Hmong New Years

(Elder Cummings)
Hmong New Years is completely exhausting.  We have receive 450 referrals in the last three days, 203 of them are from today alone.  We have been working hard!  I got myself some Hmong clothes of my own that I love!  I'm not wearing the top right now, but here is a picture of the ankle of them.  They cost me $145, which was a really sweet deal.  A recent convert gave me a Hmong cap for my birthday too.  That with the Hmong clothes plus my curly hair makes me look like a Jewish boy.  I'll send you a picture of the hat too.

It was great to see you on Christmas!  I love you all.  I will be writing more next week!

With love,

Jared

Happy New Year!

(Anziano Wilkinson)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending lots of time with family and eat lots of good food! It was exciting for me to be able to skype my family and catch up with them a little more face to face, or rather, screen to screen! My companion and I had some great food and had the pleasure of trying some new Italian dishes, and some old classics; the main dish was lasagna. As typical in Italian culture, this lovely family wouldn't let us leave without stuffing ourselves full of food. Hey, no complaints here! We also got the chance to watch a Disney movie, so my comp and I chose Frozen since neither of us had seen it.

After the big holiday we hit the pavement again and have begun to find lots of new people to teach, which is an exciting way to start the new year! As usual we're setting goals and making plans to make this new year a great one. Which for me includes learning how to cook Italian food better! I've decided that I will make a Ragu (back in the states we call it red pasta sauce with meat in it) on New Year's Eve since we have to return home early that evening. Apparently Italians take their New Years parties pretty seriously. I'll let you all know by next week next week if I live through it! But for now, have a great New Years, set some awesome goals, and achieve some amazing things!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Christmas is almost here!

(Anziano Wilkinson)

The exciting day is almost upon us and the countdown is getting smaller and smaller. Christmas is almost here! There is probably not a more exiting day of the year for a missionary! I can't wait to skype home to my family soon; they're probably just as weird as ever, but I still miss them to death and can't wait to hear their voices!

So with all the Christmas spirit people have been feeling, we've started to accumulate a lot of lunch appointments (which made the grocery shopping really easy this week). So we're pretty excited for this opportunity to fill ourselves with some good old Italian food! And also were excited for the chance to bring a nice Christmas message to each of their homes, because Christmas is a missionary's favorite topic to talk about! (Or, at least, it's my favorite haha).

So a few weeks ago I was struck by the accounts of the savior's birth that are contained in the book of Luke and in the Book of Mormon. They talk about the same event but from radically different perspectives and yet the power behind both accounts is tangible. So for Christmas this year I invite everyone to read Luke chapter 2 and Third Nephi chapter 1 and ponder upon the importance of the birth of a savior! I know that a savior was indeed born for us. I know that he suffered for us and I know that he died for us. And last of all he rose from the dead that we too might have the chance to do so as well! I am so grateful for his gift to us and I rejoice at the wonderful opportunities that this opens up for us! We have a savior. His name is Jesus Christ. Find him and learn of him; there is no more rewarding venture in the whole universe!

Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy the festivities!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

A taste of Africa

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This week went by unusually fast, which is ironic because the days that count down to Christmas usually tick by very slowly in anticipation of that glorious day haha. Unfortunately I won't be having a white Christmas this year since it nearly never snows in Tuscany, in fact, we we'd be lucky if we even need out coats that day; we rarely use them as it is!

This last week was the first of our new transfer and we are beginning it with a newly Awakened Force... Okay, lame Star Wars pun. But really, we are working harder than ever and making successes everyday! One of our investigators, named Jonathan, is a fantastic man from Nigeria and has been making great progress lately. He is only just beginning to come to a full view of the beauty of the gospel and each week he draws closer to our Heavenly Father! He had us over for lunch last Sunday and we had some traditional Nigerian food, eat in the traditional Nigerian way: no plates. Apparently, they place the serving dish in the center just eat from the same dish, which sounds gross, but in reality it's not as bad as it sounds. I'll put some pictures of us eating with him and his friend Alfred.

This week, I was struck by the thirtieth chapter of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, which is only two verses long. It's very short but it packs a lot of power into the few words that are said. Basically, in writing this chapter, Mormon digresses form his abridging of the history of the Nephites and takes a moment to pour his heart out to us, the future readers of his work. He feels earnestly to warn us of what we are going to face in our time and to warn us not to do as his own people did. He urges us, in pleading words, to repentance and to cast from ourselves any ungodliness and beckons us to follow the example of our loving Heavenly Father.

These words were truly meant for us, written hundreds of years in advance. These are the words of a prophet who witnessed the complete distraction of his own people and wished with all of his heart that it might not happen again in a future generation. He pleads with us to lay aside sin and take up righteousness, knowing that it is too late for his own people and hoping with all his heart that his words will reach our ears in time for us to act upon them. I stand by his words and likewise invite everyone to repent and taste of the goodness that is gospel of Jesus Christ! Especially now this Christmas season, I invite everyone to listen to and act upon the words of Mormon, the ancient prophet, "that ye may be numbered with [God's] people". What a great joy that would be!

Have a great week everyone, hear from you next week!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

Welcome to the Covenants

(Elder Cummings)
Less than twenty-four hours ago I had the fantastic privilege to witness Pieter J. follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by one holding the proper authority from God.  It made me unbelievably happy!  Normally my preparation days are accompanied by a pinch of homesickness, but not today!  Today I am beaming.  I am so happy for Pieter!

Seeing Pieter baptized got me thinking about Johnny, one of my good friends from my congregation back at home.  I love Johnny!  He has such a firm testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He believes with a passion that Joseph Smith did see God the Father and Jesus Christ and that the Book of Mormon is God's word on the earth.  I met Johnny around two years ago at a Stake Conference.  His mom was a returning less active member and Johnny was coming to church with her.  He had never been baptized, but one of the first things he said to me was that he wanted to serve a mission someday!

Johnny was taught the missionary lessons and he was baptized not long after I met him.  You should have seen the smile on his face!  He was filled with joy!  He had promised with God that he would do all he could to live according to Christ's commandments, to be a witness of Christ in all places, and to always remember the sacrifice of his Savior.  The next Sunday he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, exactly as we read the Apostle Paul doing it in Acts 19:2-6.  He now has the constant companionship of a member of the Godhead to protect him and teach him the truth.  Pieter will be receiving the same blessing on the 20th of this month (the same day three more Hmong investigators will be getting baptized).  I am so happy for Pieter!  Having seen the joy the gospel has brought Johnny and to myself I know that Pieter will have the same lasting peace and happiness.  God wants so badly to bless all of His children!

Baptism is essential the beginning of the path that leads us back to God.  It is the first covenant that prepares us to make other covenants in God's holy temples.  Helping people receive these covenants, to come into the fold of Christ is infinitely rewarding!  I am so happy to be a missionary!

In a few days my older sister will be returning home to conclude her missionary service.  For the last eighteen months she has been preaching the gospel in Montreal, Canada.  She sent her last email home today and testified of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I bear witness with her that what she testified of is true.  Jesus makes possible all progression along the path of righteousness.  Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer.  He came to the earth to so that the world in sin and error pining could rejoice in the new and glorious morn.  With Him we will stand at the last day.  Before him we will all stand to be judged according to our actions and the desires of our hearts.  He is the Only Begotten of the Father.  Is is the light, the life and the hope of the world who rules today at the right hand of His Father.  I echo wholeheartedly the testimony the living Apostles.  God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son!

With my love,

Elder A. Jared Cummings

Final Words

(Sister Cummings)

Dearest Family and Friends,

The time has come. The moment I have both looked forward to and avoided is now at the door. This is my last email as a missionary. This Wednesday I will be relieved of my proselyting duties, Thursday my family will come pick me up and on Saturday I will be released as a missionary. It all seems to be happening so fast. It’s like when you have been waiting in line for  a waterslide and you get all excited when it finally comes but then it is just as the slide starts tipping downward you wish you had never gotten on it and want to climb back up. I am finding more and more that I do not want my mission to end, but yet I am excited for the future. Just like the waterslide. First you want to crawl back but then you realize how fun and exhilarating it is. I am grateful for my mission and excited for the future.

For the past 18 months I have been "anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27) I have served with all my "Heart, mind, might and strength" (D&C 4) as a representative of Jesus Christ, here in Quebec. Much like the province slogan, "Je me souviens," I will always remember my time here.

It certainly was not easy. With one of the strictest schedules of my lie, the initiative to talk to everyone in a language not my own, having to stay 24/7 with a companion of a different culture or traditions. Not to mention how many times a door has been slammed in my face, that I have been yelled at, and cursed at, and once spat at. I cannot imagine a happier moment than I have witnessed here. I have seen so many miracles. I have witnessed as the spirit touched the lives of many people in bringing them to the joy of the fullness of the gospel, as they become converted to the Lord. The most breathtakingly beautiful thing however is that as I have been helping my fellow brothers and sisters here I myself have changed.

A scripture found in Alma 29:10 often comes to mind as I have gone about serving the Lord. "And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me." I cannot say it as well as Alma, but as I have seen the Lord's precious children become enfolded in his arms of mercy through their efforts to come closer to him, I myself have come to realize all that God has done for me.

If I was ever able to tell you the most important thing I have learned from serving a mission it would be that I have finally come to an understanding of the grandeur of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Why he went forth "suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind" and took upon him "the pains and the sicknesses of his people" (Alma 7:11) It is because he loves us. A truth that I knew of but did not know the extent of this love. he has gone before my face. He has been on my right hand and on my left with his angels round about me to bear me up (D&C 84:88) When I have stumbled he has lifted me. When I was weak he has made me strong. Wherever I have been he is always there with his arms of mercy extended towards me. (Alma 5:33-34)

During this Christmas season I have reflected on the words of a well loved song. "Oh Holy Night" depicts through poetry and music the evening of the saviours birth. I had the opportunity of performing it in place of my final testimony as a missionary I asked to sing.

"Oh holy night

The stars are brightly shining

it is the night of the dear Saviour's birth."

It then talks about why the saviour was needed.

"Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth"

Without the Saviour the world would forever be in sin and sadness. We would have no chance of fulfilling the goal we so longingly desired for. This being living with our Father in Heaven once more. For "there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God." (1 Nephi 15:34) A spiritual darkness surrounded the earth until the Saviour was born.

"A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn"

And I find that the words translated from the French version are far more descriptive than the English

"People to your knees

hear your deliverance

Noel, Noel

Here is your redeemer

Noel, Noel

Here is your redeemer"

How beautiful it would have been to be there at his birth. Where a hope was given once more to us to return to our father in heaven. He is our Redeemer and the Saviour of our souls. Salvation is a lot better than anything Santa Claus can give.

In closing these final thoughts I wished to share something that have learned recently. In the bible there comes a moment when the children of Israel are corned by the fast approaching wave of the Philistine Army. The Israelites plead unto Samuel, the prophet at the time, saying "Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us. That he will save us out of the hand of the philistines" (1 Samuel 7:8) Samuel prays on their behalf and the Lord sends a thunder that confuses the Philistines are the Israelites are able to win. After the battle Samuel took a stone and made a memorial, which he named Ebenezer meaning "stone of help." Saying "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." In reading this story another song came to mind. That of "Come thou fount of every blessing" In one of the verses it states

"Here I raise my Ebenezer

Hither by thy help I come

And I hope by thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home"

Here, Quebec I raise my Ebenezer. I have come to be who I am through my service here. And I hope that through Gods grace that I may continue to progress so that I may be able to arrive home to my Father in Heaven.

I know that He lives. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be saved from all heartache, sorrow or malediction. I know that this Church and its gospels and doctrine are true. I know all these things and I testify that we have a God who loves us and he wants us to be happy and through His plan he makes this so. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Day is Soon Cummings

(Sister Cummings)

Well everyone I have hit a rather remarkable and pretty bittersweet moment yesterday when I realized that I could count the amount of days that I have left on my mission using only my two hands.... Yikes.... I literally have spent 540 days of the roughly 550 days it takes to serve a mission. Boy. Crazy.

Anyways.... No daudling back to business...

Where was I? Oh that's right missionary work. This week has been pretty good. Although we, both Sister Blanc and I, had nice bought with a stomach virus we managed still to go out and see people. We actually got more lessons than the last two weeks combined. So quite a progress if I do say so myself. Honestly not sure how it happened, but I think part of it was God and the other part was people felt so sad for us that they just had to let us in. Either way it ended in our benefit, and we hope that this week may also be as effective or more.

I have had quite a few experiences this week. One happened just a few days ago. As a missionary soon to be returning to the real world...gulp... the First Presidency has started a training program to better help the transition. This training usually would take six weeks. But they literally just introduced it this week so I have to complete it in two weeks. A lot. But it is actually helping. The program focuses a lot on preparing, planning and setting goals for after the mission. So in fixing these goals I have had quite a bit of time to think about how my life will be. With a shockingly high less active rate of return missionaries you could say I was a little discouraged. I often find myself wondering if I will be able to surpass those bad habits before my mission when I return. What is going to happen. I had been saying a lot of prayers on the matter and I wasn't sure what to do.

With us both being sick we had a bit more time to study. A bit...more like a lot more time to study. One day I was reading ensigns and flipping through when I felt impressed to go pick up a Book of Mormon in English and read that. This Book of Mormon was very special. I had received it from my Sister, Camilla, around the time of Mother's Day this past year. She had decorated it and written her testimony in it. I thought it nice that if there were any English speakers that I taught I could share with them her testimony and favorite scripture. Sadly no one we have taught since then has been comfortable in English enough for me to give it to them. So I have held onto it. And it wasn't until about two weeks ago when I was going through and dejunking my desk that I found it again. Well this day I decided to read it. I open up to find that a page had one of the corners folded. Well that was interesting. Last time I checked there hadn't been any pages folded, so I decide to read it. It was 2 Nephi 4:18-19

18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily abeset me.

 19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I haveatrusted.

It may sound dark but I found actually that it said exactly what I was feeling. I was sad with the actions I had done before my mission, things like watching Netflix for hours instead of doing other more important things. ANd pretty soon I will be in a world less sheltered than missionary life where our only access to technology is a flip phone and emails once a week. Will I be able to keep the standards of diligence that I have learned from being sheltered while I am out encompassed about by temptation?

The Answer?

Yes because I know in whom I have trusted. Since this moment of opening up to a page that had a corner folded down that just happened to have the answer to my question (coincidence? I think Not!) the words of God speaking to the adversary in Moses 4:21 often come to mind."he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Power has only the power to bruise our heel. While inconvénient and annoying it is not debilitating expecially when we know that we, through Christ, shall bruise his head. In fact the Hebrew word used for bruise actually can also mean crush. So we have the power to Crush his head. We are never alone. We have a Father in Heaven who is so powerful that the whole of righteous humanity he calls his "little fold." He is always on our side and no matter the future we may continue in hope knowing with a surity that what ever the outcome may be for our benefit.

I love you all and I wish you one of the best christmas's ever. Have a wonderful week =)