Friday, June 11, 2010
It was a Good Answer I Thought :D (May 10)
Good afternoon. It was good to hear from everyone yesterday, even if it was only a voicemail for R&A. I guess the next time to talk voice to voice will be when my mission is over. We had a pretty productive week so I was happy about that. On Tuesday we were able to set two baptismal dates. The first one was O. We watched Finding Faith in Christ with him and he really felt the spirit. We asked him how he felt and he said good. So I asked him why he thought he felt that way and he said because he felt the Holy Ghost so I asked him what he thought it was trying to tell him and he said "to get baptized!" It was a good answer I thought :D We agreed and set a date for the 22nd. The only problem is that he has difficulty coming to our ward at 11 because of work, so he tries to go at 9am. We don't know why he didn't come this week though. The other date we set was with a new investigator named F. She's friends with a family in the ward and has been to church and activities many times now without us knowing. She's only ten years old, but her parents are supportive of whatever she wants to do.
Wednesday we had dinner with a former investigator and his family. It was enjoyable and they were really nice, but when we talked to him after dinner he had lots of arguments and reasons why he thought we were wrong. Then we went to teach A and he was the same. We are trying to get them to focus on reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, but it is difficult. Thursday we had two lessons to people that are being reactivated, Az and S M. They both turned out well so that is good. We taught F again on Friday and watched the Restoration DVD with her. On Saturday after doing a stake service project pulling weeds (Mormon helping hands) we went to a buffet called Souplantation and had lunch with an investigator in the lake ward named L A as well as Brother Ja and Sister Je who are ward missionaries for the lake ward (well, technically bro. J is the ward mission leader). It went really well and she expressed that she wants to be baptized, but it's hard for her because her family and some of her friends are not supportive of that decision. We told her it's between God and her so she should pray about it.
On Sunday we had the confirmations of the R family and it was pretty good. They had a class for the women afterwards and gave them all little meals. The Lake Ward gave all the women a chocolate bar--though most of them there aren't mothers :) Hope everyone has a good week. Good luck with all the tests and the end of year projects and such. I don't envy you :) We played tennis this morning for our p-day activity so I love you as much as all the tennis balls I hit today.
Elder Curtis
Wednesday we had dinner with a former investigator and his family. It was enjoyable and they were really nice, but when we talked to him after dinner he had lots of arguments and reasons why he thought we were wrong. Then we went to teach A and he was the same. We are trying to get them to focus on reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, but it is difficult. Thursday we had two lessons to people that are being reactivated, Az and S M. They both turned out well so that is good. We taught F again on Friday and watched the Restoration DVD with her. On Saturday after doing a stake service project pulling weeds (Mormon helping hands) we went to a buffet called Souplantation and had lunch with an investigator in the lake ward named L A as well as Brother Ja and Sister Je who are ward missionaries for the lake ward (well, technically bro. J is the ward mission leader). It went really well and she expressed that she wants to be baptized, but it's hard for her because her family and some of her friends are not supportive of that decision. We told her it's between God and her so she should pray about it.
On Sunday we had the confirmations of the R family and it was pretty good. They had a class for the women afterwards and gave them all little meals. The Lake Ward gave all the women a chocolate bar--though most of them there aren't mothers :) Hope everyone has a good week. Good luck with all the tests and the end of year projects and such. I don't envy you :) We played tennis this morning for our p-day activity so I love you as much as all the tennis balls I hit today.
Elder Curtis
Finish Their Baptism (May 3)
That's right. Elder G got transferred. He went to North Hills, an English ward in La Habra. He was a good companion so it's kind of sad to see him go, but it's okay. My new companion is Elder C. He's from S. Korea so he's my second Korean companion. It's his last transfer so he'll leave at the end of these six weeks. That means I'll probably be here next transfer as well. I'm also the driver now.
We had a baptism yesterday! The R's got baptized and it was a wonderful service! I baptized Sister R and B and Elder G baptized S. It's so fun for them to take this step--I'm really excited for them. They finish their baptism this next Sunday when they get confirmed.
We had a really good week though. We went on exchanges on Thursday and Elder Co was with me in my area. It was pretty fun. We taught O and Az that evening and both lessons went relatively well. We will probably meet with O again tonight.
We didn't get to meet with Sister M or L and her family this week, but we did get a referral for a girl who wants to be baptized. She is 10 and is named F. She's actually been coming to church for two months already, but we never knew about it. I'm pretty excited to teach her because she seems super ready for making the commitment of baptism. Saturday for our dinner appointment we had a "picnic" in the park on a blanket. That's a first for me on my mission so it was pretty fun. It was super fun on Friday because we did some service for a young family who were moving just a block or two away so we helped them load and unload their truck three times and it was really fun. It was Bro. B and his family and they are super cool. His brother looks almost identical and was also there to help so they were joking and poking fun the whole time--it was pretty entertaining.
As I said, Sunday was really good and rewarding. We had some good meetings and then a break the fast with the lake ward and then the baptism. It was funny because in the Lake ward for Elders quorum they had a sister come in and give a class on how to make yourself attractive and desirable for marriage. It's funny to be around 30+ singles. I hope I'm never in a situation like that. I think it would be really tough. Anyway, I better go. We have to shop and unpack etc. I love you as much as all the changes this transfer brings.
Love Elder Curtis
We had a baptism yesterday! The R's got baptized and it was a wonderful service! I baptized Sister R and B and Elder G baptized S. It's so fun for them to take this step--I'm really excited for them. They finish their baptism this next Sunday when they get confirmed.
We had a really good week though. We went on exchanges on Thursday and Elder Co was with me in my area. It was pretty fun. We taught O and Az that evening and both lessons went relatively well. We will probably meet with O again tonight.
We didn't get to meet with Sister M or L and her family this week, but we did get a referral for a girl who wants to be baptized. She is 10 and is named F. She's actually been coming to church for two months already, but we never knew about it. I'm pretty excited to teach her because she seems super ready for making the commitment of baptism. Saturday for our dinner appointment we had a "picnic" in the park on a blanket. That's a first for me on my mission so it was pretty fun. It was super fun on Friday because we did some service for a young family who were moving just a block or two away so we helped them load and unload their truck three times and it was really fun. It was Bro. B and his family and they are super cool. His brother looks almost identical and was also there to help so they were joking and poking fun the whole time--it was pretty entertaining.
As I said, Sunday was really good and rewarding. We had some good meetings and then a break the fast with the lake ward and then the baptism. It was funny because in the Lake ward for Elders quorum they had a sister come in and give a class on how to make yourself attractive and desirable for marriage. It's funny to be around 30+ singles. I hope I'm never in a situation like that. I think it would be really tough. Anyway, I better go. We have to shop and unpack etc. I love you as much as all the changes this transfer brings.
Love Elder Curtis
Green Juice (Apr 20)
Good afternoon. How is everyone doing? Things have been going just great since Wednesday. We had a great session in the temple and that evening we taught Sister Rae and her sons about the plan of Salvation. They are reading the BOM like crazy and seem to be progressing very well. Their fellowshipper family, the Wares, challenged them to read half the BOM by their baptism on May 2nd and Bro. Ware promised to take them out to eat. On Wednesday Brendan (11) had already finished first Nephi. That's better reading than most of our adult investigators lol.
On Thursday we did some service with the Westpark Elders weeding a lady's flower bed. Then we went and helped a member in our ward move some storage. It was good to get some service in. That night we had our regular Lake ward correlation and lesson with Azita. We taught her the first lesson (wow, I almost wrote discussion) and it went well.
We were going to meet with Sister Grace Mendoza on Friday, but it didn't work out. It is hard to schedule with her because she is so busy--mainly on account of her two autistic children--which is frustrating because she is so ready! Anyway, an interesting thing is that she wasn't able to meet because her four year old son was having a sleep study done and it turns out he has sleep apnea. She said it was on account of his tonsils and his adenoids--whatever those are. She said his tonsils were a 4+ on a sizing scale of tonsils (scale of 1-4). Then she said she has been able to reduce his tonsils and cure a lot of issues by giving him a vegetable drink every other day that she called green juice. She gave me the recipe and I am going to try it. I wonder how big my tonsils and adenoids are.
Saturday was really cool. We had a temple tour at 2:30 and Sister Rae and her sons came to it and seemed to like it. Afterwards we had a lesson on "the big ones" namely Law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom, and Law of Tithing. They accepted to live them so I guess it went well :-). On Sunday they came to church (all three), but Shane (13) had an experience that caused him to get offended. I guess in Sunday school the teacher was overly pushy that he needed to be baptized and hence he never wants to come to church again. We will try to work it out in our appointment today, but we'll see. He's a great kid; he's just very scientifically minded and independent. Anyway, we aren't too worried--they're a great family and we think at least two of them will be baptized the last day of the transfer (May 2nd).
Yesterday's mission conference was super amazing, but I’ll have to talk more about it later. It was President L. Whitney Clayton speaking and it was so cool to have the whole mission there at once. Anyway, I love you as much as our brand new red '10 Corolla.
Elder Curtis
On Thursday we did some service with the Westpark Elders weeding a lady's flower bed. Then we went and helped a member in our ward move some storage. It was good to get some service in. That night we had our regular Lake ward correlation and lesson with Azita. We taught her the first lesson (wow, I almost wrote discussion) and it went well.
We were going to meet with Sister Grace Mendoza on Friday, but it didn't work out. It is hard to schedule with her because she is so busy--mainly on account of her two autistic children--which is frustrating because she is so ready! Anyway, an interesting thing is that she wasn't able to meet because her four year old son was having a sleep study done and it turns out he has sleep apnea. She said it was on account of his tonsils and his adenoids--whatever those are. She said his tonsils were a 4+ on a sizing scale of tonsils (scale of 1-4). Then she said she has been able to reduce his tonsils and cure a lot of issues by giving him a vegetable drink every other day that she called green juice. She gave me the recipe and I am going to try it. I wonder how big my tonsils and adenoids are.
Saturday was really cool. We had a temple tour at 2:30 and Sister Rae and her sons came to it and seemed to like it. Afterwards we had a lesson on "the big ones" namely Law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom, and Law of Tithing. They accepted to live them so I guess it went well :-). On Sunday they came to church (all three), but Shane (13) had an experience that caused him to get offended. I guess in Sunday school the teacher was overly pushy that he needed to be baptized and hence he never wants to come to church again. We will try to work it out in our appointment today, but we'll see. He's a great kid; he's just very scientifically minded and independent. Anyway, we aren't too worried--they're a great family and we think at least two of them will be baptized the last day of the transfer (May 2nd).
Yesterday's mission conference was super amazing, but I’ll have to talk more about it later. It was President L. Whitney Clayton speaking and it was so cool to have the whole mission there at once. Anyway, I love you as much as our brand new red '10 Corolla.
Elder Curtis
Friday, April 16, 2010
Burned to a Crisp (Apr 14)
Today was my day to attend a session at the temple. So, that makes today my preparation day, hence why you have not heard from me. Next week we are going to have a mission conference so my p-day next week will be on Tuesday. Anyway, things are going really well for us. We continue to teach Bro. Omid Rahimi and help him progress towards baptism. He still has the possibility to be baptized on the 24th, but it is up to him to prepare himself to do so. He had to buy a new car this week because his other one burned to a crisp (it literally caught on fire).
On Miyah's first birthday (and lots of other annual celebrations) we taught sister Renissa Dobbins, who has been taught for a while, but is still unsure of what she wants to do. We made things very clear. The bishop and one of his councilors even went over the night before to help her feel good about it, but she can't make up her mind, and it is especially hard for her to attend church when she isn't sure that it's true.
We are also still teaching Aaron the Muslim every week and he doesn't understand yet that physical things aren't important, but spiritual things, i.e. answers from God about truth. He just likes to debate about religion and the bible. Hopefully he will feel something powerful as he reads the Book of Mormon.
Sister Sharon Rae who is the friend of a recent convert in the ward came to church again on Sunday and brought her son Brendan (11), but her son Shane (13) was too busy watching sports at home. We taught them for the first time on Wednesday and committed them to baptism, but it will have to wait till May because Shane didn't go to church :P ......why is that name familiar?
We taught Azita Thursday and also gave her a blessing. She has a hard time committing to paying tithing, but she's going to pray about it. We saw her at church, so at least she is making progress.
Saturday the Westpark Elders had a baptism. I was actually on exchanges with Elder Earl in Oak Creek/Irvine Ranch Branch for the day. We had a pretty good day and Elder Gillman even taught Nicole a lesson with Elder Corbeil. She is really struggling and her mom doesn't give much support with regards to our church. Usually Nicole just goes to the Episcopal Church. Last night we taught a little family of two (mother and 14 year old son) named the Burnettes. Unfortunately we haven't taught Sister Grace Mendoza again so hopefully our appointment on Friday works out. She is going to have to postpone her date as well.
So things continue just fine here in Irvine and I lose track of time, but the work is great and I enjoy every date (of the month). Hope you all are doing well, thanks for all being so swell. Love you as much as all the letters I get from you.
Elder Curtis
On Miyah's first birthday (and lots of other annual celebrations) we taught sister Renissa Dobbins, who has been taught for a while, but is still unsure of what she wants to do. We made things very clear. The bishop and one of his councilors even went over the night before to help her feel good about it, but she can't make up her mind, and it is especially hard for her to attend church when she isn't sure that it's true.
We are also still teaching Aaron the Muslim every week and he doesn't understand yet that physical things aren't important, but spiritual things, i.e. answers from God about truth. He just likes to debate about religion and the bible. Hopefully he will feel something powerful as he reads the Book of Mormon.
Sister Sharon Rae who is the friend of a recent convert in the ward came to church again on Sunday and brought her son Brendan (11), but her son Shane (13) was too busy watching sports at home. We taught them for the first time on Wednesday and committed them to baptism, but it will have to wait till May because Shane didn't go to church :P ......why is that name familiar?
We taught Azita Thursday and also gave her a blessing. She has a hard time committing to paying tithing, but she's going to pray about it. We saw her at church, so at least she is making progress.
Saturday the Westpark Elders had a baptism. I was actually on exchanges with Elder Earl in Oak Creek/Irvine Ranch Branch for the day. We had a pretty good day and Elder Gillman even taught Nicole a lesson with Elder Corbeil. She is really struggling and her mom doesn't give much support with regards to our church. Usually Nicole just goes to the Episcopal Church. Last night we taught a little family of two (mother and 14 year old son) named the Burnettes. Unfortunately we haven't taught Sister Grace Mendoza again so hopefully our appointment on Friday works out. She is going to have to postpone her date as well.
So things continue just fine here in Irvine and I lose track of time, but the work is great and I enjoy every date (of the month). Hope you all are doing well, thanks for all being so swell. Love you as much as all the letters I get from you.
Elder Curtis
Answering Our Prayers (Apr 5)
Good morning. Yesterday when we were tracting there was an earthquake. It was in Mexico and it was a 7.2 and it was a long one! It obviously wasn't as big once it got up to us, but we were still rocking and rolling. At first I thought I was getting lightheaded or dizzy or something because I was losing my balance, but then Elder Gillman was like "earthquake!" It was pretty crazy, but it didn't do any damage where we were. It must have been pretty bad down in San Diego. But of course I would never know unless someone told me since I don't watch the news.
We had a good week and a great weekend! I love listening to the prophets and apostles. It's always a nice treat for my birthday. Priesthood session was really good.
This week we taught Omid and he even came to a session of conference. I guess he like it too. We also taught a different guy named Omar, but he's American. He's pretty nice and has visited with missionaries almost his whole life so maybe we can finally seal the deal lol. On Thursday we had a miracle when we taught a first lesson to a lady named Grace. She has two young autistic children and she's really interested, in fact, she accepted a baptismal date for April 24th! Thursday was also zone conference, but we managed to get three lessons in. After Grace, we taught two people at once. Elder Gillman went with a brother in the ward and taught Renissa, and I stayed at the church (where we had correlation) and taught a lady named Azita, who was baptized not too long ago with Brother Jackson and Sister Jester who are the ward missionaries for the Lake ward. Friday we taught a less active named Brother Graham and he says he definitely knows it is true, he just has gotten out of the habit of living the gospel so he said it would take a while to get back into it. He even served a mission back in the day.
We had two other miracle people this week. One is a lady named Brenda Congie. She lives in our complex and we talked to her on her doorstep a couple times and she really likes everything about the church (even polygamy). On Sunday she brought her husband and her son to the morning session of conference. It was really cool--we did not expect that because she said her husband didn't want her to go. I think he softened up and he was even reading from the Book of Mormon. We talked to another lady named Valeta Cox who wants her grandchildren to start attending our church (and her too I guess) so we've had some great finds. God truly has been answering our prayers.
Hope you all enjoyed conference and will try to apply at least a couple things you learned this weekend. I am so grateful for the wonderful messages that were shared. Thanks again for all your support and love and prayers. They help a lot :) Love you as much as all the great talks and miracles this week.
Elder Curtis
We had a good week and a great weekend! I love listening to the prophets and apostles. It's always a nice treat for my birthday. Priesthood session was really good.
This week we taught Omid and he even came to a session of conference. I guess he like it too. We also taught a different guy named Omar, but he's American. He's pretty nice and has visited with missionaries almost his whole life so maybe we can finally seal the deal lol. On Thursday we had a miracle when we taught a first lesson to a lady named Grace. She has two young autistic children and she's really interested, in fact, she accepted a baptismal date for April 24th! Thursday was also zone conference, but we managed to get three lessons in. After Grace, we taught two people at once. Elder Gillman went with a brother in the ward and taught Renissa, and I stayed at the church (where we had correlation) and taught a lady named Azita, who was baptized not too long ago with Brother Jackson and Sister Jester who are the ward missionaries for the Lake ward. Friday we taught a less active named Brother Graham and he says he definitely knows it is true, he just has gotten out of the habit of living the gospel so he said it would take a while to get back into it. He even served a mission back in the day.
We had two other miracle people this week. One is a lady named Brenda Congie. She lives in our complex and we talked to her on her doorstep a couple times and she really likes everything about the church (even polygamy). On Sunday she brought her husband and her son to the morning session of conference. It was really cool--we did not expect that because she said her husband didn't want her to go. I think he softened up and he was even reading from the Book of Mormon. We talked to another lady named Valeta Cox who wants her grandchildren to start attending our church (and her too I guess) so we've had some great finds. God truly has been answering our prayers.
Hope you all enjoyed conference and will try to apply at least a couple things you learned this weekend. I am so grateful for the wonderful messages that were shared. Thanks again for all your support and love and prayers. They help a lot :) Love you as much as all the great talks and miracles this week.
Elder Curtis
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