Good week! - 6/27/16

The family we are teaching is still on track for July 16! The Mom took off work (She works in Nag's Head with Rentals) to go to Stake Conference which is a huge deal. We are so excited for them!

We also got three new investigators this week, AND NONE ARE RELATED! So three separate people agreed to hear the message of the Restoration and to have us come back. We have high hopes (some higher than others) for all three and I am excited to go back!

President Weed arrives TODAY. It is crazy to think that we will be getting a new Mission President! My companion and I keep wondering what the changes are going to be - it will be interesting to see what happens.

We went on an exchange this week and I got to drive! So that was great (I miss driving a ton!) but what was 10X better was that I was able to lead us in a great exchange. One of our new investigators, and maybe the most promising one, we found on the exchange. Even if all of the contacts and the investigator falls though, it was still beneficial to me because I was able to follow the spirit and was able to see the fruits from that! It really built my confidence. :)

Last night we were tracting and every other person we talked to was nice, literally. It started out with people telling us to leave the neighborhood, then we had a awesome conversation with a man who is not interested, but loves the church and genealogy, then another guy told us go get off his property (he rode up on a lawn mower to tell us that from around the back of the house, kinda funny) then some other guys accepted a book of Mormon and were super nice! So that was a fun experience!

We also had a lady upon seeing us flash a tattoo of the Christian fish that was located on the inside of her right wrist then closed the door. At first I thought it was going to be a death mark from Harry Potter! People are interesting!

Anyway, that is all! I hope that this week will be a good one for y'all!

Elder Ciminski

Hello! - 6/20/16

I went on three exchanges this week and I am WORN OUT. But that is over so that is good. I went on two to Nag's Head and one to Elizabeth City with the Zone Leaders. I did learn a lot though, so it makes it all worth it!

The family we are teaching are still doing well. We had to push back their date because we can't get over there enough to make sure they are ready, but they are on board and excited! They have told us all of the differences they have seen in their lives and about the Spirit they feel at church and I am so glad for that! It is just about the coolest thing to see!

We were able to get some more lessons in this week for which I am grateful! We met with a couple of families from the branch I hadn't met before which was a good thing. We are trying to do some more work in the Branch!

This is President Baker's last week in the mission. At around this time next week President and Sister Weed will arrive and they take over "the moment their feet touch the Virginia Soil". I am super sad to see the Baker's go, but I am sure that the Weed's will be just as amazing as the Baker's.

I still am in love with the Outer Banks. The weather is warming up still (but not like Arizona yet, I am still convinced that Arizona heat is worse) and I am wearing sunscreen and getting a faint tan line around my neck and watch

I hope that all is well for y'all and that you have a safe week!

Elder Ciminski

P.S. Our trailer is famous because it is super old (Missionaries have been in it for 9 years) and President Baker's nephew lived in it years ago. I don't really see what all the fuss is about though. It is a trailer and motivation to go to college!

When I see a pretty Sunset like this I can feel Heavenly Father's love for me! :) Even through a dirty car window. This is on the bridge connecting Point Harbor to Kitty Hawk.

Kitty Hawk!

A lighthouse.

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IYVOUFLJGVKTHUFGVCKHG!!!!!!! - 6/13/16

It was a good week.

We got 5 people with Baptismal dates. No big deal.

JK DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITED WE ARE????? WE TAUGHT THEM THE WORD OF WISDOM LAST NIGHT!!!

I include what I wrote to President Baker about it:

"We got 5, solid, baptismal dates! They are a family who are just simply amazing! We were able to meet with them both Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday's lesson was good, but the truly amazing one was Sunday's! To start off, it seemed as if Sacrament Meeting was tailored just for them. (We literally just got a text from the Father that he knows that the Book of Mormon is true! :D We are so excited for them!!!!!!!!) The Spirit was so strong and they knew it and felt it too! We had planned to teach the Word of Wisdom with them and base the lesson off of Sunday's theme of Faith in Christ. We brought two members with us who are both converts and we went over with them before what they should share and when. They did not follow that at all, but they were following the Spirit because what they ended up sharing was so much better than what we had prepared. After we finished the lesson we informed them that in order to keep their baptismal date they would need to stop smoking and drinking coffee by this upcoming Wednesday. They agreed with almost no hesitation and said that they would do it! Words cannot express how happy we are for them! But what really is the miraculous part is that this family were our spiritual creations for the month of June! And it is looking like they are going to be baptized at the end of the month!"

I do think that they will be able to make their date and I am so excited! They are amazing!

But other than that there hasn't been much this week. We didn't get too many lessons, but we did go on an exchange. I am still in love with the Outer Banks and Currituck. My companion and I are going to get a shirt that says "Straight Outta Currituck" today. :)

President Baker leaves at the end of the month. We are sad about that. I like him a lot. But I am also looking forward to President Weed. I am sure that he is going to be awesome too!

With a lot of love!

Elder Ciminski

Apparently there are a lot of bears around here, and here is a cub we saw. He was running into the tree line when this was taken.

Currituck Branch! - 6/6/16

Hello! I LOVE MY NEW AREA! It is super pretty, the Branch is so nice (and there is someone from Chandler in it so I am covered on my Arizona front) and I love my new Companion! We get along so well it is great!  We have a lovely little trailer...

and a Ford Fusion named Vikki. It is super rural out here. But a lot safer than the city where I was so I am happy for that! Within the District is the Outer Banks. I want to live on the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks is amazing and so pretty! :)

We had two awesome lessons this week. One was with a less active in the Branch and beforehand we had an idea of what we were going to share, but nothing solid. So we went in there and I got to know him a little bit and I completely forgot what we had planned to share with him! Everything went right out the window! But I had an idea of what he might need to hear and so we shared a scripture based on that need. I couldn't remember the reference to the scripture I had in mind, but there was another one that at the time kinda fit (Helaman 5:12) so I decided to go with it. It turned out to be just the scripture he needed to hear and as a consequence of that, the Spirit was so strong and we were able to help him figure out what he needed to do to get back on track (reading his scriptures). Even though at the moment I was screaming internally because it seemed that nothing was going right, I realize now that we were being lead by the Spirit and I am very grateful for that. Without it, we wouldn't have been able to meet his needs!

We also had an awesome active member lesson! In District Meeting we talked about not just sharing a cute scripture with members but on choosing a message based on their needs/capabilities to share the gospel. We decided to apply this Saturday night at a dinner with two couples in the Branch there. Before we started they were teasing us about how most missionaries just share a scripture so that was blessing #1, we didn't just have a scripture. Long story short, we invited them to seek revelation in Sacrament meeting to know who they could invite back to church! The Spirit was definitely there and we left knowing that we shared the message that was just right for them!

I know that Currituck is going to be an amazing experience and with my companion (who is simply an outstanding missionary) I know that I am going to grow so much! :D

But yes it is super country. But I actually prefer serving in the country because of who you meet.

These dogs were outside a house while we were tracting and they were doing happy barks and probably wanted some loving. But right when we opened the car door there was a loud BOOM from the forest just behind the house in the picture. But not a normal boom. It sounded like a cannon and froze us and the dogs in our tracks. The people behind us working on a house being built also froze then went "Well I have no idea what that was" and dogs put their tail in between their legs and ran inside the garage through a doggie door. The reason that they stayed back where they were is because they have an electronic fence. On the dog on the left you can see a black box looking thing. That is the fence! When the dog crosses over the "fence" it zaps the dog! (and whoever is holding the dog we found out from a member). I have never heard of this before and I think it is pretty cool!

This is the Chapel! But it is so humid that if I pull out my camera too quick the lens will fog up as it did here! I have got to let it warm up first! But the chapel is actually a former Baptist church.

Decapitated snake. The head is to the upper left of the snake. Need I explain more?

So we were tracting this one road and this we the last house on the road. We didn't see any "No Trespassing" signs and so we started to walk up the driveway (which was about 1/4 mile long).  A chihuahua came out to greet us, and we assume he was the alarm. Because when we got a bit closer a lady came out on the porch and pointed at us (she was facing away from us). Then two huge dogs came out and started running and barking at us. They weren't happy barks. WE immediately stopped and the dogs stopped about 5 feet in front of us and would't come closer, all the while growling and barking. We decided it wasn't worth it and started to walk back down the driveway. We were almost to the end (about where the picture was taken) when the guy came out of the house, jumped on an ATV and took a back way and cornered us at the end of the driveway (another 25 feet away I think. Could be longer. The driveway wrapped around the pond). The conversation went like this:

Him: What are y'all doing here?

Us: Well we are your local missionaries and we were just in the area and we're...

Him: I get it. I get it. Don't ever come back here again. Got it?

Us: Ok?

Then he took off as did we. We were never in any real danger but we both had such a bad feeling about the whole thing.

Hello - 5/30/16

Boy has it been humid this week! Apparently there is a tropical storm moving through the area so there is supposed to be a ton of rain.

This week was very humbling. We had almost all of our appointments fall through this week. We only had 6 lessons. But we were able to do a ton of service. I can now say that I can dissemble a hot tub!

I am helping a member of the ward get their computer backed up. All he has is some pictures so we are doing it on a 32gb flash-drive. I have a reputation in the district as being a tech guy so whenever something electronically goes awry in district meeting or a car they call for me! 

This week another person we're teaching didn't come to church. Bummer. He is going through some hard times right now with his job and money. He is trying to fix up a car that his brother-in-law gave him. In order to do that he needs money and due to his job of laying concrete and how the pay for that works (job by job basis) he is having a hard time with that. But the other week when he did come he overcame a lot to come and we are so proud of him for that! So while we may be worried about him, we aren't that worried because it does seem like he is dedicated to our message. :)

So we have ton of people who moved into the ward (about 20 YA/YSA's) for summer sales and they just keep giving us referrals! We received a total of 5 this week! We are going to try and see them before I leave. Speaking of which...

I GOT A TRANSFER CALL!!!

I am going to a small branch called Currituck (pronounced Cur-uh-tuck) on the coast of North Carolina. 

That's all for this week! 

I love you all so much!

Elder Ciminski

Hey fam. 5/23/16

We taught 14 lessons this week! And got a new investigator! He actually lives in Virginia Beach so we will have to hand him off to the Elders that serve over in his area here soon. I am very excited for him, I do believe that he will be baptized at some point and I am so excited for that, even if it isn't with me. Our other investigator also came to church yesterday! He seemed to enjoy it. This also means that he is still on track to make his date of June 11! Yay! It will be tight, but if he really wants to we will be able to do it! 

We had a specialized training this week on personal wellness that I really enjoyed, even though we played Oompa Loompa at the end. The first part was on Spiritual and Temporal Self-reliance. With it we got a talk to read and a sheet for us to budget with. I am glad to have it because it will help me to spend my money that I receive more wisely. The next class was on Physical well being. We talked about different creatures that are out for your blood, to kill you, or to infect you with one or more of a variety of diseases and viruses, or all three. I also learned that the church prefers that we don't eat Sushi as missionaries. I was bummed, but upon clarification I discovered that it is up to us and so I will just be more careful on where I eat it. I don't eat a whole lot so this isn't that big of an issue for me. Then the last class we took a personality test called The Color Code. It was insightful on how to deal with other people. My companion is a pretty even mix of all 4 colors, which are Red (Power), Yellow (Fun), White (Peace), and Blue (Intimate). I am a very strong blue, with a second red, a tad bit of white and next to no yellow. Go figure. It was fun and I enjoyed it.

It has been raining so much over here. We haven't had more than one day of sunshine in a row for three weeks now, but I love it! The clouds are always so pretty out here with every shade of blue and gray imaginable! I never get tired of looking at them!

It is hard to take pictures of them though. But here is one half-decent one.

There was a large fair near our apartment that went on this weekend called the Jubliee. They had an epic fireworks show on Saturday night they everyone went crazy for. It's like they have never seen fireworks before! 

I got some pretty good pictures of them with the Fireworks mode on my camera. Now it is over and I can't say that I am sorry. They had music and other things so loud that you could here them a mile away! 

That is all, I hope that you all have a wonderful week! From your emails it sounds like it will be an eventful one!

Elder Ciminski

More clouds.

Nice Picture

Now that missionaries can wear hats to keep the sun off. ;-)

Fun Week! - 5/16/16

So to start off with, we went to a member's house Tuesday night and they fed us ribs. I don't see what is so great about them. I also had Elk Sausage. It was good, but I still don't get the big deal about it! Unless we are talking about Seafood, meat is meat if you ask me!

We did some service on Wednesday morning then had a great lesson with an investigator. He is encouraging his wife to take the lessons soon. So that is exciting! Afterwards the Father-in-law of the people we did service for took us home and we got in a minor crash.

Everyone was alright. We were in the van. What happened is everyone came to a stop in the middle of the block for no reason and we made a hard stop (car lurching, brakes locked up, etc) and then the lady in the Honda wasn't paying attention and when she noticed we were stopped, she jerked the wheel at the last minute and only clipped us. If she had hit us square on her airbags probably would have gone off and we would have been pushed into the car in front of us. It could have been a lot worse so I am grateful for that! We ended up missing an appointment because of it! Bummer! :( But we were able to give a card to the lady who hit us and so if anything comes of it she can say that she literally "ran into" the missionaries!

We had an awesome fireside last night. President and Sister Baker were there and they testified of the Restoration and of Christ and his Gospel the whole time. The fireside was for less-active and new/returning members. We invited a total of eleven people, but only two came. The other nine missed out because it was so awesome! The Spirit was so strong and the two ladies we brought had an amazing time. They loved it so much! They didn't even want to leave at the end. They were the last ones to leave. I am so glad that they enjoyed themselves!

We are pushing back our baptism date. The new one is TBD. They are barely filling the requirements and we don't want to baptize him if they are not.

We met again with another investigator and reset him for a date again. We are hoping he will make it! He seems sincere and I honestly believe that if he comes to Church and feels of the spirit he will make it. And read the Book of Mormon, Those two things have the power to convert anyone. Well, really The Book of Mormon. Church is a bonus!

We also got caught in a storm that was like a monsoon! I had my umbrella but my companion did not so he got wet. Only my knees down got wet, everything else was fine! :D

Anyway, hope y'all have an awesome week! 

With love,

Elder Ciminski

My companion getting wet.

Huge dogs we saw.

The storm that rained on us.