They gave us 51 referrals!!!!!

Hello from California! This week is so weird. On Monday we did our shopping and laundry, but then the rest of the day was regular since they decided to have p-day today. We have it today because we went to the Special Olympics for the “differently-abled” or the handicapped. It was pretty cool. We had a little stand and made characters out of those long balloons and gave them to the kids. We made balloon hats, swords, dogs, and lots of interesting new inventions the missionaries made. It was fun and I mostly made swords because they are easiest. We had zone conference on Tuesday and we don’t have district meeting and weekly planning isn’t until tomorrow (it’s usually on Fridays) so it’s a really weird week.

Last week we were able to do service as well for the city of Fullerton. It was just a city activity that we went to and volunteered for a couple hours. Last Thursday I went on exchanges with my district leader Elder Keeler so that was a fun and enjoyable day that was a little different.

The most interesting thing though is that now I’m in a threesome. My new companion is named Elder Sharp. He served in Mexico City for 18 months then had to go home because his pancreas stopped working and he developed type 1 diabetes. He was home for a couple months then got reassigned here so now we have a new companion. He’s a really amazing missionary and has helped us and taught us so much! He’s from Dallas. We’ve set like 4 baptism dates since he’s been here and none of them were even our most solid investigators.

In Zone Conference president set a new system that you set a baptism date with people the very first time you meet with them. It’s what Elder Sharp’s been doing all along in Mexico so he helped faithless me and Elder Fraga to get going. It’s really been great. We’ve had amazing lessons full of so much power and spirit. We’ve been using visual aids, and Elder Sharp is such a good teacher. Two of the new people with a date are from a less active family. They are two girls ages 10 and 11. We also set a date with a different less-active’s son and he’s in his 30’s. I know it was true inspiration to have Elder Sharp with us. He’s got a great attitude and lifts our spirits.

Another miracle we had was when we tried out Elder Sharp’s method of asking for referrals. You have them close their eyes and explain that we’re going to sing a song and invite the spirit to give them inspiration of who should have the missionary lessons. Then we have a prayer and then he asks six really good questions that really help them think of everyone they know. We’ve done it once at a dinner appointment and there were 5 adults there. They gave us 51 referrals!!!!! Not all of them are in our area, but that’s not important – they’re still children of God. It was amazing.

Sounds like you are doing well S,J, and Miyah! Thanks for the pictures you’ve sent. I was pretty surprised to hear about shoveling snow off the driveway (in Utah) in one letter, and then in the next hear about Dad mowing the lawn. I guess that’s a good thing, I just didn’t expect it to melt that fast. Glad your winter is finally coming to an end. Summer is rapidly approaching here. It’s going to get really hot soon and I’m not looking forward to it. I wish it would just stay in the 70’s and 80’s.

I continue to enjoy reading about the crazy things Tereesah and Ross do and how Anna manages to stay sane. Good luck over there :)

Let me know if you guys have any specific questions about all the things I’ve talked about like my new companion or whatever else. I think I’ll be writing again on Wednesday since we are going to the temple that day so they are moving p-day again. Anyway, love you all and wish the best!

Love,
Elder Curtis