23 Mayo 2016

       Honestly, I don't feel much different now than when I first got to Florida. I know that I've changed a lot as a person, I've learned a lot more about the gospel, I've spirituall developed, I speak Spanish much better now, etc.

       But I don't FEEL much different. I'm basically just a lot more tired in the mornings (you can feel the 18 months starting to take a toll on you, haha). I'm a little disturbed by that because I can see the finish line, it's coming quick, but I want to sprint as fast as I ever have been able to in order to accomplish all that I can.

       Other than that, we're just seeing some great progress in our area. We have a lot of people progressing towards baptism, and some miracle referrals are popping up (plus a woman that was walking her dog in the church parking lot. We invited her to church, and sure enough, she showed up on Sunday)!

       The Lord is so incredibly merciful and generous, far more than we will ever deserve. I know that He lives and loves us, and that this is His true gospel. I know it with every fiber of my soul. I've found out for myself, and I encourage you to do the same. Los quiero a todos!

        ~Hermana Curnow

9 Mayo 2016

Things are going pretty good right now! :) We have 100% adjusted to this awesome area and ward. I really do enjoy every single day of working here. :)

   Got to Skype my family yesterday! It's always way weird. Don't get me wrong- I love it a ton! But its difficult trying to talk with them and bear your testimony and tell them about your amazing experiences and hear about all of the stuff that your siblings are doing when you only have one hour. There's a balance with a time restriction, lol! But it was great being able to talk with them yesterday. :)

   We found some cool people this last week. Not tons of them, but some cool people nonetheless! Unfortunately nobody made it to church. :/ We're gonna be chatting about that.

    Not much to talk about, really. Hermana Neeley and I are working hard and I'm working harder on fortifying my understanding of testimony and repentance. I'm close to finishing the Book of Mormon again. We study, we eat, we testify and invite and we love the people and we walk and walk and walk get tan and walk and teach a lesson and drink some water then walk and plan and sleep.

   I know that this gospel is true, there is no doubt in my heart or mind. I've received so many manifestations and confirmations of a spiritual nature, I could never nor would I ever deny the truth of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es la verdadera iglesia del Senor, establecida de nuevo por la mano de Cristo. Jesucristo es nuestro salvador y redentor, y lo amo.

    Love y'all!

Have an amazing week! :)

    ~Hermana Curnow

Vamos a la playa ;)

  So, I don't think that I mentioned this before (and again, I am the WORST at updating this blog! I'll probably do a mega-post when I get home, basically a novel to explain everything that happened in each area ;P ) but there was an emergency transfer. And now we serve right along the beach! :) It's pretty spiffy! And there are SO many people to talk to here, and about 98% of the people are Spanish! <3 It's like heaven on earth!

  We're working with some really awesome folks right now, most of them are from Venezuela but we really do have a lot of great diversity around here. The "list of countries" that I have met people from keeps growing! Hint: its really long and I think that the only massive countries that I am missing at this point are Russia and Australia. But hey, who knows? I may have actually met some people from those places without realizing it. It wouldn't surprise me!

   We also found some places that sell Brazilian food (YES!!! I'm so happy!) and I blew some personal money on t-shirts and other touristy stuff for myself and my family. 

    Something scriptural that I want to share before I log off is Alma 58:11. It's a really beautiful scripture, and it makes me think about how the Lord really is always ready to comfort us. He is the only one that knows EXACTLY what we are going through and how to help us. He speaks peace to our souls and strengthens us to overcome our challenges. With faith and hope in the Messiah and his plan, we never need to fear. No matter what the affliction, we can and should always be cheerful.

        Con amor, 

      ~Hermana Curnow

For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, insert your name here.

 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Porque, ¿puede una mujer olvidar a su niño de pecho al grado de no compadecerse del hijo de sus entrañas? ¡Pues aun cuando ella se olvidare, yo nunca me olvidaré de ti, su nombre!

Pues he aquí, te tengo grabada en las palmas de mis manos; tus muros están siempre delante de mí.

Transfers!

I'll fill y'all in later, but for now I just want you to know that after 13 weeks in Boca Raton, I'm going to be transferring out. And I'm going to South Miami! I'm excited for Spanish-land :) love you all! More updates later! :)

14 Marzo 2016

    Have I mentioned that I am TERRIBLE at updating this thing? I'll do a really long and detailed blog post someday after the mission (NOT a trunky thought), I promise!

    So a ton of cool things have happened in the last month. Some of the biggest things were that we started a new transfer; and I currently live with Sister Smith, Sister Rocha and Sister Jeppson! They're also super awesome missionaries and I really am grateful that I get to live with them. We have tons of fun together, too. :)

       On March 1st, we had a special training by Elder Dube of the Seventy, so that was AWESOME! We are also working with a great Haitian family, and we're aiming to help them get baptized before General Conference. OH, I'm SO excited for General Conference!

       We've been doing some more knocking all over our area. Sometimes it is difficult, there is so much rejection. The sad thing is that people deny the gospel before they even know what it is or what the blessings are. :( But we continue to pray for them daily!

      We've been deep-cleaning our apartment a ton, too. I think that it helps lift my mood. I LOVE cleaning for some weird reason!

        Also, fun thing- after zone training a small group of us sisters went to B-Dubs! It was great! :) AND a nice bishop from another ward picked up our tab, and the manager said that from now on he is giving a 10% discount to all missionaries- WHAT A BLESSING! Holy cow! We were so moved and grateful!

      What else?... Oh, yeah. Daylight savings was yesterday. I'm SO tired! It throws off your internal clock so hardcore, ESPECIALLY when you have such a strict routine.

     Anyways, I gotta go! But enjoy this AMAZING quote about missions! Have a great week! :) 

                  Alma 17:10

   ~Hermana Curnow

         "You only get one chance to serve a mission...  Use it to the fullest...  Give every last ounce of energy until you collapse at the end of it...  All of the hardships all of the years will be looked back upon as the best thing you've ever done... Because you gave it everything you had when you didn't think you could.  Live your mission to your fullest, work harder than you've ever worked before... Run until you have nothing left to give and then keep on going anyway.  Cry and Pray and Work and Sweat and Plead until you are so drained that all you can do is turn to the Lord.  Come out of your mission proud of what you've done and this experience will bless the rest of your life."

-Elder Jeffery R. Holland-

16 Febrero 2016

Happy late-Valentine's Day! 

Have I mentioned that I am the WORST at updating this blog? :) I thought so, haha!

  What is new?

Well, I've been running a TON again lately! :) Sister Peel and I got up one morning and decided to run 3 miles. We did it! And it was MARVELOUS. I wasn't even that sore the next day (MIRACLE). And so we had been running at least 2 miles every morning after that UNTIL I got sick. :( I got a nasty cold like this last transfer, too! I HATE being sick, especially in the mission field! Missions don't last forever, I gotta be out there getting stuff done! So I'm currently dying of being ill. But its whatever. Sister Smith is doing great at telling me, "Oh my gosh, get some rest before you kill yourself." So I'm getting there. Can't cure a virus, unfortunately. So I just have to wait this out. -_-

    I've been so healthy, though! I've been working out like crazy, eating super healthy (the cleanest that I have eaten my whole mission!) and then- BOOM! I'm ill. 

     What else? Oh, we're doing TONS of knocking. :) Really cool! I'm getting more comfortable with knocking in middle-class neighborhoods. We've been working with some GREAT people! Particularly a young married couple (one is Brazilian, one is "American") and they're way awesome! I love teaching them! Other than that, we're still just looking for the elect.

     I have learned SOOOOOO much about China in this last transfer! A recent convert and her son in this ward are in the United States on a temporary basis, and they're from mainland China. And we learn so much about each others' language and culture each time we have a lesson or have dinner with them! For example, (since we have lessons with both English and Chinese reading material) she looked at us when we were giving a new member lesson (#3, the Gospel of Jesus Christ) and she looked at the text in Chinese and then looked up at us and said, "I think that the word 'gospel' translates to 'voice of happiness'."  MIND BLOWN!! How cool is that?!?! :D We also told them about what the Superbowl is and why it is such a big deal in our culture.

       OH. I just learned that the Superbowl happened! Haha, we were out knocking doors one Sunday, and everyone was grilling stuff and told us, "Don't y'all know that the Superbowl is going on??" We didn't! Haha, we had no idea! :D Amazing how we work in the community everyday and simultaneously live under a rock. ;)

    Also, we just learned that David Bowie and Alan Rickman died. WOW. That wasn't expected!

Transfer calls were also last night! Sister Smith and I will be staying together in this area for another transfer. We're happy about it. :) Sister Peel is leaving. :( But she gets to go and be Sister Evans' companion! :D And Sister Rocha is also sticking around a little longer! Life is good! God is good! 

      Oh, did I mention that the STLs came down and did a shadow exchange with the Boca Rio sisters and us? No? Well, it was fun! :) Sister Andelin was with Sis Smith and I. It was a blast! We went to the ward's Valentine's Day Dinner & Dance to get some food and talk to some gators there. It was SO WEIRD to be in a party/dance setting again, even though we didn't participate. Good stuff! :)

     Well, I gotta go try to sleep off some of this grossness. Viruses suck. 

     Love you all so much! El evangelio es verdadero! Les quiero a todos!

    ~Hermana Curnow

25 Enero 2016

      Long time, no update, my apologies. This is probably how it is going to be for the remainder of my mission. :P Too much to write about, and not enough email time. I'll do a HUGE entry with stuff from my daily planners, details from what I have journal-ed, and TONS of pictures. Just remind me to do it one day. ;)

      Things in Boca Raton have been AWESOME. :) This place is a miracle factory! We're working with some really awesome folks right now, and we're seeing a lot of less-active members coming back. We've been meeting lots of awesome families, visiting members, knocking lots of doors, biking a ton, hiding when we heard the tornado sirens go off (yes, that did happen. The tornado didn't come close to us, though, thank goodness). We've meet people from just about met one person from every culture on the PLANET (Southern Florida is the BIGGEST melting pot EVER). We've also had some amazing, heart-felt moments. The Spirit has been so strong in some of our lessons, and it brings me so much joy. At the end of the day, that feeling is what makes it all worth it. Through all of the stress, trainings, studies, exchanges, heartbreaks, physical pain, worry, and just about everything on the human spectrum of emotion; the feeling of the Spirit, and the knowledge that you are helping other people coming closer to Christ is what carries you through it all. I love that feeling. It is wonderful. <3

       Also, last week we had a zone activity, a collective birthday party (Sister Smith and I got very good at seeking in hide-'n-seek, and I also learned no pinata can stop me). We went on exchanges, and I got to go to Boynton with Sister PK! It was awesome!! :) We had a blast.

      Florida weather is also way off right now. We have been experiencing mid- 40 degree Fahrenheit weather! WHAT?!?! Crazy!! We have been FREEZING!!! 

    I'm still making smoothies all the time, working out with Sister Peel in the mornings, and Sister Smith had me go to Tijuana Flats for the first time this week. It was great!! :)

That's all for now! Love y'all!