I love being a missionary!

Hello Family and Friends!

     So the first two stories are just to let you all know that missionary work is full of excitement. You never know what to expect and we are still crazy kids who love to have fun! hahaha Don’t judge me okay! :)

Duluth Trio!

     On Monday, I was still in a trio with the Duluth sisters. We had a really fun P-day. We got together with the the elders in Duluth and we played basketball, ultimate frisbee, and some other games. So the missionaries in Duluth are pretty funny because they always do pranks to each other. Things get pretty crazy up north. They just go back and forth they are pretty funny and they get each other pretty good. So the sisters keep asking the elders if they will trade cars with them one day because they have a truck. Of course the elders always so no. But then during games the elders were like, okay sisters, you can drive our car. We all looked at them and said, WHAT? Why? What did you do to it? They said nothing we didn’t do anything to the truck.   

        ....We were all super confused because they were so willing we knew something was up. But they insisted that we trade. So we went out to our cars and swapped our stuff out. They then left for their dinner while we continued playing games. Then when it was finally time for us to go we went out to the truck and we had a joint teacher with us that was going to come out with us. We went out to go start up the truck and the key didn’t fit... we tried and thought maybe it was just us. But no, sure enough the elders gave us a fake key! They had it all planned out so that it would work perfectly, because we had a trio so the other elders could take us to our appointment and then after that appointment the other elders were going to take us back to the car because it was all super close. They just missed one little detail they didn’t think about us having a joint teacher that we needed to drive. The whole thing was pretty funny. They ended up having to drive back and give us the real key. Not going to lie it was very clever. We were able to have the truck the whole day then we switched back. We were sure to take a picture with and near the truck to have proof. Good old Duluth. Always entertaining!

Sister Simpson wearing the glasses that go with the truck!

     I then told the sisters about a great way to get the elders back. I told them about the prank that I would always play on people at college. If anyone ever left their Facebook online on my computer, I would change their birthday to the very next day. It’s really funny because then all these people comment on you wall and text you telling you Happy Birthday when it really isn’t your Birthday. And since they are all using Facebook up North, it would be the perfect prank. On Saturday one of the elders left his Facebook logged on so they totally did it! It was so funny because not only did all of his friends from home wish him Happy Birthday but all the members did as well! HAHA! And they have no idea who it was. There is always funny things going on between those missionaries! :)

Sister Woolley!

     But anyways on Tuesday I was finally able to get my new companion Sister Woolley. She is really fun. She is 19 years old, her dad is in the Air Force so she has lived all over the place, she went to BYU for a year, and she LOVES Disney! We have a lot in common. Our first couple of days together were awesome we went out and did some tracting, which I feel like I haven't done in a while, and it was really great. We were able to talk to a lot of people and we were able to teach some good lessons. That was really great. Then we went over to our Branch President’s house, President Denny and we were able to have dinner over there. It was great for her to meet that family because they do so much for the branch. Then afterwards we were able to go have a lesson with Trevor, our lesson was really good, he just asked us a bunch of questions and we answered them. We talked a lot about baptism for the dead and temples. I just love the questions that he asks because they are pretty deep and you can tell that he really puts a lot of thought into them. Sister Woolley is a really awesome teacher. I was surprised. I thought that maybe she wouldn’t have had that much experience since she just came from the office but she really is awesome. 

Meet the Mormons in Duluth!

     We were also able to go up to Duluth with a part member family to go and see Meet the Mormons with their ward. It was really great. They had a really nice turn out and it was cool to see all the non-members that came. We were really sad because Trevor wasn’t able to come. We really wanted him to be there because we wanted him to see the big church and the ward. It would have been good for him to see just how big of a support group that he would have. Hopefully we will be able to find some other activity that he can go to in Duluth.

     We were able to have a couple other lessons with Trevor and they are all going really well. He has been really hesitant about setting a day to be baptized because his family is really giving him a hard time right now. One night he actually made this really cool slide show kind of going through all of the different trials that he has gone through in his life. It was really sad, but at the end he went through and explained the day that he first met Sister England and I, and how ever since that day he has been able to change his life around and that he has felt a lot happier and has hope. It was really awesome. We also were able to set a date with him for February 13th. 

     Then on Saturday we began our fast with him to help his family soften their hearts. As we were saying the prayer I don't know why but I just felt really uneasy about something, and I had no idea what. I tried talking to Sister Woolley about it but she was kind of having an off day herself. She was really missing her last area and wasn’t really letting her heart be in Carlton at all, I was super stressed and worried because I didn’t know why I was feeling the way that I was feeling and I didn’t want to do the wrong thing. To be honest, I really want to be here for Trevor’s baptism because they are probably going to be white washing the area with elders and I am nervous that if he isn’t baptized that when the new elders come that he will close up and his progression will stop because he has already gone through so much and opened up to us. I truly feel like he is ready, he is so prepared, probably one of the most prepared investigators I have taught but still I felt uneasy about it. I felt completely alone on making this decision... I kind of refocused my fast of coming to know if this was right for Trevor, to see if he was ready and if the 13th was the right day.

     Then Sunday morning, Sister Woolley was having a melt down. She was telling him how much she missed Bloomington and how she doesn’t want to get to know the people here because she is just going to have to leave in 3 weeks and how she hates change because that is something that she has had to go through almost all of her life. I was sitting there listening to her and I had no idea what to say... I just couldn't believe that this was happening again. I just wanted to get to work and to help the people here in Carlton. I didn’t want to be dealing with this right now. I was pretty frustrated. We went to church and things were a little rough, but it was a good day as well. 

     After church we went to go and see some less active members and while we were there it was like I was doing everything completely on my own. Sister Woolley wasn’t saying anything and was completely shutting down. We got out of the lesson and as we were driving to stop by someone else she looked over at me and said, "Is something wrong? It seems like there is some tension." I looked and her and said, I just don't know what we are supposed to do when you are sad and you don’t talk in our lessons. She then started crying, she broke down and just talked about all the frustrations that she was having. I felt like we just needed to go home and that I needed to help her. We went home and we had a really great conversion. She opened up to me and told me about some of her struggles that she had at the beginning of her mission.   

     I then asked her, "So why are you still here? Why are you on a mission?" 

     She answered and said, "Because my family doesn't want me to come home and I told the Forbes I would stay. But I’m not so sure if I want to be here." 

     I then asked her, "When did you feel like you gained a testimony that the church is true?" 

     She paused for a moment then said, "....I don't know if I ever have." 

     I then said, "What part do you have the hardest time with?" 

     She looked at me and said, "I have a hard time trusting God. I just don’t feel that close relationship that others say they have." 

     I looked at her and I could just see the struggles that she was feeling and I felt the love that Heavenly Father has for her. I told her that He loves her so much and that He is so proud of her for staying out here. And that her time here in Carlton, for just a few weeks, can be a time to prove herself. To show the Lord and President Forbes that she has changed and is ready to get back to work and that she can do this. We then pulled out the Gospel Principles manual and we talked about understanding the attributes of Heavenly Father and coming to know him for ourselves. 

     I then shared an experience with her, I have wrote about this before, but it was an experience that I had when I was in High School, I had always felt like I didn’t have a good relationship with God and that I didn’t have any of those amazing moments that others seemed to have. I wondered what I was doing wrong and why I wasn’t feeling anything. Then when I was in seminary they were talking about exactly that. My teacher said that it’s hard to know when the Holy Ghost is talking to you if you don’t know how he does it. She then left us with a challenge. She told each of us to go home and to pray and then ask Heavenly Father how we feel the spirit, then to sit and wait. That night, I knelt at the side of my bed and I did just that. I said a simple prayer and asked to feel Heavenly Father, then I waited. I didn’t know how long I was supposed to wait or what I was waiting for but I waited. Then all the sudden I felt it! It felt like butterflies in my chest getting bigger and bigger. I just made me feel good inside. Ever since that moment I have always been able to know when the spirit is talking to me. I didn’t really know if I had helped her at all but I did what I could.   

     She also talked about how she doesn’t really feel the spirit as much as she used to at the beginning of her mission. I then told her that as missionaries, we always have the spirit with us, we even have an extra measure of the spirit with us. I remember there was a time in my mission where I felt the same way. But I realized that we are living a different life then we did before the Holy Ghost isn’t coming in and out as much as it did before our missions because we have less distractions. But it is literally with us all the time. It’s hard to recognize because we are so comfortable with it, but if we pay attention you will begin to see how much it is actually there.

     We then got a text from Trevor saying, that he felt like he was missing something big. We didn’t really know what that was supposed to mean so we called him instead to talk and see what was going on. Sister Woolley was leading out the phone call. She was asking him how things were going, he began to say that he felt like he was missing something big, that he still had one thing that he needed to resolve, he said that he didn’t feel like he had a personal relationship with Heavenly Father. He said that he knew that everything he has learned and that we have talked about is true but he doesn’t feel he completely trusts Heavenly Father.    

     Sister Woolley and I just looked at each other and we couldn’t believe what he was saying, this was no coincidence. She then started talking and it was so powerful. She began to share with him everything that we had just been talking about 10 minutes before and the spirit was so strong. I honestly didn’t say a word, it was all her. She was able to open up to him and express that she was feeling the same way, she shared the story that I just shared with her and then they both committed to do the same thing together. To gain a relationship with Heavenly Father and to learn to trust him. It was exactly what he needed to hear. 

     After the phone call I looked at her and said, "Did you feel the spirit?" She smiled and said yes. We then started talking about how the Lord really does have a plan for everything. That her melt downs needed to happen so she could open up and so she could relate to Trevor. It also strengthened our relationship. It was just a huge miracle. I am really glad that she is here with him. I know that this is exactly what she needs to step out of her comfort zone so that she can be the amazing missionary the Lord is preparing her to become. 

     After that experience we have been having so much fun together, she is starting to open up to more people and sharing her testimony it’s awesome. I also feel like my question with Trevor got answered, we just need to help him gain a relationship with Heavenly Father. Good things are happening here in Carlton. I am so happy to be here. Also, our branch presidency got changed. Our new Branch President is President Ryan and I am super excited!

     That is the jist of this week! I can't believe how fast the time is flying by! I love Minnesota! I love you guys so much have a great week! Choose the right!

Love Sister Kendra Curtis