Baptism From On High: January 27, 2014

Dear Everyone

1. So, I take it from your reaction to the news of the Seahawks making it to the Super Bowl, that you do NOT want a t-shirt if they win? When is the Super Bowl?? Who won??
2. Any changes in your zone (or your companionship) due to transfers this week? Transfers are not until next week. It was a 7-week transfer because of the 5-week transfer before Christmas.
3. What was the highlight of your week? The highlight of the week was definitely the BAPTISM!!! It was a baptism from on high!!!

We had zero "firmies" on Thursday and the whole zone didn’t have any possibilities!! (the zone is super mole [weak, soft, or sluggish, according to Google Translate]) but Thursday night at 10:43 a member called us to say that the girlfriend of her son decided to get baptized. The girlfriend has been coming to church for 3 years, already read the whole Book of Mormon and half of the Doctrine & Covenants but never before wanted to be baptized. She asked if we could have the baptismal service the next day (Friday)... ummmm…YES, SURE THING WE CAN BAPTIZE HER TOMORROW!!! And, so she was baptized on Friday and confirmed on Sunday.

We had another really nice lady come to church on Sunday as well, and we will try and baptize her this coming Sunday (she has a baptismal date already marked, the only thing now is Word of Wisdom and the rest of the lessons), so we are catching a little fire here!! Also, we went to a neighboring city called Arapongas to help the sisters there and this man that we found there for them should be baptized if all goes well of course!!! So, the week was all in all a good week!! 

But other than the miracle, this week was pretty much a normal busy, stressful week!! Transfers will be good to shake the zone up a bit!!

Oh, and tell Aunt Dot happy 100^th birthday from me!

Sorry it is so short!!

Love you guys!!

Elder Cummings

These other two pictures were sent without explanation. The sign reads "Council of Ministers, promoting unity in diversity."

Who Says Maringá Doesn't Baptize? November 18, 2013

18 November 2013

Dear Everyone,

1. Did you actually get to see Elder W. on his last night, or were you already on your way to Maringá? I got to see and talk with Elder W. on my last night in Londrina, Monday night, and I saw him Tuesday afternoon just before getting on the bus!! How is he doing with civilian life??
2. Did your former companion Elder S. stay in Ouro Branco, or has he moved elsewhere also? Elder S. is here in Maringá as well, but he is in the other district.
3. Who else is living in your house? In our house is me, Elder B. (my companion), Elder D. (I was his district leader when he was a secretary and now he is my zone leader), and Elder B2, who I met at the CTM. He was in the group just after me. Our house is the worst house in Maringá. I think it is better than where we lived in Ouro Branco because it is cleaner, but it is really old. Two times this week I woke up with a cockroach walking on my arm and Elder B2 woke up 2 or 3 times with them on his legs. Let’s just say that Sister Genaro has asked us to look for a new house, and we are searching diligently.
4.  Are you in a branch or a ward? We are a ward, but our ward meets way far away in the center of the city. However, they have rented this warehouse really close to our house and on the 1st of December we will start to have meetings there while we are searching for a lot to buy and build a new chapel.

So on to Maringá news:

Who says that Maringá doesn't baptize???? We had 2 baptisms this week. L. is 16 and with a priesthood blessing he stopped smoking, drinking, and using coffee in one day!!! The other is A.C. She is a neighbor of L. and we are going to baptize her mom this next week. So, we should have at least one baptism this next Sunday (we always are hoping for more), which will give us the opportunity to invite tons of people to church for the baptism, and hopefully that will translate to us having tons of baptisms the following week.

It is very hot here in Maringá, just like all of the areas in the mission, but the streets are covered in trees so most of the time you walk in the shade. That is nice while we are doing the 45-minute walk to our area!! 

Today after we finish emailing we are going to go to the post office so I can get my CPF which is like the Brasilian social security number. It will make getting things like bus passes a lot easier, and you get this SWEET-looking card!! We are also going to visit the cathedral in the center so that should be some good pictures for you guys next week!!

I think that is about it! 

love you guys a lot!!

Elder Cummings

Happy, Healthy, and Baptizing: November 4, 2013

4 November 2013

Dear Everyone,

1. Will you get to say goodbye to the departing missionaries next week? I am guessing there will be tons of transfers and changes with so many going home. I don´t know if I will get a chance to say goodbye to the departing missionaries next week, because ever since President Genaro got here, the departing missionaries go straight to the hotel, whereas in the past they would sleep one night in the missionaries’ houses and one night in the hotel. There are 17 missionaries leaving and only 9 arriving (visa problems), so a lot of B areas (for example, Cascavel 3B, Ouro Branco B) might get closed down. Pretty much any ward with 4 missionaries might get dropped down to just 2, but I don´t know any details as to which area will get cut down. President Genaro also wants to open up cities where the church doesn’t exist and where missionaries have never gone in his next 2 1/2 years so that will be cool.
2. Did the package you sent that never made it to us ever get back to you? No, the package never got back to me, I think it was just completely lost!

As far as the Ravens are concerned rapidinho (quickly), they can’t win every year, that would take the fun out of the sport!

So here we go with the news of the week!!

This week we only had one baptism, but we are aiming and have a great possibility for 4 more next week!!! The zone leaders had 2 baptisms, their baptisms are the ones that Elder S. baptized, and our baptism is the one where I am in my baptismal clothes!!

She is amazing!! She is always posting on Facebook stuff about the church, always calling us to ask if she can bring friends or family members to church!! We are aiming to baptize her friend and her 2 brothers this next week!! She is really cool!!

Also, D. (who we baptized last week and confirmed last week), this week he read the whole Gospel Principles book, and he received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday!! He is amazing. He studies at the university and works the night shift at the bus station so when he went to work on Saturday he brought his church clothes with him and left work to go straight to the chapel to be there in time to change before church starts!! He is a CHEFÃO (chief)!!!

I think that is about it for this week! Today we will have a giant barbecue for Elder M.’s last P-day, so there should be some good pictures next week!!

I am really happy!

I’m healthy!

I’m BAPTIZING!!!!!

lots of love!!!

Elder Cummings

3 Baptisms and 8 Pictures!

Dear Everyone,

1.  How did your week go this week? Did your investigators get baptized? One of them was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday! It was awesome. We had 2 more baptisms on Sunday (they are the two closest to me, the ones on either side of Elder S.). The zone leaders had 3 baptisms this week, too!! And, we already have a good possibilidade (possibility) to baptize 3 more this next coming Sunday! The work is progressing in Ouro Blanco!
2. What have you been studying lately in the Book of Mormon or Preach My Gospel? In my studies I am studying stuff that helps my current investigators and marking up my new scriptures that I bought and studying topics in Preach My Gospel to help out my district. (I was hoping to get a little more detail. Well, I tried at least!—Marie)
3. Tell us more about why you were in the “mountains” in your pictures last week? Is that part of your area? Yes, the mountains are part of my area and we passed by coming back from lunch and took some quick pics!

 

Can you send me a photo of my baptism in a letter? It would be cool to be able to show to investigators. Thank you!!

I didn’t even get to attend my ward this week because of returning from Cornélio Procópio Sunday morning and preparing for the baptisms, so I didn’t play piano this week. I was practicing a little bit here and there, but now I am just going to wing it on the piano, it is coming really well, at least the right hand, that is!

So, for the rest of my letter I will give some comments on my photos. Yes, lots of photos this week, so feel lucky! I don’t know if I can send so many every week!!

The pizza was for Elder S.’s birthday, which was Friday!!

Last P-day we had a barbeque, but it was really hot so we used an umbrella when we were at the grill!!

This photo shows a little bit of my tie alterations work, which I learned how to do from Elder S. They all started off the same size as the piano tie!

It rained A TON on Thursday!!! A few minutes before the bus passed by, an old lady was walking by when a truck passed there...let’s just say she got SOAKED!!!

The elders in Cornélio Procópio have this funny noise-making rubber chicken in their house. I traveled there Saturday night to do two baptismal interviews for the zone leaders because Elder R. forgot his ID, so I went there in his place with Elder G. (a greenie). That was fun. We traveled back early Sunday morning (luckily it is only 1.5-hour bus ride) but we didn´t bring any extra clothes because it was last minute and we didn’t even have time to shower on Sunday morning before I had to do 2 more baptismal interviews and then we had our baptisms!! (The Elder Cummings Show continues!!)

I think that is about it for this week!! Enjoy the photos!

com amor,

Elder Cummings

Missionary Zeal: June 24, 2013

Hey there everyone!!!

Super sorry, I forgot my camera today when I left to go to the LAN house but at the same time I don´t have any photos from this week. It rained all week and was pretty darn cold, the only photo worth sending home is the photo from our baptism this week!!

This week we baptized R., the sister of P., our baptism from last week. Last week was her first time going to church and she watched her sister get baptized. When we stopped by their house Sunday night, we asked her how she liked church and she said that she liked it a lot and wanted to be baptized too...after a pause (we were a little bit slow because this normally doesn’t happen) we signed the form and that Thursday she was baptized during the ward activity!!! This week will be the parents’ turn, we hope. Pray for them that they can stop drinking coffee and not be afraid to be baptized!! They are really great!!

Elder F. and I are good, we are friends but we have our rough spots, like any companionship. One moment he can be super animated and singing hymns in the street, and the next minute he is mad at me and walks on the other side of the street. But, the important thing is that we are able to work together, and we are baptizing a lot, so it is all good!!! I have 17 baptisms now, the average number of baptisms for a missionary serving in Brasil is 18 (this is in 2 years), and the mission average for my mission is 22 in 2 years so I am being truly blessed by the Lord!! I do not say this to brag, I know that without Him and without being obedient to the rules of missionary service, I would not have been blessed to have already found these 17 souls. Like Ammon in the book of Alma, “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.” (Alma 26:12)

Yes I saw the worldwide missionary broadcast it was super good, the only thing I am worried about is the use of computers and Facebook. I am glad that they will start it off in phases and I hope it will probably take a while to reach Brasil, which is good. I hope it doesn’t cause lots of problems with pornography and flirting with investigators and recent converts, unfortunately this (flirting) is already a problem with some missionaries. I just hope that this doesn’t hurt the work, but it is coming from the prophet so it is coming from God, so it will all work out!! J About the guided tours of our buildings, this will be an excellent tool to help people get to know the church!! Elder S.’s brother (in another mission in Brasil) is already doing the guided tours and with a little more than a year on the mission, he has 150 baptisms and is the record holder for his mission already!!

There has been some protesting here in Cascavel, but it is really far from my area so it is all good. Elder W. and Elder S. got separated for half an hour because of the protestors when they were coming back from doing a baptismal interview (by the way, I did 2 more interviews this week!!!).

Way to go, Ed! Two-time Ironman is so cool! Maybe he will have his third Ironman by the time I get home.

Dad, work with these inactive prospective elders!!! This is a gold mine!! Also, work with the list of members not baptized!!! (This means families that have become inactive that have kids of baptismal age!!) Correr atrais de todo mundo!! Run behind everyone!! Which means, contact everyone on the list go there with the missionaries, have the missionaries teach them in our home!! Seriously, the missionaries with a well-organized list of these 40 prospective elders and inactive families with kids of baptismal age don’t need to proselyte!! Seriously, I promise you, that if you contact everyone, go there with the elders and have them teach in our house, that the ward will gain many new families in these coming WEEKS!!!!!

Two of my baptisms in Geisel (Bauru) were kids of an inactive mother if you remember. We baptized them and reactivated her!!! This is a great tool!! Use it!! I expect to hear news of at least one new family that was baptized here in two weeks—that means bringing at least one family to church this Sunday and baptizing/re-activating a family the next week!!) I can’t stress this enough, our ward can baptize so many people and reactivate so many people just by bringing back the lost sheep. I promise that through prayer and fasting you will be able to choose the people who are ready to come back and here in a few weeks you will no longer have problems filling callings. A lot of times less-active or inactive members are willing to accept callings, don’t be afraid to call a less-active member to a position. This is another way to bring FAMILIES back to the Lord!!! You’re the man!! Fill the missionaries’ planners!!! SO BATIZA!!! Just baptize!! 

lots of love!!!

Com amor,

Elder Cummings