Nyob zoo xyoo tshiab!

(Elder Cummings)

Happy New Years!  That is what I have been saying all day long.  It is that time of year again.  The International Hmong New Years has made its way to Fresno.  Today I talked with members of the Hmong population who came from as far away as Laos to participate in the harvest festival celebration.

The approach we are taking this year is different.  We revamped the booth to make it more inviting, and people are loving it.  When people come off of the main field and into the booth, a much larger plurality are accepting missionary visits.  We also switched up the way we are distributing materials from a "come take everything, it is free" to a "tell us what you want, we will come by after the new years and give it to you."  The effect is definitely positive.  Across the board those who are signing up this year have more "real intent" as the scriptures put it.  We Hmong elders have been pondering and praying for a year as to how we can go for more.  The actual fruit of the revelation we received months ago is beginning to be seen.  We are pleased, and we know that the Lord is too.

Today was day one.  Six more to go.

In the zone right now we have a missionary who is unsure if he will be continuing his mission due to an ongoing battle with depression.  While reflecting on the situation this missionary was in, I gained some insight summarized very well in Psalms 90:12:

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

As this thought built up within me I came to a greater awareness of the brevity of my missionary service.  I applied wisdom and became more bold in my contacts, and the blessings of heaven were seen in our area.

I know that I have grown as I have served as a missionary.  I hadn't realized just how much until yesterday, Skyping home to my family (one of the two times a year I can do so).  I am excited to see what growth is yet to come.  I am certain that I will be taught at a more rapid pace as the days go by.

2016 has been a great year. 

Nyob zoo xyoo tshiab!

Elder Cummings

Moving to Milano

(Anziano Wilkinson)

So I got a call on Friday last week telling me that I'm getting transferred to a new city! My new area is called Muggiò, which is a part of Milan. It's right next to Monza, which is where they race the famous formula one race cars, so that's pretty exciting! Hopefully I can plan a visit to the race track to watch a competition or something, we will see... Anyway, I will arrive in my new area Thursday afternoon, where I'll meet my new companion, Anziano Engen!

The transfer call brought more than just a new area and companion, however. I got called to be a zone leader. So missions are made up of missionary companionships stationed in various cities. Companionships are grouped into districts and districts are grouped into zones. So with my new calling I will help lead about twenty missionaries in the East Milan zone. Hopefully I didn't make that too confusing. Basically, it just means I have more stuff to do and people to look after. Hopefully I can manage to not mess that up haha.

On the plus side though, this new calling comes with the privilege of driving! So finally after almost a year and half I will get to drive again! Yesss! There are only about fifteen cars owned by the mission (since gas is expensive and Italian driving is a bit chaotic...) of which most are driven by the senior missionary couples. So basically I'm really fortunate to get to use one! I'm pretty excited, if you haven't been able to tell by now. Let's just hope I can manage to not mess that up either! Haha

This week we had a bunch of meal appointments with members of the church, first of all because they're really amazing and super generous and second of all because this week happened to be the week upon which Christmas, my birthday, and the news of my departure fell. So this created the perfect storm, per se, to make Anziano Larsen and I very happy missionaries! On Tuesday some members took us out to eat at a restaurant owned by a family friend. The food was great and I was very satisfied with it, but the cool part was what happened after. After the meal, the cook/owner named Glen came out to greet us and we got the chance to talk to him. That's when I found out that he had just lost a son in a car accident a few weeks before.

Glen explained to us how he missed his son and became slightly emotional as he recalled fond memories of him. I had the amazing privilege of bearing testimony to him of our Heavenly Father's plan of salvation and the blessing that it is to have a Savior to help us overcome all trials trials and limitations. I shared with him the truth that he could see his son again. This visibly touched Glen and lifted his heavy heart. He agreed to meet with the missionaries again to learn more about the Plan of Salvation and how he could see his son once more. It was a powerful experience in which I could feel the Spirit guiding my words in order that they could reach Glen's heart, rather than his ears.

I'm excited to hear what happens next! It's too bad that I won't be here in Ancona to see it, but that's just how it goes I guess!

I hope you had a great Christmas and that the new year brings you an increase in hope and happiness! Talk you to soon!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Happy Birthday Avery! Its a White Christmas

(Sister Ellsworth)

Ola! Bom Dia!!

This week was awesome because through many, many, many miracles, Amaral was baptized!! WhooHooo! Sunday was probably the craziest day on my mission. We had 4 investigators at church and Sister Oliver and I were in charge of the music (as we usually are every week), so we were running all around the church making sure that they had members to sit with and they were in the right classes, etc. Of the four investigators, we had two investigators who had been real pains about church in the past but they loved it and the other two are new references from members that are also taking lessons. Amaral just about gave us a heart attack by having a family emergency Sunday morning but managed to come for the last 10 minutes so that he could still be baptized later on Sunday.

The baptism was so great! The missionaries sang A Capela for the Portuguese rendition of How Great Thou Art, which is the song that Sister Oliver and I were singing when Amaral stopped us and asked us to teach him about religion. We also had the best cookies and cinnamon rolls ever!!

Also....We had a rough beginning of the week. On our Pday we went to Lapa with our zone leaders and Elder Rosenkilde and Sister Oliver left Elder Crawford and I on the metro. There were so many people on the metro that we didn't realize until 3 stops and a half an hour later. Whoops!! Haha luckily Sister Oliver had our phone and Elder Crawford had their phone and we were able to meet up again. It reminded me of the one time when my dad left my at the train station in downtown Washington DC when I was 14. (I'm still a little bitter about that traumatic experience, Dad... haha)

One thing I thought about a lot this week was having love for others. Our president of our mission sent out an email about how to better love the people in this country. The Portuguese have a reputation for being stubborn, rude, very dramatic, and impatient. But they are also some of the most hardworking and generous people I know, once they get to know you ;) He sent out a challenge for us to talk to every person and think about every person as if we had been raised in the same culture and had the same level of experience with religion. It was a great way to practice looking at each person as a child of God and to see them how Christ sees them.

Dum da dum! Scripture time:

 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Christ chose to complete the Atonement so that each one of us, individually, could have at least one person who knows exactly how we feel. I like the scripture above, Alma 7:11-12, because it tells us what Christ did and also why he did it. He suffered for more than just our sins... in fact this scripture mentions pain and affliction before sin.  He knows how we feel and he suffered so that he would be able to succor his people or, in other words, to know how to help his people.

I hope you guys will take a moment to think and a look at the person closest to you and imagine all of the struggles they have, the sacrifice they chose to be here, or perhaps the invisible pain in their heart and try to show a little more Christ like love for them. It is Christmas!!

Selfie with Amaral fail.... He wasn't paying attention :/

Me, Sister Oliver, Amaral, and Luis!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY!!!!

​Love all of you tuns!

Tchau!

Sister Ellsworth

I'm all Hmong Again

(Elder Cummings)

This week saw the resurrection of the missionary work in the Merced 5th branch.  Initially it was stressful, but with faith and diligence it has all worked out.  In the Hmong branch we taught three times more lessons this week than we have for the last several months.  It is a booming area now!

We visited MANY less active and part member families this week.  My favorite miracle was with a mom and her two sons.  We had a really neat visit based on Elder Holland's talk "Behold Thy Mother."  As we talked the mom, Aiya, was clearly touched by all the nice things her boys were saying about her and about the Savior.  At the conclusion of the visit we asked "We want everyone to feel the love the Savior has for them this Christmas season, who do you know that we could visit?"  She told us about her sister, Ai, and her two sons.  We went off to find them.

We did find them!  And they were well prepared to hear the gospel!  Ai's sons are half African American and half Hmong, not a common combination.  They set the goal for baptism and started working towards it.  Ai's oldest son (not one of the two previously mentioned) told us not to come back.  He is older, and Ai is financially dependent on him.  Opposition always comes up.  We've prayed about it, and pondered on it, and we feel that it is God's will that we do as he requested.  The path that leads people to the gospel has potholes sometimes.

I love being a missionary during this Christmas season!  It is something I love!  I am actually sad that this will be my last Christmas serving God full time.  It is going to be a good one!

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

-Elder Jared Cummings

Fasting and Christmas Miracles

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This week we had a conference up in Modena because we were being visited by a member of the area presidency, Elder Paul V. Johnson, and his wife who's name I don't remember. They talked to us about serving with your whole heart and the difference that it makes in missionary work. Our mission president also talked to us about Christ and the magnitude of His role in our Heavenly Father's plan for us. It was a really uplifting conference and a perfect way to prepare ourselves for the Christmas season!

The Ancona branch also threw a Christmas party last Saturday and it was actually a really big success. Our senior missionary couple, the Kochs, put together a Christmas program that really helped to invite the Spirit into the event. My companion, Anziano Larsen, who hasn't even been learning Italian for more than four months yet, sang a solo in Italian that turned out to be really great! It was the first verse of "Venite Fedeli", which is the Italian version of "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful". I can't believe that we've already been together for 11 weeks by now. He's almost done being trained! He's grown up so fast! Haha

After the Christmas program we ate, and there was a LOT of food, even for the 40 or so people that were there. As I said last week, Anziano Larson and I brought some American desserts, which turned out great. Our apple pie was surprisingly good for our first attempt ever, our banana cream pie was amazing as always, and the chocolate chip cookies were phenomenal. Anziano Larsen couldn't stop eating them until they were completely gone haha. All in all, it was a really good experience and a lot of fun for everyone who went!

This last Sunday, our zone fasted together in order that we might be able to advance the missionary work in our respective areas. On Monday morning we finished our fast and spent some time before lunch doing some finding. We decided to ring doorbells since we hadn't done it in a while and to our surprise we were let in four times in only  two hours. Those kind of odds are very good, in my experience. We shared with each of them the Light The World video and found, in total, five new people who asked us to come back!

The next day, Tuesday, we didn't have any appointments planned because we weren't able to set anything up (everyone is on vacation it seems, unsurprisingly haha). However, as the day went on, things just seemed to fall into place to allow us to set up last-minute appointments with the few people I hadn't called the day before. One of those people, a new contact named Evans, told us quite sincerely that he really wants to develop a stronger relationship with God. Perfect! That's our job! It just goes to show that there is a lot of power in fasting and that when we commit ourselves so serving the Lord He provides a way for us to succeed.

I hope this Christmas is a very special one and that you can always remember the blessing that it is to have a Savior. Make someone's Christmas bright this year by spreading a little joy and positivity wherever you go!

Merry Christmas!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Exact Obedience Brings Miracles

(Sister Ellsworth)

This week our President of our mission challenged us to sacrifice something for the Lord for Christmas, which is Natal here, and my companion and I chose our own will. We left the house an exactly the right time, came come at exactly the right time, and tried to use our time most effectively at every opportunity. We saw an incredible increase of miracles that could only have been designed by Heavenly Father.

Right now we are working with three men who are progressing towards baptism soon. The first is Rafael who is developing a testimony so quickly I can hardly believe it. He's definately an elect of the Lord's people here. We're also working with Amaral who is from Angola and before we met him he said he was sitting in his house thinking that he needed to better his life, especially with religion and his knowledge of God. Then we knocked his door looking for a contact who had moved away two years ago. He listened intently to our message about the Restoration of the Gospel of Christ and preisthood authority and his first question was "Am I allowed to come to church with you?" and his second question was "What do I need to do to be baptized?" Yeah. I know. Where in the world did he come from? haha. We're also working  with a guy named Ezequeil who we found the same way as Amaral. He's very friendly and wants to have a religion. He has two adorable dogs as well!

My message for this week is John 3:16

 16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This is a scripture that you guys have probably heard a hundred and seven times but I was thinking about sacrifice this week and how so many of us and the people here in portugal say"Oh, Christ suffered for my sins, I love Christ. etc" but once we ask if they know why Christ chose to give his life for a bunch of sinners each person has to think a little bit. This week I studied about this and the answer I found is that he loves us. If he had to die and suffer just for you, just to help you alone return to the presence of God, he would bleed at every pore and be crucified all over again just because he loves YOU that much. He suffered so that he could stand by our side on the day of Judgement and say, "Father, I know that they have sinned and deserve to be punished but I'm willing to suffer for them. Please accept my sacrifice so that they can have eternal life." And then, because the laws of justice are statisfied, Heavenly Father will smile and say, "I am well pleased." Christ has already suffered and felt every pain and hardship that each one of us has felt and the price he has asked of us in exchange for relief and rest is that we believe in Him. That we believe Him.

This Christmas, try to have More Christ. Sacrifice something for the man who sacrifice everything for you. There are some ideas on lds.org or mormon.org with a video that is called Light the World, or in portuguese, Seja A Luz Ao Mundo.

Awkward moment when your investigator's door has been bricked over. "Gosh dang it, foiled again..."

This is probably the most demented looking statue ever. it looks like someone sat on his face....

Have a great week!

Sister Ellsworth

​

PS

Also one of the Elders in my district have me a riddle that i need help to answer... There are 3 men who stay at a hotel that costs $30 for one night. They pay in dollar coins, 30 coins. Each man pays $10. The owner of the hotel liked the three men so much that he gave 5 coins to a worker to give to the three men. The worker thought that he couldnt split 5 between 3 men so he pocketed two coins and gave each man $1. So each man paid$9. And the worker has $2. BUUUUUT $9 from each man is $27 and the worker has $2 which makes $29!!!! Where is the missing coin??

What I learned this week

(Elder Cummings)

This week taught me a lot.

 I was with Elder Jones for a few hours working Chowchilla Tuesday morning.  He is a fairly new missionary.  Yesterday was his last day of training. I felt magnified in front of my stewardship. I could feel that I was going beyond my own power and mind and the Lord was instructing Elder Jones through me. One specific example is that we conducted a member lesson using the points outlined in chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel. That alone was instructive to him, but what stuck the most was that after the lesson, after we started driving away I was compelled to go back to their door with the thought "Elder Jones didn't share his testimony." We knocked again, and Elder Jones bore a sweet testimony that invited a very strong Spirit. He felt it. He committed himself after we were back in the truck to ALWAYS bare his testimony!  God teaches us through the examples of our leaders.  Being on the other side of that has confirmed this truth to me.

Tuesday night we were on exchanges with the assistants.  I was with Elder Perkins for the evening.  I love and miss him.  The mission office has been good to him.  He stays well fed down there.  Mom, you might want to skip this next part.  As part of the exchange we were trying to get in touch with a potential investigator who Elder Perkins and Elder Olsen had invited to church in a street contact and they came, but left before they could talk to her.  As we were walking down the street talking to some of the people outside at 8 at night (it is already completely dark by then in Fresno) a police officer pulled Elder Perkins aside.  He told him that there had, just minutes before, been two shootings on that street and it was anticipated that there would be more.  The officer asked how we could be walking around in a neighborhood like this wearing slacks and neckties.  Elder Perkins gave a very instructive reply, "to be honest officer, I feel very protected with what I do."  I feel the exact same way.  I have never not felt safe as a missionary.  No matter where I have been or when I have been there I have never been afraid of the people or the environment.  That peace comes through the Holy Spirit, and the protection comes as a result of our calling.  We continued about our business as planned.  God protects His missionaries.

The next morning after a great exchange with Elder Perkins (I love and miss him) I had ANOTHER great spirit of ministering in my studies. I read part of "Rise to Your Call" by President Eyring and part of "Ask in Faith" by Elder Bednar and came to a deeper understanding of the need to obtain revelation to uplift, inspire, and bless my stewardship. I spent much of that personal study in prayer, following a pattern Elder Bednar outlines. The direction came, and throughout the week I have acted on them in an organized manner. From what companionships have said so far this week, it sounds like there has been an increase in productivity zone wide. I feel that is a direct result of the mindset change. I plan on repeating the process week by week.

When transfer alerts came Saturday night I felt peaceful. It then started to weigh upon me that the experiences of serving as an assistant would never be mine in my lifetime. I felt feelings of failure, and that I had disappointed God. I was not anticipating a call to serve as an assistant.  Other circumstances made it clear that I will be needed to train new Hmong missionaries in six weeks, something an assistant can't do.  Despite all this, I felt that I had come up short.  Recognizing the source of these feelings, I had a lengthy prayer that night to find out the how my Father really feels about me. He told me, which is always a great feeling. I was then instructed by the Spirit about interpretations of the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Pounds that applied directly to leadership in the church. In the Parable of the Talents, both those given five and two talents are equally faithful to their assignment and receive the same reward. They both would have learned different lessons with the different levels of responsibility, and the end result of the lessons learned was that they were qualified to "enter into the rest of the Lord." I had the overwhelming feeling that at this time in my life I didn't need the five talent lesson. There were two talent lessons, like this one, that I needed to know and understand in order to "enter into the rest of the Lord." The Parable of the Pounds taught me that we are all given an equal responsibility regardless of calling or assignment: to represent the Lord, to receive revelation and act on it. The only thing that limits my personal growth in any calling or assignment will be my personal commitment to do exactly that. I can experience a tenfold increase in any position anywhere if I am committed to doing the will of the Lord and hold nothing back.  I plan on doing just that.

Elder Gray and I have been transferred, but will continue to live in the same house, drive the same car, and fulfill the same administrative responsibilities.  We have been taken out of the McKee ward.  The ward hit their unit goal the last Sunday of the transfer. 9 out of their 10 baptisms came in the second half of the year. 8 of them came within the last one hundred days. We did the work God needed us to do.  We worked hard, and the ward's vision has been raised and many people have come to receive the gospel.

Armando Garcia is the most recent!  He is Bertha's second son.  His baptism was a blessing.  He asked me to baptize him.  I laid him deep in the water, and he almost brought me down with him.  It was close.  It was the closest I have come to swimming in almost two years.  He bore a beautiful testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it has changed his life.  He had been praying for a way to get onto the path of salvation that he felt he was not on.  The same week we met their family.  Armando has been a great example of faith to me.  After learning of the Word of Wisdom he stopped drinking coffee almost cold.

The transfer call felt right. Elder Gray and I are sad to leave the bustling McKee ward. I have learned A LOT from those priesthood leaders, especially about being faithful a faithful home-teacher. That lesson will guide my life quite a bit. I felt in prayer last night that I had made the Lord well pleased with how I had carried out the work in the ward.

It will be a good week.

With love,

Elder Cummings