I guess I only have 15 minutes to write so I’ll try and make this quick. Things have been going pretty well.
We had a baptism on Saturday of a kid who has autism. I don’t know if he really needed to be baptized for salvation, but he’s been going to church his whole life so he wanted to get baptized.
This ward is pretty interesting. 70% of the whole ward is less active. Isn’t that insane? So usually there aren’t more than 100 people at church, but there are about 350 members I guess. Lots of them we’ve visited haven’t been to church for 10+ years. It’s pretty crazy and we have lots of work to do.
We are still working with investigators luckily enough. The last missionaries in this ward covered two wards so now that we are for this ward only we have a grand total of 1 investigator. Luckily we’ve been receiving some referrals so things will get better. As we work we’ll find more people to teach as well.
Thanks for sending the program so I could see all the missionaries. One quick correction would be that I won’t get home till November so you could probably have them change that. It could be December, but we’ll see.
It was pretty crazy the last two days because our car had serious problems starting up the first time in the morning. We were finally able to take it in today and get the battery fixed so it doesn’t do that anymore. Maybe they replaced it—I’m not sure, but we were without a car today so the zone leaders took us to the activity (we played basketball—it was really fun) and then back to our apartment. We finally got it back though so hopefully it’ll be good now.
I got to give the youth talk on Sunday since whoever it was wasn’t prepared, so I just introduced myself, told a short story about Joseph Smith, then bore my testimony. I gave a short missionary invite at the baptism too so I’ve been trying my best to not slip out any Spanish words lately—except in my talk when I finished my testimony in Spanish.
It was cool because we visited a less active this week who spoke Spanish so I got to use it again. A visitor at church was Hispanic as well so it’s been nice to be able to speak Spanish to them. Elder Chadburn hasn’t served in Spanish yet so he doesn’t know much. He’s a great guy though so I enjoy being his companion.
It gets pretty hot in our apartment because we don’t have AC but if that’s the worst thing about it, I’m not complaining—except we don’t have much in it since it’s new.
Our one investigator is Ralph so you can pray for him. Better go, love you all!
Elder Curtis
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
No Doubt About That
Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer vacation. Things are going just fine for me. I did end up getting transferred so now I’m down in Costa Mesa. I’ll send you my new address as soon as I can. We are in a brand new apartment and it’s really nice (smells like new carpet), we just don’t have much stuff yet. We need to buy toilet paper and a shower curtain :) Elder Fraga and Elder Zelnick stayed in La Habra and a new elder is going up there, but I got sent down here in an English ward. It’s going to be super different from my last area and ward—no doubt about that. It’ll be a little weird since this is my first time being transferred, but I think I’ll be fine.
My new companion is Elder Chadburns. He’s from Morgan, Utah I believe. He seems pretty cool so far. He’s a little different from what I’m used to but there’s nothing wrong with that. A couple other elders told me I’ll need lots of patience with him so we’ll see what happens, but I know I’m here for a reason so I’ll make the best of what I have.
I guess this is a pretty small ward of less than 100 which is not a common thing for an English ward. I think everything will work out fine, I just need to get used to speaking/teaching English all the time.
This last week was super good. We had another great FHE with Silvia’s family, Erasmo, the Pantojas, and Sonia/Michelle/Rigo. We found some good people tracting this week and taught them some good lessons. One of them even came up to us and asked for a “Bible study” for her son. They weren’t able to do it this week so I guess the elders will go back next Sunday.
We ate dinner with the Ricos in Brea twice this week. Some people are so nice :) Tuesday night we taught English again and I even got to teach a piano lesson so Ashley who is 10 and is the daughter of Nancy Pantoja. Monse who is a daughter of Silvia and is 8 came too. It was fun teaching them the notes and a little about the piano. I left Ashley with some flashcards so hopefully she continues to learn.
Silvia is doing really well and will hopefully be baptized this coming Sunday. She’s a really good investigator and understands and agrees with all we teach/taught. Thursday night we had another FHE with the Brea Ricos after eating with them. We watched Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration. It was kind of crazy because the disc kept freezing, but we eventually got through it and it turned out well.
Friday we taught Thomas, our English less active who’s son is about to be baptized. He said he’d try to go to church more often. I think he’ll be self employed soon because he’s starting his own business so hopefully he’ll be more open on Sundays when that happens. That night we taught one of the guys we found tracting named Juan and committed him to baptism. It was a pretty cool lesson so hopefully everything will work out with him. The first time we taught him he was a little drunk so he didn’t remember anything the second time, but at least he remembered us.
Yesterday everyone was really nice and a little sad I was leaving. Nancy bought me a tie, and cake, and even a nice little card. We taught one last lesson to Erasmo then went to a baptism of Elder Gillespie and Elder Diaz. It took me a while to get everything packed and organized but thankfully I finally got it all ready on time this morning. Sorry I don’t know much about my new area yet. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to tell you a lot more information.
Anyway, hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for the continued letters and support. Have another great week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
My new companion is Elder Chadburns. He’s from Morgan, Utah I believe. He seems pretty cool so far. He’s a little different from what I’m used to but there’s nothing wrong with that. A couple other elders told me I’ll need lots of patience with him so we’ll see what happens, but I know I’m here for a reason so I’ll make the best of what I have.
I guess this is a pretty small ward of less than 100 which is not a common thing for an English ward. I think everything will work out fine, I just need to get used to speaking/teaching English all the time.
This last week was super good. We had another great FHE with Silvia’s family, Erasmo, the Pantojas, and Sonia/Michelle/Rigo. We found some good people tracting this week and taught them some good lessons. One of them even came up to us and asked for a “Bible study” for her son. They weren’t able to do it this week so I guess the elders will go back next Sunday.
We ate dinner with the Ricos in Brea twice this week. Some people are so nice :) Tuesday night we taught English again and I even got to teach a piano lesson so Ashley who is 10 and is the daughter of Nancy Pantoja. Monse who is a daughter of Silvia and is 8 came too. It was fun teaching them the notes and a little about the piano. I left Ashley with some flashcards so hopefully she continues to learn.
Silvia is doing really well and will hopefully be baptized this coming Sunday. She’s a really good investigator and understands and agrees with all we teach/taught. Thursday night we had another FHE with the Brea Ricos after eating with them. We watched Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration. It was kind of crazy because the disc kept freezing, but we eventually got through it and it turned out well.
Friday we taught Thomas, our English less active who’s son is about to be baptized. He said he’d try to go to church more often. I think he’ll be self employed soon because he’s starting his own business so hopefully he’ll be more open on Sundays when that happens. That night we taught one of the guys we found tracting named Juan and committed him to baptism. It was a pretty cool lesson so hopefully everything will work out with him. The first time we taught him he was a little drunk so he didn’t remember anything the second time, but at least he remembered us.
Yesterday everyone was really nice and a little sad I was leaving. Nancy bought me a tie, and cake, and even a nice little card. We taught one last lesson to Erasmo then went to a baptism of Elder Gillespie and Elder Diaz. It took me a while to get everything packed and organized but thankfully I finally got it all ready on time this morning. Sorry I don’t know much about my new area yet. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to tell you a lot more information.
Anyway, hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for the continued letters and support. Have another great week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
We were under attack
Buenas Tardes a todos!
Hello! How is everyone? We’re already on the last week of transfers again so remember to send letters to the mission office. I think there’s about a 60% chance of being moved this next transfer. President said we’ll usually stay in an area 6-8 months so I could definitely still stay, but we’ll see. Elder Zelnick is going home two weeks after transfers so if I stay I’ll probably be in a threesome at least two weeks.
Monday we had a great FHE @ the Pantojas and lots of investigators were there so it was really good. We had a short lesson and played a game. We had an investigator we are hoping to baptize at the end of this week named Silvia. Her daughter Monserrat is also preparing. That would be a really great end to this transfer, but we’ll see.
We knocked a lot more this week and even had some really good success with it so that makes the effort worth it for me.
Thursday I got to go on exchanges with Elder Gillespie and Elder Diaz. I slept at their place Wednesday night and spent all of Thursday with them and their investigators. It was a fun day and I enjoyed the new company for a day.
The fourth of July was a bit weird because we just did normal stuff. We have a new ward mission leader Hermano Muñoz who was the guy who got baptized my first week here in January. He’s a good man and takes his calling seriously so I think the Lord will help him do a good job. Anyway, we started meeting with him Saturday mornings for correlation. Then we stayed after and taught him a new member lesson lol.
We started our fast Saturday night for Rigoberto who has court today. Michelle and Rigo both fasted with us and came to church as well. I hope all goes well today. Guess we’ll find out what happened some time. We went to a member’s house in a different ward for dinner with the Pantojas and it was good. That night it felt like we were under attack with fireworks going off at the high school and all the streets around us.
Sunday I really enjoyed sacrament meeting. I looked at the people there and thought about how many people have changed their lives and are coming to church/striving to keep the commandments/change etc. It was really great. Stacy and Kimberly’s mom even bore a really nice testimony. Elder Fraga and I bore ours too since there was a little extra time left. We also had the confirmation of Hermano Erasmo.
Today we played soccer again and I really enjoyed getting some exercise and being with the whole district. I guess that’s about it. Everything’s going well. We should have a good week. Thanks for the letter Rachelle. Just got a call from Hermana Sonia, Michelle’s mom, and it sounds like everything went well at court. Thanks so much for all of your prayers!
Love,
Elder Curtis
Hello! How is everyone? We’re already on the last week of transfers again so remember to send letters to the mission office. I think there’s about a 60% chance of being moved this next transfer. President said we’ll usually stay in an area 6-8 months so I could definitely still stay, but we’ll see. Elder Zelnick is going home two weeks after transfers so if I stay I’ll probably be in a threesome at least two weeks.
Monday we had a great FHE @ the Pantojas and lots of investigators were there so it was really good. We had a short lesson and played a game. We had an investigator we are hoping to baptize at the end of this week named Silvia. Her daughter Monserrat is also preparing. That would be a really great end to this transfer, but we’ll see.
We knocked a lot more this week and even had some really good success with it so that makes the effort worth it for me.
Thursday I got to go on exchanges with Elder Gillespie and Elder Diaz. I slept at their place Wednesday night and spent all of Thursday with them and their investigators. It was a fun day and I enjoyed the new company for a day.
The fourth of July was a bit weird because we just did normal stuff. We have a new ward mission leader Hermano Muñoz who was the guy who got baptized my first week here in January. He’s a good man and takes his calling seriously so I think the Lord will help him do a good job. Anyway, we started meeting with him Saturday mornings for correlation. Then we stayed after and taught him a new member lesson lol.
We started our fast Saturday night for Rigoberto who has court today. Michelle and Rigo both fasted with us and came to church as well. I hope all goes well today. Guess we’ll find out what happened some time. We went to a member’s house in a different ward for dinner with the Pantojas and it was good. That night it felt like we were under attack with fireworks going off at the high school and all the streets around us.
Sunday I really enjoyed sacrament meeting. I looked at the people there and thought about how many people have changed their lives and are coming to church/striving to keep the commandments/change etc. It was really great. Stacy and Kimberly’s mom even bore a really nice testimony. Elder Fraga and I bore ours too since there was a little extra time left. We also had the confirmation of Hermano Erasmo.
Today we played soccer again and I really enjoyed getting some exercise and being with the whole district. I guess that’s about it. Everything’s going well. We should have a good week. Thanks for the letter Rachelle. Just got a call from Hermana Sonia, Michelle’s mom, and it sounds like everything went well at court. Thanks so much for all of your prayers!
Love,
Elder Curtis
Monday, July 6, 2009
I’ll be the first to attest to that
Erasmo got baptized! He decided to move his date to this weekend so we were finally able to do it. We’ve been waiting for so long for him to feel ready so we were super excited when he finally set a date with us, then when he moved it closer we were even more happy. After five months of teaching him he finally took that step and is now going to be an amazing member of the church. Thank you guys SO much for praying for him and having faith that he could eventually accept.
The gospel changes lives, I’ll be the first to attest to that. It helps people realize the truth and how much their heavenly father has in store for them. Thank you for your continued support of me in this important work. I know someday I will have “great joy with them in the kingdom of my Father.” I can not take credit for his change—you guys helped so much as did God.
He asked Elder Zelnick to do the baptism since he’s the tallest of us three. Then we filled up the font really high to make sure it would be as easy as possible. Erasmo had been to lots of baptisms and had seen how many times some of them had to be baptized so he didn’t want that to happen to him. :)
We’re still struggling to get Michelle and Rigo to make and keep their commitments. They struggle getting to church and reading/praying which are some of the most important things for them to do. We also had a big lesson (again) on the law of Chastity and tried to get them to stop living together. In the end it’s their decision, but we are doing all we can to help.
Our investigator Silvia is also doing really well. She lives right next to the Pantojas in the ward so it’s easy to teach member lessons—especially since we are there a lot to talk to Erasmo. She and her three little kids came to church yesterday and even came to the temple tour we had yesterday. We all went down to Newport again and had a nice walk around the temple explaining what temples are for etc. We also watched a 10 minute video about temples and finished with lemonade and cookies. That’s the program every time. We usually have them about once a transfer.
Anyway, there was a cool experience we had while we were there. Silvia told about a dream she had when we were first teaching her. Her children got taken away and she was trying to pray to the saints and ask forgiveness, but they refused and she couldn’t wake up from her dream…until we knocked on her door. We didn’t know that had happened and we taught her a lesson that day. It was neat to hear about that.
This morning we were going to go on a hike with the Martinez family who we eat with on Mondays. They are less actives, but really nice. So we started following them in the car to get there…until we realized they were going to drive way out of the mission. So we had to call them and say we had changed our minds lol (of course we also told them why). We went and washed our car instead. It looks a lot better. I like p-days—getting everything done you have to put off during the week.
Thanks for sending the blessing of Miyah. That was a nice surprise. Also thanks for the pictures. I can tell that Reesah is a really cute girl—especially from all the funny stories. Thanks for sharing fun things like that.
No, my allergies actually haven’t been bothering me. I can only think of one time when we visited someone with cats two transfers ago that my allergies bothered me. Thanks for reminding me of that great blessing.
Good job helping the work over there in Pitt, ART. Sounds like you sure do have lots of less-actives. We have a lot, but I’m glad we don’t have that many. Sometimes less-actives frustrate me because I know they know what to do to be happy…but they don’t do it.
Did Reesah and Dad get their packages/letters? Just wanted to make sure b/c I haven’t heard anything yet. Anyway, thanks again for all the prayers and support for me. I know it is helping! I’d better go so have a good week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
P.S. Did people really used to call me Shane? What a weird name…
The gospel changes lives, I’ll be the first to attest to that. It helps people realize the truth and how much their heavenly father has in store for them. Thank you for your continued support of me in this important work. I know someday I will have “great joy with them in the kingdom of my Father.” I can not take credit for his change—you guys helped so much as did God.
He asked Elder Zelnick to do the baptism since he’s the tallest of us three. Then we filled up the font really high to make sure it would be as easy as possible. Erasmo had been to lots of baptisms and had seen how many times some of them had to be baptized so he didn’t want that to happen to him. :)
We’re still struggling to get Michelle and Rigo to make and keep their commitments. They struggle getting to church and reading/praying which are some of the most important things for them to do. We also had a big lesson (again) on the law of Chastity and tried to get them to stop living together. In the end it’s their decision, but we are doing all we can to help.
Our investigator Silvia is also doing really well. She lives right next to the Pantojas in the ward so it’s easy to teach member lessons—especially since we are there a lot to talk to Erasmo. She and her three little kids came to church yesterday and even came to the temple tour we had yesterday. We all went down to Newport again and had a nice walk around the temple explaining what temples are for etc. We also watched a 10 minute video about temples and finished with lemonade and cookies. That’s the program every time. We usually have them about once a transfer.
Anyway, there was a cool experience we had while we were there. Silvia told about a dream she had when we were first teaching her. Her children got taken away and she was trying to pray to the saints and ask forgiveness, but they refused and she couldn’t wake up from her dream…until we knocked on her door. We didn’t know that had happened and we taught her a lesson that day. It was neat to hear about that.
This morning we were going to go on a hike with the Martinez family who we eat with on Mondays. They are less actives, but really nice. So we started following them in the car to get there…until we realized they were going to drive way out of the mission. So we had to call them and say we had changed our minds lol (of course we also told them why). We went and washed our car instead. It looks a lot better. I like p-days—getting everything done you have to put off during the week.
Thanks for sending the blessing of Miyah. That was a nice surprise. Also thanks for the pictures. I can tell that Reesah is a really cute girl—especially from all the funny stories. Thanks for sharing fun things like that.
No, my allergies actually haven’t been bothering me. I can only think of one time when we visited someone with cats two transfers ago that my allergies bothered me. Thanks for reminding me of that great blessing.
Good job helping the work over there in Pitt, ART. Sounds like you sure do have lots of less-actives. We have a lot, but I’m glad we don’t have that many. Sometimes less-actives frustrate me because I know they know what to do to be happy…but they don’t do it.
Did Reesah and Dad get their packages/letters? Just wanted to make sure b/c I haven’t heard anything yet. Anyway, thanks again for all the prayers and support for me. I know it is helping! I’d better go so have a good week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
P.S. Did people really used to call me Shane? What a weird name…
Let's attack Jerusalem!
Good morning! We are getting a head start today and writing a little earlier. We were going to go on a hike today, but Elder Zelnick didn’t feel well so we have extra time. Speaking of which, I’m in a threesome again. Elder Zelnick is from Ohio and is almost done with his mission. He’s a great teacher and works hard so he’s a good addition to the companionship.
This week we’ve been working with one of our new investigators Augustine. He understands the lessons really well, but he hasn’t come to church yet. He lives in the house with his sister Maria who we are also teaching. One time this week we went over and he arrived to the house drunk. Of course I had NO idea until after we left, but the other elders were like, “umm, can we come back a different day?” Maybe by the end of my mission I’ll know when people are drunk. He asked some weird questions, but other than that, he seemed normal to me.
We taught English on Tuesday and were happy that two people showed up to teach. Hopefully we’ll have more luck this week.
We did a lot more tracting this week when we didn’t have anyone to visit. We didn’t have much success, but found a couple people to go back and follow up on. We at least gave out a couple pass along cards.
We are working with this less active couple (Regina and Juan) who want to prepare for the temple, but for some reason like going to the English ward better than the Spanish ward. They have to wear little headset translators during sacrament meeting and then they go home. It’s closer to their house and they know a couple people there, but I think it’s ridiculous. We are trying to get them to the Spanish ward so they can stay for all three meetings and understand them. They could go to the temple prep class too.
We gave a blessing to a less-active lady in the hospital on Friday. She was about to have surgery. She seemed to be doing all right though. It’s funny that they have to have a lot of nurses in that hospital that know how to speak Spanish.
Yesterday we had the perfect experience to end the week. After dinner and a baptism that the other elders in our ward had, we went to the Pantoja’s house and watched “Joseph Smith, prophet of the Restoration” with them and Erasmo in Spanish. It’s not out on DVD yet, but somehow Elder Zelnick got a copy (a Spanish copy even). It was really good. The spirit was really strong and like 2/3 of the way through Silvia, their neighbor who we’ve taught once, was like, “what channel is that?” Erasmo went out and said “Estamos mirando la pelicula de la profeta Jose Smith. Venganse!” or in other words, “we’re watching the movie about the prophet Joseph Smith. Come join us!” It was so funny. So she and her kids joined us and totally felt the spirit. It was great. Silvia even shed a few tears.
Happy Fathers day Dad! Hope you liked it. I know I did. The ward had an activity on Saturday and served some really good food! Too bad we can’t call home three times a year lol. Guess you’ll have to wait till Christmas. How is the running going mom? Getting or feeling any better? Keep it up. How was the Trombone Ensemble you went to on a date? That sounds like it would be really good. How are you doing in softball Nicole? Any hits lately? Have you been practicing some more with Mom and Dad? If not shame on them. :) I thought that was so funny that you got a Rubik’s cube. I’ll help you solve it when I get home :D There sure are a lot of people getting married over there. The only one that really surprised me was Afton though. I guess that’s because she’s my age and the others aren’t.
The economy is sure crazy right now. Tons of people we work with are struggling financially. I heard that Obama spent more money in his first 100 days than all the previous presidents combined. I’m not sure he’s helping us out much. Hopefully he will eventually or somehow we’ll get out of this mess. Or we can just have the second coming. That would work too. One of the guys we found tracting said, “Let’s attack Jerusalem, then the Savior would come because he promised!” It was funny.
Guess that’s about it. Good job to Anna and Jeri for all the good missionary work you are doing! We can’t do this work without the members! Keep it up and everyone remember to pray for more missionary experiences and opportunities. I’m proud of all of you. And I know there aren’t many people in Highland to work with, but we can always strengthen and teach members too. Just your examples will help a lot of people I’m sure.
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
This week we’ve been working with one of our new investigators Augustine. He understands the lessons really well, but he hasn’t come to church yet. He lives in the house with his sister Maria who we are also teaching. One time this week we went over and he arrived to the house drunk. Of course I had NO idea until after we left, but the other elders were like, “umm, can we come back a different day?” Maybe by the end of my mission I’ll know when people are drunk. He asked some weird questions, but other than that, he seemed normal to me.
We taught English on Tuesday and were happy that two people showed up to teach. Hopefully we’ll have more luck this week.
We did a lot more tracting this week when we didn’t have anyone to visit. We didn’t have much success, but found a couple people to go back and follow up on. We at least gave out a couple pass along cards.
We are working with this less active couple (Regina and Juan) who want to prepare for the temple, but for some reason like going to the English ward better than the Spanish ward. They have to wear little headset translators during sacrament meeting and then they go home. It’s closer to their house and they know a couple people there, but I think it’s ridiculous. We are trying to get them to the Spanish ward so they can stay for all three meetings and understand them. They could go to the temple prep class too.
We gave a blessing to a less-active lady in the hospital on Friday. She was about to have surgery. She seemed to be doing all right though. It’s funny that they have to have a lot of nurses in that hospital that know how to speak Spanish.
Yesterday we had the perfect experience to end the week. After dinner and a baptism that the other elders in our ward had, we went to the Pantoja’s house and watched “Joseph Smith, prophet of the Restoration” with them and Erasmo in Spanish. It’s not out on DVD yet, but somehow Elder Zelnick got a copy (a Spanish copy even). It was really good. The spirit was really strong and like 2/3 of the way through Silvia, their neighbor who we’ve taught once, was like, “what channel is that?” Erasmo went out and said “Estamos mirando la pelicula de la profeta Jose Smith. Venganse!” or in other words, “we’re watching the movie about the prophet Joseph Smith. Come join us!” It was so funny. So she and her kids joined us and totally felt the spirit. It was great. Silvia even shed a few tears.
Happy Fathers day Dad! Hope you liked it. I know I did. The ward had an activity on Saturday and served some really good food! Too bad we can’t call home three times a year lol. Guess you’ll have to wait till Christmas. How is the running going mom? Getting or feeling any better? Keep it up. How was the Trombone Ensemble you went to on a date? That sounds like it would be really good. How are you doing in softball Nicole? Any hits lately? Have you been practicing some more with Mom and Dad? If not shame on them. :) I thought that was so funny that you got a Rubik’s cube. I’ll help you solve it when I get home :D There sure are a lot of people getting married over there. The only one that really surprised me was Afton though. I guess that’s because she’s my age and the others aren’t.
The economy is sure crazy right now. Tons of people we work with are struggling financially. I heard that Obama spent more money in his first 100 days than all the previous presidents combined. I’m not sure he’s helping us out much. Hopefully he will eventually or somehow we’ll get out of this mess. Or we can just have the second coming. That would work too. One of the guys we found tracting said, “Let’s attack Jerusalem, then the Savior would come because he promised!” It was funny.
Guess that’s about it. Good job to Anna and Jeri for all the good missionary work you are doing! We can’t do this work without the members! Keep it up and everyone remember to pray for more missionary experiences and opportunities. I’m proud of all of you. And I know there aren’t many people in Highland to work with, but we can always strengthen and teach members too. Just your examples will help a lot of people I’m sure.
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
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