CRAZY

This week has been crazy, we were in a trio in the next area over, Alloa for a couple of days while Sister Condie's companions (the STLs) were away doing training, then we were in Edinburgh on Thursday for Zone Interview Training. It's been hard on numbers this week, but we had some really great experiences! 

We went hiking this totally Scottish hilll on P-day (in Alloa) with some members (the Wilfords, who are absolutely amazing and Amanda, the awesome American mini-missionary, and Jody, her best friend who she helped convert!) after a car's wheel flew off in front of us and the Zone Leaders stopped to help. It was actually really scary when it happened, because at first we thought it was the Wilford's car! But whoever took off this guy's wheels to do some work did not put them back on properly. We thought the other one was going to fly off as we followed him around round-abouts to the garage to make them fix it. This hill we hiked was really like a cliff, lol. It was also covered with sheep, which SOME people decided to try and chase/catch. I don't know if that's what the Savior meant by going after the 1, leaving the 99.

We were in Alloa Tuesday for Sister Condie's birthday! We had lunch at Subway to celebrate. We had a really great joint teach in the Wilford's home with Jody. We found a really golden potential, a single dad named Phil, which I'm sad is the Alloa sisters'. We went to teach James, Alloa's progressing investigator who was/is struggling with paying tithing, even after giving up cigarettes. It's really been weighing on his mind and he's upset about it, which has affected his feeling the Spirit. But every investigator and recent convert goes through trials, so James will probably still be okay and reach his baptism date! That night we went to a going-away fireside for Amanda. She's been here for two years and decided its time to go back to Washington. She chose some friends/leaders to speak about her and share memories with her and made a slideshow of the last two years. Amanda really is an amazing inspiration. She has been instrumental in bringing light into the lives of everybody she's met and bringing her friends to the gospel, including Jody and several more investigators. While she was here she actually was set apart as a mini-missionary for a wee while, and served with Sister Adams, Sister Hobbs' trainer when the mission was short a sister. She is such a bright light and affects the life of every person she meets for the better. That's kind of person I want to be. 

I really have loved the experiences and people I have met in Alloa. I would love to serve there one day.

Wednesday we RAN for the train back to Falkirk. Sister Condie came with us, and it was a really long, hard day. We had lunch with Iris, which was great! (Though, I must note, THESE PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND PORTION SIZES. Awesome food, way too much. Every meal appointment is a feast.) We went out to Denny to see Jade and Thomas. We took a different bus and it made us really late. It was a really really hot day, and Jade was not in. When we finally got a text reply, it was to say that her daughter, Mya Rose "took a fit in the heat" and they were in hospital. Made us quite concerned. We went and found a public restroom, which is nigh to impossible normally, because you have to pay for a certain license to put in a public toilet, so most everywhere does not have one. But the one we found was near to Jade, but across town from Thomas, so we wandered trying to find a shortcut there, which didn't help really, we were still late. We taught Thomas the Word of Wisdom. Oh, I didn't understand most of what he said, he's so hard to understand, but we did learn that he drinks WAY more than we thought he did. Nigh to 40 cans of beer per day plus whatever else is around, 3 bottles of whiskey, whatever... PLUS 40-60 cigarettes a day. He doesn't really ever sleep or eat, he only drinks tea besides the alcohol. When Sister Passey shared that with President Brown he said cutting back is going to have to be really slow and gradual, or else he could die going cold turkey. THAT'S NOT A CONCERN. But he wants to do it. Thomas committed, and wants to be baptized, but we really feel that he hasn't really been able to feel the Spirit to build a real testimony because of the influence of smoking and alcohol. We hope that he'll make it, but we did have to move his date to August 2. It's actually sentimental, because that was his daughter who passed away's birthday.  We had dinner with a member, another feast. We were exhausted by the end of the day.

Thursday we were picked up by the Sister Trainer Leaders and we drove to Edinburgh. It was nice, because it reminded me of summer car trips back home :) Zone Interview Training was awesome. I had to bear my testimony (all new missionaries have to) and we learned from the Zone Leaders about teaching the correct concept of the Godhead, because that is a foundation to a true understanding of the doctrines. The Assistants to the President taught a new method to weekly planning, which I mostly missed because I was in my interview with President Brown. He really is in tune with each missionary individually. He really cares about us, and how we're doing. We talked about an increase of blessings and love for our families as we serve and how its always been hard, for all of the prophets in the scriptures and especially for Jesus Christ. We had the first half with our district and a couple others before we combined as an entire zone (got to see Sister Hobbs!) to talk about our goals and the Sister Trainer Leader's instruction on building relationships with members using methods in Preach My Gospel. It was really excellent and inspired. Then we left the other half of the zone to do interviews and planner checks etc and headed back for Falkirk. Well, RAN to the train station, thinking we had to catch the same train as the elders, who were ahead of us and we ran across Edinburgh, trying to catch the train leaving in 20 minutes only to have the elders come up from behind us with food, having decided we weren't going to catch that train. Was. not. fun. haha! But we went back to Falkirk and up to the church for a very distracted, humorous planning meeting for our missionary fireside.  And had dinner with Kirsty and Dee :)

Friday we had lunch with Sister McPheat, and that feast was basically the only meal we ate all day, save breakfast. We went out to Denny, but Thomas was asleep (his friend John answered the door) and Jade wasn't in. ACK. But we did find some potentials! We had our fireside that evening, which could have been better attended, but it did go over really well! We're trying to get them involved in the work, to find us referrals and work as joint teaches to bring joy to their family and friends!

Saturday we had sports at the church. Alisha, our recent convert is struggling right now, and we're not sure what she needs. We went and completed our service for Mr. Faulkiner! Yay! Looks great! We actually got to feed ourselves all day! Haha, we love having meals with members, but sometimes its stressful not being in control of what and how much you eat. Besides, I really  do like cooking! I am going to write a book one day, and it may be a cookbook of 101 Ways to Make Chicken. It was Gala Day in Grangemouth, and there was also a Rod Stewart concert at the Falkirk Stadium. We watched hundreds of people in this mass drunken exodus towards the stadium. That was interesting. When our bus finally came, it was PACKED. We stepped on and every seat was filled and people were standing from the back all the way to the front. We stood by the driver while people laughed at the expressions on our faces and sang and clapped and oh, my, it was a party. When we got to the stop next to the stadium, nearly everyone disembarked and we sat down, stunned. LOL. We went and saw Jon, whose back at home and doing better. He needs to get back into reading and praying, and he'll be great!

Sunday we tried to call Thomas again, but we haven't been able to get a hold of him or Jade. Neither were at church. But it was a great meeting and we got to see some less actives we really needed to see! 

Jade did finally text us back this morning saying she was going to London, but she was excited to go to church when she gets back and have a "blessed day"! Yay! 

Well, I'm sure I'll have some interesting stories to share from today and the coming week next Monday!

I love you all so much! Remember to have His name written on your hearts and reflect His light for all the world to see! 

Love,

Sister Kirkpatrick

Kebaptism?

Oh, How Great the Wisdom and the Love of our Lord!

Family and Friends,

Well, first off, after I talked to you last week, I went and purchased a new rain jacket. Allow me to explain: Both of the rain jackets I brought with me were quite heavy and I would have to carry them half the time because here in Scotland, it will be sunshiney at 10 o'clock and then raining cats and dogs by 1 o'clock. They did not fit in my bag and were quite too warm to wear around, so I took Elder Fisher's advice and bought a jacket that comes in a little pack bag that fits in my purse so that if it starts raining, I have it on hand. It has already been a positive investment. And it is a shocking shade of pink (approved by District Leader). The elders have told me that they can always spot us in a crowd. 

That same day we had a great dinner/FHE at the Irvine's home, which was quite the party with four missionaries, 7 children/youth, and 3 adults. It was crazy. We played several games (Don't Eat Pete, Chocolate Frustration, Chubby Bunny, etc) and talked about gaining weight on missions and it was a good end to P-day.

Tuesday we had last minute exchanges. We had one of our STLs go home with Tonsilitis, and they reassigned her companion, Sister Steed to be with the Alloa sisters, Sister Henkel and Sister Condie, and Sister Henkel was called to be the new Sister Trainer Leader. They had to move up our exchanges to be able to accomplish everything necessary for this transfer, so I went to Alloa with Sister Henkel and Sister Condie and Sister Steed went to Falkirk (where she has served before) with Sister Passey. There were some amazing experiences. I learned and applied so much. We had lessons with their progressing investigator, James, a less-active girl named Jasmine, a dinner appointment with a member, and a less-active man named Cameron. In every lesson I felt the Spirit's promptings so strong to say and ask just the right thing at the right time and it always brought the Spirit in so much stronger to the lesson, and I just can't believe how amazing the Spirit is in teaching and asking inspired questions! **Listening and Acting is the Key**

Wednesday we got back to Falkirk and we went up to the church to do a tour with Thomas, who did not show up. We instead got to practice a musical number we were asked to give on Sunday, Sister Passey doing a violin solo with me accompanying on piano. We played an arrangement of Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide with Abide With Me that we came up with with Kirsty's help (she was there to be a joint teach). 

Wednesday was also my Kebaptism! Haha, Kebabs are a food here, and a tradition to initiate new missionaries in Scotland/Ireland. Description: Doner meat is essentially mystery meat with a base of lamb. (ensue the Mary had a little lamb jokes.) This meat is roasted on a spit, shaved into strips, and then put in a sauce in a big pot and then left for an extended, unknown period of time. This meat is used in a wrap-like thing called a Kebab, which basically is pita-ish bread, meat, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and lots and lots of sauce. This food, in certain establishments, is known to make people nauseous. In fact, this certain doner kebab is illegal in the United States, due to health regulations. I was lucky to get a nice, "posh"-ish one for my first time. Simply put, the kebab is not bad tasting. The wonky part is the doner meat--really having no clue what it is, why it's greasy and gritty at the same time. Next time, I'll be getting a chicken kebab.

Thursday was a hard day. We went to see Sheila, and it did not have a happy ending. Essentially, Sheila does not have the desire to know this is true, and so, even though we really care about her, we had to drop her as an investigator. It made me really want to cry. But I testified that she would never know unless she wants to, and it may not be until the next life, but that we'll be there to teach her when that time comes. 

We made a baked chicken dinner for ourselves and the elders (my specialty, baked with a rub of brown sugar, salt, pepper, basil and garlic.) so, we were a bit cheered up by that time we had with them. They really liked it.

Friday, on the other hand was AWESOME! We got to see Jade, our new investigator!! She is 25, from London, and has a 9 month year old girl, Mya Rose. She is so so good. We taught her the Restoration, and we didn't really have to ask her any questions because she asked so many! There are things that she asked that we have to teach in a later lesson and she didn't completely understand some things like priesthood, but when we told her about Joseph Smith seeking for answers, and reading James 1:5, she just started weeping! She didn't understand why, but we explained how the Holy Ghost will sometimes affect the way we're feeling to let us know something is true. She is so so promising, and I'm so excited to teach her the Plan of Salvation! She had family plans for father's day, but she'll be at church this next week!

Saturday was good as well, we had a Family History Street Boarding activity, and I got to meet Michael, a really inspiring Christian in a wheel-chair who just has the most amazing story and testimony of Jesus Christ and how he is the reason for everything and all things are possible through Him! Michael may not come to church, as I invited him, but I believe I met him for a reason! I learned so much in such a short time speaking with him! 

So everything was going good and then the Jehovah's Witnesses swooped in and started handing out Anti-Mormon propaganda, so we packed up and left early. It gave us the time to go do some service in the garden of Mr. Faulkiner, an older gentleman who had a stroke that we met chapping. It was successful, but we will go finish the job another day. 

Yesterday was hard, because we talked to Thomas before church and he said he was coming and then he didn't show up. We went to see him after church, but he wasn't in. It was just a hard day, and a bunch of small things bothered me and I was a little homesick because it was Father's Day, but it was okay, it was a learning experience. I recognize that it's up to me to have a positive attitude, not my surroundings or circumstances. But, our musical number went great! It really brought the Spirit to the meeting :) 

Well now I'm feeling all energized hearing from you and getting to talk to you about my week, so now I'm going to work! I know that Heavenly Father loves us! I know that we believe in Him not because He could make everything better right now, but that we believe in Him because our future and eternities will be joyous because of His justice and mercy. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ was and is the Savior of the World, and that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God! I know that this truth will be taught in every time and nation and unto every people until that day that He comes again! This is my testimony!

Love Always,

Sister Kirkpatrick

One Month Mark

Family, friends, countrymen...

To answer dad's questions.  My district covers Falkirk, Hallglen, Grangemouth, Bo'ness, Langlees, Polmont/West Quarter, Stenhousemuir, Denny, and Bonnybridge. And if I missed anywhere in that, well, I probably haven't been there. The elders also assigned to Falkirk branch are Elder Austin and Elder Fisher. They were featured in my photos from P-day to the Kelpies. Elder Austin is the District Leader. We coordinate with them pretty much daily.

There's only one other companionship in the District, the Alloa trio (recent development, actually. One of our STL's got tonsillitis and had to go home 16 months in. Her companion was moved to be with the Alloa sisters.) We really only get to see them at District and Zone Meetings

Future P-day possibilities:  Sterling castle is actually on Sister Passey's mission bucket list, so we probably will get it in there. Don't know about Loch Lomond.

When you took the pictures of the Kelpies, did you also see the Falkirk Wheel? Falkirk Wheel was originally a part of the plan, but we kind of ran out of time to mess with bus schedules, so we just headed back into Falkirk to walk around Callendar House.

This week was an adventure! So much has happened! 

Tuesday: after emailing, we went to meet with Linda Hildreth, a super friendly lady who is quite Catholic, but doesn't have a scholarly knowledge of the Bible, but she loves learning from her priest. She had some interesting stories about when she worked as a nurse in a women's prison. She's retired now and her husband recently converted to Catholicism. She absolutely loves America, and she thought we were a breath of fresh air, but really she's just interested in friendly conversations, so we were really just there to give her a good impression of Mormons so that one day she'll be ready.

Wednesday: TORRENTIAL RAIN. ALL DAY. It was kind of rainy before our lunch appointment but then it started really coming down. We were out chapping in it for a good 2 hours. It was this day that I recognized that my water-resistant jacket just isn't good for random torrential storms. We were soaked through, and we were so relieved to get to our dinner appointment though. I had a neat experience though with praying to know where we should be and getting the distinct impression to "stay where you are." It didn't seem to have a lot of results, but there was one home with a mom just leaving for work that may be who we were looking for.

Thursday we met with Sheila again and she still is being stubborn, but Sister Passey has so much faith in her. She has softened so much since they first met her. She knows there's a reason why she let us in, and I think she knows its true but just is dancing around it because she hasn't had a spiritual witness yet. We invited her to watch the Restoration video and read the Book of Mormon and pray to know that both are true. It really is up to the Lord's time and Sheila's agency.

Friday was really good! We went out to Denny and tried to contact a referral from the Zone Leaders, but did meet an interesting old man who needed help spreading some soil then invited us in for a Coke and to meet his wife. He looked like Mr. Fredrickson from UP. This conversation put us at just the right time to meet JAY. Jay is a young mom of two boys, one of which is only a few weeks old! (She looks awesome for being that recently pregnant!) She wanted them to be christened, but hasn't been to church in 8 months. We got a return appointment with her and we are so excited! Then we went and taught Thomas the Plan of Salvation which he took very well! (Continued on Sunday) Then we had dinner with Kirsty and Dee, which is always good. We may get to go with them to see a church one of Sister Passey's grandfathers built once we have permission from President to go a little bit out of our area. We're still trying to figure out what's quite going on with them, because they haven't been coming to church again and they don't seem to really want to talk about it.

Saturday was rainy again but we got to see a member who is the hospital right now. He's quite old and has Parkinson's, but he just seemed really really tired when we were there. He hasn't been able to get up and move after falling asleep and he's fallen a few times and the doctors say he has fluid in his lungs. So pray for Jon McKittrick.  We also met a less active who hasn't been to church in years and has developed some more pagan-type beliefs, including praying to Goddess, or Heavenly Mother, and studying the Bible cover-to-cover, mentioning angelology in her study. She collects a ton of really cool crystals though, and she's a high school math teacher with 5 grown children. She kept telling us about how she's not coming to church, which honestly gave us the impression that she wouldn't, even though she probably knows that's where she should be.

Sunday (Yesterday, my one month mark!) was stressful, but good. We were assigned to coordinate a much and mingle after church that turned out okay, but was quite stressful, and we didn't get to plan with the elders for our missionary fireside coming up because of it. But we headed out to Denny, where we finally got in contact with Jade, our referral from the Zone Leaders. She invited us in, and we finally saw why the Zone Leaders were reluctant to hand her over to us and so insistent that we get in contact with her. She is a mom as well, from London, and she was raised Jehovah's Witness, but doesn't really believe any of it. She used to work and rave and drink and smoke all the time before she got pregnant, but her baby has changed her life. She moved to Scotland to be closer to her mom (who is already aware that she's meeting with us and isn't happy about it) and she really wants her children to be raised in a Christian religion that they can know good morals and Jesus. We are so so excited to teach her. She knows very little about the scriptures, but has so much potential!

Then we went to see Jay, who forgot we were coming and was occupied with her infant, which we totally didn't blame her for. But she invited us back again this week, and we'll be sure to call to remind her and confirm the appointment!

Then we went to teach Thomas. OH, Thomas is officially our one and only current progressing investigator and HE HAS A BAPTISM DATE! Woot! He still is praying to know that it is true, but he wants it to be. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and talked about repentance and forgiveness and baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost (including a clarification on Trinity vs Godhead). He has some past transgressions that he has to overcome to be worthy to be baptized and he also has to overcome a smoking addiction, so he needs all the prayers he can get. It was really cool to commit someone to a baptism date on my 1 month mark. Baptism July 26th!

Well, like I said, it is so busy here in Falkirk right now, and I am so happy to be here to see the work move forward and witness miracles everyday! I know that God lives and has a Plan for each of us individually. Everyday I'm awed by the power of the Atonement and Jesus Christ's power and love. The Spirit is real and leads and guides us to exactly where we're supposed to be at the right time. I KNOW that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. All it takes is study and prayer to know.

I appreciate all your prayers and and thoughts for me and everyone here in Falkirk! I love you all!

Love, 

Sister Kirkpatrick

Learning and growing in Falkirk

Hello Everyone!

So much has happened in the last week! This week has been a little tough, I'll be honest, but there are moments of joy in everyday. 

After I emailed with you all we had an appointment fall through, but we got to see a less-active sister that evening, Jackie, who still really has a testimony and the intention of returning to church. She can talk a lot, like most Scottish people, but it was all related to the Gospel, rather than blither, which really shows me that she could make a difference in so many lives, her own, her children, the branch...

The next day was quite hard. We had lunch with a less-active and the elders + a man from the ward, and lets put it this way: It was a complete waste of time. We were there way to long, the conversation was worthless and not completely respectful to the Spirit and we ended up having to leave without giving a spiritual message. The worst part was a young neighbor who likes the missionaries and is really curious visited and we really want to teach her, but we don't want her to have the wrong impression of us. Then we went out to chap around (knock doors) an AUF we were given. We met some interesting people, including an ignorant born-again Christian, and our one hope, a YSA man who forgot his trousers when he first answered the door. But the highlight of this hard day was dinner with Kirsty and Dee.

Kirsty is a member and Dee, her partner is an investigator. They are a lesbian couple, and have had all the missionary lessons and have accepted it and seen how it blesses their lives, and are living every commandment except they are still living together. They've been together for like, 10 years, and after being with them, it's almost impossible to imagine them apart. They are the coolest people in the branch and are so kind and loving and they really bless the lives of those around them. You really forget that they are a couple when you're with them, they're not weird about it at all. They struggle with some of the members who can be rude about their situation, but it's a sin and temptation just like the word of wisdom, and they're not rude about people attending who struggle with that. It's a hard situation because there is no easy answer. Sometimes its hard to think about how they could receive even more blessings, but at the sacrifice of their love for each other. It's not easy being in the middle of the story and not knowing the ending.

We are teaching Sheila, a devout, stubborn Catholic who for some reason keeps letting us in. She's finally started reading her "homework assignments" and has nicknamed my companion, "Pushy Passey" But she really likes us. The challenge with her is she sees too many similarities between her Catholic faith and what we believe to make the change. She has yet to see how the Book of Mormon can bless her life and thinks Joseph Smith is ridiculous. All we can do is pray she can see the differences to make it worth baptism.

Friday we had some more appointments fall through, and I was having a hard day, but Sister Passey is so good about being sensitive and we just sat down on the grass in the sun for 10 minutes to just relieve some stress before continuing work. We saw Kirsty and Dee again that evening and they made Asian food especially since I told them that's what I like and they had their nieces and nephews over and they were watching Tangled and Despicable Me 2, so it really felt like home.

I had the scariest dinner appointment ever. Mom, you would be appalled. It was like a hoarders home with little sanitation and lots of people and fish and STUFF. We sat in the small, crowded living room and it took 45 minutes to get people to bring in all the dishes and silverware and food for a baked potato with cold chicken in mayo that had sat out too long on top and a salad without dressing. And there were flies all over. It make me sick to even think about. We had to go home and eat something else before we started our fast as a zone.

We fasted for our June goals as a zone and to start a purification challenge to help us become better, more focused missionaries. Sunday was good, I played piano in sacrament meeting and I'm still learning to love the branch, even for their dysfunctionalities. We got to see Thomas on Sunday and give him the first lesson outside his home, because there wasn't another woman there or with us. He smoked 3 cigarettes, but shared his knowledge of the Bible and Christian religions, and he seemed to like what we believe. I appreciate that he has a great amount of knowledge and hasn't settled for one particular religion yet. He wants to come to church, but has to find his bus pass first. Oh, and he had two friends drop by who sat in on the end of the lesson and seemed open to it as well. 

Yesterday was great, we went into Edinburgh for Zone Development Day, which President Brown introduced as a day of rest as a zone. We played softball and ultimate frisbee and Psychiatrist before started the main event: a murder mystery dinner. It could have been better written, but it was quite fun and crazy and interesting. I was the congressman's wife. It was a little awkward and tough to play the part with a whole bunch of cheating rumors with the elders playing opposite. It honestly had me so wound up by the end that I was awake last night with my mind all twisted and confused. But I had a lot of fun and got to see Sister Hobbs and meet everyone in the zone, (though I wish it would have been more out-of-character). We headed back to Falkirk with the elders, and we always have a fun, interesting time with them. There was a need for ice cream (fulfilled by a McFlurry) and I got a little sun burnt, and it was a great day.

So, today is rainy and I have to get back to work after we go shopping, visit the Post Office, and email President Brown from the church. I am feeling good and I'm going remind myself to smile and laugh!

I hope you're all doing well. I love to hear about your news and testimonies and I appreciate all your prayers. I love you all so much!

xoxoxoxoxoxo,

Sister Kirkpatrick