This week we are at a library in Brea because the one in La Habra is closed till June. It’s part of the same network though so our cards work just fine here. This week has been pretty good. Did I ever tell you James wrote me? I wrote him a letter when he was in the MTC and he wrote back when he got to California. It was pretty funny, because I looked up his address on my GPS and since he’s in a really close mission to us it would only take an hour and 18 minutes to get to his apartment. I was like, “Elder Fraga, we could be there before midnight and then come back in the morning and no one would ever know!” It was pretty funny. Actually there are a lot of things I could do on my mission without anyone finding out…but that’s not why I’m here.
So Elder Swenson (Kyle) came back down to California this weekend for a baptism of a family that’s been taught like 2 years or more. He even baptized one of them. I guess their main problem was that they didn’t want to get married, but they finally did. Anyway, He stayed with OJ and Merllyn so this morning they drove up and we all went bowling together. It was really fun and OJ is a really good teacher.
This week we all decided to get our hair cut and since Kyle left me some hair cutting clippers (like mom has) we decided to do it ourselves. I cut Elder Sharp’s hair like two weeks ago so I thought I knew what I was doing, but then I accidentally put on a number three when I was cutting Elder Fraga’s hair so it came out kind of short. The funny part is that then Elder Sharp cut my hair and made the exact same mistake, only with a number two hahaha. I guess that’s what I deserve for making a stupid mistake lol. We were nervous President would be upset with our hair being too short, but at interviews he didn’t even mention it so we’ll just let it grow back and be more careful next time :)
This week Elder Fraga decided to take up “gardening” so he bought some pots and dirt and planted some sunflowers. They’re small pots and I told him how big sunflowers get, but he doesn’t care. We planted a bunch in each pot and I said we’ve have to thin them when they come up, but he’s like, “no, if we make them fight each other they’ll be stronger like ‘survival of the fittest.’” Funny kid. I don’t think he’ll be able to take them from area to area after they get 10 feet tall. I guess he’ll have to give them to members.
With Elder Sharp’s special needs we got permission to go to the weight room in the mornings and work out. We also got permission to exercise for an extra half hour, or at least he did. So it’s been really nice to get up every morning and have a good workout. I usually run on the treadmill for half an hour and it seems to help. I’m hoping to lose a few pounds too :)
Dad just reminded me we had another earthquake yesterday. It was in LA County and was only a 5.0 so I didn’t even get to feel it this time :( That’s okay though. I’m excited for the big one to come. That’d be cool if it was while I’m still here—then we could just go serve people all day.
We had a really good lesson with Erasmo yesterday and told him we’ve taught him everything we can and that it’s up to him now. He needs to make the decision himself and commit to live a different life. We really emphasized baptism and we know he’s got an answer about this church, he just has to give up his old life and it’s really hard for him. He says he’s still not ready. I guess the only thing left to do is pray for him. He still comes to church and reads the BOM a lot so we really hope he can change. Elder Sharp gave him a blessing yesterday and said he’s a chosen son of God and that he has great things to do, he just needs to put his faith in God and make that blind leap. I have hopes that someday he will change, but he made it clear that it won’t be anytime soon.
Julia is still doing well. She is committed to God and has a determination to live the commandments. She is praying and thinking this week about what she is going to do. She either has to get Alvero to get divorced and get married, or she needs to separate herself from him. She’s deciding this week if she loves him enough to get married. He doesn’t seem to be very motivated himself to change so we’ll see what happens.
Our investigators Estevan and Maria disappeared so we think they moved to Utah. They kept talking about it, so I guess they finally did it.
Rigoberto and Michelle are still needing a divorce before they can get married so we talked to them and tried to help push them along. Hopefully something happens soon. They also need to start living the word of wisdom.
Anyway, things are going well here. I love being with my two great companions and learning from them and joking with them. They are great teachers and know how to use the spirit in their teaching. Elder Sharp has two girls waiting for him so it’s fun to tease him about that.
Thanks for all your support, love, and letters. Have a good week!
Love,
Elder Curtis
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Me (in Spanish): Hi is my Mom there? Dad (also in Spanish): Yes you can, just a sec
Hello everyone. It was great to hear from and talk to everyone in Highland this weekend. Sounds like things are going well. Things are good for me too. We went to Deseret Book today and I bought a new scripture case for my Spanish scriptures. It’ll be nice.
I guess the main news from this week is we had two baptisms and confirmations. Kimberly and Stacy Rico who are 10 and 11 got baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. I got to stand in for the confirmations. The baptism was kind of rushed and poorly planned, but we all got an answer in prayer that we needed to do it this weekend while they were still excited. We are really hoping this helps get their parents and their uncles/aunts back to church who are all less active. They came to the confirmation Sunday so I hope they realize it isn’t as bad as they thought.
We were able to teach two families who we haven’t seen in a long time this week --Edith/Juan and Juan/Mariela. We taught 13 lessons with a member present this week so that has really helped.
The other highlight of this week was the trip to the temple we had on Wednesday, but I probably told you about that already huh? I forgot we wrote last Wednesday. Anyway, we did a session that day, then went back to the temple on Saturday for a temple tour. We had an investigator there who is the wife of a member in our ward. It’s Brother and Sister Urrelos. The wife is from Brazil so it’s hard to understand her Spanish. I bet Dad wouldn’t have a problem though. Even my companions have a super hard time, but with the husband there (who grew up in Spanish) we are able to have pretty good lessons.
I don’t have a ton to say this week, just that the Lord is Really looking after us and keeping us safe and guiding us. I know this work is true and the message we take to people will bless their lives, not only on judgment day, but in all they do in this life as well. When we keep the commandments we can be happy, not matter what happens in our life. The Lord will protect and guide us so we learn and grow and even enjoy the experience. Hope this spring brings you all happiness and joy in life. Enjoy the stage you are at right now, because you’ll miss these times.
Love,
Elder Curtis
I guess the main news from this week is we had two baptisms and confirmations. Kimberly and Stacy Rico who are 10 and 11 got baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. I got to stand in for the confirmations. The baptism was kind of rushed and poorly planned, but we all got an answer in prayer that we needed to do it this weekend while they were still excited. We are really hoping this helps get their parents and their uncles/aunts back to church who are all less active. They came to the confirmation Sunday so I hope they realize it isn’t as bad as they thought.
We were able to teach two families who we haven’t seen in a long time this week --Edith/Juan and Juan/Mariela. We taught 13 lessons with a member present this week so that has really helped.
The other highlight of this week was the trip to the temple we had on Wednesday, but I probably told you about that already huh? I forgot we wrote last Wednesday. Anyway, we did a session that day, then went back to the temple on Saturday for a temple tour. We had an investigator there who is the wife of a member in our ward. It’s Brother and Sister Urrelos. The wife is from Brazil so it’s hard to understand her Spanish. I bet Dad wouldn’t have a problem though. Even my companions have a super hard time, but with the husband there (who grew up in Spanish) we are able to have pretty good lessons.
I don’t have a ton to say this week, just that the Lord is Really looking after us and keeping us safe and guiding us. I know this work is true and the message we take to people will bless their lives, not only on judgment day, but in all they do in this life as well. When we keep the commandments we can be happy, not matter what happens in our life. The Lord will protect and guide us so we learn and grow and even enjoy the experience. Hope this spring brings you all happiness and joy in life. Enjoy the stage you are at right now, because you’ll miss these times.
Love,
Elder Curtis
I get to call home on Sunday!
It hasn’t been a long time since I last wrote, but I enjoy writing and I’m sure you enjoy hearing about everything.
Friday night we went and visited a referral we had gotten and it started out really well. I guess they had been taught before and had been to church a couple times so when we gave them the baptism commitment they accepted. It was a woman and her two pregnant daughters, one of which is about to give birth if she hasn’t yet. Since they’d been to church a bunch already my companions were like, “let’s do it tomorrow!” So we had it all planned out to go in the morning and make sure they knew everything they needed to know and were ready, then we’d baptize them at like 5 in the afternoon.
The next day turned out really bad though. Elder Fraga went to correlation in the morning while me and Elder Sharp went to teach them. Latin people are funny though. They think living together counts as being married so we thought they were married, but when we went back in the morning the mother said she was living with someone she wasn’t married to. Elder Sharp is a really frank and bold person so he told her straight out she couldn’t be baptized unless they split up. She got really offended and said her other husband was baptized and then turned into a really terribly nasty person and she even said a previous elder was going to baptize her even if she was with someone. Elder Sharp just told her we can’t baptize her or the condemnation will be on us and she left the room crying.
The two daughters decided they would wait because of all the contention. The only thing is that the mom won’t let us in the house anymore. We went back but she’s too mad at us. It’s really hard for me because I know the daughters would be baptized, but the mother is now an obstacle instead of a catalyst. They need lots of prayers. We had Nancy Pantoja (ward member) there and she went in and talked to her and the lady, Laurel, said they weren’t sleeping together, just living in the same house. It’s a tough situation and I don’t know what to think. I just hope she doesn’t continue to have hard feelings to us and the church. Her daughters are named Asusena and Leslie I think.
Anyway, on to some good news. I get to call home on Sunday! I was thinking maybe you could Skype with my siblings so I could talk to them too from the phone. I don’t know—maybe I’ll be allowed to call them, but if it’s Mother’s day Mom will probably want to be one the other end the whole time. So I guess you can just use speaker phone and maybe we can try the Skype. I haven’t heard anything about it yet, but I assume it will just be in the evening. Guess you’ll find out :)
Despite the problem we had on Saturday, we’ve actually had a lot of success. Stazie and Kimberly, the 10 and 11 year old, are doing really well and they’re getting baptized this Sunday. They are the kids of one of the less active Rico families and they’re really fun to teach. Hopefully we’ll be able to baptize more in the coming weeks of this month.
Erasmo is still struggling to get an answer, but we had a special fast for him on Sunday. I hope everything works out. Personally, I think he already got an answer, he just doesn’t know it, or doesn’t feel ready.
For Julia and Rigo/Michelle we need to get them to keep the word of wisdom and get married still. We were finally able to meet with Edith/Juan again, who we haven’t talked to since I was with Elder Swenson, and we also were able to teach Juan/Mariela with a member so things are going well.
I’m having a great time here and I’m excited to talk on Sunday. That’s about it I guess. Just start thinking of lots of specific questions you can ask me over the phone. Otherwise, I won’t really know what to say. Thanks for the fun letters and the family news letters. I have the best family in the world!
Love, Elder Curtis
P.S.
I forgot to tell you, we got information about the swine flu in zone conference last week and they gave us a paper on how to stay healthy. I don't really think it's a problem here in California, but in the mission Elder Sharp is from everything is shut down! The missionaries can't even leave their apartment and all church is canceled so he's pretty glad not to have to deal with that. Don't get me wrong he was very disappointed not to be able to go back to his Mexico mission, but he's glad not to be stuck in an apartment with nothing to do.
Friday night we went and visited a referral we had gotten and it started out really well. I guess they had been taught before and had been to church a couple times so when we gave them the baptism commitment they accepted. It was a woman and her two pregnant daughters, one of which is about to give birth if she hasn’t yet. Since they’d been to church a bunch already my companions were like, “let’s do it tomorrow!” So we had it all planned out to go in the morning and make sure they knew everything they needed to know and were ready, then we’d baptize them at like 5 in the afternoon.
The next day turned out really bad though. Elder Fraga went to correlation in the morning while me and Elder Sharp went to teach them. Latin people are funny though. They think living together counts as being married so we thought they were married, but when we went back in the morning the mother said she was living with someone she wasn’t married to. Elder Sharp is a really frank and bold person so he told her straight out she couldn’t be baptized unless they split up. She got really offended and said her other husband was baptized and then turned into a really terribly nasty person and she even said a previous elder was going to baptize her even if she was with someone. Elder Sharp just told her we can’t baptize her or the condemnation will be on us and she left the room crying.
The two daughters decided they would wait because of all the contention. The only thing is that the mom won’t let us in the house anymore. We went back but she’s too mad at us. It’s really hard for me because I know the daughters would be baptized, but the mother is now an obstacle instead of a catalyst. They need lots of prayers. We had Nancy Pantoja (ward member) there and she went in and talked to her and the lady, Laurel, said they weren’t sleeping together, just living in the same house. It’s a tough situation and I don’t know what to think. I just hope she doesn’t continue to have hard feelings to us and the church. Her daughters are named Asusena and Leslie I think.
Anyway, on to some good news. I get to call home on Sunday! I was thinking maybe you could Skype with my siblings so I could talk to them too from the phone. I don’t know—maybe I’ll be allowed to call them, but if it’s Mother’s day Mom will probably want to be one the other end the whole time. So I guess you can just use speaker phone and maybe we can try the Skype. I haven’t heard anything about it yet, but I assume it will just be in the evening. Guess you’ll find out :)
Despite the problem we had on Saturday, we’ve actually had a lot of success. Stazie and Kimberly, the 10 and 11 year old, are doing really well and they’re getting baptized this Sunday. They are the kids of one of the less active Rico families and they’re really fun to teach. Hopefully we’ll be able to baptize more in the coming weeks of this month.
Erasmo is still struggling to get an answer, but we had a special fast for him on Sunday. I hope everything works out. Personally, I think he already got an answer, he just doesn’t know it, or doesn’t feel ready.
For Julia and Rigo/Michelle we need to get them to keep the word of wisdom and get married still. We were finally able to meet with Edith/Juan again, who we haven’t talked to since I was with Elder Swenson, and we also were able to teach Juan/Mariela with a member so things are going well.
I’m having a great time here and I’m excited to talk on Sunday. That’s about it I guess. Just start thinking of lots of specific questions you can ask me over the phone. Otherwise, I won’t really know what to say. Thanks for the fun letters and the family news letters. I have the best family in the world!
Love, Elder Curtis
P.S.
I forgot to tell you, we got information about the swine flu in zone conference last week and they gave us a paper on how to stay healthy. I don't really think it's a problem here in California, but in the mission Elder Sharp is from everything is shut down! The missionaries can't even leave their apartment and all church is canceled so he's pretty glad not to have to deal with that. Don't get me wrong he was very disappointed not to be able to go back to his Mexico mission, but he's glad not to be stuck in an apartment with nothing to do.
Friday, May 1, 2009
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
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
Monday, April 27, 2009
Some Interesting News
Hey everybody. This week I have some really interesting news.
First of all, this Friday we are doing a service for a Special Olympics (Olympics for the handicapped), so they moved half of p-day to Friday so I won't be writing my long letter till then.
The next bit of interesting news is that today I get a new companion! Actually both me and Elder Fraga get a new companion, which means we'll be in a threesome for the rest of this transfer. He's coming from a different mission, and right now I don't know anything about him, so I'll tell about it on Friday.
The last bit of news is that we had 2 tiny earthquakes on the 23rd. They were small enough that they didn't do any damage, but large enough that I felt one of them! Pretty crazy huh!
I need to go now and pick up my new comp so have a good week! Till Friday!
Elder Curtis
First of all, this Friday we are doing a service for a Special Olympics (Olympics for the handicapped), so they moved half of p-day to Friday so I won't be writing my long letter till then.
The next bit of interesting news is that today I get a new companion! Actually both me and Elder Fraga get a new companion, which means we'll be in a threesome for the rest of this transfer. He's coming from a different mission, and right now I don't know anything about him, so I'll tell about it on Friday.
The last bit of news is that we had 2 tiny earthquakes on the 23rd. They were small enough that they didn't do any damage, but large enough that I felt one of them! Pretty crazy huh!
I need to go now and pick up my new comp so have a good week! Till Friday!
Elder Curtis
Monday, April 20, 2009
Tastes Like Chicken
Well hi everyone! I found out Saturday that I’ll be with my Chilango, Elder Fraga for another transfer in this area. So my address is still the same. Seems weird how fast time is going. Once you get into the swing of things, time really goes by fast. Life is really good though and I’m happy to be a part of this work.
How’s the baby doing? And how are you doing Stormie? I was talking to the lady we visit every Thursday night, Merylnn, and she said that she thinks it’s easier to give birth the natural way. She said you kind of forget the pain and then the recovery is really fast so hopefully your future babies will be easier :)
I had a good Easter Sunday. The ward choir sang in sacrament meeting. They wanted a soloist so I decided to volunteer so I sang a verse by myself (with a microphone). It was a good sacrament meeting. I also had fun coloring Easter eggs by myself. I did about 10. Elder Fraga didn’t want to do any. I’ll take a picture of them. Too bad the paint was dried out. Someone should complain about that.
I’m glad to have Elder Fraga for another transfer. I’ll be able to keep learning lots from him and hopefully set a good example for him too. He joined the church when he was 11 when the rest of his family was converted. I’m not sure if any of his extended family are members. He has a brother going to BYU and the rest are in Mexico. He loved BYU Hawaii and is constantly raving about it and even half convinced Elder Keeler to go there after his mission. He says the people are really laid back (“chill”) and he went to the beach all the time. He wasn’t really by any cities so that’s all there really was to do anyway lol He went to English school in Provo to learn enough English to go to school in the USA then went to BYUH.
The last couple days have been really hot! Yesterday it got up into the 100’s! It’s about that hot today too. Man, I get so much hotter when I have to wear a tight collar, tie, and warm long pants. Yesterday I almost died—especially since the place we were teaching didn’t have air conditioning—most probably don’t though. Just small little apartments with poor Mexicans living in them. It was the member’s house where we teach Erasmo. Luckily we/they decided to have dinner out back in the shade of the building. The lesson went well and he understands everything just fine, he just says he isn’t ready to drop everything and do what God asks. He needs that strong confirmation from God so keep him in your prayers.
Julia is doing really well and is super ready for baptism. We still aren’t sure what to do about her guy friend who is married though. I don’t know if he wants to go to the trouble of getting a divorce and getting married. She accepted the word of wisdom really well though—even though she has multiple issues with it. She is determined to change so I think it’ll happen. I’m not sure if she’ll be ready by her date on the 10th, but she has a testimony. Like I said Erasmo probably isn’t going to be ready by this Sunday so we’ll have to set a new date and wait till he’s gotten an answer.
We had another temple tour on Saturday so that was good. Erasmo was the only one that came (of our investigators) just like last time but I liked it. Right before we went down, we ate lunch with Elder Keeler and Gillespie. It was at a Mexican place and I was looking at the menu and saw this appetizer that was a bowl of crickets. It looked really gross. Anyway, when I was ordering I asked for soup and the waitress said it was really small so I was deciding what to do when all of a sudden Elder Keeler finished my order for me. I knew what was coming so when the cheese and cricket quesadilla was put in front of me I wasn’t too surprised. The elders didn’t make me pay for it, but I did end up taking one bite. Tastes like chicken. Lol just kidding. It’s not that yummy, but it didn’t have too strong a taste. I don’t really have a stomach for any more though haha. Especially after I could feel the little hard legs in my mouth. We all tried some, but none of us liked it enough to finish it lol so Elder Keeler and Gillespie took half to a member or something.
That’s crazy about Trevor. I have no idea if he had a girlfriend before his mission. I never heard anything. Not that I knew everything about him though. Thanks for the funny stories about Tereesah. That is SO funny that she uses the word “pretty.” It makes me think of when Julian was here and wanted to know why we use that word. Sounds like she’s making progress towards being potty trained. She’s a smart girl :) There’s this one little girl in our ward—she’s the granddaughter of Obispo Cerda and we were eating dinner with them one night and she was being so silly. She likes Pinocchio and she said “Pinonio has a long nose like Him (in Spanish)” referring to me of course. It was really funny.
Anyway, I love you all. Hope your week goes well!
Love,
Elder Curtis
How’s the baby doing? And how are you doing Stormie? I was talking to the lady we visit every Thursday night, Merylnn, and she said that she thinks it’s easier to give birth the natural way. She said you kind of forget the pain and then the recovery is really fast so hopefully your future babies will be easier :)
I had a good Easter Sunday. The ward choir sang in sacrament meeting. They wanted a soloist so I decided to volunteer so I sang a verse by myself (with a microphone). It was a good sacrament meeting. I also had fun coloring Easter eggs by myself. I did about 10. Elder Fraga didn’t want to do any. I’ll take a picture of them. Too bad the paint was dried out. Someone should complain about that.
I’m glad to have Elder Fraga for another transfer. I’ll be able to keep learning lots from him and hopefully set a good example for him too. He joined the church when he was 11 when the rest of his family was converted. I’m not sure if any of his extended family are members. He has a brother going to BYU and the rest are in Mexico. He loved BYU Hawaii and is constantly raving about it and even half convinced Elder Keeler to go there after his mission. He says the people are really laid back (“chill”) and he went to the beach all the time. He wasn’t really by any cities so that’s all there really was to do anyway lol He went to English school in Provo to learn enough English to go to school in the USA then went to BYUH.
The last couple days have been really hot! Yesterday it got up into the 100’s! It’s about that hot today too. Man, I get so much hotter when I have to wear a tight collar, tie, and warm long pants. Yesterday I almost died—especially since the place we were teaching didn’t have air conditioning—most probably don’t though. Just small little apartments with poor Mexicans living in them. It was the member’s house where we teach Erasmo. Luckily we/they decided to have dinner out back in the shade of the building. The lesson went well and he understands everything just fine, he just says he isn’t ready to drop everything and do what God asks. He needs that strong confirmation from God so keep him in your prayers.
Julia is doing really well and is super ready for baptism. We still aren’t sure what to do about her guy friend who is married though. I don’t know if he wants to go to the trouble of getting a divorce and getting married. She accepted the word of wisdom really well though—even though she has multiple issues with it. She is determined to change so I think it’ll happen. I’m not sure if she’ll be ready by her date on the 10th, but she has a testimony. Like I said Erasmo probably isn’t going to be ready by this Sunday so we’ll have to set a new date and wait till he’s gotten an answer.
We had another temple tour on Saturday so that was good. Erasmo was the only one that came (of our investigators) just like last time but I liked it. Right before we went down, we ate lunch with Elder Keeler and Gillespie. It was at a Mexican place and I was looking at the menu and saw this appetizer that was a bowl of crickets. It looked really gross. Anyway, when I was ordering I asked for soup and the waitress said it was really small so I was deciding what to do when all of a sudden Elder Keeler finished my order for me. I knew what was coming so when the cheese and cricket quesadilla was put in front of me I wasn’t too surprised. The elders didn’t make me pay for it, but I did end up taking one bite. Tastes like chicken. Lol just kidding. It’s not that yummy, but it didn’t have too strong a taste. I don’t really have a stomach for any more though haha. Especially after I could feel the little hard legs in my mouth. We all tried some, but none of us liked it enough to finish it lol so Elder Keeler and Gillespie took half to a member or something.
That’s crazy about Trevor. I have no idea if he had a girlfriend before his mission. I never heard anything. Not that I knew everything about him though. Thanks for the funny stories about Tereesah. That is SO funny that she uses the word “pretty.” It makes me think of when Julian was here and wanted to know why we use that word. Sounds like she’s making progress towards being potty trained. She’s a smart girl :) There’s this one little girl in our ward—she’s the granddaughter of Obispo Cerda and we were eating dinner with them one night and she was being so silly. She likes Pinocchio and she said “Pinonio has a long nose like Him (in Spanish)” referring to me of course. It was really funny.
Anyway, I love you all. Hope your week goes well!
Love,
Elder Curtis
Monday, April 13, 2009
I’m happy to go where I’m called though so don’t worry.
Hey everyone! I was glad to hear about the new baby. That is so exciting! Thanks for the pictures Stormie! She looks plump and healthy. Sorry to hear about all your homework Rachelle. I guess that’s what happens when you take hard classes lol. They just finished spring break here in California. Hope you guys enjoy it!
This week was super good for me. We now have 4 people with a baptism date! It’s so exciting. We also have some more that have high potential to set a date within the next couple weeks. We are teaching these two people who live with a member in our ward. I probably mentioned them last time, Rigoberto and Michelle. They have a 1 month old. They both said they would work towards the 10th of May to be baptized. The thing is Rigoberto needs to get divorced first to a girl in Mexico then married to Michelle =( So hopefully they will be able to do that soon so they can get married.
The same thing happened with Julia too. We found out the man she is living with, Alvero, is married to someone in Arizona. He’s going on vacation tomorrow so we are hoping and praying he will decide to go to Arizona and get divorced so they can get married so Julia can be baptized. She is really ready though so if that happens she’ll definitely be ready to get baptized.
We got to teach Erasmo twice this week. He’s doing well, but still needs lots of prayers so he can be ready to be baptized on the 26th.
Next week is transfers so send letters to the mission office again this week. I’ll probably stay here with elder Fraga, but you never know for sure. That would be sad if I had to leave and miss the baptisms I’ve been waiting for for two transfers. I’m happy to go where I’m called though so don’t worry.
We’ve stayed pretty busy and things are going fine. I really don’t know what else to say. I forgot to bring the letters so I could respond to them. I promise I won’t forget next time.
We still haven’t been able to meet with Raul’s family, which is sad but hopefully this week. We’re slowly but surly getting the apartment fixed and cleaned. Today is “deep cleaning” p-day so we’ll probably do a bunch more. Anyway, like I said, I’m pretty stuck on what to say so hope you all have a good week.
Once again, thanks for your letters and your love. Have a good week.
Much love from So Cal,
Elder Curtis
This week was super good for me. We now have 4 people with a baptism date! It’s so exciting. We also have some more that have high potential to set a date within the next couple weeks. We are teaching these two people who live with a member in our ward. I probably mentioned them last time, Rigoberto and Michelle. They have a 1 month old. They both said they would work towards the 10th of May to be baptized. The thing is Rigoberto needs to get divorced first to a girl in Mexico then married to Michelle =( So hopefully they will be able to do that soon so they can get married.
The same thing happened with Julia too. We found out the man she is living with, Alvero, is married to someone in Arizona. He’s going on vacation tomorrow so we are hoping and praying he will decide to go to Arizona and get divorced so they can get married so Julia can be baptized. She is really ready though so if that happens she’ll definitely be ready to get baptized.
We got to teach Erasmo twice this week. He’s doing well, but still needs lots of prayers so he can be ready to be baptized on the 26th.
Next week is transfers so send letters to the mission office again this week. I’ll probably stay here with elder Fraga, but you never know for sure. That would be sad if I had to leave and miss the baptisms I’ve been waiting for for two transfers. I’m happy to go where I’m called though so don’t worry.
We’ve stayed pretty busy and things are going fine. I really don’t know what else to say. I forgot to bring the letters so I could respond to them. I promise I won’t forget next time.
We still haven’t been able to meet with Raul’s family, which is sad but hopefully this week. We’re slowly but surly getting the apartment fixed and cleaned. Today is “deep cleaning” p-day so we’ll probably do a bunch more. Anyway, like I said, I’m pretty stuck on what to say so hope you all have a good week.
Once again, thanks for your letters and your love. Have a good week.
Much love from So Cal,
Elder Curtis
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