Hottest Week Ever & Tender Mercies

(Sister Ellsworth)

Dear ya'll...

I think my face has melted off this week! It's been well over 100 degrees with high humidity and the Portuguese don't believe in air conditioning or ice. Ice is considered a bit of a luxury here.... Since it's been so busy there hasn't been many people out on the roads and most people are taking last minute vacations before school starts next week but nonetheless, we have had one of the most productive and dedicated weeks since I began my mission.

First off, apparently I'm very allergic to Portuguese cats. We were at a member's house and her little annoying cat was chewing on my dress so I tried to secretly push it away in the middle of the lesson and it tried to chew on my hand. I had to take a couple doses of Benedryl that day and my companion had to drag her balloon handed, half-asleep greenie around for the rest of the day.

Also this week has been a week of finding people who have had missionary lessons but got too busy to talk. We've had a lot of new investigators!

Miracle number 100000 on my mission... last week we had the baptisms of Manuella and Nadia. Well they are like BFF's now! Nadia has had some hard times recently and Manuella has offered to help her out. Total proof that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us.

We had our first divisions this week and I thought Sister Hansen and I were going to be lost in Barreiro for the rest of the mission. Turns out I still don't know much when it comes to my area and Portuguese! I'm so grateful for my companion XD I hugged her when she came back and told her to never leave me ever again XD

I remember one moment this week that was a tender mercy and proof that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. My companion and I were dying... it was blistering hot, probably 105 or so with NO WIND all day. Portugal is always windy. We were walking through a park and decided to take a five minute water break. We were laying on our backs and I said "Heavenly Father, we're really hot and tired. It would be really nice to have some wind." My companion gave me a funny look and echoed my thoughts when all of a sudden this rush of cool ocean breeze rushes through the park for a solid ten seconds. Sister Williams and I got up and started twirling in the wind, laughing at how much we loved such a silly thing, but at the same time I was like... wow. Some people might look at that as a coincidence but to me it was a tender mercy from our loving Father in Heaven.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to love this crazy place so much and to serve my God. I know he is aware of us and loves us perfectly. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses lives, especially when we are obedient and loving.

Love all of you so much!

The Gospel is our Anchor!! This was taken at an old Convent which is now a little cafe and hotel.

Tudo Bem!!

Eu amo voces!

Sister Ellsworth

p.s. i found out redheads CAN tan!!

Much to be Grateful for

(Elder Cummings)

This week we have been truly blessed.  As a companionship we just feel grateful!  All week long we have had miraculous experiences.  We had an exchange on Tuesday where we both felt impressed that the missionary I was going to be working with did not need to teach in appointments all day.  So, Elder Perkins took all the appointments and went and taught with Elder Maderos and Elder Hopkins and I followed the plans made by the Spirit to go do work.

By the end of the night we had taught member present lessons, found MANY people to teach, and saw a few miracles.  One of them, a woman walked up to us and asked for our phone number so that she could start coming to church.  She had been investigating in Modesto and just moved down.  We had been following promptings to know which streets we needed to walk down and walked right into her.

Best story of all though, last week Elder Perkins and I contacted a man who was cutting down a rotten telephone pole at a friends house.  He gave us his number and told us to call to meet again.  Monday night at 10:13 I felt a distinct impression that I needed to call that man.  So, slightly timid for calling so late I did.  He answered the phone.  I am pretty sure it woke him up.  In the short conversation we had he did not catch much expect that we knew he cut down the telephone pole and that we were going to come by to talk to him the next night at 8:00.  I felt pretty good about it all, so at 8:00 we arrived to find him sitting in a folding chair sipping a bear.

The night after we called he did not sleep a wink.  There was some communication breakdown.  He thought we were from the Merced Police Department calling to schedule a time to come and arrest him for cutting down that pole that apparently he had no permit to take down.  He told his wife and children that the police were coming for him the next evening.  They didn't sleep very well either.  Credit to his integrity, he kept his appointment!

Abel was so surprised that missionaries, not policemen, walked up excited to see him.  After we figured out the whole situation he agreed to listen to a message.  He preferred Spanish, Elder Hopkins led out.  Teaching the restoration went incredibly well, up until he asked about the Virgin Mary.  Up to this point I had been able to understand the whole conversation, which was not normal.  At this point scriptures in the Book of Mormon about Mary flooded into my mind, and I took over the teaching in English.  The Spirit was there and there was not miscommunication.  Abel's concern was resolved, he asked where the church was located, and said that he would bring his wife and children to come and worship with us because he could tell we were different.

The Lord is hastening His work.  There is no way to deny it.

With love,

Elder Cummings

Sand, Daniele, and the Atonement

(Anziano Wilkinson)

For P-day today we made a trip out to Rimini for a zone Barbecue where we grilled and played plenty of beach volleyball and soccer. I was pretty excited to get my toes into the sand and play beach volleyball in particular (although we weren't on a real beach). And grilling is always a great time since it's not every day that we have access to a grill! With all the running and diving I did today, I'd say it's pretty safe to say that I might be a little sore tomorrow, but it was all worth it!

This week we had a very great experience with a man named Daniele. Daniele lives right across the street from our church building and always says hi to us through his window when he sees us. He is super nice and also super Italian, which is fantastic. He is a very kind man, especially towards the missionaries in particular, seeing as he is known to bring us desserts from time to time haha. He invited us over to talk one afternoon and so we happily agreed. We proceeded to have a very interesting conversation about tourism in Europe and which places were the best to visit. He told us many funny stories about the places that he's visited and things he's experienced in foreign countries. Apparently Moldavia is the coolest place to visit in Europe for the cheapest price, so write that down for when you take your next trip to Europe!

During this visit we were able to not only get to know Daniele a lot better but also his mother and father, whom he takes care of and lives with. They are all such nice people and amazingly hospitable. They kept offering us coffee and asking us, "are you sure you don't want any?" each time we declined the offer haha. But the best part of the encounter was when they allowed us to share a spiritual thought with them before we left. We shared with them a short video about Jesus Christ and the impact that the gift of His atonement has on each of our daily lives. The spirit was strong as we bore testimony of the reality of Christ's atonement and it was clear to see that they were touched by our message.

We're excited to see how else we can bring more light into their lives and to share with them the message of the restoration. The hearts of Daniele and his family have been prepared and I couldn't be more excited to share more of the happiness I feel in living the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Have a great week and don't forget to utilize the power of Christ's atonement!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Double Baptism

(Sister Ellsworth)

Hey yall!

This week was craaazy! First off we found out that two of our investigators are related. Apparently we were teaching a mom and her daughter and they didn't even know it! We only found out because the daughter, Nela, drove by as we were talking to her mom. Coincidence? I think not... haha. We also met an evangelical conspiracy theorist this week and if you think that stuff is weird in English, just try to listen in Portuguese!

I ate my first really gross and weird thing... We were at a little cafe for lunch with a member and she ordered me some fried fish... and brain... I didn't know what it was until I did some dissecting. It brought me back to my anatomy days.... Haha! We also met this guy because he hollered out "JESUS IS THE BEST!" in this really thick Portuguese accent, so of course we go talk to him! He had some interesting ideas and one of them is as follows... "The world is a monopoly, the only people who make money are the funeral homes." I think we've met every strange person in Barreiro this week!

BUTTTTT THERE'S MORE!

We had a double baptism! Our investigator Manuella was baptized and the Elder's investigator was baptized as well! Best and craziest day ever! We walked 15 or more miles to get everything situated, took wrong buses, forgot white clothes, made cookies, and arranged the baptisms. WHOO!

This week I was reading about trials of faith and I found a few scriptures I liked. 1 Peter 4.12, Alma 1.25 and 1 Peter 1.7

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" One of the most interesting analogies is the refiners fire analogy. the idea that our trials are meant to purify, teach, test, and help us learn  is much more appealing than the thought that sometimes bad things happen when we do things right. Sometimes things are hard.

Another thought. There was a missionary who died (finished his mission and went home to his family) whose last words for us were: "Do you believe in Christ?" of course all of us were like... duh... but then he asked a second question. "Do you believe Christ?" What a difference that makes.... Do you believe Christ? Do you believe that he is your Advocate, your Mediator, your Redeemer, your Brother, and your Savior? Do you believe that he suffered for YOU? Do you believe he felt your pain, grief, sorrow, and joy? I hope if the answer is no, then pray for opportunities to develop your testimony and then go out and do something because testimonies are gained through action.

Sandro, Sister Williams, and Manuella!! WOOOOT!!!

They have packaged cheeseburgers....?

Guess which one is wine and which is a juice box!! Vocabulary is a good skill to have when they're right next to each other...

​ Elder Haws,  Nadia, me, Sister Williams, Manuella, Elder Thomas, and Sandro!

Just going for a stroll in Portugal....

Change of altitude and too much dough and you get a cookie cake! haha

Love Yall,

Sister Ellsworth

Godly Sorrow, Following Your Conscience, and Having a Healthy Spirit

(Elder Cummings)

Dear Family and Friends,

As per a rule-clarification I now have an additional half hour to email every Monday.  My time management skills have not been helped by this and I am still stuck running out of time and writing this at the last minute.

This has been a wonderful week!  Elder Perkins and I were able to participate in mission leadership council and discuss with other zone leaders about the work and to find together the direction the Lord would have us guide this mission.  It was a unique experience. There are many great things happening in the California Fresno Mission!

This week I have seen many people we visit come to recognize their actions as sins.  Whether they be large or small, this theme of repentance motivated by what is termed "godly sorrow" for what they have done has been reoccurring.

I have been giving some thought as to why that "godly sorrow" is necessary in repentance.  Why is it a requirement for us to feel remorse and guilt in order to put our sins and misdeeds behind us?

I found that to answer that question, you first have to ask "Where does godly sorrow come from?"

"When we sin, we feel remorse or guilt, just as we feel physical pain when we are wounded.  This is the natural response of our conscience to sin, and it can lead us to repent." (Guide to the Scriptures "Conscience")

To more completely comprehend that statement we need to understand the church's definition of the conscience.  The conscience is a manifestation of the Light of Christ that helps us to discern from good and evil.  The Light of Christ is the influence of Jesus Christ that is "in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things" uplifting, ennobling, and enlightening (D&C 84:41).  So, the influence of Jesus Christ that is inherently in ALL people naturally brings us to feel remorse and guilt for mistakes we make.  The sorrow we feel is godly in part because it comes directly from the influence of a god.  It can lead us to repent!

"We are to learn to follow our conscience.  This is an important part of exercising our agency.  The more we follow our conscience the stronger it will become.  A sensitive conscience is a sign of a healthy spirit." (Guide to the Scriptures "Conscience").

Repentance is making an actual change.  It requires us to change our desires and our behavioral patterns.  Because of the guilt we feel when we sin we are blessed with an opportunity to follow our conscience and repent.  Our conscience therefore will become stronger, we will be spiritually healthier, and we will be more resistant to the persistent temptations of Satan.  I am so grateful that we are allowed to grow in this way!  I am grateful for Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.  All things are possible because of Him.  He lives!

-Elder Jared Cummings

The Fields Are White

(Anziano Wilkinson)

Today we woke up to quite an interesting experience. There was an earthquake at around 2 am a little over 100 kilometers south of Ancona, where I'm serving right now. No one in my city was hurt and the tremors were mild enough for us that we just went right back to sleep after they happened, but apparently that wasn't the case down south. Many people were hurt and an entire village was practically destroyed. I'm doing just fine myself though, so no worries! In fact, this morning my companion and I took a hike up in the mountains south of Ancona and had a fantastic time seeing the beautiful views and breathing the mountain air. I'll post some pictures below!

In the past two weeks we had the wonderful opportunity to meet and teach many amazing people. The first is a man named Effrim from Albania that has lived in Italy for many years. He has met with missionaries in the past and supposedly been taught by them, but it having been a long time before, we asked him if he'd be interested in hearing our message again. He accepted and listened very intently to our message about the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ and one could tell that he was deep in thought as we explained the doctrines behind this concept. He accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it in order to receive a confirmation of the truth of our message. He also happily came to church the next day and had a great experience! He is expressing a real desire to learn about the blessings our Heavenly Father has in store for him. I don't know what made the difference this second time he was taught, but apparently the Lord has prepared him to take further steps along the path of discipleship in this later stage of his life and the difference is already noticeable in him!

The other is a very humble and sincere woman who has been searching for years for a stronger relationship with God. Her name is Rosy and she is from Peru; our week has been a very international one to say the least! As we shared with her the concepts of the restoration she asked us many intelligent questions and paid close attention to what we shared with her. A recent convert in the Ancona Branch named William had invited her to learn about the doctrines of our religion that have recently changed his life and she accepted the invite. She has studied with many other churches in the past and had not found success in her search to know God better. As we taught her the doctrine of personal revelation ("if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God") and asked her if she had ever received an answer to a questions she proposed to God in prayer. She told us that one of her prayers was answered during our lesson with her. The spirit was strong and her humility and sincerity allowed her to be taught during this lesson more by the Holy Ghost and less by the actual words that we used.

It's such a special experience to be a missionary for our Heavenly Father and to be in his service full-time for these two years. Above all I've been thinking about a verse in the scriptures that contains a promise concerning missionary work of the church of Jesus Christ in our times. The verse says, "Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men." I love this verse because of the surety of the statement. "A marvelous work is about to come forth." It doesn't say "might come forth" or "could come forth" it says "is". The Lord is pulling things together to fulfill his promises that he has been making since the beginning of time and today those promises are being fulfilled. We see so many people every day that have been and are being spiritually prepared to make greater promises with their Heavenly Father and the hand of the Lord is quite evident in all of their lives. It's humbling to be a part of the fulfillment of this promise because the gospel of Jesus Christ means so much to me personally. We have the chance to become perfect through a life of faithful trust in our Savior and He is anxious to bless us beyond our wildest dreams. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and knows us each individually; He has a plan for us and is moving mountains to help us become the amazing people that we have the potential to become.

Have a fantastic week and remember to thank our Heavenly Father for His many blessings!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

There was a leaf hanging from a spiderweb and I couldn't resist taking this picture hahaha.

Miracles Come From Fasting!

(Sister Ellsworth)

Dear Peoples of my email list... I love yall!!

Two weeks ago was a week where all of our appointments fell through at we practiced contacting on the road, in stores, in apartments, and at parks for the whole week. Last week we decided to fast for our current investigators and to be able to reach our goals.

We saw progress! We taught quite a few lessons and I was able to make 5 contacts by myself in Portuguese! Woot! Unfortunately Paulo dropped us because his mom said he couldn't have the lessons anymore. We hope to be able to see him soon! We met a lot of new people this week as well but our investigator Manuella came to church and kept her commitments! She has my heart, lock and key! I love her to bits! She is very accepting and honest, educated woman. And she's patient with my Portuguese!

Crazy funny thing this week... We kept running into the old Russian man, like two or three times a day! He loves the Missionaries but doesn't speak a lick of Portuguese or English! That doesn't stop him though! He chatters on and on and introduces us to random people in Russian to people who don't speak Russian. He's a funny guy!

Something I studied this week was the Riccardi Letter. We practiced doing one thing we learned from the letter every day and saw results from it every day. One of the teachings that was the hardest thing for me and yet the most rewarding was confidence in the gift of tongues. To practice this, the four missionaries in our area went to a store and practiced contacting people! My companion stayed close to me but made me contact people by myself. It was kind of fun! A lot of the older people couldn't understand me very well but those who were younger did. Some of them even wanted to talk in English with me! We gave them references to our English classes and made appointments to meet with them later.

Another topic I've studied this week is the Atonement. It never ceases to amaze me that the Atonement is so simple and yet infinite at the same time. We teach that the Atonement is an opportunity to become better. Through my studies I've also learned that the Atonement is a unification with the will of our Heavenly Father, an at-one-ment with the Gospel of Christ. The hardest way to change is in big steps, but small corrections is so much easier. And the opportunity to change in small ways is covered in the Atonement!

I love my mission already and I love all of you as well. I know my Savior lives and I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us individually. He loves you!

Thank you for your support and love. It makes the days brighter and helps me remember why I'm crazy enough to be here and love it so much!

Love you,

Sister Ellsworth