sunshine and miracles

HELLO! HELLO! There is sunshine in my soul and everywhere today!...Okay it is actually raining today but BOY has it been summery this week! I am roasting away here in good old England! Boy do I love this country! But don't you worry I will always be loyal to America! "Cause Im proud to be an American! Where at least I know I'm free!"...that is literally the only line I know from that song...sorry bout it...but you get the point! :D

First of all I just want to start off by saying I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! What a privilege it is! LIKE SERIOUSLY!! TThis week I learned an important lesson...and you will all probably laugh at me for my lameness but here it is. Are you ready for it? Are you sure?!

 "You don't have to be perfect in everything" 

SAY WHAAAAAAT!? It is so simple yet so true! We don't have to be! Nor are we expected to be perfect in everything. Instead I'm being perfect in NOTHING! And I've just YOLOed my whole mission.....just kidding...I don't think I could ever bring myself to do that....Don't worry I'm not going out doing whatever I want now but since I realised this guess what... I am less stressed!!! I had been stressing out about doing this and that perfectly when in reality I just need to perfectly try. That is literally all that is asked of us and then the Lord will make up the difference! Everyday I still need to give my best effort, but that is it! How beautiful is that!? I am so grateful for that! It is SUCH a relief! HA! I am grateful for the time that I have spent thinking I had to be perfect though because it has made me increase in my patience. Patience is handling delay or unexpected circumstances without getting frustrated or angry and I really have learnt how to be more patient with myself but also with those around me! Many prophets in the Book of Mormon and Bible talk all about patience and how we can acquire it and why it is necessary and it is just SO good! These scriptures are so full of knowledge and wisdom and strength that can really speak to our souls! I have been especially loving the Book of Mormon! I am just really devouring it's pages..literally...we ran out of food this week...JUST KIDDING MOM, I had TOO much food this week and I'm not actually eating the Book of Mormon...this joke isn't as funny as I planned....oh well. As I have been reading and applying these ancient prophets words and recognising how they apply to my life at this time I have receieved so much strength and comfort! Something I really loved reading this past week was in 2 Nephi 9 verse 43(page 76) when Jacob talks about how happiness is prepared for the saints. When I read this I thought, "well then why are so many people so sad if happiness is prepared for them?" but then it hit me that it is prepared for the saints and the saints are not just the baptised but those who are striving to keep the commandments and do the basics of the Christ's gospel. That is what makes a saint! "A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying" -Dale G. Renlund! That is why obedience and reading the scriptures, coming to church, and praying bring us so much happiness because we are becoming saints and the Lord PROMISES that happiness is prepared for them! How great is that!? We don't have to be sad or in despair! The only way to overcome our sadness is through CHOOSING joy(through our actions!)

So this week we met a lot of really amazing people! I talked to this woman, June, who is already been to church like 50 years ago when she was 7, she knows Joseph Smith is a prophet, she believes Jesus Christ restored His church via Joseph Smith but when I asked her to be baptised she said that she feels she is, "too old to change"! That is her only hang up...that I know of at this point! So we shared a Book of Mormon, set up an appointment, and I assume we will see her being baptised soon! THEN we met an amazing couple named Charlene and David!! They have two little girls, Holly and Lily! Sister Barlow commented on their lovely wellies(rain boots) and then BOOM we were talking away! David said, "I can see something different in you, you seem so genuinely happy" and "I really believe the things you are saying! I can see how happy they make you"! And then a few minutes later we finished teaching about how Jesus Christ restored His church to the earth today through a prophet and how this makes us feel so loved and happy! Then we shared a Book of Mormon and they said that if they knew this was true "how could they not be baptised!?" -Their words, not mine! HOW CRAZY!?!? THEN yesterday we were headed to a tea appointment and I said hello to this woman on the bus with two little girls who were just so cute and she immediately recognised me as a servant of the Lord! It seriously blew me away!! She said that she had been praying and praying for her calling and some guidance, she told us her entire life story, and then she said, "I am a really nervous person and I am unsure if I should do this but here is my address" and then asked us to come visit her! We see her tonight and she took a Book of Mormon and is so excited to meet with us! She just felt different when she met us! BOOM! MIND BLOWN! I don't know why the Lord trusts us so much but I am SO very grateful for such amazing opportunities to meet such amazing people!!

The biggest news of this week is that Sister Paul(an investigator of 6 months) accepted baptism! SHE ACCEPTED BAPTISM! Last night when we taught her how to pray she said, "You mean that we can literally speak with God? How do you know when you get your answer?" and when we told her that it comes through listening to her thoughts and paying attention to her feelings she was absolutely determined to find out for herself! She is amazing and watching her eyes was even more amazing because I could see the concepts click in her brain! It was just magnificent!

This week at a tea appointment I found out one of the members here in Preston remembers my mom from when she first joined the church! I said that her last name was Higginbottom and he said, "Your mom is Denise!?" IT WAS CRAZY! The feeling was kind of eerie but of just such excitement!! IT WAS AMAZING! I LOVE IT HERE! I love serving where Gordon B. Hinckley and many other amazing prohpets and apostles of the Lord served but I especially love serving where my mom is from, it is SO special!

I love you all DEARLY! Thank you for loving me and reading my emails! I am so grateful for just the many amazing experiences I get to have here and I am so grateful for your love, strength, prayers, and diligence!! There is sunshine in my soul today, tomorrow and forever because "Heaven is cheering us all on today, tomorrow and forever" and that is magic!

Have a lovely week!

LOVE YOU!!

Go see some miracles or something!!

XOXO

Sister Cummins

blackpool baby

Hello! Hello!! It's me, Sister Heather Shea Cummins, here! Reporting for duty on this fine Monday! It is seriously odd for me to think that I am about 8 hours ahead of all of you....except my for my lovely British friends! SHOUT OUT TO MY WREKIN WARD FAMILY who have now joined this little email schpeel I've got going here! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! :D Anywho! This week has been crazy and amazing! 

This week has been seriously fantastic! From a baptism to going to BLACKPOOL(my mom's hometown) to meeting a couple of hippies on the side of a hidden path where gypsies used to live and SO MUCH MORE! Preston, England is a land of promise and JOY! Seriously it is such a wonderful place!
This week has been full of miracles and I am growing and being stretched every single day! Isn't that fantastic?! This week our friend Pritti was baptised!! Baptised! Baptised people! Did you hear that!?! A woman made an incredible promise with her loving Heavenly Father and her most gracious Saviour! What an amazing miracle! I feel so blessed to have been able to witness such a beautiful occurrence! Heavenly Father has blessed me to see baptisms happen at the very beginning of both of the areas right when I have entered! The first time was with our friend Dannii in Wrekin and now with Pritti here in Preston! What a blessing!! At first when I got here, I felt bad and kind of like a thief of other missionaries hard work and dedication by coming in right when they are on the peak of decision, but then I realised that these people needed me for that extra shove right at the end...let's be real...I'm pretty persuasive! :D HA just kidding...sorta.. In both instances, both women accepted to be baptised right when I got there and then many crazy experiences happened along the weeks that followed until their baptism! I feel so privileged to have witnessed these amazing people take a big step into becoming more like our Saviour! The knowledge they have gained over this period of time is quite mind blowing! I love it! I love how simple Christ's doctrine is that anyone can understand it!
I am learning so much here in Preston! I LOVE SISTER BARLOW! She is so humble and hilarious! She is such a good example of love, kindness, and patience and she teaches me so much every day! Leaving the blessed land of Wrekin was really hard for me...I grew to love those people so much and they truly became my family but I am so grateful that I was thrown into a new area with new responsibilities because it has forced me to change and has helped me to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ that much more! I am learning that if I don't rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ then I am not able to handle anything. I won't be able to accomplish my task at hand. I literally cannot do this without Christ. I have really felt the difference between when I rely on myself and when I rely on the Saviour. I am not half as capable, organised, happy, or outgoing, but when I ask for strength and guidance and allow myself to be changed I am able to accomplish great tasks! I have really learnt that obedience is how we show God that we are willing to rely upon Him and that is what gives us our strength. Obedience to the Lord and His commandments is the key! The commandments are there to strengthen us and to teach us and to give us good guidelines but in reality the commandments are what set us free and show God that he can trust us. As we keep them, His faith in us grows simultaneously as our faith in Him increases! ITS AMAZING!
This week I met this couple in BLACKPOOL...and I am begging President to open up the area for sister missionaries to serve there! I just have to!! I'll whip them into shape! Right now there are only elders in Blackpool because its basically like our Las Vegas or New York...so its apparently "unsafe"...but I will serve there! Hehehehe Anywho! I got to go there to do a street display and meet lots of wonderful people! This one couple, Sarah and David, were amazing! We had an amazing conversation about the Book of Mormon and faith and all sorts of goodness and I was able to share an incredible book, the Book of Mormon, with her and later that night she texted us and thank me for talking with her and said she would love to hear from missionaries!!...unfortunately she lives in the Birmingham mission so I can't go and see her but how wonderful is that?!? I have never had someone text or ring me off of the millions of cards that I give out and she did! it made my whole entire mission!
We also met these really amazing hippies who were sitting in this old gypsy camp....they were having a good old time, just hanging out, and then BOOM! Mormons attacked! *The Mormons are coming! The Mormons are coming!* They were super kind and slightly drunk but they were cohesive enough to understand and it was one of the most spiritual conversations I have ever had....it was odd yet wonderful! This really showed me that no matter what we do God really does love us. He wants us to be happy and to overcome our trials(they had many) but I knew that we were meant to meet them at this time...in this odd gypsy camp...and it was just so wonderful!
I love being a missionary! It fills my soul with peace and I am so privileged to be here! I love his work and I know that this is exactly what I need to become who God needs me to be! I trust Him. I love Him. I am grateful to know Him and learn more about Him every day! It is my challenge to you to pray and acknowledge two things that you are not exactly obedient in and to CHANGE! To start being exactly obedient starting today!I know that our faith and our strength increases as we do these things. As we are exactly obedient the Lord can then open the windows of Heaven and pour out MIRACLES upon our heads! I love you all so much! I am so blessed to know you! Thank you for your friendship, love, and support! YOU ALL ROCK! Never forget it!
Loads of unbridled and everlasting love,Sister Heather Shea Cummins
Over and OUT!

P-P-P-Preston!!

HELLO! Hello!! My wonderful friends and family across the deep blue sea! It is me, Sister Cummins, and I am back and at it for another week! I cannot believe one week has flown by! It has been an exciting week full of excitement and joy! 

So basically missionary work is the best thing that anyone can ever do...it is just SO fulfilling! I am learning and growing with each passing day and boy am I grateful for it! I can hardly believe that I am no longer in Wrekin and I am all the way on the other side of the mission in Preston! It is a lot colder and more humid up here in good old Preston! I got to buy this sweet new rain coat because boy does it rain! But do not fear everyone! There is sunshine in my soul! And it is more glorious and bright! 

So here is the Preston scoop! The people here are way nice and there is a lot more diversity than what I saw down in the south of England! there are a ton of different nationalities and it is amazing to meet so many different kinds of people! They are all so wonderful and super kind! 

This week we taught our friend Pretti who is scheduled to be baptised on this Saturday!! This Saturday! The first day I got there she shyly looks up at us and says..."I want to be baptised..." and Sister Barlow and I were blown away! SHE IS GOING TO BE BAPTISED PEOPLE!?! Can you feel my excitement because Im pretty sure it is blowing up the whole library! BAHHH! It is so wonderful! We have another friend named Laurie whom we are teaching, her family are all members and she is an older woman who is unsure about our message but said she will start reading the Book of Mormon! We are so excited because in reality, the Book of Mormon is the keystone to everything we believe! If it is not true then nothing we believe is true. But if it is true then the message we share with people is true and that means Jesus Christ has restored his church, out of love for us, once again on the earth today!! How great is that! I just want these people to find out this glorious truth for themselves because in reality that is my purpose! I am simply here to invite, not to convince anyone of anything and I am so grateful for the time I get to be here and for all of the people that I am meeting! 

Sister Barlow is an amazing woman who is from Seattle Washington...so she is used to this weather! She is one of the happiest people I know and she is always smiling! She is so strong and kind and such a genuine person! I truly love her and am SO excited to be with her for this time! 

I love you all so dearly and hope your week is full of miracles! Go tell everyone that you love them and that you hope the best for them! Know that Heaven is cheering you on! Go read the scriptures and say some prayers and feed your spiritual needs! I promise it will greatly enrich your lives! I love you loads!

XOXO

Sister Cummins

transfers!

Alright Alright! Hello my wonderful friends and family! Today has been
a crazy day and it has been quite fun and wonderful but today has been
CRAZY!! So long story short, I have left the blessed land of Wrekin
and have moved to the PRESTON area to be a Sister Training Leader for
the Preston Zone! It's kind of crazy and overwhelming because I've
only been out for 6 months BUT I know that the Lord prepares a way for
us to accomplish the things which he has commanded us to do! I am now
serving where Gordon B Hinckley and many other wonderful people have
served!! I am so excited to be here and be able to serve in this
capacity! I get the opportunity to be ripped out of my "home" and
adjust to this new life! How fantastic is that?!? 😊The craziest thing
is that the Preston Zone covers BLACKPOOL!! Where my mom is from!! I
love being able to serve where my beautiful mum grew up and
experienced life! England is such a beautiful and wonderful land! I am
so privileged to be here and I know I am about to learn a TON!! I am
so excited to grow and learn!! It is so exciting!! We get to
experience so many wonderful this and we get to become better people
everyday! I am grateful for so many opportunities! This is fairly
short because my head is running around and life's crazy and great!
But I hope you all have a seriously wonderful week!!! I love you and I
want you to know that I truly love the Lord! I love the opportunities
He gives me and I know that He lives and that He is there for each of
us! Go see some miracles people!! I love you!

Oh and my baby(Sister Cannon) is TRAINING!!!! I am SO excited!! Life
is so good! Don't take any moment for granted! Love you loads!!

XOXO
Sister Cummins