Changes

Hello Mis Amigos,

The call has come. I am actually getting transferred. hehe. I am going to a city 2 hours south of Edmonton called Red Deer. Oh yeah, and I got called as a Zone Leader. Crazy eh! My two boys are staying in the city, both training. I am going to be a grandpa. The other Spanish elder is going to Red Deer with me and opening Spanish down there. So I am going to be teaching in English now. I got demoted he he. But I am excited to see a difference in the way missioanry work is done. My new companion's name is Elder Vega (go figure) and he is from California. He doesn't speak Spanish like his name portrays. I am really sad to leave my greenie area after like 18 months ja ja. The people here have become my second family and I have seen a lot of success here. I have grown up here and the miracles have changed my life. I am ever grateful to the Lord for the time that I got to spend here and the people that I have been able to meet. They have changed me, and I am blessed to say that they were changed by the Spirit through me.

I know with changes comes a mix of emotions. But you guys know me, I am ready to accept the things the Lord has in store for me. I am really anticipating seeing Elder Schubbert in a couple of tranfers. Training a new missionary really makes you grow more than most things on the mission. Apparently the ward were I am going is super sweet and they some cool people they are teaching. I am sad to not teach in Spanish. I dont really know how to teach in English. But should be good. I have been blessed to see my language skills grow a lot in the last few months. I am going to find some members to keep practicing with. I don't want to loose this gift the Lord has given me. I know if I have a desire to keep it up the Lord will help me.

But we got to teach Jesus this week. We taught him L3 the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We asked him where he thought he was in the path. He said he has a lot of faith so he decided that he is on the repentance step. We then really proposed our purpose and told him that we are there to help him to that. So he is making progress and what is really interesting is that he is going through some tough times with his family and things back home. It is amazing to me how people are willing to change so much more if they are going through hard things. I guess thats just the way that the Lord prepares people. I have had a great time teaching him and I have learned a lot. We also taught Hugo and read Alma 32 with him. The example of planting the seed really helps Spanish people visualize their desire to want to change. He loved it, and we asked him to get baptized. Unfortunately he declined because he said that as of this moment he feels the same with us and the Testigos de Jehovah. We asked him if he had a desire to find out if this felt better. He agreed and we both bore testimony that that is what he will find. It was really powerful. I love when the Spirit takes over. Being a facilitator of the Spirit is such a blessing, because "both are edified".

Oh ya! On Thursday we got like 1.5 ft of snow. We spent almost all the day shoveling snow. It was really bad. the worst snowfall this year. And attachted is photo of a wreck that happened outside of Edmonton and 100 people were injured. Glad that we are all able to stay safe. But just crazy to see so much snow. Probably wont see that much ever again in my life.

Next time you get a letter I will be in Red Deer. So, so long to Edmonton Spanish North. Where I learned Spanish and changed who I was. On to new discoveries and opportunities.

Mucho Amor,

Elder Kipp

¡Hola Amigitos!

Hey, how ya going? What's it doing? (said that to someone on the street this week. Elder Schubbert gives me a hard time about it)

We had a good week. Always do, even if it is a tougher one. You are somehow always content with what is going on in your mission if you are trying and doing what you are supposed to. Great thing to learn in life. So for everyone to know, we got hit by a gnarly snowstorm. We got a little over a foot of snow in the past 4 days. A lot of shoveling. It makes us stronger. he he The city is just blanketed with a white snow. It really is beautiful.

But we met some cool people this week. Karen is from El Salvador and the sisters found her. She is a great investigator because she says if she is confused about something. Usually when we teach people for the first time they just are like "oh, yeah I get it" and they nod their heads. But she is really open and wants to understand what she is learning. So we are excited to keep teaching her. She is a little hesitant because her boyfriend is Muslim and she doesnt want to start problems and she just got pregnant. You can tell that she is scared and is looking for God. I am excited for her to feel the light of the gospel. We are also meeting with Jesus again. He has been reading again, and he said, "I have temptations to go to church". We said that is a great temptation to give into. He is a funny guy and laughs at me how much we invite him to be baptized. He is a really open guy.

 

We had a really great zone conference and I learned a lot. We learned how asking questions can sometimes be the best way to teach. Because it allows the student to really think for themselves what the answer might be. It really gives a great time for the Spirit to come and teach them something. Also we talked about helping the people we are teaching have daily contact with Heavenly Father. We are trying to really emphasize daily scripture study and prayer. It really makes the difference in the world today. If we can have daily contact with our Heavanly Father, we can have a daily reminder of the path that we are on and the importance of staying faithful.

Luv You guys.
Elder Kipp

¡Hola!

Buenos Dias mis amigos,

We are doing great this wonderful cloudy day in Edmonton. Spring is on its way! Everything is starting to melt, and it is beautiful. If I was not going to BYU I would consider staying up here for school. The University of Alberta is beautiful and well renouned. I never thought that I would say that I love Edmonton. I truly do love it and I am so excited for the summer. BBQ's and mosquitos. ha ha

We received a new investigator this week. The sister missionaries were walking down the street and a lady stopped them in front of the church and asked them, "I would like to know about this church, do you know anything about it?" They were stunned and said of course. So they gave her a church tour and taught her about some doctrine. It turns out that she is from Mexico and is really ready to learn. We are excited to start teaching her. It is amazing to me how the Lord places people that he is preparing in your path. I am also convinced that if we are being obedient and sacrificing what we can, the Lord places more opportunities in our path. We just have to have the wisdom to look around and recognize them.

We also started another English class on jueves. A few people came including someone that we used to teach and also the family that just moved here from Spain. We are hoping that this can be another tool to get new people to teach. People really want to learn English. It is really funny because as soon as we walk in we say that they can't speak anymore Spanish. But we are finding ourselves slipping because we speak Spanish too. It is really hard for all of us to only speak English. But it is a great program that helps them in their work and everything that the need to do throughout the week. Like in school, at the bank, and at the store. We even throw some church stuff in there to spark their interest more.

We also had a pretty powerful lesson last night with a less active guy and his nephew. Elder Schubbert and I are really starting to find our groove in teaching. His Spanish has gotton a lot better and he has a lot more self confidence. It is really good to see that the Lord is preparing him to train. But the Spirit was really strong and we asked him "If you knew that all these things were true, would you get baptized?" The Spirit really hit him and he said "Claro". So that is the sign that he wants to be taught more. I love asking people that. Because the Spirit backs up that question more than most.

I love it up here more than ever and I am excited for what the next months hold in store. I send you my love and prayers.

Mucho Amor,

Elder Kipp

¡Boom Vatos!

Hey vatos,

I can't believe that it snowed in Arizona. I am stunned. Well I guess that is just the way it goes. Life would not be exciting if there were no surprises. I love the oppurtunity to change and learn in this life. We are given this surprising life to help us realize the happiness that can be found here and in the life to come.

So we are living comfortably in our new pad and we are trying to keep it super clean because it is a member's house. It is nice living beneath members because if you ever need anything they are right there. We actually had a cool experience. Sister McKeddie (our landlordy) has a friend named Len. He does electrical work. So on Friday he came to our apartment and he fixed the lights that were broken. Turns out that he is a big believer in God and he said something that will always stick with me. "All the time that I have been searching for God, I am always brought back to the same conclusion that I thought in the first place, that He exists. Its like an onion, we have many layers of learning, but they all start from the same point." We are excited because he is willing to meet with us and I feel like he will soak it all up.

So if you have never tried posole, have someone cook it for you. It is a mexican soup made with chicken or pork, and has hamini and many other great things in it. Dont forget the oregano. We had it like 4 times in the past 2 weeks. It is the best.

The recent converts are all doing very good. Martha is getting fellowshipped like crazy and had home teachers that are talking to her like once a week. She is just soaking up the Spirit and is learning a lot more about the doctrine. She went to a Relief Society conference this weekend and she asked us why she was crying. We were like "we dont know if it was your womenly feelings or the Spirit". We concluded a little bit of both. Eduardo still came to chruch yesterday after getting off the road at like 1 o'clock in the morning! Talk about dedication and fire in the gospel. He is exploring the scriptures a lot and loves his new quad given to him by the bishop. Haven't heard from Mauricio in a while.  He is still in El Salvador. But Alex and Chris are still stickin in there to get sealed at the end of this year. And we are finding lots of people through these recent converts. Such a good way to find!

Martha introduced us to her friend named Hilario. We taught a very powerful Restoration lesson and the Spirit was really strong in the middle of the library. He was like "I am not ready to change my religion yet, but maybe in the future." We know he will. You can just feel it with him. It is just a matter of time. He is interested in the BOM and that is one of the most important things. We also started teaching another family from Ecuador this week. They have been living in Spain for the past ten years and just got here to start work. The cool thing is that he looks oriental because his dad is from China. Really funny to be speaking Spanish with a guy that looks Chinese. But he is a member, and she is not. They have two young kids who really want to go to primary. So we are looking forward to teaching them more. Manual was going to get baptized but he is going up to Fort McMurry, like 5 hours away, to work in the oil fields. His member friend is going with him, so we hope for the best with him. He has become a really great friend. I have seen him change inmensely and I will be very content on the day when he makes the committment.

We handed over some investigators this week to some other elders. We found them when we had an impression to try an old potential in one of our areas. We knocked on the door and a very nice native women answered the door and said that she was looking for a church. She has 5 girls and is a single mom. Rough past but ready to change. Her whole family came to church yesterday and stayed the whole time! I just love how the Lord knows His children and the things they need. It reminds me that we need to follow the impressions that we receive because you never know what will happen. Another cool experience. We were calling to confirm an appointment with the Diaz family. There are more that one Diaz in our phone. I called the wrong one but it turned out that this family had a very sick daughter and needed a blessing right then. It was funny because I asked "Oh, I called the wrong family, but do you need anything?" She was stunned and explained the situation and we went over there. We ended up giving more than on blessing. Again the Lord knows his children. And the Lord knows the situation so well that he can even work through our errors.

Well, Elder Schubbert and I are still seeing miracles, how ever small they might be. I am still excited to be where I am. I love this work.

Mucho Amor,

Elder Kipp