2 Nephi 33:10

(Aldste Cummings)

Quote of the week:

"Det känns som hela Malmö är ett ghetto."

This week was really fun. The first half of it was rainy and chilly but now it's warming up! The Sun was out this morning and we didn't need to wear our jackets. But now it's raining again. Whoopie.

On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Norin, a Swedish missionary serving in Sweden. It was really fun to just speak Swedish together *almost* the whole time. For some reason, everything sounds so much funnier if a Swedish person says it in Swedish.

When Elder Norin and I were together, we went out to find a returning member who lived out by the beach. The sisters had the car that day and the buses didn't quite get us all the way out there so we spent about 25 minutes walking in the rain. And then we got to the address only to find that there were no buildings there! Every map application we had shows buildings there but apparently they had been taken down at some point because all that was left was large rectangular patches of dirt where buildings used to be. We don't need to be worried about her, however, because apparently her entire apartment complex was righteous enough to get taken up to heaven like the city of Enoch and we didn't make the cut.

On Sunday we were again swinging by another returning member whose building did still exist but it was locked with a code on the outside so we couldn't come in. Another woman stepped out and we asked her if she knew the woman we were trying to get in contact with. The conversation that ensued was probably the most Swedish thing ever:

Me: Does [name withheld] live in this building?

Her: I don't know. *looks back at list of all 8 residents living there* Yeah, apparently she does. But I don't think I dare let you guys in.

Me: Oh, well, can you at least give her this note from us?

Her: No, I don't know her.

Me: *confused look* ...

Her: She doesn't even live on my floor.

That conversation happened. In real life. Luckily, we were able to find a phone number to that woman and talk to her and invite her to our ward party.

This week we were able to teach a man about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. In pondering and studying about it in the days prior, I think I truly realized for the first time the joy that lies at the heart of the Restoration. Think about it. God loves us as much as He has ever loved His children. Knowing that questions and corruptions about doctrine of His nature, Christ's mission, and remission of sins and salvation would arise after the death of the apostles, He restored the truth through a prophet exactly as He had throughout the history of the Bible. We need not content ourselves with confusion and misdirection or a partial picture of the truth. He actively offers it to us!

As I was thinking about this, we drove by a man feverishly paging through a book while walking down the street. The thought came to me: "If that man truly understood the claim made by our message of the Restoration, he would be just as diligently be poring over the Book of Mormon to ascertain its truth."

Hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. This guy's house got me feeling like I'm knocking on Downton Abbey.

2. If you close your eyes you can imagine that her apartment building is there.

3. This is what it looks like outside at 10:30 PM

4. I went to Harvard.

5. Some beautiful flowers lining the highway.

D & C 64:34

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjabbatjabbadoooooo

The skies are continuing to hold back the warmth and sunshine that we hardworking Halmstad missionaries deserve. Last year, it didn't rain all throughout the months of May, June, and July and it was absolutely incredible but also extremely unusual for Sweden. So basically, my first Swedish summer wasn't Swedish at all and gave me abominably high expectations of what a Swedish summer is like. Talk about false advertising.

This week we officially said goodbye to Elder Seely. It was sad to see him go but 🅱ig 🅱oy is on to 🅱igger and 🅱etter things.

Elder Childs, my new companion is from Utah and has only been in Sweden for 3 months now. He loves cooking and he makes some good eats. He's training me to properly cook for myself in college. He's super creative with missionary work and always has ideas that I had never thought of. It's exciting to try the new ideas but also nerve-wracking sometimes. You know what they say "You []will have a difficult time of] teach[ing] an old [missionary] new [methods of proselyting and finding the elect]!"

I also got a haircut today. I haven't gone to an actual hairdresser for more than a year and I haven't cut the hair on top of my head since Elder Dumas and I executed President's Order 66 with the Great Buzz of '18.

Other than that, I have little to report about the work here in Halmstad. Things are moving, sometimes not the way that we would like it to, but we're diligently working to spread the joyful message of the Restoration of the Gospel with Heavenly Father's children in this lovely city.

A little food for thought before I close off: All of us are imperfect and sometimes may feel unable to do what the Lord requires of us. President Eyring put it this way: "If you told me that you feel perfectly capable of fulfilling your...duties, I might worry that you do not understand them"("Walk with Me," April 2017 General Conference). But lucky for us, God knows that we can't do it ourselves and He intended it to be that way. In the face of daunting tasks, we are made humble and turn to the Lord with all "[our] heart and a willing mind"(D&C 64:34), and that's all He requires to use us as His instruments to work miracles.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

 1. This salt attributes this quote by Jesus Christ to "Someone you can rely on."

2. Last companionship selfie 😢

3. Last afro pic before the haircut.

4. After the big clip.

5. Throwback.

We're not in Central Park anymore!

(Sister Slade)

What a week!!! Transfers were this week and for the first time, I was leaving. I'm in Harrison Arkansas with Sister Elkins. She has been out for 6 months and is from Wisconsin. She is super sarcastic and witty and loves to have fun and work hard. We've had a blast the last couple of days!

My last couple of days in Central Park were kind of bitter sweet. I was very excited to see and experience something new, but I also really love the people and places I've come to know in the last nine months. But the three days that I've spent in Harrison have been absolutely amazing! It's hard to say, but I think I have a new favorite area! (Don't tell anyone in Central Park I said that).

The differences in my two areas are enormous. Central Park covered about 3 square miles; Harrison covers about an 8th of the mission. Central Park had 300 active members; Harrison has 400 members, 100 of which are active. Central Park was all city; Harrison is 80% dirt roads. I love it! Here are some reasons why:

First of all, we have a HOUSE! It's small but we live in a house by ourselves. It's super nice. :)

Second of all, we found 3 new people to teach! That's more people in 2 days than I've found in an entire transfer before! One of them, Alyssa, is a self referral and reached out to us. She invited us to join her in a christian softball team and to go hiking with her some time. We're super excited about her.

I also love the members. They are some of the most REAL people I've ever met. I've never felt more like I could be myself without being judged. In fact, I feel like I would be judged more if I wasn't myself. The people here are so humble and willing to do anything to help. Last night we had dinner with a family that had decided along with my companion to try to prank me into believing that they were a polygamist family. It didn't work, but it was really fun regardless. This same family has a competition going between the missionaries on most pancakes to be eaten. Sister Elkins broke their record and ate 16 pancakes last night. I stopped at 6. And by the way Sister Elkins looked afterwards, I think I made the right decision. :)

I love being a missionary and I'm so excited that I still have 9 months to serve the Lord!

God is Good!

Sister Slade

Pictures:

 1. I crocheted a Gryfindor scarf for sister Najera

2. We found some kittens!

3. We were contacting at a park and decided to take a picture

4 and 5. We found this cool mural

6. We saw this super weird limo truck

7 & 8. We found some kittens! cont.

TRANSFERS! Im the new AP!!

(Hermana Ellsworth)

There has been a change in leadership around here and our president has decided to call me and another sister to be the AP's for the Mission president's wife.

Jokes. That is not happening :) I'm going to Toa Baja with Hermana Paredes! This is the baby area of Hermana Boston's and she has given some good tips on where to go and who to talk to :) I love transfers! I will be leaving my beloved Guayama :( the people in this ward are some of the most amazing people I have ever met! There is Maritita Pellot, Jenny Andujar, Devon Benincosa, Elcita!! Los Marreros! And so many more amazing members! It is very much Zion here. The members here have been an amazing example to me of faith and diligence. These members do so much for the missionary work and it has really inspired me. About 90% of the ward is made up of converts and they have the most amazing stories of true conversion. These people have been through it all. They have had to leave their families in order to find their faith but they have blessed their families more by putting God first. It is such a testimony builder to me.

This week has been an eventful one and it was hard saying goodbye to the members this week. We found some amazing people and there is a ton of potential. The elders in our district had a baptism that we had the opportunity to help out with. It is so special to see someone enter into the waters of baptism and to feel the spirit that is there. I love being a missionary.

We found an iguana on our front porch yesterday and took some pictures with it and then took it to a safe place to be free :)  I hope you all enjoy them :) He was a little tender mercy for the day that was really needed :)

Andujar Family

Yan Manuel

Jose Escalante

Devon

Elcita

Clemente

Jacob 6:5

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjena stora hundar,

This week was way fun. Because it was the last week of the transfer and all the members wanted to make sure they covered their bases before any of the missionaries got the boot, we had tons of meals with everyone to say goodbye.

Just yesterday, we got news about transfers. Elder Seely will be transferring to a city a little southwest of Stockholm. It will be sad to see him go. The last of Papa Cummings' little birdies is leaving the nest.

In his place is coming Elder Childs. I know very little about this man, but soon will I know more. He'll be coming here on Wednesday and has been assigned to do the dirty work of "killing" me. That is to say, be my last companion before I finish my mission. It will be a wild ride.

On Monday we went back to the families of the girls that followed us around that one time (see my email two weeks ago), and we gave their families invitations to come to our ward activity next month. Unfortunately, they weren't interested in hearing more of our message, but they appreciated that we came back.

But wait! There's more. On Tuesday we traveled out to that same area again to visit someone and the little girls were out again. They followed us around (again) asking after every door if the people "wanted to talk about Jesus." Then, we figured out that they had already knocked on all the doors in the neighborhood with the flyer to our activity to invite all their neighbors to come to "the two American guys' church party:" It was so adorable.

On Wednesday, we were running late and we ended up having to do our companionship study at the library in town instead of going back to our apartment. As we were leaving, I saw a familiar face in the library lobby (ha try saying that 5 times fast*). I stopped for a second to try to place where I had seen the woman while Elder Seely kept walking and I called for him to come with as I then turned back to run over and say hi. Turns out, this woman and her boyfriend who were living in Karlskrona who were taught by the sister missionaries and wanted to be baptized there over a year ago but were not able to for various reasons had moved here to Halmstad! They had lost contact with the church and the missionaries but then I (probably one of 2 missionaries in the whole mission who would recognize them) was transferred here and we were late that specific day and I just happened to make eye contact with her as we were walking out of the library. Holy cow. The odds of that are simply insane. God is aware of each and every one of His children and He cares enough about them to give them countless chances to come closer to Him.

We're praying that this couple again feels the joy of the gospel and recognizes the love that God is extending toward them in this second chance. He is always there reaching out to us. He asks only that we, as Jacob affectionately puts it "cleave unto [Him] as he cleaveth unto [us]."

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

*Just kidding, it's not that hard.

Pictures

1. Elder Seely and I accidentally stumbled on Halmstad's hidden South Pacific-looking pirate cove thing. Pretty rad.

2. Sri Lankan food. It was to die for.

3. We fulfilled our dreams of walking through a canola field with the coolest Sri Lankan couple ever and a couple of Swedish kiddos.

Weird

(Sister Slade)

This week was just weird. Here are a few of the things that happened:

- Some guy told us that we have 120 years allotted to live and our own sins limit our life span (one sin=one less day to live)

- The same guy started mumbling and making weird noises and tried to claim that he was speaking in tongues

- After being the same height for 7 years, I found out that in the last couple weeks I grew 2 inches. That's right, now I am 5'6"!

- But weirdest of all, during transfer calls I was told I am leaving Central Park.

After 9 months, 6 companions, and 6 transfers, I am finally leaving my first area. I will be going East to Harrison Arkansas. It's super bitter sweet for me. When we got the call, Jarrison felt right, but at the same time I felt like my heart was breaking. Central Park has become my home. I love the members, the people I've taught, the neighborhoods and the area, I love the missionaries here. Now I'll have to leave it all and make a new home in Harrison. I'm going to miss it all but I'm ready to move on and find new people that I can love and serve.

This week we were able to go to the Kansas City Temple with James to do baptisms. It was a really cool experience for me because James as a priest got to baptize me for some of his and my family names. I got to see the gathering of Israel come full circle. The recent convert baptizing his missionary for his ancestors. It was a super powerful moment in the temple. I just love the temple. The spirit there is so strong and I leave feeling like I can do anything the Lord puts in my path. The temple really is the House of God.

We did about 20 hours of service again this week. Something new that we did this week was sew dresses for little girls in Haiti. It turns out that I'm really good at it. :) we also helped paint 2 houses. I've decided to start a painting company when I go home because of all the practice I'm getting doing detail work. We did service at the senior center packaging meals as always, as well as the Helping Hands food pantry.

That's it for this week. I love the Lord. I love his gospel. And I know that the Lord is aware of each of us and is reaching out to us every day.

God is good.

~Sister Slade

Pictures!

1. Gerald, the manager at the senior center, and I

2. Me sewing a dress

3. All of us that sewed

4. One of the dresses I made

5. Me and obie the manager at helping hands

6. Me with Nancy

7. Kansas city temple

8. Sister Najera, James and I at the temple

9. Sister najera and I at the temple

10. Bishop and his family when i went to say goodbye

Candle of the Lord

(Hermana Ellsworth)

I want to write a little bit about the Spirit. The third member of the God-head and what he does for us. My writing is not the best and I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more about the Holy Spirit and who he is to use the link above to learn more.

One of the best things about being a missionary is having the opportunity to invite people to feel the spirit more in their lives. Seeing people have their first encounter with the spirit is one of the most beautiful things. Last night we taught this wonderful family. We had an amazing lesson about the Restoration and the spirit was very strong. I invited them to take a second and recognize the differences that they were feeling at that moment. I invited them to ponder about what they felt inside. I then invited them to write it down tonight. After a moment of pondering we asked them to share with one another their feelings. The young daughter said that she had felt lost and tired for the past few days and had not slept well for the last 3 nights because of anxiety. She then explained that she felt safe, calm, and no longer lonely. The mother said that she felt refreshed. As if she had just come home from a long trip and things seemed familiar. The father said he felt like he just walked out of a darkness of mist. I don't know what the Lord has in store for this family but it was a humbling experience to listen to them describe the feelings of the spirit. I cannot imagine my life without the help of the spirit in every moment. I know that this Church is true and that there are people out here and in every part of the world that are being prepared and ARE prepared. We only need to open our mouths and share the knowledge that we have been given. Everything that we have is a gift.

1 Timothy 4:14-16

14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

I am so grateful for the gifts I have been given in this life and it is an honor to use them to share them with other Children of God. Please read the link above. Study it and change what you need to change to have the spirit with you always.

Fun facts, We have not ever bought apples or mangos but we have 2 drawers full in our fridge. We received 23 mangos on Sunday alone. I love mango season. The Lord blesses his missionaries and it was fun carrying 23 mangos.

 We had a great lunch by the beach with Jenny Andujar. She was a missionary in Utah and she got home about a month ago. She is always coming to our lessons and I love her so much! She drops everything to help the work move forward. Thank you my dear Jenny!!