Christmas in Cork, Ireland

December 15, 2014

Sooos... I'll be staying in Cork with Sister Morrison this Christmas! Yay, its great. There are some really great members here who have invited us, and I'm really excited to spend the holidays with them and the other missionaries. 

I'm not sure what to write about this week, honestly. Sister Morrison wasn't feeling too great a lot of the week, so we did a lot of resting/passive work. (on the computer, with the elders, who were also sick, all of us putting together some Christmas proselyting tools we'll be using this coming week) It gave us a lot of time to think, and I got a good look at all the things that we're here to learn from each other. 

We had some good lessons with John and Hannah this week. 

We brought Bro. Quirke, our branch mission leader on a lesson with John, and they get along really well. We taught about the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and it was a great moment when we saw it click with him about who the Holy Ghost is. Bro. Quirke was boss, and without a request from us or John, he offered to give John a lift to church, which has been a barrier for him! It was great. We definitely see the need to involve members with John. And he DID come to church, after a good BoM lesson on Saturday. 

We had dinner with Hannah, which she was great to cook for us and RC, Fezeka. We had a lesson on opposition and the adversary. Hannah's biggest barrier is that she still doesn't want to see or accept that there are black and white choices and consequences that are good or bad. The obvious ones aren't the problem, they're the ones the culture and media of today have down-played to not be a big deal. All we can do is love her, invite her, and testify that doing the little things can help her understand in the long run. I pray that she'll be able to recognize the Spirit, and be able to find a testimony in the BoM and a loving Heavenly Father, because that will change her life. 

A boss member, Brooke, gave us 2 referrals this week! I seriously love members, especially when they understand the spirit of the work of salvation, and want to share the joy of the gospel with their friends! One of the referrals she gave us came to church the week we were gone, so we were hoping she'd be there this week, but alas, not so. Hopefully we'll be able to meet them soon, because Brooke has invited them to all the Christmas activities/programs this week(end)! 

We had a great lesson with some members (Fezeka and Virginie) about our gifts and serving and giving to others from our talents, and we got to write about what we love about each other, and it turned out really good for us to bond and uplift one another, because we're all away from home during the holiday season. I really have loved seeing that I'm finally developing a close relationship with the people here, and I'm glad I have another transfer to deepen that. 

We watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional at the church last night, which was great. I loved the spirit of Christ in serving and loving others, and becoming more Christ-like. If you haven't already watched it, do so! And share it with all your friends! Don't forget to #SharetheGift!! http://www.mormon.org/christmas 

I love you all, and I hope you're all doing well! I can feel my faith tested everyday, and my heart goes out to everyone this Christmas season. It can be so good, and yet so stressful, and hard in several different ways. But I think the trial of faith comes at this time when the Spirit of Christ is so strong so we can remember that He's there to succor us. He came here for us, and He's performed the greatest sacrifice so that we could be with Him again. His was a gift of true love, and I hope we can share that with all those around us.

Happy Holidays!  you all!

Sister Mary Ann Kirkpatrick