Week 5

Bonjour!

This week has been a pretty good week. There was a bit of excitement early on in the week. On Sunday during our Sunday night Fireside. Elder Hansen in our district was talking with a friend and heard rumor that Elder Holland was coming on Tuesday to give our Tuesday night devotional. I was rather skeptical at first but then everything started to fit into place. The majority of the gym has been closed the entire time we have been here because they have been replacing the bleachers and the seats. So they have only had a very small portion open. Well they started to oddly hurry the whole process along and then on Monday night they announced over the Intercom System that the gym would be open for the devotional on Tuesday night, on Sunday and then would close again so that the gym floor could be replaced.... Hmmmm.... Sounded suspicious to me. So that was the first indicator and then on Tuesday we my companion and I went through the hallway that the MTC president has his office and such the bathrooms said closed for special guests only.... hmmm.. So we ate dinner very quickly and hurried to the gym. The devotionals start at seven but they won't let us in until 6:30. So everyone usually waits out front to get a good seat or to even get into the gym at all. We got there about 5:15 and there were already some people there waiting. By 5:50 the are was packed and we were literally squished like sardines for about 40 minutes. It was just body to body and it was so hot!! We got in and found some pretty good seats a few rows back in the center and our whole district was able to sit there. They normally put up on the big screens who is speaking but, not very surprisingly, they didn't that night. Well about four minutes to seven, Elder Holland walked through the doors and of course everyone stood up! It was incredible. It was the closest that I have ever been to an apostle of the Lord. It was incredible being able to listen to him in person. He gave an incredible talk and ended about 20 minutes over. I took four full pages of notes. It was so cool! I'm so glad I was able to hear him while I was here.

We might be lucky and have another apostle come in September before we leave. There is usually one a month. So that was quite the hubbub on Sunday. It was very cool!The rest of the week was pretty much the same as usual. French, Preach My Gospel, and even more French. I feel like my French is coming along well, definitely not incredible by any stretch of the imagination but it's improving. I look at where I was four weeks ago, where I couldn't say anything or form sentences and now I can understand decently and basically communicate how I feel and what I want to say. Not completely but for the most part. I can even switch between some tenses. Which is cool. Although, there are like a million tenses so it is hard to keep them all straight and be able to conjugate for all of them. But I really do love the language. It's beautiful and very expressive. I can't wait until I can speak better. I can't wait to get to France!!

It's interesting, before I had this feeling like, "Oh I'm going to France just because I took a couple years of French in High Schooland so of course they put me with French." But it really hit me this week that there is a specific reason for me to be learning French and for me to be going to France. Waiting for the devotional on Tuesday, there was an Elder who got here last week and he is going stateside English speaking and he told me he took four years of French in high school! And then another one a different day told me that he took three. It has just been continual that all of these different missionaries say that they took French but they aren't going France speaking. It really showed me that I wasn't called to France just because I took that as my language because there are a lot of Elders who took French, there is a lot more to it and a much higher reason that I'm not fully aware of. I feel very blessed and lucky.

Everytime other Elders ask where we are going, they always say, "Not fair, that's awesome! You're so lucky!" And I really do feel very blessed and very very lucky. There are so many different French speaking missions, I had no idea. That also made me feel super lucky to acually be going to France. There is the Congo, Cote d'Ivorie, Madagascar, Switzerland, Fiji, Canada, Tahiti, and a Washington D.C. french speaking mission. I am so very privileged not only to be speaking French but to actually be going to France. I absolutely cannot wait!

The time here is so bizarre. Each day feels like an eternity but each week feels as if it is a second. I have already been here for four weeks. I am in the middle of my fifth week. I am halfway done!!! That's crazy. The next few weeks will absolutely fly and before I know it, I will be boarding a plane on my way to France!! And I'm sure I will feel so excited and so nervous and like I didn't prepare and study quite enough. Regardless, I can't wait. France better watch out because Elder Ethan Tyler Kirkpatrick is almost headed it's way!

Oh and we start teaching completely in French next Wednesday in the TRC!! We have to give the first lesson in French next week. It will be scary, there might be some awkward pauses here and there but ultimately I think it will be alright. I can at least get the message across that I need to. It may not be overly wordy, or eloquent but this gospel is all about simple and plain truths and that's exactly as much as I can do right now.

One of the members of the Branch Presidency was talking to the District Leaders during our meeting on Sunday and he said, "When the Elders get discourage, remind them that they already possess the language skills necessary to perform a mission. They can already bear their testimonies and testify of Christ. Ultimately, that is what is important and what is really needed." Of course that was kind of summarizing but I thought that was an incredible statement and very true. We can already give our testimonies and testify of the truthfulness of Christ and this gospel and that's enough to convert people.So all in all this week has been really good and time is just flying. I can't believe it is P-day again and soon enough it will be P-day again! And then before I know it again, I will be heading off to France. I am so grateful for all of you and your example to me. Thank you so much for the concern and the letters. I love you all!!! :)

Elder Kirkpatrick

Week 4

Bonjour!!
This has been a very crazy week!! I say that... and then I think... what even happened??? :) Well the biggest surprise came on Monday. My companion received a note in our mailbox that he was going to San Franciso on Thursday and the rest of us in our district hadn't recieved notes that we were going yet so he was kind of rubbing it in and then about thirty minutes later the Travel Services lady came on the intercom in our classroom and called up Elder Allen, Elder Dorton, Elder Garlock and myself to go to the Travel Services office. (The lady was Brazilian and had a very difficult time saying Kirkpatrick... it was pretty funny). So we all went up there and she told us that we were going to San Franciso the next day!!! The office had been so busy that they weren't able to get notes out to us in the mail. So we were all excited that we were going except my companion was kind of bummed because he wasn't able to go with us.

So, on Tuesday we had to be at the Travel Office at 5 in the morning so that we could make our flight. I had to get up at 4:15.... YUCK! There were a total of nine of us, four from my district and then five from other districts in our French Zone. We got on a big charter bus with all of the missionaries leaving on tuesday, and there were a ton of them, it was slightly depressing because we knew we were coming back to the MTC that night and not heading out to the field yet. We got to the airport and bought breakfast, yes mom I was in the SLC airport and in SF so no one stole my debit card :), and then our plane left at 8.

We got on this skinny little airplane that only had two seats on each side of the aisle and I was almost too tall to walk upright down the aisle because the ceiling was so low. After we made it to San Franciso, we called our van driver who would drive us around for the day. They gave us a cell phone to use! It was like some bizarre far off technology in a long-forgotten dream or something. :) Just teasing! So we called Edgar, our driver, and he took us to the consulate which is right in the middle of the city in San Fran. It was so cool driving through the city like we used to when Holly and Chad lived there. We made it to the consulate and we went through metal detectors and they checked our information and everything before they would allow us in. They called us up one at a time, the church gave us our passports back and our visa applications and our flight itinerary for when we leave! I leave on the 27th of September and we leave Salt Lake around nine and go to Atlanta and then from Atlanta we fly to Paris, on a 747!, and then from Paris we fly to Toulouse. It is going to be such a long day!!! I think it was about 19 hours of total travel time. So we leave the morning of the 27th and then make it to France on the morning of the 28th with all of the time zone changes and everything. It is going to be such a long day!! But, I absolutely cannot wait!!

So after they took our paperwork individually and they had to get finger prints from all of our fingers on both hands and our thumbs, which I thought was a bit excessive, we got back on the van and Edgar asked where we wanted to go. We all decided to go to Pier 39 and spend some time there before going back to the airport. We got to the Pier and it was so crazy!! Everyone looked at us weird and would stare at our tags. As missionaries people look at you differently, with respect, with interest, with curiosity, with disbelief, it's a very odd feeling. We definitely stuck out in our suits with all of the casual tourists. We were walking down the sidewalk to the Boudin Sourdough Bread factory... MMMMM and this, most likely homeless man, saw us and raised his beer in the air and said, "Ezra Taft Benson," really loudly. Haha it was so bizarre. We just walked away and could not help but laugh.
Another funny story, we were sitting down eating and a homeless man smoking a cigarette and missing a ton of teeth came up to us and said, "You Elders have a nice word and a good gospel. There are a lot of Christians around here who really need you guys." It was just so random. There are a lot of very different people who have been influenced by the church in different ways and although they don't currently go, they have great respect for it. It's very nice to see. We also met tons and tons of members walking around and they said Hi and talked with us quite a bit. Some even took pictures with us. We were practically celebrities. :) We always heard French everywhere! There were tons of people speaking French. We were all very surprised. We talked with some for a bit too.

Some of the other Elders went off and were trying to teach people and such and they got one rejection and came back with their tail between their legs. They said, "Let's call the driver and go back. We are so done. This is just ridiculous." I'm not sure if they were expecting people to just straight up jump into the baptismal font but they were just so discouraged about it and had horrible attitudes. We told them that there was no way we were leaving. How many opportunities would we have to be in San Francisco just walking around and enjoying it?? None. Fortunately, those Elders are going to Paris on their missions. We don't need that kind of attitude in Toulouse.

Once our driver did pick us back up, we headed to the airport. Our flight was supposed to leave around 4:30 but it got super delayed so we weren't able to leave until 6:30. They gave us meal coupons so that was nice. We finally made it back to SLC pretty late and didn't make it to the MTC until after 10. It was a very long day but it was so awesome!!!

It was really nice to get out of our little 1/4 mile block and to be in the world and talk with everyday people. None of us were ready to go back, other than the reason that we are so very unprepared to speak French with people but I still can't wait to get out there!!

The rest of the week was pretty much more of the same. Nothing overly thrilling or exciting. Just a lot more French and a lot more teaching. I still worry about the French but I look at the progress that I have made in the last three weeks and it is unbelievable. It's crazy! So in six more weeks, the difference should be incredible.

Well, I love you all very much and I hope that everyone is doing great! It has been so beautiful here and the weather has been awesome. A little raining but nice. I hope to hear from you all, have a great week!

Elder Kirkpatrick

Week 3

I'm on time this week! Here it is:

Well hello family and friends!
I honestly sit down to write out about what I have done this week and update everyone and I have no clue what I actually did.... It feels like one continuous day. I sit down in the evenings to write in my journal and can't even remember what had happened five hours previously.

I will start with last Sunday I guess. I don't remember what happened last saturday. So on Sundays during sacrament meeting, all of the missionaries have to prepare a talk in French on a certain topic and then the Branch Presidency announces from the pulpit who will be speaking, so it is rather nerve wracking. I was really hoping not to be called on because my talk wasn't very good. What do they expect? We just got into the MTC. I'm most definitely not fluent in French. Well thankfully I was not called upon and they called two older missionaries. Of what I understood, it was really good.

Then I had Branch council and then leadership training. It's weird when I go to those meetings, I'm so used to Elder Wahlquist being with me at all times that it feels odd when I go to those and he isn't with me. Then we had priesthood... which I may have dozed through some of... and then lunch and then I had to give a lesson thing in my district and that went pretty well. That evening we had a devotional by Branch President Jackman and his wife and it was really good. He really focused on how important it is to remember how specific our mission calls are to each one of us. After the devotional we watched the Joseph Smith movie and it was amazing. I had forgotten how incredible it was. It was the one made not too long and kind of outlined the life of the prophet and the restoration of the church.

On monday we hit the French language hard and just kept moving. The French is a constant working effort but we are getting further in and it's nice to be able to have some variation as far as tenses. Everything isn't in present tense anymore. We had a TE (teaching evaluation) appointment with Frere Hill on Monday as well and we worked on contacting. He totally showed us how little we know about truly contacting people out on the street. It was really good and definitely something that we really need to work on. It wasn't even in French either. We just focused on doing it in English and we still weren't very good. Oh well, it will come with time and experience. We will be able to get the hang of it. It was just a very good and real wake up call.

Tuesday was a pretty big day for me and for our district. My companion, Elder Wahlquist, really taught me a lot on Tuesday. He is a great example to me of compassion for others. I really look up to him for that. We had a devotional that evening that was really good. A member of the first quorum of the seventy came and spoke and really emphasized that we as missionaries need to focus on the Book of Mormon with investigators and it really hit everyone in the district really hard that we need to get back to work and focus on the task that we have at hand. We sometimes get caught up in talking about back home and the things before entering the MTC but we realized that we need to put those things aside.

After the devotional, we had a district meeting and I have to get it started and then facilitate the conversation. I was really worried no one would say anything but the district really opened up some incredible discussions and kept the thoughts moving. Unfortunately, I had to leave to go to another leadership training so I left them to finish up the discussion and they decided that as a district, we have been very lax on a lot of things so we need to buckle down. So they decided that we as a district need to be only speaking French by this coming Wednesday. It is going to be very very difficult but everyone was super motivated. I wasn't there when they made the decision but I'm really proud of them for wanting to take such an active role in everything. It was nice to see some apathy kind of fade out.

Hmmm wednesday. I don't think anything in particular really specific happened on wednesday. Just a lot more French. We learned passe compose, future proche, passe resent, and imparfait the last couple days and it has been crazy. I drill verbs through my head daily.

Apparently the other night both my companion and I were talking in our sleep and he kept saying oui and I was saying a bunch of random stuff in French and then I said, "I can't believe I got an A minus" and then I just started laughing..... very bizarre. I laughed when one of our roommates told us that. Oh and speaking of our roommates, one of them twisted his ankle while we were playing soccer the other day so he was in quite a bit of pain. He asked if I would help give him a blessing and annoint the oil and I was very grateful that he asked me. I was definitely a little nervous at first but I was very honored that he asked if I would do it. It was truly a blessing.

Yesterday, everyone was kind of all over the place. It's like when everyone is super pumped about a goal and then it just quickly fades, well unfortunately that's what happened yesterday. My companion and I ended up leaving the classroom in the evening and going outside so that we could get some quiet productive studying done. I think the dictrict just needs a little reminder and everything will be fine. I don't know why I always get these callings, I guess I haven't fully learned what I am supposed to out of leadership callings because I am always put into them. Lets hope I learn what I need to quickly!!

Well I hope that everyone is doing well back at home and that everything is going great! I miss all of you and Je vous aime!!!! (I love you)

Elder Kirkpatrick

Week 2

Things are easier this week than last at Ethan's house. My mom can walk into Ethan's room without tears. I noticed the vacuum marks on the carpet and knew my Mom was a bit back to normal. The house is quiet and my son looks around when Uncle Ethan is mentioned while we are visiting. It's sad to realize we pretty much have to start all over getting acquainted with Ethan when he returns. He still sounds great.

Sorry to you all, I didn't check my mail soon enough and then headed out of town. But lucky for you the out of town was super short so I'm back and here is Ethan's second letter only one day late!

Bonjour!
I cannot believe that I have been here for over a week now! I am officially no longer a "new" missionary since the new group came in on wednesday. This week has been such a blur. It feels as if I never had a life outside of the MTC, it's a very odd feeling. When a teacher has a cell phone, it's like a distant dream that one day long long ago, I too had one of those bizarre ringing and vibrating boxes. :) But seriously, I have been so busy that I haven't even thought about it, not having one hasn't even been an issue for me at all, despite what you all may have thought! There was no withdrawal period.

Ha... I am not even entireyl sure what to say... I am having a hard time remembering what has even happened this week. I should write notes before sitting down to write my email. Well, let's start with this last Sunday. It was fast Sunday and the testimonies were all very good, although I only understood bits and pieces because they were all in French. It's good to hear it non stop all the time because it is helping me pick up on things and helping my listening skills a lot. I am able to understand a lot more with context clues even when I am not entirely sure of every word that they are saying. Then for the rest of Sunday we had a lot of downtime and study time and devotionals oh and I had a couple District Leader meetings.

Monday was just more French and more learning from Preach My Gospel. Our two teachers Frére Drean and Soeur Redd are really good. I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing but Soeur Redd is very pretty. It's kind of a joke between the zone that everyone like Soeur Redd. They both have very different teaching styles. We typically have one in the morning for about hour hours and then another one in the afternoon for another four hours.

On tuesday it was a lot of the same and we focused on preparing to teach our first investigator in the TRC which was on Wednesday. The TRC is the teaching Resource Center and we go and teach an investigator, who is a volunteer from the community, and our teachers watch us from a different room from a computer monitor and then give us advice and feedback about how we did. So Tuesday was spent mostly working on that and of course French. There is so much French! We have learned to pray in French and so all of my prayers have been in French now and how to bear our testimonies in French. And we have been working on conjugating and contacting people, door approaches, contacting just out in public. It has been crazy! There is so much to learn.

So Wednesday was an incredible day! First we started with class and were interrupted by the main teacher of all the French teachers and he asked if our class would help out a little workshop that he was doing to train the teachers in how to be more effective teachers. So we went in there and was given a teacher and then an "investigator" came in and told us about himself. Then the teacher basically helped us prepare to teach the investigator and he had all of these great questions that really allowed me to understand how to teach the investigator better. It really helped. After we prepared, then the main teacher ended the activity and asked us questions about it and then asked the teachers questions and my teacher raised his hand and said what a great experience it was and he said, "My missionary is totally ready for the field." It totally took me by surprise but I was very happy to hear that, but believe me, I still have SO much work left to do!

That afternoon, our entire ddistrict went to the TRC to do contacting and then teach the first lesson. The contacting in French was pretty difficult and then our investigator was this Haitian guy and he is so difficult. He basically wouldn't even let us talk about the first lesson and we just went wherever we had to. He asked us about EVERYTHING! From the Sacrament to the Priesthoods to the Holy Ghost to the Restoration to the Book of Mormon to the way the church is organized to baptism. Basically everything that could possibly be covered was. But I came out feeling really good about the experience. We were able to bear our testimonies and get him to make a commitment. The whole experience was hard but really showed me that I can do this.... now all I need is the French!.... and definitely some more practice and learning from Preach My Gospel. But things are definitely coming along.

Thursday was just another day of classes and such and our district got together and we were singing hymns in French in three parts all acappela. It was amazing. We really have an incredible district!

So three of our Elders in the District get to go to San Francisco on Wednesday to pick up their Visas from the French Consulate. To be able to get a Visa for France you have to physically go to the consulate now. The French purposefully made it a pain in the rear to go get one but that just means that we get to have a fun day trip to San Fran! So the rest of us should be getting notice soon as well. If we don't get this next week, we will probably go the week after, it should be fun and a nice change.

So anyway my time is almost up and my laundry is all done. We get to go to the temple this afternoon after lunch, so that will be nice. Well, I hope that you are all doing well and I can't wait to hear from you all!!! Je vous aime! (I love you)

Elder Kirkpatrick