Super fast week!

This week has flown by! At the same time, things that happened on
Tuesday already feel like it was so long ago! I went on exchanges with
sister Hinchcliff on Tuesday, and got to go visit people from my old
area 😊 We got to have a lesson with Amy ❤️ I love and miss her  so
much! The relationships you make are the best part of serving a
mission! She knows she will always be my friend no matter where life
takes us 🤗

Nic Watson got baptized on Saturday! It was so exciting! It sounds
like he faced a lot of opposition leading up to his baptism, but his
whole family still came to support him! He shared his testimony after
his baptism, and it was great, because Marci came with us and she
really felt the spirit! 😊

This Sunday we had a cool miracle! A girl texted us and told us she
was coming to church and bringing her coworker to church for the first
time as well and asked if they could sit with us! His name is Edwin,
he is so nice! We showed him around the church and had a lesson
afterwards, and he is excited to come back next Sunday! The priesthood
authority that Christ gave his apostles really seemed to make sense to
him, and he wants to be baptized himself!
Vincent and Marci also came to church Sunday! Vincent is great, his
heart is so good and I know God is very aware of him!

This week I had a lot of experiences, where the spirit taught me how
important it is for someone to gain a testimony that the Book of
Mormon is true for them self. Monday we went to go see Vincent with
our new ward mission leader Sebastian, and we told him a little about
Vincent and that he was praying to know if he should be baptized or
not, and that he had just started reading the Book of Mormon
regularly. Sebastian said "well until he gains a testimony of the Book
of Mormon he shouldn't be baptized anyways right?" And we said well
yeah of course! We knew that already, but it just struck me how true
it is, once you gain a testimony that it is true, and that it's the
word of God, everything else just falls into place. Someone else at
church was asking about someone they met last week, and we told them
that they'd decided to read the Book of Mormon every day, and he said
"Oh they're screwed, if they read it every day with an open heart
they're going to know it's true!" It was funny, but so true! I also
loved talking about it with Amy, she asked why the Bible wasn't enough
or why the Book of Mormon was better, and I told her it wasn't better,
they should be read together, because they both testify of Jesus
Christ, and just give us an even more full picture of His life.

 We looked at an example:

 Luke 22:42-44
"42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was
as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

& Alma 7:11-13
"11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and
temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled
which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his
people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of
death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their
infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to
the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his
people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God
suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins
of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according
to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony
which is in me."

In Luke we read about Christ's experience, nothing can replace that.
In Alma we read why Jesus did what He did. It doesn't take away from
or discredit Luke, it only testifies of Christ's love for each of us
and gives us more truth!
Those are some of my favorite verses. I am so grateful to know how
much Jesus loves me, and that he lived his life and died for me, so
that He would know the things I go through in this life, I am never
alone because of what He did. I always have someone who knows exactly
what I'm feeling. And I can return to live with God again because of
His sacrifice for me! I know He loves you so much! Having a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to find true and
lasting happiness! ❤️

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

Another Crazy week!

So much has happened! I need a nap! Haha it's been a good week though,
I'll spare you some of the craziness and just share highlights!

First of all, Eli got baptized!!! That doesn't even feel like it was
this week! Haha! It was such a sweet baptism! His little brother
talked about baptism and made everyone cry! Then his dad baptized him,
it was his dads first baptism, he was just baptized a couple years
ago, after his younger brother. Tanner gave a talk on the Holy Ghost,
and made everyone cry again, and then at the end Eli shared his
testimony, and had everyone crying! The spirit was so strong, it was
such a happy day! I'm so proud of Eli and the way he's changed his
life to follow Jesus Christ! 😊

This week we met 4 new people, it was awesome! Last Pday, at the car
wash, we talked to Gauthier, who was vacuuming his car next to us.
He's been here for four years, from Congo, and he's never met with
missionaries! He gave us his number and told us we could come over
this week. When we did, we found out he has 2 other siblings and one
of his brothers girlfriend Paula was there as well. They are all here
studying chemical engineering, they are all so nice! Only Gauthier and
 Paula could join us, they speak English, French and Swahili! It was
really neat being able to share the gospel with someone for the first
time. We asked them how they felt after hearing the first vision, and
they both said they would never be the same after that! They shared
experiences growing up in Africa, going through tough things and
losing loved ones. They said those were the times they felt closest to
Jesus, their faith is amazing! It was so refreshing to see someone be
so happy to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon for the first time!
😊 Unfortunately they did not make it to church Sunday, and Gauthier
is going to Arizona for the month of July 😥 but I'm so grateful for
the time I will be able to get to know him more before he leaves!
Dario is sharing the gospel with his friend Victor! He's being an
amazing member missionary, we met with Victor this week too! He is
trying to get work off on Sundays so he can come to church as well 😊
We also met Marci last night, she is so sweet! She just moved back
here after getting her masters in Virginia! She started meeting with
missionaries and going to church for the first time there a couple of
months ago and she loved it! She's trying to find God and religion for
the first time in her life, she loves taking the sacrament each week,
she missed two weeks for vacation and she said she can tell, she
already misses it so much!

This week I am focusing on just how grateful I am for all of the
people the Lord places in my life, and the relationships we form. I
have been so blessed to see so many people develop relationships with
Jesus Christ, and the way their lives change as a result of that. It
is such a blessing to be able to come back to this area and see Maddy
and Dario and others continue to grow! They are both getting their
patriarchal blessings soon! Maddy just got a calling in relief
society, and Dario is blessing the sacrament now! 😊

Hope you all have an amazing week!

❤️Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

Transfer day!

We still don't know what's happening for sure, all I know is that I'm
being transferred and released as a sister Training leader for my last
transfer! It has been such a good experience! 7 transfers of learning
from so many amazing sisters that have changed my life! I'm so
thankful for them and so excited for another sister to have the
experience now! 😊

Okay, so miracles! We had the best week ever!!!!
First of all, Randy Swensen (from West Jordan) got his endowments at
the temple on Saturday and I got to go see!! It was so sweet! I'm so
grateful for his example and so excited for him and Jennifer to be
married!! I love em both so much! Their journey and testimonies have
strengthened mine so much! There will be pictures at the bottom 😊
Also, Gage is awesome! He's been praying about being baptized on June
10th, and he said he knows God wants him to be, but he wasn't acting
like he was really going to on that day. When we went over on Thursday
for our lesson, we asked him if anything was happening on June 10th?
And he said "actually, I was wondering if we could do it the 9th?" I
was so excited my country accent came out! I could not contain myself,
it blew my socks off! I am so so so excited for him! He has been
getting so many answers lately and he's going to act on them now,
wahoo!!!! And then he texted us later that night and asked if he could
do it the 8th instead, so he's getting baptized Thursday!
And we met the coolest guy, Ben, Friday night. We knocked on his door
with like two minutes of the night left, and he answered, he thought
we were looking for someone else, but we asked him if we could share a
message with him about Jesus Christ and he said sure! He invited us in
and we shared our testimonies with him. He actually met with
missionaries while he was in prison in Washington, but he said he was
out of it because he was detoxing. But he is doing great now, he lives
in a sober living house and he said he's been coming closer to God and
getting his life in order, but he still feels like something is
missing, and he thinks this is it! We went back Saturday and taught
him more and he is just so excited to keep learning! He came to church
and loved it! He was worried about being accepted but everyone reached
out to him and he made a ton of friends! We're going back to see him
again tonight! 😊😊😊
We also had two other temple square trips this week with Nic, Katelyn,
John, and Eli! Pictures at the bottom 😊

A story that one of my sisters shared with me this week really
impacted me. She said that in a meeting she heard someone say they
were afraid of breaking, and another person say, why not let yourself
break? Christ can heal you. And then she remembered a story she had
heard before she came on her mission, she said that in Japan they
break china bowls on purpose, and then seal them back together with a
gold glue, and the idea is that they now have these gold veins running
through the bowl, and they are more beautiful now than if they had
been whole the entire time and never broken. She compared that to our
lives and said that we are all broken, but it's good because Jesus
Christ is what holds us together, He's the one who heals us, and that
much better than never having been broken in the first place. If we
were whole we wouldn't need a savior, and that would be so sad to me.
I'm so grateful for the trials I've gone through, because that's when
I've felt Jesus the closest to me, and I wouldn't trade that for
anything. I am so happy to know that He is the one holding me
together, I NEED Him in my life! ❤️

Miracles are so real! They are all around us, we just have to notice
them! I know that there is nothing that bring more lasting joy than
sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others and helping them come
closer to their Savior!


I hope you have an amazing miracle filled week!
❤️ Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

Crazy week!

This week was full of meetings and emotions! Haha I think everyone had
a melt down for one reason or another, but there were still tons of
miracles! I love the people we're meeting with so much! We had a great
lesson with John this week, we talked about the plan of salvation and
we looked at everything in the Bible, it was all new to him but when
he saw where it was in the Bible it all made sense to him and just
clicked, it was so sweet to see someone hear it for the first time! 😊
he also read the Book of Mormon and said that what stuck out to him
was the promises God made and kept to His people there as well, and it
made sense because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He
is my twin! Gage is doing really well too, he came to church again and
we had some great lessons with him this week, he knows he needs to be
baptized, and the coolest part is the way he keeps getting answers, he
starts thinking about something and making changes in his life, and
then we end up talking about it, before he tells us. It's not us and
it's no coincidence! God's plan is perfect, because He is so involved
in our lives! Eli is still amazing, we had a really good heart to
heart with him last night! His friend from the Ward Kaleb, is just
awesome! He said exactly the words Eli needed to hear last night, and
the spirit just filled the room! He's the real MVP! The members here
are so helpful! They make me so excited for member missionary work in
Morgantown 😊 Nic is doing great as well! He taught us this week, he's
so excited for his baptism! AND Niels came to church this week! We
were so excited! He sat with his friend and then she ended up teaching
Sunday school, so he decided to stay a few minutes. It started at
10:15 and he needed to leave at 10:30 to be at work at 11, but 10:45
rolled around and he was still sitting in Sunday school, we just
looked at each other, like he's going to be late! 😳 but we left to go
to another Ward, and he said "hey! Where ya goin?" And we told him we
needed to leave and he was going to be late and he just smiled, we
asked if he was going to go late to work and he said yes, it made my
whole week! I know he stayed because he felt the spirit! 🙌🏽 his
friend that was teaching the lesson told a story about her dad, and I
believe it really spoke to him! I'm so excited for him!

This week I've learned to focus on the constant. In a mission, a lot
of things change, but there are things that stay constant, like having
a companion, your schedule, and other things. In life tons of things
change, but the one constant we can ALWAYS count on is Jesus Christ.
He is always there for us no matter what, we are never alone! He knows
what we're going through and what's on our hearts, and He cares! No
matter how small something might seem, it matters to Him, because we
matter to Him! I know I've said it before but it's true! Our
relationship with Jesus is the most important thing! That's why I'm
here, to try to help other people find and strengthen that
relationship! 😊

I love you and hope you all have a great week!
🤗Sister Kirkpatrick

Living the dream

It's been another amazing week! I got to talk to my family yesterday
on skype! 😊 Time is flying!

So many miracles this week! Monday we met Eli, he is AMAZING!
He's here for the summer from Arizona and he went to church last
Sunday in the family Ward with his friend, Tanner, who served a
mission in Uruguay, then we got to meet him Monday night. He already
told his friend he wants to be baptized, we didn't even invite him,
and they wake up every morning and work out then read the Book of
Mormon together! He said the closing prayer for the first time on
Monday night and it was one of the most sincere prayers I've ever
heard, he cried as he thanked God for his friend, and prayed for the
faith to continue learning and believing in Christ. We didn't see him
again until Saturday, but we'd texted him and asked him to read Alma
32, and when we saw him Saturday he told us that for his job (door to
door sales) some lady was mean and yelled at him, so he just went to
find a place to sit and read Alma 32 like we asked, and he loved it. I
was amazed at how much he got out of it! And I was so impressed that
in a tough time, he immediately turned to God!
Last night after church, we met with them again. We got there early so
we went to talk to a guy sitting by the pond, named Kevin, he's also
YSA age, and just moved here a month ago, we gave him a Book of Mormon
and he said he wants to come to church next Sunday! When we went to
knock on Eli and tanners door, they said they saw us through the
window talking to Kevin and told us we should invite him inside to
learn too!! 😅😅😅 it does not get any better. He said he needed to
call his mom for Mother's Day. But still, Tanner and Eli are so great!
We told them they just need to put some name tags on and they can go
out together, and Tanner said he already told Eli if he wants to serve
a mission he would pay for it all 😱😱😱 I can't handle how awesome
they are. After we taught the plan of salvation, Eli thanked us and
told us how grateful he was for us, it melted all of our hearts!

I am so so so grateful to be able to share the good news of our Savior
Jesus Christ and His love for us each and every day and meet to many
amazing people. I am the one who is blessed by their lives, I learn so
much from them and my faith is strengthened when I see theirs grow!
I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

Pictures:
Sisters pic nic
Talking to people jumping off the mountain,
Bunnies,
Skype

Good morning!

It's been another great week! The weather is getting better, and
miracles keep happening!

Frances was baptized Saturday morning! 😊 it was so good! She had
missionaries and friends from all over there to support her! There
were two skype calls going for people far away, and one person on
Skype even gave a talk! Haha shout out to our ward mission leader
Dillon! He took care of everything! It felt like we weren't even
preparing for a baptismal service because all we had to do was show
up! Frances was so happy and she shared her testimony after the
baptism, she has been being prepared for a long time! And Her bishop,
Bishop Boshard is the best! He is so funny, and really goes the extra
mile to create relationships! Sunday morning we woke up to a text from
her saying she might not be able to make it to church because her
sister needed her to fill in for her at their church! We were
panicked, the WML was panicked, Bishop wasn't. When we got to church
and asked if he had talked to her he said "oh yeah, don't worry, I
talked her down off the ledge, she's coming!" He said it so casually,
I know it's not funny over email but if you knew him it would be! He
was the one to confirm her on Sunday morning at church, it was
amazing!

This week I felt God's love so strongly. There have been a few things
that have just built up the past couple of weeks that have driven me a
little crazy (not my companions! Don't worry, I love them!) but it
finally came to a head Saturday night, and I think I was just
emotional because it's almost that time of the month, but I just
needed a good cry, you know, everyone needs that sometimes. But as I
was thinking about it, I realized how trivial most of it was, and that
I was making something into a big deal in my mind that really weren't.
But in that moment I felt Jesus' arms just wrap around me, I knew that
He was so aware of me, and although it was trivial, He felt it, and it
mattered to Him, because I MATTER TO HIM!!! He loves me sooooo much
more than I could ever imagine, but it's in those moments where I can
feel Him so close, that I am just overwhelmed by His love! I am so
thankful to Know Him, not just know of Him, but Know Him! To have a
relationship with Him! I want everyone to Know Him! I can't imagine
going through life without that relationship! You matter so much to
Jesus, and He loves you so much!!! I hope that you believe it! And if
your relationship with Him isn't quite where you want it to be, just
spend more time with Him! Talk to Him through out the day! He wants to
be so involved in you life!

I hope you have a blessed week!

🤗 Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick

WHITE WASH MIRACLES!!!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention we were white washing! Shout out to
Sister Crapo for leaving a good area and trust with the members
though! 🙋🏻

So we've seen miracles every day, no kidding, it's been nonstop!
The first day we were here, Tuesday, we found 2 new people to teach!
We had no clue where we were going or who anyone was, but the Lord
helped us!
Wednesday we got to meet Eyo, who was baptized on Monday the day
before we got here, he's amazing, super funny but is truly converted
to the savior! He's taking a Book of Mormon to give to his friend and
share his testimony with when he flies home this week for vacation!
Thursday a girl named Frances texted us and asked if she could meet
with us Friday at 1pm, we had no clue who she was but said sure!! We
later found out that she was a former investigator, so we were pumped!
Friday we met with her and the first thing she said was "so can I be
baptized May 6th?" 😱😱😱😩😆😅😅🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 WOAH BABY! We were
amazed! She's been meeting with missionaries at college since
November, she sought them out just for conversation, but she said the
more she's read the Bible, the more she finds truths only found in the
restored gospel of Jesus Christ in it, and everything just fits
together so perfectly! She knew she wanted to be baptized and prayed
about it and decided on either February or May... ITS MAY!!! 🎉🎉🎉
Her parents aren't happy about it but she is determined. She talked
with the bishop after church on Sunday (he's hilarious) and told him
her story and then told him she wanted to go to the temple ASAP, and
get her patriarchal blessing, and she already knows she wants to go on
a mission!!! So, we're planning a baptism for Saturday 😊
Saturday night we found another new person, we talked to them on the
street, his name is Brennan, he asked us how we knew God was there and
then invited us in to share more, he doesn't believe in Jesus but is
willing to pray about it!!
Sunday we met Nick, he was at church with his girlfriend and also
wants to be baptized asap! It might take a little while but he's so
solid! He says he can tell such a difference when he's reading the
scriptures every day and when he's not!

I love when people can notice a difference in their lives when they're
doing the little things vs when they're not, because it makes all the
difference! We met so many other people this week who no longer
believe in God for one reason or another, and each time I felt so sad
for them because they are visually unhappy with life! Most of them
even recognize it, but they've lost hope! All I could do was share my
testimony with them that God loves them, and it was no coincidence
that we ran into them, He loves them so He sent us to them to tell
them that! I hope they could feel that love, because I sure did feel
God's love for them! That has to be my favorite part about missionary
work, feeling God's love for so many people so strongly!

I feel like part of my heart is still in south Jordan... it is, I
leave a little bit of it every time I get transferred. I miss Maddy
and Katie and Dario so much I want to cry 😭 but they are in amazing
hands with Sister Conn 🤗 and we will be eternal friends!

I hope you all have an amazing week!
Feel free to email me 😊

Love,
Sister Kirkpatrick