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!

The Lord does His own work!

Hello Family and Friends!

     I just want to start off by saying... Good Luck Jake!  I am so excited for my baby brother and for this amazing journey that he is about to start!  I wish I could have seen his farewell talk yesterday.  I know he did a wonderful job.  At least I will get to hear his homecoming talk :)  Jamaica!  I can't believe he will be there two weeks from Wednesday!  I don't know if I have said this before, but time goes by so fast!  I am so excited to be serving the same time as Jake.  It is going to be really fun hearing his mission stories and hearing about all the amazing Jamaicans that he will be teaching.  Yaaaahhh Maaaaannn! :)

First run of the year!

     Weather update: when we got out of the car to come email guess what the temperature was?  49 degrees!  Oh my goodness!  I could hardly believe it I had to hit the dash board to make sure that everything was working okay!  And yes it was accurate.  We were cruising with the windows down and that 49 degrees wind blowing through our hair!  When moments like this happen you have to soak them in because you never know what is going to happen next!

      As for this wonderful mission life and this amazing work that I get to be part of... I better get started! Aggh time goes by to fast!  (Literally this is always the fastest 2 hours of my life!)  Can you believe that I hit my 7th month mark this past week?  This time next year I will be home in Utah!  Reminiscing on what once was.  (And probably reading the most recent letter from Jamaica!)

      I will start off by talking about Eva as you know we weren't able to get a hold of her last Sunday.  After our P-Day Sister Callister and I felt like maybe we should go stop by Eva's house.  It is pretty far away but we both had such a strong feeling.  We then got in the car and headed over to Eva's house.  Once we got there we knocked on her door.  Nothing.  We knocked again, rang the doorbell, but nothing.   Long story short, Sister Callister and I were very "patient" we waited outside her door for almost 30 minutes, then we texted her and we told her that we were going to leave in 5 minutes and if she wanted to talk to us she should come out.  Right as we were about to throw in the towel she opened the door.  We were then able to talk to her.  We sat on the stairs outside of her apartment and she expressed her concerns.  She told us that she talked to her dad and that he doesn't support her in this decision.  He has heard all kinds of rumors about the Mormons and now she has a lot of questions herself and she is starting to doubt her faith.  She also expressed that she can't go behind his back and get baptized because in the Liberian culture if you disobey your family or dishonor them then you are cut off for good.  She doesn't want to risk that.  I completely understand because I served around the Liberians for 3 months and I know how important this is.  I also know that he just loves his daughter and he wants to keep her safe.  The saddest part is how this has affected Eva.  She used to be so happy.  She had this wonderful light about her and you could see the difference that the gospel had made in her life and now she is just very confused and she doesn't know where to turn.  We then were able to ask her what she thought when she came to church and how she felt inside.  She told us that she always feels good and she loves the feelings that she gets when she comes to church.  We then read Moroni 7:13:    

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." 

      Just like this scripture says if it invites you to do good it is of God.  We then told Eva to continue to read the scriptures and to say her prayers.  That as she does this she will be able to continue to progress and continue to strengthen her faith.  That is what we mostly focused on this week with her, strengthening her faith.

     Eva gave us her father’s number so Sister Callister and I could go talk to him and answer any questions that he may have and help him understand why this church is so important to Eva and how this will make her happy.  That next day I went to go call her father to set up a time for us to meet with him and.... wait for it.... He is a PASTOR!  What the heck?  Why weren't we told this before?  For some reason Eva didn't feel like this was an important detail to mention.  So on Tuesday (tomorrow) Sister Callister and I are going to be visiting with a pastor to talk to him about how his daughter wants to be baptized into the true church.  Pray for us!  One thing that is really neat about this, is the church that he is over is located in North Minneapolis, which is in the Shingle Creek area.

     This last week I was able to call some of the Liberians in that ward to come teaching with us.  I was able to get a hold of a man named Arnell Johnson.  He was one of mine and Sister Ballif's favorite people to go teaching with.  He is absolutely amazing!  He was baptized in Liberia and he was able to serve a mission in Africa.  He is the most humble man, Sister Ballif and I swear that one day he is going to be a General Authority.  He is going to be coming with us tomorrow and hopefully another Liberian as well, it depends if he works or not.  I think it is very interesting that Sister Callister and I happen to be in this situation and I know the exact people to come along with us. 

     My zone leader said to me as we were telling him our plans, "Sister Curtis, if you don't know why you are here yet, this could very well be it."  

     Whoa.  I never thought of it like that.  I truly have been sent to this area, at this time, for a reason.  I hope that I will be able to do all that I can, this is a really scary situation but I know that with the help of the Lord, we can do anything.  One of my favorite mission scriptures is Alma 26:12 

      "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

     I know this scripture is true!  I have seen it many times on my mission and this is the scripture that keeps me going when times get hard.  The Lord can do His own work!

     Ashley has been doing good.  We were able to meet with her twice this week.  We talked about the Plan of Salvation and a different time we talked about the temple she said one thing which I loved so much.  Her face lit up and she shared how she loves that the temple is in her reach.  It is something that she can go to someday! :)  I loved that.  Everything we are asked to do, we can with the help of God!

     

    This week has been great!  Our most progressing investigator is Chloe.  She was a pass off from the Blaine Elders.  She is completely ready to be baptized. She has a date set for April 12th and she is counting down the days.  She was able to come to a baptism with one of her friends who is a member and she loved it.  She said that as she was there everything just made sense.  Now she is reading the Book of Mormon everyday and she loves it because it just makes sense!  She was able to come to church yesterday and she loved it.  She has already been invited to some of the ward activities and she has already made some great connections with others.  We are excited to help her learn more this week and we know that the Lord prepares his children and he has trusted us with these amazing people.  Now we just have to do our part.  I will talk more about her next week!

Yan's baptism!

     This week the Chinese Sisters had a baptism for a girl named Yan.  Honestly this was one of the best baptisms that I have been to.  The spirit was so strong throughout the whole service.  There was a great talk about baptism and the Holy Ghost.  Then Yan was baptized.  She was so excited and she looked so happy.  After her baptism Sister Pao and Sister Huang taught the restoration.  I can honestly say that I don't think I have every cried or teared up from hearing the restoration but hearing both of them I did.  The spirit was so strong!  As I listened to Sister Pao and Sister Huang I knew in that very moment that what I am sharing with people each and everyday is true!  I realized just how amazing this message is and how exciting it is that I get to share it. 

     

     Then they bore their testimonies in Chinese and WOW!  Words can not describe the feeling in that room.  After they finished Yan came out and was able to bear her testimony.  What a sweet and powerful moment.  She told us how she has been investigating the church for 5 months and now she is no longer a visitor surrounded by friendly faces but now she is a member of a family surrounded by her brothers and sisters.  That is one thing that I love so much about this church, we really are just a big family!  No matter where in the world you go it is all the same.  This is a family of 15 million people! (And more to come!)  The other thing I love about this work is the Chinese people.  It is just so neat to see how both Sister Pao and Sister Huang were called to Minnesota Minneapolis, English speaking and now here they are in Dinkytown, where they are able to meet all these amazing college students from CHINA!  Sister Pao and Huang are able to use their Chinese and they are able to help these amazing children of God recognize the truth that they have never had the opportunity to hear in China!  The Lord does His own work!  It doesn't stop anything even though we aren't able to go into China yet.  Because they are being brought to us!  MINNESOTA!  Where we truly are able to teach people from all over the world!  I truly am so spoiled to be here.  I don't know why I have been so blessed but I know that I am going to use every second of it!  I have been called here for a reason and I am going to make sure that I fulfill my purpose as a representative of Jesus Christ.

Natalie and Rachel

Sister Haung and Sister Pao

Dang I am out of time!

I'm serious time goes 

by to fast!

I love you!

Sister Curtis 

Mexican Village for Lunch!

"I asked God for an Angel, He sent me two!"

To my Dearest Family and Friends,

     This week was another great week! Too much happened!  I never have time to share it all.

Quick short random things:

     So Sister Callister and I went to Chipotle this week.... It is okay.  It is no Cafe Rio but hey, it’s the closest I can get to that here in the land of Minnesota.

The Crazy Bus!

     This week late at night when we were walking on the "main" street, this guy stopped us and asked Sister Callister and I if we wanted to get in this "Free Bus" and then he would take us to where ever we wanted... Ummm no thank you!  Haha we later found this bus parked near one of the members houses and we thought it was pretty funny.

U of M Gear!

     Sister Callister and I finally got University of Minnesota shirts and they were on sale! Only $8.50!  Heck yeah!  I miss campus sales.  Also I still bleed BLUE! (Go Aggies!)

I LOVE DINKYTOWN!

Okay now serious mission stuff:

     We were able to go to the temple this week and I was so happy.  I haven't been to the temple at all this year.  Like always it was a wonderful experience.  It was really neat because while I was at the temple I was able to see three different people from my previous ward.  It is really fun to look back on all the amazing people that I have met in the last 7 months and how it has truly changed my life.  I was also able to see the Relief Society President from the Hudson ward.  I asked her how everything was going and how Sister Pead was doing.  She said that everything was going really well.  Then she told me that last week Delores L. went to the temple for the first time and she got her Patriarchal Blessing!  How exciting!  I couldn't believe it.  It is truly the best feeling to know that these recent converts are continuing to change their lives and continuing to progress.  I love the amazing people that I am able to serve here in Minnesota!  After hearing that, my day was completely made.  The temple was the icing on the cake.  I am so blessed to be so close to a temple that I am able to go to.  Especially on my mission. :)

Temple Day! Finally!

Karem and Sister Curtis

     Earlier this week we were able to have a lesson with Eva.  She is so wonderful.  She is such a sweetheart and she is truly so ready to be baptized.  We wanted to watch the long version of the restoration with her so she could better understand the story of Joseph Smith.  We also brought Karem with us.  She is so awesome she was baptized almost 3 months ago and she is amazing!  She has such a great testimony and it means so much hearing it from someone other then the missionaries.  We watched half of it with her then we told her to watch the rest on her own.  She is so wonderful. 
     A couple days later Eva was supposed to come to the institute building so she could have her baptismal interview.  We were excited for her to come and to meet with our district leader.  We were trying to get her a ride but then all the sudden we got a text from her that said, "I don't think I am ready for the interview or to be baptized.  I got a lot going on right now.  Sorry about that." 

     What?  We were in complete shock.  We did not see that coming and we asked her what was wrong and we tried calling her but she didn't answer.  Sister Callister and I both felt like maybe we should go stop by her house and see if everything was okay.

      Her house is about 30 minutes away and it ended taking us even longer because of traffic but for some reason we felt like we should go there.  When we got to her apartment we noticed that all of the lights were off but we still went and tried.  We knocked on the door but no one answered.  We then decided that we would at least leave her a note.  We went and sat down on the stairs next to her door and I started writing while Sister Callister pulled out her scriptures to find a scripture verse.  

     All of the sudden a lady started walking up the other flight of stairs, she looked at us and said, "Is that the bible you are reading?" Sister Callister and I looked at each other and said yes.  Then she ran over and squeezed right in between us and said, "Can I read with you?" 

     We said sure.  We read her a couple verses then we told her who we were and what it is that we do.  We then taught her the restoration and it was so powerful.  Rita is absolutely amazing.  She then looked at us and said, "This morning I woke up and I asked God for an angel and He sent me two!" 

     I love this work that we do.  What a blessing to share these sweet and simple truths with others.  It really does change their lives!  We were able to get Rita's information and now the Sisters in that area have an appointment set up next week so they can go share more with her.  It truly is amazing to see how the Lord does his work.  If Sister Callister and I didn't follow that prompting to drive and see Eva, we would have never met this amazing woman who is clearly prepared for the restored gospel.  But still... No sign of Eva.

Sister Callister, Rose,
Sister Curtis and Ashley

     The next day we were able to go to a baptism in West St. Paul for a girl named Jenna.  She has been meeting with the missionaries in that area for a couple months and she is now getting ready to come to the YSA ward.  We were able to go with a couple people from our ward and also Rose and Ashley.  They both really enjoyed the baptism and they both mentioned how happy she looked as she came out of the water.  It is always such a great experience when you are able to take an investigator to a baptismal service.  After the baptism we were able to have a lesson with both Rose and Ashely.  They had a lot of great questions about the baptism and then Ashley had some questions about the For Strength of Youth pamphlet that we had left with her last time.  We then ended up going over that.  We let them pick some of the topics and then we helped then understand the different standards and why we are given these standards.  It turned into a really good lesson.  We talked about many different things.  One of those things was keeping the Sabbath Day holy. 

Ward Mission Leader, Karem, Sister Curtis,
Talisse (RS Pres)  and Sister Callister

     Now this is a selfish Sister Curtis moment.  So later that night we were planning on going to the Mormon Chorale with both Rose and Ashley.  The Mormon Chorale is a really good singing group that both Sister Callister and I were really excited to see but the only way that we could go is if we had an investigator to bring.  So we were excited because we were going to have two and we knew that they would both love it.  But then we got a call from both Rose and Ashley telling us that they weren't going to be able to come to the concert with us because they had a lot of homework to do in order to keep the Sabbath Day Holy...... What?  How funny is that.  Sister Callister and I were speechless.  It wasn't like we could tell them that just this once it would be okay.  So we just had to act like we were proud (which we were) and let them do their homework.  That meant no concert for us.  We were secretly pretty bummed.

     But because we had extra time we decided that we would try and stop by Eva’s one last time.  We drove all the way there again and when we got there this time we noticed that her lights were on.  We knocked on her door and she opened the door, looked at us and then buried her face in her hands.  She kept saying I am so sorry about yesterday.  I am so sorry.  She then invited us in and we went and sat on her couch.  We just asked her if everything was okay.  She then told us that she talked to her dad and he told her that he didn't want her to get baptized and if she did that he wouldn't talk to her anymore.  She then explained even more, it was so sad to watch how overwhelmed she was because of it.  She knows that this is true and she is frustrated because her dad doesn't see it and he won't listen to her and what she thinks.  He also asked her a lot of hard questions and she is now starting to doubt her faith.  It was truly heartbreaking to watch.  We asked her if we could kneel down right then and say a prayer with her.  She said the prayer and it was one of the sweetest most sincere prayers I have ever heard.  She expressed her confusion and she shared with her Heavenly Father that she wants to know for herself, for sure if this is that path that He wants for her.  It breaks my heart because I know that she is being tested right now.  Just like in any big moment in our life, Satan tries to stop us.  When we start to progress forward, he does everything that he can to drag us back down.  All we can really do is pray for her.  That's exactly what we decided to do.  We asked Eva if she remembered what fasting was.  She said yes.  Then we told her that we would fast with her on Sunday.  We then asked her what exactly she would like us to fast for.  She said she wants understanding and clarity.  We left with a prayer and a bunch of hugs.  I love that girl so much and I know that this is going to be one of the hardest and most important decisions that she is going to make in her life.

     We were sad yesterday because we weren't able to hear back from Eva. We are nervous that she talked to her dad again.  All we can really do at this point is keep her in our prayers.

     This experience made me realize how grateful I am for my family.  I am so blessed to have such a supportive family who loves me and supports me so much in everything that I do.  Especially after meeting so many amazing people on my mission and seeing the opposition that they get from their families it makes we look back and wonder why I have been so blessed and it makes me want to not take them for granted.  So thank you!  Not only my immediate family, but also my extended family.  You have all played such a huge role in my life and I will forever be grateful for each of you and the wonderful examples that you have been to me.

     I love you all!  
Challenge for this week. 

Don't under use that phrase. 
"I LOVE YOU!"

Love, Sister Kendra Curtis

Check out the new bike vest we have to wear!  Are you jealous?  

 I don't know about you but safety green is my color!  It makes my eyes POP!

Sunshine and Answered Prayers

Hello Family and Friends!

I am wearing my light coat, because
it is 43 degrees! That is Hot!

     I hope you are having a wonderful week.  Are you staying warm?  This week has been so strange it started off cold then out of no where it was hot!  Positive 43 degrees!  Whoa! Sister Callister and I were sweating!  We walked around half the day not even wearing coats!  I promise you after living in the wonderful land of Minnesota you will never hear me complain about Utah Winters again, because I can promise you... it could be worse!  Now in the same week we had a "Snow Day."  Minnesota never has "Snow Days" but because it was so hot, everything was melting, then that turned to ice and then it snowed about 6 inches of snow on top of that.  So what did that leave us with?  HORRIBLE roads!  So once again our cars got grounded.  This is the strangest mission.  I never expected I would get grounded so much on my mission.  The good thing is we are so close to our proselyting area we are able to walk to campus and then still be able to teach people.  Another plus side about being on a campus, people still have to go to school so there are always people to talk with.  

This is the Snow Day!

     Before I get started on the good stuff I have a quick story for you!  Now picture this!  It is a wonderful day outside, about 30 degrees.  The sun is shining down melting all the snow.  It is looking like it is going to be a good day.  Sister Callister and I just finish our prayer and are ready to get started.  We then start strutting down the street and I am ready to talk to the world nothing can stop me, when all the sudden.... VRRROOOMMM! SPLASH!  A semi truck drives past and covers me in melty, slushy, snow!  I couldn’t  help but laugh!  What the heck!  I turn and look at Sister Callister she didn't even have a drop on her.  Luckily we were close enough to the institute and I was able to go dry off.  I couldn't believe it.  I have only seen that stuff in movies.  Who knew that could actually happen!  Sorry I should have taken a picture... Next time!  Ha

I<3 Sister Callister!
(this is not a typo it means I heart...)

Anyways Mission Life! :)

     The start of the week was wonderful.  The warm weather really lifted my spirits!  It’s amazing what a little vitamin D can do!  I was so happy and it was a lot more fun to share the gospel with others.  Lately, I feel like this cold weather has really been getting to me.  Almost like, I have been lacking faith.  I start to think to myself, "It is too cold.  No one wants to listen to us.  Everyone is in such a hurry.  I don't want to bother them."  

     All these crazy thoughts are getting in my head when this is never something that I would normally think.  This has been something that has really been bothering me the last couple of weeks.  I started making lots of goals to help me overcome it.  I wanted to know how I could be more effective and how I could be better and enjoy the work I am doing.  This week was amazing!  I had so many different experiences that were able to help me.  It made me realize how Heavenly Father really is aware of us and he is able to answer our prayers.  I was able to see my prayers answered all throughout the week.

     First I was able to receive a letter in the mail from my sweet mother.  First of all I love getting mail! Nothing lifts your spirits more then receiving postage in the mail!  Yes!  I got a letter from her and in it she printed off a copy of Sisar Elise Curtis' blog post, The Finnish Line.  I love whenever I am able to get these because it is cool to see my Sisar (cousin) experiencing the same thing as me.  So in this specific letter she talks about making "Friends"

(Mom will you copy that paragraph here?) :)  

This is an excerpt from Sisar Elise Curtis

AND THEN, this is the last thing about Mrs. Incredible, she asked us if we had any other FRIENDS like her that were learning about the church. That completely opened my eyes. Obviously, we always talk to members and other missionaries about our INVESTIGATORS. Were they in church? How did the lesson go? Etc etc. And then it hit me, investigators are our friends. Which changed my perspective on finding. It's not so much about FINDING INVESTIGATORS (which is hard and intimidating) but it's about MAKING FRIENDS. Which I can do. And I love doing. I don't know why this new perspective has helped me so much. And I don't know why I didn't realize it earlier. Anyway, last night was a reassurance that THIS is exactly where I am supposed to be. And I love it. I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT. And I love you. Have a happy week!!

          This was exactly what I needed to hear!  It amazing how Elise was able to answer my prayer, and then how my mom was also able to answer my prayer by sending this to me.  I know without a doubt that the Lord is aware of each and every one of us no matter what we are going through.  Reading Elise's letter made me realize that I have been taking things too seriously.  I have been way too formal.  I then got to thinking about myself when I was up at Utah State.  I would have never talked to someone if they stopped me and instantly started asking me a bunch of religious questions.  I would have got out of there really quick.  But if someone came up to me and asked me how my day was going, what I was studying or even complemented me on something I was wearing, I would definitely stop and talk to them.  It really is way easier to make "friends" then to find new investigators. (Wise words from one of my favorite people. :) 

Sister Training Leaders (STL's) Sister Fawcett and Sister Shurtz both when to Utah State!

     Then that very next day Sister Callister and I were able to go on exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders (STL's).  I was able to go with Sister Fawcett and Sister Callister was with Sister Shurtz.  The day they came over was one of the days that our cars were "grounded" Sister Fawcett and I were supposed to go to her area, New Brighton.  But because of the snow we were able to stay in Dinkytown and work on campus. 

Sister Fawcett and Sister Curtis

     Sister Fawcett is amazing!  She is from Riverton and she went to Utah State.  We have a lot in common and we are already planning on living in Logan together.  I really loved the opportunity that I had to work with her.  She was another answer to my prayers.  It was amazing to watch her talk to everyone on campus.  She was so friendly to everyone she met, she was super outgoing, easy to talk to, relatable and really down to earth.  She was exactly what I have been setting goals to become.  My favorite thing about working with her was that it was fun!  She got to know everyone that we met and then was able to share her testimony about our church and why it has blessed her life.  I couldn't help but just sit back and smile because in that moment I realized that I have been so caught up in the "job" that I haven't been enjoying all of the amazing people that I have been able to meet.  Ever since, I have truly seen a difference in myself.  I feel like I have been so stressed with the new area, my new companion and the new people that I forgot why I am even here.  I am here because I LOVE the gospel and I want to share it with others.  I truly am in the best area and I know and feel that I will be able to truly embrace it!  All I'm going to do is make "Friends".

Taco Time (we are making tacos)

Here is a quick investigator (Friends) update!

Eva: I absolutely love her.  She is the sweetest girl. This week we were able to have 3 lessons with her.  We have really been focusing on getting her fellowshipped and getting her friends in the ward.  It has been going wonderful.  Every lesson we have we are able to get members to.  She was even invited to a Birthday party Saturday night with most of the ward.  I feel like a proud parent!  I am so excited to see my baby fitting in and making friends AND she is getting baptized on March 8th!  Man Eva is amazing!  It is so awesome to see her testimony grow.  I know that this gospel is going to bless her life and I know that in this ward she is going to make friends that she will remember for the rest of her life.

Ashley: She is awesome.  We were able to have another lesson with her this week about the Plan of Salvation. She really liked it and she liked that fact that she actually knows why it is that we are here on earth. There is a purpose.  She won't commit to baptism yet. She wants to learn more which is completely understandable and we are glad that she is being honest.  She wasn't able to come to church this week because she had a fundraiser that she had to be a part of but she was able to come to the Linger Longer after church.  There she was able to meet a bunch of new people who invited her to FHE and some other activities that will be going on this week.  Friendships. Yes!

Rose: We got to have a lesson with Rose where we were able to go over the Restoration with her and we were able to answer questions that she had about church.  It went really well.  She got to meet some of the institute students and they are all so friendly and outgoing.  She was then able to come to one hour of church yesterday and she loved it.  She told us that she loved it so much she is going to try and get Sundays off work so she can come and learn even more. Wow. These people. :)

Joyi: She is so busy.  She is from Korea, she is taking 18 credits and she owns her own business which is basically run over Skype to people in Korea so because of the time difference she hardly has time to sleep. But she loves this gospel and she loves learning more. She was sick on Sunday but we stopped by her house and were able to share a mini lesson with her.  She is amazing.  We are praying that she will be able to have the time to progress and continue to learn more.

     You already got to hear a little bit in the friends update but this is the most amazing ward!  The people here are amazing!  They are always willing to help us with anything whether it is teaching, giving rides, sending text messages, inviting “friends” to different activities, anything!  They are wonderful!  It is really needed because most of them are recent converts themselves.  They know exactly what it is that the investigators are going through because they have been there before.  It makes me realize that I want to be a good member missionary when I go home!  Fellowship is so important.  Our mission president once said, "Social conversion is just as important as spiritual conversion." 

     I know that this is true.  If people don't feel loved and welcomed in the ward they won't have a reason to come back.  Friends are that extra support that we all need in our lives.  We need to constantly be looking for ways that we can be  better friends.  

     One comment that was made in Relief Society that I thought was interesting was, "Sometimes it is easy to look around at those who aren’t at church and give them a call to see how they are doing and ask what we can do to help. But sometimes those who are there, those who are coming to church, need that same help if not more." 

     I know that as we are more aware of those around us and have that prayer in our hearts to help those around us that the Lord will bless us.  We need to trust in him and know that he will put people in our paths who we can bless and who we can strengthen.

I love you all so much! 

You are all the best! 

Keep being wonderful! 

Stay warm. :)

Love, 

Sister Kendra Curtis

Trying out the campus buses!  Success!!!

What the Heck?

     This is the ward mission leader in her ward.  He came to Utah for his Sister's wedding and offered to take a package back to her.  Jonathan gave him this sweatshirt and told him to wear it the next time he saw her.  That look is just priceless.

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!)

Institute advertisement 

     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)