She's Coming Home!

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

     Everyone! I really just can’t believe this. I can’t believe that I am at the end of my mission. This is the last email that I will be sending as a sister missionary. I truly don’t even know how to begin. The past 18 months have been the very best. I wouldn’t have changed anything. I guess I better explain all that happened this week. 

     We had a super fun District P-day. We went to Adventure Zone. We had a ton of fun I really like lazer tag and we had unlimited games! Not going to lie, I got pretty good. :) This is probably one of my favorite districts that I have served with. We have on ton of fun together. Sister Simpson and I are in charge of putting together the "District Reunion". I am so grateful that most of the people that I have met on my mission I really will have the chance to see again, if not at least we can stay in contact through Facebook. The blessings of technology.

     A lot happened this week and I don’t have time to talk about it all. Find me sometime if you want to hear more! :)

     We were so excited because Trevor’s baptism was this week, on Friday the 13th! It really was such a great day. He was so nervous and he was getting a lot of family opposition right before. He didn’t even tell his grandparents that he was getting baptized until the day of. But he was able to make it to the church at 6:00. While we were talking to him he was still pretty nervous but he was also starting to get really excited. It was really neat because we were able to meet the missionaries that he first met 2 years ago. It was actually a senior couple, Elder and Sister Deihl, they drove up from Montana to support him. Two years ago Trevor was at the football field in Moose Lake working out for football when he met Elder Deihl. They had a really great talk but Trevor was only 17 years old and his family wouldn’t let him keep meeting with the missionaries. Then two months ago we met him. It’s amazing how the Lord works. It was great meeting them, Sister Deihl was such a sweetheart. 

     She gave me a huge hug and said, "Thank you for serving a mission. Thank you for being where the Lord needed you to be. Thank you for being here." It was such a tender moment. She was tearing up, in that moment I felt the spirit so strong. I know that the Lord had the Deihl's plant the seed and then two years later he was finally ready. It was such a blessing to be apart of this process and such a great way to end my mission! :)

     President and Sister Forbes drove to Carlton just to see Trevor’s baptism. It was really neat that they would drive all that way and then after that they took us to Applebee’s... it was kind of strange, but it was really fun talking to them. They were talking a lot about Carlton and how glad they were to have been able to put sisters in the area and how sad they are that they have to take sisters out. On Wednesday when I go home, the mission is going to be loosing 7 sets of sister missionaries. We are just really grateful because they aren’t going to close down the area, they are going to put elders in. We are so grateful. The President actually had to close down 12 areas! It’s crazy how small the mission is getting. It was really fun talking to them. 

     Then on Saturday we were able to go up to Duluth to go to Libby’s baptism. It was so exciting I am so happy for her. It was fun because I was there when she decided to get baptized. This was a super great week. 

     Then Uncle Kent and Aunt Dorit and Karin and Joe met us at the church and we then when to Texas Roadhouse! My favorite! It was so great to see them and to spend some time with them. 

     I was so excited when they said that they were going to come to the Carlton Branch for church! It was really fun to have them at church. It was such a special day because Trevor received the Holy Ghost. He is so happy now. His countenance has totally changed. He has the light in his eyes! I am so happy for him. He deserves this. He needed to know that he is loved and that there are good things to come!

     At the end of the meeting, President Ryan got up and said as many of you know this is Sister Curtis’s last week. She failed to tell all of us until about 2 weeks ago that this was even her last area. We wanted to let Sister Curtis have the last 5 minutes to bear her testimony. Up until that very moment, I have been very composed about going home. I have just accepted it. I am sad to leave but also excited for my next journey. But all the sudden, as I was walking up to the pulpit, I lost it. It finally hit me. I am leaving Minnesota, I have finished my full-time mission, I am leaving those I love and care about behind. I was trying to think about what to say or where to begin and all that came out was tears. I have loved and treasured the time I have spent here. I have loved the all people I have met. I am so grateful! Truly and forever grateful. I don’t remember very much of what I said and I’m not even sure if it made sense, but I love the gospel so much. I know that the messages I share each and everyday are true. I know that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us so much and he wants us to be happy and to succeed in life. We all experience challenges and trials but they are there to help us grow and to become better. I know that because of my mission I have grown so much. I am a completely different person then that girl who walked off the plane 18 months ago. I now have a solid testimony of my Savior, and the love that he has for each and everyone of us. Because of that love we all have the ability to change and to repent. Change is a good thing, it can be hard and sometimes even painful, but the Lord lets us experience it because he loves us. We are so blessed to know all of this. As I was bearing my testimony, I was looking straight ahead I saw Trevor and I was so excited for him. I was so excited that he now gets to feel this happiness for himself.

Sister Ryan and the Young Women!

     We have been trying to hard to go and to meet Trevor’s grandparents but they have no desire to "meet the Mormons" (ha) So we asked Trevor if we could stop by sometime on Sunday. 

     He said, "Don't tell me about it! If I don't know about it then I can't warn them." 

     Perfect. We then went over last night. We went over with some Valentine’s day cookies. He let us come in, the grandparents weren’t very happy at the beginning but we introduced our selves and told them who we were. Right off the bat the grandpa said, "I’m not going to convert so don’t even try recruiting me." 

     We expressed that that wasn’t our goal and that we just wanted to introduce ourselves to them and we wanted to see if they had any questions. It actually turned into a really good experience. We had some pretty good discussions about what we believe and why we believe it. We left them with a For the Strength of Youth booklet. We told then that in that book it has the standards that we, as members, strive to live by and that this was the first thing we left with Trevor. They really liked us. They said that they had never talked to a Mormon before and that we weren’t as bad as they thought. We are going to try and have the elders stop by and maybe answer more questions. It was a great way to end our night.

     I really am at terms with going home. I am excited because truly this work is never over. I will always be a representative of Jesus Christ. Even though on Wednesday I am going to be released and I am going to have to take off my tag, I will always wear this name on my heart. I will always try to bring others happiness and I will always share what I know! 

Thanks everyone for the letters and emails! 

I am so blessed I am really excited to see all of you again. 

I love you and see you soon!

Love, Sister Kendra Curtis