Elder Kirkpatrick has been transferred so please make note of his new address to the right!


Hello Everyone,

Well, as I am sure that you have guessed, I am no longer in Aix-en-Provence. I was transferred yesterday to a city called Bayonne. I spent over 8 lovely hours in the train traversing the French country side to head down to the farthest western corner of Southern France as possible. I am right on the Atlantic Ocean and just North of Spain. It is beautiful and green. It may not be the Mediterranean, but the Atlantic isn't so bad either. :) I am sure that you are all imagining that I was a bit disappointed to leave AIx-en-Provence, and that is very true. When I first received the call, I was quite bummed to be honest, but we had a last weekend miracle before I left that allowed me to leave happy and peaceful with the work that I had done there. As I talk about the week, you will definitely be able to see what miracle I am talking about.

Tuesday we did some contacting in the morning and then saw Sero in the afternoon. We watched the restoration with him and he seemed to enjoy it. We talked about how important it is to ask specific questions and to really ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if he restored the church. He said that he would pray about it and that he would come to the baptism on Sunday for Anita, the investigator of the other Elders in Aix. After that we did some contacting and passing people before heading to see Irma and her daughters, we started teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them but only made it to repentance, it was still a good lesson though.

Wednesday we went and visited a less active and shared a thought with her and her less active daughter, who we didn't know was a member before. We then went to a park to meet with some members who wanted to have a picnic to celebrate my birthday from Sunday. It was very nice of them and one of their friends, that we know quite well, was there as well so we were able to share a nice spiritual thought with them. We then did some studies and then did a bit of contacting before heading to English Class. We had one "English Class Student" who was there and were then able to share a spiritual thought with them.

Thursday was a crazy busy day! We had our District Meeting in the morning which went rather well and then I did an exchange with Elder Wolfart and we were super busy! We left after we ate and then headed to a lesson with a new investigator named Michael and had a really good first lesson with him. We then saw Eva and taught the Word of Wisdom. It went really well. She said that since Soeur Pichon mentioned that to not drink tea was a commandement, she hadn't had any to drink. It was awesome. I asked her how she had liked church the last Sunday and she said that she really liked it. I told her, I know that you felt the spirit Eva and that you know that these things are true. She said yes and that she was really feeling like she was going to become a member of the church. On top of all that, she told me that she wanted me to baptize her since, I contacted her and have taught her from the beginning. I told her that it was possible that I would be transferred the next week and she said that she was going to pray that I wouldn't leave. Obviously the lesson ended in a good note! We then went and saw Pilar, who continues to have a lot of struggles, headed to our meeting with the ward mission leader, who was equally happy with the news from Eva and then we hustled to go and see Irma and her daughters and got a little off topic from the lesson with their questions but it was still a good lesson.

Friday I got the call and quite frankly, I wasn't very happy. I started letting people know and others were a bit bummed too and Eva was quite upset. I told her that I didn't want to push her or even influence her in any way but I proposed to her that if she wanted to, she could get baptized on Sunday with Anita. She said that she would think about it and asked if we could see each other on Saturday. The rest of the day, we didn't have too much going on, we did our studies, some pass backs, some contacting, etc. It was a little slow.

Saturday we saw Eva in the morning and she got to institute and then said, I made my decision and I want to get baptized tomorrow. WOAH! We still had quite a few things to teach, so we took some time to finish the lessons, and then we asked her the baptismal questions to make sure that she was ready. She shared some incredible spiritual experiences that she had felt in the last week and it was so incredible! She was so ready. We scheduled her interview with the Zone Leaders for a bit later that day and then we started going through the logistics for the baptism. In the afternoon, she had her interview and Elder Baret said it was great, not any problems at all. She was so ready! We then hurried home, ate, and then headed back to the church to start making some cookies for the baptism and then I had the interview for the other baptism, Anita. She was also ready and so we were all very excited. By the time that was all done, we went home and were pooped. I didn't even have time to start packing!

Sunday was incredible! I gave my leaving testimony, it was honestly quite sad and a bit difficult for me. The actual baptism after church went wonderfully. Eva and Anita were so very happy. I included some pictures, so I hope that you enjoy them. Eva even brought her Mom to the baptism and her mom was so happy for her. After the baptism I said bye to everyone, Eva, Jinane, Sero, all of the members... it was really hard to be honest. But I knew that one day I would be leaving so it had to be done. After the baptism we had a little meal with some of the members and then we went home so that I could pack. I packed for a bit and then we headed out to see Pilar because I hadn't been able to get ahold of her because her phone was off. We stopped by and I gave her the news, she was quite sad. We had one last visit with her and then headed out to say an official Goodbye to Irma and her daughters. I took a photo and then headed home to finish packing... it was a long night!

Monday was such a long day. I got up early to take a bus from Aix to Marseille and then got in the train to Toulouse abd then took the train from Toulouse to Bayonne. I left Aix at 7:15 in the morning and got into Bayonne at 4:45. I was dead tired... and am still a bit tired. Ha

Well I hope that you are all doing well and that you have all had a great week. I love you all and know how grateful I am for your support and your prayers. Have a great week and hope to hear from you soon!

Elder Kirkpatrick

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well and have enjoyed your last week. Ours was great. Incredibly busy but great!

Tuesday started the week off busy but going directly to Gap in the morning. I had to do an exchange with the Elders up there, so we spent two days up there, since it takes so long to get there. We left at 9 in the morning and got in at 11:30. We ate and then went a worked. We taught one lesson and then did some contacting and porting, etc for the rest of the day. Gap is an interesting city and rather small so things move slower, including the work. But it was still a good day.

Wednesday, also was spent in Gap. We ended up meeting some cool people and finding some new people to teach, which was great. We stayed there until about 6 in the evening and then we got in to Aix at almost 9, so we just headed in for the evening.

Thursday, we had another exchange but this time with the Zone Leaders. So I was with Elder Heywood and Elder Crossman went with Elder Baret. We had a great lesson with Eva in the morning, who we hadn't seen for a few weeks and she was doing great. We watched the restoration video and there was a great spirit. We then headed back to pick up my birthday package from the FedEx person because they left it at a Pizza Place next to our apartment since we weren't home.... I didn't want it to sit there too long. Ha! Elder Heywood then wanted to take me out for my birthday as a pre-birthday thing. So we went to a good restaurant in town and had some steak and then I had some crème brulée for dessert... Mmmm! We then did some sweet contacting and fixed some rendez-vous with some coold people on the street. We had to go to RCM, our meeting at church, and then we stayed for another meeting at church... so it was an exciting evening in meetings.

Friday we finished our exchange and Elder Crossman came back with me. We had a day full of lessons. Even though only about half of them actually worked, it was still great! We went and saw Claire in the morning. She still likes to talk A LOT but we had a good discussion and she is coming to church next week. She is starting to become more and more open. We then ate and tthen had two lessons fall through and then we saw Pilar. She is doing well just very tired trying to do with her health stuff and moving apartments. The one she found she isn't taking anymore and she isn't sure what she is going to do now. We then headed to see Irma and Erica and Jennifer and we had a pretty good lessons with them. We even got the daughters to agree to come to church on Sunday!

Saturday was pretty busy. We had our weekly planning in the morning and then went out and taught Sero. We were a little bit worried on where is engagement level actually was but he is doing great! He said, "If I wasn't really interested to continue and to know, I would have stopped a long time ago." We went through the baptismal questions and the only one that he isn't sure about is that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he restored the church. So we refixed his baptismal date for the 7th of April and he is excited to work towards that. We then went back to the apartment to eat and do a little studying. Fang Fang had told us that she needed us to move a fridge out of her apartment for her so we headed there to do that and we get into the lobby of her building and she says, "Sorry to have made you come for nothing but I wanted to give Elder Kirkpatrick his birthday presents." It was super nice of her to do that. She had filled a box full of pastries from the best place in town and then she gave me a beautiful tie (that I am wearing in the pictures) and a super nice card. I was so surprised and so happy. That was very very nice of her. We couldn't stay too long because we had another lesson that we hurried to. Unfortunately, the person was running late so we had to cancel because we needed to meet Eva at the Bus Station so that we could go to the Pichon Family's house for dinner with her. We had a great time with Eva over there! She gets along so great with the family and we had an awesome lesson that Elder Crossman prepared! The spirit was truly there, and I believe that she felt it. She said that she was going to come to church the next day as well.

Sunday, we went to church not being 100 percent sure who was going to be there. At first there was no one and then right before the second hour Eva showed up and then right before the third hour, Irma, Erica and Jennifer showed up! They all came wishing me a happy birthday and even brought me a way too nice present. At church the spirit was so strong and I know that Eva felt something. It was incredible! I feel like she is so very close. After church we chatted a bit with people before going in to eat and then headed out to a lesson. The guy didn't show up so we went and did a bit of contacting before heading home to do our daily studies. After studies, we went to the Kook Family's house to have dinner and to celebrate my birthday and it was incredible! Some of the attached photos are from the party. We had such a great time and they even had an enomous "foret noir" cake that was absolutely delicious! We ate so much but had such a wonderful time! I was seriously spoiled for my birthday here. The members are way too nice, it was a great way to end a great week.

I love you all and am so grateful for your love and your examples for me. Know that I love you and that I am excited to be able to see you all again fairly soon. Have a great week and "always look up!"

Elder Kirkpatrick

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well. This was quite a week of some interesting things that happened. It was still a good week just a little interesting. For one, Elder Hughes is actually no longer my companion. He was emergency transferred to the office in Geneva. I will go into the details and explain why a little bit later.

Monday after our preparation day, we went to see Adilia and were able to have a good 1st lesson with her about the restoration. She was a bit uncertain to take a Book of Mormon but she accepted it.

On Tuesday we did some contacting in the morning and then we made a ton of phone calls in the afternoon. It was a little bit of a slow day with lessons but it was good and we went to see Irma and Erica. While we were there, we had a call from President Murdock and so we let him leave us a message. He said to call him back so we stayed a few minutes later and not even ten minutes and he calls us again! So I answered and asked if he could talk to both of us at the same time, I said we were at a members and asked if we could call him back and he said no later than ten minutes... I started freaking out a little bit. We hurried and left and called him when we were outside. Turns out that a missionary in Lyon got sick and needed to return home so his companion was without a companion and so was coming with me and Elder Hughes was going to the office because apparently President was going to send him to the office anyway next transfer. He just got sent a few weeks early. And then he received notice that he was leaving the very next day and that my companion was coming in. So we ran home and started the frenzy of packing for Elder Hughes.

I can honestly say that I was a bit bummed that he was leaving. So many good things were happening and we get along so well!! But that is what happens sometimes. So we spent the morning of wednesday getting ready and quickly saying bye to people. He was a bit bummed to leave too. We went and picked up my companion and then we went and taught Jinane and had a decent lesson with her. We aren't entirely sure what else to do with her at this point... we have hit a bit of a wall. But we continue to push forward. We then tried to see Pilar but she wasn't there, which was kind of frustrating. We then went in to finish doing some studies and then went with the others to eat with a family in the ward and we ate SO much. But it was absolutely delicious.

Thursday we had District Meeting and it went really well. Everyone participated and it was great. We then went as a District to a Mexican food restuarant and then we went in to do studies. I forgot to tell you that my new companion, Elder Crossman, is only in his second transfer so we have a lot of extra study time! We then headed down to Institute and taught two new investigators, Laura and her friend Karen and they are both super!! We then went back to finish our studies and then went to our meeting that got cancelled and then passed by to see Irma and her daughters so that they could meet my new companion.

Friday we did weekly planning, studies and then some street meeting before meeting Antonio. He is doing well and things are finally starting to look up for him. We then did some contacting before going to our meeting for institute. We left that meeting and did a little door-to-door until we went in for the evening.

Saturday was quite a good but busy day. We did some studies and then went to see Claire. She talked a lot, like before, but it was a bit more centered and she said she would be coming to church in a couple weeks when she is free on Sunday. We then ate super fast and headed to a lesson with a new investigator, unfortunately, we couldn't get ahold of him or find where he was at. We then went to institute to meet with Sero. We had a pretty good lesson with him and he said that he would be at church on Sunday. We headed out to see Pilar and she was about 40 minutes late getting to her apartment. She found a new apartment and wanted to show it to us, so we went with her to that but unfortunately, the place wasn't open and she couldn't get the key to look at it. We then did a little bit of contacting before returning home.

Sunday Elder Crossman went to Manosque with Elder Baret and I stayed in Aix. We had Pilar and Sero who came to church and it was great. Elder Heywood and I had lunch and did a little bit of work before the others came back. Elder Crossman and I went in and finished studies, went to see Irma and her daughters and then headed back to do the last bit of studies and then I had calls to make for the District. It was a good day.

This was a good week, even with some of the crazy things that happened. I am excited for these next two weeks in Aix and for what will be ahead of me. Thank you all for everything that you do. I love you and wish you all the best. Have a great week!!

Elder Kirkpatrick

New post to the mission website!

There is a new slideshow posted on the mission blog from the recent Zone Conference. Click HERE to check it out!

Hello Everyone,

Wow, what a week! Again, things continue to progress and work is moving along, I love it here in Aix, I never want to leave! Ha! Unfortunately, at one time or another, I am going to have to leave. I just need to continue to make the best of the time that I have here.

Last Monday, after preparation day, we went and did Family Home Evening for the Young adults and talked about the Book of Mormon, and gave each one a Book of Mormon to dedicate for a friend, it was really good.

On Tuesday, we did some contacting in the morning and then in the afternoon, we had a lesson with Jinane and it was one of the most incredible lessons we have ever had with her. The spirit was so strong and she actually accepted a baptismal date. She isn't sure how she is going to tell her mother about it but she has one, the lesson was simply incredible! We then went in to eat quickly and then headed out to see Pilar and we had a good lesson with her as well. She is doing well, still have some difficulties but doing well. She has some great contact with members. We then went and visited Erica and Irma and Jennifer and had a nice spiritual thought that we shared with Irma, she is doing quite well.

Wednesday we did a bit of contacting in the morning and then went and saw our investigator Antonio, he was really in a lot of distress with his moving to get out of his apartment and it was a complete mess! We had a rendez-vous later but told him that we could help him later in the day if he wanted with some members. So we left to eat and then did a bit of contacting before going to see Sero. We had a really good lesson with him and he said that he was going to come to church on Sunday and fast with us! We then hurried, changed our clothes and went to help Antonio with 3 members of the church. We got a lot done but it was such a mess that it still looked like barely anything was accomplished.

Thursday we helped him again early in the morning for awhile and then came back and did some studies, ate, and then did some contacting and such until our missionary meeting with the ward and then did some contacting and headed home, it wasn't too exciting but it was still a good day.

Friday was Zone Conference and it was so great to see all of the missionaries. They have changed the format of Zone Meetings a little now and it is actually really cool. It was a really good conference. I then left with Elder Wulfenstein to go to Vitrolles to do a baptismal interview. The baptismal interview went really well and their investigator is really quite cool. We then did some porting until going in for the evening.

Saturday we did studies in the morning and then finished our exchange. We had a lesson with a new investigator Claire, who is catholic but having a lot of doubts, she is very intelligent, and that actually gives her a hard time to believe completely. We then hurried and went to a rendez-vous with Jinane where she already started to address some concerns that she is having about the baptismal date. Sometimes it is like a roller coaster with that girl. We normally would have had a new investigator cater too but it got pushed to Sunday which was alright because we were rushed to get a dessert before meeting the ZOne leaders to go and eat with a family. It was a busy but great day!

Sunday was great. Jinane was at church, as well as Pilar. Normally Sero was supposed to come but didn't show up. Not entirely sure why. After church, we went with Jinane to the Baehrel's house and had a nice meal and had a nice lesson with her about Joseph Smith. She is still not at all sure and has a lot of doubts. After that we went to meet the new investigator we missed on Saturday. Her name is Irina and here for an internship, she is from Romania. We had an awesome lesson with her!! We then went home and planned and then I did some district calls. It really was a great week.

I love you all and appreciate all of you. Have a great week and remember that I love you! Au revoir!

Elder Kirkpatrick