CTM Flashback: November 7, 2012

On a week when Elder Cummings did not include any pictures in his letter, I was doubly thrilled to receive these pictures from his CTM companion's mother.  Us Missionary Moms gotta stick together!

Mail Call! September 13, 2012

(Today, the long-awaited letter arrived in Grandma & Grandpa Cummings' mailbox. It turned out to be letters for just about everyone in our ZIP Code in one envelope, along with three pictures.  And by just about everyone, I mean there were letters addressed to Grandpa and Grandma, Pam and Steve, Everyone, Mom and Dad, Dad, and Jason...hmm...who seems to be left out?  Your humble blog editor AND the author of the weekly family letter to Elder Cummings, THAT's who!!--Marie)

Selected somewhat random excerpts from the letters:

• Tell Grandpa that he can't slow down too much!  He needs to be there when I get back!!  Grandpa, I am giving Grandma permission to keep you active and healthy, so don't give her a hard time.  :-)
• I got this awesome scripture case today.  It says Primaría on it and is blue, yellow, and red (Primary = Primaría).
• I have such a strong testimony of the Church.  I thought I knew the Church was true when I went out but now I know so much more that I know I used to have such a small testimony before.  I love this Gospel!  I love our Savior Jesus Christ.  I am just so full of love right now.
• I love being a missionary!  I thought that I would miss watching movies/TV or playing video games, but I really don't.  As far as that goes I don't even have time to think about it.
• Thank you for raising me the way you did!  Thank you for this opportunity to serve and grow.
• Make sure to look out for Uncle Steven; I've challenged him to read the Book of Mormon.
• Brazil is so awesome!  You would love it here.  I honestly hope you get called to Brazil because it is so awesome but I know you are going somewhere Chinese-speaking because you know Chinese.  You do want to go on a mission, RIGHT?

Captions from the back of the pictures:

This is me and my roommates here at the CTM.  From left to right it is:  Me, Elder F., Elder S. (green shirt), Elder W., Elder E., and Elder G.  Elder F. and Elder G. are from São Paulo and will be serving in Fortaleza. Elder W. is from Utah and Elder E. is from Virginia and is a diver for the U.S. Army and both will be serving in Porto Alegre North.  Elder S. is my companion, he is from Boston, he is also going to Londrina!  I love being here at the CTM and can't wait to get out into the field!!!

So this is the slumber party I was telling you about!  It was so much fun, and we got to bed on time!!  In the photo from (top to bottom and) left to right is:  Elder B., Elder T., Me, Elder K., Elder J., Elder G., Elder S. These guys are so much fun.  It is events and missionaries that make the CTM so good. (These guys are like my best friends.)

An earlier photo from the slumber party.  That is Elder B. pretending to be passed out in front.  Elder J. is in the baseball shirt yelling.  Elder K. is in the blue shirt with the "phone," and Elder T., is the gangster standing up in the back.  And there I am being normal...I hope you guys like these photos!!

Love you,
Elder Eldon Ray Cummings

Snail Mail!: August 31, 2012

(This is a transcript of the snail mail letter that we received from Elder Cummings today, along with 5 pictures.  Captions on each picture were written on the back of the photo. And, I obviously need to clean the glass on my scanner!--Marie)

Dear Family,

This will just be a short letter but I am sending with it 5 photos each with detailed descriptions on them.

I love getting your letters! Mail time is every elder's favorite time of the day here at the CTM! I didn't realize how much I would love getting mail! It is definitely the highlight of the day to get a letter. Don't get me wrong! I love being here and learning how to be a missionary and speak Portuguese! But getting that letter is just the icing on top of an already great day!!

I love you guys!

--Elder Cummings

 Day 1 at the CTM!  Me and my first missionary companion, Elder S.  He is from Boston, MA, and goes to BYU.  He has 5 younger brothers, 1 baby sister.  He is awesome!  Elder E., Elder S., and I are planning on living near each other once we all go back to BYU.

This is the view from my window at the CTM! Sao Paulo is so huge! And beautiful! It is worth 6 flights of stairs multiple times a day to get this view!

It is 6 to a room here at the CTM.  Elder S. and I are closest to the window.  Elder E. and Elder W. are closest to the door, and our Brazilian roommates (Elder G. and Elder F. for the time being) are in the middle.  The Brazilians are only here for 3 weeks so we will get 2 more sets before our time here is up.

The courtyard at the CTM. This is a beautiful building! It is kind of small but we have a tiny weight room, a basketball court/volleyball courts, and a tiny, tiny track. The plants here are so beautiful! It is kind of odd to see tile everywhere.  Even tile "outside." It is hard to tell when you go "outside" because it is all the same temperature.

Elder S. and I (the only two North American elders going to Londrina) with Elder T., the son of the Londrina mission president! Elder T. is really cool!  He spoke pretty good English, too, and was able to tell us a little bit about our mission! I can't wait to get into the field!!!