the post with the star wars

6 months in Fairmont? Okay! I won't complain! Sister Marsh and I are staying here together for another transfer everybody! YES. I am SO happy! I love this area, and I love how much I've seen it grow. The Lord's work is seriously in motion here in this beautiful place.

We had a really neat experience with an investigator this last week. We've been working with him for awhile now, and he is seriously SO awesome. Our last meeting, we taught all about baptism, and the why behind the ordinance, and the Spirit was seriously so strong... probably the strongest I've ever felt in a lesson. He had expressed that he wants to follow Christ over and over again, so at one point I looked him straight in the eye and said "E, you desire to follow the Savior, so will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" The silence was powerful. You could have cut the Spirit with a knife, it was so thick. He sat there for probably a minute, and then said "not yet." my heart broke in that instant... and then he looked me straight in the eye and said "but don't give up". So I'm taking that and running with it. We're still working with the Holy Ghost to discover what his concerns are, so pray for him!

Friday started the snow apocalypses here in the east. Don't know how many of you heard about it, but it was pretty crazy. We got 27in in Fairmont. It started at about 1 on Friday, and didn't end until about Sunday morning. We were told not to drive on Saturday, so we stayed in for the most part of the day. We also shoveled a lot of snow in our neighborhood. The roads are still pretty bad, and there's no place to put the stuff. Basically I've never seen so much snow in my life, and both of my parents would pack up and move if they lived in this stuff. It's fun/dirty/annoying/cold/ I just don't like it at all. They use "cinder" on the roads, which basically just turns the snow into an ugly black color and it looks gross, but at least we're safe! Good thing my mom sent me some pretty solid snow boots, so my feet stay warm and dry! :)

We had our last Star Wars district meeting this week, because the elder who's the Star Wars nut is getting transferred. Basically the Book of Mormon is the weapon we use to fight off Satan AKA a lightsaber 

Have a great week!

Love, Sister Kirkby

wherefore didst thou doubt?

Hello!

Transfers are coming up next week, and I hope I say in Fairmont. I've learned a lot being here, and it has a special place in my heart. The people I've met have changed my life, and I feel so blessed to be a missionary. :)

This week was pretty good. It's gotten really really cold, but not as cold as it is in my cousin Amanda's mission... buurrrrrr (-30?!) We're scheduled to get 2ft of snow on Friday, and last week it snowed a little bit too. The worst part about the snow out here is that it freezes right after it's done falling, so the roads turn into pure sheets of ice. We have a hill right next to our house that we tried to drive up, but it wasn't a very smart idea, because once we ALMOST got to the top, we started spinning out... Sis Marsh stops the car, and I get out to back her down the hill. She releases the brake, and literally slides down the hill. super fast. She's sliding, tires aren't even turning, and I'm running after her as she screams "SISTER KIRKBY! SISTER KIRKBY!" I guess the Spirit won out and told her to put the car in drive, and it helped a bit. She stopped, we parked the car, and didn't drive the rest of the night. It was, y'know, an adventure I guess.

This week in sacrament meeting we're singing with the elders, and so we've been practicing for that. It's really great to bring the Spirit into the room though music. Often Sister Marsh and I will sing during lessons, especially when the Spirit is missing, and I love the power that it brings.

Usually on Monday nights we eat dinner at the Bishops house, but last night they didn't sign up, and we were kinda bummed out, but it was whatever. We set some plans to follow up with some potential investigators, and I was just not feeling it at all. Sister Marsh has taught me a lot about faith lately, and as I prayed to have more faith like her, we knocked on a family's door we met a few weeks ago. Immediately they opened up, and they are SO elect. They have a 13 year old daughter who might as well be in her late 20's when it comes to spiritual maturity. They've gone through a lot, and they asked all the right questions that the gospel can answer. It was a miracle, and I love how faith is what brings about miracles.

We had a district meeting this past week where an elder related faith to Star Wars. He's a star wars junkie, and so he told the story of when Luke had to go to the degaba(sp?) system to learn from Yoda about the force. He crashes, and Yoda tells him to use the force to get his x-wing from out of the swamp. Luke starts to succeed, but when he opens his eyes, and after he hears R2 freak out, he looses FAITH and gives up. he then tells Yoda that he's expect to do the impossible, and Yoda chastises him, and asks why he doubts? We read in Matt 14: 25-31 essentially the same story where Peter walks on water. Peter does the Lords will, and walks out to meet him, and succeeds for a little while, but when he sees the waters raging, he looses hope and faith, and starts to sink. My favorite is how Christ reaches out immediately to help, but also asks why he's doubted. The Lord is always here for us, but we need to have FAITH in order to see MIRACLES happen. I want to challenge all of you to exercise a little bit more faith so that you can see miracles happen in your lives.

I love you all so much! Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Love, Sister Kirkby

The Simple Gospel

Hey y'all!

Okay, so it's really really cold. The humid cold is very different than the dry cold. That's all I'll say about that!

Last week in our mission presidents email, he made the statement we teach nothing but repentance and baptize converts... as I've focused on that statement, I've learned how SIMPLE THE GOSPEL IS. Basically you repent, and you'll become converted. It teaches that concept over and over and over again in the scriptures, especially in 3 Nephi 11. Jesus Christ literally came to the Americas, and taught the people repentance. As we repent, or change for the better, we become HAPPY. We must learn to forgive ourselves, and let mercy enter into our hearts.

Who wants to guess what game we played as a district last Monday?

If you guess Betrayal at the House on the Hill, you've guessed right! A missionary in the district owns it. It was pretty fun I guess (aka, my game senses were tingling all day) It was a good release, and a fun time with the district! :) Today Sister Marsh and I are going to find something cultural to do. Wish us luck!

does anyone have any questions? concerns? compliments? (just kidding on that last one, haha)

I love you all! Keep being missionaries, and keep loving the Lord!

Love, Sister Kirkby

New year, new start

Hello everyone!

New year, new start, positive happy thoughts! :)

I hope everyone was able to make some new years resolution, and will actually stick to them this time! :)

Missionary life is the best thing that's ever happened to me. As I study and learn, I feel so blessed to be a part of this gospel, and I want everyone to be able to feel the same way I feel.

A member said to us the other day "If you can't imagine the person sitting across from you in the Celestial Room of the temple, then you don't understand the Atonement" and it hit me really hard. I did a lot of self evaluation, and I came to the conclusion that it is so easy to be the type of person to quickly judge. The natural man in us goes against what God has taught, but because we are giving the Light of Christ, and because we strive to recognize it, we can improve our thoughts, and learn to TRULY love people. God loved us SO MUCH that He was willing to send His ONLY Son to suffer for us. Jesus Christ literally made it so that ALL of us could make it back to our Heavenly Father. We rejoiced of this plan when we heard of it in the Pre-Earth. Each of us chose to come here, because we knew it'd be worth it in the end. We also knew it would be hard, and so we knew we could rely on our Savior.

As we pray and study the scriptures, we apply the sacrifice our Savior made in our lives. As we have faith, repent, and come unto Him, we truly change for the better. Repentance is changing everyday, and as we repent, we know what joy is.

I'm so thankful for this gospel, and for the opportunity to share my knowledge with others in the unique place of West Virginia. I wouldn't trade my mission for anything in the world. The things I've learned have helped me to truly understand our plan. I thought I was living the gospel before my mission, but oh boy, was I wrong. There's so much to continuously learn, and I can't wait to keep learning!

I challenge all of you to study your scriptures with real intent, and to learn more of our Savior this year!

Love, Sister Kirkby