Teaching people from all over the World!

Hello famliy and friends,

     Guess what?  Transfers are today.  I was super happy because I am not getting transferred!  I am really glad.  I was starting to get a little nervous.  You never know what the Lord has in store.  I truly have been praying so hard that I can just stay in Dinkytown.  I love it here!  I really hope I never leave.  The work here is so exciting and.. youthful! :)  I love the opportunity that I have to work with people around my same age.  I didn't feel this way at first but I really do now!

This week was a really fun week.

     To start off guess what we did on P-day?  We went to the zoo.  Our whole district went together and there is a lot of us in our district, 16 people!  That is a lot of missionaries at the zoo!  It was so much fun.  I think I have said this before but I love the Chinese Sisters so much!  We also just have a really fun group of people here.  I don't know if you all know this but I am not really a big fan of the zoo.  Especially if there aren't any kids with me but it was so much fun for all of us to go watch these animals do funny things.  The animals were crazy!  It might be because it is finally starting to warm up and they just couldn't contain themselves.

Looks like someone had lots of fun at the ZOO!

     Last week I mentioned how we were going to be meeting with Eva's father who is a pastor, Pastor Roberts if you will.  Just a quick little refresher: Eva was supposed to get baptized on the March 8th but she didn't end up doing it because her dad didn't approve.  We then were able to find out that her father was actually a pastor in North Minneapolis.  She asked Sister Callister and I if we would go talk to him, answer some of the question that he had and just help him understand.  I personally, was really scared.  I knew how important this could be and how this could change everything for Eva.  I was really nervous for all that we were going to do and say but at the same time I knew that Heavenly Father trusted us and all we had to do is show our faith and do everything that we could to make it be a good experience for everyone.     

     North Minneapolis is in actually in Shingle Creek, my first area.  So I knew just the people that we could call to have come teaching with us.  I mentioned before that we were going to have Arnel Johnson come with us but guess what?  That morning he had to cancel on us because something came up.  I was starting to freak out.  I knew that Sister Callister and I would not be able to talk to Pastor Roberts by ourselves.  I instantly started praying, I knew that we would need some serious help if we were going to get someone from Liberia to come along with us because they are always so busy.  We were finally able get a hold of some people.  
     We were able to bring a returned sister missionary from the YSA ward and then James Lombell from the Shingle Creek ward.  That right there was a complete miracle!  I turned to Sister Callister after I got of the phone with them in complete shock.  I knew right then that those were the exact people who needed to be there and because of our hard work and our faith God was able to provide.  Words can not describe that lesson.  We all met at Pastor Roberts church in North Minneapolis and then we all went down to his office.  It was such a spiritual experience.  James Lombell is amazing!  He was able to share his conversion story and bare testimony of why he joined the church.  Everyone who was able to come with us was perfect.  Brother Lombell was great because he is from Liberia as well and was really able to relate with Pastor Roberts and Emily was wonderful because she knows Eva and is one of the peers that she will be around.  
     We were able to give him a For Strength of Youth pamphlet.  We read the section about families.  The whole time he was smiling.  That was probably the most spiritual moment I have experienced on my mission so far and I know that it was all possible through our Heavenly Father.  This could have easily been a really bad experience it could have gotten really contentious and bashy but the spirit was there the whole time.  I could truly use the rest of my time sharing with you every second about this amazing experience but to sum it up, Eva's father ended up saying that as long as she is doing it not for the "church" but for the gospel then he would support her.  He is just a loving father who is concerned for his daughters spirituality.  As we fasted, prayed and studied, I know that we were able to bring the Holy Ghost into that church office and help him feel something different.  I am so grateful to be part of this work and to bring this peace to others.

     Last time I said I would talk more about Chloe.  She is amazing.  She is the most prepared person I have ever met.  She wants to be baptized so bad and she is doing absolutely everything she can to accomplish this.  Her friends were able to introduce her to the gospel and the missionaries and she loved it.  She loves the clarity and the understanding that she feels as she meets with the missionaries and reads from the Book of Mormon.  Her baptism was going to be on April 12th but she is so prepared and ready we were able to push her baptism up to the 22nd, this Saturday.  She is so excited she can hardly wait!  We told her that if she wanted to move the baptism up that we would have to see her almost everyday so that she would know everything that she needed to know.  She didn't even hesitate.  I am so grateful to know that there are people like her.  This week she has been getting a lot of hard things thrown her way but it hasn't stopped her.  Her mom isn’t very supportive, there is some drama going on with her ex boyfriend and yesterday she was sick throwing up but she was still able to make it to her baptismal interview and the Presidents Fireside.  I love her dedication and her strong desire to change and become a better person.  She is going to make an amazing member.

Our Steppers!

     This week we had a really awesome Zone Training.  Guess what we got?  A pedometer, or as I like to call them, steppers.  Our mission is a pilot mission.  Our whole mission has these steppers.  It has been said that if you exercise before a test you are able to preform better.  They are trying the same thing with missionaries, they want to see if we get more exercise if it will effect our work.  I am stoked about this.  We are supposed to reach 10,000 steps a day.  That is something that is really hard for other missionaries but here is this area, I was able to hit 14,000 the first day!  We walk so much on a college campus!  Heck ya!  Getting fit and saving souls!  This work is so much fun! :)

Zone Conference!

My USU Sisters!

Stake Conference!  It is so much fun to get to see everyone!

Sisters in the Gospel

Sister Simpson

 I  just wanted to leave you all with one last thought.  

     This week I just started thinking to myself how awesome it is that I am able to teach people from all over the world.  I thought to myself, hey I wonder if I could make a list.  And I did!  Are you ready to hear all the different people I have been able to meet from all over the world on my mission in the last 7 months!  Here we go...

     Liberia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Uruguay, Argentina, Dominican Republic, China, Germany, Colombia, Norway, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Philippines, Vietnam, Italy, Samoa, Zambia, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Virgin Islands and even Jamaica!  And that's just off the top of my head. :)

I LOVE MINNESOTA! 

Who would have thought :)

I love you all so much! 

Thanks for all the support! :)

Love, Sister Kendra Curtis

The whole District at the Zoo!