Dearest Family,
This week was an interesting one in Paita. First of all, the Mautz’s wanted the family members of missionaries to know that they were asked by our mission President to change their blog to invite only, so I am sorry that you will all be cut off from that little window into New Caledonian mission life. I know my view is limited to first-person, but I hope that will be sufficient. I am feeling the pressure.
Anyway, for a cultural note, I am sad to announce (much to my chagrin) that they do not have a widespread celebration of Halloween here. There are pockets of people here and there who dress up and give out candy, but in our little town of Paita there were only a lot of people at the cemetery cleaning up familial graves for the day after Halloween, All Saints Day, or “Tous Saints.” I shared a mini-sized Heath bar and a Take 5 with my companion that our district leader gave us on Tuesday, and I put some sad-looking jack-o-lanterns on orange post-its on the fridge. It was my measly effort to give reverence to a day of joy, candy, things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, candy, costumes, candy, tricks, and yes, candy. There was a lack of all of the above, except joy; we always have joy – that’s not just a once-a-year thing. However, I must admit that I missed the candy part – you know, running around in the neighborhood with all the children with pillow case in hand, demanding chocolate. I doubt I will ever be too old for that, even if everyone else thinks I am. Just wait, next year I am taking all the kiddies in the family around trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.
This week was a pretty good one (though lacking, on Saturday, in American spirit – haha, spirit, get it?). The weather has been strange here though. It feels like fall. Some days are raining and chilly, and some days are terribly warm. I don’t know what to think or whether to put on sunblock. Don’t worry, I do anyways, despite the day’s prognosis. We had some very good lessons this week with our progressing investigators, especially our friend Michel Tuigana. He is a very large Futunian man who, when we first met him, seemed to lack comprehension, but now whenever we see him it is as though he has a new light in him. He reads the verses that we give him, and sometimes he even memorizes them! That makes our day. We move slowly with him, but he says that he wants to be baptized and that he knows that the Book of Mormon is true. I am not sure he quite understands, at this point, the ramifications of all of that, but in time we will help him understand with the help of the Spirit and our members. We have been doing a lot of work with the members here in Paita. Our biggest help is Alicia Toyon. She is preparing to serve a mission, and we eat at her family’s house every Friday night. Frere Toyon and Dad would get along great since he is an avid reader and has intelligent insight about Gospel principles. I love listening to him. He and his wife have been members for about 12 years, but his knowledge of the Gospel and its breadth is incredible. He always says one phrase when we come over to their house for dinner (because somehow the conversation always leads to food, eating and weight gain), “Casse pas le tete, casse le croute.” Translated it means, “Don’t worry, just eat!”
On Tuesday we did some door to door contacting and got chastised by a wizened Melanesian woman, but the next house we knocked there was this lovely Tahitian woman who we found out knew many of the branch members here and had a lot of family in the church in Tahiti. Later that day we also met a man who was very willing to listen to us and later, his girlfriend came home and she told us that her mother was a member but had died a year ago. His name is Steve and her’s, Estelle. She said she had prayed about the Book of Mormon and the Church when her mother was baptized, but that she had never received an answer. We talked about the principle of prayer and how Heavenly Father answers in His own timetable and when we are ready to accept His will. We are excited to visit them again soon – there is hope! There is always hope.
On Thursday we worked a little with our one American-loving member, Soeur Pene. She is a little nutty, and when we took her home she went skipping along down the path to her house. She is about 70 years old, but with a spry spirit like hers you would think she was still 12.
On Thursday night I became pretty sick. I am okay now, but I think I ate something Thursday that did not settle well and I was up all night in the bathroom. On Friday I was too weak and dizzy to go out so I slept until 12, and then we tried to do weekly planning but I only lasted about 2 hours before I had to go lay down again. I don’t think it was food poisoning, but it was something. Two brothers in the branch came over to give me a blessing in the afternoon. Frère Ahuroa said that sometimes missionaries fake being sick because the work is too hard for them. He also said that he would bring over some of his wife’s Tahitian salad, convinced that it would cure me of whatever I had. He saved himself with that Tahitian salad promise because I was not faking the illness. The next morning I felt good as new and was hungry. Thank goodness we had that Tahitian salad in the fridge.
There is much to do today and so little time. I can’t believe that it is already November. I am two months from being halfway through my mission. That is bizarre.
Thanks for all your love and support. I am glad that all is well on the homefront (knock on wood!), and that you are enjoying the cooler weather. I hope you all had a happy Halloween. I hope you enjoy eating stew from a pumpkin, Mom, Dad, and family. I hope next year you will make me stew in a pumpkin when I come home. That is all I ask for.
Have a lovely week. Share the Gospel with someone! Treat the missionaries nicely and encourage them! Ask them who they are teaching! Read the Book of Mormon! Say your prayers! Live the Gospel.
Love,
Soeur Cummins
P.S. Mom, one lady we teach told us about this birthing process where they birth their children in the river, completely in the water. Have you ever heard of that?
P.S.S. A small request: one of our members asked if I could ask someone from home to send a Deseret Book magazine that has a selection of CTR rings. She wants to purchase a CTR ring and doesn’t know any other way to do so but through the magazine.
This week was an interesting one in Paita. First of all, the Mautz’s wanted the family members of missionaries to know that they were asked by our mission President to change their blog to invite only, so I am sorry that you will all be cut off from that little window into New Caledonian mission life. I know my view is limited to first-person, but I hope that will be sufficient. I am feeling the pressure.
Anyway, for a cultural note, I am sad to announce (much to my chagrin) that they do not have a widespread celebration of Halloween here. There are pockets of people here and there who dress up and give out candy, but in our little town of Paita there were only a lot of people at the cemetery cleaning up familial graves for the day after Halloween, All Saints Day, or “Tous Saints.” I shared a mini-sized Heath bar and a Take 5 with my companion that our district leader gave us on Tuesday, and I put some sad-looking jack-o-lanterns on orange post-its on the fridge. It was my measly effort to give reverence to a day of joy, candy, things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, candy, costumes, candy, tricks, and yes, candy. There was a lack of all of the above, except joy; we always have joy – that’s not just a once-a-year thing. However, I must admit that I missed the candy part – you know, running around in the neighborhood with all the children with pillow case in hand, demanding chocolate. I doubt I will ever be too old for that, even if everyone else thinks I am. Just wait, next year I am taking all the kiddies in the family around trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.
This week was a pretty good one (though lacking, on Saturday, in American spirit – haha, spirit, get it?). The weather has been strange here though. It feels like fall. Some days are raining and chilly, and some days are terribly warm. I don’t know what to think or whether to put on sunblock. Don’t worry, I do anyways, despite the day’s prognosis. We had some very good lessons this week with our progressing investigators, especially our friend Michel Tuigana. He is a very large Futunian man who, when we first met him, seemed to lack comprehension, but now whenever we see him it is as though he has a new light in him. He reads the verses that we give him, and sometimes he even memorizes them! That makes our day. We move slowly with him, but he says that he wants to be baptized and that he knows that the Book of Mormon is true. I am not sure he quite understands, at this point, the ramifications of all of that, but in time we will help him understand with the help of the Spirit and our members. We have been doing a lot of work with the members here in Paita. Our biggest help is Alicia Toyon. She is preparing to serve a mission, and we eat at her family’s house every Friday night. Frere Toyon and Dad would get along great since he is an avid reader and has intelligent insight about Gospel principles. I love listening to him. He and his wife have been members for about 12 years, but his knowledge of the Gospel and its breadth is incredible. He always says one phrase when we come over to their house for dinner (because somehow the conversation always leads to food, eating and weight gain), “Casse pas le tete, casse le croute.” Translated it means, “Don’t worry, just eat!”
On Tuesday we did some door to door contacting and got chastised by a wizened Melanesian woman, but the next house we knocked there was this lovely Tahitian woman who we found out knew many of the branch members here and had a lot of family in the church in Tahiti. Later that day we also met a man who was very willing to listen to us and later, his girlfriend came home and she told us that her mother was a member but had died a year ago. His name is Steve and her’s, Estelle. She said she had prayed about the Book of Mormon and the Church when her mother was baptized, but that she had never received an answer. We talked about the principle of prayer and how Heavenly Father answers in His own timetable and when we are ready to accept His will. We are excited to visit them again soon – there is hope! There is always hope.
On Thursday we worked a little with our one American-loving member, Soeur Pene. She is a little nutty, and when we took her home she went skipping along down the path to her house. She is about 70 years old, but with a spry spirit like hers you would think she was still 12.
On Thursday night I became pretty sick. I am okay now, but I think I ate something Thursday that did not settle well and I was up all night in the bathroom. On Friday I was too weak and dizzy to go out so I slept until 12, and then we tried to do weekly planning but I only lasted about 2 hours before I had to go lay down again. I don’t think it was food poisoning, but it was something. Two brothers in the branch came over to give me a blessing in the afternoon. Frère Ahuroa said that sometimes missionaries fake being sick because the work is too hard for them. He also said that he would bring over some of his wife’s Tahitian salad, convinced that it would cure me of whatever I had. He saved himself with that Tahitian salad promise because I was not faking the illness. The next morning I felt good as new and was hungry. Thank goodness we had that Tahitian salad in the fridge.
There is much to do today and so little time. I can’t believe that it is already November. I am two months from being halfway through my mission. That is bizarre.
Thanks for all your love and support. I am glad that all is well on the homefront (knock on wood!), and that you are enjoying the cooler weather. I hope you all had a happy Halloween. I hope you enjoy eating stew from a pumpkin, Mom, Dad, and family. I hope next year you will make me stew in a pumpkin when I come home. That is all I ask for.
Have a lovely week. Share the Gospel with someone! Treat the missionaries nicely and encourage them! Ask them who they are teaching! Read the Book of Mormon! Say your prayers! Live the Gospel.
Love,
Soeur Cummins
P.S. Mom, one lady we teach told us about this birthing process where they birth their children in the river, completely in the water. Have you ever heard of that?
P.S.S. A small request: one of our members asked if I could ask someone from home to send a Deseret Book magazine that has a selection of CTR rings. She wants to purchase a CTR ring and doesn’t know any other way to do so but through the magazine.