Hello everyone,

I hope that you have all had a great week and had a bit of sunshine in your life... because finally we got some sunshine. Thank goodness! We had a pretty good week this week and had a great end to the week, which I will fill you in on at the end. 

Monday after our preparation day we had a lesson with a less active that we have been trying to get ahold of for months! It was a really great lesson and he prayed with us after a couple years of not praying, it was huge!

Tuesday we had to run some errands buying train tickets in the morning for our exchange later and Elder Willett wasn't feeling good so we stayed in a bit in the afternoon so that he could try to get a bit of rest. We then headed out to Biarritz to see Maria and we had a good lesson with her and our investigator  Christian happened to be there too and so we were able to teach him as well. We then went to the Family Home Evening at the church and had a a little group of people, not too big.

Wednesday we had an exchange so we headed to Pau to meet the Elders of Tarbes. I planned to head back through Dax so that we could see our investigator Marie who lives there but our train was cancelled and had to take a bus which took an hour longer to get there and it was too late to see her so we did some contacting in town before catching our train back to Bayonne. We went directly to a lesson with Soeur Koné and her son and then went and saw Felix a less active and really had an incredible lesson with him. The spirit was very strong.

Thursday we finished our exchange and reswapped in Pau and got into Bayonne about 11. In the afternoon we did some calls and had a lesson with someone that we had contacted in the morning and he brought a friend! It was awesome! We then went and saw Dominique with the Miller family and then did some door to door and some passbacks until heading in for the night.

On Friday we had our weekly planning and then ate and had to take some DVDs to a member to give to a friend. We then headed to the church for our missionary meeting and then went and passed a couple people before going to visit Soeur OUsdale and her kids. We had a great lesson with them and then passed a couple less actives before going home.

Saturday we had English class like normal and then in the afternoon had a big block of contacting time. While contacting, we found someone and had a lesson with him but unfortunately he wouln't fix another lesson or give us his number. It was kind of a bummer. We then had a lesson cancelled and then did some passbacks until we headed to Biarritz and did some contacting before our lesson with Maria. We had a pretty good lesson with her and Raymond and they were excited to come to church on Sunday.

Sunday at church little by little our investigators started coming to church and people that we didn't know that weren't members starting showing up and by the time sacrament meeting started we had 7 people there!! It was incredible! We were really blessed. After church we headed home and ate and then went out and visited Frère Vierat and his kids and then headed back into town to do some contacting and then had dinner with the Seube Family. It was all in all a good day.

So we definitely had a good week and were quite blessed and I think this next week seems to be looking like it will be a good one as well. I hope that you are all doing well. Know that I love you and hope that you are all doing well! Take care and hope to hear from you soon! I only have two months left but that doesn't mean that you don't need to write me. :)

Elder Kirkpatrick

Hello Everyone,
Well there is a huge giant mega surprise this week.... are you ready?.... I am not sure if you really are but I am going to give it to you anyway... it's..... Raining..... again..... Yup, that was all. It has been raining on and off this week again but the last three days have just been pretty much non stop rain. When I first got to Bayonne I was very impressed with how green it was, now I understand why it is so green. This week has been another pretty busy week even though we had quite a few things fall through, including quite a few lessons. Which was a bummer but things still worked out.

So on Tuesday we had a lesson set up with a lady that lives in Dax which is a city about 30 minutes away from Bayonne so we planned to go out there in the afternoon for the lesson and then work a bit there for awhile, passing old investigators and less actives. We got out there and right off the bat, the investigator had forgotten and wasn't there so she said that she would call us in a little bit when she got back. So we went out looking for people and doing some contacting. We passed by at least 10 to 12 people and only one of them actually still lived there (it has been about 6 years since there were missionaries in Dax.) She never ended up calling us back so we needed to go back to Bayonne so we took the train to headback and at the last minute Frère Seube told us that he wouldn't be able to do the lesson for Family Home Evening so we had to take a bit of time to plan for that. We were supposed to have a nice turn out for family night but in the end, we weren't as numerous but we still had two investigators there so that was good.

Wenesday we went and saw Soeur Koné in the morning so that we could teach her son Alban. Then we ate and headed out to see a less active who wasn't there, so we went and visited Maria and Ramond. We had a decent lesson with them and then tried to repass the less active but they still weren't there. So we went and did some porting before heading in for the evening.

Thursday we had District Meeting and unfortunately the Sisters couldn't come because one of them was sick. So it was just us, the Elders from Tarbes and the Senior couple. After the District Meeting we went with the Senior Couple back to their city, Mont-de-Marsan, which is quite a long drive and then spent the rest of the day with them because I had to do a baptismal interview for a little girl that they were teaching. The interview was at 5 and then after that we headed back with them and ate dinner and spent the night at their apartment because it would be a bit too much for them to take us all the way back to Bayonne and then go all the way back up to Mont-de-Marsan, so we had a nice slumber party with the senior missionaries! It was really nice.

Friday the Johnstons, the senior couple, drove us back home and then we did our weekly planning. In the afternoon we made some phone calls and passed some people before our lesson with Jean-Pascal. We had a decent lesson with him but he hadn't read in the brochures or the Book of Mormon so it was a bit frustrating. After that, we went with Dominique to the Family Miller's house and had a good lesson with her. She even committed to going to church on Sunday and was really excited about it. She is making some small progress. By the time we got done there, Frère Miller really likes to talk, we headed home for the evening.

Saturday we had English class in the morning and only ended up having one member that was there and no investigators, so that was a bummer but it turned out ok. Afterwards, in the afternoon, we did some calls and passed a whole bunch of less actives and old investigators and then did some door to door in the evening and met a great family but they wouldn't set up a lesson with us so we gave them a card and pray that they will contact us! We then passed a couple more people before heading in for the night.

Sunday we had church in the morning and Dominique came!! It was great. Unfortunately I think the rain scared eveyone else away, investigators and members, there weren't too many people there. After church we went with The family Miller and Dominique to the Family Hegoas' house to have a meal. The meal was great but the situation was a little weird without really going into details. By the time that we finally got out of there and started heading back, because they live a ways away, it was almost 6!! Way too late! We then went to see Frère Vierat and had a lesson with him and then we ate crepes with him, as usual and we felt like we were absolutely going to explode!! We then headed home for the evening and then I had a bunch of calls to make for the District and then I was out cold! Ha, it was a long and rather tiring week.

I hope that all of you are doing well and that your week was a success. No matter what happened, it is always a success if you truly look at it correctly. I love you all and I am always happy each time I get to hear from you. I hope you all have a great week this week and put your faith in the Lord!

Elder Kirkpatrick

L to R Elder Miller, Kirkpatrick, Tulley, Willett

My parents received this picture by email  on Thursday.  After district mtg today, Elder Kirkpatrick and his companion Elder Willett came back to Mont de Marsan to do a baptism interview for a young girl in that branch.

Hey!

I hope that everyone is doing well and they had a great Mother's Day!! Mine was great because I was able to talk to my parents and my sister Holly for the last time before I will see everyone in person. Crazy right?? I cannot believe how fast things are going! I don't know if you have felt like these last two years have flown by, but I sure felt like they have!

So Tuesday after doing emails, we had a lesson with our investigator Jean-Pascal and he had read in the Book of Mormon and made some progress so that was good. It is a little interesting so I am not sure how far it will go with him but we will continue to see. Then in the evening we had our family home evening and we had one investigator there which was good.

Wednesday morning we went and saw Soeur Koné and her son as usual and then in the afternoon we had a bunch of lessons fixed and then one right after another... they all fell through. We ended up doing a lot of porting and contacting and then we were able to have actually a pretty good lesson with Maria and Ramond and she agreed that she really wanted to come to church on Sunday, so that was great.

Thursday we did some passbacks and contacting and in the afternoon had a lesson with Dominique that went well. She is making good progress and understanding better now. It is really great. We then did some porting and we were able to have some great conversations with quite a few people. We found a good area.

Friday we did our weekly planning and then were supposed to have our missionary meeting but it ended up falling through. So we went out to Biarritz to do some work out there and we did some passbacks and met quite a few people and ended up getting another lesson in with Maria and then we visited a member and then did some porting before heading home.

Saturday we had English class in the morning and then taught Stephane right after. He keeps telling us that he really wants to be baptized but that he is trying to take his time and figure out when best it will be to do it. So we continue to pray that he will keep moving in that direction. We then went in to eat and we had to wait at our apartment for our propriator to get there because our hot water was broken and it needed to be fixed so they finally got there and said we were going to have to wait until Monday for it to get fixed. Ugh! So we left and had a lesson with Dominique and then got a call saying a plumber was stopping by to see what he could do. Thankfully they were able to fix it enough that we had hot water again. (But they did come back this morning to replace a part in the hot water tank but we should be all good now!) Then in the evening another lesson fell through so we passed some people and did a little bit of porting. 

Sunday was great and we were able to have quite a few people at church which was great! Afterwards, we went home and ate and then headed out to our Ward Mission Leader's home so that we could use Skype to talk to our families. I talked first and was able to see my parents and my sister Holly, and it was so great to be able to see them. We then had our meeting with him and then ate with them and then Elder Willett skyped his family. By the time it was finished we headed home for the night. 

We had a great week. A lot of things seemed to fall through but all in all it was pretty good. We are looking at another busy week ahead and it is going to be great and full of miracles! I love you all and am so grateful for you! Keep loving life!


Elder Kirkpatrick

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well and that you have had a great week. I am very sorry that this email is coming in a day late but yesterday I ended up having to stay in Tarbes with the Elder there because my companion was coming in so late. SO that is why I am doing my emails now. This last week has been so crazy busy, it was great!

Tuesday we had multiple things that were set up that ended up falling through so we did quite a bit of contacting and it was really cool because we ended up finding three new people and a less active that hasn't been to church in 12 years that really has the desire to come back. In the evening we ate with the family Miller and had a very nice time with them. Each time I am with the members it is incredible to hear their testimonies and their conversion stories and I am always impressed in the way that the Lord always works.

Wednesday we did an exchange with Tarbes and I went out there with Elder Tulley. We had a great day in finding new investigators with not too much success but still we were able to plant some seeds and then ended in the day in a lesson with a recent convert.

Thursday was our last District Meeting all together for this transfer and it was truly a great one. The Sisters and the Senior Couple were in tears during one of the activities that we did. I felt really impressed that we needed to each look at the gifts and talents that we each have and express them together and there truly was such a great spirit there. On the way home we stopped by Dax, which is in our area and there was a lady that had been contacted there a few weeks prior and so we stopped by at her restaurant and had such an incredible lesson with her!! She said that she even wants to go to church and she is so excited to read the Book of Mormon. It was such a miracle. When we finally made it back to Bayonne, we had a lesson fixed that didn't work out and then we went and saw Madame Desclos and had a really good lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation. She really uinderstood and believes that is is true.

Early Friday morning, we got a call from President and he said that Elder Peart was leaving and that I was receiving a new companion named Elder Willett. Elder Peart was sad to be leaving but it is always nice to change after a bit of time. We did our planning in the morning and then in the afternoon had our meeting with the ward missionaries and then had a pretty good lesson with Dominique about the Sabbath Day. She understood well and wants to come to church. We then went and saw the less active that we had found a couple days earlier named Felix. We had a really good lesson with him, he is in the middle of trying to finish reading the Doctrine and Covenants for the very first time. We then went and had a lesson with Jean-Pascal and talked about the importance of reading and praying. He understood well but still had some difficulties putting it into practice. We then quickly hurried to see the recent convert Pascal and watched the Joseph Smith movie with him and he really enjoyed it. 

Saturday in the morning we were supposed to have a lesson with a new investigator but he wasn't home so we headed to English Class and had a couple people there. We ate really fast and then headed out to a lesson with Christian, an investigator that was taught once and then he left. We had a pretty good lesson and engaged him for baptism!! We then tried to see Felix again but didn't have a ton of time so he walked with us to the bus and chatted while we waited. We then headed out to Biarritz so that Elder Peart could say goodbye to a less active named Christophe and then we went to see Maria and Ramond so that Elder Peart could do a final lesson with him. With then headed out to eat with Frère Vierat and then headed home so Elder Peart could start packing.

So Sunday we had a bunch of lessons set up for the afternoon and evening but then we find out that we have to go out to Tarbes Sunday night so that Elder Peart can travel early Monday morning since he was going across France. So we ended up having to cancel our lessons.... Which was a bummer. Church was great though and there were tons of new people and so many great testimonies. It was an awesome meeting. Right after church we went to the train station to get out tickets and as we are printing them off a man comes up to us and says Hi Elders. Come to find out, he and his wife were in Spain and headed up to visit France but they had some trains problems and were stuck in Bayonne for a few hours. He was a mission President in Mexico a few years ago and so they love missionaries obviously. They ended up taking us out to lunch.... we figured it was ok since he was a mission president before. Ha!! We then headed back home so that Elder Peart could pack and then we headed to take a train to Tarbes for the night.

Woah! It was such a busy week! We were truly blessed though with some many great things and lots of lessons. Starting a new transfer is crazy and things keep going faster and faster. The time is ticking but there is much to do!! I am so excited for these last few months to see some miracles! Have a great week for all of you and know that I love you very very much! Ciao!
Elder Kirkpatrick

New Pictures of Elder Kirkpatrick!

Hello Everyone,

I hope that everyone is dry.... because I am still wet!!!! We had another week of rain and I am truly praying that it is over. It poured this morning but now is beautiful and I am hoping that it will stay that way. I hope you are all doing well and that you have all had a great week.

 

Tuesday was a pretty busy day. It started out having nothing much planned but we truly ended up being blessed. In the afternoon we had a lesson with a Polish family and it went pretty well. There is obviously a language barrier but we have materials in Polish and that helped. After, we were doing some passbacks of old investigators and found one who let us in and we chatted for a bit. I am not sure how far it will go but he was nice and willing to see us again. We then did some porting and met some very nice people although no one was interested. In the evening we passed a less active family and were able to have a great lesson with them. It started out looking like a long boring day but it ended up being busy and really good.

 

Wednesday we were supposed to see Madam Desclos in the morning but she wasn't there. In the afternoon we saw Sister Konè and then saw Domonique and had a pretty good lesson with her. Afterwards we, again, tried to see Madame Desclos but she wasn't available, she was actually sleeping, she had a surgery recently and was still recovering. We then headed out to Biarritz to visit Maria and Rarmond and we had a pretty good lesson with them. Raymond is still as crazy as ever.

 

Thursday we had to wake up SUPER early to catch a train at 6:20 to head up to Bordeaux for a Zone Meeting and interviews with President. It was great to see everyone and the meeting was awesome. It was sad to have my last interview with President Murdock since he finishes the 1st of July. We were supposed to be home by 6. 30 that evening but we had an emergency problem with our train and didn't end up getting to Bayonne until 8:30 and then home around 9... It was a long day.

 

Friday we went out to Cambo-les-bains, a town about 20 minutes outside of Bayonne to eat and do some service for a family in the ward. They have a beautiful home right at the base of a big hill and it is right at the feet of the beginning of the Pyrenees, it is beautiful!! This is really a beautiful area. After the service, we headed back into town and got in about 6. We cleaned up and headed out to see Pascal, the recent convert, and had a good lesson with him to finish off the day.

 

Saturday we had English class and then we taught Stephane right after. He says that he has really been thinking of baptism and is trying to choose a date personally, so that was truly a tender mercy! We then went in and ate and then saw Domonique and then tried to see a less active who wasn't there and then headed to Biarritz to eat with Frère Vierat and his sons.

 

Sunday was a good Sunday, we had three people there which is always great! We then came in, ate, did our weekly planning and then headed out to see Jean-Pascal again. We had a pretty good lesson with him and things seem to move slowly with him. We then passed some people which took a while with the bus schedule on Sunday and then made a bunch of phone calls to fill our coming week.

 

We had a good week, even with all the rain. I hope everyone is doing well. I love you all and am so grateful for you. Continue loving life and working hard in all of your pursuits! In the Lord, anything is possible! Have a great week, hope to hear from you soon!

 

Elder Kirkpatrick