Tell Heather how excited I am not only that she had another wonderful year at Arrowbear, but that she won’t have to worry about paying for it next year (well, you won’t have to, Mom and Dad) and that she gets to stay there for a long time too! Tell her that I love her so much, and I still think about the great times that we had before my mission. I am thankful to be that little miss’s sister.
So, this week was one of ups and downs. On Monday after writing to you, my companion and I had an interesting P-day. We had gone down into ville with the elders from our district, Elder Flanagan and Elder Wilcox. They are new companions because there was a transfer and they wanted to get bikes from Nouméa for their sector. So, we spent almost our entire P-day down there while they looked for bikes, ate at McDonalds for lunch (it was exciting) and did our shopping down there. Elder Wilcox was the driver that day and I don’t think I have felt like I was going to die as much as I did in that little French car with E. Wilcox at the wheel attempting to put the stick shift into 5th on the autoroute but, without fail, pushing it back into 3rd , jolting us all. My companion and I held hands in fright in the backseat and decided that if we died at least we would die as missionaries and that must give us some sort of direct ticket to the Celestial kingdom. But, we are alive and the next time we go anywhere with the elders I will be the designated driver.
Wednesday was a tough day in our sector. We had two pretty great lessons in the mid-morning, but the afternoon was full of follow-ups on people that either weren’t home, hid from us (it’s amazing how many people do that AND how obvious it is when they do it) or just weren’t home from work. I was feeling extra tired that day as well and I was glad when it was over. The Zone Leaders came over that night (E. Hu’uti and E. Livingston) to get our kilometer sheet for our car and we talked for a few minutes. It is amazing at how a little thing like seeing another companionship of missionaries can brighten your day. Speaking of a day brightener, we have a sister in our ward who LOVES America, perhaps more than most Americans, and she loves singing American songs to our faces at church and on the Fourth we tried to call her and sing the national anthem to her, but she wasn’t there, but this morning she called and stated the Flag Salute to us in perfectly pronounced English and told us that we need to make a list of anything we need and give it to her because she wants to “live the Gospel” and help the missionaries. Needless to say, we are very fond of dear Soeur Pene.
On Thursday, all the missionaries in New Caledonia had a big car wash down in Nouméa. The car wash was at the church building in Magenta and it was for free. There were missionaries waving signs on the street and flagging down cars and when the people would come there would be some missionaries who would wash cars and others would talk to the people whose cars we were washing. Yes, there were ulterior motives to giving free service, but I can’t think of any better ulterior motives than those of preaching and teaching the Gospel. We got quite a few contacts from that project and it was fun.
Our investigators, Michael and Yori finally came to church yesterday! We are teaching more lessons, and we have had really good lessons with some of the less-actives in the area. We are hoping to get a few new investigators this week.
Sister Li-Khau made a very kind comment to me the other night at our weekly dinner at their house. She said that she had read the Friend for this last month and that there was a story on how we each have a talent that God has given us, a gift, if you will. It talked about a girl who was handicapped and couldn’t talk or speak, and one little girl wondered what that girl’s talent was. Her mother told her that the other little girl could smile and bring joy to others with her smile and that that was what her talent was. Soeur Li-Khau said that she thought of me when she read that story and said that the first few weeks here that although I couldn’t talk very much, that I would always smile and laugh. She said that that was one of my talents. I thought that was a very nice comment of hers toward me, and I had been feeling very badly earlier that day about my lack of communication skills in the language. It goes to show that you don’t always need perfection in language to communicate who you are, athough I AM still striving for perfect French. Speaking of that, I haven't yet received your package, Dad. I think it takes about a month for transit. I'll let you know! :)
Anyway, today all the missionaries in the north zone are going to hike Mt. Kogi. You should go look it up on GoogleEarth and you can experience it with me! Things are progressing here, though the work is hard. Missionary work is difficult not always so much physically (although fatigue is just becoming something of a norm), but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The people here have good intentions but there is a need for more unity in our branch and as an island.
I love you all so much! I am sorry to hear that America is still suffering economically and I hope it gets better in the future. I can’t do much here to stimulate the economy (although I would give anything to buy a real American dishwasher), but I will keep that in my prayers.
How thankful I am for you all, especially you Mom and Dad. I am so glad to be here and I am so glad to have the truth. I think of Jacob 4 when Jacob talks about how the sins of children who have had wicked parents will be placed upon the parents heads, and I just think oppositely of how many blessings that righteous parents will receive through the righteousness of the children they raised. Thank you for being my righteous parents – I know you are blessed for your efforts and will continue to be so. I love you all. Have a good week!
Love,
Soeur Cummins
happy fourth
