Family!
I just found out about
30 minutes ago how my second transfer is going to go! Sister Conant is moving
to Clearmont and Sister Hoyt and I are staying here in Winter Garden and I'll
be the senior companion! Pretty crazy. I'm going to miss Sister Conant. She is
such a sweetheart but I feel at peace about the decision. It's going to be
really weird just working in two and I'm a little nervous about figuring out
all the little details without my trainer... but we can do it! It's super crazy
though because Sister Hoyt and I are going to have to finish training each
other... it's going to be interesting. I can't believe I only had a trainer for
the first 6 weeks of my mission... kind’ve freaky to think about! But I have
faith that the Lord trusts Sister Hoyt and I and we will be able to create
miracles. Please keep us in your prayers! haha! It may be a rocky ride for a while.
Elder Norman, the one from Lone Peak is now my District Leader. One of my
favorite lines that my (now former) district leader, Elder Patten would say is,
"Keep working hard and keep smiling and the Lord will hook you up!"
haha
This week has been
pretty crazy! As a companionship we prayed for several days and fasted
yesterday to know if we should drop Sonya. It's hard to explain the whole situation
through email but we really feel like we had done all that we could to help
Sonya... she has some health issues that seem to be holding her back and other
issues that we just can't change on our own. We sat down with her yesterday and
told her that it is out of our hands now and that our purpose is to invite
others to come to Christ and help them receive the restored gospel... and we
had done that for maybe too long... we told her that we know that if she does
her part she will strengthen her relationship with Heavenly Father and grow a
stronger testimony of the gospel so she can be baptized. It really is a
difficult situation but we all felt at peace about it. She did tell us that she
was going to see us next Sunday though so that was a relief and really
good to hear that she is going to continue on her own.
Another miracle: at
the beginning of the transfer we had a note from the Elders, that were in our
area previously, telling us that we needed to see a potential investigator
named Mike. Before we had planned on finding Mike, we went to a less active
home…after we left the LA's home we saw a man sitting outside across the street
so we went over and told him a little about the Plan and he was interested in
learning more. A couple days later when we were planning on meeting that man
named Ray again, we looked through the potentials list to see who else we could
try and meet that lived by Ray. We realized that Ray's address was the same as
Mike's!!!! SO CRAZY. We learned that Mike is Ray's son. We have had a hard time
this past transfer to find them at home and help them so we would occasionally
drop off a Book of Mormon, Proclamation to the Family, clean their front door
(cause it needed it badly) and other things. Last night we decided to drive by
their home before we went home for the night and we saw Mike outside! We
stopped and talked to him and he seemed very sincere about wanting to learn and
we were finally able to set up an appointment with him. Then in passing he
mentioned that his son just turned 8.... hmmm.... 2 baptisms by chance? ;)
hahaha anyways, it was really cool :)
I can't remember if I
have told you this before, but almost every week the zone meets at the temple
and we do yard work for the temple grounds! I LOVE doing it. It's just so nice
to be outside, in front of the gorgeous temple and be with other missionaries.
So cool. Have I told you how much I love this temple yet?? I think I may
have... a couple times ;) but I love it!!!! I can't wait for you guys to see it
yourselves.. it's so beautiful. Anyway, I have planted several flowers and
other shrubs that I'm told will be there long after I have left on my mission.
So I've left my mark on the Orlando temple for sure ;) haha
Another crazy miracle:
Sister Chontos, a lady in our ward signed up to feed us dinner this past week.
The day before the dinner, she got a text from a 12 year old former
investigator named Yazay. Yazay wanted to meet with the missionaries again! So
Sister Chontos invited Yazay to our dinner appointment and Yazay ended up bringing
her friend Evalyn as well. It was so awesome!!! We asked Yazay why she liked
meeting the past missionaries and why she wanted to meet with us now. She told
us that she felt like the Book of Mormon was true and flat out told us that she
wanted to be baptized. The lesson was so powerful! During the closing prayer,
Evalyn, began to cry and we asked her what the tears were for. She told us that
she felt like God had answered her prayers. I was blown away by the spiritual
maturity of these 12 year old girls.. they are so amazing! The only worry is
getting permission from Yazay's mom for her baptism. SO PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!!
Thanks :) This morning when we figured out transfers, we realized that Evalyn
lives in the area that Sister Conant has now been assigned to! So Sister Conant
will most likely be able to work with her! How crazy is that??! I LOVE seeing
those small miracles every day. You can see God's hand in this work so easily
every day.
Sister Ferris, the LA
that hadn't been to church in over 7 years and came to church for the first
time last week is doing pretty good! She invited another LA to church
yesterday. Boom! haha So awesome.
This past transfer has
been so miracle filled. They have been small miracles but so much has improved.
For one, the ward has really warmed up to the missionaries. That was a serious
problem at the beginning of the transfer. We were having a hard time with getting
members out to help and now the members willing to come out to lessons with us
has tripled. The members really love coming out with us as well. They are finding
the work is spiritually nourishing. They are sharing their testimonies and feel
the spirit that is in the lessons. I highly recommend asking the missionaries
if you can go out with them. It's so helpful and such a blessing for everyone
:)
Were you guys able to
go to Vegas? I can't believe that Rilee is almost 13... that blows my mind...
haha so cool! I bought a Birthday card that I'll be sending out to her :) ...
oh wait... I NEED HER ADDRESS! man... could you send their address to me?
hahaha dang it... next week ;)
I really can't believe
that it's almost August. Time has gone by so fast. Angie, you are almost a
college student! What?! So awesome. That is so sweet of you to drop by the Admission
Office. I miss those guys sooo much. ugh. Angie, tell them they need to write
me ;) hehe When does Tanner, Mike and others start coming home? Keep me updated
on what is going on there :)
During transfers, mail
gets delayed for a while.. so I will be able to respond to your emails in a
letter but I probably won't get your letters until the end of the week.
One last story that I
think is kinda funny.... we had dinner at a member’s home last night and Sister
Conant used their bathroom. She said that she saw about 10 cockroaches in the
bathroom while she was in there and a SWARM of nats flying around...
yuck!!!!!!! There can really be some crazy, dirty homes here. Winter Garden is
full of really filthy homes and really nice homes. Pretty funny! Kind’ve fun to
get a taste of both. More things to write home about ;) hahaha
I love you guys so
much! Every day I feel my testimony grow stronger and stronger and my love for
my Savior grows deeper. We are so blessed to have the truth of the restored
gospel. I see so many people that live such difficult lives because they don't
have the gospel. It's so amazing to see such remarkable changes in people as
they accept our message. You can literally see them glow as they feel of God's
love and accept his gospel. This is a beautiful work and I'm so grateful to be
a part of it. There will be a lot of changes starting tomorrow... but I am
excited to move forward in my mission and in His work. 1 transfer down, 12 more
to go!! ;)
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!
-Sister Kirkham
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