June 16, 2014

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by. It has been a slow yet enjoyable one. Elder Bowen is a guy who loves to have fun and make people laugh, so he's keeping me entertained most of the time. The stake I am in had mini missions this week, which is when they send their youth who are sixteen and up to spend the week with the missionaries and experience first hand what missionary work and life is all about. How cool is that! I wish I had that opportunity.


We were given an 18 year old named Devon Bledsoe, who is actually the grandson of Bishop Bledsoe who lives down in Poplar Bluff, so it was fun to have a common cohort with him. He got to bring his own car which was great because it saved us lots of miles on our car! However, he was rather reckless with his driving and he drove over several things you're not supposed to drive your car over, including an entire round-about... He was also quite the deep sleeper. He would never wake up when the alarm would go off in the morning. One morning we put the alarm clock right up to his face as it was going off. He didn't move at all. If it wasn't for his snoring we would have guessed he was dead. We finally got him up and we started getting ready for the day. I came out of the bathroom to find him standing right next to the wall with his head leaning against it, fast asleep. We had to slap the wall to wake him up. I've never seen someone sleep ON the wall before, especially when standing up. I enjoyed having Devon around. I just feel bad for the guy; we didn't get a single lesson in with him this week. We mostly did service.


We struggled finding new people to teach this week as well. I just want to find someone golden and solid so bad. All of our investigators have bailed out on us this week. But that's just part of the experience. I was reading an article by Elder Richard G Scott and a part of it really helped me and opened my mind to more revelation and peace to my soul. It said, "What sometimes seems like and impenetrable barrier... is a giant step to be taken in trust." It seems like I've been in a slump for the past few months where I'm doing everything I can to serve and help people come closer to Christ, but my efforts have not quite presented the results that I want and no matter what I do, nothing changes that. It has been what feels like an impenetrable barrier. But the Lord is in this work. It is not MY work. It is His. And I know that if I continue to work hard for Him, all will be well and work out. The same applies for non-missionary life too. It doesn't matter what we want to happen. What matters is what the Lord wants to happen. He knows all and He knows "how to succor His people" and as we follow Him, giving Him all of our trust, He will guide us and bless us and use us to bless the lives of those around us. It doesn't matter what difficulties we are facing. What difficulty is there that Christ hasn't overcome? With God nothing is impossible. All things are possible if we have faith in Him.


I am grateful for the Spirit and for it's gentle reminders to me of these things. They keep my hope burning and keeps me going through the slumps of missionary life. I know blessing will come. They may not come today, or tomorrow or even in this life, but to those who follow Christ and embrace His gospel, they come. Be a good boy. Be a good girl. Keep moving forward. The Spirit will guide you.


Thank you for all of you in my life and for faithful friends and family who keep in touch so well. I hope you all have a fantastic week. I love you guys!


-Elder Curtis