Sunday, November 17, 2013

11/11/2013

Hey so I don't have time to send emails today because it is veterans day and like 6 different missionaries are trying to use the computer to send emails. So to sum up this week we didn't have too much happen but we should have 2 baptisms on Saturday so next week I will definitely have more to write and have a fairly good email and hopefully I will have some pictures for y'all too. We also gave talks this week in Victorian Village and I spoke on Faith and I think it went really well. This was probably the first talk that I wasn't nervous at all to give! Well sorry again for this email being so short and not too good but I love y'all very much and am very grateful for all the support that y'all continue to give. 

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Nice email from James:

Dang that's really cool about Dallin and the missionaries. I will have to give them rides and hang out with them when I come home!! Hopefully they will still live there when I come home! Thank you so much for the package those cookies are amazing and not good at all for my diet right now. Haha they were actually the wrong shoes but thats ok because I forgot about these shoes and they fit me better than the other ones. But I have to go now :( I love you very much and really do appreciate all that you do and have done for me my whole life because without you and dad I would not be on a mission right now. I love you very much!!

Love,

Elder Curtis

11/4/2013

Well we had a somewhat good week here in the Taylor Mountain Stake. Part of the Plaisance family was able to be baptized which was awesome!! But unfortunately Haileigh did not get baptized because she accidentally wore a bra that had pink hearts on it and she was really embarrassed and did not want to get baptized. Her friend Carley Grey has a baptismal date for November 16th so we are hoping to see Haileigh and Carley both be baptized on the same day. Our other investigators are progressing some faster than others but that's expected and we are super glad to see them progress. The weather here the past couple days has been freezing cold!!!!! It sucks to bike in so we have been trying to find members to go out with us and we will have them pick us up. So usually in the evenings we try to stay out of the cold especially since with the time change the sun goes down at about 6. So for a typical day we will bike during the day and find a ride to dinner and then a member or a priest age youth to go out with us in the evenings. Well I have to back into the frozen tundra again and hopefully I will live to be able to hear from y'all next week. I love y'all very much.

Love,

Elder Curtis

10/28/2013

It has been a fairly good week here with Elder Vigil we are continuing to work very hard to meet a district goal (25 baptismal dates) that Elder Miller and Lopes (the APs) have set for us. We are very close and have till the end of the evening tonight to reach that goal and hopefully we will be able to accomplish that goal. We have a baptism this weekend for the Plaisance family (Crissy, the mom, Haileigh, and Marcus) and we are helping Ross, the father, to be baptized 2 weeks later. This family has been meeting with missionaries since February and they have really been progressing well this transfer and are ready to be baptized and to make that next commitment in their lives. I am so happy to be able to be here for this baptism and am super excited for their family. Please pray for this family that they will follow through and be excited to make this covenant with Heavenly Father. I love you very much and really appreciate all help and prayers that y'all have given to help me out!! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Curtis

Sunday, October 27, 2013

10/21/2013

It has been a pretty slow week so I don't have much to report. Sorry a bad email but everything is still going well Elder Vigil and I are still doing great we were not able to teach as many lessons as we planned on but we are continually trying to teach more. We currently have 8 investigators with a baptismal date and there names are Crissy Plaisance, Ross Plaisance, Hailey Plaisance, Marcus Plaisance, Evan Velasco, Sharron Hill, Rachel Judkins, and Brock Judkins. If y'all have sometime please pray for these people that there baptisms may go through and that they will have a desire to  come to church every week. Our closest baptism will be on Nov 2nd at 1pm for Crissy, Hailey, and Marcus. I am really looking forward to this baptism because we have been working with this family for a long time now. The weather is great right now not too cold yet but also not too hot. Well I have to go now but I love and miss y'all very much!! Have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Curtis

Saturday, October 19, 2013

10/14/2013

Hello Hello how is everyone doing?? Well it has been a great week here in Idaho Elder Vigil and I were able to set 3 more baptismal dates this week. Elder Vigil is my new companion and he is really awesome. He is from Kansas and has been out 16 months. We are continuing to do really well in the area. The investigators are doing awesome! Some of them will be a little tough to work with but thats ok. The one I am talking about is Michelle Cravings and she is a Jehovah Witness but doesnt really practice it anymore. So she will be a tough investigator but she seems really interested in learning more. We had a baptism this weekend for a little 9 year old girl named Florence Burgess. She was solid since day one when we started teaching her. She wanted to get baptized right away and it was a really good weekend. Her baptism went really well and there was a few people from the ward there to help support her. Our next baptism is scheduled for October 26 at 1pm and it is for the Plaisance Family and I would really appreciate it if y'all could please pray for this family they need all the help that they can get. I am on a bike again which is really nice because I need to continue to loose weight and train for something called the LOTOJA (a bike race from Logan to Jackson). I have to go now but I love y'all very much and look forward to hearing from y'all next week!

Love,
Elder Curtis

Here is my new address for at least 5 more weeks:

Elder James Curtis
433 W 20th St

Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402

Thursday, October 10, 2013

9/30/2013 and 10/07/2013

9/30/2013

Sorry I was not able to send an email last week the elders that I am with write their emails really quick and I ran out of time. So I'll try to do a 2 week update and hopefully I won't be forgetting anything. It has been another good week with Elders Heisler and Carroll. We have been working really hard to accomplish the goals that we have set for ourselves. Our investigators have been progressing really well as they come to learn more and gain a testimony of what we teach them. We currently have 10 baptismal dates and have a goal of gaining one more next week. These investigators are really progressing well and they are really fun to teach. We are always looking for more people to teach and trying to get more referrals from members. The members in the Idaho Falls area are amazing, really nice, and for the most part really missionary minded. I love working with members especially bringing them to lessons and teaching investigators in their home. Friends of investigators that are members really have helped in breaking the ice and help the investigators really understand the lessons. The most important thing that I have learned about member missionary work is how important it is to teach in a members home. The spirit is already there and the investigators can feel it the minute they walk in the house and that is really important for us as missionaries because we teach by the spirit and really need his influence when helping us teaching lessons to testify of what we teach. So please do all that you can to help the missionaries in your area 2 pretty simple things that you can do is offer to go out with the missionaries or invite the missionaries to have a lesson in your home. Missionaries everywhere are always looking for a good fellowship for their investigators and at the same time you feel joy more in life because you will gain the blessings of being a missionary and/or helping missionaries. I love y'all very much and hope y'all have a great week.

Love,
Elder Curtis

 10/07/2013

Hey sorry to do this again but it has been a crazy day and I don't have time for a big email so for a quick update I am staying in the Taylor Mountain Stake another transfer. I will get my new companion, Elder Vigil, on Wednesday. I dont know anything about him yet but he is going to be the new district leader so it will be good training for me because I feel like leadership/training may be near in the future. I am moving into a new apartment because they want to move sisters into sister newman's basement. So I will have a new address for y'all next week. Sorry again and I love y'all very much! Have a great week!!!

Love,
Elder Curtis

Here is great video that has given me completely different view on being a parent and has given me great appreciation for my mom and dad.