Tires, Croqueting, and Dunks
Hello everyone!!! This was a crazy eventful week for us in my area of Pichanal, so buckle in for a long email! Please tell me how your week went😃
Sunday night we went over to my old area and played Dungeons and Dragons with the Elders there and our ZLs which was pretty dope. Elder Dye made really good but spicy curry and I made a bit more cookie dough and made some cookies that turned out better than the weeks’ before.
Monday I woke up and realized I 100% got the flu from the flu vaccine and felt like crap, but we headed back to our area in the morning to present the papers to get Yanina married and we got it done! We set the date for Friday to get married and left. After doing some grocery shopping we went to a convert family’s house to eat lunch and I learned how to make facturas which turned out bomb! Then I felt even more like crap and went home and died for 2 hours after District Council.
Tuesday wasn’t much. We had a super long lesson in the morning and then found this lady named Nelida in the afternoon. She has had a rough life recently and we are hoping to teach her and help her. She’s in her mid 50s and lives alone with her granddaughter because her son is a drug addict in Southern Argentina and her husband died last year. She came to church on Sunday and seemed to really be at peace so there will be updates on her☝️
Wednesday and Thursday we had exchanges. I went with my ZL Elder Adams who I did exchanges with not too long ago but in my last area. I went to his area called Colonia Santa Rosa and on the drive there the taxi’s tire blew out so we got out and helped the dude fix his tire. It was different from what I’m used to because there was no, as the scriptures say “wailing and gnashing of teeth” from the guy.😂
Because we helped him, he charged us less for the trip which was nice. During exchanges we went to a member’s house to learn how to croquet and I could not understand for the life of me how to do it. Then the member’s Catholic grandma came out and we shared a message and then asked her to pray. In the prayer she prayed that Elder Adams and I would have dreams that night about croqueting so we could understand how to do it. That night, swear on the Bible, Scouts’ Honor, on my momma, whatever, I had a dream about croquetting and in the morning I tried again and did perfectly fine. This week I made a little book cover for my little Book of Mormon. Please tell me it is so cute☺️☺️☺️
Thursday we ate Polenta which I only know how to describe it as porridge with cheese and sauce. It was so thick eating it all we thought we ate a brick and in the middle of eating Elder Adams and I looked at each other trying not to die from how much it felt even though it was only 1 plate. We felt like crap after that but in the afternoon I got to see this convert Daniel who got baptized right after the last time I did exchanges in that area and it was good to see him. He really wants to serve a mission and even has a “Futuro Missionero” plaque he printed out on his front doorway. He walked around with us all afternoon and evening and he has already grown so much in the gospel, which is so so cool to see.
Meanwhile in my area, our other ZL, Elder Daley, was with Elder Quispe and they put Irma on date for this Sunday! We are so excited for her and are trying hard to prepare her for her baptism. The branch and her family are super excited as well!
On Friday Yanina and Carlos got married! It was so cool to see and they were so happy! That was basically it for that day but we did have a movie activity where we watched the new Super Mario Galaxy movie which was really good! We had a good amount of people show up which ig was a plus🤷♂️🤷♂️
Saturday we just ran around like usual inviting everyone to get baptized but also we set up the font for the baptism and I got to try Locro. It’s a common dish here that is basically pig stew. Like they legit use like every part of the pig. Thank goodness though I didn’t eat any freaky parts or stuff like that.
Sunday we had a good amount of people come but not as many as usual because it’s been super cold. On Sunday it was a steady 54⁰ all day and it rained so that means we don’t have to go to church I guess????🤷♂️🤷♂️🧐🧐🤔🤔
Next week is transfers and I’m lowkey hoping I stay because there is a lot of cool stuff happening in Pichanal. The Branch Leadership is finally working aka having Branch Council. There are a lot of progressing people that are family and/or friends of members. They are about to have a temple trip, and we have been so blessed with success. I actually love this area and will be really sad if I have to leave.
Spiritual Thought:
This past week I didn’t really do personal study and I could feel it. Tuesday we left early to be able to teach this one girl, Wednesday I was traveling to do exchanges, Thursday my ZL and I just kinda talked about the Plan of Salvation and just how Jesus is just the best, Friday we were traveling to return from exchanges and then got Yanina married, and then Saturday we had to go to the church to set up the font. Personal study is such a huge part of not only the mission but it is necessary in life. I remember a quote from Elder Holland when he said, and maybe he was quoting someone else, but he said,
“If you want to talk to God, you pray. If you want to hear from God, you open your scriptures.”
So true! I have gained such a testimony of the need of personal prayer and scripture study here on the mission, because there is no better way to continuously invite the Spirit into our lives each and every day, to receive answers to our prayers, and learn the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need the Spirit to be with us and need to be consistent in these “small” efforts. I want to leave with you all the scripture 3 Nephi 18:18-20
18. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
19. Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;
20. And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.
I love and pray for you all! Thank you for any emails that you send me! I love hearing about what life is like at home with Summer about to start!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/g9K5EHgzbJLtD3wC8
With love
— Élder Curtis
