this is my new companion. she is lovely.
no. we aren't those kind of sisters.
Dear Family,
Did the Groundhog see his shadow? "Get your booties on, because it is cold out there! It's cold out there every day!" Not so here. The forecast: another 12 months of summer! I thought of you all on Groundhog's day and Bill Murray quotes seasoned the day with laughter. Good thing my companion is also well-versed in Punksatonian. We tried to explain what a groundhog was to our Tahitian elder (and we didn't have a dictionary on hand), so it was described as a rat that pops his head out of the ground and predicts the weather. He laughed and called us crazy Americans. He wasn't too far from the truth.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to dear Keekers!
It has been another wonderful week full of hard work and miracles. We were given the coordonées from the elders of an amie that lives here in Magenta named Aurélie. She is from Maré and has a three year old daughter named Nolwenn. We went by there for the first time last week. She let us in and told us that the elders had given her a Book of Mormon and that she was already up to 2 Nephi 31. She told us that she finds great comfort in reading it and is able to escape her problems in its pages. By the time we came back the next Tuesday she was in Mosiah 10, and I wonder where she is now. One of our recent converts, Marie Danguiny, came to teach Aurélie with us and when we picked her up on our way she was decked out in a skirt and a backpack that looks just like mine. She came all prepared with things to help us teach the first lesson and bore a powerful testimony of how she came to know of the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, and although I found myself teaching most of it all by myself (since my companion is still only able to say a few things), I felt Heavenly Father's help in being able to clearly express the truths. The Holy Spirit did the rest. I read a wonderful talk this week from an old Liahona that talked about teaching true principles clearly and simply so that the Holy Spirit may be able to bear witness to what you are saying. How grateful I am for His help in this work. He is the key.
Aurélie came to Church with us yesterday, where many members shared true testimonies. We also went to a fireside put on by the Relief Society last night where I did my best to entertain little Nolwenn with my little dry erase board and my lack of drawing skills so her mother could pay attention. We'll see how she liked it tomorrow night at our lesson. Pray that all will go well with her because I have a feeling that she has real potential to progress to baptism.
I was feeling a little down on Tuesday morning at our district meeting because I can see how much work and progression I need to make as a missionary here. I need to strive to have greater faith and work with more efficency. Soeur Spencer once asked me if I ever had that feeling like I didn't really know what I was doing, and I said yes. She then said that that feeling never goes away. However, in adding upon those words, I am thankful that Heavenly Father knows how His work should be done, and I am thankful for my growing capacities to hear, understand and act upon His will. Perhaps I do not understand all the intricacies of missionary work, but I do understand that I must rely on the understanding of the Lord and that, in doing so, His grace will bridge any personal shortcomings.
After district meeting, we had a lesson with a woman named Corinne who has known the Church for about ten years. She invited us over and she told us right off the bat that she wanted to be baptized but she knew that we would need to teach her a few lessons and that she would need to combat and overcome her Word of Wisdom problem. We told her that Sunday was Fast and Testimony Sunday and that we would love to be able to fast with her. However, when we went over there Saturday night she wasn't there and she wasn't at church on Sunday either... We still fasted for heranyway, and hopefully all will work out.
On Thursday we had our weekly English lesson with the Vietmanese children of a local store owner. The sisters before gave her a Book of Mormon and we offered English lessons, and since then, every Thursday is spent teaching them anglais in the cultural hall. Soeur Chugg taught English is Russia for eight months before her mission so she has good ideas on how to better our lessons with them.
After our lesson we had another free car wash at the Magenta church building and all the missionaries came to help. Soeur Chugg and I stood on the main street that passes by the church (right next to the airport runway) and the ocean with a big "Lavage de Voiture, Gratuit". We had such a fun time dancing around and directing people into the church parking lot. Many people passed it up, but many came in and had their cars washed clean. I thought of an analogy of the car wash for us spiritually: We are there inviting people to come to church, believe in Christ, and be washed of their sins (just like a car wash cleans away dirt from cars), but many pass us up either too busy, unknowingly of the what we are really offering, or unsure if it is really true (because the world doesn't believe in free things today). But, those few who have faith and take a risk will see that the blessings are true, are free, and are for all. The Church is true.
Saturday was a bit of a dismal day weather wise (because of the leftovers of a huge cyclone that hit Tahiti that came our way), and one of our amies, Malia, said that it would be impossible for her to be baptized and that she preferred to stay an investigator. She doesn't understand the Gospel and the power in Christ no matter how hard we try. It was disappointing to say the least. However, my low spirits rose that night. We had a film night at the chapel where we invited members and amis to come and watch "The Other Side of Heaven," that one film about that missionary who served in Tonga. I remember watching that film before and thinking it was a bit silly and I really didn't connect with it, but wow, when we watched it Saturday night my perception of it changed completely. I understood the culture represented and I appreciated seeing what that elder did as a missionary. I was deeply touched with the message of the movie and I realized deeply that I love my mission. The Lord has changed my heart in such a drastic way that it surprises me. Things that would have never sparked my interest before capture my attention and have become my desires. I have come to understand and love a people that I never before appreciated. Heavenly Father loves the people of the Pacific Islands, and so do I. Last night at the Rivière Salée building for the RS fireside I was surrounded by people I have come to love, and it just felt like home.
I love you all. And, congratulations, Glen and Kari! Let it be a boy, let it be a boy...
Have a wonderful week, and don't forget to read your scriptures.
Love,
Soeur Cummins
no. we aren't those kind of sisters.
Dear Family,Did the Groundhog see his shadow? "Get your booties on, because it is cold out there! It's cold out there every day!" Not so here. The forecast: another 12 months of summer! I thought of you all on Groundhog's day and Bill Murray quotes seasoned the day with laughter. Good thing my companion is also well-versed in Punksatonian. We tried to explain what a groundhog was to our Tahitian elder (and we didn't have a dictionary on hand), so it was described as a rat that pops his head out of the ground and predicts the weather. He laughed and called us crazy Americans. He wasn't too far from the truth.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to dear Keekers!
It has been another wonderful week full of hard work and miracles. We were given the coordonées from the elders of an amie that lives here in Magenta named Aurélie. She is from Maré and has a three year old daughter named Nolwenn. We went by there for the first time last week. She let us in and told us that the elders had given her a Book of Mormon and that she was already up to 2 Nephi 31. She told us that she finds great comfort in reading it and is able to escape her problems in its pages. By the time we came back the next Tuesday she was in Mosiah 10, and I wonder where she is now. One of our recent converts, Marie Danguiny, came to teach Aurélie with us and when we picked her up on our way she was decked out in a skirt and a backpack that looks just like mine. She came all prepared with things to help us teach the first lesson and bore a powerful testimony of how she came to know of the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, and although I found myself teaching most of it all by myself (since my companion is still only able to say a few things), I felt Heavenly Father's help in being able to clearly express the truths. The Holy Spirit did the rest. I read a wonderful talk this week from an old Liahona that talked about teaching true principles clearly and simply so that the Holy Spirit may be able to bear witness to what you are saying. How grateful I am for His help in this work. He is the key.
Aurélie came to Church with us yesterday, where many members shared true testimonies. We also went to a fireside put on by the Relief Society last night where I did my best to entertain little Nolwenn with my little dry erase board and my lack of drawing skills so her mother could pay attention. We'll see how she liked it tomorrow night at our lesson. Pray that all will go well with her because I have a feeling that she has real potential to progress to baptism.
I was feeling a little down on Tuesday morning at our district meeting because I can see how much work and progression I need to make as a missionary here. I need to strive to have greater faith and work with more efficency. Soeur Spencer once asked me if I ever had that feeling like I didn't really know what I was doing, and I said yes. She then said that that feeling never goes away. However, in adding upon those words, I am thankful that Heavenly Father knows how His work should be done, and I am thankful for my growing capacities to hear, understand and act upon His will. Perhaps I do not understand all the intricacies of missionary work, but I do understand that I must rely on the understanding of the Lord and that, in doing so, His grace will bridge any personal shortcomings.
After district meeting, we had a lesson with a woman named Corinne who has known the Church for about ten years. She invited us over and she told us right off the bat that she wanted to be baptized but she knew that we would need to teach her a few lessons and that she would need to combat and overcome her Word of Wisdom problem. We told her that Sunday was Fast and Testimony Sunday and that we would love to be able to fast with her. However, when we went over there Saturday night she wasn't there and she wasn't at church on Sunday either... We still fasted for heranyway, and hopefully all will work out.
On Thursday we had our weekly English lesson with the Vietmanese children of a local store owner. The sisters before gave her a Book of Mormon and we offered English lessons, and since then, every Thursday is spent teaching them anglais in the cultural hall. Soeur Chugg taught English is Russia for eight months before her mission so she has good ideas on how to better our lessons with them.
After our lesson we had another free car wash at the Magenta church building and all the missionaries came to help. Soeur Chugg and I stood on the main street that passes by the church (right next to the airport runway) and the ocean with a big "Lavage de Voiture, Gratuit". We had such a fun time dancing around and directing people into the church parking lot. Many people passed it up, but many came in and had their cars washed clean. I thought of an analogy of the car wash for us spiritually: We are there inviting people to come to church, believe in Christ, and be washed of their sins (just like a car wash cleans away dirt from cars), but many pass us up either too busy, unknowingly of the what we are really offering, or unsure if it is really true (because the world doesn't believe in free things today). But, those few who have faith and take a risk will see that the blessings are true, are free, and are for all. The Church is true.
Saturday was a bit of a dismal day weather wise (because of the leftovers of a huge cyclone that hit Tahiti that came our way), and one of our amies, Malia, said that it would be impossible for her to be baptized and that she preferred to stay an investigator. She doesn't understand the Gospel and the power in Christ no matter how hard we try. It was disappointing to say the least. However, my low spirits rose that night. We had a film night at the chapel where we invited members and amis to come and watch "The Other Side of Heaven," that one film about that missionary who served in Tonga. I remember watching that film before and thinking it was a bit silly and I really didn't connect with it, but wow, when we watched it Saturday night my perception of it changed completely. I understood the culture represented and I appreciated seeing what that elder did as a missionary. I was deeply touched with the message of the movie and I realized deeply that I love my mission. The Lord has changed my heart in such a drastic way that it surprises me. Things that would have never sparked my interest before capture my attention and have become my desires. I have come to understand and love a people that I never before appreciated. Heavenly Father loves the people of the Pacific Islands, and so do I. Last night at the Rivière Salée building for the RS fireside I was surrounded by people I have come to love, and it just felt like home.
I love you all. And, congratulations, Glen and Kari! Let it be a boy, let it be a boy...
Have a wonderful week, and don't forget to read your scriptures.
Love,
Soeur Cummins
