Dearest Family,
First of all, General Conference was absolutely wonderful, n'est-ce pas? We saw watched the transmission of all four session yesterday and Saturday at the Rivière Salée building, with all the other Caledonian saints. However, there was a room where it was transmitted in English and thus, a select few (well, whoever wanted to listen in English) did hear not only the prophet's words but his voice as well. I loved Elder Christofferson's talk on the scriptures and how we need to fight moral decay and scriptural illiteracy, and of course I appreciated the discourse and diction of Elder Holland (who speaks with the thunder of the heavens). I thought it was interesting that Elder Andersen said that none of the topics had been assigned though the major theme of the conference was the family, interfamilial relationships, and the importance of a personal testimony. Hmm, perhaps Heavenly Father wants us to know something.
As far as the missionary happenings of this week, Tuesday was our zone conference. We had one experience in one of three mini workshops we went to that I appreciated. All the sisters were together and the workshop was on presenting the vision of Joseph Smith. We did a role play and Soeur Seiko recounted the Joseph Smith vision. It was only a role play, but as she told of his experience, "I saw exactly over my head, a pillar of light...", the Spirit in the room became strong. We may be missionaries who are already very convinced of the veracity of this story, but when truth is proclaimed the Spirit cannot be bound.
Lately we have been visiting a lot of inactive members. One in particular, Tony Poreau, has been inactive for 11 years but has begun coming back to church and has experienced a change of heart. However, being a bit of a passionate spirit, he goes up and down on an emotional rollercoaster; some days the Gospel just thrills him and other days he is extremely discouraged. This made me come to realize that it is so necessary for us to pray for the gift of consistency and diligence. When we are constant, we will experience both joy and discouragement but neither will overwhelm and control us. I think that constancy is one of the keys to perseverance.
We had a little fireside on Friday night, where one investigator came. We were a little disappointed at first with the turn-out, however at the end, the leader giving the talk engaged the investigator, Kathy, (who is lives in the Kuotio sector) to be baptized. She said yes. It will be the 14th of May, the day that Grandpa will have his memorial. After the fireside I reflected on the former disappointment I had had that nobody else came and then thought of the scripture that talks of a soul's infinite worth. Even if it was just Kathy at the fireside, it can be considered a monumental success because it will be a factor in bringing her valuable soul into the fold of God.
I can't think of much else to report to you for this week. The work moves onward, day by day, person by person, lesson after lesson, and as Alma said, it is the little things that we do that will bring to pass great and marvelous things. I need to have more faith in that. The little things we do do matter. Like Elder Holland said, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step; watch your step." How essential it is for us to choose the best little things, the most important small things.
I love you all. Que la paix soit avec vous!
Love,
Soeur Cummins
