Soeur Laurel Cummins, BP 15154, Cedex, 98804 Nouméa Cedex, NEW CALEDONIA
(If you want to send a package it is very important that you don't put my name on the first line, but instead as an ATTN: Laurel Cummins on the bottom line)
As for that insurance statement, I already told Mom about two months ago that I had typed up a statement concerning that before I left for the MTC that rests in the "Documents" on my laptop there at home - it should be under the folder "Important documents\information" If it is not there then I will type one up again, but the thing is that I am only allowed an hour to write home each week, and I know that I wrote a document that contained a statement. I am sorry about the trouble this is causing you all. I hope that it can be resolved soon. Let me know if I need to type that thing up again.
How is your Father’s Day going? Did you open my card yet? I hope you like it, and just so you know, I LOVE YOU DAD! Very much!
Oh, and I did eat some of that deer - it was chewy. I ate so much that night. I have a feeling that this is going to be a theme for my mission. We always seem to have a dinner appointment, which means that we shouldn’t eat very much at lunch because the members LOVE feeding us – they are very hospitable, gracious people. We eat so many good things here - the grapefruits are literally the size of my head, and they have all these different kinds of bananas and a root called manioc and these cookies called Tim Tams (I am sending you all some at Christmas!). The people here love to feed you and they want to fatten you up and they are always saying "mange, mange," which means “eat, eat!” Plus my companion likes to cooks coconut rice and such goodness, so we are always having good things – like this week she made a pineapple, berry upside down cake that didn’t look very good (so we didn’t take it to the Relief Society function we had planned to take it too), so we ate it ALL instead. Thank goodness we have exercise time in the morning.
As for this week, many things happened. It seems as if every day were some sort of hip-happening adventure in itself. It’s funny that you asked, Mom, if it feels any different here because honestly it doesn’t. When we are out walking about or driving I don’t think of myself as living on this little island in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the world.Certain conveniences are different and the way of living (like, there are no dryers here and the French cars are tempermental and there are lots of dogs), but humanity is the same everywhere you go; people have the same needs and concerns and questions everywhere you go, and that’s what we deal with as missionaries: God’s children. So, it doesn’t feel any different in that way. The language is different for SURE and sometimes the type of people you encounter are new to you. The other day we were teaching the third lesson to this older Wallisian man (by the way I am learning a little Wallisian: good morning = malo te ma’oli) who we found out is a big chief here on the island for his family (family being a very loose term here – like 100s of people who are cousins and uncles three times removed). We are also teaching this Tahitian woman with a member (Soeur Penn – she is a great member and she loves anything and anyone American) who is very into gardening and likes to tells us about her wacko dreams where she sees possessed spirits – she brought out that little story in when we were trying to explain the Holy Spirit. Also, we are teaching this older woman named Aimée who loves writing in a special notebook all the things she is learning from the Book of Mormon. We invited her to church yesterday but she didn’t come so we are going to have to call and inquire about that.
Maybe one thing that feels different are people’s view on government and bureaucracy. There have been SO many grèves (that is to say: strikes) here this past week. People get fed up with anything and they decide to shut down everything and have a strike. It’s frustrating when they have gasoline grèves or grèves at the supermarket because they just don’t walk around with signs and get all excited, but they shut everything down too.
Today and tomorrow are zone conference here for the missionaries of New Caledonia. Ah, the little things that missionaries cling onto and cherish!! My companion and I are excited – today there is a picnic for all the missionaries and tomorrow is our conference day. We are going down into the city and staying there until tomorrow – wooh!
Can I tell you about a glorious moment I had the other night? Good, I will. We had just arrived home for the night and we got out of the car and turned off the lights and, wow, you should have seen the night sky! There are no cities around us at all and no lights that could block out the stars. My goodness it was a glorious view of the galaxies. It made me think of Abraham when God told him that his posterity would out number the stars in the sky and the sand in the sea. It made me feel very small, but at the same moment I felt, even though I was this little nothing in this huge universe, that Heavenly Father still loved me and that He loves each of His children. I feel like I am living a miracle being here on a mission. I am being prepared for the rest of my life, and I am preparing others for the rest of their lives and hopefully, the rest of eternity – if you can even call it “the rest”. I feel blessed to be here and to be doing what I am doing. Every night I am tired tired tired, but when I look back, even now only two weeks in, it was worth it to be tired. Yesterday I taught Gospel Essentials for the first time all in French (well, clearly it had to be in French) and it was a very good experience for me - it was on baptism. I do not recollect anything I said, but my companion assured me that I did very well. She is a supportive, encouraging companion. It is a pleasureto be her grennie and to be learning all that I am from her – she is patient and kind with me, and we laugh a lot together. Laughter provides sanity.
This letter is long and lacking in direction, but I hope I am giving you a taste of all the things I have been up to. I wish I could write more, but know at least that I love you all and am continually grateful for your influence of good in my life. Enjoy summer break! Wish me well in the freezing cold winter I am enduring! :) Hey, I did see my breath this morning when I was outside the house exercising! It was probably in the low 50s. Brrr.
Love you all à tout jamais,
Soeur Cummins
