Hola!

     I only have 4 days left in the CCM!  Crazy.  To be fair, I did want to get out to the field my first week, but now I'm glad I didn't.  I've had a lot of good experiences.

     Speaking of which, EL CAMPO.  It was the best day of my mission, no holds barred.  I can't wait to go again tomorrow.  My companion was Hermana Hernandez from Chile, and as soon as I got her we gave each other a hug and she whispered, "just so you know, this is the best companionship."  My companion said to me later, "of course you would get the really outgoing one."  We talked in Spanish the whole day, which was nice.  We taught a lot of lessons and visited a lot of investigators.  One of my favorite experiences was when we visited a recent convert who was preparing to receive the priesthood.  We went in his house (he's probably 15) and inside were like 6 or 8 little kids who all just were dying to participate in the lesson!  We sang I Am a Child of God together and then they fought over who got to say the opening prayer, which I've never seen before.  Then we taught our lesson.  While the member was getting his scriptures one of the kids asked me if I was Italian, which really came out of nowhere.  I think an Italian would speak better Spanish.  They were all so cute, and it was very spiritual.

     Today we watched a devotional given by Elder Bednar and his wife this January, and they touched on a point that I wanted to mention.  Two weeks before I left on my mission, I was asked to teach a lesson on the priesthood, and I don't think I did a good enough job of explaining, and now I have actual apostle quotes.  "The priesthood is the authority to act in God's name.  It is not male."  He explained that anyone can have the authority to act in God's name and it is through men that we receive this authority, as a Bishop or a Relief Society President or anything.  I have been called by a prophet of God to speak in His name as a representative of Jesus Christ.  I have this authority.  I may not get in the waters of baptism with my converts, but that does not diminish the fact that I taught them the lessons and they have discovered the truth through me.  There is no inequality in God's kingdom.  You see this in the scriptures every time people act righteously.  It happened under King Benjamin, under Captain Moroni and Pahoran, and for close to 300 years after Christ visited the Americas.  "And there was no inequality among them."  I know that I have been called of God to Preach His Gospel and that there is no work more important in the entire world.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and through it and through prayer we may know His will for us.  I know that while we may not be able to see what comes, we can know that we can cross those plains, ford those seas, and climb those mountains if we trust in Jesus Christ.  We can do anything through Him.  I love this gospel, and I love all of you, and I want you to know that I know that God and Jesus Christ live and their gospel has been restored on this earth.  There is nothing that can make us happier though we search for a thousand years.  I bear this, my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sister Kirkland