BATISMOOOO!!!

(Sister Ellsworth)

WHOOOOO!!!!!

We had a miracle baptism this week!

One of our friends Elton who was marked for baptism next week called on Tuesday and said he was going to move to Germany on Friday. We were like..... what..... So we asked him if he wanted to be baptized before he left and he said that he wanted to receive an answer from God first. So we fasted like never before and on Wednesday we met with him and asked if he had received an answer and he looked at us completely distraught and said that he hadn't and that he wouldn't be baptized. I thought a little bit and asked him what he did to look for an answer and he responded that he prayed and then went to bed. I was like... did you read the scriptures..? Or listen for the Holy Ghost? And he said no. We smiled and explained how if we want to talk to God then we pray but if we want God to talk to us then we read the scriptures! Elton didn't even wait for us to finish. He dropped to his knees and said a long silent prayer. After he was finished he sat back in the chair, grabbed his Book of Mormon and let it fall open.

It opened to 2 Nephi 31. He started reading in verse 13 which says:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

Elton start to laugh! He look at us and said "Well, I guess God wants me to be baptized in Portugal!!" So we ran to get everything organized, called our District leader for an interview and called President for permission to confirm him and on Thursday night Elton was baptized!!!

WhOOOooOOHOoOOOO!!

My comp and I are also writing a song because both of us are going to stay here forever. It goes to the tune of Let it Go.

The lights glow bright on the airplane tonight, no companion to be seen.

14 hours in isolation, and for the first time, I'm in jeans.

You feel like crying when your mission bids goodbye.

They didn't let me extend, heaven knows I tried.

Don't let me go, don't make me leave,

I still haven't made it to AP!

Just 6 more weeks and then I'll see...

Family!

I won't go.

I won't go.

You can't make me pack anymore!

I won't go! I won't go!

I'm gonna stay here in Portugal!

And I don't care what President will say

Let this song be sung!

We were never gonna train anyway.

It's funny how the mission makes you gain 15 pounds

and the fear that now controls me is when the plane hits the ground!

Still some time to see what I can do

To teach some lessons to the foobs (foob = fubeca =lazy investigators in Portuguese slang).

No job no school no boys for me! I'm free!

I won't go! I won't go!

You can't make me pack anymore!

I won't go! I won't go!

I'm gonna stay here in Portugal!

And I don't care what my family will say

Let the mission roll on!

My faith is growing from my head until my feet!

My soul is reaching out to every person in the street!

The thought of going home is like a death sentence.

I'm never going back.. The mission is my life!

I won't go! I won't go!

You can't make me pack anymore!

I won't go! I won't go!

I'm gonna stay here in Portugal!

And I don't care what my boyfriend will say

Let the mission roll on!

We were never getting married anyway.

​Haha we walk in the street singing this song and duet it with the other sisters in our district.

I love my mission... so very much... I'd love to say that it's the best two years but they're only going to let me stay for 18 months... I've learned so much about who I can be and who others can be and why we're here and why everything is so important. I'm so grateful for every day and I'm grateful for a companion who loves running. (I have never ran to so many appointments or buses in my whole mission... The people here in Costa know us as the Maratonas, the Mormon marathoners.)

Love you all!!

Have a great week.

Sister Ellsworth

Isaiah 28:10

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjena!

This week was really fun. All of the lessons we had scheduled this week all had to cancel and reschedule so we spent basically the whole week talking to people on the street or proselyting door to door. We found a lot of people who would like to meet with us so that's great!

Last Monday we were just walking back to the church building to do something when someone called for us to stop. We turned around to see a girl we had contacted about 8 weeks ago chasing us down. When we first talked to her, she said she wasn't interested, but then she kept seeing us around town and saw us meeting with someone at the library and her desire to meet with us and learn about our message continued to grow until she was willing to literally chase us down to stop and talk to us. We're meeting her today. No effort is ever wasted when you're doing the Lord's work.

Another fun thing that happened this week, we switched companions for the day and I was paired up with Elder Fronk, a missionary who's been our for just over a week now. It was super fun. We just spent the day walking around the streets of Jönköping talking with people. Because he's so new, I had to do all the talking. My Swedish improved by leaps and bounds just because of those couple of hours. Super good time.

The scripture I chose this week is a pretty simple one with profound meaning. No one receives everything all at once. This life is intended to be a learning experience for us. We learn by doing and by making mistakes. The things we learn from our actions and experiences enable us to have more experience that add knowledge on top of what we have. Whether it be our faith, our understanding of the gospel, or even learning a new skill, we have to be patient and willing to work for it. You can't put a roof on top of house if the house isn't built yet. Everything has to be built little by little from the foundation up.

Love,

Äldste Cummings

Week of Miracles

(Sister Ellsworth)

This week was a blast! The October chill of 75 degrees left and it was back in the 85-90s! Whoop! I have seriously forgotten what cold is like. On Monday Sister Selman and I went to Belém with Sister Carr and her greenie, Sister Bleyl, and Sister Brockbrank all of which are from my MTC group. We joked around about the good old times in the MTC and when we thought we knew what we were doing. Granted, a year and  a few months later I still have no idea what I'm doing but that´s okay! There's still two more months to learn! In Belém we went to this awesome restaurante called Pão Pão Queijo Queijo (bread bread cheese cheese... weird I know) And had some awesome food. Then Sister Selman and I rode the riverboat up and down the River Tejo.

We found two families this week!! One is a family from Brasil and they have a little two year old boy that is literally the cutest thing ever. He loves to steal my planner and draw in it while we´re teaching lol.

On Tuesday the Elders bought our District Pizza before a Workshop that we had with the AP´s and  ZL's. (Deus vos-abençoe) Then we had a day where we had 10 appointments marked with a few of them being double booked and every single one fell through. It was sad but the next day we set out to find new people. While we were following up with  old contacts and ex investigators this drunk guy comes staggering up to me and introduces himself as Charlie. Surprised, I asked him where he was from because Charlie is not a Portuguese name and he said he was from outer space and that he was stuck here on earth for 3 years. Trying not to burst out laughing, we pretended to be very concerned and asked him what space was like and how he got stuck here. He said that his parents were Priests and Nuns from the Catholic church. Oh man. I love drunk people. We gave him a card and told him to pass by the church someday and we could help him figure out how to return home. hehe. #planofsalvation

The next day Sister Selman and I decided to go break in a rather untouched area called Charneca. After about an hour of contacting and visiting some old contacts and less actives, we were walking past an old abandoned lot that had this cat sitting in the middle of a dirt path just staring at us. Sister Selman looked at me with a grin and said "Do you want to go on an adventure?" I was like heck yeah! So we start following the cat. We walked and explored until we found this huuuuuge white mansion. Like you know the old English estates on Pride and Prejudice? Like that. I looked at Sister Selman and I said "I dare you to knock it." She looked and me, scoffed, and said "Is that a challenge?" She marched up to the door and knocked and an old Portuguese man opened the door. We smiled at him and started talking. I asked him about the history of this old house that apparently the Portuguese Salazar had built it as like a vacation home. Then he gave us a tour!! It was awesome! #makingfriends

Later that day we were back in our main area and we got a phone call from this guy that went something like this:

Dude: "Hey I'm here!"

Sisters: "Oh.. hi... uh... great! Who are you?"

Dude: "I'm miguel, You're the missionaries right?"

Sisters: "Yes...."

Dude. "I met your friends in  Angola. They gave me this number. I'd like to meet with you to talk about your church."

                                 *exchange of surprised and excited looks between the sisters*

Sisters: "Great when can we meet with you?"

Dude: "Well I'm getting off the airplane from Angola right now. I'll be in Costa da Caparica in an hour. Does that work for you?"

Sisters: "Sure!"

Then an hour later this guy gets off the bus with his suitcases, sits down with us on the closest bench and says, "Teach me everything you know. I want to be baptized." We were like... YES SIR. Now he's marked for baptism and eating up everything we teach him. WOW!!

The thought that I can count how many weeks I have left on two hands.... I've entered into the phase of denial. So I might not come home. The only way I'll go down is kicking and screaming.... Sorry fam. But that's life. It's not fair ;)

Giant ice cream cone

Sister Selman is a babe! This is her last transfer and we are killing it. Everything. MUHAHAHA!

​Including me. I died in the park. Actually I was just chilling while we were waiting for the Sisters on Pday and Sister Selman stole my camera.

Love you guys!

Sister Ellsworth  <-- forever

Psalms 46:10

(Aldste Cummings)

Tja!

This week was great. We've been super busy teaching and visiting members and all. We've been running around all week trying to fit everything in. It was tough, but having too much to do is better than having nothing to do!

A miracle happened this week! The woman who was just baptized a couple weeks ago has been getting seriously painful migraines almost daily for nearly 10 years. They haven't been able to figure out what's causing it. When she was confirmed, she received a blessing that her physical situation would improve and the doctors would be able to find a way to help her. Just this week when she went to the doctor, they ran some tests and found that she has a benign cyst in her brain, applying undue pressure on her central nervous system. Now that they have found her issue, they can operate and improve her condition! It's incredible how much the Lord cares for each and every one of his children.

Sometimes it's important for us to take a little moment and remember what the Lord has done for us and how much he loves us. When we allow ourselves to get distracted with everything going on and everything we have to do, we deprive ourselves of the calm security that lies in recognition of the Lord's tender mercies and his everlasting love for us. I would encourage all of you to take a couple minutes this week to relax and ponder on God's mercy and love and seek for ways you can increase your faith and trust in Him.

Have a great week!

Äldste Cummings

Hot air balloon contrasted with a beautiful Swedish sunset.

Elder Martineau and I.

Our authentic American dinner: Barbecue chicken and corn on the cob. Swedish corn has absolutely nothing on classic Illinois sweet corn, by the way.

A beautiful old building here in Skövde.

Hebrews 12:9

(Aldste Cummings)

Hello all!

We had a super busy week, this week. We were running around all over the place, it was crazy. No real super big news. We just had some really good lessons and are really excited for how our investigators are progressing!

The scripture I thought to share this week is pretty significant. It teaches us a number of things. First, It teaches us that God is the father of our spirits. Hence why He is often referred to as "Heavenly Father." This means that He has more of a vested interest than we might initially assume. He is our father and loves us accordingly.

Secondly, it teaches us that life comes through obedience and submission to God's will. We see this theme throughout the bible. Christ often says that anyone who believes on His name will not die, but shall live. Clearly, he didn't literally mean that belief in Him will save you from mortal death because even his apostles were killed. Rather, his meaning is figurative and two-fold.

1) Through Jesus Christ, we can receive eternal life after death. Through Him, we have the opportunity to live forever in a perfect and immortal state.

and 2) life on this earth is most enjoyably lived when founded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Belief in Him, submission to the Father's will, and active service in their name is what makes our life bearable and even joyous. We find happiness through Christ.

I would encourage each and one of you to take time this week to assess your relationship with our Father in Heaven and make goals to make the necessary changes in your life to come closer to Him.

Love,

Äldste Jesse Cummings

Hey Yall

(Sister Ellsworth)

This week was pretty great! We had interviews with my Mission President. He cracked a couple of jokes about going home. I got my trunk call this week too.... But I survived because I got a package with the best present ever. Two jars of Peanut butter! I think my companion and I ate a whole jar the night I got my trunky call lol. Sister Selman and I made a pact to die kicking and screaming!

The next day we woke up without water in our house. Turns out the main water line to the city exploded during the night and there was a giant sink hole the size of a car. We had to use some bottle water to cook and do sponge baths for a while lol. Thanks dad for the camping trips!

We also taught this cooky girl from England. Apparently she is investigating the church in England and we talked to her about the Plan of Salvation. Sister Selman and I learned that our english is horrible.

Other than that it was a week of a lot of work. We're ready for another!! WHOOHOOO!

Sister Ellsworth

Alma 32: 1-2

(Aldste Cummings)

Hej!

This week was crazy. We had a zone conference in Gothenburg. We had to leave our apartment by 6:30 in order to make it to the train, so that was fun. And then my companion and I accidentally left a suitcase on the train so on the return trip another pair of elders drove us into the city, but the traffic was too bad to drive all the way to the train station on time so Elder Martineau and I got out and ran to the lost and found in the train station only to figure out that it was the wrong one and then we had to run literally across the city to a different one to get the suitcase. We had to pay 100 crowns in order to get it but we only had 50 between us and they would only take cash but the lady let us get by with only paying the 50 and then we had to run back to the train station (this time with the suitcase) and meet the other elders in a parking lot to get the rest of our stuff and then run to the train with all of our stuff. We made it on to the train with about a minute to spare. It was wild.

Anyway, the thought that I wanted to share this week was that work is always necessary for success. The verses I chose illustrate this very well. Alma and his brethren only began to have success after "much labor." The context of this passage is specifically related to missionary work, but I would say that it can be applied in all things as well. Anything worth doing is going to require work. It makes the success that much sweeter. Some days it may feel like we are working more than we're succeeding, but we always must keep in mind that the two are inextricably intertwined.

I hope that you all have a great week. I'll keep you all in my prayers!

Love,

Äldste Cummings