I love Family History!!!

Hello Family and Friends! 

     This week has been wonderful.  Like I said before we are basically starting from nothing.  Things have been going great for Sister Callister and I.

Miracle Chick Fil A! I haven't 
seen one my whole mission!!

     I guess I will start off by telling you a little bit about my new companion, Sister Callister.  She is 19 years old and she is from Pleasant Grove.  In high school she was on the swim team and the soccer team.  She is great!  We bonded super quick, really fast. Transfers are always strange because you have to build relationships really fast and it sometimes seems a little forced.  We were able to overcome that awkwardness really quick once we found out that we both like musicals.  Friendship instantly.  We have already planned to see a musical together when we get home. 

Getting ready for bed!

Quick Fun Fact: So 3 of my 4 companions will be on the plane ride home with me!  How crazy is that!?  Anyways, I really like Sister Callister.  She is a really great teacher and I can already tell that we are going to help each other out in many different ways.  We have a good 6 weeks a head of us.  (Maybe even longer!)

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     Like I already said this is a hard area, because we are both new here so we are basically figuring everything out on our own.  Last week we were able to teach a ton of lessons.  We would just stop people on the street teach them the first lesson right then and there.  So number wise we were doing really good but it honestly wasn't very affective.  We were just telling a lot of people a lot of information and then they didn't want anything else to do with us.  So this week we are trying out a bunch of different techniques.  We wanted to find some people who would actually want to meet with us again.  We started just giving people mormon.org cards, talking to them about their beliefs and asking them if they wanted to learn more about our beliefs.  We started to have a lot of success.  We weren't teaching any lessons but we were getting some people who actually wanted to come and to learn more.  We were STOKED!  Since there are so many people to talk to, this way we are able to teach those who are actually searching and who are prepared to hear the message of the restored gospel while planting seeds for the others.  We also have been calling a lot of potential investigators, people who the other missionaries came in contact with.  There are lots of different ways to help our area flourish!

Igloo on campus???!?!!

     One day we were walking trying to find some people to talk to and we crossed paths with a girl named Ashley.  She was super friendly but was in a hurry so we told her that we could walk with her.  As we walked we talked about God and her belief in God.  She then told us that she was actually on her way to a church meeting so she couldn’t talk now.  But she would love to learn more Friday at six.  Whoa!  She just set up her own appointment!  We said goodbye, as she went into the church we just looked at each other super confused but way excited to teach her!  Miracles! :)  We were able to have a lesson with her!  An actual lesson!  We have been trying so hard to have an actual sit down lesson with someone we found.  She is really interesting.  She believes in God but she said that her faith is wavering.  We were able to teach her about the restoration and we were able to have a member with us.  The member was recently baptized in the past year and she is wonderful.  Her testimony was so powerful because she was exactly in the same place that Ashley is now.  She testified to her that this is the best decision that she will ever make. :)  The members here are wonderful.  They all have such awesome testimonies  and they are so willing to share them.  I love it here.  Ashley then said that she was going to come to church with us on Sunday.

A really pretty church building.

Sister Pead, and Sharleen
at the Presidents Fireside

     We were then able to have a lesson with Eva.  She was a pass off from some Sisters in a different area because she needs to come to the Singles Ward.  She is from Liberia and she is so cute.  She has such a sweet spirit and loves reading from the Book of Mormon.  We were able to have 2 lessons with her last week.  One was about tithing and the other about fasting.  They both went really good.  Sometimes it is scary to teach tithing because that is a really sensitive concept for some people.  It wasn't for Eva she was able to understand that it is an act of faith and a way that we are able to show our appreciation to our Heavenly Father.  We also had some more members who were able to come with us and to testify of tithing.  Then we had a another lesson with her about the For Strength or Youth pamphlet.  It went really good and she liked all of he standards that were in there.  She is really great and she is excited to be baptized.  She is praying about which day in March she should get baptized, what an exciting time.  She also came to the Presidents Fireside yesterday.  She really liked  it and there were some great speakers who said exactly what she needed to hear. 

     While we were calling some of the potential investigators in our phone we were able to get a hold of a girl named Rose.  We asked her is she would like to come to the Institute building so we could share more with her.  She said yes!  So we also taught her a lesson about the restored gospel and she also said that she would come to church this Sunday.  Sister Callister and I were so excited.  We had so many people falling into our laps.  We were so grateful for the Lord and for Him trusting us with them.

     Yesterday at church we had three investigators.   Ashley, Rose and Joyi.  Joyi is Korean and she is hilarious!  She is really busy with school she is taking 19 credits so we haven't been able to meet with her very much but she has great faith and desire to learn more. Then long story short Ashley and Rose are best friends.  It was a crazy but amazing day.  One other funny thing.  Ashley came to church with a coffee cup in hand... We didn't know if we should say anything ha! But they all loved church!

     Last the best!  I had a really amazing experience this week.  We were able to go to the Family History Center with the brother that does it in our ward.  He took us to the building and helped us learn more about the center and how it works.  Then we were able to do some of our own family history work.  I was super excited and I was determined to find something.  I have already seen, with Sharleen, what a blessing family history has been in her life.  I was able to go to the class with her.  I have been learning so much about family history, I have really been wanting to try it out for myself.  We finally got started and I couldn't find anything and it was starting to get overwhelming.  I stopped and said a prayer and asked for peace and guidance.  

     Then the family history consultant helped me print off a fan chart.  As I started looking at the fan chart I realized that there was a big hole after my Grandma Curtis so I started working there.  Then guess what!  I found something.  I found my great great grandfather, Charles Edward Hoops, and guess where he was born!  In Stillwater Minnesota!  My last area!  It was an amazing experience and I can't believe that I was actually able to find something and what are the chances that I was able to serve in his birth place!  After I found that I kept finding things!  I was able to find a whole list of people.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  I love being able to recognize all the many blessings He gives us.  NOW I love family history work!  This week in church they talked to us about family history work and temple work.  And how amazing it is when you are able to have one of your own family names to take to the temple.  This really just opened my eyes to how this is something that I personally can do.  This isn't just one of those neat stories that you hear about.  This is something we can all do.  I challenge you all to go check out familyseach.org.  It is super easy and if you go to a family history center it is even easier because there are people who are willing to help you.  I know that it might seem over whelming but it is worth it!  Finding someone in your family that you are able to help progress is an amazing thing!  It’s a way that you are able to help the missionary efforts on the other side.  How great is this work! :)

     I love you all so much and I am so grateful for all that you do!  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here serving a mission in Minnesota.  I know that I have been sent here for a reason to help specific people.  I love this work!

Love Sister Kendra Curtis

Valentine from my dad!
 (Jonathan sent her chocolate roses, we didn't  think
 real ones could stand the Minnesota temperature)