18 Days Left!

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

Como le va? Que pasa? Well it has already been close to six weeks in the MTC and I can hardly believe it. I have been having so much fun. I cannot wait to see the excitement that awaits me in the field. I saw Alex Jafek today in the cafeteria and he seems to be doing very well. He is looking good. It is always exciting to see a familiar face in the MTC. Also Dad you might be excited to hear that I met someone on my floor that knows the Berthas very well. He has been family frineds for a long time and I told him that you know Sandy very well from seminary. His name doesn't come to mind at the moment. Is Devin still working here? Because I have not seen him once.

Umm you wont believe this but we were treated to another apostle this Tuesday night. M. Russel Ballard spoke to us. Thats two apostles in 2 weeks! I know you're jealous. But the Spirit they bring with them is amazing. From the moment they walk in you can tell that they are true apostles of the Lord. He spoke about many things pertaining to missionary work but he mainly spoke to us about keeping the teaching simple. Why make something more complicated that it should be? He also stressed the importance of having a solid testimony in Christ. That is the reason why we are here and he is the center of this doctrine. It was amazing! One thing that I have been thinking about this week is that when we choose to follow the Savior, he is obligated through love, to lift us up and comfort us. I don't remember who said this but "Two men can do anything; as long as one of them is the Savior."

I feel like I am finally in a groove here. After a while you find what you are good at and also very quickly realize your weaknesses. I have been trying to work on my weaknesses when I teach most of all. It is nice to have practice teaching sith people almost everyday, but I am so excited to get out there and help real people. My purpose is to bring people closer to Christ through his glorious Atonement and gospel so that they might gain joy in this life and the next. (3 Nephi 3:15) I started the Book of Mormon about 3 weeks ago and I am already in Alma 20. I have loved getting myself acquainted with the BOM stories once again. There is so much converting power in this book. I have also made it a goal to read through the entire "Preach My Gospel" with all the scripture refrences by the time I leave. It will be difficult but I know it will help me. Also reading the scriptures in Spanish has become a favorite thing for me. It is amazing the amount I can understand. The gift of tongues is a real thing. I taught a member of my old ward in the TRC on Saturday. It was a great experience.

We got some new roomates yesterday. Elder Underwood and Skiles are both from Washington state. They are very excited to be here. They are going to Brazil speaking Portugese. I told them about Brock and the wonderful time that he had. Hopefully they will not have to heat up water with a battery! But I am excited to get to know them. Elder Anderson has not gotten his Visa yet to go to Mexico. So I hope he can recieve it soon. I think if he got reassigned he would be great wherever he went.

I want to thank everyone that has been able to write. It really means a lot.

Spiritual Thought: I challenge you to read over the story of Ammon and King Lamoni in Alma 18. This conversion story is amazing to me and it brings me a lot of hope for the work that my Savior has for me. Also read Mattew 11; the last three verses. Some of my favorite in the scriptures.

I love this work with all my soul. It is a privilege to serve my Lord everyday and become the best I can through Him.

Mucho amor,

Elder Kipp