Conny Curtis July 14, 2012

July 14, 2012

Good Afternoon,

Elder Curtis is spending the day at the Mission Home bike work area getting ready for the 17 missionaries that will arrive on Tue.  He has been so thankful for the help of Elder Smith in this as well as many of our other responsibilities.  The Smiths have been our right hand helpers, but they just learned this week that they will be transferred from Bessemer to the Huntsville area (two hours away) Not only are they both a great help to us, but as you can see from past letters, they have also become good friends. I don’t know how we will manage without them around. It will definitely mean more work for Elder C. and we’ll miss their company.  We have two new couples coming in soon; however, both are being assigned to areas far from the office.  It all seems to work out one way or another, though.  We picked up a brand new car yesterday and that should be the last one for a while so if we can keep accidents down, maybe there won’t be as much movement with that.  Speaking of accidents, two of our Elders in Hamilton (NE almost to MS /TN state lines) were hit by another car that turned from a side street right into them.  Thankfully no one was hurt, but anytime there is an accident it takes time away from getting the regular work done.  Besides my office work, a lot of my time is spent helping and working with Elder Curtis.

We have been doing much more traveling the last month.  We have visited several District Meetings, most an hour to two hour drive from the office. We have been doing various trainings and also inspecting their cars with them right there so they can see for themselves how to care for their vehicle.  It’s surprising to us how many young men and women just haven’t had experience with how to care for a car. We have to remind ourselves they are still young and not all have HAD a car or been responsible for one. We received a call from an Elder the other day saying that his tire was flat and he needed to buy a new one.  “Well”, asked Elder Curtis, “Did you take it in and try having it fixed?”  The repair was $10. Even though these are temporal lessons, hopefully they will be blessed throughout their lives for having learned them.  We loved being able to meet with the missionaries in smaller groups and spend that one on one time with them. We get to know and love them even more.  We also made several trips to apts of Elders to help them through issues and again, it is nice to not only get closer to them, but see the areas where they work. Alabama really is a beautiful place. The more we see, the more we appreciate this.

The 4^th of July was another workday for us in the mission; only it was spent filling a new assignment that has come down from Salt Lake. Each Zone has been asked to hold ‘monthly’ zone training in their area with all in attendance.  The Zone Leaders plan and oversee these meetings.  Obviously, the Pres. can’t be in all the meetings (they are hundreds of miles apart) and isn’t required to attend any of them.  The Zone Leaders go through a day of training with the Pres. Holzapfel and then take that information and train their area missionaries.  My guess is that with his love for teaching, it is probably hard for President not to step in.  They will still have the quarterly Multi Zone Conferences where he will preside.

Anyway, the announcement for the 4^th of July conferences was last minute, but Elder C saw it as an opportunity to cover a lot of the monthly car inspection.  He asked the Smiths to do the inspections in Bessemer Zone and the Caudles to cover Huntsville.  We drove to Montgomery and got all of theirs done. That was one of the 106 days and we experienced our first real discomfort with the Alabama heat.  Like many other areas of the country, we have had unusually warm days, but for the most part, we haven’t had complaints.  It cools off in the evenings and we have had some nice rain and overcast days.  This was a good way to spend Independence Day doing our work and being around the fine missionaries.  Elder Withers, our first District Leader, is now Zone Leader in Montgomery.  He is a wonderful teacher and the missionaries were rewarded for being there. On our way back we stopped in Clanton which holds the claim to the best peaches in the country. Everyone talks about Clanton peaches. 

We also finished up the last of the temple days with two Zones this week.  We were able to attend all five temple trips.  How wonderful it was seeing all our Elders and Sister dressed in white and feeling of their spirits.  There was a Zone in the morning session that day then another at the 1:00 session so it was a full and spiritual day.  That evening we had planned to go out to dinner with Elder and Sister Callister.  His brother is a member of the Presidency of the Quorum of Seventy and our Callisters are just as great.  They travel the mission working one on one with companions giving direction and training to improve their teaching. They had been teaching all day and needed to get a few things at Costco so we decided to just eat there (our kind of people).  We were having such a nice visit…..they are not only spiritual, interesting, but fun, that we didn’t notice until we got up to leave that the store had closed. The doors were locked and shoppers gone. We told them we were so sorry, but they just laughed and said if we’d been much longer they would have given us a mop to help the cleaning crew.  We all had a good laugh too.

We have been trying to get more involved in our ward missionary work, but with our unpredictable schedules, it hasn’t been easy. We have met with the ward mission leader and one week we gave a ride to a member who doesn’t have a car. He lives in the projects and hasn’t had an easy life, but has been active in the church for 16 years.  Our only problem with helping him is that it ends up being over a ninety mile trip for us to drive him on Sundays. Even in the city there are long distances in the ward boundaries.

 We were asked to speak in church last week. The subject was “Freedom from sin”.  Just a few quotes from my talk, “Obedience leads to true freedom. The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated.”  And, “When obedience becomes our goal, it is no longer an irritation; instead of a stumbling block, it becomes a building block”.   These are both from Pres. James E Faust.  Part of being obedient is giving of our time and service. Quote from Elder Ballard:  “We should be committed to a lifetime of service in the kingdom of God”, and quoting Pres. Marion G Romney; “Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made. There is no retirement from service in the church.”

I don’t have a copy of Elder Curtis’ talk to give you quotes, but he did a wonderful job as usual. This will probably be our last sacrament meeting talks of this mission.

For not even planning to write a letter, I’ve ended up giving you a lot to read, or skim, or delete, or just not open at all. This is a little taste of our life here in Alabama. If we hadn’t extended we would be coming home in three weeks.  We’re not ready for that so we’re glad we have more time, but even with that our release date is approaching at a much faster pace than seems possible.  It is good to stay busy and feel needed.  Other than loving on our grandkids and children, we aren’t sure what we’ll do at home.

   Blessings and love from Alabama,  Elder and Sister Curtis     Mom/Dad

Conny Curtis July 3, 2012

                                                                                          July 3, 2012

Change, change, change. It seems the world is full of changes lately and that includes the Alabama Mission and our mission assignments, or at least the way we carry them out. We have a General Authority visiting in Aug.  The week after we arrived last Aug. we attended a multi-zone conference with Elder Clarke as the visiting Authority.  It was wonderful.  For that, all we had to do was show up and be spiritually fed.  This time there are all kinds of preparations being made for the occasion and working in the office, we are right in the middle of it. Pres. Holzapfel wants the office, records, houses and cars to be in perfect compliance for the inspections. It’s not that this is such a hard thing to ask, it’s just that there are so many changes coming out of Salt Lake so as we were feeling somewhat comfortable performing or assignments, things are on the move again.  Our mission has been in a beta testing program for IMOS the last month or so and it seems that weekly if not daily we are finding that there are changes in this area as well as other areas .  Poor Elder and Sister May, who just arrived six weeks ago, were met with the assignment to bring the mission housing up to the “new” standards. This involves closing some apartments and opening others. It also involves removing any sofas, lounge chairs, anything on the walls as well as other items such as fishing pools, yes, there were fishing pools, weight sets and so forth.  Each apartment is supposed to have one working desk or table per companionship and a dining table plus a chair for each missionary. Of course they have beds and storage for personal items, but no more missionaries sitting around getting too comfy in their apt instead of out doing the work. Actually, there have been few if any complaints from the missionaries. As for the Mays, they have been all over the mission in the short time they’ve been here. I think they have loaded and unloaded more furniture than most people do in a lifetime and it’s only just begun. And we thought we worked hard. Thankfully, the same rules don’t apply to sr missionaries. We have a very comfortable and even ‘pretty’ home away from home. Much nicer than we would have expected as missionaries.

        All the windows open right onto the edge of the woods giving us a beautiful and peaceful view.

Some of the changes with housing involve me in the way we identify and keep track of them on IMOS and our mission rosters.  We have met a couple of times now with Pres H deciding how best to comply with the way Salt Lake has it set up and yet having it workable for Alabama where you can find twenty or more different towns making up just one ward and covering large areas..  To identify a house by simply calling it “Logan” just doesn’t work here.  We have a phone conference set up next week with Salt Lake to address these issues. I don’t want to sound like I’m against all this. We’ll work through it and in the end it will all be good.  We have seen some helpful changes already.

Besides the beta testing with IMOS, our mission has been asked to pilot a Book of Mormon Mentoring program.  Members and missionaries are asked to READ the Book of Mormon with investigators or new converts. Some read daily and others a few times a week, but the success stories have been inspiring. Many new members never read all of the Book of Mormon.  This helps them to follow through, better understand it (ask questions) and to build a relationship with a ward member. An experience that was shared by one of our favorite missionaries, Elder Ruff, told of a lady whose husband is a member.  She has met with numerous missionaries over a thirteen year period. She took part in this program which resulted in her consenting to baptism. When asked why after all those years, she said that it was from reading the Book of Mormon and gaining a testimony of it for the first time. The Book of Mormon, when properly presented and applied, is a powerful tool toward conversion. The mentoring program is working. 

We have been doing some traveling around the mission ourselves…..some for business (mixed with pleasure) and some for pure pleasure.  Two weeks ago when we went to Boaz to pick up another car we drove about twenty minutes further to Guntersville. We have missionaries there and had heard about the beautiful lake that the town is built around. It was a ‘big’ lake. Another one of Alabama’s sweet surprises.  We’d always thought of Guntersville as being in the middle of nowhere. Were we wrong!

Our trip last Friday and Saturday was purely for pleasure.  Did you know that Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, AL?  Her childhood home and the setting for the film “The Miracle Worker” is now open to the public. The home and gardens are a tribute to this lady of courage.  Each June a live performance of The Miracle Worker is presented in an outdoor theater on the grounds. Several of the missionary couples attended.  The play was very well done and it was touching to watch it right there on the grounds where these events took place.  There is also a school for the blind nearby and some of the minor actors in the performance were from there.  Helen Keller was truly a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to improving conditions for the blind/deafblind around the world.  It was an inspiring experience for me.

  

Helen Keller: “I am convinced that despite the barriers any of us face, we can achieve much more if we look to the abilities in each one of us rather than dwell on our perceived “disabilities.”   If you let yourself embrace life as Helen did and absorb all that it has to give, in the end, we will all come through to the other side and the personal rewards will be spectacular.

    Blessings and love to each of you,    Elder and Sister Curtis   Mom/Dad

Conny Curtis June 16, 2012

June 16, 2012

After last week’s letter telling of the business revolving around transfers, this letter will sound like a

week of partying. It began last Saturday with a wedding for a friend in the Columbiana ward. I had sent

pictures of her surprise proposal on Christmas Eve when we had dinner at her parent’s home. The

Averetts are about as southern as you can get, full of southern hospitality and just a lot of fun. They

have three very talented daughters who also live in the ward with their families. Teresa, the bride,

served a mission at Temple Sq, later married in the temple and still later ended the marriage when her

husband became heavily involved in drugs. Now in her mid thirties, she and Wes, who isn’t a member, are

beginning their life together. He works as a civilian for the military in Afghanistan and is only home a

few weeks here and there. He attends church while here and we have visited with him about the gospel.

We wish them well. The wedding was held in a beautiful wooded park and was followed by a Cajun Shrimp

Boil with all the fixings. It was a small gathering for family and close friends so we were surprised to be

invited, but certainly enjoyed the evening. The family has always been very gracious to us.




Our next adventure began Monday morning. Actually, it began a couple of months ago when a new car

arrived for Pres. Holzapfel. A few weeks later we learned that there had been a double order out of

Salt Lake and another Avalon, just like the one we had received, was waiting for us to pick up. Greg,

our supervisor from Salt Lake, was a little red in the face, but in the end it worked out well for us. The

decision was made to give it to the Atlanta North Mission Pres. and guess who got to deliver it? We

didn’t mind that assignment at all! It helped Greg out, and gave us permission to leave our mission which

gave us the chance to see some of our friends in Atlanta. A win, win wouldn’t you say? We spent the

night and visited the Employment Center, which was the highlight seeing Sister Findlay and Bro Blount as

well as others. We met the new missionaries serving in our positions. One Sis is good friends with Pres

and Sis Holzapfel so that was fun. We also had quick visits to a couple of our favorite spots near where

we had lived and then finished up our stay by attending the newly remodeled Atlanta Temple with Karen

Finlay before heading back to our mission. The temple was beautiful. Pres Black of the Temple also took

us for a tour of the newly built missionary apts. What a change from when we were there. Many good

memories came to surface as we saw friends and places we had learned to love. It’s nice to remember

and to be remembered. We drove the Atlanta Pres’ car back. It is a hybrid and interesting to try out. It

got great mileage and was soooo quiet. It will be Paul’s job now to sell it.


We had plenty of work waiting for us when we returned, but there was still one more activity before

the week was over. On Friday all the senior couples got together at the Mission Home for a going away

luncheon for Elder and Sister Johnson. They were the first “six month” missionaries to serve here

in Alabama. The time went by fast. They were assigned to Mississippi so we only saw them for Zone

meetings or couples activities. They are very enjoyable to be with and always generous. They bought

and repaired a bike to donate to the mission and even provided their own going away dinner. They

drove from MS early and spent the morning cooking up a Cajun Boil (twice in one week for us) which was

delicious. The rest of us brought side dishes and then sat around talking about how we are all gaining

weight. But it was oh so good. They will be missed. We are told it won’t be long before another six

month couple will arrive. We also learned this morning that Elder and Sister Beckstead, who have been

here several months while waiting for their visa to New Zealand, have received their papers and will be

leaving soon. Life moves on. We are moving up the list of those who will leave next and we are already

receiving bicycles for the group of young missionaries coming in July. Days and weeks roll on.


Love and blessings, Elder and Sister Curtis

Mom/Dad

P.S. We returned from Atlanta about 11:30 p.m. only to realize we had lost our car keys somewhere along

the way. This meant we had no way to get into our apartment. Yikes! Sweet Sister Dunbar from the

office bailed us out AGAIN by letting us come over at that late hour and spend the night in her spare

room. We had to show up to work in our travel clothes, but we had a hot shower, a nice bed and she

fed us breakfast. No wonder all the missionaries, young and old, love her. She will have served THREE

years by the time she goes back to her home in St Louis. Special lady. No one in Atlanta had seen our

keys, but we got a call a few days later and they had been kicked under a desk at the Mission Office

there…..whew! We had checked the replacement cost at nearly $200. What a relief.

Conny Curtis June 9, 2012

                                                                                          May 9, 2012

It’s Saturday and I’ve decided to stay home while Elder C finishes up his reports at the office.  This was Transfer week and as expected, we were kept running.  Monday morning began with us meeting two Elders in Tuscaloosa.  The church and the mission have come up with a new policy on the bicycle program.  Mission funds can no longer be used in any way to purchase or repair bikes. Even more of a setback, we are not longer able to purchase bikes from missionaries completing their mission to sell to incoming missionaries or to help incoming missionaries connect with a missionary going home to make their own arrangements. It has been hard to let go of the bikes as Elder Curtis had a pretty good thing going.  There were usually several missionaries willing to sell their bikes for a reasonable price.  We would buy them then spend another hundred or so having them gone over at the bike shop we work with. The final cost to the missionary was around $250, which was a big savings, paid us back and they ended up with a good bike.  Now any missionary going home can either donate their bike or pay to have it shipped home. We were told “We are out of the bike business!”  In time it will probably come together, but for now that is easier said than done.  We have missionaries coming from other countries that have no funds and even in the US there are families that just can’t afford the high cost of the heavy duty bikes that are needed here.  We also have the visa waiters who the mission provides bikes for and these bikes constantly need repairs or at times we don’t even get back the same bike we sent out.  Hmmmmm

 We got a good laugh over this visa bike that was returned….notice, no handle bars, seat, back wheel or chain then look to the next picture where it clearly states on the bike, “Do not add or REMOVE anything from Mission Bike”.

We had quite a go round this time making sure each of the 11 fulltime missionaries coming in had a bike, that the five unexpected visa missionaries were taken care as well as the two Temple Sq Sisters coming. You would think the Temple and visa missionaries would just be an easy trade with the ones leaving, but you can see from the picture above – that isn’t always the case. We have learned more about bicycles than we even knew there was to learn.  Like the fact they have to be fitted to size. You can’t give a bike that a 5’7” Elder has been using to a 6’5” Elder, or one that fits a 140 lbs to someone 300 lbs.  We had three bikes “smashed” by a 320 lb Tongan. He’s a great Elder, but we were glad when his visa came in.

We have had some happy experiences through all this, though.  A few months ago an Elder arrived from Samoa and literally had nothing.  The MTC had supplied him with ALL his clothes and even a suitcase.  We gave him the best bike we could find at the time, but knew it wasn’t the right fit. Just a few weeks ago we were able to use donated funds to purchase him a brand new bike and boy, was he pleased. He is quite shy, but his face showed it all.  These times are priceless in our mission memories.

That brings me back to why we traveled to Tuscaloosa early Monday morning.  The two Elders above told us they would donate their bikes if we would take them out to dinner (this arrangement was made back when we were still in the bike buying business) We could never make dinner (they live over an hour from the office) but being down to the last minute they settled for breakfast and we picked up the bikes.  A good trade. The bikes are already in use. To our surprise, three other Elders ended up donating theirs; that helps in the mission cause.  Hopefully, this will catch on and we’ll end up with a good supply. Most of the others leaving either sold or gave to members, or shipped them home. That’s the bike story for now.

We had to hurry back from our breakfast date Monday to take three visa missionaries to the airport where they boarded a plane headed to Argentina.  Just a few munities later I met five new visa waiters coming in.  The following day we arrived at the airport to transport the eleven new Alabama missionaries that Pres. and Sister Holzapfel had met there. Great young missionaries. Elder Jarvis is from north Mesa. It’s always fun to find connections.  That was a full day…interviews at the mission office and then dinner at the mission home and finally dropping them off at a hotel where I’m sure they fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed.  It had been a long, exciting day for them as well.

Getting the missionaries where they need to be is only part of the Transfer planning.  I didn’t get the final list of changes until the day before and with the office full of people wasn’t able to even think of working on IMOS. There were also large orders for media to be sorted out and packaged to take to Transfers on Wed. Once again, Elder C was dealing with Tiwi issues and had been making arrangements to have an installer as well as all the cars with issues be at the Stake Center.  Will this problem ever go away?  We got there early Wed. to be ready.  It is so nice to only have to drive 15 min instead of 45.

I was able to sit in on most of the Transfer meeting. With Elder Mancera leaving we got a new Assistant, Elder Jardine.  We work quite closely with the assistants and are pleased with that choice. After the changes are announced and the new companions join each other, the President then talks for an hour or more.  All of the missionaries we picked up this week had heard good things about Pres Holzapfel and if they had any doubt about it, that was taken away after listening to him. Among other things, he spoke on the choices we make and how it is easy to blame other people or circumstances to why we are the way we are.  “I have a temper because my dad had a temper, my family never supported me, I didn’t have a family, I just did what my friends did, we were always poor so I didn’t have a chance and so forth.”  Pres used his own life as an example.  I’ve told you before his father left when he was two weeks old. He had a step-father that was hard on him and has never joined the church.  His mother wasn’t active so Pres. was mostly inactive growing up.  When he left for college his mother took him aside and said, “Richard, you grew up in a dysfunctional family.  You can leave and spend the rest of your life going nowhere because of your past, or you can decide to be a man and make your life better…..you can be a better father, a better husband, make better choices.”  You can see he listened to his mother and we and the church are blessed because of that choice. I think he uses his own life as an example so often because there are so many of the missionaries that come from difficult backgrounds and it is easy for them to become discouraged. We know how much he cares not only about the work, but the growth and happiness of the missionaries – young and old. He also presented some great doctrinal material that day.  You’ll have to read one of his 35 books…..he has given us several and they are very good and beautiful as well.  He has a love for art and carefully designs all his covers.  He designed the cover for Pres. Packer’s new book showing his artwork.  He has also done others.

As I wrote last week, many of our favorite missionaries left this time including our Sister Narduzzi from Temple Sq.  She is from Italy and has been telling Elder C that when she leaves she WILL give him a big hug….and she kept her word.  Pres said just don’t let him see it.  Ha…she hugged him too.  Love her!

Just a little on the Tiwi’s.  We had nine repaired that day and as you know, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to have them worked on.  That night there was already one of the newly replaced ones that had fallen down again.  Groan!  The program is working…driving habits have improved, but keeping the tiwi working is the issue and even Salt Lake is starting to look at other options.  It’s a process

 With that note we will close for this week.  Transfers are all in place on IMOS and reports should be in Salt Lake for Paul by the end of the day.  We’ll see how long before new changes are made.  This is a mission of being able to adapt as each day goes on, but we enjoy the challenge.  We have a nice surprise planned for next week.  I’ll write about it in our next letter. God bless and watch over you. 

             We love you all,   Sister and Elder Curtis       Mom /Dad

Conny Curtis May 26, 2012

May 26, 2012

Dear loved ones…. We are almost at a point where we can take a deep breath again before starting on the next assignment which will be ten new missionaries arriving and near the same number leaving. This also means getting ready for transfers.  Actually, Elder Curtis has already started with so many new ones coming.  The end of the school year brings out missionaries.  We have had to fit preparations in between other busy activities so haven’t done much sitting around.

First: Five Zone Conferences in five different locations from the top of Alabama to Montgomery as well as east and west of the state and then one conference in north Miss. These were early morning starts and long days, but enjoyable. As I’ve mentioned, we are only able to catch small sections of training from each conference, but we learned from what we did hear.  One thought Pres H. shared was directed to the young missionaries on the importance of their taking advantage of study time, but it could apply to all of us. He said this is the time when we  become the investigator and the Lord is our teacher. Interesting thought.  He asked the missionaries how they feel when they have a teaching appointment arranged, but arrive to find no one there.  Pretty bad.  How does Heavenly Father feel when he has asked us to meet with him to study the scriptures or other assigned materials and as He waits for that chance to teach us, we don’t keep our appointment with Him? And even more, what are WE missing? There were many other subjects covered and the missionaries were well instructed.

Second: The Friday following our last Zone Conference my son Lynn and his family arrived for a short visit as they were passing through Alabama.  Lynn is enrolled in an on line course to get his nurse practitioner license.  Before he has to start his clinical they are traveling via camper throughout the US and parts of Canada. He can do his studies and also made arrangements to pick up work as a traveling nurse along the way. They got here late Friday which was good as it gave us a chance to do some catching up at the office after being gone so much. Paul also had five cars to get ready for a broker that was coming for them.  That meant a quick trip to Boaz with the Smiths to bring back four that were finished being repaired and being sold.

We had such a nice time with Lynn, Cameo and their four children, Cora, Granger, Jonah and Ezra. They are good grandkids and love to travel as much as their parents. While here we spent time at Orr Park (the one with the tree carvings) where they had fun finding the carved trees then spent ALL  afternoon playing in the creek. Sunday they attended church with us and we enjoyed being able to show them off and also have them meet some of the members that we have come to love.  The Primary leaders were quick to give compliments on how sweet they were. The following day was spent seeing some Civil War and Civil Rights sites in Montgomery. They also liked spending time in our apartment pool (we had never even walked over to it in the nine months we’ve been here) and Lynn used the internet center to do his homework.

They had planned to only stay four days but had some problems come up with their camper and  ended up being here a full week.  Elder C and I had to get back to work on Tuesday so we didn’t see a lot of them the rest of the week. They were busy during that time taking care of their issues which included buying a whole new camper and leaving their old one here to sell.  I won’t go into all the details. It was stressful for them, but in the end they had a better camper which insurance helped pay for and were very thankful for us giving them a place to stay while working through it all.  We loved seeing them and wish them well with the rest of their travels. If you want to follow along check out their facebook or blog at:Vagabondgenes.blogspot.com

Third: We attended our last Sunday as part of Columbiana Ward. As we were introducing our family we were also saying our “goodbyes”.  This has been a wonderful ward and we have made many dear friends. We will miss them and I think we will be missed. Changes aren’t as easy at our age, but we see this as an adventure and opportunity to serve and meet new friends in the Cahaba Heights Branch. It will also be a big help not having to drive that hour a day to the office.

Forth: The move…..  With all that was going on, there was a Sister’s training and also the office was packed all week with the Pres. doing interviews, we hadn’t had a chance to even start packing.  We left a little earlier on Thurs.  Paul drove the van and trailer so we’d have it the next day and I stopped by our new apt. to see Lynn’s new camper and visit a minute.  It worked out for them to stay there while figuring things out. By the time I got to Calera Paul had already loaded the heavy couch and several other items by himself and was ready to head for our new area.  We were expecting help the following day, but he was anxious to get the job done even if it meant breaking his back. Anyway, to make a long story short, Lynn helped carry these heavy items to the new place and then Paul and I were back to Calera emptying cupboards and closets, etc.  The mission has a newly arrived couple that has been assigned to housing, which includes helping with moves. They had told us they would be at our place on Friday morning with some Elders to help. By the time we got a call from them at 9:30 Paul had already been up for hours and loaded the van once again with heavy furniture. (The apt is being closed so has to be emptied.) They didn’t get to our place until 10:30 – without any missionaries – and said they had to be back in Birmingham at 11:30 for their District Meeting which, by the way, was our meeting as well.  Goodness.  The travel time is at least that long.  I think being new; they haven’t realized how long it takes just to get from one place to another.  Then to top it off, some Elders from the District in Birmingham called and asked them for a ride.  “Ooops….sorry, we have to leave.” We were limited on time ourselves and needed to get the job done that day so there was no waiting.  First we unloaded all the furniture we weren’t using at the storage at the Mission Home and then tackled getting things into our place by ourselves.  Have you ever moved a washing machine down stairs? Paul was bearing the weight and I was trying to keep it steady so as to not crush him. We did finally get everything we needed into the apt, but not without a lot of groaning and sweating (it was the hottest day of this year) and walking probably three or four miles making trips from the car including up and down the stairs. Paul counted them.  Seventeen.  If he had his way every missionary would live on the bottom floor.  Whew!  It didn’t help that he has a bone spur on one heel and an ingrown toenail on the other foot.  All is well, though. We’ve spent the night here now and think it will be a good place.  It isn’t as big or new as our last one and sits way in the back on the bottom of what would be a day light basement with three apartments overhead.  You kind of feel like you’re going into a cave, but once inside it is nice and we look right out into the forest without other apartments blocking our view. If we can get past the long walkway and steps leading to it, it is quiet and private and stays cooler. This will be our home for the rest of the mission.  Monday we will make one last trip to Calera to pick up what is left there and to clean the apartment.  It will feel good to have this over and hand the keys to the new housing couple to close it up. By the way, we do like them a lot and think we’ll be good friends.  This was their first move and they are learning. They also don’t know Elder C and that he likes to just get in and do the job NOW.  He is a hard worker and I’m thankful for this characteristic in him.  It will be good to be settled and on to the next assignment.  (I guess that really wasn’t making a long story short was it?)

We don’t have our Internet set up here yet so I’m not sure when I’ll get this sent. We hope you have a nice weekend and Memorial Day.  We did have two other wonderful events take place this week.  On Wed night Larisa’s step daughter, Sarah Cummins, graduated from Sahuaro High School in Tucson and tonight Jeanette’s oldest daughter, Marlee, is graduating from Snowflake High. These are some of the special occasions we miss out on being away, but we are so proud of them and wish them all the best as they move forward. 

Blessings and love,   Elder and Sister Curtis      Mom/Dad

Karen Mosley May 30, 2012

My dear mother passed away on May 20, 2012.  Although I have been living in Pinetop this past year, I have continued to drive down to Phoenix every week to visit/care for her and to work my shifts at the temple.  Now that she is gone, I will focus on preparing for our "mission" to China.  I thought of you all tonight (Tuesday) and missed being together.  I will have to go to the Snowflake Temple this week!  My mother's funeral was beautiful, and she looked so wonderful.  Her 30-year hairdresser had fixed her up and she looked better than she has for the past couple of years.  Even polish on her fingernails!  My sister and I were able to dress her for burial, sing her a duet, and ponder the resurrection.  It was a sweet time.  Thank you again for all your support.  You have each one blessed my life.

Love,

Karen Mosley

Conny Curtis May 14, 2012

   May 14, 2012

It is late to be starting a letter, especially since we have an early morning start to get to Huntsville by 8:30.  We are finishing up the last two Zone Conferences this week.  There were three last week.  It is always nice to get to travel the mission and to see some of the missionaries that are far from the office and we don’t have as much contact with. We do love these young men and women.

The week before conferences started Pres and Sister Holzapfel spent three days in Atlanta for a Mission President’s Training.  There were 19 Mission Presidents in attendance and ten members of the Seventy.  With it being held in Atlanta it was fun to look at pictures on the Mission Blog and see a couple of familiar faces. While serving in Georgia we often wrote about Pres. Parker, our wonderful Stake Pres and the first black to be called to that position.  We always felt he would move up in leadership and sure enough….here was a picture with him as a member of the Seventy.  Also, Pres. Giddens, another St. Pres that we had worked with, is now Elder Giddens of the Seventy. President H came back filled with new information, much of which he shared at the Zone Conferences.

Elder C and I stay busy outside through most of the meetings, but I was able to sit in on the morning talks at the Birmingham Zone. One of the new instructions Pres presented was the use of Mormon.org in missionary work. With all that is going on in the country people not of our faith are searching out information about the MORMONS.  It’s the church’s feelings that if they are asking questions, they might as well be receiving answers from the members and what better way than a website where real people are sharing their lives and testimonies. The site has also been extended to answer doctrinal questions and has a live chat section that has received well over a million hits in the last year. Contacts can even arrange to have the lessons taught to them over the phone. This is a new program that is already taking place with the Sisters at Temple Sq. The lessons are also available in written form. The Pres told of stores where people have gone through all the lessons without the church even knowing.  They call and say, “I know the church is true….how can I be baptized?”  He shared many other miracles that are happening through the use of the Internet and especially this web site. They also announced the site will be opened to a dozen or more other countries in their own language.

Because of this, the missionaries are now assigned to spend two hours a week other than P-Day on Mormon .org to become more informed about it and to search out member messages that their investigators would relate to. We as missionaries were asked to always carry Mormon.org pass along cards and to give them to everyone we come in contact with.  Some may end up in the trash, but you never know who will follow through.  One of our own Alabama missionaries had such an experience.  He and his companion were teaching a lady who was really not showing any interest. One of the Elders had noticed an older teenage boy on the computer in the next room. As they prepared to leave he felt impressed to give the boy a card with the web site and told him that it was one that he enjoys. He didn’t say anything more and didn’t give it much thought.  A week later the boy turned up at church. He said that he tossed the card on the floor with no intention of using it, but it just kept coming back to his mind. He finally decided what the heck and looked it up. He couldn’t stop going from one story to the next then on to other information until finally he had read through all the lessons. He was so excited that he couldn’t wait to tell the missionaries what “they believed”. He was baptized a short time later. The amazing thing is that the Lord inspired the Church leaders to already have this information available long before we knew there would be such a worldwide interest in the LDS Church and its beliefs.  We, all members, are also asked to do our own profile on the site. It’s exciting to be a part of this history of the church. We feel so privileged to be serving a mission at this time, but this is a part of the program that any member can make use of. As a mission we order the pass-along cards through the distribution center.  I know wards can order them, but am not sure about individuals.  They are listed as “I’M A MORMON”.  I took a picture to show you how they look.  They come in two sizes, business card and double sized and are easy to carry with you.

                                         

There is much more that I could write about the last week, it has been very full and this one will be as well. We are excited that Lynn and Cameo and four of our grandkids will be visiting us later this week. It was nice to talk to or hear from most of our children on Mother’s Day. I also received a plant and large Mother’s Day card that was signed by all the missionaries at the Montgomery Zone Con. I do feel like I’m double blessed at this time to be a MOM or maybe it’s more a ‘Grandma’ to so many both here and back home.  I love you all.

Have a blessed week.      Always,  Elder and Sister Curtis     Mom/Dad