5 months!!

So two exciting things happened this week! First, I got food poisoning
😷, that was fun... Then my mom got baptized!! 🎉❤️⛪️🙌🌊🛀🏻 I am
so happy and proud of her!!! I was able to watch it via Skype, it was
pretty blurry and quiet since it was on an iPad, but I am glad I got
to see it! I just keep seeing her going under the water over and over
😊  Her testimony is so much stronger than mine when I was baptized.
She is very close to the spirit and has had some amazing spiritual
witnesses along her journey!'She is the most amazing woman I know and
I am so grateful Heavenly Father sent me to her. I am so inspired by
her example!
      It was also exciting because Elder Jacklyn (that baptized my
mom) is from close by, so his family was able to come watch as well!
They are so sweet! I also had some of the people I've grown to love in
West Jordan come celebrate with me, although I don't know how much
they were able to see or hear haha 😕 anyways, highlight of my mission
thus far! 😊❤️
    We also had a man come to church this Sunday that hasn't been for
a long time. We started teaching his family and when we invited him to
come to church he said "yes, I'll be there!" without hesitation. He
said I really like your reasoning for coming to church, I'm coming to
take the sacrament and remember Christ, if I don't stay for anything
else, I'm coming for that. He is a man of his word, he came!
      I know that Jesus Christ loves each one of you so much! And He
led by perfect example when He was here on the earth. There isn't
anything He asks us to do that He hasn't done Himself. He has
commanded us to follow Him, and although we will never be able to do
that perfectly, He wants us to try! And to access His grace and mercy
through repentance that is only possible through His suffering and
sacrifice for us. I love Him more than I could ever show Him! ❤️🙌

Independence Day Update!!

We have been having so much fun this week getting on the roof of our
house to watch fireworks! It's so amazing because we can see so far
and there are like 5 different shows going off every night. It's only
legal here to set them off three days before and after the 4th so
people go nuts! It's sister Mallarme's first time seeing them and she
is so excited! 😊🎉

This morning we went to a pancake breakfast in the park and we are
getting ready to go watch a parade and then go to a carnival!! 😊 we
better not get transferred because we've got big plans! And I don't
want to leave! We have met so many amazing people this week!

We have started teaching the sweetest lady named Stephanie! She was
atheist until a couple of years ago so she is just starting to learn
about scriptures and Jesus, it is amazing!
And we started teaching a super sweet girl named Kayla last night! She
came to church yesterday first! 🎉🎉🎉

We have seen so many miracles this week! The one that stands out to me
most happened last night. We have been working with the Martin family
most of my time here. First Braiden was baptized and then his mom,
Angel, was baptized a month later. Angel's brother Aaron came to
Braiden's baptism for support but did not want to talk to us. He came
to Angel's baptism as well, and cried he felt the spirit so strongly,
but he still did not want to learn more from us. Last night we saw him
outside of their home and asked if there was anything we could do for
him. Through tears, he said "pray for me". We got off our bikes and
asked what we could pray for and had a very powerful prayer together,
I could feel the spirit so strongly! Before we left we invited him to
church, and he said he would be there, and he was! Angel said she
never thought the day would come when they would all be in church
together, it was so sweet!

This week in my personal study, I feasted on Luke 22-24. I have read
the New Testament a few times, but this time through it was so
powerful and real! I put myself in the shoes of the apostles and asked
how it is that I fall into the same behavior they did, as they slept
in the garden of gethsemane, and other instances in those chapters.
Our Savior's love and sacrifice for us is truly amazing. I am so
grateful and humbled at the opportunity to share that love with
others!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!!! 🎉🎉🎉

❤️ Sister Kirkpatrick

Pictures of people I ️

🙋🏻🙋🏻🙋🏻

This week went by so quickly!!! We've been busy and having fun! Sister
Mallarme got to see fireworks for the first time this week! It took the
suspense out of the 4th of July, but it was the perfect summer night
sitting outside watching them after we finished planning for the next
day! 😊🎉⛺️🌌🎆🎇

We had a stake BBQ this week, we invited a lot of people, and so many
people came that it was hard to try and get to everyone, it was great!
Then no one came to church 🙍🏻 looks like we'll have to start having
free food at church. 💁🏻😏 we also went to the Spanish elders
baptism, because Randy's brother and his girlfriend have been joining
us for his lessons, and she speaks Spanish, so she came with us to the
baptism, it was her first time seeing one! They told a joke during the
baptism and we were all just sitting there confused of course, and she
laughed even harder that we weren't laughing, haha. I was glad she had
a good time, we had a lesson afterwards and the Spanish elders joined
us, it started off good but by the end there were so many
conversations going at the same time, it was crazy!

We also had another good lesson with Luseane! She told us that she God
has to be the one to let her know if she should be baptized. She said
it with such conviction and faith that she would get an answer, and
with a determination to follow Him. We were so happy because that is
exactly what we want, we told her we never want her to take our word
for anything, that she should take everything to Heavenly Father in
prayer! (We are blessed to pretty much always have lessons scheduled,
that's not the case in other areas of the world, but I try to just
pick highlights each week 😊)

Also, since we don't watch the news, this lady we are trying to teach
informed me of the floods in WV and just said kanawha county and that
26 people died.... And no one emailed me so I started to get scared,
and had my land lady call my mom to see if everyone was alright...
Next time a natural disaster happens, someone fill me in!!! I am happy
you're all safe though 😊

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

Pictures!

Sister Rodriguez taught be how to do a side braid on exchanges this
week!! 

I GOT TO SEE SISTER LOPEZ AT ZONE CONFERENCE!!!! IT WAS THE HAPPIEST
DAY OF MY LIFE!!! 😊🎉😆😅

The snack lady in action after bowling on P-day! :)

The pictures are just an amazing collage the sisters we went on
exchanges did on their wall!

Miracles!!!

We saw so many miracles this week!

      David told us that he has found God! He described the feelings
he had as he was praying this Thursday and said it was so powerful
that He cannot deny that God is there. He said he was brought to his
knees sobbing as God answered his questions one by one! He said "I was
atheist until about Thursday but now I am a Christian!" and he has
been telling everyone! We are so happy for him!

      We also had a bishops point us to one of the houses on his
street of a woman who has not been to church in a long time. We
stopped by and introduced ourselves and she told us her husband wasn't
home, but we offered to share a short video about Christ and come back
for a lesson when he could join us. She allowed us in and we shared
the video and talked about it, and then sister Mallarme said a prayer
and we left. She called us minutes after we left and told us she had
such a comforting feeling after the prayer and wanted to know if we
could come say another one with her. We rushed back, and she told us
that she woke up at an all time low that morning and she knew
something had to change, then we showed up. We told her there were no
coincidences in the Lord's work, and He was so aware of her and loved
her so much! It is amazing to see how much this truly is the Lord's
work, we feel so blessed to be a tiny part of it!

      Also, Sister Chambers, our mission presidents wife (pictured
below) came to some lessons with us on Wednesday! It was so great! She
is the sweetest! They only have less than two weeks and then the new
mission president will be here from Virginia!! Bitter sweet!

      This week I loved reading in Luke 17, about forgiveness and
faith. I want to always remember verse 5 and start every day by saying
"Lord, increase my faith", being open to all that He has to teach me!
I love my Savior Jesus Christ so much! I know that it is only through
His sacrifice for us that God can apply mercy and grace, which we will
never deserve, that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven!

       Also, if you would like to meet with missionaries in your area,
if nothing else, to see what I'm doing 😊 it's really easy! Just go to
www.lds.org ➡️ click the menu lines at the top left ➡️ click share the
gospel ➡️ click referrals for missionaries! Put in your information
and they will come see you, so happily! 😊

      I love you all, and hope you're enjoying your summer! ☀️🌊

 Sincerely,
           Sister Kirkpatrick

Happy Monday! 😊🎉

It has been a good week! We had a ton of lessons scheduled but a good
majority of them fell through.. We are still smiling though 😊 I am
thoroughly enjoying experiencing firsts with sister Mallarme!
Yesterday it hailed, she was so scared at first! Once we got out of it
she wanted to go see it and she said where did it come from?!?! I told
her the sky! Haha she said it was a miracle! Pictures to come 😊.  She
has started opening up to me a lot more this week! I don't remember
what we were talking about one night, but I said "West Virginia,
mountain momma!" And she goes "yes! I know the song! We sing it in
Micronesia!" Haha I said what?! You know it in pohnpeian?? And she
said " no in English, before I don't know what do it mean? But now I
do!" Hahahahaha she says they just like it, I couldn't get over it!

This weekend we had stake conference as well as a missionary fireside.
They were both really good! Pictures to come as well. 😊 a visiting
area 70 came, Elder Warner, and he spoke mostly from Luke, I loved it!
He said we all know someone who is not following God the way that
they could or should be, and our hearts hurt for them.
He referenced Luke 8:23-24
 " 23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm
of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in
jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we
perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the
water: and they ceased, and there was a calm."
He told us not to worry about those people, because Jesus was in the
boat with them. He loves and knows us better than we could ever
imagine!

This week I learned that we really don't need to try to persuade
people  to make or keep commitments. The gospel of Jesus Christ does
that itself. If we share with others the truth and happiness it has
brought into our lives, they will want the same thing. We all need
Jesus in the boat with us! I know that He is and He loves us so
individually and perfectly. I am so thankful for the scriptures, that
we can search Christ's teachings, and strive to do as He would each
and every day!

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

Week 2 training!

Week two training was a lot less stressful! Sister Mallarme and
I are starting to talk more and I am still trying to build her
confidence in talking with others, her English really is amazing! And
I have had fun helping her in language study! They didn't even teach
them vowels in the MTC!?!?!?! She's just been trying to wing it!! She
says in Micronesia all letters are like consonants, they make the same
sound. She catches on quick though!
      Yesterday at our zone meeting we ran into Elder Reams from West
Virginia again, and guess what... HIS COMPANION IS FROM MICRONESIA!!!
How crazy is that! They are from different islands though so they
speak different languages, he says it's the Tower of Babel there...
Kind of sad. 😥
      We had the most amazing lesson yesterday!!! It was with a 15
year old named Luciana! She knew very little about Jesus Christ and
the scriptures and baptism, but she was so open minded and interested!
We testified of Christ's atonement and earthly ministry and showed her
the video "Because of Him". She soaked it all up and said she wanted
to be baptized and would start reading the scriptures as soon as we
left! She sincerely thanked us for coming, it was so nice to have
someone appreciate us!  😊 It was the most amazing feeling to tell
someone about Christ and His atonement for the first time as well! It
seems like there are very few people in America, let alone Utah, who
don't at least know a little about Jesus. We are seeing her again
Saturday!!
      I have learned over and over this week that "...by small and
simple things are great things brought to pass..." -Alma 37:6. As we
are faithful to do what the Lord has asked of us, we can see Him work
many miracles! I know that God hears our prayers and He knows our
hearts perfectly! 😊❤️

      Also, pday was switched because we are going to the temple!
Pictures to come later 🎉

I love you all!
Sister Kirkpatrick

Long week!

It was so so soooo  sad saying "see you later" to Sister Lopez! I
am beyond grateful for the time I had with her, she is one of the most
amazing humans I know, and she left a huge impact on me, I hope to be
half the missionary she is one day! 😊❤️ she is now serving as a
sister training leader in Sandy Utah!
      I also have an amazing new companion as well! Her name is Sister
Mallarme. She is from Micronesia and only started learning English
when she got to the MTC 8 weeks ago! It is fun helping her continue to
learn English for an extra hour of study each morning! She has such an
amazing testimony and I know it is hard to not always have the words
to share it, but that does not keep the spirit from working through
her. What she does contribute to the lessons is always exactly what
the person needs to hear, and her testimony has already brought many
people to tears. I a, trying to build her confidence in sharing her
testimony, because her experience in the MTC with her companion broke
my heart! Her companion would not speak to her unless she had to, she
would speak Spanish with other missionaries, and told sister Mallarme
she shouldn't share her testimony in every lesson! I was furious when
she told me that! This might not be the most a Christ like thing to
say, but I hope that girl gets humbled real soon! Sister Mallarme is
so strong for still being here! She is adjusting to so much! People,
food, language, animals (she's only seen a dog and a cat in
Micronesia, the first day we saw dogs, ducks, chickens, horses, cows
and bunnies!), and I was able to teach her to ride a bike during our
exercise time Thursday morning! She learned in 20 minutes! And
although we go very slow, she's been riding everywhere since!

      I feel a little overwhelmed doing most things on my own now, as
a new missionary, I don't feel like I know how to do everything, but I
am trying! I remind myself that she is going through a lot more than I
am, and the Lord knows what He is doing. In church this Sunday, a
woman said, if live ever becomes easy, we become weak. I don't think I
will become weak this transfer!

-Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their
weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my
grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for
if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I
make weak things become strong unto them."

I love and miss you all, time is flying though!

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick