I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Hello Family and Friends!

     A lot has happened this week. I guess I will start off first with the good news and then the sad news. Oh I guess to start off it was in the 40s this week! It’s been crazy here in Minnesota! I am truly not going to wear a coat ever when I am back in Utah! 40 degrees is so warm! A lot of people were walking around in light jackets, sweaters and some were even wearing t-shirts but then of course Minnesota whip lash took us right back to 15 degrees. Man I am not going to miss that. 

I got my big scary going home packet in the mail today!

Sister England and I waiting to meet some members for dinner at Wendys!

     As for our investigators everyone is doing pretty good. We were able to see David this week, I guess he is a member now, but he is progressing really well. He passed the sacrament again, had his temple interview and is hoping to get his patriarchal blessing soon. We also got him a copy of Preach My Gospel and he is going to start studying from that now. We are really excited for him and for all that he is doing right now.

Sister England, Trevor, Sister Curtis

     Trevor is doing really good in his own spiritual progression but he is really struggling right now with friend and family opposition. It’s really sad. He said that the most frustrating part for him is that he has completely changed his life around and instead of his family being happy for him for staying away from all the bad stuff they are saying terrible things to him and it is getting him really discouraged. He said it’s bad when they would be happier for me if I was still smoking and hanging out with bad people instead of going to church. But he is really good at calling us when he is upset or texting us so we can send him uplifting videos, scriptures or talks. His desire to be good and to do good is so strong. But he is really hard on his self. We were able to have our district leader come and have a lesson with us. We went over the baptismal interview questions with him, seeing what he knew. He is just so awesome he has such a great understanding about everything and he is a really deep thinker. We were really glad that Elder Damron came along because he was able to share some pretty awesome football analogies that truly helped Trevor a ton! Man that’s something I never thought of doing. Using spiritual football analogies! hahaha His baptism is kind of getting pushed back right now because we don’t want him to feel rushed. We want him to have the desire for himself and to pray specifically about a date. I hope it happens soon though because I would love to be here with him!

     This week we were able to have Zone Interviews and a training. It was a lot of fun. But it was really sad too because it was the last one that I will ever go to. It was really good because a majority of what was talked about was staying converted and how we need to continue what we learn here in the mission field and remember it for the rest of our lives. I was really grateful to have that as my last training. I also had the chance to bear my testimony as a departing missionary. (Sad!) It was so amazing to reflect on all that has happened in the last 18 months! I have changed so much! Wow! I am so grateful to be a missionary I can’t imagine doing anything else at this very moment!

Elder Foggin one of my favorite district leaders from Canada! Ehh!

Classic  Elders photo bombing!

Sisters are the Best!

This was at our Zone conference there are only four sisters in our zone!

     It was also really funny because at zone trainings all the missionaries show off all of their awesome cat pictures and I was so happy because I finally had one to show off! It’s the best one ever! This was pretty good for being allergic! The elders were pretty impressed. The zone leaders have a file of all of the cat pictures. I will send some of the good ones! But ya this is such a funny zone. There are so many elders and only 4 sisters. 

     Sister England has been struggling with her anxiety a lot this week. It was one of the hardest weeks that she has had the whole time that we have been together. She really is such an awesome missionary. Through all of this she has had the strongest desire to work hard and to keep pushing through. The thought of going home has never crossed her mind because she was willing to endure to the end. But like I said, this last week was really hard for her. She has been trying a lot of different things to help her but nothing has really been working. One day things got really bad and the idea of going home was brought up by a couple different people. She wasn’t happy about it because she wanted to finish her mission. But the more she started thinking about it, the more she realized that maybe she needed to pray about it. After a lot of prayer and fasting, she felt that in order to get feeling better and to be able to use all the resources, she needs to go home. It was really hard for her to make this decision and like I said going home was never even an option but after she had decided this she finally was at peace and had hope again. At zone interviews she told President Forbes, then yesterday after church President and Sister Forbes took Sister England down to the city with them. Hopefully she will be flying out today. It was really sad to see her go but honestly I am happy for her now she will be able to get the help that she needs. 

This is the pretty view we have in Carlton!

Goodbye's in front
of our apartment!

     It’s interesting because being with Sister England has really changed my perspective on missionaries going home early. A lot of times we can be judgmental and think that they are just giving up or taking the easy way out but I could see just how hard it was for Sister England to make this decision. But I know she served the best that she could. She gave it her all. Some of our missions are shorter then others, but truly when we take off our badge we are never done serving. Sister England is going to continue being an amazing missionary to people at home as well as to the people that she has met here in Minnesota. We never stop! The people we met here we will never forget and I am so grateful that now Sister England will continue to stay in touch with Trevor and continue to help him from a distance. I love her and I am really going to miss her. But on the plus side, we will be able to see each other sooner now!

Saying Goodbye to the Northern Sisters!

In a Trio with the Duluth Sisters!

     As for me, I am in a trio with the Duluth Sisters right now. Tomorrow I should be getting a new companion. Her name is Sister Woolley. I don't know very much about her. I know that recently she was living in Hawaii but moves around a lot because her dad is a doctor in the military. She has been on her mission for about 4 and a half months. She started her mission at the University of Minnesota but was struggling as well, she then went to the mission home and became a office missionary. President Forbes was a little hesitant to send her up here with me because he likes to only have sisters up here who are a little stronger. But he thinks that this will be good for her to stretch herself and to see that she can have fun. I really hope that I can help her the best way that I can. I want to help her see how much fun missionary work really can be. So I am looking forward to meeting her. Pictures to come!

     That is really all for this week. I am looking forward for the next one. Lots of miracles are going to happen I can feel it! I love you all so much and I hope that you have an amazing week! Be good!

Love, Sister Kendra Curtis

I am really going to miss her!

Look I found a little Finish girl just for Elise.
FYI There are a ton of people who
originate from Finland here in Minnesota.

Meet the Mormons

Hello Family and Friends!

     I had a lot of fun in Duluth with Sister Simpson as you may have guessed. On Monday for P-day we were able to play more games with the elders which is always so much fun! We played Blow Pong, Scum, and Egyptian Rat Screw. I love playing games so much.

Duluth Skyline!

another bridge Isn't lake superior pretty

     Then afterwards we went over to a less active members house. He was actually the Branch President of the Carlton Brand at one point. He likes inviting the missionaries over and he loves to hear the messages but he says that there isn’t anything we could ever do to make him change. We showed him the video The Hope of God's Light. He really enjoyed it but it didn’t really "do anything for him." As I was sitting there listening to him it made me so sad. It made me sad to think that at one point he was active and now it doesn’t mean anything to him. In those moments of teaching him I knew and made a promise to myself that I will NEVER leave this church. I know too much and I have seen too many good things come because of it to ever deny it. So everyone who is reading this I want you to hold me accountable and never let me fall away!

     Before I went back to Carlton we were able to see some of the Duluth members and investigators one last time before I left. But I was so sad because we had another appointment with Libby but she was sick so she had to cancel the appointment that we had planned. I hope that I will be able to see her again sometime. She is so great. It really was sad to say goodbye to everyone. You really can grow to love people so fast in just a week. I am just grateful that I am really good at goodbyes now. One of the blessings that comes from going to so many different areas.

     Then we were able to go to district meeting. I really like our new district leader his name is Elder Damron. He gave an awesome training and he invited all of us to re-pray about the challenge given in Moroni 10. This is a challenge that we give to almost every person that we meet. It’s good to try it again for ourselves so that we can more powerfully testify of what is to come because of our faith. I really liked that, just because we know something doesn't mean we shouldn’t try again. I am excited to re-pray and get the answer for myself again. Everyone can gain a witness that they Book of Mormon is true, but not on their own. At some point we have to take it to God. We have to get on our knees and we have to ask. Then once we do that. Then we are able to have a testimony and share it with others. :)

Sister England and I are back together!

     I am really happy to be back in Carlton. As much as I loved being in Duluth and as much as I love Sister Simpson. I really just wanted to come back to Carlton. Here I am. It was good to see and to talk to Sister England again. The exchange went well. We were hoping that Sister Shumway would makes things better and that maybe the new environment would help Sister England but that wasn’t the case. It helped her gain the confidence that she would be able to take over the area when I leave. But as for her anxiety no matter what the circumstance, it is still there whether she is with me or another companion. It is really hard for her and she is really frustrated with the whole thing. But she is going through something right now that is going to help someone else down the road. I just really hope that she can start feeling better soon. Mission work isn’t fun when you are feeling like that. Our week has been very different because we are trying to adjust and help Sister England the best we can. But even though we haven’t been able to work as hard as we would like the Lord continues to bless us with opportunities to teach and to serve. 

     This week we were able to see David twice. It is awesome to see how much he is progressing. We are going over all of the lessons with him again and he is really understanding a lot. All of our lessons are beginning to turn into deep doctrine discussions and he loves it. We had a pretty deep lesson about the plan of salvation and then the next lesson that he requested was to talk about patriarchal blessings. And then this week he passed the sacrament for the first time. He is doing great things!

     Trevor is also doing really well. We are continuing to meet with his 3 times a week and he is doing great. He has been reading at least a chapter from the Book of Mormon everyday and he keeps watching mormon messages online. He even watched the hour long restoration video and loved it. He has still been getting a lot of family opposition and a lot of people that have been trying to show him anti stuff but he feels like this is true. He is always willing to come and ask us questions if he ever hears something strange. He told us that he loves all the good that it has been doing in his life that he really hopes it is true. He was also able to come to our Meet the Mormons night. He really loved the movies. Afterwards he was telling us some of his favorite parts and I loved the comparison he made. He said he liked the part in the movie were the dad in Costa Rica watches the kids while the mom went running he said it then made him think of the part in the Joseph Smith movie where the guy from Ireland comes up to Joseph and asks him why he doesn’t just have his wife do all the housework. He said I really liked what Joseph said and it goes right along with what you have taught me where he said, the relationships we have here in this life are supposed to last far beyond this life. If you don’t treat them good in this life why would they want to be with you any longer in the next one. Isn’t that the cutest thing ever! I just love how his thought process works. He is so thoughtful and he really does think about everything we say and show him. 

Trevor at Meet the Mormons

     Then yesterday he was texting us and apologizing that he couldn’t come to church because he got called into work. We asked him if he had been praying about a specific date to to baptized. He then responded by saying that something in his mind was telling him that he should be baptized on Super Bowl Sunday! I was laughing so hard! How sweet is that. Especially since he is a pretty big football fan. We told him that we would talk about it the next time we see him so hopefully tomorrow. We are just really excited for him. He is making a lot of big changes in his life and he has a lot to look forward to.

Dani

     Oh this week we had an awesome miracle. So in our ward there is a granddaughter who is 13, Dani, who lives in Duluth but came to a lot of our activities. This week we were with the young women and we were helping them out then all the sudden, Dani said, When can I get baptized? We had no idea that she wasn’t even a member. We said you just need to meet with the missionaries. She said I already am they came over to my house today. I said they did?? Did you tell them you want to get baptized? She then said no I just barely decided! So we called up the Elders that live in her area and we told them. We couldn’t believe it. So we are really excited for her and we are probably going to both start teaching because she is in both areas a lot. Dani is so sweet! We are super excited for her.

     Sister England and I also had a really awesome wood chopping experience. Don’t worry we didn’t use an ax we just help brother Burch with this tractor machine thing that he has. It was a ton of fun. It made me think a lot of my dad. Not that we have ever chopped wood together but just hard work. I have always loved doing things like that and it is always fun to mix up our day as a missionary. Hopefully we didn’t do to bad of a job and he will call us again next time.

Chopping wood with Brother Burch

Rosie at Meet the Mormons!

     Then of course we had our Meet The Mormons movie night that went pretty well for a branch activity. We forgot to count but I would say that we had about 30-40 people there. 5 non members and 1 less active. It was a pretty good turn out and everybody loved it! Everyone kept talking about it. We were really glad that we were able to make it all possible. There were a bunch of people that weren’t able to make it so we are hoping to have them come to the Duluth showing on January 30th. We were really glad about how it all turned out.

Brother Stockham was so nice to be in charge of the popcorn!

Taylor

     Well I think that’s all I have time to update you on for this week. It really is great to be back in Carlton. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for the people in this area. I love you all and I am so grateful for your prayers and support! 

Have a wonderful week! :)

Love Sister Kendra Curtis

A week in Duluth!

Hello Family and Friends! 

     I have had a wonderful week in Duluth with Sister Simpson. It was everything we imagined! ha! But really I love that girl so much! We are such good friends it’s almost bad! Its really cool to see how much we have grown and changed from the time that we were in the MTC. The only thing that was kind of sad is that Sister Simpson has mono right now. She has had it for a couple of months now. It’s sad because she is such a hard worker and a really good missionary but she can’t do everything that she wants to because she is always sick and tired. She had to sleep quite a bit. Poor girl. But it was kind of a blessing for me because I got to have a lot of time to study. I am trying to finish the Book of Mormon before I go home and it’s has been going really good. So that has been a little blessing in disguise. But besides that Sister Simpson and I have had so much fun together! It’s fun that the Lord made it possible for us to be together. We have decided that we are official companions now because we have been with each other for 3 and a half weeks. We are going to change back with the other sisters on Wednesday because that is when our district meeting is. This week long exchange has been fun but also a little strange. As much as I love Sister Simpson, I can't wait to get back to my area and to be with Sister England again. I really do love Carlton and I love the people there. :)

     As for Carlton, I have only heard a little bit. Trevor is doing good. He opened up to the sisters about some word of wisdom problems and was able to get a priesthood blessing to help him stop. He is continuing to meet with the sisters 3 times a week and things are going good. They pushed back his baptism date to February 7th to better prepare himself. I am excited for him!

     David got the priesthood at church on Sunday and the Meet the Mormons showing is still going to be a big hit! The sisters were able to get the flyers mailed out to all the members. It’s going to be interesting to see just how many people actually end up coming. The Duluth ward is going to be having their own showing as well so we were able to talk to the bishop and tell them a little about how we are doing it. That will be good to have more people see it. The thing I really like about it is how we are turning it into a missionary opportunity. Not only are the members excited to see it for the first time but it helps them to branch out to others. I am really excited for Friday!

Dinner with a cute family!

Taco Bell with  a member!

     One thing that I have found that I think is super funny is every time I am told that I am getting transferred or that I have to leave an area, I get super bitter inside. I hate goodbyes. I really grow to love the people I serve and I don't want things to change. But then I get to the new area and I grow to love the people there just as much! That is exactly what happened here in Duluth. I was sad because my heart was is Carlton but then I got to meet the members and the investigators and I love them! I am really fortunate to have met all the people that I have here in Minnesota. 

Whitney - another amazing person I met in Minnesota!

     We were able to have a lesson with a girl named Libby. She is 11 years old and isn’t baptized with the rest of her family. She is just a little more stubborn and wants to make the decision to be baptized on her own in her own time which is great!. We were able to meet her and she is so funny! She says the funniest things and is super smart. In our first lesson we talked about repentance and baptism. We had her wear a backpack full of books and then showed her how repentance works. We took out one book at a time. Then we showed her how baptism works and we took the whole backpack away from her and told her about how baptism really is like a fresh start. She really liked the lesson. Then at the end we asked he if she would be baptized and she said yes. It was super neat. Her family was all very surprised. It was cool because she said it without hesitation, it’s like she had already made up the decision in her mind. She is preparing to be baptized on February 14th. 

     Then for our second lesson we had a super awesome lesson. We want to keep her lessons very entertaining because she gets bored really easy. So I had this great idea to use shaving cream and to draw out the plan of salvation on it. She loved it! She was paying attention the whole time and then at the end she was able to to draw it out herself. It was really fun and she is really excited for baptism. She told us that she wants to be in the sun forever with her family. She is so awesome! I love her! Hopefully I will be able to go to her baptism!

Libby drawing the Plan of Salvation with shaving cream.

     We got to meet a lot of awesome members here in Duluth. The Duluth ward is HUGE! We actually got to cross the boarder a couple times to go over to visit some members in Wisconsin. We went over to one members house and just helped them out with some things around the house. One of them included walking the dog. (#embark #no pun intended) It’s really strange walking a dog but hey we are here to help. No matter what it may be. Members really appreciate it since it is -20 outside. Someone has to do it!

Sister Simpson serving!

Service walking a dog #embark #nopunintended

     There is a lot of cool YSA people that are here in Duluth and it was fun to meet then and to teach them. There is also a really cool institute class that the YSA get to go to and we are invited as well. Something that would be really hard about being a YSA up here is there aren’t very many. It’s hard to stand up for your standards when you are the only one. I am so grateful for all of the great friends I have and the strength that they have been to me. Because a lot of people aren’t as blessed. It’s cool the effect that we have on others to be and to do good. Anyways the YSA are awesome here.  

     One thing that is super strange that they do up in this area is Facebook. The Duluth missionaries have Facebook to stay in contact with YSA and to find less actives in their ward because it is so big. Honestly, I don’t like it. But probably because I am so close to going home. It’s just to weird. I was using Sister Shumway’s account, but still. It is kind of cool though to see the success that the missionaries have been able to have here with it. It’s just one of those things I would really root on from a distance but not really do it myself. It makes it kind of hard to focus because you see a lot of random stuff. Whatever though. :)

     So here is my funny story for the week. One day, Sister Simpson and I were out getting ready to go stop by a less active. We looked at the house, confirmed the address was correct, and then we said a prayer. We said amen and got out of the car. All the sudden I said, "What the! Where did that polar bear come from?" He blended in so well, we couldn't even see him. He was in front of the very house that we needed to go to. We walked up and he seemed pretty friendly. But was barking like crazy!  The member wasn’t even home. 

Sister Simpson with the kitty!

     Then all the sudden this cat starts walking over to us. We didn’t quite understand why all the animals started flocking to us. The cat was so close, we realized that we needed to take advantage of the opportunity that was before us. **Side story: The Duluth zone has been doing this funny thing where you take "cat pictures". What you do is you take a picture with a cat and you hold it by the scruff of its neck. It doesn't count if you are just holding it. It has to be by the scruff. This challenge has been particularly hard for me because, number one, I hate cats, number two, I am allergic. But I am still willing to try.** We took Sister Simpson’s picture first and it was prime! We knew the elders would be impressed! Then it was my turn. I went to grab the little guy then all the sudden the polar bear started attacking me! Both paws up at whacked my shoulder! What the!? Totally uncalled for! Then the cat ran away and the moment was gone. The polar bear ruined it. 

     Well that’s all for this week! I am glad to be a missionary. I can’t believe how fast it goes by. Sister Simpson and I had a lot of pillow talk and it’s crazy all that happens in 18 months and how much we can change and grow. Well everyone. I love you have an awesome week! 

Peace and Blessings! :)

Sister Kendra Curtis

Warning.... 
Sister Simpson and I took way to many selfies... ha

# Embark in the Service of God

Dearest Family and Friends!

2015 Baby!

     Happy New Years! Can you believe that it is 2015!! Back to the FUTURE! hahaha This was a crazy week! A lot went on and miracles are happening in this area! I love the people here in this area! Carlton is the best!

     Trevor is doing so great. I can't believe it but it was a month ago yesterday that we met him walking down the street. He has changed so much in the last month. He is so happy! We were able to meet with him 3 more times last week. He has been having a hard time getting into the Book of Mormon. Its hard for him to understand. Last week we told him to read the introduction in the Book of Mormon. He then texted us at 2:00 am saying, "Sorry to text late but I did as asked in Moroni 10:3-5. I got this feeling, then randomly, as if someone had whispered it to me I heard, Almost there but not yet. I don't know what just happened when is the soonest we can meet up?"   We couldn't believe it! We then met with him the next day and had a really good lesson with him about scripture study. We wanted to help him get into the scriptures and to help him realize how it applies to him and how he can use it. We had an awesome lesson about Alma 32 and how right now he is planting this seed in his heart and it is up to him to help it to grow into something big that he can rely on. 
     This week was great for him but then Saturday night we got a text from him saying that his grandma found his Book of Mormon and that she wasn’t happy. She kept saying, Anyone but the mormons. We ended up calling him to help him through it. It was neat talking to him because anyone else at that point would have probably dropped us because it would be too hard. But he just kept telling us that he was frustrated that they didn’t understand and weren’t willing to listen. As we were talking to him all the sudden the thought came to my head. I said, Trevor maybe this is it. Maybe this is why Heavenly Father wanted you to wait. He knew it wouldn’t be easy and that this would happen. You should try again to pray, and this time specifically pray and ask is this worth it? Is it worth going though and I promise that you will get your answer. It was so weird the thought came into my head so fast and before I even knew what it was I was sharing it. I truly feel like in that moment the spirit was working through me. He is such a great kid! He came to church for the third time and we were all fasting that his families hearts would be softened. The sisters are going to be seeing him tonight to hear more about how things are going. I am excited to hear what is in store for him.

     This week Sister Shumway came to Carlton with me. She is from Star Valley, Wyoming. Our day was completely wonderful and we had a ton of fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! We were able to do some service, we got to see some less actives and we had lessons with our investigators. Another thing that we have been doing is going to anywhere and everywhere that will let us hang up our Meet the Mormons flyers. We are hoping it will be a pretty big thing. So far so good! :)

Exchanges with Sister Shumway!

Blow Pong!

     This week we were able to have our district P-day. I think this was the first time ever that the elders didn’t want to play basketball or sports!! MIRACLE! ha Instead we played a ton of games. We played this super funny game called Blow Pong. It’s kind of like four square, you all have a certain section of the table and if the ball goes of your section then you are out. It was a ton of fun we played it for a pretty long time. Then we played Sequence, Liars Dice, Spot it, Egyptian Rat Screw and Signs. It was a ton of fun! We have a really fun district right now and it’s always better when there are 2 sets of sisters! :)

     David was baptized this week! We were so excited for him. We had some good lessons with him this week and he was really excited. The part that he was most excited for is that all of the sins of his past are going to be washed away and that he truly is going to get a fresh start. He also said that he is excited to have the guidance of the Holy Ghost so that he will be able to make good decisions in the future. It was a really special day and we are happy for him. 

Exchanges with Sister Shumway!

David was baptized!

     It was funny because the water wasn’t very warm. We kept having to turn the water on and off to make it warm. So we decided that it might be a good idea to boil a pot of water and to throw it in there so we totally did that!

     Also, today is the day that we find out about transfers.  But actually yesterday we got a call from President Forbes telling us that we aren’t getting transferred but that we are going to be going on a week long exchange. Sister Shumway is going to be coming down to Carlton to be with Sister England and I am going to be going up to Duluth to be with Sister Simpson. Sister England has been struggling with anxiety and depression. President Forbes is trying to figure out the best thing to do for her right now so that she can continue to serve. Sister Shumway's last companion had depression as well so president it going to see if this will help the situation. Honestly, I don't know what my feelings are about all of this. It definitely wasn’t expected. I am sad to leave Carlton. I love that area so much, I love the members, I love our less actives and we have some really awesome lessons planned with our investigators. I’m sad I am going to be missing it but hopefully it will only be for the week. But it will be really good for Sister England. It will help her to have the confidence that she can do this and that she will be able to take over the area when I am gone. I am happy that I am going to be with Sister Simpson though. It’s finally what we have both been asking for for the last 17 months! Crazy how the Lord really does have a plan through it all! So starting today I will be in Duluth for a week then we will talk to President Forbes and we will then decide what to do from there.   

Rosie!  I just can't get enough of her!

     I guess my last thought has to do with the new youth theme! EMBARK! "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." D&C 4:2 Check out the video! Its so awesome! I just love the church so much! It’s cool to see how they are totally embracing social media. ....secretly it gets me excited for when I get home. :) This has actually been something that I want to focus on this year. Being aware of opportunities to serve. #embark. Its such a great thing to know that even thought I won’t "technically" be serving the Lord anymore, there is always an opportunity to embark in the service of God. 

     I love you all! The church is true! I am so happy to be here! I know that the Lord places us in certain areas and with certain people for a reason! I am so grateful that we can trust in the Lord with everything. Not everyone has that knowledge.

Love, Sister Kendra Curtis 

Hazel let me borrow her hat!

Lunch with Sampson.

District Meeting!

The blanket for President and Sister Forbes!