This week was rocky. We didn't feel very productive this week. We haven't been able to get out as much as we would like. Normally we like to leave the trailer at around Noon-1 o'clock and not come back until 9, but lately, our dinners have been such that we have to come back earlier. Then, due to mileage limitations, we have to stay in the area. We are trying to make the most of it that we can. I found some more funny records this week. Missionaries are funny people!
The family we're teaching is still progressing. They are still working and moving towards baptism and that is what really matters.
I picked corn this week! The Branch had a service project and we got to pick corn for a couple hours! It was pretty cool and harder than I thought it would be! And Muddier! But that is because we got two HUGE storms this week. Both were very windy and loud. We had the power go out twice in one night! But that could be because we live in a trailer park!
We also have interviews with President Weed this week. I am excited for those. He seems like he is going to be a good Mission President! We are also getting a Mini-Missionary next week!
That is all. I cant send pictures this week because the computers we have won't let me. Some of the things I wanted to say need a picture, so I can't include those. I am so sorry about that. I hope that y'all have a good week!
With love,
Elder Ciminski
I love this place! - 7/11/16
I seriously love this place and the branch especially. I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and I realized how awesome and blessed it is to be serving in the Currituck Branch. Everyone is so nice and I never want to leave!
We had to reset the baptismal date for August 5. We think this is the last time that we will have to reset it. They know everything that is expected of them and how often we need to be coming by in order to make it and they committed to do what they can to make it happen! They are so ready! They are practically already members of the Branch for how well they fit in! The Branch is so supportive in giving them rides to church every week (they don't have a car) and in coming with us to lessons. I am so excited!
We went on an exchange this week and I went down to Nags Head with the Spanish Elders and got to drive! :D It was a surprise because the other Elder who I was with had an expired license. So I had the keys! We drove 140 miles that day, from Elizabeth City to Nags head then down to Manteo then to Kitty Hawk then back. No crash! You guys do not know what uncomfortable is like until some guy is making fun of you in a language you cannot understand. I think it was about how tall I was. I also went to a lesson on the exchange and that was weird. Again, I couldn't contribute anything because I don't know Spanish. But I did have a good time.
We also got transfer calls and I will be staying for another 6 weeks at least! Yay!
Elder Ciminski
Sooo.... - 7/4/16
The family we are teaching with a date for baptism are still doing well. We are meeting with them tonight. They are so awesome and so prepared and I feel honored to be teaching them! The Branch is excited for them as well and is doing a great job of fellowshipping them! Other than them though there isn't much going on for us. We have been doing a lot of tracting and have meet some potential investigators, but there is a lot of time between those meetings that we are just trying to find new people to teach. But we are working hard and that is what matters.
So we were tracting in a neighborhood that we haven't ever been in and we found a Mormon.org card in a door that previous missionaries had left! Apparently the blue doesn't get sun bleached!
But other than those finds it has been really stormy this week. We lost power one night while we were asleep. The only reason we know is because all of the clocks needed to be reset when we woke up! But they don't last very long. The weather is so volatile here next to the ocean you never know what is going to happen!
Anyway, I am glad that all is going well for you guys!
Elder Ciminski
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| One of the potential investigator records that we found. |
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| Super confused because it was raining...? but sunny? |
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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