Action packed week!!!

This week has been so full and amazing! It started off sad though, the Buchanans finished their mission  sad day, but so happy I got to serve so long with them! ️ I am also still so happy to be serving with my companions, we have so much fun together! We work hard but we laugh a lot 

Also, this week I went on my first exchange as a sister training leader! Basically everything that could've gone wrong did, but it was just bad timing. I hope that I was able to help in some way  

We had one of the best lessons I've been in to this point in my mission this week! It was a first lesson with a man named Chris and his girlfriend Melanie!  He is so funny!! He is open and honest about his beliefs but truly seeking truth! He said he would be baptized September 24 if he got his answer from God, and then he came to church!! As we were scheduling the next visit, Melanie said so next week or the week after? And he said "Noooo,September 24, we got a deadline!! We gotta get the "W" (win)!! Haha it was hilarious! I kept saying spiritual witness and I guess no one else knew what I was talking about, I just meant an answer from God, so now we're saying he's gotta get the SW (spiritual witness) not W for (win)! Haha! He said such a sincere prayer at the end, we all knelt and held hands and he started with "What's up big G?!" And she prayed sincerely to know the truth and that his heart would be opened and softened to the truth, and the before he closed he said "I just wanna open up the mike now for anyone else who has anything they wanna add" and we had the best popcorn prayer ever!!!!!! We were all so happy  they're having us over for dinner and a lesson tonight!! 

We also had an amazing first lesson with a man named Kurt, sister Casagranda got us in because she's from Alaska and he loves Alaska! We talked for awhile but then we has such a spiritual restoration lesson!!! I felt the spirit sooo strongly as I testified of our Savior Jesus Christ and His life, atonement, and love for us! It was amazing! These both happened in the same day, needless to say it was a great day!!!

This week from my personal study I loved reading Helaman 15:6-8 (from the Book of Mormon, I'll paste them below), those verses are so powerful and exactly what I want to do; strive with unwearied diligence to bring my brothers and sisters to the knowledge of the truth so that it can set them free! I know that this is the Lords work, and He loves each and everyone of us so much and so perfectly!!!  I invite you all to ask Him for a hug this week, and be enveloped in His warm love ️

Helaman 15:6-8

6 Yea, I say unto you, that the more part of them are doing this, and they are striving with unwearied diligence that they may bring the remainder of their brethren to the knowledge of the truth; therefore there are many who do add to their numbers daily.

7 And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them--

8 Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free.

Sincerely, 

Sister Kirkpatrick ️

Transfer #5!

I LOVE MY NEW COMPANIONS!  They are so amazing!! Sister Alvarado (from
Guatemala) has been serving her mission in the US almost 3 months,
that's all the time she's been speaking English and she truly does
have the gift of tongues as well! She studied it in high school but I
studied Spanish in high school and know nothing 😂 she really wants to
learn and asks lots of questions which is so good! And Sister
Casagranda ( from Alaska) is not even training, she is training me!
She is so obedient and does such a good job teaching and testifying in
the lessons! They are both so down to earth, easy to get a long with,
and a lot of fun 😊

So Elder and Sister Buchanan are finished with their mission this
Tuesday, so sad!!! I have loved working with them these past 6 months
❤️ we helped them dump food storage (canned peaches) down the toilet
this week haha it was a blast, in preparation for them to move 😥

This week has been good, I am so excited for this transfer! I can just
feel that there are so many miracles waiting to happen and we are
ready to work hard! 😊 we had a lot of first lessons this week,
unfortunately a lot of people didn't come to church, but there's
always next week!

Last night it was almost our curfew and we stopped to talk to one more
young man on the way home. He grew up going to church but doesn't
believe in a loving, all knowing and powerful God. It was sad to hear,
and he didn't want us to come visit him because he feels like people
make him their project, all I could do was testify that God is real
and He does love us so much, that's why He sent His Only Begotten Son
to die for us, and Jesus knows how he feels, and it is through
Christ's sacrifice that we can be made whole and feel that love. I
just invited him to pray to ask God the questions he has and ask to
feel His love! I felt the spirit so strongly and I can only hope and
pray that he did as well!

I love and miss all of you and hope time is flying as quickly for you
as it is for me 😊
❤️Sister Kirkpatrick

Pictures and transfers!!

So the AP's (Assistants to the Mission President) called and told me 
I'm going to be a Sister Training Leader, but didn't tell us anything else!!! 
So we don't know yet whether we're staying together or splitting up, 
or staying or going!

This was a pretty good week! Sister Mallarme showed me how to crack,
scoop and cook a coconut! Avery was baptized, and she looked so
cute!!! We went to one ward's cook out, and I was excited to see Jas
there! And then we went to another ward's ice cream social! It was so
fun to see so many people we teach come out to the events! 😊 then we
had more malt milkshakes with our favorite people just in case one of
us leaves!

This week we found a lot of new people to teach! One of them is an 81
year old woman, but she does not look or act that old!!! Another one
was a man named Jim! He'd just moved in three days earlier when we
knocked on his door. We were actually looking for someone else but met
him and had a good lesson on the spot. He was studying to be a
minister at one point in his life but sounds like he was offended by
people and is not agnostic, and seems angry at God. But he was very
grateful to have someone to talk to about it and when we gave him a
Book of Mormon he said "can I have this?? I've been wanting one!!" Not
the response we typically get haha, we were excited!

I love this area and the people, and my zone, but I know that if I am
called to go somewhere else, that it's because the Lord has other
plans! I am thankful to be able to call Jesus my friend (John
15:13-15) and be able to do His work and spread His word!

I love and miss you all!
❤️Sister Kirkpatrick

Almost 6 months!

Hey everyone!

We had another good week! We were able to teach some new people, but
none of them came to church :( oh well there's always next week! We
had a really good lesson with Maria, Alex, Randy, and the family at
the temple! Some sister missionaries there took us around to see
different things, and I just love Maria! She is from Venezuela so she
is more comfortable speaking Spanish, so we are transitioning her to
Spanish missionaries, but she came to church with us this week! While
we were there I just keep joking with her about her baptism even
though she does not have a date, because I know that she wants to
follow Jesus and as long as she is willing, He will guide her. When we
had a lesson the next day I told her in all seriousness, I know I
joke, but her answer needs to come from God, she shouldn't do it for
anyone else, and she says she knows, she is so sincere!
I have felt God's love so much this week, and His love for everyone we
meet, it is such a blessing to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior
and He knows and loves each of us so perfectly. We should not keep
this good news to ourselves!!! ❤️😊

We had zone meeting this week, and Elder Mason goes home next week, so
we had to take a picture!

I don't know how I got that bruise but between that & the bug bites
this week I looked pretty rough!

Here are some temple pictures, the tabernacle, and wedding selfie! Haha

I love and miss you all!
Sister Kirkpatrick

P-day activity!

Another week in the heat ☀️

This week has been a rollar coaster! It has gone by very quickly
because we have been busy! Busy is good. We had a lot of first
lessons, and saw miracles, although I've been here almost 6 months and
have met a lot of people there is still so much work to be done, and
the Lord is accomplishing it in His own time! Since I've been here we
have been setting up appointment after appointment with a less active
woman named Karma, and they have always fallen through. Last week she
allowed us to share a short message about Christ on her porch and set
up an appointment for this week. We were able to have the lesson with
the entire family and found out her husband is not a member, and her
twelve year old son has not been baptized. We invited them both to be
baptized August 27th and the father said he would pray about it and
read, and the son excitedly said yes! The wife looked so happy when we
invited them to be baptized 😊 We both felt the spirit so strongly in
that lesson, the Lord truly is preparing people.
         Another neat experience; we met a woman in the condos on
Wednesday that was so rude to us when we tried to talk to her! She
looked at us very angrily and said she was interest and sternly said
goodbye. Nothing out of the ordinary, it happens quite a bit. So on
Saturday, an older man told us we should visit his daughter who hasn't
been to church in a long time, we thought he was joking the way he
said it. I told him I'd never met her, but as he was telling us about
her, she left the pool and stared walking towards us. We both
recognized each other, it was the rude woman! Before we could say
anything he invited us in for birthday cake! Hahaha she did not look
happy! She left to take the dog out and when she came back we'd been
talking to the family a little, and they started telling us about how
her sister was very "religious" and had disowned the woman because she
didn't go to church. We talked about how that wasn't the way the
savior did things, His entire life and message was about love and
forgiveness. She started to loosen up and allowed us to share the
Easter animation about Jesus. Afterwards she even sent us home with
leftovers!!! We told her we would be back to bring her container 😊
second visit 👏🏽
     The key to missionary work is love; the way the Savior loved. I
am far from perfect, but I want to continue to study His prefect
example and strive to follow it. I want to know how to better show
others His love.


      Here are some pictures of our lunch with the Tippets and
Buchanans, I love them both so much!! These are the famous malt
milkshakes 😋 Also, we got to see Elder Banks at a baptism! (He just
finished his mission a few months ago).

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer 😊

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick