Hey! - 5/9/16

We were able to see our investigator with the sweet car this week. We have been trying to get into him because we felt that he had great potential and we finally got in! We had a great lesson and we have another one set up for Wednesday! Other than that is has been a slow week. 

Last night after we hung up I had to wait for my companion to finish (he got started late due to technical difficulties) and so the members and I played Phase 10 (I feel like Mom and Heber would get a kick out of it) and after we ate, we met Nash, their dog.

He gets so excited he pees (on the Phase 10 cards!), but only if he has to pee already. He is also terrified of vacuum cleaners. I think he is adorable!!!!

Last night before bed I was reading my patriarchal blessing and I had the distinct impression that I could be doing better as a missionary. This impression, along with a recent training that we had on removing distractions, really made me think that I need to improve! Like it says in 1 Nephi 3:7, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." So I know that I can do it! So this will be my focus this week!

My email is also short due to the call yesterday so until next time,

Elder Ciminski

Accident

​Second time this has happened. We are coming back from zone meeting and seconds before we arrive (the picture was taken when we are leaving. We only stay around until the authorities arrive) on the same off ramp someone hydroplanes and goes off the road. Both times though the drivers were fine and no-one was hurt. 

Cool building in Smithfield.  I wonder what they sell?

I discovered my camera can do long-exposure pictures.  Up to 15 seconds, pretty cool!


Another Timelapse

Hello!! - 5/2/16

So, you will never guess who moved into the ward for the Summer!

Elder Peery! From my Mini-Mission! He went home in October 2015 and is now married to his high-school sweetheart! He is out here for the summer to sell security for Vivint (speaking of which they can basically turn your house into a smart house. It is pretty much the coolest thing ever!) Small world! But he had us over for dinner last night (his wife went to Toronto Canada btw) and they were talking about their missions and I was so inspired by both of their stories. They were both great missionaries, I can tell. But after leaving their apartment and going back out to work I wanted to be more like them so while I was biking I was in the lead and I was praying to know where to go. I felt let to a specific subdivision and then a specific street. Then I felt like being on only the left side. So we started knocking. We only hit like 15 doors, but we had two amazing conversations with two different people on the street. One lady was from New Zealand and the other lady was Catholic and was super interested until her husband showed up. But we still taught about the Book of Mormon briefly to them and committed them to read and pray about it! So even though nothing came of this experience, it just showed me that Heavenly Father does care about us and the work individually. :)

Yesterday we had a less-active that we have been working with come to church and one of our investigators! The investigator is 9. We had to arrange a ride for him to get to church so we got his primary teacher to pick him up and from what we can tell, he had a great time.

I got to drive a bit on an exchange this weekend. We went to Chipotle because we both love it. It was amazing. I loved it. A pleasant treat.

We had quite the Fast and Testimony Meeting yesterday. President and Sister Baker, Elder Dudley, and Bishop Dudley all bore awesome testimonies as well as several other ward members. It was great and I am especially glad one of our investigators was there. Some of the testimonies applied to what she is going through and she seemed to really enjoy them.

At Wal-Mart I found out that there are gallon jugs of Arizona Fruit Drinks for $2.50.

4 of those are mine. :D :D :D

Anyway, I hope that this week goes well for us out here in Virginia and well for you all back home. 

Hasta la Vista,

Elder Ciminski

Timelapse. I really like this one. I take them during free-time which means meals.

Church boards, we some pretty good ones sometimes. 

My breakfast.

I tried it with Sourdough bread and Bush's Baked Beans and it was pretty good! Apparently they eat it in Britain. So apparently they know something we don't about food or my standards have really lowered. 

Good week - 4/25/16

Not much to say this week. 

We weren't able to meet with our investigator this week, His "lady friend" had a death in the family and he was helping with the funeral arrangements for that. He won't be able to make his date now though. But we did set one for an unbaptized youth in the ward. I have high hopes for him and his family. We also got a return appointment with the guy with the car club! He was outside applying a carbon fiber vinyl wrap-to the hood of a Camaro and when we went to leave we were able to set up a return appointment! I hope that it will work out and that we will be able to share a spiritual thought with him!

We didn't teach many lessons this week, but we did a lot of service.

My companion cut down this tree. He did it in 45 seconds. He is like the Hulk! He just works and works and sometimes I just stand back because I don't want to get in the way and get hurt!  He also planted 6 bushes. We also raked a yard for a ward missionary and worked a bit on a farm. The farm had horses (a mixture of Mustangs, an Arabian, and couple of ponies and normal ones), Vietnamese pigs, Pigmy goats (my favorite), peacocks, a turkey, chickens, a bull, and some ducks - which the Bald Eagle nearby loves to eat. It was fun! But I still have NO DESIRE to do that full time. :) But I do respect the people who do!

As Jacob of old said, Adieu,

Elder Ciminski

A bunny that goes from evil to cute depending on how you look at it.

Cut Bunny

Evil Bunny

Sometimes I forget we are within a couple of miles of the largest military installation in the world until...

6 Months!!! - 4/18/16

I have been out 6 months now! Crazy! It definitely has felt like at least a year! Ha! Ha! But that doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed every minute! 

Nothing extraordinary happened this week. We got 11 lessons this week. We weren't able to make contact with our baptismal date. I still have high hopes for him. Since we have the car this week we will have increased mobility and we will make an effort to see him.

Anyway, that is all. I can see how I have grown a bit from since I left and that is pretty cool. I can't see it all the time, but when I do it feels good.

I feel so blessed to be part of the family! I reflect a lot on what my most cherished memories are, and they all revolve around y'all! I loved the talks I had with Mom, the Sunday discussions around the table after church, Disneyland, the drives with Dad, etc. I especially loved how we always did what we wanted to do in our spare time together, not what most people do (I am thinking about how we stopped going to Father's and Sons specifically here because we realized none of us really enjoyed going!) Most of all, how even though we went through a lot, it made us grow all the more closer and I wouldn't trade that for anything! So thanks for being the best family ever! :) :) <3 <3

With a tone of love,

Elder Ciminski

My favorite Carl Bloch painting.

Buffet sushi - hasn't killed me yet!!!

#nofilter

Baptismal Date! - 4/11/16

So, we got a baptismal date this week! We had a HQ referral for a Bible this week and we went to the address and a guy answered the door and said that the person wasn't there, but to come back later at three. We went back a couple days later at around three and the same guy answered and let us in. Turns out that he was the person all along and he just didn't want to let us in because he thought that we were the cops. (that happens more than you would expect) He let us share the Restoration with him and when we got to the first vision, we invited him to be baptized! And he said yes! We set a date and got a return appointment for two days later! He was there and we taught the Book of Mormon using the method we learned and practiced in the Special Training! It was an awesome lesson and we are hoping that he will be able to make his date! He is the most promising investigator that we have had yet and I am so hopeful and excited for him!

It also snowed this week. We were out doing yard work for our meal coordinator and the temperature dropped like 15 degrees in 20 minutes then it started snowing!

Me being confused in the snow, in service clothes.

Crazy weather here in VA!

We had 12 lessons this week which is pretty good! I am still trying to improve and I am keeping Elder Holland's talk in mind as I do. It is a long process. :)

I went into this email thinking that I had a lot to say, but then I guess not because I have nothing else to say.

Oh yeah, a member gave me a belt buckle.

It is N for Noah! My companion got like 5.

We saw a turtle this week. His name is Yurtle and he is living in Holly Point Apartments.

I discovered a new feature on my camera.

Pretty cool!

I guess I did have more to say!

With love, 

Elder Ciminski

Hello! - 4/4/16

This week was good. Conference was great as always. President Monson was awesome at Conference. We have been encouraged to teach "Short, powerful lessons" out here and that is exactly what he did there! What better example could you ask for?

We did some service this week for a fellow car enthusiast. He also loves Range Rovers so that is cool. Sometimes I mention it to people out here and they go off on Ferrari's and other exotics, but I am more excited with the new Nissian Sentra at the dealership down the street...

Speaking of which,

There is a car club out here a member of the ward is a member of and there is always awesome cars there. This Mustang here has over 700hp! (See the massive Supercharger?)

We also had interviews this week with President Baker. I am bummed that he is leaving here in the next couple of months, and so are the Ashtons! They are moving onto another mission, doing the same thing, but in the Gilbert Mission! You have to say hi to them for me when they get there! But back to the interviews, I got some good counsel from him and I am working to apply it right now, I have it and I am trying. With it coming from President Baker, I can't go wrong!

Our numbers were down this week with Conference and having no car, but I still feel like we did a lot of good this week, not the best, but still good. We will have the car this week so we should be able to teach more this week!

With love,

Elder Ciminski

The Circle of Life -  There is a Turtle in this pic too! It is directly above the left Goose.

No allergies yet! ​That is pollen and IT IS EVERYWHERE

Mikey 

A selfie - Because why not. I felt good when I left, so I figured "Why not?" I do promise my teeth are white but for some reason the camera doesn't agree. lol

​

Brief Email - 3/28/16

So a funny thing I heard this week. Apparently the Prophet is involved in a conspiracy against.....

wait for it.....

wait for it.....

BEARDS!!!!!

Yeah we have some crazy people we meet with! I have heard it all and I am sure that I will hear more crazy stuff!

We had a super good week this week! 15 lessons! And 12 were with less-active members! We shared the #Hallelujah message a ton too. I have watched it more than 30 times now and I still feel the Spirit strongly each time. I hope and pray that they feel it strongly too. I feel like we tend to over complicate things in the church sometimes. We can get distracted with who is speaking, speaking to, time period, related events, yadda yadda yadda, and that is all good to know too! But we can't get distracted from the simple message that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us, so that we don't have to and so that we may live again. For that I am extremely grateful.

Y'all just heard a point of the message we shared with people this week with the video. (almost word for word) Now, I would like to challenge you share it with someone! The Church made it to be shared like I have mentioned, so I hope to receive the outcomes of this next week! I know that if you pray for a chance to share it, you will be blessed with one! It won't fall in your lap, so keep an eye peeled and don't be afraid to act!

That is all, I am super limited on time.

With a ton of love and gratitude,

Elder Ciminski

A car of a friend of someone we're teaching. 

Drawbridge!!!

Pollen!  It is everywhere and coating everything and no allergies yet!