2 Elder Curtis
An account of the doings of Elder Curtis in the land of Costa Mesa 2nd. A record of his work and labor in the land and the account of all his doings, yea, an account of the joy of his heart, being in the work of the Lord--according to the writings of Elder Curtis.
Chapter 1
And it came to pass after being in the land of Tustin third for the short space of but three weeks, I was called by the Lord to serve in the land of Costa Mesa 2nd (north). For behold, there were other servants in the land that had to return to their own homes insomuch that there was a mighty change wrought upon the servants of the Lord. Therefore, after but little time I was called to go to Costa Mesa to resume my labor in that part of the land. And I was called to work with Elder Robertson, he being the missionary there. And he, having been in the service of God but nine months, remained as the junior companion insomuch that I was called to labor as the senior, being the more experienced of the two. Yea, behold I was sent to labor here that I might more fully continue in my work, having left the position of office Elder to Elder Parrish. Yea, I could not rest, insomuch that I left to preach the word of God.
2. Behold, I do not forget those whom I have served. Yea, I will relate the events of the week. For in the first day of the week we did teach Michael Clayton and did encourage him that he might strive for much learning and change. And it came to pass that he had much zeal for the word of God, insomuch that he did read much of the words of Mormon--being a prophet from the ancient days that did record a history upon plates of gold titled the Book of Mormon--translated and published by the hand of Joseph Smith, he being a prophet of old, nevertheless he being of less ancientness.
3. And it came to pass that we did teach sister Mullarkey on the second and fourth days of the week, in order that we might more fully persuade her to trust in the Lord her God, yea that she might more fully have the spirit in her life, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek Him.
4. And behold, on the third day of the week Elder Lee did go to the land of Tustin fourth east, insomuch that Elder Landis did come hither to Tustin third that we might labor together for the space of one day, according to the time of the Californians. And we did enjoy our day much, therefore, we did rejoice in our maker. For behold, the Lord God is our maker, yea, even the eternal creator, whose worlds are without end and glory without measure.
5. And it came to pass, not to stay, that on the fifth and sixth day of the week, being Friday and Saturday, we did eat meat. For behold, those that were members of God's church--and there were many--do enjoy feeding the servants of the Lord insomuch that many times they do spoil them to the point of taking them out to eat. Therefore we did eat at the restaurant of Lonestar two nights in a row. And we did glut ourselves on the labors of those who worked there and those who took us there, nevertheless being very humble that we might not offend the Lord our God.
6. And we did find favor in the eyes of the Lord, insomuch that two investigators did come up to worship on the seventh day of the week in the true church of God, being called Michael Clayton and Joanie Mullarkey. Therefore, they did feel the spirit of God and did enjoy their time in the house of the Lord. Nevertheless, I being called by the spirit of God another way do cease my record of the teaching of these people, wherefore, I commence my account of the Costa Mesa second ward. And I do work with Elder Robertson he being from the city of Dallas in the land of Texas, having also lived in Portland Oregon. And it came to pass that I do write my record according to the truth, nevertheless I do not send pictures, for behold that is not possible at this time at this place. But I will send a record in the form of pictures in the coming week, insomuch that you will know the countenance of Elder Robertson. And I do finish my record. And it suficeth me to say that whosoever will put their trust in God, pushing their way forward continually holding fast to the rod of iron will come forth and fall down and partake of the fruit of the tree, which fruit is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men. Wherefore, it is the most desirable of all things, yea, and the most joyous to the soul. Therefore, my love being great towards you, my brethren, does not surpass that of God's. And thus it is amen.
ps. if anyone gets queasy after reading scripture talk every week or would rather just have me write normal, let me know :)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Chapter 1 (Feb 22)
1st Elder Curtis
An account typed by the fingers of Elder Curtis. A record of God's dealings with the people of Tustin third. Their acceptance and rejection of the message of the one Messiah who came and will come again. The struggles and joys of the missionaries in the land of Anaheim California. Their success and failures, their righteousness and wickedness in the land. The judgments of God upon the people and the great joy of the mission life. Written and recorded by Elder Curtis, or in other words, I, Elder Curtis typed these things.
Chapter 1
1. I Elder Curtis having been born of amazing parents and having grown up in the knowledge of the Gospel, did live after the manner of happiness all of my days. Yea, having seen much joy and also suffering in my day I proceed to give an account of the twentieth and twenty first year of my life. For behold I did go forth to the land of Southern California that perhaps I might be an instrument in the hands of God to be the means of saving a few souls, if it be in the wisdom of God. Yea, having enjoyed the first fifteen months of my service, I proceed to give a more in depth record of my doings. And I did repent of my great neglect in writing these things to the point of much regret and sorrow. Nevertheless, having known the goodness of God--his everlasting forgiveness and peace--I thence proceed.
2. And it came to pass that I did have a week of much joy and success, for behold, we did teach Sister Malarkey twice and did help her to see the importance of these things. And we did teach Sister Marroquin and exhort her to attend church that she might have the joy of the gospel in her life. Yea, we did have a day of much learning and growth on the fourth day of the week, being Thursday, after the accounting of time according to the missionaries. For behold we did meet as a zone and did learn from Brother Droubay, insomuch that our learning was great and the outpouring of the spirit was upon all people.
3. And I did go to the land of the singles on the sixth day of the week to be with Elder Jones, that we might preach the gospel together, that perhaps we might learn from each other. And we did go up and worship the Lord on the Seventh day, according to the commandments of God and did eat dinner with a Spanish family, having been away from the Spanish culture for much time I did rejoice exceedingly for the food and wholesomeness of the people. And behold Elder Lee did press with much force that we should leave the library that we might continue with our day. Therefore, I do close my record for this day and do give peace and love to all. And I, Elder Curtis, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, to make them mighty, even to the power of deliverance. And thus it is. Amen.
An account typed by the fingers of Elder Curtis. A record of God's dealings with the people of Tustin third. Their acceptance and rejection of the message of the one Messiah who came and will come again. The struggles and joys of the missionaries in the land of Anaheim California. Their success and failures, their righteousness and wickedness in the land. The judgments of God upon the people and the great joy of the mission life. Written and recorded by Elder Curtis, or in other words, I, Elder Curtis typed these things.
Chapter 1
1. I Elder Curtis having been born of amazing parents and having grown up in the knowledge of the Gospel, did live after the manner of happiness all of my days. Yea, having seen much joy and also suffering in my day I proceed to give an account of the twentieth and twenty first year of my life. For behold I did go forth to the land of Southern California that perhaps I might be an instrument in the hands of God to be the means of saving a few souls, if it be in the wisdom of God. Yea, having enjoyed the first fifteen months of my service, I proceed to give a more in depth record of my doings. And I did repent of my great neglect in writing these things to the point of much regret and sorrow. Nevertheless, having known the goodness of God--his everlasting forgiveness and peace--I thence proceed.
2. And it came to pass that I did have a week of much joy and success, for behold, we did teach Sister Malarkey twice and did help her to see the importance of these things. And we did teach Sister Marroquin and exhort her to attend church that she might have the joy of the gospel in her life. Yea, we did have a day of much learning and growth on the fourth day of the week, being Thursday, after the accounting of time according to the missionaries. For behold we did meet as a zone and did learn from Brother Droubay, insomuch that our learning was great and the outpouring of the spirit was upon all people.
3. And I did go to the land of the singles on the sixth day of the week to be with Elder Jones, that we might preach the gospel together, that perhaps we might learn from each other. And we did go up and worship the Lord on the Seventh day, according to the commandments of God and did eat dinner with a Spanish family, having been away from the Spanish culture for much time I did rejoice exceedingly for the food and wholesomeness of the people. And behold Elder Lee did press with much force that we should leave the library that we might continue with our day. Therefore, I do close my record for this day and do give peace and love to all. And I, Elder Curtis, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, to make them mighty, even to the power of deliverance. And thus it is. Amen.
Seattle and the next day Arizona (Feb 15)
Good Afternoon! I hope this day finds you healthy and happy. Things are going well here in Tustin third. I half-mindedly left my camera cord at home again. Sorry bout that. Anyway, this first week was pretty good. Elder Lee is a nice guy. As I said before, he is from Sol, South Korea, but he went to BYU for a year before his mission. He is much calmer and less talkative than Elder Keeler--more like me. He is really smart and stays on top of things. He is a good worker and missionary so it's been great to have him as a companion. His English (and Spanish) is actually really good and he's pretty funny sometimes too.
Being an office elder has been pretty fun so far. We went in on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and did some work for a couple hours. It's nice to have a break from the physical aspect of the work once in a while. We are basically the Housing Coordinators of the mission--though there is a part-time senior elder that helps us. We have about 75 apartments in Orange County. That is because President wants every companionship in their own apartment. So this week we were busy signing leases/looking at new apartments and sending letters of intention to vacate etc. It's been very educational and I feel important now lol. President swore me to confidentiality from giving information to other missionaries so rumors don't fly and important information doesn't get out. I feel honored to be a part of all the back scene work. We also help with any extra assignments and the office staff needs help all the time because they aren't as technology inclined as my generation. Today we have to go in as well unfortunately, even though it's p-day, because we need to finish a PowerPoint presentation for zone conference this week of pictures of all the baptisms the mission had last transfer.
The work in this area isn't on fire yet, but we have a couple people to work with. The lady that is thinking about being baptized is Joanie Malarkey. We didn't teach her this week, but we have an appointment for tomorrow. The other investigator that is somewhat close is named Amanda. We haven't taught her yet since I've been here either so pray we can meet with both of them and commit them to baptism. Some less actives we are working with include: the Martinez family, Sister Marroquin, Sister Codromac, and Damian Taylor. Some people with high potential to become investigators are Shawn Rogers and Mario. Mario is Hispanic and we taught him a lesson in Spanish on Saturday so that was lots of fun, but we'll be passing him to the Spanish elders.
Well I guess that's it for this week. The weather was pretty crazy this week. Tons of rain on Tuesday and tons of sun and heat the rest of the days. One day I felt like I lived in Seattle and the next day Arizona. If you have any more questions let me know so I know what to say in my letters. I got to meet a famous person in the office this week that is one of my heroes, but I can't send the picture yet so I'll leave you guessing till next week who it was. Love you as much as all the apartments in the mission,
Elder Curtis
Being an office elder has been pretty fun so far. We went in on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and did some work for a couple hours. It's nice to have a break from the physical aspect of the work once in a while. We are basically the Housing Coordinators of the mission--though there is a part-time senior elder that helps us. We have about 75 apartments in Orange County. That is because President wants every companionship in their own apartment. So this week we were busy signing leases/looking at new apartments and sending letters of intention to vacate etc. It's been very educational and I feel important now lol. President swore me to confidentiality from giving information to other missionaries so rumors don't fly and important information doesn't get out. I feel honored to be a part of all the back scene work. We also help with any extra assignments and the office staff needs help all the time because they aren't as technology inclined as my generation. Today we have to go in as well unfortunately, even though it's p-day, because we need to finish a PowerPoint presentation for zone conference this week of pictures of all the baptisms the mission had last transfer.
The work in this area isn't on fire yet, but we have a couple people to work with. The lady that is thinking about being baptized is Joanie Malarkey. We didn't teach her this week, but we have an appointment for tomorrow. The other investigator that is somewhat close is named Amanda. We haven't taught her yet since I've been here either so pray we can meet with both of them and commit them to baptism. Some less actives we are working with include: the Martinez family, Sister Marroquin, Sister Codromac, and Damian Taylor. Some people with high potential to become investigators are Shawn Rogers and Mario. Mario is Hispanic and we taught him a lesson in Spanish on Saturday so that was lots of fun, but we'll be passing him to the Spanish elders.
Well I guess that's it for this week. The weather was pretty crazy this week. Tons of rain on Tuesday and tons of sun and heat the rest of the days. One day I felt like I lived in Seattle and the next day Arizona. If you have any more questions let me know so I know what to say in my letters. I got to meet a famous person in the office this week that is one of my heroes, but I can't send the picture yet so I'll leave you guessing till next week who it was. Love you as much as all the apartments in the mission,
Elder Curtis
I'll be there :) (Feb 8)
Well, it happened--I got transferred. Now I'm in the Tustin third ward. And...I'm an office elder. Kind of random, but it'll be fun. I'll be in the mission office two to three times a week for a couple hours or so and the rest of the time will be normal proselyting. So you can just send letters to the office, because I'll be there :) My new companion is Elder Lee. He is from Korea and lived there until college. Then he went to BYU for a year and now he's a missionary. He's been learning English his whole life so he's pretty good. I'm not sure how good his Spanish is (he is called Spanish) but his Korean is pretty good! He's been out three more months than me. I don't know much about the area except they have an investigator who wants to be baptized, but has to move out of her apartment first so she can be law of chastity abiding. She's 50 I think. She'll probably have to move out of the ward so we'll probably pass her off to other missionaries.
I had a pretty good week. I'm glad I don't have so much to write about because I don't have my planner from last transfer. Anyway, Wednesday was super good going to the temple and all. Thursday was district meeting and it was good. Elder Keeler is a good teacher. Afterwards we went to one of my favorite places to eat called Chronic Tacos. It's a place I want to take ya'll to when we come back to visit. Yum. Friday we took our car in to get the oil changed and accidentally left our house key on the ring we gave to them with the car key so when we got back to change we were locked out :) We were going to do service anyway so we went to the Hawkins and borrowed some of James' clothes. We helped paint their kitchen for a while. It was pretty fun. They moved back into their house last year and are remodeling the whole thing. Saturday I was on exchanges with Elder Griffin in Corona Del Mar and we had a good day. Even though they are bike elders we didn't bike at all. We walked and got rides. We found out that night about transfers. Yesterday I bore my testimony in fast and testimony meeting. After church and meetings we visited lots of people to say goodbye and packed etc. Elder Keeler is staying in the ward and his new companion is Elder Gorrell. He has only been out five months or so including the MTC.
I did get the four letters this morning so thanks for those. You guys are the best. I did hear about the Elder who died in Romania. I was with Elder Shaw on Tuesday when some members told us about it. The crazy thing was that Elder Shaw knew the guy and I didn't. They were at BYU together. Anyway, I don't have much more time--we are at the family history library at the stake center (in Orange maybe?). But thanks for all your love and prayers. Elder Keeler and Elder Carmona had a great lesson with James Nguyen on Saturday and the west elders say Michelle Christian is doing well so thanks for all your help. I will have lots more to say about my new assignment next week. Love you as much as all the new Chevy Malibu's the mission bought to replace some old Corolla's. (Luckily I'm still in a Corolla--and it's a much newer one)
Elder Curtis
I had a pretty good week. I'm glad I don't have so much to write about because I don't have my planner from last transfer. Anyway, Wednesday was super good going to the temple and all. Thursday was district meeting and it was good. Elder Keeler is a good teacher. Afterwards we went to one of my favorite places to eat called Chronic Tacos. It's a place I want to take ya'll to when we come back to visit. Yum. Friday we took our car in to get the oil changed and accidentally left our house key on the ring we gave to them with the car key so when we got back to change we were locked out :) We were going to do service anyway so we went to the Hawkins and borrowed some of James' clothes. We helped paint their kitchen for a while. It was pretty fun. They moved back into their house last year and are remodeling the whole thing. Saturday I was on exchanges with Elder Griffin in Corona Del Mar and we had a good day. Even though they are bike elders we didn't bike at all. We walked and got rides. We found out that night about transfers. Yesterday I bore my testimony in fast and testimony meeting. After church and meetings we visited lots of people to say goodbye and packed etc. Elder Keeler is staying in the ward and his new companion is Elder Gorrell. He has only been out five months or so including the MTC.
I did get the four letters this morning so thanks for those. You guys are the best. I did hear about the Elder who died in Romania. I was with Elder Shaw on Tuesday when some members told us about it. The crazy thing was that Elder Shaw knew the guy and I didn't. They were at BYU together. Anyway, I don't have much more time--we are at the family history library at the stake center (in Orange maybe?). But thanks for all your love and prayers. Elder Keeler and Elder Carmona had a great lesson with James Nguyen on Saturday and the west elders say Michelle Christian is doing well so thanks for all your help. I will have lots more to say about my new assignment next week. Love you as much as all the new Chevy Malibu's the mission bought to replace some old Corolla's. (Luckily I'm still in a Corolla--and it's a much newer one)
Elder Curtis
A funny little miracle (Feb 3)
Hey everyone, sorry I didn't tell you last time that my p-day is Wednesday this week. We are going to the temple today so they just make today our preparation day. Anyway, I finally remembered to bring my camera AND my cord this week. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I've already taken over 400 pictures with my new camera--in fact I already filled up the 2GB memory card you send with it lol. I'll probably send it home soon.
This is the last week of transfers so don't send any more letters to Irvine, because I might be transferred this time! I've been here for four transfers now and that's about six months. It's the same amount of time I was in La Habra. So I really hope for a change in scenery. Sister Christian came to church on Sunday so that made me happy. I think she'll get baptized this next transfer. Antoine travels a lot so it's been hard to teach him, but he could be baptized next transfer as well. I also really hope James gets baptized, because he's really solid and he obviously feels the spirit when we go over there. I hope I planted a lot of seeds here and helped a lot of people out. Now I can go help and serve some other people--though I will stay if that's what the Lord would like for me. This next transfer the missionaries here will be giving a youth fireside on miracles and missionary work. We set it up with the ward--Elder Keeler has wanted to do one his whole mission and this next transfer is his last! They'll also be presenting at University High school again.
Martes the 26th I was on exchanges with Elder Carmona. He is half Mexican and is super fun and optimistic. He doesn't speak Spanish very well because he grew up in Plano, TX but it was a good exchange. We had kind of a miracle on Lunes because our appointment with James fell through and so we were visiting another lady they found tracting when we saw two young guys at the end of the street. The lady wasn't home so we went and talked to them and ended up giving them both a BOM and teaching them a little lesson about it. Then on Miercoles we taught them at the church and brought the singles ward elders with us. Their names are Cyrus and Harris and Cyrus went to the singles ward on Sunday. It was super cool--he even brought his girlfriend. He is 18 I think. We also had a great lesson with James that night about the Sabbath day. On Jueves we were tracting in Quail Hill and found a firefighter who let us in. We taught him the first lesson and he was super nice. He doesn't want to meet with us anymore, but hopefully he reads the BOM and eventually joins the church some day. He is getting married soon and could really use the Gospel, but I guess we can't force him to listen to us. We taught James again on Viernes and brought a different member than we did on Wednesday. He likes both of them a lot--one is a neighbor and the other is just a stellar member who works the same type of job as him. Actually, his neighbor is a lawyer too. It's amazing how perfectly things are working out.
Saturday I was on exchanges with Elder Bean. He is the one who just got to the mission field the beginning of this transfer. He is fun to work with. Domingo we had a funny little miracle tracting in Quail Hill again. We talked to a lady in one apartment and asked if she knew anyone who would be interested in our message and she walked out and pointed to the door of a nearby resident. We talked to him and miraculously he had some Mormon friends and had been asking them for a while for a BOM. So we gave him one and talked a bit and then asked him if he knew of anyone that would be interested and he pointed us back to the door of the first lady. It was pretty funny, but she wasn't interested.
This Lunes we taught the friend of a single lady in the ward at dinner and he was really nice. He said he'd read and pray about the book of Mormon, but he doesn't live in our mission and has actually been looking into the church for a long time. His name is Scott. Yesterday Elder Keeler wanted to go on exchanges with Elder Bean again so he could teach him. So I was with Elder Shaw again and we had another good time together. He's a fun elder from Canada. Anyway, today I get to go to the temple! So that's the long update. Things are still going really well. I wish everyone the best and hope you lives are bringing you joy. Enjoy the little things :) I love you as much as all the many exchanges I've been on in the last three transfers. ~Elder Curtis
This is the last week of transfers so don't send any more letters to Irvine, because I might be transferred this time! I've been here for four transfers now and that's about six months. It's the same amount of time I was in La Habra. So I really hope for a change in scenery. Sister Christian came to church on Sunday so that made me happy. I think she'll get baptized this next transfer. Antoine travels a lot so it's been hard to teach him, but he could be baptized next transfer as well. I also really hope James gets baptized, because he's really solid and he obviously feels the spirit when we go over there. I hope I planted a lot of seeds here and helped a lot of people out. Now I can go help and serve some other people--though I will stay if that's what the Lord would like for me. This next transfer the missionaries here will be giving a youth fireside on miracles and missionary work. We set it up with the ward--Elder Keeler has wanted to do one his whole mission and this next transfer is his last! They'll also be presenting at University High school again.
Martes the 26th I was on exchanges with Elder Carmona. He is half Mexican and is super fun and optimistic. He doesn't speak Spanish very well because he grew up in Plano, TX but it was a good exchange. We had kind of a miracle on Lunes because our appointment with James fell through and so we were visiting another lady they found tracting when we saw two young guys at the end of the street. The lady wasn't home so we went and talked to them and ended up giving them both a BOM and teaching them a little lesson about it. Then on Miercoles we taught them at the church and brought the singles ward elders with us. Their names are Cyrus and Harris and Cyrus went to the singles ward on Sunday. It was super cool--he even brought his girlfriend. He is 18 I think. We also had a great lesson with James that night about the Sabbath day. On Jueves we were tracting in Quail Hill and found a firefighter who let us in. We taught him the first lesson and he was super nice. He doesn't want to meet with us anymore, but hopefully he reads the BOM and eventually joins the church some day. He is getting married soon and could really use the Gospel, but I guess we can't force him to listen to us. We taught James again on Viernes and brought a different member than we did on Wednesday. He likes both of them a lot--one is a neighbor and the other is just a stellar member who works the same type of job as him. Actually, his neighbor is a lawyer too. It's amazing how perfectly things are working out.
Saturday I was on exchanges with Elder Bean. He is the one who just got to the mission field the beginning of this transfer. He is fun to work with. Domingo we had a funny little miracle tracting in Quail Hill again. We talked to a lady in one apartment and asked if she knew anyone who would be interested in our message and she walked out and pointed to the door of a nearby resident. We talked to him and miraculously he had some Mormon friends and had been asking them for a while for a BOM. So we gave him one and talked a bit and then asked him if he knew of anyone that would be interested and he pointed us back to the door of the first lady. It was pretty funny, but she wasn't interested.
This Lunes we taught the friend of a single lady in the ward at dinner and he was really nice. He said he'd read and pray about the book of Mormon, but he doesn't live in our mission and has actually been looking into the church for a long time. His name is Scott. Yesterday Elder Keeler wanted to go on exchanges with Elder Bean again so he could teach him. So I was with Elder Shaw again and we had another good time together. He's a fun elder from Canada. Anyway, today I get to go to the temple! So that's the long update. Things are still going really well. I wish everyone the best and hope you lives are bringing you joy. Enjoy the little things :) I love you as much as all the many exchanges I've been on in the last three transfers. ~Elder Curtis
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