companion and I are getting along great.  His name is Elder LaRose and he's from the Ogden area.  We are getting along very well and I'm expecting that to continue. 

Learning the language has been...not that bad!  We have already taught two twenty minute lessons in just Hmong.  I can bear testimony, pray, and nod like I understand everything that is said back to me.  There have definitely been some funny mistakes however.  Hmong is a tonal language (the last consonant, or lack thereof, indicates the tone) so even a slight change in pronunciation can change the sentence completely.  For example, in our first lesson we taught (here at the MTC we teach actors the missionary discussions for practice) my companion and I introduced ourselves as "the husband" or tus txiv instead of as "missionaries" tub txib.  Yes, we still got in the door.  The next night I was saying a prayer before the other Hmong Elders (Es Daws) and I split for the night.  I was actually doing a really good job, trying to stretch myself beyond the phrases we had been taught already and I ended up expressing gratitude for "Jesus Christ's Atonement dress" instead of "Jesus Christ's Atonement and..." (tiab versus thiab).  Another note on Hmong--the consonants aren't pronounced the same way that they are in English.  The "t" makes an English "d" and the "th" makes an English "t".  In all honesty though, I took Spanish for four years and in the span of four days I would say my Hmong is nearing the confidence of my Spanish.  I am astonished by how quickly I am learning the language.  I know that I am learning beyond my capacities.  The gift of tongues is real.

One thing that has been on my mind this week is humility.  That is something I struggle with.    Learning Hmong has definitely been a humbling process.  The instructors here haven't spoken any English to us since we arrived, and as much progress as I am making with the language, I still feel pretty lost when the native speakers rattle off answers in class.  Learning Hmong is teaching me that I am not the best.  As I have demonstrated frequently this week, I am not perfect at living life or speaking Hmong, but that hasn't been lost on me.  I am starting to appreciate that compared to Christ's infinity we are all zero.  No matter how good I may be at calculus or playing the piano I hopelessly fall short of perfection.

It has also dawned on me this week that you really have to love the people you teach.  Our "investigator" Paj Vwm can definitely frustrate my companion and I with his rapid fire Hmong. He does it to help us grow, but that doesn't mean it is fun, for us at least.  When I have allowed myself to really feel a love for him, even though he is just an actor, I have not only been better able to articulate myself better in a language I have four days of exposure to, but I have been able to understand his questions and comments correctly and without asking him to slow down.  The gift of tongues is real, and I would say it comes more from loving the people than from anything else.  Honestly though, my favorite moments from my mission so far have all been from those lessons.  We've been trying to teach him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  To give you an idea of how much information that is to cover, this website gives a quick summary http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/restoration.  Trying to teach all that in Hmong...we bit off more than we could chew at first but it is coming along.  Hmong feels so natural to me.  I love it!

Week One is down!  Eight more to go before I arrive in California!  I am so excited to go teach.  I am so grateful for the opportunities and challenges this mission has already blessed me with!  I know that I am doing a great work, or rather that I am putting my best foot forward and God is accomplishing miracles.

- Elder Cummings (Es Daws Koob Meej)

Air Raid

This week has been amazing! We had transfers and it was really hard to say goodbye to Sister Ford but in meeting with Sister Ladd I immediately felt better. Sister Ladd is a fun sized Ethiopian who was adopted when she was young and grew up in Vermont. She is the Bomb.com and her ability to make people laugh is over the top amazing.

Now I would love to rave about my new companion but I don't have too much time. So I'll save the description of her awesomeness for the following weeks. =D

But now down to the highlight of my week. There's a saying that I am absolutely certain everyone has heard, that is "to every cloud there is a silver lining." I can testify to that and here is why my testimony was even farther strengthened this week.

It was a beautiful sunshiny day. The birds were chirping in the local park where we were meeting with one of our recent converts. It being hot and humid, my new companion and I removed our shoes in the hopes that we could cool down and avoid the dreaded sweat marks that just are not becoming of a Sister missionary. While reading the Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ, we were so overcome with the spirit that we did not hear the voice of warning as a bird called to us, I am sure the chirp he was giving could have been translated to "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Because just then this giant seagull let free his digested waste in the most strategic maneuver that it could very easily be compared to a World War II bombing trail. This guy must have thought he was Maverick or something because his trail left two deposits of poop inside of my shoe, one on my shoulder and one on my hair. Quite the cloud if I would say so myself.

But as I said, every cloud has a silver lining. Which starts with this. After reading in the Bible about prayer I had determined to make every matter of my day a matter of prayer so that I could "pray always." Sometimes it sure felt silly, but when I looked at my shoes one day which had become worn and tattered from the year of using them nearly every day, I decided to say a prayer. That went somewhat along the lines of "do I need to replace my shoes." Well He answered it. So now with worn, tattered, and pooped on shoes we ran to the closest shoe store and within the ten minutes we had before our next appointment found a pair of black leather flats that looked cute. The price tag wasn't too bad at twenty dollars so we grabbed them and went to the counter to pay for them. And this is where I knew that God had not only answered my prayer to if I should buy new shoes but also when should I. For the certain pair of shoes that I had chosen were on sale. I ended up buying them for four dollars. Whats more it was the last day that they were having this sale.

So yes it is a silly story but what counts is that I received an answer to my prayer. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and even in my simple and small requests he answers prayers. I know that everything that happens happens for a reason and that it is a part of his loving plan. I am so grateful for this opportunity I have had to be here on my mission serving

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