Fresno YSA

(Elder Cummings)
Tuesday morning during personal study I got a phone call from the assistants...I was being transferred that night out of Hmong work to go be a zone leader in the Fresno Stake YSA ward until further notice.  Alright!  My bags were packed before companionship study got underway and the rest of the day flew by and I fell asleep that night in an apartment I had never been to with a companion I had never met before.

One thing that stood out to me right off the bat: white American single eighteen to thirty years olds laugh at different jokes than old Hmong women.  I was not funny to anyone.  I've never considered myself super-funny to begin with, but I was not the conversation killer.  I was pretty good at it too!  I didn't think the Hmong culture had effected me so much, but it did.  I'm a little weird now.  Now worries though, by now I'm back to being "normal."

Another thing: most people don't expect to cry because of spice when they eat dinner. I was actually a little surprised about that and even more surprised when I actually MISSED that!  It has been a week now without any crazy spicy peppers and I am actually craving them.

Third thing: being a missionary in a YSA ward is exhausting.  In the Fresno Mission YSA missionaries have a bedtime of 11:30 as opposed to the normal 10:30 for missionaries.  They do not, however, have the privilege of getting up an hour later than normal.  I had no idea how much of a difference one little hour of sleep could make.  I have been completely dead this week and one of my New Years resolutions, to be up by 6:00 every morning to have time for meaningful morning prayer, is already out the window, for now at least.  That will just be my vision for the end of the year instead of my demand for the beginning of it.

Perks of being a YSA missionary/zone leader include the pickup truck that we drive around town, a much more comfortable approach to teaching and finding, and a seemingly endless supply of Jamba Juice, Starbucks hot chocolate, and In and Out that the college aged people we visit dump on us.

The teaching is so strange.  It feels like more organized member missionary work.  We do really schedule "teaching appointments" per say, we text and see if we can "hang out and talk about Jesus."  There is a reason that works better for my generation.  Anyways, it has been a lot of fun to talk to people my age again.  It has been hard not to be around Hmong people and not be speaking Hmong, but since my companion, Elder Whitfield, is actually a Spanish missionary we have still been able to do language study.

The normally scheduled transfers are this coming Tuesday.  Saturday night we got the call outs for who was going where and I'm heading to a new area again.  I had just become comfortable with a whole different style of missionary work and now I am heading to who-knows-where with another new companion and I am just excited to go on another adventure!  I may have only been in this new area for a week, but I have done the work God needed me to do here.  I have been able to share my testimony with many who I never would have met.  My determination to be obedient to the commandments and missionary rules has increased.  I am so full of the Spirit and I love it!  I know that God has a specific plan for me and I am excited to see where it takes me!

This week in my scripture study has had the theme of the Grace of Jesus Christ.  This is a doctrine I do not understand thoroughly and for the most part I have never spent any time seriously pondering it.  As latter-day saints we have a tendency to focus on the "good works" part of living a Christian life to make it clear that we do not believe that salvation comes from accepting Christ as your Savior alone.  This leads many to believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in salvation by works.  We absolutely don't.  There is no salvation without grace.  Despite our best efforts we all will ALWAYS fall short of the perfection necessary to return to live with God.  This is what the prophet Nephi is getting at when he says that "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23).  We will never be able to qualify ourselves by our own merits alone and so it will never be by something we do alone that we are actually saved.

The function of grace is to bring the imperfect sinner to become clean and perfect so as to live with God again, "for no unclean thing can dwell there" (Moses 6:57).  Grace enables us to change who we are.  It doesn't force us to become something we aren't.  Grace, freely given, makes repentance possible!  That is so wonderful!  That we can progress to become someone worthy to live with our Father again!  The most wonderful thing about grace is that we can use it in our life TODAY to make those changes.  It is accessible NOW through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  All of that is using grace to change us.  All of that is what we must go through to return to live with God again.  We use grace to change, and once we have become a completely new creature perfected in Christ then we receive Salvation.  No grace, no salvation.  No works, the grace goes unused and the salvation made possible is not received.  Were it not for the Atonement of Christ we would be hopelessly lost.

I am so grateful to know my Savior.  He is the Son of the Most High God.  I know that He lives.  I know that He did suffer in agony for us so that we can be made free from the bonds of death and the chains of sin.  He is the Savior of all mankind.  He is my Lord and Redeemer.  He has a perfected body of flesh and blood and speaks to His living prophet today.  He is Alpha and Omega.  It will not be long before he reigns again triumphant on the earth.

I hope you all press forward this week and use the grace of Christ in your life to draw closer to God!

Lots of love,

Elder A. Jared Cummings

More Hmong New Years

(Elder Cummings)

It has been a while since I have had a preparation day (due to Hmong New Years), so sorry for not having sent anything last week and due to issues with the myldsmail server someone of you may not have gotten my email the week before.  No need to fear, I am still working hard in Fresno, and speaking better Hmong than ever.

So much has happened since I last wrote.  The world celebrated the birth of the Savior, the ward wished me a happy birthday, and the eight Hmong elders in the California Fresno Mission found 1,221 potential investigators in a week.  We are all absolutely exhausted, and just in time for the busiest time of the year for Hmong work.

Christmas in the mission field is something special.  I loved it.  Having your whole life, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week dedicated on the Savior has given me a more completely perspective on just what Christmas is.  Jesus Christ came into the world to give his life for our sins, to give us strength to overcome our weaknesses, and to "take upon him [our] infirmities...that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people" (Alma 7:12).  Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind, the God of Israel, the God of the whole earth, began his humble sojourn in the flesh in a humble manger in the small town of Bethlehem.  Christmas marks the coming of our Salvation.  Christmas is His day.

A birthday in the mission field is less "exciting."  We went to church, and then booked it straight over to the Big Fresno Fairgrounds to proselyte until the sun went down.  We ate dinner that night at a wonderful senior missionary couple's home.  Mom, we were all well fed for my birthday dinner.  We had salad, ribs, twice-baked potatoes and homemade apple pie.  I think I hit a real landmark of maturity that night.  Despite the ribs I did not get anything on my white shirt and tie.

Hmong New Years was an event unlike anything I have ever seen.  Thousands upon thousands of Hmong showed up to celebrate the end of the year from all over the world!  I talked with those from Massachusetts, Georgia, North and South Carolina, all over the west coast, all over California, Alaska, Canada, Arizona, Texas, Laos, Thailand,  and France.  Listening to someone speak Hmong with a french accent is a particular skill I have not quite developed, but the one I did meet asked for French speaking missionaries to come visit her at her home in a town just outside of Lyons, France.  All eight of the Hmong elders were there and we were working hard.  Elder Gray, one of the two newest additions found over 200 people through his own efforts! 

As part of the new year celebration the missionaries all dress up in Hmong clothes.  In the attached picture we have from left to right, me, in clothes designating me as a Thai-Hmong-American, Elder Gray in traditional White Hmong clothes, Elder Bagley also in White Hmong clothes, Elder Cunningham with a Green Hmong set plus a matching coin vest, Elder Richardson wearing traditional Americanized-Hmong clothes, Elder Pace eating an authentic Hmong churro, Elder Knapton wearing a White Hmong set with another matching coin vest and a pretty cool txoj siv (belt), and in the front we have Elder Ballard in his Green Hmong set.  The biggest difference between the difference clothing is the pants.  White Hmong is loose fitting, Green Hmong is essentially the original hammer pants, and Thai-Hmong which is pretty tight around the calves, and fit and look like a really cool pair of jogger pants.

And yes, that "temple" in the background is our booth.

I am very excited to press forward this next week and reconnect with the 169 potential investigators who live in the Fresno Hmong West area.  There are so many prepared people.  This is going to be fun!

It is 2016 now too.  2015 has left my life much changed.  I got into college, was struck with senioritis, had a miraculous post-graduation recovery, began my missionary service, left home, my older sister came home and I learned a second language.  The Lord has blessed me with so much and I am excited to see what he has in store for me this year.  I am excited to see what he has in store for all of you this year.

Thank you for you Christmas and birthday wishes! Make 2016 count!

Elder A. Jared Cummings

Me with General Vang Pao.  I've been telling Hmong people that he is my grandfather to much laughter.  In the Hmong culture when you respect someone you refer to their last name first, first name last.  Vang Pao is Pao Vang, and since I am a Vang we are related...somehow.

Tub Txib translates more directly to what the calling of a misisonary is, "son sent."  The one on the left is in Green Hmong and the one of the right is White Hmong.  On the name tag the change is subtle, but this was I can reach out to more of the people we teach by being more a part of their specific language culture. 

Walmart run with Elder Gray: This was a fun one, so many people were giving us funny looks, but we needed to get some water for all the thirsty missionaries back at the booth.

The booth - just before take down.  Kayla was a temple missionary, and I so was I...kind of.

Hmong New Years

(Elder Cummings)
Hmong New Years is completely exhausting.  We have receive 450 referrals in the last three days, 203 of them are from today alone.  We have been working hard!  I got myself some Hmong clothes of my own that I love!  I'm not wearing the top right now, but here is a picture of the ankle of them.  They cost me $145, which was a really sweet deal.  A recent convert gave me a Hmong cap for my birthday too.  That with the Hmong clothes plus my curly hair makes me look like a Jewish boy.  I'll send you a picture of the hat too.

It was great to see you on Christmas!  I love you all.  I will be writing more next week!

With love,

Jared

Happy New Year!

(Anziano Wilkinson)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending lots of time with family and eat lots of good food! It was exciting for me to be able to skype my family and catch up with them a little more face to face, or rather, screen to screen! My companion and I had some great food and had the pleasure of trying some new Italian dishes, and some old classics; the main dish was lasagna. As typical in Italian culture, this lovely family wouldn't let us leave without stuffing ourselves full of food. Hey, no complaints here! We also got the chance to watch a Disney movie, so my comp and I chose Frozen since neither of us had seen it.

After the big holiday we hit the pavement again and have begun to find lots of new people to teach, which is an exciting way to start the new year! As usual we're setting goals and making plans to make this new year a great one. Which for me includes learning how to cook Italian food better! I've decided that I will make a Ragu (back in the states we call it red pasta sauce with meat in it) on New Year's Eve since we have to return home early that evening. Apparently Italians take their New Years parties pretty seriously. I'll let you all know by next week next week if I live through it! But for now, have a great New Years, set some awesome goals, and achieve some amazing things!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Christmas is almost here!

(Anziano Wilkinson)

The exciting day is almost upon us and the countdown is getting smaller and smaller. Christmas is almost here! There is probably not a more exiting day of the year for a missionary! I can't wait to skype home to my family soon; they're probably just as weird as ever, but I still miss them to death and can't wait to hear their voices!

So with all the Christmas spirit people have been feeling, we've started to accumulate a lot of lunch appointments (which made the grocery shopping really easy this week). So we're pretty excited for this opportunity to fill ourselves with some good old Italian food! And also were excited for the chance to bring a nice Christmas message to each of their homes, because Christmas is a missionary's favorite topic to talk about! (Or, at least, it's my favorite haha).

So a few weeks ago I was struck by the accounts of the savior's birth that are contained in the book of Luke and in the Book of Mormon. They talk about the same event but from radically different perspectives and yet the power behind both accounts is tangible. So for Christmas this year I invite everyone to read Luke chapter 2 and Third Nephi chapter 1 and ponder upon the importance of the birth of a savior! I know that a savior was indeed born for us. I know that he suffered for us and I know that he died for us. And last of all he rose from the dead that we too might have the chance to do so as well! I am so grateful for his gift to us and I rejoice at the wonderful opportunities that this opens up for us! We have a savior. His name is Jesus Christ. Find him and learn of him; there is no more rewarding venture in the whole universe!

Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy the festivities!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

A taste of Africa

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This week went by unusually fast, which is ironic because the days that count down to Christmas usually tick by very slowly in anticipation of that glorious day haha. Unfortunately I won't be having a white Christmas this year since it nearly never snows in Tuscany, in fact, we we'd be lucky if we even need out coats that day; we rarely use them as it is!

This last week was the first of our new transfer and we are beginning it with a newly Awakened Force... Okay, lame Star Wars pun. But really, we are working harder than ever and making successes everyday! One of our investigators, named Jonathan, is a fantastic man from Nigeria and has been making great progress lately. He is only just beginning to come to a full view of the beauty of the gospel and each week he draws closer to our Heavenly Father! He had us over for lunch last Sunday and we had some traditional Nigerian food, eat in the traditional Nigerian way: no plates. Apparently, they place the serving dish in the center just eat from the same dish, which sounds gross, but in reality it's not as bad as it sounds. I'll put some pictures of us eating with him and his friend Alfred.

This week, I was struck by the thirtieth chapter of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, which is only two verses long. It's very short but it packs a lot of power into the few words that are said. Basically, in writing this chapter, Mormon digresses form his abridging of the history of the Nephites and takes a moment to pour his heart out to us, the future readers of his work. He feels earnestly to warn us of what we are going to face in our time and to warn us not to do as his own people did. He urges us, in pleading words, to repentance and to cast from ourselves any ungodliness and beckons us to follow the example of our loving Heavenly Father.

These words were truly meant for us, written hundreds of years in advance. These are the words of a prophet who witnessed the complete distraction of his own people and wished with all of his heart that it might not happen again in a future generation. He pleads with us to lay aside sin and take up righteousness, knowing that it is too late for his own people and hoping with all his heart that his words will reach our ears in time for us to act upon them. I stand by his words and likewise invite everyone to repent and taste of the goodness that is gospel of Jesus Christ! Especially now this Christmas season, I invite everyone to listen to and act upon the words of Mormon, the ancient prophet, "that ye may be numbered with [God's] people". What a great joy that would be!

Have a great week everyone, hear from you next week!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Welcome to the Covenants

(Elder Cummings)
Less than twenty-four hours ago I had the fantastic privilege to witness Pieter J. follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by one holding the proper authority from God.  It made me unbelievably happy!  Normally my preparation days are accompanied by a pinch of homesickness, but not today!  Today I am beaming.  I am so happy for Pieter!

Seeing Pieter baptized got me thinking about Johnny, one of my good friends from my congregation back at home.  I love Johnny!  He has such a firm testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He believes with a passion that Joseph Smith did see God the Father and Jesus Christ and that the Book of Mormon is God's word on the earth.  I met Johnny around two years ago at a Stake Conference.  His mom was a returning less active member and Johnny was coming to church with her.  He had never been baptized, but one of the first things he said to me was that he wanted to serve a mission someday!

Johnny was taught the missionary lessons and he was baptized not long after I met him.  You should have seen the smile on his face!  He was filled with joy!  He had promised with God that he would do all he could to live according to Christ's commandments, to be a witness of Christ in all places, and to always remember the sacrifice of his Savior.  The next Sunday he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, exactly as we read the Apostle Paul doing it in Acts 19:2-6.  He now has the constant companionship of a member of the Godhead to protect him and teach him the truth.  Pieter will be receiving the same blessing on the 20th of this month (the same day three more Hmong investigators will be getting baptized).  I am so happy for Pieter!  Having seen the joy the gospel has brought Johnny and to myself I know that Pieter will have the same lasting peace and happiness.  God wants so badly to bless all of His children!

Baptism is essential the beginning of the path that leads us back to God.  It is the first covenant that prepares us to make other covenants in God's holy temples.  Helping people receive these covenants, to come into the fold of Christ is infinitely rewarding!  I am so happy to be a missionary!

In a few days my older sister will be returning home to conclude her missionary service.  For the last eighteen months she has been preaching the gospel in Montreal, Canada.  She sent her last email home today and testified of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I bear witness with her that what she testified of is true.  Jesus makes possible all progression along the path of righteousness.  Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer.  He came to the earth to so that the world in sin and error pining could rejoice in the new and glorious morn.  With Him we will stand at the last day.  Before him we will all stand to be judged according to our actions and the desires of our hearts.  He is the Only Begotten of the Father.  Is is the light, the life and the hope of the world who rules today at the right hand of His Father.  I echo wholeheartedly the testimony the living Apostles.  God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son!

With my love,

Elder A. Jared Cummings