Mt. Pleasant! - 3/1/16

Hey you guys! I just want to start this week off by saying how much I love you guys and I am so grateful for all of the support you guys give me. Thanks! <3

I am liking my new area. There is a lot of work to be done here! I look forward to serving here and watching the area grow! My companion is a pretty cool dude.  There isn't much to report yet. We didn't do much this week because of transfers. We did have a Stake Conference yesterday and we had the Temple President and Matron from Raleigh speak to us and it was really cool! Temples are awesome!

It was a bummer to leave everyone behind in my old area, but I am sure that they are in good hands. It doesn't really matter who teaches them, but the fact that they are being taught is important.

I still wish it was me though. :)

Anyway, we met a new couple in the ward who are from Gilbert! They got married in the Gilbert Temple in January and she went to Perry and he went to Gilbert. Class of 2015 and 2013, respectively. Small world! They are all coming out here!

That is all for this week, I will have more this next week though!

With love,

Elder Ciminski

What are the odds?

Tornado! - 2/29/16

I am getting transferred! My new area is a 1/2 bike area (bike one week, drive another). I am super excited! The cool thing about missions is that you have a ton of fresh starts (like every 6 weeks) and I intend to make the most out of this one! I am a bit sad to leave Smithfield though. I will miss the members. But there will be more great people to meet I am sure! I decided to buy the small "You Never Sausage a Pretty Face" and I will send it home with other stuff. Please don't throw any of it away, but you can hang up the art stuff. :)

This week we had a small tornado outbreak, as I'm sure you know. Y'all also know that I love severe weather, BUT NOT WHEN ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THERE IS A TORNADO WARNING! I like to be in the know, you know? ;) But apparently there were 4 tornados within 20 Miles of us and 4 people died. Really sad. We are fine and so is our car. We were driving through our apartment complex in high winds and a tree fell and showered the road with branches, some of which hit our car. We were protected and I am grateful for that.

We had a dinner with some investigators this week and it went really well. We talked a lot about family history and temples (a new focus from the church) and the spirit was definitely there. I want to get involved with family history when I get home! I wish I had when I was home! It is so cool. And she was open to coming to church! Which is a big step. She didn't end up coming, but she said she was open to it!

Another investigator is moving across the James River to Newport News. He also has been skipping church. Bummer. I am not sure if he will end up getting baptized. But we did our part and now he has his agency and it is up to him!

This email feels really short, but I have several pictures to send so maybe that will make up for it?

With a ton of love,

Elder Ciminski

With Members

Selfie photo bomb by my companion

"Road" to our investigator, we haven't gotten stuck yet!

Tornado!

The shower of tree branches.

Hey! - 2/21/16

So not much has changed this week. I already told most of y'all this but we still didn't go out much this week. Bummer. But I am trying to still stay busy and staying in good spirits, but it is hard sometimes! But as the librarian says every week when we greet her, "I'm Survivan'!"

We have the dinner that we have been planning for almost a MONTH now tonight and as of 11:43 EST all is going according to plan! *Knocks on wooded desk where library computer is located* Yay! I am so excited for it! It has been kind of a roller-coaster ride, but right now we are on a peak and I have high hopes for her! And our investigator is struggling. He didn't go to church because he went to another group and he is thinking of joining! He is definitely unique! But he has turned his life around though and that is the best part about him!  We just need to help him keep that eternal perspective!

We finally got a lesson in with someone new last Monday and boy does she like to talk! My companion and I met her when we first got here and we were able to get her to hear our message finally! SO she is an Investigator now! She did say once to my first companion that our parents raised us right and should be proud! Anyway, I am running out of time this week, I got a lot of emails.

Before I send this I just want to thank you guys for all that you do to support me! I really do appreciate it and I don't know what I would do without y'all! XOXOXO

Elder Ciminski

Train Selfie

I got bored with the letter thing - 2/15/16

Hey, so this week was very similar to last week. My companion should be getting in to see a Neurologist sometime this week or next and get some prescriptions so that should help! But we were able to get out a bit more this week and teach some lessons. We are going to teach our neighbor tonight which I am SUPER excited for. I can already see her getting baptized! And we are going with a young man who got baptized with his sister on Saturday! His name is Wesley and he is awesome! He wasn't our baptism, the Sisters taught him, but I am still super excited for them.

This is them and the Sisters who taught them. They are from Puerto Rico. Their mom and their older brother were also there. Super cool.

Other than that not much has happened. Crazy weather though over here. It only got to 28 yesterday and we woke up to 3 inches of snow. But now it is all melting because it is 40 degrees now and raining hard, but tomorrow there will be thunderstorms and it will be 60. Weird. I heard it is almost 90 back home! I am a tad bit jealous! 

Hopefully this week is more eventful. Pray for us!

Pig Stuff

I also have a pig pin. I love all of the pig stuff here. The Peanut shop has all of this. Remember the "You never sausage a pretty face?" They have a mini one now for less than $20! If I stay here for another transfer, I will get it and send it home. :) Grandma C would love all of this too I'm sure!

Ignacio, Illinois, and Iguanas - 2/8/16

Hey,

So this week was tough. My companion has had a migraine for 11 days straight now and is really suffering. It all started on December 29 or last year when he was rear-ended while sitting still by someone going 40 mph. Keep praying for him!

We weren't able to go out and proselyte this week. But I was able to go on a short exchange with our Zone Leaders and we met a guy who had a brand-new, 2015 Roush Mustang which had over 900 horsepower! It is the most powerful car I have ever seen! We were able to teach a couple lessons and help one of their investigators get closer to baptism, and that was even cooler!

We taught a family this week, and spirit was so strong! The reason it was is because we testified of it. So, if you ever want to bring the spirit into a lesson or a meeting, testify!

Speaking of testimonies, I typed mine for y'all so you guys can enjoy it too!

"I would like to bear my testimony that I know that this church is true. I love this gospel and I know that it is the only way to be saved and make it back to our Heavenly Father. I know that by living the gospel we are able to be truly happy.

"I know that Joseph Smith did really see and talk to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And because of this, God's true church, the same one that existed when Christ was on the earth, is restored once again. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

"I likewise know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet who has been called of God to lead and guide us in these latter days. I love him, and sustain him.

"I testify that we are sons and daughters of God and that he loves and cares for us personally. I know that when we reach out to him in prayer, he hears and answers our prayers. He loves and cares about us so much.

"I am so grateful for the atonement. It is the world's greatest band-aid. Because of Christ's atoning sacrifice I can be comforted in times of trial, be forgiven of my sins, and eventually return to live with my Heavenly Father and my brother Jesus Christ again. I am so very thankful for this.

"I write these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen."


Here is our neighbors cute dog named Baron. We might teach her son.

Hay, Habeus Corpus, and Houdini - 2/1/16

Hola!

It is chugging along here. To start off, our promising investigator dropped us. I was really bummed because we had the Bishop and his wife all lined up to come with us but she decided she wasn't interested. :( But we have our other investigator with a baptismal date! But then he decided to go on a trip to visit out-of-state friends and family and he won't be back until late February, after his date. Bummer too. BUT this week was still awesome because we had a couple really awesome lessons where the spirit was really strong and I had some really good study sessions too. So it wasn't all bad! Missions are great. I don't think that it is possible to have a bad week out here where nothing at all went well if you try! Heavenly Father is never going to leave us alone and that is a great blessing for us! Not much else to report. We weren't able to go out much this week because my companion has to stay in sometimes and this week was a bad one for him. He needs all of the prayers he can get!

I met a brother in our ward who served his mission in the Tuscon mission (sometime in this century, he has an 8 year old so before 2007) and one of his areas was South Safford! He said one of the anti churches down there cornered him and his companion once in a field. He said that the name Brinkerhoff rings a bell! A sister in the ward (she and her husband lived in Mesa a number of years ago) knows your cousin mom! She said that they were friends in the singles ward. Small world! And even smaller in the Church! I am just waiting to meet a 2nd cousin or something!

I read a scripture that I really like this week. (It is a Scripture Mastery Heber so you should know it!) Ether 12:27. "And if men come unto me I will show them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I really like it because it gives me comfort when I fell like Satan himself is trying to get me down. Missions are awesome. I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. They are still hard, and I feel inadequate almost constantly, but I know that the Lord is on my side and there are people beyond the veil and people at home who are cheering me on!

With love,

Elder Ciminski


The shipyards just across the water from our apartment...

...and a snow pile from last weekend, with a pukemobile for size. :)

I forgot what letter I am on - 1/25/16

Hey! It is COLD out here! It is warming up to 40 degrees today which feels wonderful after 4 days of barely getting above freezing. So for the storm, we got a total of about 5 inches over 2 days. Day one was Friday, and we got about an inch. Then it rained all night and washed it all away. But then we got slammed on Saturday and got about 4 inches. It was funny because we went about 13 miles south to Suffolk to work there for the day and the whole time our Ward Mission Leader was texting us and telling us not to drive. But where we were it was barely snowing. Then when we came back we saw how bad it was up in Carrollton and we understood. They cancelled all three hours of church too.

But I am keeping warm and happy thanks to Mom's woolen goods! Thanks!! And I am still rocking the selfies.

This week was super slow due to the weather. We had 5 appointments fall through because of it, but we are going to do our best to reschedule and meet with them this week! So we were not able to meet with our investigator, but we still have very high hopes for her and are going to try and reschedule this week. My companion is a good Missionary. He is from Cody, Wyoming and has been out for about 17 months. He is 21. I think that we will get along just fine.

So there is a new sister in Smithfield Ward from Gilbert! She lived at Elliot and Higley, was in the Highland East Stake, went to Highland High School, and hung out with a friend of mine.  There is also an elder in a neighboring ward from Queen Creek and my companion's previous companion is from Apache Junction! Small World!

This week is going to be great I can feel it in my bones! I don't, but I have high hopes that it will be so pray for us! Sorry for the shortness of the email, the weather really put a kink in everything!

Elder Ciminski

Day one of storm.

Morning of day two.

Night of day two.

It was funny seeing the Supermarkets empty. It was only 4 inches. People acted like it was the end of the world! 

My new companion.