Nearly Fall

 

Sister Curtis with 4 members of her book club on top of Starved Rock.

               It’s the last few days before it officially turns fall.  We are doing great here.  We have been busy and the time seems to be passing faster as we go.  We spend much of our time visiting and helping members.  We have great relationships with most of the members in our ward.  We have started teaching the 18-year-old son of one member.  He doesn’t know much about the church since he has been living with his mother until a few months ago.  His dad wants him to have the gospel in his life.  We have taught him two lessons and we have scheduled a lesson tomorrow.  

 

We had the oldest member of our ward pass away at age 92 this last week.  We had the privilege of meeting with him and his family twice in the few days before he died.  He was a wonderful man who had served as the Branch President here in Ottawa.  He worked with Elder Dallin H. Oaks to get the stake center built in Joliet and also procured the land where the Ottawa chapel was built.  The ward here will miss him.

 

We had a mission tour by 2 general authority seventies, Elder and Sister Bennett and Elder and Sister Olsen.  Before they came here, we had a mission-wide zoom meeting where they taught us about working with members and showed us how to have a deep spiritual conversation and get the members talking about who they love that they would like to share the gospel.  We were specifically told to never ask for referrals.  We only contact their friends after they have been prepared.  We had several wonderful spiritual experiences with members using this approach.  The Bennetts and Olsens spent several days here in the mission.  We were able to meet with them for about 5 hours to get more instruction.  Elder Olsen is speaking in general conference, so watch for him.

 

Yesterday we had a ward temple day at the Chicago temple.  We went early so we could complete some initiatory ordinances before the endowments.  While we were waiting for the endowment session, we were asked to be witnesses for some sealings.  We had a very nice experience in the temple.  It was an all-day process.  We left home at about noon, and we got back home about 9:00 at night.

 

Today in sacrament meeting the stake changed the bishopric in our ward.  We love all the members of the outgoing as well as the ingoing bishoprics.  We’ll see if the new bishop has us do anything different in the ward.

 

We love and miss all of you.  We’re sorry we’re missing some important family events, but we will be home in a year to catch up.

Love, Elder and Sister Curtis

Tractor at the Sandwich fair.

Truck at the Sandwich fair.

Lunch (really breakfast) with missionaries serving in Frankfort.

More lunch with missionaries serving in Joliet.

Charlotte the spider has been hanging out by our bedroom window for over 2 weeks now.  She is eating well and is getting bigger.

Sister Curtis at the Leaning Tower of Niles (a ¾ sized replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa).

We built shelves so our friend could display her barbie collection.

On the I&M Canal tow path.

Clock at the historic Marshall Fields building in Chicago.

World’s largest Picasso (unnamed) sculpture in Chicago.

World’s largest Tiffany glass dome, also in Chicago at the old library.

Egret in the I&M Canal.