Great Week!!!

It has been a great week!!!

First of all, Kaden was baptized!!! 🎉🎉🎉 we had the opportunity to
teach him for a few months or so until he decided he wanted to go to the
YSA Ward, so we transitioned him to the YSA sisters! The transition
lesson was so powerful, everyone felt the spirit so strongly, and he
has continued to grow and progress! It was so exciting seeing his whole
family there, everyone was so touched by the baptism! 😊

President and Sister Lansing came to visit our stake yesterday
morning! They came to the Samoan Ward with us, then had lessons with
us, the stake president, and the 4 people being baptized on Christmas
Eve! It was so good! Sister Lansing really connected with the Gill
girls and they all shared why they want to be baptized, it was so
sweet, the youngest, Maddie, said "well I'm just kind of rowdy and I
need the Holy Ghost!" Haha it was the best, because she is so sweet! I
love their family more than they will ever know!
And With Dakota we talked about his conversion, and they asked what
his biggest fear was, and he said "well I don't really have any, but
if I had to pick one, I guess it would be learning enough to be able
to serve a mission in a year." HE IS SO AMAZING!!!! 😱🎉

Then last night, Elder Rasband, one of the twelve apostles, came to speak
to our entire mission! It was such an amazing experience! When he got
there he wanted to shake every hand, and when I looked into his eyes
he seemed so familiar!! It was really special. Later on as he was
speaking he told president Lansing he was impressed he knew all of our
names, then he said "I purposely did not look at your name tags,
because I was looking into your eyes. I've learned to look into the
eyes of a missionary and feel their handshakes, I can see the sparkle
that is in the eyes of a disciple of Jesus Christ." It really
resonated with me, because I could definitely see the same in his
eyes.

This week I learned a lot from a mistake. It was a really hard night,
but all is well and looking back I can see ways in which the Holy
Ghost was trying to communicate things to me, and I missed them.
Dakota, who's getting baptized this weekend, had his baptismal
interview scheduled for Tuesday night, we wrote it on a calendar for
him, and scheduled it with our district leader and knew it was
happening, but somehow it didn't get put into our planner. So Monday
night as I was planning, nothing was coming to me, I was having such a
hard time, I had no clue where we needed to go and I couldn't figure
out why... and I never did, until it was too late.On Tuesday night we
didn't have anything scheduled that was set in stone, and we both had
the prompting that we needed to go visit a Samoan family in West
Jordan, about 20 min from our stake. We felt good about it so we went,
and then as we were about to leave, at 6:45, we got a text from Dakota
asking what happened? He'd been waiting on us 45 min! We felt lower
that the scum of the earth!!! We rushed back and frantically called
our district leader. The district leader who was supposed to do the
interview, and knew about it, was transferred that morning. He
wouldn't pick up so we called the zone leaders and neither would they.
They finally got back to us and our new district leader, Elder Choi,
came right over, for his first interview ever, that he didn't even
know about....... AND HE HAD FOOD POISONING!!! So we were an hour
late, but Dakota is the best, he had his interview and forgave us, and
Elder Choi was happy he didn't have time to be nervous.
I am so thankful for forgiveness, and being surrounded by such
wonderful people. I don't know why that had to unfold the way it did,
but I learned a lot, and I am working every day to pay closer
attention to the things the Spirit is trying to communicate to me!

I love you all and hope you have a very merry Christmas!!!
Sister Kirkpatrick

Wednesday Pday!

It's been a good/ busy week!!
Exchanges, zone conference, and interviews with the mission President! 😊

I went on two exchanges this week since I wrote last! One in draper
and one in south Jordan! It's so neat being so close to the mountain
in draper! It's nice being back in my area though, I really hope I'm
not transferred I love it here!

We went to temple square with the Gill family, I love them so much!!!
Rachel is so strong in her faith and I'm so proud of the amazing
example she is not only setting for her girls, but for me as well! She
and her oldest daughter Hannah shared their testimonies in church this
Sunday, it was the best!!!! They announced her baptism on Christmas
Eve 😊🎉 they have such a great Ward too!

We also got to attend a baptism with Dakota, who will be baptized on
December 17th, it was his first time seeing one and he said he was
nervous for no reason, it's simple! Haha and he asked his best friend
to be the one to baptize him! It was such a sweet experience and I'm
so glad I got to witness it!!! 😊

Also, another Rachel came to church for the first time last Sunday and
was really touched by the meeting, it is so amazing being able to be a
part of so many wonderful peoples lives!! ❤️

Also... Kiki sent me the cutest homemade stocking ever this week! I
love it so much!!! Almost as much as her! 🤗❤️😂😊

We are going to the temple today, I'm very excited!! It's so amazing
having so many temples so close, there are three in the mission and
you can see them all at one time from various places in the valley 😊

Short email this week, but we won't have as much time today, so I'll
write more next week 😊

Love,
❤️Sister Kirkpatrick

Lots of Pictures!

This week I went on exchanges in Draper!🚗
Ate in 6 homes for thanksgiving! 😂
And got to see the Maher family baptized!!! 👩‍👦‍👦
And got to see other people I love and miss from West Jordan! ❤️
It was a good week!!!

So for thanks giving we weren't allowed to knock on doors we just
visited family's. So we had two real meals and pie everywhere else we
went. I was 4 pounds heavier at the end of the day 😂. It was good
though, the people here are so nice and giving to missionaries, a lot
of them have children serving missions as well. And we found some new
people to teach from the visits!

Seeing the Maher family be baptized was such a sweet experience! I got
there during my dinner hour and was able to be there with the elders
to teach them the last lesson before their baptism! 😊 It was so
amazing to see the change that has taken place in them, especially the
youngest one! He would not sit still for anything while I was there
but this weekend he could not wait to be baptized!!! And he told me he
loves church! And that he will go until he's 50 years old haha, then
he changed his mind and said until he dies! 😂 I love their family so
much and it was also so great to see so many people that mean so much
to me from West Jordan at the baptism as well! ❤️

This week we found another new person to teach, she let us in to share
a quick message about Christ and then said we could come back and she
would like to learn more! Unfortunately she didn't come to church but
we will see her Tuesday evening!  😊
The boy we started teaching last week, Colton, walked to church all by
himself this week! It is so amazing to see someone so young, so
motivated to come to church and read and learn! He is just eating it
up and so excited to be baptized December 10th!

This Sunday in church every meeting we were in seemed to center on the
Joy that we can have in this life because of our Savior Jesus Christ,
despite our circumstances or trails. Growth is not fun or comfortable,
but that is why we have come here to earth! To be tested and tried, I
know that it is in those moments when we choose to rely on Jesus that
we grow closer to Him and access His grace that not only saves us, but
allows us to change, to become better!
I know that God only gives us commandments because He loves us and
wants what's best for us. That is why Jesus has asked us to follow
Him, and His example. That is why we are baptized, it's how we access
the atonement and promise to take the name of Christ upon us and keep
his commandments, and we are promised His spirit. It is not the end,
it is only the begging to spending our lives trying to be a little
more like Jesus each and every day!

I love you all!
❤️ Sister Kirkpatrick

First snow!!!

This week was really good!!! We had the first snow! Not a ton, but it
was fun to wake up to! We're looking forward to a lot of snow so we
can go shovel people's drive ways who are mean to us! 😊 Maybe soften
some hearts... ❤️❤️❤️❄️❄️❄️

So this week we found two new people to teach, they are the sweetest
boys! We taught them the restoration of the gospel and the younger one
just loved it! When we invited them to follow Jesus example and he
baptized, he said "Yes!!! Mom can I?!?" And then after we left his mom
called and said Colton told me he wanted me to call you right now to
tell you he's coming to church tomorrow, and he did!! 😊 So sweet!
We also had a lot of people come to church, my new favorite family,
Sister Gill and her three daughters came ❤️ I love them so much! She
has such a sweet testimony and sincere desire to follow Christ and
give her kids a good spiritual foundation. The Tidwell boys also came
to church and we had a lesson and dinner with them and a family in the
Ward after church! We asked if they had been reading and the oldest
one told us he was in Alma!!! Half way through the Book of Mormon! He
said he always tries to read ten pages a day!!!! Put me to shame 😂 we
taught him the plan of salvation and he rehashed the whole thing back
to us after to make sure he understood! He really wants to be baptized
in December, they just have to get parental permission.

I am really loving this area! The work is really starting to pick up
there are already so many people I love!!
Speaking of people o love.... THE MAYHER FAMILY FROM WEST JORDAN IS
GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!!!!! I hope and pray I get to go! Here's
a picture of them before I left 😊⬇️

Transfer #7

Hello everyone! Transfer #7 started off good this week!!! 

The Gill family came to church with us! It was so much fun! They are all the sweetest! The girls all had a friend to go to their young women classes with, and a lot of women in the Ward reached out and made the mom feel welcome and invited her to activities this week she's going to go to  it was so good! This week when we had our lesson with them the mom said, "the first time I met you two, something one of you said really made me think, it was a light build moment that just hit me like a wall with the spirit, you said something about the opportunity I had to be baptized and that my girls deserved the same opportunity, and I got to thinking about it, and although I haven't been to church regularly since I was 16, it's still a huge part of who I am" I was in awe when she told us that! Because I remember the first time we met her, walking away and saying was that to forward? I told her I didn't plan on saying that and usually wasn't quite so bold so I know it had to have been the spirit, and not me! It's so amazing and humbling to see the Lord using you for His work! I know that this truly is His work and I am just so blessed to be a part of it and a part of these sweet women's lives!

Another miracle we saw, was a man invited his sons high school friends, Dakota, Dillon, and Dustin, to church and over to his house for a lesson last night, they recently moved here from Vegas and have a general belief in God and Jesus Christ, but not a big religious background. They have lots of LDS friends and sought us out and truly want to learn! There was such a special spirit about them all! They are so humble and sincerely seeking truth! They asked really good questions too, about the priesthood and apostles, how Christ called them and what they were, and the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and other things. Everyone there participated and bore strong testimony of the Savior and His gospel, I felt the spirit so strongly, and so much love in that room! When we invited them to come to church again next week, they said "can we?!?!" It was the best!!! 

Also, Andrew was baptized! 

I know that this is the Lord's work, He is in charge; I let Him do the worrying and just do my best!  I know He knows and loves each one of you so much! I invite each of you to spend a little extra time with Him in prayer and in His word, and see how it affects your happiness! ️

Sincerely, 

Sister Kirkpatrick

Transfer week!

Talofa! 

It was a good week!

We started teaching a new family with 3 really sweet daughters that want to be baptized! Their mom is so sweet and is going to start coming to church with them! We also started praying that those who were ready to receive the gospel would find us, instead of us always finding them, haha, and then we received a text message from a man that said his son's friend who is a senior in high school wants to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!! So exciting!!! 

We also had another really neat experience, where we ended up being in an area we weren't supposed to be in, and we ran into a woman who hasn't been to church in years. When we asked how she was she just broke down crying and confided in us a lot of personal trails she's going through. She told us about how she could hear her father's voice telling her she needed to get a blessing, and that us showing up was another way she saw God's hand in her life! She said the day before she'd gotten out her scriptures (that she's never read) with the intent of reading them! She was excited to show them to us  she also talked about how much strength she's received from listening to air one during these trials, so we were able to bond over praise music, and I told her about klove as well. ️

We also had a super fun girls night for all the sister missionaries in the mission at the mission home last night! We listened to the three sisters who have been out the longest talk about women of the restoration, and Sister Lopez sang a beautiful song  "how much can one heart take" I think? She's gonna be famous one day! Then we had hot chocolate and talked! It was so much fun seeing all my companions! I'm attaching a picture! It's crazy to think about, but this week there will only be 5 sisters in the mission that have been out longer than me! We have a young mission!! 

This week during my personal study I read my patriarchal blessing and I felt so much love as I once again realized just how aware Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are of me, and that they love me no matter what! That same day we watched a video where a woman was talking about how much she loved her son when he was born, and it wasn't because of anything he had done, but because he was HERS! And God feels the same way about us, He doesn't love us because of anything we've done, but simply because we are HIS! That is an awesome feeling!!! I've though a lot about Grace this week. We listened to a talk this week called "His Grace if sufficient" and in it they related grace to piano lessons. The mom pays the piano teacher for the lessons, and all she asks is that the child practices, and uses the gift she's paid for. However in practicing, the child does not repay his mom, she is just happy seeing her child use the gift. It is the same way with the atonement, Christ paid our debt in full, and He just asks that we use the atonement, that we repent and change and find Joy in Him, and live His commandments so we can be happier than we would on our own. However, in doing so, we do not at all pay Him back, He is simply happy because we are happy and using His gift! One part of the talk I loved said, "A lot of people ask me if I'm saved by grace? To which I respond absolutely, are you changed by grace?"

That is something we could all ponder, whether or not we are changed by grace! 

I know Jesus loves each and every one of us more than we could ever comprehend! 

Have a blessed week! 

️ Sister Kirkpatrick 

Happy Halloween!

Lots of pictures from this week! Pumpkin carving from last week,
temple squared trip with one of the family's we've been visiting, and
the last MLC!
Today we're going to a corn maze as a district! Then we're having a
zone meeting tonight since we're not allowed to go outside, because
people dress up as missionaries and they're keeping us safe! Haha
💁🏻

So this week was pretty good, we got to go to temple square with the
Ward's, temple trips are always kind of rushed, and it was really
rushed this time since we went in the evening, but it was really neat
seeing them watch God's plan for families together 😊

This week when we met with one of the people we've been seeing since I
got here, who is having a hard time believing in God. He offered the
opening prayer, and after wards I said " it sounded like you really
meant that, like you believed someone was listening". And he paused,
then said "well I hope there is..." which was a huge deal! Because
before he wasn't even sure if he hoped there was a God. He's been
thinking about the things he hopes for in life, and I'm so happy that
is one of them! 😊 he came to church with his whole family Sunday, it
was great!

One of the people we've been teaching told us this week that he didn't
think he would be baptized even if He knew God wanted him to, which
was a real bummer... but we will continue praying for him and seeing
how we can help him! We were able to start teaching a few new people
this week, and met a few more that we set up lessons with this week!
So stay tuned for more miracles next week! 🎉

This week I loved reading in the New Testament about the gift of the
Holy Ghost.
In Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria
had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

I love it, because the more I read the Bible, the more I see that
everything that was done in Christ's church then, is also done now! I
truly do believe that the fullness of the gospel that Christ taught
while He was here has been restored in its entirety, and that it
brings more happiness than anything else in this life can, because our
relationship with Jesus Christ is so much more important than anything
this world has to offer. I know that He loves a each and every one of
you so much and I believe he would have suffered all that He did if it
were only for one of us. That is how much we mean to God!

I love you all and hope you have a blessed week! 🙏🏽

❤️ Sister Kirkpatrick

Another week in SJ!

So things are finally starting to pick up here in the SJ Highland
stake! We saw quite a few miracles this week, and the common theme was
the word of God softening and changing hearts!

On Monday night we went to visit a family who has foster children
living with them. Most of them are members of the church, but one of
them isn't, and we were told he didn't like the church, but he was
there so we invited him to join us to read some scriptures, and he
said sure! We read Alma 32 and it was almost time to go home so we
invited them to read the rest on their own, but he said he wanted to
finish it right then and there! Haha it was so neat because it was
right after we'd just read verse 28 that ends with "... it beginneth
to be delicious to me." And I was like see!!! It's already happening!
That's what the word of God does!! Haha it was so cool to see how
instantly his heart changed. He said if he knew it was true he would
be baptized!

Then we had a lesson with a man who's been meeting with missionaries
for years but doesn't really have his wife's support. Last time we met
his wife answered for him and told us he didn't want to talk about
baptism. Since he went hunting last weekend and we didn't get to see
him we asked him to read 2 Nephi 31. And my companion prayer for his
wife not to be there haha, and she wasn't! When we saw him this week,
he'd read 31-33! And HE was talking about baptism, he said "So when
I'm baptized do I say a prayer in the water or what?" It was so cool!
He had read about Jesus Christ and baptism and was already thinking
about it, he said he knows he needs to be baptized he just isn't sure
when but he is praying about it!

Our final miracle I'll share was on exchanges! We had about 20 minutes
left and felt inspired to go to the 9th Ward. So we knocked on one
home and a man and his adult son answered the door. We started to
share a little bit with them and asked if we could read a verse of
scripture and the dad said he didn't have time and was about to close
the door in our face when his son stopped the door and told him he
would listen to us! It was so amazing! He let us read the verse and
then asked so many good questions like "why did Jesus have to come?"
It was such a good conversation! We went back this week and he came to
church with us yesterday! He is praying about being baptized November
12th!

It was a good week, I'm so happy that the work in this area is picking up!

I love reading from the Bible and the Book of Mormon each day! There
is so much strength that comes from reading about Jesus Christ's
perfect example and character and trying to become more like Him each
day. To love others as He did.

John 13: 34
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I
have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another."

I love you all!
❤️ Sister Kirkpatrick

Hello!

It was a pretty good week until I woke up with either food poisoning
or the flu this morning ... 😷

But I'll share some highlights before that 😉

So I got to see sister Mallarme at our mission tour! Elder Ringwood
came and spoke to the mission! My favorite part of what he shared with
us was his take on repentance. He taught repentance without ever
saying the word, instead, he used the word forgiveness! A lot of times
people associate a negative connotation with repentance, but really it
is no more than forgiveness, which is the biggest blessing ever! It
really is just a change to become more like God, and it is only
through the sacrifice and mercy of Jesus Christ that we are able to be
forgiven and to change. On the other hand, when we forgive, we are
filled with Christlike love for others. This week in church a woman
was teaching about how usually if someone has done something terrible
to us, they don't really care if we forgive them or not, but God asks
us to forgive for our good, so that the burden is lifted from us, and
we can more fully feel God's love for us! I love forgiveness and I am
so thankful for my Savior, so that I can be forgiven, because I need
it every day!
Another thing he talked about was how to keep your testimony strong.
He suggested it was the simple things. Especially studying your
scriptures each morning to have a spiritual experience you can ponder
on and it can propel you through out the day! I took that to heart,
and am trying to strengthen my testimony by having a spiritual
experience with my Savior each morning, and I invite you all to do the
same!! ❤️

I also got to go on exchanges this week with Sister Turner! She got
here the same time as Sister Hutchinson, and she is amazing! She does
not seem like a new missionary! I think I learned more from her than
she did from me! We got to know some more families this week, and are
searching every day for those being prepared to hear the message of
the restored gospel! 😊 Tim and John, a couple of people we are
visiting came to church Sunday! We were happy!!


For dinner one night we went to a Halloween party, and there was the
cutest little minion there. 🤗 We also had the opportunity to help
someone move this week! Angie is so sweet! I have also been finding
golf balls when we run in the morning! Makin Dad proud 😉