My name is?

Hey all.  This has quite possibly been the most exhausting week of my life, but here we are still alive.  Opening the sector has not been easy because we had almost nothing when we got here, but we are seeing little miracles and finding new people every day.  We've also been getting to know the ward members and leaders a little bit better, offering service and doing our best to keep the work moving here in Vespucio.  This week we had zone class which was really good, and Wednesday in the night we went to correlation with our Ward mission leader, Jesus, and he has a lot of energy and is really excited to work.  Freaking score.  We also finished doing my visa stuff in the city, planned for the week, evaluated our last weeks goals, set new goals, and we are working really hard to focus on the people down here and their individual needs.  On Friday night ANOTHER really cool guy pulled out a knife to freak us out, but I'm pretty sure people don't want to rob us because I'm just a lot bigger than almost all of them, especially the really cool ones that need knives to feel safe.  Maybe they are afraid we'll try to baptize them if they rob us.  We also had Stake Conference this week and it was really really good.  The temple president came to speak and did a really good job.  I also got to meet the stake president and a guy from the seventy who came down to teach us.  We also had a member that went out to do visits with us this week, and that was way cool- his name is Bryan and he is putting his papers in right now.  Elder Galarza is doing very well, this week we were contacting more people and he stood up on a chair that was outside of someone's fence, and after I contacted her he said, "and if you need any service from us I am like really tall so I can clean the roof."  It's been hard but it's been great.  Have a good week everybody!
Elder Rhodric McCurdy

Cielos Batman

WELP fam and friends this week has been five star.
First off I want to introduce a little bit my new trainee Elder Galarza
Elder Galarza:
is from Ecuador, Guayaquil
is an artist and loves to paint
is really really skinny
loves superheroes
speaks about five words of english
loves to yell CIELOS BATMAN like "holy crap batman" in english
the kid is honestly 100 percent really really cool.  I would say that he was pre-trained because he already is really simpatico with the people and loves to work.  He loves loves loves working and bearing his testimony and it just makes me so dang happy.
This week we got to start in our new sector which is Vespucio.  We got to meet a lot of the ward memebers and the investigators that the other elders have but unfortunately we know SO LITTLE about the sector that we have been doing a lot a lot of contacting, but it has gone really well.  We go out and just work work work work work work and we are having a lot of success.  A lot of the investigators that are already here and really good, but it might be hard that they progress, so we are gonna see what we can do with them.  Our ward has a bunch of kids that are just about to go on their missions, so I'm pretty sure we are going to have a lot of help in our work here which is so great.  ALSO on my first day with my kid, I had a run in with one of my really good friends from waaaaay back when I started the mission, Ignacio Gutierrez (NACHO) and since I don't use a backpack anymore I couldn't take a picture but stay tuned okay.  Unfortunately something happened to my camera and I lost a ton of pictures, but the ones that will be on the blog are the ones that survived.  This week we had a really cool conference with Elder Texiera, of the Seventy.  He spoke Portunol, but I'm a pro with Portunol (apparently this is a mix of Portugese and Spanish) so everything was tranquil.  It was a really good conference and it's been cool to use a lot of what he taught us in this last week of work.
FUNNY STORY TIME
When I was teaching Elder Galarza how to do contacts, (Wednesday) I told him that almost 100 percent of the time the easiest way to start a contact is to gain the person's confidence by talking about something random, (something on their patio, or a question) so I did a couple example contacts for him and did small talk or whatever to start the contacts, and my kid walks up to a door and says HEY I REALLY LIKE YOUR SWINGING CHAIR do you like sell them or
and then she was like
no
That's my swinging chair
and he was like
well they don't really have them like that in Ecuador (TOTAL LIE)
and I was almost crying it was so funny
I LOVE to be a missionary and am so glad to be here.  I hope you are all doing great and if I can do anything for you let me know hit me with an email.

Elder McCurdy (missionaire extraordinaire)

La Pincoya

Hey all well this was quite the eventful week.  Elder Diegoli and I had a very good week.  We finally got to see my friend Isaias again, (the little guy of 11 years that I baptized) and he is doing pretty well!!  They've been busy and outside of the house, but it was good as always to see them.  Everybody else is doing well, Matias relapsed this week and that was kind of hard but he keeps moving forward!!  Can't all be huge steps right? The little steps are what make the big steps happen.  Other notable things, we got to play handball on p-day which was way cool!  We were going to play volleyball but SOMEBODY who's name I won't reveal said there was a net and as it turns out the net was stolen a while back.  Almost played volleyball.  Then we made pancakes in district class, all real fun stuff.  We have had a really great time in our zone, and a really great zone overall.  We have just formed a really tight squad of missionaries.  That made it really sad when they called on Thursday and told me that I was going to leave Valle de Azapa, to go whitewash a new sector and train a new missonary.  I have wanted to train again for a little while, but that didn't make it less sad when I had to say goodbye to everyone I love in Valle de Azapa, including lots of people that I have seen change and progress so much.  I love the mission because it helps us create really strong relationships with others, which do unfortunately bring sad goodbyes.  I will try my hardest to put a lot of pictures up next week because I'm writing in a place that I don't really recognize, and I do not want to get a virus on my card.  So I proceeded to say my hard goodbyes and keep working, we found a really awesome Columbian family my last week that we just great, but kind of sad that I won't be able to see them grow in the gospel.  Yesterday we all went to the office and they announced that I will be serving from here on out in Vespucio, Zapadores, which is like Valle de Azapa because it's pretty dangerous-ish but really really cool.  It's also dope because the one and only Elder Andrew Reed Hillier is my beloved zone leader down here.  I was working there yesterday after changes with Elder Kilcollins, who is also going to train, but in Curacavi.  It was really cool to get to know him and we had a freaking great first day opening my new sector.  I already really like it here.  Elder Kilcollins, was Elder Sonnenberg's third companion, and says he used to always talk about me. (awwwwWW).  It was great to be able to serve with him and we became really good friends in our 24 hours together.  I'm really glad to be here in Zapadores, and to have the opportunity to bring the gospel to the people here in the pincoya.  My life has been changed by the gospel and yours can too!!  (see the link below to get the missionaries sent to your house) nah jokes
But everyone have a great week.  I hope you're all doing well and if I can do you for anything just send me a note.
Elder Rhodric McCurdy
Vespucio-Zapadores

Y la maya?

WELL we had a pretty good, pretty normal week here in valle de azapa.  Some noteable things that happened were that we made tacos as a zone, had another zone conference in Pudahuel and we were all instructed really well by the president and his wife and his assistants.  They are all so great.  Our investigators and converts are all doing really well, and the work with our less active members is also progressing really well.  We have a really great investigator named Pabla (pablo but the famale version) who has been progressing a lot and there's just so much potential all over the place in this sector.  It's been a sort of trying time for Elder Diegoli and I, but we are working very hard and I find myself growing more and more with the more efforts I give to the Lord.  I was kind of sick this week and am still kind of sicky, but it seems like it's already going away so there's nothing much to worry about.  Carlos, my convert, is pretty set on moving back in with his ex-girlfriend, but Elder Diegoli and I feel very content with his understanding of the commandments and that we are doing all that we can.  I love the mission- I love the people and there's no place I'd rather be.  I hope you all have a great week.

Elder Rhodric McCurdy

Cidade

He fam all is well down here in Chilley.  It's indeed been pretty chilly as of late but we are enduring to the end fighting through it.  The hardest part is keeping your face warm because of the wind and it is hard to cover up but hey just gotta keep surviving right.  We have been all good down here, Elder Diegoli and I are getting along very well and are working very hard.  This last week was a little complicated because Carlos, one of our recent converts here in Valle de Azapa is having a hard time paying attention in church (because he got a new phone) and is also thinking about moving back in with his girlfriend and his kid because his mom is a "witch".  It's kind of a hard situation but we're trying to support him and find out the best way to help him with his struggles at the moment.  Also this week WE LOST POWER.  I was on interchanges with Elder Quispe and i thought we were gonna die of cold in the nighttime but we didn't!!  thank goodness.  We also got to share a lot with an inactive member of our ward who wants to come back to church !!  He has a really strong testimony and I'm so pumped to be able to work with him.  We also saw a couple miracles in the week because we were walking to an appointment and I messed up the house (and I never mess up houses because I always know where I am, I swear I could get anyone to any Seven Eleven in Connecticut) and we knocked the door expecting it to be the person we had an appointment with but she was like "nope you've got the wrong house" so of course we started talking to her (being lost is a great conversation starter) and she had already shared with missionaries 10 years ago, and is super dope !! We also contacted a reference named Matais this week and he was really cool.  He says he wants to change his life and bring everything around full circle (and believe it or not, that's why Jesus came!!!) So we are having a really good time here in renca and are trying our best to be the best that we can be.  I hope you guys are having a great time in your states wherever you live and if I can help you with anything just let me know !!!

Elder McCurdy