Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Christmas Message 2010 - Being here on a mission at the Cebu Philippines Temple causes one to contemplate his own destiny in relationship to our God and his Eternal Plan. This is one of my philosophical moments so pay attention; it may be a long time before I get this way again. Despite the hardships which we are experiencing, which mind you is nothing like the early pioneers who sacrificed all and “I” know we are in no way in their league, we have come to know our Savior more intensely while serving this mission. We can feel his guidance all of the time while here. We are prompted to say this or to say that to a particular brother or sister and we step back and say out loud or to ourselves, “Wow! where did that come from, that wasn’t me speaking”. Or why did I do that, only to find out later that it was a means for someone to receive a small jolt from the spirit to awaken their soul. Our lives are so wrapped up in our working at the Temple that we really don’t have time for a personal relationship with anyone local individual but we have “moments”, great moments with a lot of individuals. Life is lived from “Moment” to “Moment”, each one sometimes is very significant or sometimes not even noticed but collectively they make up a wonderful tapestry for the life that we are called to live here.

We have met so many wonderful people and each has touched our lives, for the better. This past three weeks we have been so heavily involved with the youth of the church while working at the Temple. We are one of two sets of the Baptistery Co-Coordinators at the temple, and let me tell you we have been really busy. So much so that Brother Arrington from the Temple Dept in SLC set up and took notice of the tremendous number of baptisms that has been done, making special mention of the amount of activity in the Baptistery in his recent visit and report. The statistics are there but the stories behind that history is amazing. The youth we meet at the temple are so strong in their testimony of the gospel. They all look forward to and yearn to be on missions to preach the gospel and share the message of the restored gospel. They come from very humble circumstances and yet their testimonies are unwavering (note previous postings). The feeling one gets just being in their presents is unbelievable. They all come to the temple in their spotless, freshly pressed white shirts and nice dresses looking so much the bearers of the gospel.

Here most of the young women serve on missions. The youth graduate from High School when about 15 years old then go on to college. Graduate from College when about 21 and then go on missions. What better a foundation to start their missions from could you ask for?

As the Christmas season nears we are reminded of our friends (who are too busy to write an e-mail) and our loved ones at home. Praying for each of you to have a better life and to be spiritually fed as we each contemplate the birth of Our Savior and the sacrifice he made for us this joyous season. We wish each of you the very best this season and throughout the New Year.

Love Wallace and Shauna Cummings

2 comments:

  1. We check in on you guys since your mission blog will update to google reader! Thanks for the inspirational stories...if only all temples were as filled with the same dedication as the saints of the Philippines! Merry Christmas and know your driveway is cleared and house looks great!

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  2. Once again, we as a family are so proud of the both of you for the example you are setting to your grandchildren. We make a special note to include you both in all our family prayers and to talk about what you are up to each family night.
    While we may not necessarily be emailing you on a regular basis, you are in our thoughts and prayers on a daily basis and our thoughts on a 'moment to moment' basis to steal some of your lines.
    Your opportunity in the Phillipines has made such a difference on the lives of so many people, we can see that in the pictures you have sent as well as the stories you share. What a grand and glorious work you and we are all involved in today.
    We love you, we miss you, but we are so pleased and proud of the work you are doing. Please keep up the stories and the testimony of what you are doing.

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