Snow!

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This week we got to venture up into the mountains of Trento with a friend of ours here in Verona and enjoy the fresh mountain air, snow, and most of all, the sheer silence! You never know how much you're missing something like a little bit of quiet when you're surrounded by loud and cramped Italian cities. It was so amazing to just listen to the birds sing and take a second to reflect among the trees and fresh air. It was a great reminder of the sheer beauty of this earth and the many amazing things that inhabit it! Venturing out into nature and taking a second to soak it all in is a great way to bring everything in this life better into perspective.

As I mentioned, we got to see snow! I had figured that I wasn't going to get to see any this year, which made me sad because I love the snow, but to my surprise, as we drove up higher and higher into the mountains, we began to see little deposits here and there that hadn't quite gotten around to melting yet. Then, as we climbed higher, it kept getting more and more prevalent. At places there was easily three feet of snow built up from a snow fall that apparently had happened a few days ago. We were very excited about this and absolutely had to take the occasion to have a snowball fight and built a snowman! Have a snowball fight on top of a mountain in Italy: Check!

This week as I was reading in 2 Corinthians chapter six, I was struck by verses 14 through 18. They say, "what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?... And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." I really like the logic of this verse, for if we profess ourselves to be followers of God and seekers of "anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy", then we can't harbor a "communion... with darkness". We must be on one side or the other; darkness and light cannot exist together, for one casts out the other. We should be separate from the worldly things of this life, after all, the reward is more than worth it: "touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters." I invite each of you to look for ways in your lives where you can replace a little darkness with a little more light! Stay away from "the unclean thing[s]" and seek for those things that naturally make us happy, like family time and service, and shed some light in the lives of those around you while you're at it!

Have a great week and remember to shed some more light while you're at it!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Transfers, Training and Discipleship

Another AMAZING week of finding with Elder Knapton.  As a companionship we have really excelled at that.  We found out that we are getting split up this transfer.  No tears were shed, he isn't really going far.  He is moving across the parking lot to Hmong West, the area where he spent the first six transfers of his mission.  He has been a missionary in the Pioneer Park Ward for almost a year and a half consecutive.

I will be staying in Hmong East and training.  This time I am not part of a trio.  It will be on me to lead the training.  This is going to be a change.  I am not worried.  God directs this work through personal revelation.  I don't need to do much, I just need to listen and obey.

This week I have been studying the words of the hymn "Come, Come, Ye Saints."  I have always loved the words of the hymns.  They are scripture.  You can draw so much inspiration from them.

"Come, Come, Ye Saints" is an invitation, an invitation to take up our cross daily and become perfected in Christ (Luke 9:23, Moroni 10:32).  There is nothing to fear in the path we are asked to walk.  We can press forward with joy, "relying wholly on the merits of him who is mighty to save" (2 Nephi 31:19).  Christ will give us the support to do His work day by day, hour by hour, according to our needs.  It is better this way.  By walking the path of discipleship we perfect ourselves, ridding ourselves of useless cares and worldly concerns.  There is no greater joy than this.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ enables all men to be obedient to the command the Master gave to the Nephites.  "I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (3 Nephi 12:48).  It is a commonly understood principle in Christendom that faith is essential to our salvation.  It is also taught in the scriptures that "we are saved by hope" (Romans 8:24), and that of faith, hope, and charity, charity is the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13).  Charity must then be essential for our salvation.  The Book of Mormon prophet Moroni taught this truth as well, (Moroni 7:47-48).  We find all through the scriptures the need to develop Christlike attributes so that we can be exalted and become like our Father in Heaven.  It is a wonderful blessing that there is a way provided for us to live up to our potential as children of God.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to preach the gospel here in Fresno.  I would not trade this experience for anything.  Discipleship is so worth it.  Find that path and stay on it.  There will be no regrets as we become purified through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

With my love,

Elder A. Jared Cummings

Verona

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This Wednesday my companion and I had a fantastic time touring around Verona! The city is very old and full of layers of history, so naturally we toured around all of these cool sites. One of which was Castelvecchio, which translates basically to "old castle". It's a castle that was build hundreds of years ago and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. It was not very busy when we went so basically my companion and I got to explore the towers and along the on tops of the walls of this castle and feel like we were living in the medieval times. There was also a really cool weapons room that contained all the preserved swords and armor that they could gather up from excavations. Unfortunately they didn't let us touch a my of them though.

We also got to explore the arena that is right smack dab in the center of the city. It's a huge ancient arena where they preformed mostly operas and plays. Even today they still have plays there, but unfortunately they don't hold any in the winter haha. So basically the whole day was a blast from the past, dating all the way back to the ancient Romans at times. There really is some pretty cool stuff in Italy!

This week I've been thinking a lot about prayer and more in particularly the concept of receiving answers through prayer. It's really an amazing concept that we have the means to learn by simply asking our Heavenly Father. There is a great scripture in the Bible, James 1:5, which speaks quite candidly about the subject, it says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." So basically, according to this verse, if we pray and ask God a question, then He will give us the answer without upbraiding (or in other words without finding fault or scorning). I can say from experience that I know that this is a real means of receiving answers. I've had lots of important questions before like what decisions to make or whether the Book of Mormon is true or not and as many times as I ask in faith I receive the answer that I'm looking for. Our Heavenly Father anxiously awaits us to ask Him our important questions so that He can give us or lead us to the answer. One of His end goals for us is to "know the truth of all things" and He does not hesitate to help us get there, even if it is only one step at a time. If any of you have an important question, particularly regarding the truth of something, I invite you to pray and ask our Heavenly Father to help you find the answer. I know that He will help you find it!

Have a fantastic week everyone and don't forget to ask questions!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Here are some pictures of the arena and the castle!

Verona city center from the top of its ancient arena!

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There is a wall of locks representing relationships near Juliet's balcony that is absolutely full.

Pressing Forward

(Elder Cummings)

So much has happened this week.  It has been a blast. Elder Knapton and I have just walked into so many great opportunities and had so many chances to become more immersed in the Hmong culture.  We were invited to watch a traditional "soul calling" (ua neeb) and kept running into shamans as we were talking with people throughout the week.  It is so cool to learn about.  One of the shamans we met let us take pictures with the spirit-sword that they use to protect themselves as they ride through the spirit world to find the dab, the evil-spirit who stole one of the many spirits that they believe we all have.  They typically sacrifice a chicken and either a pig or a cow when they are doing the ritual.  The chicken spirit guides the shaman through the spirit world and the pig/cow spirit is brought along as ransom to exchange for the human's spirit.  Way cool.

This Sunday we had the amazing opportunity to listen to an apostle speak in a multi-stake broadcast.  It was neat.  Elder Renlund gave a great talk about respecting other's beliefs and still bearing testimony in the process.  Elder Knapton translated for him, an experience most missionaries never have!  I translated for one of the seventy who spoke.  I guess technically it is interpretation and not translation since it is on the spot, so I interpreted for one of the seventy who spoke, and Elder Knapton interpreted for Elder Renlund.

We were also offered a job and six-figure salary this week to invest in a company and start working for them rather than finish our missionary service.  That was...interesting...but didn't phase us.  We remembered the teachings of that Savior.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33). We had been having a slow week up to that point, and once we declined the offer and went away we quickly were blessed to find four new investigators and all in all this week we met two new families who want to learn the gospel! 

Sadly, through all of this, Vicky sent us a text last night and told us she can't meet with us.  Her family situation is a little more complicated than we originally realized.  We know she is well prepared for the gospel.  I am glad that we have done our part to help her receive that.  Some day in the future she will have the chance again, and this time nothing will hold her back.

The bishop baptized his father this Saturday!  That was an amazing, spiritual experience.  He was SO happy when he came out of the water.  He is more than excited to start a christian life.  The gospel is for everyone, regardless of age, sex, race, or cultural background.  There is no more fulfilling work than building up the kingdom of God.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and is my Savior.  I am exhilarated by this opportunity that I have to represent Him to the Hmong people in Fresno, California!

With love,

Elder Cummings

There isn't a lot of meat on these little guys, so to keep as much as they can they burn off it all and cook them whole.  This is right after the burning phase.

Zong Gua Vang's baptism

Happy Valentine's Day

We had permission to take this one, this is a normal sized one, but from the things that are on it you can tell that he is an experienced one.

The Most Beautiful City in Italy

(Anziano Wilkinson)

So after only a week of being here in Verona I have already fallen in love with the city! I heard from everyone before I came here that the city was beautiful, but I had no idea just how right they were. Verona is a picturesque city, the kind you'd expect to see in a movie, and it's full of amazing people! The members here are very nice and super helpful for the missionaries; we have had no shortage of their assistance while I have been here.

This P-day I went to go visit the famous tourist trap, Juliet's balcony, where allegedly the original Juliet talked to the original Romeo (however, sadly, the story of Romeo and Juliet was completely made up by Shakespeare). The site is nonetheless pretty cool and total worth seeing as it is free of charge (aka a missionary's dream)!

My new companion, Anziano Skinner, is a really good kid and he and I are getting along well. He is from Utah and he loves motocross racing, country music, and the outdoors. I'm excited to serve with him and learn from him and make this transfer a great one. This week he and I made a big effort to seek for service opportunities and now we have found some potential organizations that we are trying to sign up for. We're hoping to be able to find new people to teach more effectively through these opportunities rather than conventional methods of stopping people on the streets. The idea is that we will be able to build the trust of these people before we invite them to learn about what we believe. And at the very minimum we will help many people out though our volunteering, even if no one takes interest in what we want to share with them!

Well, have a great week y'all and look for opportunities to serve in your lives!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

God Prepares His Children

(Elder Cummings)

It has been another fantastic week in Fresno!  It is starting to warm up again.  Today it was up in the 70s.  It really is a beautiful day, so Elder Knapton and I decided to make to most of our preparation time and went to the zoo.  I've never thought of zoos as a place to go for spiritual enlightenment, but today I found out that they could be.  Seeing all the different animals, all the diversity, from all over the globe just left me in awe of how great our Father is.  All of these things, the elephants, the cobras, the chimpanzees, and cockatoos, testify to me that there is a God.  He is real.  He does have a plan for us.

Elder Knapton and I have been continuing with an incredible streak for finding new investigators.  This week we met six more people who welcomed us into their homes and learn about the message of the Restoration.  Two of them agreed enthusiastically to be baptized and were only a little disappointed when we told them we couldn't do it that weekend. 

Vicky and her daughter Angelina and incredibly prepared for the healing power of the Atonement.  The zone leaders had met Vicky and scheduled a hand-off lesson for Friday morning.  She came home from translating for her family members at the immigration office late, so it ended up just being Elder Knapton and I who were able to meet her.  For missionaries there is a rule that a companionship cannot go into a home without an adult of their same sex in the house.  This was going to be an issue with meeting Vicky, and as I was playing through alternatives in my mind the Spirit told me very directly to not worry and go into the house.  The lesson was incredibly guided by the Spirit and the entire visit felt like we were in an oven.  Vicky has been searching for a church and had almost given up on the whole search, but God was not even close to giving up on her.  Before we left she committed to be baptized with her daughter on the 21st of the month.  She came to church Sunday too.  She was telling us about how much she loved the sacrament and Relief Society and all the new friends she had made.  Some of the sisters had offered to teach her to read Hmong and Vicky herself had volunteered to give one of the members a ride to the Relief Society activity the next Tuesday night.

This week in my studies I have been focusing on chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel, "How Do I Find People to Teach?"  I love how many people Elder Knapton and I are meeting and I've been studying looking for ways to continue the way things are going.  One line that really hit me was "seek to strengthen your faith the God is preparing His children to receive the message of the Restoration" (Preach My Gospel p.167).  I can definitely say that my faith has been strengthened this week.  We found Vicky and I know there are more God would have us find.  As missionaries we represent the Good Shepherd, and it is the lost sheep that we are sent to find.

I know that the Lord God has a work for all of us to do.  He will tell us what that is and how He would have it done if we seek Him in prayer.

With love,

Elder A. Jared Cummings

On to Verona

(Anziano Wilkinson)

So only a few short days ago we got our transfer calls, which is when I found out I was leaving Pisa to go to Verona. Well, now I'm there and already enjoying serving with my new companion, Anziano Skinner. Verona, like Pisa, is another really popular city for tourists because is known to be one of the prettiest cities in Italy! Also, it is where Juliet's balcony is; aka, the balcony of the real Juliet that inspired the play. Appear antsy there is some pretty cool stuff around that too, which I'll definitely need to check out the next chance I get! (Don't worry, I'll send pictures!)

It's kind of strange to be out of Pisa and out of Tuscany in general. The weather is colder (I'm no longer so close to the Mediterranean and Verona is higher north). The city is much bigger and the dialect is slightly different too. And from what I hear the food is supposed to be pretty good as well! I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me here and I'm excited to meet all the wonderful people that live in this great city! I'll give more insight next week when I have a better feel for the city, but so far I'm liking it.

As I was reading in the book of Romans this week, I was struck by many of the words of Paul as he taught the saints in Ancient Rome. In the parts of his discourse that I read, he talked a lot about how it is important to have the spirit of God with us always and that we should always yield up our carnal desires to make room in our hearts to follow the direction of His spirit. He mentions that "to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." The death being spoken of here is spiritual death, or in other words, alienation from God, and, by contrast, the life spoken of in this verse refers to just the opposite, closeness with God. Paul teaches that when we let our carnal minds lead our lives, we will naturally distance ourselves from God, but when we let the spirit lead our lives, we naturally grow closer to Him.

One of the great purposes of this life is to grow closer to God and His Son, Jesus Christ, for in so doing we become happier. And as Paul teaches, the way to receive that happiness is quite simply to be spiritually minded, or in other words, to consistently listen to and follow the suggestions of the spirit! This is such an amazing concept! Follow the spirit and you will be happy! And even more amazingly, the opportunity to enjoy the constant companionship of His spirit is the gift he joyfully and freely offers to all who will accept and live His gospel, which is faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then continuing forever onward with a faithful and repentant heart!

Our loving Heavenly Father has prepared a way for us that we might be led through this life without having to blindly guess our way through it. He has given us the opportunity to be fully and completely "spiritually minded". Let us all take full advantage of this wonderful gift! Seek the guidance of the spirit in your life and then enjoy the happiness that naturally comes from following that guidance! God will never lead us to unhappiness, even if at times the path to get there passes through tribulation and struggle. I promise that no matter the situation, when we follow the promptings of the spirit, we find that happiness and peace are always near.

For any of you not of our church, I invite you to come and feel the spirit that is inherently present in our Sunday meetings and to enjoy the happiness that comes with it. There is none like it! And for everyone, again I invite you to seek and follow the spirit more in your lives, and to become more "spiritually minded" that you might receive the promised "life and peace". There are no substitutes to these: Peace in this life and happiness in the next.

Have a great week everyone and happy February!

-Anziano Wilkinson