Dearest Family,
Everyone loves eating dessert first, so I will give you the dessert moment of my week: We made contact with a woman on the road named Lily. She is from Vanuatu, where they speak a pigeon-English named Bislama, so they understand English better than French. We did a follow up at her home and met her husband Fred (that is where we had the Jehovah's Witness run-in). We went back in the week and gave him a Buk Blong Momon (does that sound familiar?). He said he would read it, and we went back on Saturday and had a lesson with him. He has a very advanced mouth cancer and the one half of his face is inflamed, but he was so happy to talk with us. He grew up going to an English school, so he speaks and understands all English. I cannot tell you how bizarre it was to contact him and then teach him in English, because, well, we don't do much of that...at all. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. The Spirit was so strong during our lesson and it felt incredible, after the initial weirdness, to teach in English. I felt great power and I didn't question the thingsI was saying, because, well, I knew that what I was saying was clear and comprehensible.
We had a lesson last night with the non-member husband of a very active member, Marie-Claude. We taught the Restoration with visuals, and the husband (Kenyan) was very into the lesson and said that he really "felt something" and knew that what we were teaching was true. He does have some problems with his family - they don't like the Church very much, and Kenyan doesn't want to displease them. That is something that will be difficult for him to overcome.
Pako had an experience with prayer this week that helped strengthened his testimony. He has a pair of dogs, and since his children live in France he calls those dogs his children. Last Sunday while he was at church somebody came by his house and took his dogs. When he came home from Church and noticed they were gone he supposed that it had just been his nephew who had taken them for the day, but when he called him later that night his nephew told him that he hadn't taken the dogs. They had, actually, been stolen. On Tuesday Pako looked all around the neighborhood and had gotten some friends to help him look. He saw us on the road and took us to the church for a meeting we had and then he went home. He said he prayed fervently to find his dogs and then, suddenly, one of his friends came by and said that he had seen two dogs with the same description that Pako had given him. Pako went to that address, and lo and behold, his dogs were there chained up in the yard of some Melanesians. He unchained them and took them home. He felt very strongly that Heavenly Father had guided him to find his dogs. This was a good experience for him since lately he feels like he is not being blessed for the sacrifices he has made. We had a very good lesson with him last night about testimony and were able to resolve some of his concerns.
Otherwise, there are many happenings that go on every day. We have inactive members that are coming back to church in full force and those that are struggling with themselves and addictions. We were able to finalize the baptism date of a little boy named Tony who comes from a family full of less-active members. Despite the lack of enthusiasm for the church of the adults in his life, he and his cousin are at church every week and are always excited to be taught by the missionaries. It's funny because his parents and his relatives want him to join the church and they know it is a good thing, but they are not willing in their own lives to live up to that.
Our "tripanionship" (as someone coined it) is going strong. It gets better and better each week and I feel the Spirit working strongly through the two sisters at my sides. I love them and am so grateful for this experience to be with them. It will be very bizarre, at a future time, to be back in a regular companionship. Have you ever noticed that the things that cause the most tears and toil become the things that you cherish the most? They consecrate your work.
President said, of our threesome once, "Sisters, being in a threesome will help prepare you for polygamy." Of course he was kidding, but then he said not to mention that he had made a polygamy joke to Sister Ostler. He said that she didn’t appreciate them.
I love you all. I know that there are things changing in your lives, whether small or drastic. I hope you always hold dear the thought that no matter how much things seem to be in flux that in the end the Gospel will never change. That is why it is called an anchor. Grab onto that anchor with your faith, and the waves will never overwhelm you. Like the King Benjamin said, "Believe in God. Believe that He is."
Have a good week.
Love,
Soeur Cummins
Everyone loves eating dessert first, so I will give you the dessert moment of my week: We made contact with a woman on the road named Lily. She is from Vanuatu, where they speak a pigeon-English named Bislama, so they understand English better than French. We did a follow up at her home and met her husband Fred (that is where we had the Jehovah's Witness run-in). We went back in the week and gave him a Buk Blong Momon (does that sound familiar?). He said he would read it, and we went back on Saturday and had a lesson with him. He has a very advanced mouth cancer and the one half of his face is inflamed, but he was so happy to talk with us. He grew up going to an English school, so he speaks and understands all English. I cannot tell you how bizarre it was to contact him and then teach him in English, because, well, we don't do much of that...at all. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. The Spirit was so strong during our lesson and it felt incredible, after the initial weirdness, to teach in English. I felt great power and I didn't question the thingsI was saying, because, well, I knew that what I was saying was clear and comprehensible.
We had a lesson last night with the non-member husband of a very active member, Marie-Claude. We taught the Restoration with visuals, and the husband (Kenyan) was very into the lesson and said that he really "felt something" and knew that what we were teaching was true. He does have some problems with his family - they don't like the Church very much, and Kenyan doesn't want to displease them. That is something that will be difficult for him to overcome.
Pako had an experience with prayer this week that helped strengthened his testimony. He has a pair of dogs, and since his children live in France he calls those dogs his children. Last Sunday while he was at church somebody came by his house and took his dogs. When he came home from Church and noticed they were gone he supposed that it had just been his nephew who had taken them for the day, but when he called him later that night his nephew told him that he hadn't taken the dogs. They had, actually, been stolen. On Tuesday Pako looked all around the neighborhood and had gotten some friends to help him look. He saw us on the road and took us to the church for a meeting we had and then he went home. He said he prayed fervently to find his dogs and then, suddenly, one of his friends came by and said that he had seen two dogs with the same description that Pako had given him. Pako went to that address, and lo and behold, his dogs were there chained up in the yard of some Melanesians. He unchained them and took them home. He felt very strongly that Heavenly Father had guided him to find his dogs. This was a good experience for him since lately he feels like he is not being blessed for the sacrifices he has made. We had a very good lesson with him last night about testimony and were able to resolve some of his concerns.
Otherwise, there are many happenings that go on every day. We have inactive members that are coming back to church in full force and those that are struggling with themselves and addictions. We were able to finalize the baptism date of a little boy named Tony who comes from a family full of less-active members. Despite the lack of enthusiasm for the church of the adults in his life, he and his cousin are at church every week and are always excited to be taught by the missionaries. It's funny because his parents and his relatives want him to join the church and they know it is a good thing, but they are not willing in their own lives to live up to that.
Our "tripanionship" (as someone coined it) is going strong. It gets better and better each week and I feel the Spirit working strongly through the two sisters at my sides. I love them and am so grateful for this experience to be with them. It will be very bizarre, at a future time, to be back in a regular companionship. Have you ever noticed that the things that cause the most tears and toil become the things that you cherish the most? They consecrate your work.
President said, of our threesome once, "Sisters, being in a threesome will help prepare you for polygamy." Of course he was kidding, but then he said not to mention that he had made a polygamy joke to Sister Ostler. He said that she didn’t appreciate them.
I love you all. I know that there are things changing in your lives, whether small or drastic. I hope you always hold dear the thought that no matter how much things seem to be in flux that in the end the Gospel will never change. That is why it is called an anchor. Grab onto that anchor with your faith, and the waves will never overwhelm you. Like the King Benjamin said, "Believe in God. Believe that He is."
Have a good week.
Love,
Soeur Cummins
