TEMPLE GROUND BREAKING

(Hermana Ellsworth)

First! THE TEMPLE IN PUERTO RICO HAS STARTED TO BE BUILT! This is such a blessing for this island!   https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-holy-temple-a-beacon-to-the-world?lang=eng here is a link to a talk by President Thomas S. Monson and what he has to say about the importance of temples in this world. "  The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified." Please go to the temple as often as you can and always be worthy of a temple recommend. Temples are a place to make covenants with God and to be closer to him. The people in Puerto Rico currently have had to fly to the Dominican Republic to have the blessing of the temple in their lives and now they will have their own temple on the island. It was an amazing experience. We had 3 of the 70 come and talk to our mission after the temple ground breaking ceremony and they talked a lot about Gathering Scattered Israel. This is one of the most important works on the earth today. By gathering scattered Israel we are fulfilling ancient promises that Heavenly Father made with Abraham of Old. Everyone has a role in gathering scattered Israel and everyone has to do their part. You are responsible for your actions now and so make them something to be proud of. Our mission president has also pushed us to be fishers of old with nets rather than with fishing poles. He wants us to do this by contacting 10 people per missionary every day. Since I am in a trio that means that we are contacting 30 people a day (introducing ourselves as missionaries of the Church of Christ and leaving them with a commitment, invitation, and information of the restoration of the gospel) It is really hard to meet 30 new people a day. Yesterday we contacted by flagging down cars, pulling to the side of the road to talk to someone crossing the street, Calling at every house and through all that effort we were only at 25 people by 8:20 at night. We needed 5 more people in order to keep our promise with our mission president and the Lord. So Hermana Boston drove while I prayed and we saw 4 people on the side of the road talking. We pulled over and contacted all 4 of them. We shared about the book of Mormon (they weren't interested) but we did our part with the invitation. After we did our part by inviting them to Christ we still had to find 1 more person and we only had 5 minutes of contacting time left before we had to be leave to get home on time. We literally ran from door to door calling at every house and begging for someone to answer the door so we could share with them. We stood at the front doors praying that we could find that last person to reach 30 people for the day. We finally called at a house and someone came out. She was the sweetest lady and said she had taken missionary lessons before but was comfortable in her own church but agreed to listen to one more lesson on Tuesday! It was an incredibly fun night to run house to house to fulfill this goal that we had. It made me think, are we fighting to reach our goals always? Are you a little to casual with the work of the Lord? He needs you to do your part and are you doing it? It was the hardest working day of my mission and I realized that I could be doing a lot better.

I love you all so much and I love your stories and life updates :) Please go to the temple this week and pray to ask what you could do better in your life :)

CCM Group with the temple picture

Hermana Boston and Nelson and I

My companions and the temple

Really cool tree that we found

Everyone in the mission. I am on the second row

My Zone and I have my eyes closed

Mormon 8:15

(Aldste Cummings)

Hej hej hej hej hej,

Trying something new with this email. A little "stream of consciousness" action here. 1920's style, baby. Mm.

This week flew by. It was unbelievable. It freaks me out a little bit because if time keeps going faster then I have a lot I feel like I need to accomplish in these last 9 weeks.

Honestly, I don't even know what to say because almost nothing particularly remarkable happened. I don't even know why this week went so fast.

We filled in the big hole! We had to fill it back up with the giant rocks, gravel, sand, and then dirt. So now that hole (get it) thing is done. It was a long journey, but certainly worth it. You know what they say: "Maybe the real hole was the friends we made along the way."

Yup...

I don't know. I have literally nothing to say. My brain simply isn't working.

Oh wait! I remembered something. While we were knocking doors yesterday, a gaggle of 10 year-old girls noticed us and asked us about what we were doing there and they started following us from door to door and waiting excitedly to hear how our conversations went with the people we talked to. They even hid behind some bushes one time and jumped out to scare us. Spooky. It was really fun. By the end, they asked us to come back to their families with copies of the Book of Mormon and invitations to come to a church activity so we'll be visiting their families at some point.

What else. Hmmm. I'm not sure there is much more I can say here. I think I might move on to the more spiritually fulfilling part of my letter.

I'm so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it's Restoration through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Much can be said of him, but I believe that Mormon said it best when he prophesied that the Book of Mormon would only be translated by God's power and by someone whose eye is single to His glory. So much more light and truth has been revealed to the world through the Prophet Joseph's humble ministry and his service and devotion to our Savior Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for him.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. Supreeeeeeeme.

2. These tulips made me think of my mom ❤.

3.  Field full of genuine Swedish Canola. Sights like this are very common in Southern Sweden where canola oil is one of the biggest exports.

4. The girls wouldn't let us take a picture with them so I drew this one instead. Hoppas det smakar.

When the Mission President walks into your ward

(Sister Slade)

Wow! It's been a great week!

Yes, the mission president and his wife walked into our sacrament meeting yesterday. Sister Najara and I panicked a little bit for no reason.

The best part of the week was when we got to go to the Oklahoma City Temple open house. It was very last minute that we were a to go, but everything fell into place as if it was orchestrated by God (it was). We got to go with James and he loved it! He's so excited for his baptism on Saturday. As we were leaving the temple, he said he wants to come back as soon as he can to do baptisms for the dead. I loved being at the temple. There's a special spirit about the temples and knowing that families can be together forever.

We found a new service opportunity this week. I think I'm more excited about it because it's something different than what we're actually doing for service. We get to groom and tack the horses at the Horses for Healing pasture in a nearby town. I enjoyed doing that.

That's about all that happened this week. But I loved every minute of it!

God is good!

Sister Slade

1. Sister najara set a timer for 8 hours instead of 8 minutes on the cookies

2. Horses for healing, his name is checkers

3. Horses for healing

4. The temple

5. At the temple open house

6. The mission magazine that I made

7. Us with James at the temple

Hola

(Hermana Ellsworth)

Just a quick little email and update :)

Last week I talked a little bit about how amazing the ward was. We have an investigator named Felicita. She was the one that needed a ride every week to get to church but wasn't sure she wanted to be  baptized. She went to church last week and was approached by all the members who made her feel really welcome. We had a lesson with her that night and she said that she knew this was the true church because of the love that the members have in their hearts. She wanted to be baptized. We were preparing her to be baptized when she did not show up for church the next week. There was some strong objection in her family about  her joining the church and so we could use some prayers to get over this road block.

Also I love the people here! There is such a fun culture of giving the missionaries things when we come over to teach and there is always a pack of dogs following us when we street contact. Also hermana Boston and I are growing our own sprouts for our sandwiches because our local store stopped selling sprouts and YOU HAVE TO HAVE SPROUTS!

1. All the bananas that people have given us

2.   One of our investigators loves to give us random things and this week included toilet paper, orange juice, paper towels, soap, detergent, and one can of soup. I am so sorry for my face! The flash was really bright.

3.Shoutout

4.All the dogs that follow us

5. Hermana Boston and I and our sprouts

John 16:33

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjabba grabbar

 You guys are in for a treat today. What a big week.

 On Tuesday I had the privilege of donning my new jobbabyxor and hitting the big dig to commission them. It was funny, the first thing the member we helped said when he saw us was "Nice pants! Are they new?" 😎

 After the big dig we hit the big eat with some Sri Lankan friends of ours. It was the Sri Lankan New Year this week so they made us some really tasty traditional New Year food. They made us eat with our hands and just kept feeding us more and more. We were so full when we left.

 After the big eat came the big boy because I turned twenty on Wednesday. Woooo. It was a little sad to be away from my friends and family but it was a great birthday anyway. Elder Seely and I made some Peanut Butter Pie to celebrate. Big yum.

 Then came the big stink 🤭. So over the weekend we had a couple dinner appointments and on the way home from one of them, I was having a little tummy troubles kan man säga. While we were waiting for the train, I figured I would let out what gas I could while we were outside and before we got on the train. I didn't look around but I was pretty confident we were alone but even then the gas ended up being far louder than I had expected and I was startled when I heard a man's voice from about 2 meters behind me chuckle and say "nice." In a frantic moment of decisiveness, I determined that the only way we could walk out of this without embarrassment was if this man thought we were cool so I once again whipped out our secret missionary weapon: English.

 I just turned around and said "Timeless classic, amiright?" and Elder Seely and I immediately hit it off with this guy. He was so cool. He had lived in Barbados for like 6 years and was a hotel manager in a city a little south of here. He sat with us on the train and we just talked all about what we do as missionaries and talked about the Gospel. Every time we said something about how we live our lives as missionaries that people usually respond very surprised to or are impressed by, it didn't seem to faze him at all. Then he said "Sorry you guys probably think I'm super mellow but actually this is all blowing my mind but I don't know how to express my amazement without swearing."

 By the end of the conversation, he had gratefully accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said that our conversation had opened his eyes and may or may not have "changed [his] life." So that was pretty incredible. We'll be meeting him again soon to talk more about it. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

 After the big stink 🤭 came the big fun. In Sweden, Easter is a very big holiday despite the fact that nearly no one celebrates it for the original religious purpose. Friday through Sunday was chock-full of house parties with members and it was so great. Most of the ward is extended family so it was basically the same party with the same people in three different locations for over a period of three days. Wild. Needless to say, it gave the little kiddos plenty of opportunities to steal our nametags and run around with them. The most fun was probably when we got all the kids to settle down and play a game that didn't involve stealing and running and we started playing a game I learned from the youth in Gothenburg which ends up with everyone making hilarious animal noises at each other. Bishop's dog and our ward mission leader's cow impressions were priceless.

Oh, I also took my really worn out shoes and sewed them up with stuff I found in the apartment. Big good if I do say so myself.

Despite all the craziness this week, it felt good to take some time each day to ponder on the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and that His power is real. When we turn to him, we feel how the very power that gave Him life again can give us peace, health, and happiness again. There is safety in His love and we can overcome everything before us because He has already overcome the world through his perfect life and infinite Atonement.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

 1. "He touched the [rice]."

2. That's right. I live here (pt.19).

3. The children treated us to a spirited spectacle of equestrian showjumping.

4. Before.

5. After.

6. Dilpa's first Easter egg.

Spiritual Soldiers

(Sister Slade)

Happy Easter!

It was a great week. Zone conference, service, and lessons! There are two things though that really stuck out to me this week.

On Friday we were able to get everything cleared for James' baptism. That night we had a lesson with him and were able to tell him the good news. Something about James is that he doesn't really show emotion and he tries to hide it when he does. But when we told him that he could be baptized on the 4th, he smiled so widely and said, "I'm ready to be a part of God's army now." He talks about how he wants to go on a mission and serve in the church all the time, so it's not too hard to picture him as a spiritual soldier especially considering the words of Paul to the Ephesians. "13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The other thing from this week that is important for me to share actually happened 3 years ago. 3 years ago today, my little sister Ellyn passed away when she was just 11 months old. I don't think it's a coincidence that this anniversary happened just the day after Easter; the day that we celebrate the Resurrection and the renewal of life. I know without a doubt that I will see my little sister again some day because of the amazing plan that our Father in Heaven has created for us. I am eternally grateful for the blessing this knowledge is in my life. This knowledge is one of the reasons I came on a mission. Because I know what joy and happiness the Restored Gospel brings me, I have to share it with others. I know that Ellyn is another "spiritual soldier" for the Lord. She is serving Him just as much as I am here.

What ways can you be a "spiritual soldier" for the Lord?

God is Good!

Sister Slade

Pictures:

 1. I saw this book during service at the Literacy council

2. A fun hat I saw at a farmer's market

3. I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but it's all of the pollen on our car (We washed the car the night before).

4. My favorite picture of Ellyn and I

Easter

(Hermana Ellsworth)

I wanted to write a little bit about being a missionary. It's an interesting thing. You may at times think, "This is what we should do" and then you get a feeling of "no thats the wrong thing to do" and then you just don't understand. But I will say that I know that this is Heavenly Father's work and not mine. He knows the people that I teach 10,000X better than I do. There have been many times where I have felt like I needed to share something that did not fit into the lesson or make any sense but is exactly what they needed to hear. I am also very thankful that I have been sent into a Spanish speaking mission. This has forced me to listen to the spirit more because I CANT listen to my investigator half the time and come up with my own ideas of what to do. I am so grateful for that.

We had 4 people come to church this week which is 4X more than I have ever gotten before. They loved it and they loved how reverent the ward was at the beginning. The ward here is incredible. The members are the definition of meek. My definition of meek includes "Spiritual Receptivity, Righteous Response, Willingly Submissive, And a Strong Self Restraint." The ward here did an incredible job with the "Righteous Response" when Elder Holland called for a more reverent environment during sacrament. The bishop stood at the microphone silently calling for reverence until it was perfectly still. The spirit was incredibly strong and the members knew what they needed to do. This ward is wonderful. After church one of our investigators, Felicita, was approached 6 times by the members. After word got around that she had no car and would need a ride each week to come these 6 different members offered their help. She left her first church attendance with 6 numbers to call when she needed a ride anywhere and a feeling of love in her heart. Missionary work is not possible without the help of the members.

I love you all and I hope everything is going well! Here are some random but fun pictures for all of you that only look at the pictures :) LOOOVE YYYOOUU!

I Never run out of funny pictures of Hermana Boston. This week she got gum stuck in her hair!