I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It seems like not all that long ago I was talking to my family on Christmas. Now Mothers Day is already passed and gone.
It was so great to see so many faces and hear the voices of people I love so much. I am so grateful for this gospel and the knowledge I have that I can be with the people I love the most forever. What a sweet and simple truth that is. I can't imagine living without that comforting truth in mind. I imagine things would be a lot harder to cope with and it would be so much easier to become bitter.
I was on exchanges last week with one of our zone leaders in Cape Girardeau where we spent most of the evening tracting. The last door on one of the streets we tracted opened up and we were introduced to a very cheerful man named Matt; we talked to him for quite a while. He explained his accurate belief that church should be for developing a personal relationship with God instead of what man makes it out to be in many cases. He explained how churches have literally asked him not to come back to their congregation because of some of the questions and personal beliefs he has such as: we had "free will" before we were born and we could make choices for ourselves; Satan is necessary because without him we would not have bad things happen to us and therefore we would not be happy; drinking is bad and alcohol should not be partaken of; family is the most important thing.
Obviously this guy is so ready to receive the gospel! He explained to us that he is open to religion and listening to us but his wife is currently very angry at God for "taking her child away". I wanted to go to this woman and give her a big hug. I would recite Moroni 8 to her and bare my testimony of it. We told Matt that we could tell them where that child is and I think that sparked his interests a bit more, so we were able to set up a time to talk with him again. I haven't heard anything from the zone leaders about him yet, but I just have this wonderful feeling that the gospel is going to be a huge part of their lives.
How blessed we are to have these truths and to know that they really are true! I know God loves His children and desires their happiness. I know He reveals truth to prophets so that we can know what His plan for us is. What's more beautiful than that is we don't have to take His servants word for it. We can have that personal relationship with God and receive His truth through the Holy Ghost. I know each and every thing He asks us to do is for our happiness. Everything is stacked in our favor to be happy because we have a perfect savior to redeem us from sin and weaknesses as well as personal revelation from God Himself to guide us. How I hope each of us will continue to embrace the gospel and it's teachings and continue to embrace it more and more so that we may truly have lasting happiness.
I love you all so much.
-Elder Curtis
Monday, May 12, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
5.5.14
Hi guys!
I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful season and giving thanks to God for His beautiful creations for us to enjoy. Before I left cluttered St Louis, everything out here was already dead and ugly for the winter, so now I am finally experiencing the beautiful and plentiful green trees and fields and it truly is beautiful... It can't quite compare to the awesome mountains back home though.
Since almost all of our work with non-members has crashed and burned (excluding the awesome Lewis family baptized two weeks ago) ever since and long before I arrived here, I have fasted and prayed for the direction God would have us go with this area. God has been kind and has guided us to our answer; we decided it's time for a different approach/focus...
We have been working furiously with the members of our ward to familiarize themselves with and implement Preach My Gospel and it is going very well. Our goal is to turn this ward into a missionary minded people. We have met with many of the active members and have created family mission plans with them in order to help them see how they can be a part of this marvelous work that is moving boldly and independent of them but can move more quickly and effectively with their efforts and can bring them greater happiness than ever experienced before! This plan helps each family member see that there really no excuse not to be a missionary everyday. Missionary work does not have to be uncasual!
We have already seen success in this plan and I know it will have a lasting effect on this people to help further the work here in the future.
We had an awesome Zone-Leader Training last week. One training we had from an Elder Christiansen we 100% testimony. He had every missionary stand and give a simple, heartfelt, and bold testimony. So each of us did that and he followed with his testimony of testimonies. I can't tell you how thick the Spirit was, but it was unforgettable. Our testimonies are so important. We need them and we need to share them. People need our testimonies and we need to share them. Like really, we need to share them. We cannot keep our testimony if we selfishly keep it to ourselves. "that which one willing shares, he keeps." -Thomas S. Monson.
So share a testimony! It will brighten your day and will bring you peace and strength and will also allow you to build on to what you have.
I am so excited for mothers day!!! I can't wait to talk to my beloved family! Mom, I want to talk directly to you and tell you I love you so much! You are the best. You're the sweetest woman I know and good things that I am and all the good that I do I owe to you. Though I never deserved it you have been so good to me you still sacrificed and did so much for me. And though I am the worst at showing it, I am immensely and eternally grateful for you and the Christ-like woman you are. You are a valiant woman of God and your example alone has had the greatest effect on me and all those around you. I think I can speak for all nine of your children, all six of your grandchildren and dad when I say you are the best and you are the most important woman in our lives and we will always love and cherish you and everything you have done and do for us. We are forever in your debt. Thank you so much for being exactly what you needed to be for me and thank you for your pure, charitable love and for your unceasing patience. Please forgive me for the grief I know I have caused you. I love you mom! I love you forever!
And Sarah, I'm sorry I never wished you happy birthday. I remembered your birthday, I just forget to say anything about it... my bad. I love you though, and I hope your birthday was fantastic! :)
Oh, back on mothers day, you can expect a call sometime after 4:30 your time. I don't know exactly when, so I apologize in advance for any unwanted suspense this may cause. I don't know what time Jen will get on either but hopefully it will work out that she can call at the same time. Happy mothers day to my fantastic grandmas and my beautiful sisters as well! Love you guys!
I hope all of you have a great week! I know if you put Christ first in your life you will be blessed to have all things work out perfectly for you. Always do good and remember, Jacob 6:12 :)
Bye!
-Elder Aaron Curtis
p.s.
I told you all I would be able to write more this week now that our regular library is open again; from the response I got this week about my past couple of email it's like nobody believed me. Be not of little faith; everything is back to normal now. :) I promise writing this email is one of my highest priorities every week; second only to writing my mission president.
Oh! And happy Cinco De Mayo and late Star Wars Day!!
I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful season and giving thanks to God for His beautiful creations for us to enjoy. Before I left cluttered St Louis, everything out here was already dead and ugly for the winter, so now I am finally experiencing the beautiful and plentiful green trees and fields and it truly is beautiful... It can't quite compare to the awesome mountains back home though.
Since almost all of our work with non-members has crashed and burned (excluding the awesome Lewis family baptized two weeks ago) ever since and long before I arrived here, I have fasted and prayed for the direction God would have us go with this area. God has been kind and has guided us to our answer; we decided it's time for a different approach/focus...
We have been working furiously with the members of our ward to familiarize themselves with and implement Preach My Gospel and it is going very well. Our goal is to turn this ward into a missionary minded people. We have met with many of the active members and have created family mission plans with them in order to help them see how they can be a part of this marvelous work that is moving boldly and independent of them but can move more quickly and effectively with their efforts and can bring them greater happiness than ever experienced before! This plan helps each family member see that there really no excuse not to be a missionary everyday. Missionary work does not have to be uncasual!
We have already seen success in this plan and I know it will have a lasting effect on this people to help further the work here in the future.
We had an awesome Zone-Leader Training last week. One training we had from an Elder Christiansen we 100% testimony. He had every missionary stand and give a simple, heartfelt, and bold testimony. So each of us did that and he followed with his testimony of testimonies. I can't tell you how thick the Spirit was, but it was unforgettable. Our testimonies are so important. We need them and we need to share them. People need our testimonies and we need to share them. Like really, we need to share them. We cannot keep our testimony if we selfishly keep it to ourselves. "that which one willing shares, he keeps." -Thomas S. Monson.
So share a testimony! It will brighten your day and will bring you peace and strength and will also allow you to build on to what you have.
I am so excited for mothers day!!! I can't wait to talk to my beloved family! Mom, I want to talk directly to you and tell you I love you so much! You are the best. You're the sweetest woman I know and good things that I am and all the good that I do I owe to you. Though I never deserved it you have been so good to me you still sacrificed and did so much for me. And though I am the worst at showing it, I am immensely and eternally grateful for you and the Christ-like woman you are. You are a valiant woman of God and your example alone has had the greatest effect on me and all those around you. I think I can speak for all nine of your children, all six of your grandchildren and dad when I say you are the best and you are the most important woman in our lives and we will always love and cherish you and everything you have done and do for us. We are forever in your debt. Thank you so much for being exactly what you needed to be for me and thank you for your pure, charitable love and for your unceasing patience. Please forgive me for the grief I know I have caused you. I love you mom! I love you forever!
And Sarah, I'm sorry I never wished you happy birthday. I remembered your birthday, I just forget to say anything about it... my bad. I love you though, and I hope your birthday was fantastic! :)
Oh, back on mothers day, you can expect a call sometime after 4:30 your time. I don't know exactly when, so I apologize in advance for any unwanted suspense this may cause. I don't know what time Jen will get on either but hopefully it will work out that she can call at the same time. Happy mothers day to my fantastic grandmas and my beautiful sisters as well! Love you guys!
I hope all of you have a great week! I know if you put Christ first in your life you will be blessed to have all things work out perfectly for you. Always do good and remember, Jacob 6:12 :)
Bye!
-Elder Aaron Curtis
p.s.
I told you all I would be able to write more this week now that our regular library is open again; from the response I got this week about my past couple of email it's like nobody believed me. Be not of little faith; everything is back to normal now. :) I promise writing this email is one of my highest priorities every week; second only to writing my mission president.
Oh! And happy Cinco De Mayo and late Star Wars Day!!
4.28.14
Hi everyone!
I apologize in advance for another short email, but the library we usually use has been closed for a few weeks and so we are forced to use another which doesn't allow us to use the computers for more than an hour and due to the mass of emails I receive each week I do not have time to reply or write very much because I read everything first. So I am very sorry to all of you who I have not written and I thank you for your patience and love and your emails which I love so much.
I have maybe a minute left so I would just like to bear testimony of Christ. I know He lives and loves us. I know He is with each of us and cares for us. We cannot fully understand His love for us, but still we can know He does love us. I know He does. I know there is no power in the universe that can separate us from that love.
I love you all! have a great week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)