Hola!

The nice thing about pouring rain is everyone is at home with their families!  It sure makes it easier to get a hold of investigators.

I had a great week this week.  I tried to focus on having the Spirit with me all the time, and it's incredible what a difference it makes.  It's so much easier to be happy and to work hard when you're doing it with God's help.  Instead of thinking, "How much longer until we get to sleep,"  you think, "Oh no!  We only have three more hours to preach the gospel today!"  My companion thinks I am the champion of positive thinking.

I love you all and I love this gospel!  Don't forget to read your scriptures and pray every day!  It is by small and simple things that great things are brought to pass!  If you want a suggestion, try Alma 26: "Yo sé que nada soy."  I just love the sons of Mosiah.  And Alma and Amulek.  And the sons of Helaman.  And Nephi.  I love the scriptures.

Love,

Sister Kirkland

Hola,

Welcome to the United States of America.  Only this isn't America at all.  This is the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission.  To survive it, you only need to follow some simple rules that I've come up with.

Rule #1: Cardio.

In the mission, the first thing that is obvious is that you walk around a lot.  Almost nonstop.If you can't walk around for ten hours a day, you're going to struggle in the mission.  If you can't get up at six thirty every day to exercise, even though all you're going to do all day is walk around, you're going to struggle.  Not only that, but you gotta take heart even when things are tough.  So do your exercise!  Nothing is going to substitute for that!

I had a great week in the mission.  I can't believe how fast it went!  If it keeps going this fast I'm going to be home before I even know it.  I love the work so much!  And I love all of you!  Keep being awesome!  And write me some letters, dang it!

Sister Kirkland

Hola, and welcome to Chopped: Mission Puerto Rico San Juan!  Your challenge this week is to create a delicious meal using ONLY: leftovers, the groceries left from when you went shopping six days ago, and the randoms stuff people give you!  And, to make things more interesting, we're turning off your water!  DUN DUN DUN.  You don't know when it will be turned on again, so you have about a half gallon to do all the cooking and washing up!  YOUR JUDGES ARE:  Your companion, Hermana Gutierrez from Guatemala!  She has 14 months in the mission and has a reputation for being extremely obedient and hardworking; Hermana Shaeffer from Arizona, who has five months in the mission and can make a perfect fried egg every time; and Hermana Page from Wyoming, who finishes her mission in two weeks and fortunately is not very picky!  You have one hour: GO!

Haha, our water did get turned back on before any of us needed to go to the bathroom.  It's always an adventure.  The mission is an adventure!  I am learning so much!

I've decided that Spanish in Spain is like British English, Mexican Spanish is American English, Dominican Spanish is Boston English (really fast, nasally), and Puerto Rican Spanish is Liverpool/ Yorkshire English (think Beatles).  Puerto Ricans are hard to understand!  But I'm getting there.

When we got here, the Assistants told us to remember that every time we got rained on our spouses got handsomer, but everytime we dropped our scriptures he got uglier.  I dropped the Book of Mormon I was carrying twice the first week, but I've also been rained on six times so I think I'm in the clear so far.

I love my mission so much!  It is beautiful, and I love the chance I have to share the gospel every day!

Oh my!  I'm here in Adjuntas, and it is beautiful!  If the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico had a fight, Puerto Rico would probably win.

My companion is Hermana Gutierrez from Guatemala and I can understand her but not the Puerto Ricans, so it's hard to participate in lessons.  But I'm getting better!

I got my first baptismal date yesterday!  Ahahahaha

I am honestly so happy!  This is the best work in the world!

We had a tropical storm on Saturday, and our power and our water went out and it was so boooring because we couldn't do anything!  The power is still a little iffy which is why I don't have much time.  But everything is good now, it all came back on when we finished our fast on Sunday!

I love you guys!  I'm including a picture of a fan tree with my MTC companion for reference because I know you're all dying to know what it is.  I used to get a little homesick when we watched church videos because I could name all the mountains in the background, and now my companion has a picture of the Dominican Republic Temple on the wall so I can be homesick for that too.

Love you all!

Hermana Kirkland