One of the Happiest Times: March 31, 2014

Dear Everyone,

1. Where is your companion from? Elder B. is from São Paulo, from the same stake as Elder P. (companion in Apucarana)
2. Who else lives in your house? In addition to Elder B. and myself, we have Elder M.S., Elder E.P., Elder B., and Elder T. We are in a group of 6.
3. How was zone conference? Zone conference was good. The mission is going through some really hard times because we are getting so few missionaries and the ones that show up need to learn how to work so President and the assistants are “burning” everyone (as they should). To me it just doesn't feel like we have the same camaraderie that we had in the past. So many of the missionaries that I know have already gone home, and I don’t know very many of the newest guys.
4. Do you have any good investigators? We have some good investigators and one of them was baptized on Saturday!!!

Here’s a look at all the fruit that we get off of fruit trees in our area, we get avocado (we made sweet avocado smoothies with them!!) acerola, which are the little red ones, they have the same amount of Vitamin C in each little tiny fruit as 1 orange!!! (I don’t think we have it in the US) and jaca (jackfruit) which is the giant one that I am holding, that I know don’t exist in the States.

The third photo is the bathroom remodel that I am doing, I am replacing a pipe and putting in a new shower head, and I also fixed the toilet this week!!

Oh—I got my valentine’s package at the zone conference this past week, along with the cards from the B. family in AZ!! They are awesome—thanks so much.

Elder S. asked me at zone conference when you would be looking at apartments so that good that you will do that this week. Also he said that his date for picking classes is today. Do you know when my day is??? When the time comes can you sign me up for classes??? With preference of not starting before 9 and not going past 3! J I am thinking/decided on majoring in computer science, so if you could put me in the introductory computer science class again, that would be great so that I can learn all the stuff that I didn’t learn the first time. Also, if you could put me in Old Testament, Dance 280, and other classes that are required for that major, it would be nice to have 14 to 15 credit hours!!! Thanks, you are the best!!! I don´t know what I would do without you!!!

Also because Elder S. is the AP, he gave me some inside news about my return, I should be landing at SeaTac on the 17th of July at 11:00 in the morning!!! I’ll give you a confirmation when I have the official paper. It would be nice to get released as soon as possible after I land, and then have a pool party up at Woodridge on my first day back!! But enough trunky talk for now!!!

This week we got to travel to Cianorte, a city here close by, it is 2 hours and 20R to get there and another 2 hours and 20R to come back. Unfortunately, the interviews didn’t work out and no one was able to be baptized. We missed the Saturday night bus so we had to come home Sunday morning so we didn’t manage to bring anyone to church... L (oh the joys of being a zone leader!!!)

Right now is one of the happiest times on my mission!! I have a great companion, we are in a great area, good house, good bishop, good housemates. I’m happy and healthy and BAPTIZING!!!!

love all you guys!!!

Elder Cummings

Short on Time but Long on Pictures: March 24, 2014

Dear Everyone:

1. Do you want to teach swim lessons for a session or two when you get home? M. is really stuck for people to teach. I told her that we didn’t know how many sessions you’d be available for, but she still wants to know if you would be willing. You do not need to have current lifeguard certifications to teach. I’m not really excited about teaching swimming lessons, I will have a ton of stuff to do in order to help the move, and get ready for school. I´m going to have to pass on that offer, unfortunately!!!
2. Do you need any toiletries (deodorant, toothpaste, sunscreen) in your birthday package?? This will be the last package I send to you in the field! WOW! I´m fine on toiletries. Food is fine in the birthday box!!

I have very little time today, but here are a bunch of photos from the end of my time in Apucarana with Elder P. and some photos of me and Elder B., our little man cave that is in the back yard of the house (we live in the largest house in the mission there are 3 duplas (companionships) that live there and there is tons of space and of our barbeque preparations. The photo of me on the road shows a little bit of the distance that we have to go to get to and from our area, so the end of those lights on the road is about 1/3 of the way home!!!

Before I forget, what areas did Uncle Cliff serve in on his mission, there is an elder from Bolivia in my zone who would like to know. And do we have any relative that served a mission in Paraguay, because there is a sister here whose family was converted a long time ago by a Sister Cummings???

And, yeah, I’m out of time (only got 30 minutes this week), but this week is zone conference so I should have a good amount of news for you guys next week!!!

love you guys!!

Elder Cummings

A Word from Your Editor: Considering Going Private

Even though there's only a few more months left in Elder Cummings' mission, I am considering taking this blog private in the next couple of weeks. (Yes, I know it's akin to closing the barn door after the horses have gotten out...) 

If you would like an invitation to join the blog when it goes private, please leave your email address in the comments section or email me at marie (at) 4cummings (dot) net. If I do not know you personally, please let me know how you know Elder Cummings.

I will post again before actually going private. Thanks!

Returning to Maringa: March 17, 2014

Dear Everyone,

The big news of the day is I am being transferred back to Maringá, to the Moranguera zone, which is different from the zone I was in when I was in Maringá before. My area is Alvorada A and my new companion is Elder B. (a new Elder B. who Elder C. has not served with before—Marie) I was totally shocked by the transfer! I thought that I was going to stay, but so here we go!!! Elder B. (housemate) will take my spot as zone leader here in Apucarana and Elder S. my former comp will finish the other Elder B.’s training (confused yet?). Those were the only moves in the whole zone, a lot different from last transfer when I was the only one who was not transferred!!!

1. How many transfers are left after this one? If you count the transfer that started today, I have 3 transfers, this one and 2 more. Unfortunately, it is coming down to the end. At the end of this transfer, if you want to you can send me a list of some Brazilian souvenirs that you want me to get and I can start picking that stuff up.
2. Did you ever get your Valentine package? Some of the moms on the Missionary Moms email list were talking about postal strikes in other parts of Brazil, so I did not know if you had a strike going on in your area or not. I might get my package this week or the next one with the transfers and maybe if we have zone conference??? So I’ll let you know when I get it.

I sent my drivers’ license extension to you this week. There is no postal strike here in Apuca, at least not yet.

In my last week in Apucarana, we ALMOST baptized this week. We found this 67 year old man who was an ELECT!!! But, his daughter showed up on Saturday and took him away to live with her in Sarandi (a different city) so it was a bummer to not baptize with Elder P., but I am leaving the area way better than I found it and I did manage to help the zone become one of the best baptizing zones in the mission so that was good!!! Elder P. is a good friend. I’ll be sure to keep in touch with him!!

So here are a bunch of photos!! First off are the two Elder B.’s after sprinting home one night because an appointment ran long. Also we found some puppies abandoned in the street and we took them over to a member who will take care of them so that was cool, also here are some other random photos from the week!!

I don’t know if you already translated the message that you forwarded from P.S., but the last part was for you, Mom:

eu e minha familia somos gratos por seu filho ter nos ensinado sobre a igreja, porque agora eu realmente sei que a igreja é verdadeira. Obrigada novamente

My family and I are grateful for your son teaching us about the Church because now I really know that the church is true. Thank you again!

So that’s pretty much it, I don’t have much news from this week other than I’m going to baptize até o pó in Maringá de novo (until the powder in Maringá again???) so, next week’s letter should be full of events from opening the area!!!!

Love you guys a lot!!!

Elder Cummings

Feeling Calm Leading Up To Transfers: March 10, 2014

Hey Everyone!!!

1. Is there anything you want/need for your birthday? I don’t need anything really for my birthday, everything is fine here maybe if you want to send some snacks or something that would be fine, but I really don’t need anything, maybe just some money in my account
2. Are transfers next week? Yes, transfers are ALREADY coming up next week!
3. How did your FHE go on Saturday? I hope you had a lot of people there. The FHE fell through, the people we invited are super shy and didn’t want to go, and they didn’t go to church but they will make us dinner on Friday, so we have been officially friend-zoned (which means that they just want to be friends instead of investigate the church, just like when you want to date someone but they just want to be friends)!!! UGH!
4. Are you going to be able to print out the drivers’ license form? I could snail mail it to you, but I don’t know that we have that kind of time. Yeah, I’ll print it out today and send it in the mail this week!

As promised, this week we have lots of pizza photos. We made 2 bacon chicken ranch calzones and 5 giant, super-heavy, meat-lovers’ pizzas!!! It cost us 15R each so about 7 dollars each so that was pretty good. Today we are going to play a little b-ball at the church and make Canadian bacon and pineapple pizzas!!!

The week was a pretty normal week; unfortunately the work here is still super slow, we are in desperate need of some great miracles here, but he zone is at least doing better (I got to do one more baptismal interview this week, and she passed and was baptized so now I’m up to 34 interviews where the person passed and was baptized afterwards!!!!). We are always able to find people to go to church and be taught in other areas of the zone, now all we have to do is have that same fire and "lick" in our own area!!!

This is one of the most calm weeks leading up to transfers that I have had on the mission. Normally I get really anxious about transfers but now I am perfectly calm, for me it doesn’t really matter if I stay or if I go, maybe that is because I know that this area is most likely my second to last area and that when I am transferred, I will likely be going to my last area. It also helps that President G. has already said that he will transfer almost no one this transfer so as to not get in the way of MARCH MADNESS and trying to break the mission baptism record. We are not doing so hot right now, well, we are doing good, but just not good enough to break the record. It seems that the good strong missionaries are all leaving but at least the newbies are really good so right now the mission is going through some rough times but it still has a bright future.

Love you lots,

Elder Cummings

Elder Cummings also sent a copy of the letter he wrote to his mission president this week, and a copy of the letter that he and his companion sent out to the entire zone, but I did not feel them to be appropriate to share on the blog. It was, however, an interesting glimpse into the types of things they discuss with their zone members and also with their leader.

Remember the Missionaries In Your Prayers: March 3, 2014

3 March 2014

Dear Everyone:

1. As a zone leader, do you do anything different for P-day? Do you spend p-day with others in your zone (aside from your comp of course) or is it just a normal P-day? (that question is from Dad) On P-day the only difference is that we have to report the zone numbers on the mission website and we have to write the zone letter, so we get an extra half hour in the LAN house (an hour and a half instead on just one hour) but the rest is all normal. Also, sometimes we have phone conferences with all the zone leaders and the assistants some mornings during study time. Today we are going to make pizza and calzones because Elder P. worked in a pizza restaurant before the mission (photos next week).
2. Do you still get fed every day for lunch? (This is Mom’s question…) Yes, we still get fed every day for lunch

Elder P. and I are working great together. I like working with him. He is a great friend and a great missionary!!

So this week was a normal hectic week doing divisions with lots of people, and it paid off because we had lots of people at church here in the zone!! The zone is exploding and will baptize lots of people, the only thing is that our area of the zone hasn’t quite caught fire yet, so we are switching to an area that is close to the church building but has only one member family who lives there, and the missionaries never work there. There is a Catholic Church right in the middle of that neighborhood, it is the second largest in the city, so that might explain why no elder wanted to work there. But it will also explain why we are going to baptize so many people there!!!!!! Please remember us in your prayers that we can find those in this new area who will be receptive to hear our message and bring them to our Family Home Evening that we have planned on Saturday, that would be great!!! (The translation of the writing on the statue is as follows, according to Google Translate: “Tell us the way Jesus, sustain us at every step, lead us to where the Divine Providence wants us to be.”)

The weather this week has been nice and cool and wet, and I am happy and healthy, just not really many things to report this week!!

Hey, major props little bro on the date!!! That was a great idea and she is pretty cute!!! J 

These are adidas insoles that are the same size as my shoes that I picked out of a dumpster!! I washed them off in the washing machine and now they are squeaky clean and super comfy!!! (No, I was not dumpster diving, we just happened to see them as we were walking in the street, they were right on top  and in perfectly good shape so I took them home!!)

Love you guys a lot!!!

Elder Cummings