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
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