Flowers in the Window

(Sister Cummings)

First off a scripture.

"And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trustin that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit." D&C 11:12

I wanted to take the time to talk about the Holy Ghost. He is the third member of the godhead, whom unlike Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ does not have a body of flesh and bones. He testifies of the Father and the Son and through him we may receive all personal revelation. Though we may sometimes feel the influence of the spirit leading us to do good, it is only after baptism where we receive the ordinance of the gift of the holy ghost. This is a promise that we make with God that his spirit will always be with us as we are obedient to his laws. The Holy Ghost inspires us, just as this scripture says, to choose the right and do good.

As a missionary I rely very heavily on this spirit. It guides me and other missionaries to those who are ready for our message or just need help.

I would like to share two different stories that happened this week. The first starts in the last half hour of our day, after we had passed the entire afternoon passing by every single, less active, Former, and even member in the area yet NO ONE WAS HOME. Needless to say we were frustrated. So channeling this frustration we starting posing uplifting text messages for the sisters that we visit teach. In doing so Sister Rawlings, my companion, spotted a woman walking on the empty sidewalks. She turned to me and asked if she should get out and talk to the lady. Kind of distracted I told her to go ahead and do it. She started to unbuckle her seat but seeing that the lady was almost past, chickened out and buckled back in. It was then that we both realized that it was in fact a prompting of the spirit that we had not followed. But our disappointment didn't last long for just afterwards there is a tap on Sister Rawling's window and the woman is holding one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. The woman's name was Nazli and she had just happened to have this flower in her pocket. We had a wonderful discussion with her and will be seeing her this week to teach her more of the restored gospel.

The second has to do with our investigator Vanessa, who sadly was not baptized this past Saturday but will most definitely be baptized the 24th. We had invited a member to teach her with us. We hadn't exactly thought of this but it turned out that this member who had three months ago lost her husband in an accident, was helping us teach about eternal marriage. There came a moment where the spirit told me to ask her a question. I immediately dismissed it thinking the question would be too difficult or too hurtful. Then yet again the prompting came. Realizing that this was from the holy ghost I turned to the member and asked what it meant for her to be able to be sealed with the one she loved for eternity. What then followed was the strongest most spirit filled testimony of my entire mission.

I know that this church is true. There is no doubt in my mind that we hold the authority to baptize and thus receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have seen it in action. I have seen the reactions. Every fiber in my body bids me to testify that I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the beloved gospel of Jesus Christ to the Earth. I know that through him we also received the fullness of God's priesthood. I know this and I wish every person on this Earth the chance to know this. That is why I am here on my mission. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Getting Better

(Anziano Wilkinson)

Well, after all the doctors visits and resting, my companion is starting to get better, yet no one has any idea what is actually wrong with him. However, he is doing better and we have been able to return to almost completely normal work now! Anziano Robinson still can't ride bikes though, so we're on foot or in bus wherever we go for probably the rest of the transfer.

In the midst of all this mess of stuff we happened to miss my culture class, which I guess is part of the process to get my visa, so I will have to make up the points by taking an Italian language course. While this will probably take much longer and be a lot less painless, I can't complain because it means more practice with learning Italian! And who knows, it could also prove to be a great way to find people ready to hear the gospel!

This week I was reading in the Book of Mormon and the footnotes led me to Luke chapter 14 verse 27, which reads, "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." This verse is quite blunt and unmistakable in meaning. Christ, the speaker in this verse, is basically telling all those who profess to be His followers that if they aren't willing to endure with Him through think and thin, then they aren't worthy of His association. That lesson in of itself is a powerful and important one that anyone professing Christianity needs to be well acquainted with. However, the JST on this verse continues, revealing further knowledge: "Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you."

The phrase "settle this in your hearts" reminds me of the council that I've heard everywhere since before I can remember, particularly when discussing elements of the Word of Wisdom. The council always boils down to something of the effect of, 'don't wait for temptation to befall you to decide to choose the right, decide now and decide once to deny temptation and then stand by that decision.' According to this verse in Luke, this council applies to much more than just the Word of Wisdom. It applies everywhere. "Settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you." Simply put, Christ is commanding us to settle in our hearts, or in other words to 'decide now and decide once', to "do the things which [He has taught] and command[ed]" us.

When temptation comes (be it in the form of laziness, telling a lie, or whatever sin it is that "doth easily beset [us]") we should never have a moment where we allow ourselves to rationalize or compromise, our decision should have already been made that we will choose the right! So I invite you all this week to follow the Savior's council to "settle in your hearts" the decision to follow and keep His commandments. Decide to choose what is right before the need to choose arises! I promise that as you do so you will find greater strength in conquering temptation and you will feel more powerfully the love that our Heavenly Father has for you personally. I have seen these blessings come to me many times as I've kept this council; I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and he is always waiting eagerly to bless us for our righteous choices. Make Him proud this week!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Our Christmas Gift to Christ

(Anziano Wilkinson)

Well, I've officially completed my first transfer in the field! It's crazy to see how fast time flies. At this rate I feel I will be home before I know it, but at the same time it feels (like it should) like I just started! I think clocks run faster in Italy than in the states...

This week we received an invitation from our mission president to read the Book of Mormon from start to finish by Christmas Day, all the while marking references to Christ's attributes and ministry. He is calling it our Christmas gift to Christ, which I kind of really like. Studying the Book of Mormon with an emphasis on Christ like this has really helped me to feel strongly the spirit that the book truly brings. Each time I read from the Book of Mormon I feel the truth of it testified to me in my heart and in my mind, not because of what is actually being said, but because of the shear truth and divinity of it. I think this is a great way for us to show our love for the Savior more abundantly; what better way than to study of Him and then go out and do our bests to serve Him each and every day?

We also watched General conference this week! In English, thank goodness! I really enjoyed the talks that were given this year. However, most noteworthy to me was the spirit that the three new apostles brought in each of their testimonies. It is clear to me that those three men are indeed called of God and that they truly wield His power as special witnesses of Christ. It's so wonderful to me that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today, leading the church of Jesus Christ. I know that they are each chosen of God. Is truth is a really special one that is surprising ply unique to our Church, so go share it with someone this week! Go tell a friend about how we got to here from a living prophet last weekend or that we got to sustain three new apostles! This doctrine is exciting! I invite you to go share your excitement with those who don't yet know about it!

Have a great week everyone and don't forget to live what we just learned in General Conference!

-Anziano Wilkinson

PS, I found out that there is an aqueduct that runs through Pisa!

Community Service and Apostolic Callings

This week has been a fantastic one.  That seems to be the trend.  While it was not our biggest week for teaching lessons it was definitely one heavy with service hours.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday my companion and I spent most of our days helping to translate English to Hmong and Hmong to English at a free dental care clinic. 

The clinic was an experience!  I have been working at this language for three months now and it was a fun stretch of my abilities to talk to people about their medical history and dental procedures.  My companion, Elder Ballard, did help me a lot.  It was really pretty incredible to see this clinic.  There were several hundred dentists on the floor of an enormous convention center doing everything from routine cleanings to pulling wisdom teeth for no charge.  We had people come from over three hundred miles to get this free service.  It was an incredible community event.

The only downside of that was that I missed most of General Conference on Saturday (Mission President approved, no worries).  I may not have raised my hand with the rest of the Church to sustain the three new Apostles, Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund, but I do know that they have been called of God to fulfill this sacred calling.  They're charge is just as the original twelve, to "teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19).

God really does speak today.  I find that fact miraculous.

This next week is looking to be a great one.  I love you all.  Have a great day!

-Elder Cummings

Dental Clinic

The Miracle of Sacrifice

(Sister Cummings)

This week has been full of miracles! First off our investigator is still on track to be baptized on the 10th of October which is this Saturday. Though I have been a part of baptisms this is kind of the first one that I am actually taking a part in organizing. But our ward is very loving and supportive therefore we have been able to delegate and focus on the important part. That being preparing Vanessa.

As part of this week we decided to teach the word of wisdom to her. It was a little scary honestly for us, even though it shouldn't have been. Because we had seen the signs of alcohol everywhere. But we pressed forward with the prompting that we needed to and did it. Turns out she had no problem with the stuff. All the bottles that we saw around the apartment were alcohol free ever since it was stated in passing about a month before that we don't drink alcohol. So there is miracle number one, miracle number two I find is way better. It turned out that she did have a problem with coffee. In fact she kind of was a little frustrated to realize that in order to be baptized she had to try not to drink it. However after teaching the doctrine of sacrifice there was a complete change of heart and our investigator threw open every single cupboard and gave us all of her coffee that she owned to throw away. The faith this woman showed was amazing!

As a part of a goal I find myself reading the bible and particularly the story of Abraham. As we know Abraham was a righteous man whom in order to show his faith, God asked him to sacrifice his only son. Which is after God has promised that his posterity shall be numbered as the sand on the sea. That would take quite the faith to even think about doing such a thing and yet Abraham continues in faith up until he is given commandment otherwise with the sacrificial knife suspended above the head of his son.

Sacrifice is a fact of life. In order to live happily we must sacrifice those things that only make us happy in the moment. For example the sacrifice of food for a fast. The sacrifice I and many others are currently making in choosing to leave home and family to serve a mission. All sacrifice is a strife of faith but which sacrifice will bring even farther blessings.

I love you all and I pray for you!

love

Sister Cummings

Pictures from Fresno

The mandatory hair part.

An acquaintance had a stroke, so to help them mend we came across these three chopping up yard waste!  The two older women are bad shammans apparently--they joked about how they still pray to God when they are scared, and invited us back to hear our message!

Best thing ever.  I highly recommend it.

This week we went to an investigator's house to help them with some farm work.  Rice farming is their source of income for the year and they were happy to get some extra hands.

We went rice farming for service.  I had a cool flower print hat, but we didn't get a picture.  These are some pictures of what a Hmong farm looks like.

A man we've seen a couple of times who isn't all there, but is a mechanical wiz.

Pictures!