Hola mis amigos,

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high;"   D&C 121:8-9

I read this section this week and I wanted to share it with all those that might need a pick-me-up. It really helps me if I am going through a hard time or need some reasurrance that God is still there watching out for us. I love having a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation because it shows me that the challenges of this life are going to be very small compared to what we will be able to achieve after we die. We taught the Plan of Salvation like three times this week and it is just a reminder of Heavenly Father's existence and love for His children. I just hope that we can all remember why we are here on this earth and remember the joy we can discover through the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Oh man, it has actually been super hot here these past couple of days. We did some weeding for this lady we know that is being taught by the English elders and it was actually really hot. And oh my she had so many weeds! It was good and it reminded me of all the yard work that I used to do with dad. Good memories. Fun times. 

Elder Crocco is in Jasper right now. As missionaries we are able to go to Jasper one preparation day in our mission. It is a national park and super beautiful. He left this morning at like 5 and went with a member that he was really close with in the South side. I am excited to go and I am thinking about going sometime next summer before I go home. 

This week was really successful for us. We were able to meet with Mauricio and he decided to move his baptismal date to June 23, the same day as German. It is good for him because he feels like he will appreciate it more if he learns more and I definitely agree. He really liked the review of the Plan of Salvation and saw that it is a really big step in our mortal existence. He is still doing good and we are excited for him. German is still planning on the 23rd of June and he is more prepared for the gospel than I thought. He wants to get baptized here before he goes back to Mexico because he wants to have the Spirit with him when he sees his family so that they can see the change in his life. He is already doing missionary work. He said that the Plan of Salvation made sense to him and he thinks that it feels right. We also taught Alexandra and Chris the Plan of Salvation and they are really excited to get married. They seem to be really interested in going to the temple. We explained what it meant to be sealed and they really liked that aspect of it. 

Oh, my funny side note. On planning day this past Friday we took the car in to get some work done and we planned at the church. While we were walking back I was looking down and I totally hit my head on this sign in the side walk. It really hurt and Elder Crocco was laughing really hard. What made it even worse was that a lady drove by with her window down right as it happened and you could totally hear her laughing. It kind reminded me of something that would happen to mom... he he.

We started teaching a new guy this week and his name is Jorge. He is from Chile and it was kinda hard to understand him. But he hates politics and wants to meet with us again. His wife is Jehovah's Witness and he really does not like the church. When we talked about the Book of Mormon he seems really interested and wants to keep learning more. We finally got in contact with Linda and she wants us to start coming back. We are going back tonight and we are going to talk about the Plan of Salvation because one of her doubts is that she does not believe that Satan exists. So we gave her 2 Nephi 2 to read and hopefully we can answer her questions. One of the members in one of our wards met a woman and her two daughters from Spain this week. It turns out that they are from the Congo and moved to Spain about 10 years ago. 

We had stake conference yesterday, for all the stakes in Canada!! It was really good. William R. Walker (the member of the Seventy that visited our mission), D Todd Christofferson, and Elder Packer all talked in a special broadcast to all the stakes in Canada. German, Mauricio, and Justine and her daughters were all there. So it was a very good day and they all seemed to enjoy it. 

Thanks for all the love and prays. I love you all and I am so happy to be here serving others and my Savior. 

Mucho mucho amor,

Elder Kipp 

Hello familia and friends,

 

How is everything going? Canada is always doing really good and we are having lots of fun trying to bring people to the happiness of the gospel.

 

We were able to meet with lots of people this past week. We were able to see Gerardo in the beginning of the week and talk to him about why he had not been baptized. He told us that it was not his right time and that he did not want to be pressured into it. But we hope that if we can keep talking to him about the gospel and teaching him english that we can fish out a few more doubts that are holding him back. We know that if he understands the importance it has in his life and how much it can affect his family, he will find the "ganas" to do it. We also met with Alexandra and Chris. Alex was running a little late so we talked to Chris and a member of his ward for like a half an hour. He really opened up to us and told us that he wanted to ask Alex to marry him. And that he really wanted her to get baptized and he wanted the Melchizedec Priesthood. It is a big step for them to get engaged. We talked with some ward members about when Alex was meeting with missionaries before and they said that it is a big difference now. I think the biggest reason is that Chris is really stepping up and deciding to come back to church. They have been reading and praying together and she is coming to church by herself when he is at work. They are looking really good!

 

On Wednesday we had Mission Tour. Elder William R Walker came to talk to us. He is from the 70. He talked a lot about really loving people and letting that be our motivation for doing everything. He is a great guy and is a big force in getting the temple work completed all around the wold. He also said some funny things about being a return missionary. He said that pony tails and beards we not ok. And it was funny because Elder Crocco has been talking a lot about doing that the minute that he gets home.

 

Mauricio is still on date but we might have to move it back because he has not been coming to church. We are still working with Ruben and Cindy and they are still pushing along. We just need to keep having patience with them. They are stuggling with prayer as well. So hopefully we can keep helping them out. German, the guy that we met last week has a date for baptism on June 23rd. He is super prepared. Before we came the second time on Saturday he had read 5 chapters in Nephi, watched one hour of conference, and also had searched chapels and temples in Mexico that his family could attend. He really enjoyed church and said he will continue coming. We are really looking forward to meeting with him and seeing his desire to learn and grow even more. He is an ex-Catholic priest so he knows a lot and says that he loves how focused the church is on families.

 

The Spanish BBQ was a big success on Saturday. Gerardo, German and The Bravos, a family from  Columbia were able to come. Also we got a few less active people to come out. It was good to see them meet some more members. They made some super good food. Also, mom and dad, you are going to be surprised to know that I actually am starting to like mushrooms. Gerardo made this mozarella mushroom thing with tortillas and it was delicious.

 

Thanks for all the love. Mucho amor.

 

Elder Kipp

Mis amados hermanos y hermanas,

 

How has everything been going? First of all I would like to thank you Mom for everything that you have done for me in my life. I have learned so much from you and your influence has made me the man I am today. Remember the stripling warriors and how they learned everything from their moms? Yeah, same situation. My faith and testimony would be nothing without your strength and determination. Especailly in the situation of Cass and I.   Heavenly Father knew that He needed a strong woman to just get us into the world. Everyone I share the story of Cass with is just amazed at this miracle. Gracious mi mama y estoy seguro que sin tu ayuda, no estuviera aqui. Te amo mom!

 

Well, this week was better than last week as far as meeting with people goes. We were able to meet with Ruben and Cindy and they are feeling a lot better. They are still trying to learn everything and enjoying the things they are learning. We taught them some of the major commandments including tithing, word of wisdom, and the law of chastity. They both agreed that they didn't have probelms with any of them and when they get baptized they will be willing to follow them. I love teaching about the commandments and then promising blessings that can really come. I can do it because I have seen how much the Lord blesses us in our lives when we follow the commandments. We aslo met with Mauricio and talked about his baptism that he is planning for June 2. We were really excited to see that he was willing to make a goal. The only thing is that he is having some family opposition, but we promised him that if he does what the Lord wants him to do, he will be blessed. When he gave the closing prayer, the Spirit was really strong and when he started talking about his baptismal date, he paused for about 20 seconds and the silence was so comforting. We are super excited for him.

 

We were able to find a new investigator named German and wow, talk about prepared. The first thing he asked us is what does our church have to offer that others don't. We shared the first lesson with him and he really seemed interested. We really feel that he is going to read the Book of Mormon, he actually started before we even left. So we have high hope. It is so great being able to bring something to other people that they don't even know they are missing. We are still trying to work hard and trying to find the things that we need to do to help these people out.

 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I cannot believe I am 20!? I hope that everyone is doing well and keeping the faith. Remember to read your scriptures!!!!

 

Mucho amor,

 

Elder Kipp

 

Spiritual Thought: Read DC 121 and always remember that the Lord is there with us. I love this work!!

Hola familia y amigos,

 

How has everything been going in the lives of all those I love? I have thought a lot this week about the importance of families and that the relationships that we have made here will not end after we die. We will be brought back into the presence of that Being that gave us life among those that we fought for , cried with, loved, and laughed with in this mortal experience. It is such a blessing to have the knowledge that is given from the gospel. I would not be the person I am today or be here in Canada speaking Spanish if it was not for that.

 

It has been super hot these past couple of days. Yesterday it was about 25 celcius, so pretty warm. But it was nice to get out yesterday and go talk to people. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and we met a woman from  Portugal that talked our heads off . But that is what we love. She really admired us for how young we were and the things we were doing. We are excited to go back to see her and her family in about a week. It was kind of cool how much we understood of her. I think she could understand more of what we said, because she mentioned that Portugeuse was usually a little more fastly spoken. And above all she was making gallina and it smelled super delicious.

 

We have come to love tracting. We have come to learn that you have to be real with people. If you just walk up to someone and give them a memorized recitation, they are less likely to listen to you. But if you are able to observe what people need (The Spirit really helps with that), you can have a real conversation and tie in gospel truths to any situation. People want to know that what we have can really apply to their life. Also that is why using the Book of Mormon is so important. When people start to apply the stories and experiences to their own life, that is when the Spirit steps in and they are truly converted. Elder Crocco and I have also been starting to talk a lot about how we are ALL converts to the gospel. No matter who you are you have to gain a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon, and the Gospel for that matter. Without work and faith, you cannot have a solid testimony.

 

Man this week was "hard-to-meet-with-people" week. Ruben and Cindy canceled their appointment with us because they were sick with a cold. It was difficult to get in contact with any of our investigators. But we were able to meet with Mauricio with Hermano Mesen. The lesson went super well and we are excited to see if he will choose to be baptized. He has not been able to come to church, but we are meeting with him tommorow, so I sure that he will be coming on Sunday. A little miracle also happened on Sunday. We were sitting in our apartment on Sunday morning calling people to see if they were going to church, and nobody was coming and we were kind of getting a little frustrated. Right when were about to leave, we got a phone call. We have tracted into this woman about a week earlier and her name was Joy. She is native american and she was really interested in the Book of Mormon and bringing her children to a new church. So we talked to her and left her our phone number. So she called us and asked what time church started. We said we would meet her there. She came with her SEVEN children. She walked and had all her kids walk with her. It was a little crazy getting all her kids to the right Primary classes, but they seemed to really like it. So that was our little miracle for the week, a woman walking her seven children all under the age of 11 to church. The gospel is true.

 

We were also able to meet with some more less-active Spanish members and we are hoping that all these Spanish members can come out of their comfort zone and come to an English-speaking ward. Man, the aftermath of the old Spanish branch is crazy. If we reactivated all the less-actives, with the help of the wards, we would greatly increase the size of some of the wards in our two stakes. It's crazy to think how important home teaching and visiting teaching is. Oh man, I love all the Spanish members. It must be so hard to be in an English speaking country and still have the desire to go to church when you cannot understand much. Oh yeah, something funny happened when we were finishing up the Connie and Gerardo move on Tuesday. They made us quesadillas verdes (which were delicious) and Connie said, "You cannot leave this counrty until you baptize this man"(referring to Gerardo). It is so cool to see her determination and love for him. Just a reminder, Connie got baptized about a year ago, and Gerardo didn't go through with it. But Connie is leaving on Saturday to Mexico for about a month and so we think that we can go over there and talk to him without pressure. Oh yeah and Linda is back!!!  So more news to come.

 

Love you all, may the choicest blessings be yours. Remember if we do our part, the Lord will always do His.

 

Abrazos y Besos

 

Elder Kipp

¡Hola amigos!

 

Oh my! It has been super nice this week. It is starting to get green and hot. Last P-day we went outside and played a little pick-up football. It was so good to get outside and have some fun with some of the other missionaries.  Now instead of shoveling people's snow, we are mowing people's lawns. Friday was Elder Crocco's birthday and these members took us out to lunch at the coolest Vietnamese restaurant. It was like out of a kung-fu movie and the food was so good. We also went out to dinner with the zone leaders to get donairs. If you have never tried them they are super delicious. We ate so much food on that day. We went over to Vianney's and Gabriels to talk about what they have been reading in the Book of Mormon, and they ended up feeding us too. "Happy Birthday" in Spanish is so much cooler!

 

This week we had a super cool experience. We called a family named Dellez about 2 weeks ago. They were some people that we met a long time ago and they had moved and we didn't know where. But they told us to call them back in two weeks and set something up. They didn't give us their address but we were pretty excited to meet with them. Meanwhile, we tracted into a family that wanted us to come back the following week. We were on exchanges and Elder Crocco and Elder Lewis went and met them and said they are super cool. Well, we called them on Friday to confirm the other appointment we had on Saturday. When we called them I thought that the phone number looked familier. I looked around and discovered that the Dellez and the family that we met while tracting for were the same! We both sat there for about a minute, shocked. We concluded that the Lord really wanted us in that home. To call them and then randomly tract into their new home is crazy. And above all, they moved into the best ward for fellowship of Spanish people in our area. As before, I am a a firm believer that there are no coincedences.

 

This week we saw Ruben and Cindy and talked a lot about them getting baptized. They don't want to set a specific date but they are both preparing and want to know more. They both realize the importance of the baptismal covenant, which is good, but they are both ready to be baptized. It really changed when they started reading the Book of Mormon and praying to know if it is true. That is truly the key. They also made us Horchata con cocao and Pupusas. Oh my! they were so good. They also told us that they loved church and meeting the bishop; so I think everything is going well with them. We finally were able to meet with Mauricio and we brought Hermano Mesen along to help fellowship. It was such a good idea because he really was able to open up more. We helped some of our favorite members in Bonnie Doon Stake move on Saturday and Hermano Mesen, being the crazy fellowshipper that he is, invited Mauricio and he ended up coming and helping. It was really good for him to meet some of the other members of the ward and he definitely felt the Spirit of Service. The move took all day, but we were happy to meet some friends of the members that seem interested. No act of service goes unnoticed!!!

 

Well, I just wanted to remind everyone that has the opportunity to be a home or visiting teacher, do your job! It is really the best way to keep people coming to church. I have learned on my mission that Home and Visiting teaching might be the most important calling that you can have. This is how people stay in the gospel. So just a little reminder. Love you all.

 

 

Mucho amor,

Elder Kipp

¡Hola hormigas!

¿Cómo le paso la Pascua?

This past week was crazy because we it was starting to get really nice and warm. But we woke up on Thursday and it was a blizzard outside! There was like 2 feet of snow outside and we had to dig our car out! ha ha Who would have thought that it would have snowed in April, only in Canada!

This week was amazing!! We were so blessed to be able to meet about 10 new people that are all interested in the gospel. Only 2 of them are Spanish, but we are working with all the other ones to get them handed over to the English areas. And guess how we found them all???....The Lord of course... but good old fashioned tracting. We would pick a Spanish potential in an area of the city and then tract alrededor their place. It showed success and we were able to get in the door with many people. One especially cool guy had bright yellow hair, and he was black. His name is Borruss and we shared the Book of Mormon with him and read some stories out of it. It sparked his interest and he wanted us to come back. We came back with the sisters serving in YSA ward and what was cool is when we invited him to say the prayer at the end. It was so spiritual. It sounded like he was talking to a dear friend and asking him to help him know the truth. I hope he will keep going. We also met one of the most prepared people in my mission thus far. Her name is Amamda. She gave up her first son to the LDS Child services about 10 years ago and didn't really investigate the church, but always liked how family-centered it was. We started to talk to her and she said that she needs some direction in her life and wants to know the purpose of her life. She was also confused why there were so many churches. BOOYAH! Her son Riley is everything to her and she wants to meet with us again and even invited us over to eat with the English elders. She needs the gospel in her life. We also met the sweetest old lady in the world. Her name is Edi and she likes us a lot better than the Jehovah's Witnesses. She said that we are better looking..he he. We felt prompted to read when Christ appeared to the Nephites and she absolutely loved it.

One thing that I have learned on my mission is that as human beings and children of God we have can have the ability to love people instantly. It is amazing how fast you can feel comfortable with a person and TRULY love them in a matter of minutes. When you are in the service of others, you receive the capacity to love them so much more rapidly. I can now see why Christ loved EVERYONE. His whole life was devoted to others. He even gave up his life for others. King Benjamins address in Mosiah 2 really does apply to us.

We were able to meet with Ruban and Cindy as well. We brought a sweet member from Argentina named John Capriz. They were instant friends and he explained a lot about conference and helped us awnser any questions they might have had. We talked abou the sacrament and really tried to get Ruben to go to church even for 15 minutes. He told us that he could not but we think there is something else holding him back besides his health, but Cindy said that she would come next week and would tell Ruben about it. I love them so much and they really love meeting with us. I hope we can keep working with them and helping them learn more. They are so sincere and they already have amazing faith in Christ. We were not able to meet with Anslemo, but it is his birthday this weekend and so we are going to bring him some cake. ¡Feliz Cumpleanos! Alexandra is doing good, reading, praying, but still not going to church. We are crossing our fingers for this week. We met two new Spanish investigators, Linda and Eric and his family. They seem super chido and we are excited to meet with them.

  

One tip for future missionaries, use the Book of Mormon EVERY TIME you teach someone. It invites the Spirit so much easier and faster then you can and it is the best tool in your quiver.

Go look up "Poutine" on the internet, it is a great Canadian thing!! You get fat though...

And dad, we ate Mole twice this week, and the good stuff. Also we are having Pupusas on Saturday and we are excited. But we are still being able to lose wieght. We are working out every morning and trying to eat healthier. You can really feel a difference everyday. Elder Crocco is super fun and teaching me a lot of Spanish.

Les amo mucho y estoy contento en la obra del Señor.

Adios, mucho amor, cuidanse mucho.

Elder Kipp

Its still snowing....in April?!?!

Hola mis amados hermanos y hermanas,

¿Cómo le va? ¿Qué tal? ¡Qué chevre! ¡Qué PADRE! ¡Qué ando!! ¿Cómo estas?  The funny thing about learning Spanish in Canada is that you learn words and phrases from every country, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Columbia, Chile, and let us not forget Argentina!!! It is a quite a different experience.

It is still snowing in April!! It is hard to believe but all the native Canadians are saying "Oh, this is normal eh". I want some sunshine!! Ok...there is sunshine but it needs to melt the snow! Oh and one thing to put on your list of foods to try is Donairs. Its like a gloryfied gyro, but so much better.

This week was another good week. We were able to meet with most of our investigators and they are all seeming to be doing good. They are all having trouble making it to church, but we have faith that they will all keep progressing. We met with Alexandra and brought a solid member named Brother Palmer (who served a three year mission, he is super good at learning languages). We talked a lot about excercising our faith and how she can gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon if she excercises her faith. Bro. Palmer met her about 2 years ago, and he said that her environment to discover the truth is so much better now. The main reason is that her boyfriend is a less-active member and now he is supporting her and wanting her to get baptized as he is coming back to church. They are both sincere and we can really see that she is gaining a interest in the BOM. Anselmo's birthday was this week and he had surgery so we could not meet with him. But we stopped by on his cumpleaños and gave him a license plate holder that said "Nicaragua" and also a giant bottle of salsa picante. He loved it and wants to meet on Friday.

We went on exchanges with my favorite little asian district leader "Emperor Wan". He is from Hong Kong and is an amazing district leader. He makes me laugh because when we turn music on in the car, he always sings super loud and thinks he has an amazing voice. He always says, "I am going to be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir." You guys really need to meet him, he is the greatest.

We met with Ruben and Cindy 2 times this week and his situation is still difficult. They are both reading, and the more they read, the more questions they have. The first time we went over there it was our goal to really open them up and try to get them to go to church, even for 15 minutes because of Ruben's condition.  We are growing their trust and I feel like they are both progressing. We also went over there on Saturday night with a member from Castledowns and gave him a blessing. We explained why it was so important to realize the significance of it and he said that he had enough faith to go through with it. The spirit was very strong and he felt super calm. They are reading what we are giving them and they even asked to see the bishop next week. So at least Cindy is going to be there next week to meet with Bishop Durado before church. Ruben is coming along and has a lot of questions, which is good. Because the Spirit has the answers.

Gracias Amigos!!!

Elder Kipp