christmas dinner at the mautz's. shhh! don't tell anyone.
Pako's baptism
no. this is not my desk. this is soeur swapp's.
christmas breakfast
Dear Family,
Ah, it was a splendidly warm Christmas here in Caledonia. Talking to you all on the phone was the best present. I woke up an hour before you called so I could get ready to talk to you and at 6am I was walking anxiously about our tiny apartment, waiting impatiently for the moment to hear your voices. Perhaps I should work on the Christian virtue of patience a little more, but with the thought of family calling from across the world, I doubt I will be held terribly accountable for my momentary lack of the beforesaid virtue. After our blessed conversation, I made Christmas breakfast for my companion and I: crepes, nutella (well, I didn’t make the nutella), whipped cream, hot chocolate (despite the thermometer’s high reading - it was for tradition's sake), and scrambled eggs. It was nothing like Dadder's Christmas breakfasts, but it sufficed. For the rest of the day we took a nap (Merry Christmas to me), went to the Magenta chapel and watched "A Muppet's Christmas Carol" which was, surprisingly good (since I had never seen it before, and the idea of the muppets didn't cry cinematic masterpiece to me). I love Dickens, and I enjoyed the message of that story which is ultimately to love and serve others, be joyful, and enjoy life. Later in the day we went to the Rivière Salée chapel for Pako Kilama’s baptism. Soeur Swapp and I sang two duets during the program – Away in a Manager and Joseph Smith’s First Prayer. I love baptisms. The Spirit was so strong. For Christmas dinner, Soeur Swapp, the elders of Faubourg Blanchot (Hu'uti and Morrill) and the elders of Vallée des Colons (Manning and Larkin) all went over to the Mautz's for dinner. We were invited there because we had no other place to go, but I loved our dinner and was glad to spend it with such good friends! We ate lobster, shrimp, potato salad (thanks Sister Mautz), and watermelon. It was the most unique Christmas dinners I have ever eaten, and I doubt I will ever forget it. The Mautz's apartment is in this very tall building and they have the most incredible view of the bay, Baie des Citrons, and we all sat around their table, shared stories, and just laughed and laughed. The elders are hilarious. It was wonderful.
On Saturday we helped a family in our branch move to Paita. It was weird to go back there, but it made me realize that I put in a lot work into that area. Sometimes at the moment it is hard to see if you have made much of a difference or if the little daily things you do really add up into something, but going back made me realize that I had put a lot of hard work into that area. I feel that we left it stronger. Soeur Seiko was able to go back there on Wednesday with Soeur Leavitt to see some of our progressing amis (since Paita is closed until the new sisters arrive from the MTC). She said that one of our amis, Estelle, that we came into contact with through a door-to-door finding activity wants to be baptized.
The sector of Magenta is getting better, though this week was a bit dismal with the amount of lessons we taught. The holidays are never exactly the best time to go and visit people because they are either far too busy to be bothered with or they are out of town (here, they are off to Lifou or another island or their mainland tribe to see their family). However, our one amis, Malia (the same one who called us last week to tell us she didn't want us going over there again), called and apologized profusely. We went over and at the end of our lesson she began her prayer by praying to Heavenly Father and then praying to us, the missionaries, for forgiveness. It was kinda funny but very sweet, though we will not be encouraging her to pray to anyone but God again in the future. On Thursday night we had a Christmas concert at Mont Dore with the missionary and district choir. Malia came and enjoyed it, and at our next lesson with her we had a very interesting experience. We had planned to teach her the first lesson but she was telling us how she has problems with forgiving others so we taught her about repentance and forgiveness. We had a very good lesson with her and the Spirit was strong. Suddenly at the end of our lesson we heard this great commotion next door. There were people in the apartment screaming and crying and things being thrown on the floor, and we were all in a stupor of what we should do. Malia said that she knew that the grandmother of the neighbors was in the hospital and that she was very sick. She assumed that the grandmother had passed away and that the family had just received the news. Soeur Swapp and I felt prompted to go over there and knock on the door and see if we could do anything or call anyone. But, strangely, not matter how hard we knocked, no one would come to the door. So, we asked Malia to come and knock on the door, especially since she was probably a more familiar face to them than we were. Malia was hesitant but then she got up and came over and opened their door and motioned for the mother to come to her. She told Malia that the grandmother had passed away and Malia said some things to her and kissed her cheeks (that's a cultural thing everyone does here in respect for people). Then she went back in and we all went back into Malia's. Malia told us that she hadn't spoken to that neighbor in years because she had always been mean and rude towards Malia. However, Malia said in going over there and helping her in her time of need that she felt forgiveness and love in her heart towards that neighbor. She thanked us for coming over and teaching her that lesson and helping her forgive others. She came to church the next day, and we have high hopes for her, even if her progression will be slow. We are along for the ride.
That's all for now. Continue to pray for me as I figure out this area, get to know the people here, and just basically find my groove with the work here. Transitioning is not always a very easy thing, but I have a good companion and I am willing to work hard.
Love you all so much! Happy New Year, or as they say here, Bonne Année! And, happy birthday to Dadders!
Love,
Soeur Cummins
Pako's baptism
no. this is not my desk. this is soeur swapp's.
christmas breakfast
Dear Family,Ah, it was a splendidly warm Christmas here in Caledonia. Talking to you all on the phone was the best present. I woke up an hour before you called so I could get ready to talk to you and at 6am I was walking anxiously about our tiny apartment, waiting impatiently for the moment to hear your voices. Perhaps I should work on the Christian virtue of patience a little more, but with the thought of family calling from across the world, I doubt I will be held terribly accountable for my momentary lack of the beforesaid virtue. After our blessed conversation, I made Christmas breakfast for my companion and I: crepes, nutella (well, I didn’t make the nutella), whipped cream, hot chocolate (despite the thermometer’s high reading - it was for tradition's sake), and scrambled eggs. It was nothing like Dadder's Christmas breakfasts, but it sufficed. For the rest of the day we took a nap (Merry Christmas to me), went to the Magenta chapel and watched "A Muppet's Christmas Carol" which was, surprisingly good (since I had never seen it before, and the idea of the muppets didn't cry cinematic masterpiece to me). I love Dickens, and I enjoyed the message of that story which is ultimately to love and serve others, be joyful, and enjoy life. Later in the day we went to the Rivière Salée chapel for Pako Kilama’s baptism. Soeur Swapp and I sang two duets during the program – Away in a Manager and Joseph Smith’s First Prayer. I love baptisms. The Spirit was so strong. For Christmas dinner, Soeur Swapp, the elders of Faubourg Blanchot (Hu'uti and Morrill) and the elders of Vallée des Colons (Manning and Larkin) all went over to the Mautz's for dinner. We were invited there because we had no other place to go, but I loved our dinner and was glad to spend it with such good friends! We ate lobster, shrimp, potato salad (thanks Sister Mautz), and watermelon. It was the most unique Christmas dinners I have ever eaten, and I doubt I will ever forget it. The Mautz's apartment is in this very tall building and they have the most incredible view of the bay, Baie des Citrons, and we all sat around their table, shared stories, and just laughed and laughed. The elders are hilarious. It was wonderful.
On Saturday we helped a family in our branch move to Paita. It was weird to go back there, but it made me realize that I put in a lot work into that area. Sometimes at the moment it is hard to see if you have made much of a difference or if the little daily things you do really add up into something, but going back made me realize that I had put a lot of hard work into that area. I feel that we left it stronger. Soeur Seiko was able to go back there on Wednesday with Soeur Leavitt to see some of our progressing amis (since Paita is closed until the new sisters arrive from the MTC). She said that one of our amis, Estelle, that we came into contact with through a door-to-door finding activity wants to be baptized.
The sector of Magenta is getting better, though this week was a bit dismal with the amount of lessons we taught. The holidays are never exactly the best time to go and visit people because they are either far too busy to be bothered with or they are out of town (here, they are off to Lifou or another island or their mainland tribe to see their family). However, our one amis, Malia (the same one who called us last week to tell us she didn't want us going over there again), called and apologized profusely. We went over and at the end of our lesson she began her prayer by praying to Heavenly Father and then praying to us, the missionaries, for forgiveness. It was kinda funny but very sweet, though we will not be encouraging her to pray to anyone but God again in the future. On Thursday night we had a Christmas concert at Mont Dore with the missionary and district choir. Malia came and enjoyed it, and at our next lesson with her we had a very interesting experience. We had planned to teach her the first lesson but she was telling us how she has problems with forgiving others so we taught her about repentance and forgiveness. We had a very good lesson with her and the Spirit was strong. Suddenly at the end of our lesson we heard this great commotion next door. There were people in the apartment screaming and crying and things being thrown on the floor, and we were all in a stupor of what we should do. Malia said that she knew that the grandmother of the neighbors was in the hospital and that she was very sick. She assumed that the grandmother had passed away and that the family had just received the news. Soeur Swapp and I felt prompted to go over there and knock on the door and see if we could do anything or call anyone. But, strangely, not matter how hard we knocked, no one would come to the door. So, we asked Malia to come and knock on the door, especially since she was probably a more familiar face to them than we were. Malia was hesitant but then she got up and came over and opened their door and motioned for the mother to come to her. She told Malia that the grandmother had passed away and Malia said some things to her and kissed her cheeks (that's a cultural thing everyone does here in respect for people). Then she went back in and we all went back into Malia's. Malia told us that she hadn't spoken to that neighbor in years because she had always been mean and rude towards Malia. However, Malia said in going over there and helping her in her time of need that she felt forgiveness and love in her heart towards that neighbor. She thanked us for coming over and teaching her that lesson and helping her forgive others. She came to church the next day, and we have high hopes for her, even if her progression will be slow. We are along for the ride.
That's all for now. Continue to pray for me as I figure out this area, get to know the people here, and just basically find my groove with the work here. Transitioning is not always a very easy thing, but I have a good companion and I am willing to work hard.
Love you all so much! Happy New Year, or as they say here, Bonne Année! And, happy birthday to Dadders!
Love,
Soeur Cummins
