Pues,

Rule #3 is about working with members.  Working with members in a very specific sense.  Rule #3 is "Beware of Kitchens."  In the MTC the zone doctor put the fear into us about the quality of cleanliness in our zone (DO NOT mention chicken entrails) but we don't really have that problem that I've seen in Puerto Rico.  However, when you eat with members, it's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get.  Actually, all of it has been really really good, like Sancocho and Arollas, (I haven't had the opportunity to try blood sausage yet and pray that day never comes).  The tricky part is it's also super easy to gain weight when the members feed you.  The question is if I want to get transferred to San German, where my district leader said one time he got 5 meals in one day (and gained 10 pounds).  We actually got a record 8 meals this week, which is a great way to avoid the missionary diet.

If you're super excited for General Conference, clap your hands!  I'm so excited.  Women's conference was beautiful.  I summed it up like this: "Be worthy to enter the temple by keeping the commandments."  It was funny because the translator had a Spanish accent.  I learned a lot of things that we need for our recent converts, and I'm looking forward to learning even more this weekend.

We've been making an effort to contact like a beast this week.  We have a lot of investigators, but all of them need baby steps before they're ready for baptism.  The thing about the mission is it's a lot of work for a few moments of joy, but I think life is sort of like that.  At least, the kind of life I want to live.

Everything is all good here in Adjuntas!  Watch conference!  Be grateful to have a prophet!  I know I am!

Love you all,

Sister Kirkland

Everyone,

I was wondering why I had so much time left to write, and then I realized that I hadn't written my public email yet!  That explains a lot.

I really don't know what happened this week.  We were dropped by a lot of really good investigators.  One really cool thing that happened was we got a very Catholic woman to accept a Book of Mormon!  It was our second visit with her and her sister, and we were explaining the Plan of Salvation, and then we got her to take a Book of Mormon!  She hasn't promised to read it, but it's one step at a time.  Most of the Bible people we meet can't seem to get it into their brains that there can be more of the Word of God.  During weekly branch scripture study, a less active member got up and said something like, "Okay, the Book of Mormon is important, but the Bible is WAY more important!"  That explains a lot of the sentiment we feel here.

I am thankful every day for the chance to serve a mission!  It is so cool to see the changes in people's lives.

I love you all!

Sister Kirkland

Hello, everyone,

So, after you've gotten through your first few days of walking all over your area (yay for cardio), you're probably going to have investigators.  This is where rule #2 comes in: the Double Tap, i.e. We Invite, They Commit, We Follow Up.  This is called COMMITMENTS and they are hugely important.  Ask them to read and pray (BANG) and then ask them if they did it during the next lesson (BANG).  See, the thing is, if they actually do commitments, investigators turn into something else, which is progressing investigators.  We like progressing investigators.  They get baptized.  Also, it's never a bad idea to do the double tap.  Just send out a text to your investigator, or call them, or something.  Just get them to do their commitments!

I have hugely enjoyed this week.  We were really focused (we are always always focused) but we were also kind of silly.  AND we beat our goal for new investigators.  One of them is the sister of another investigator, and she seems primed to progress.  We gave her a Book of Mormon on Saturday and we're going to meet her on Wednesday.  We have some good youth who want to hear the gospel, and fortunately the branch has some good youth who are willing to help us.  Member present lessons are also important!

Anyway, I really love this gospel and this work.  There's this one part in the District where an Elder is staring at the camera, totally out of it, and he says, "I don't know why I'm so happy.  I'm so tired.............Yeah."  That's basically the mission.  Tired and happy and you don't know why.  But actually you do!  It's the Spirit.

Much love from Puerto Rico,

Sister Kirkland

Friends, family, children of God,

So I'm not being transferred, so if anyone has a letter that they feel like sending to P.O. Box #33, Adjuntas, PR, 00601, feel free to do so for at least the next five weeks.  I'm so happy I get to stay here!  Adjuntas is such a wonderful branch, and I think we're getting a lot done.

This week I was rereading the War Chapters in Alma, which I love.  I'm pretty sure I've talked about the war chapters a lot, but they're awesome.  And I was thinking to myself, what were the Nephite camps like during the war?  Were they raucous and disorganized?  I sincerely doubt it.  For one thing, they were led by awesome people.  I can't find the reference, but one verse says something like, "it was the habit of the Nephites to appoint someone who had the spirit of prophecy to lead their armies" which I think just makes good tactical sense as well as spiritual sense.  There's Teancum, whose favorite pastime is sneaking into the Lamanite camp to stick a javelin into whoever is currently stirring the people up to war.  There's Helaman, foster father to the 2060 Ammonite sons.  Then, of course, there's Captain Moroni, to whom Alma 48 is basically dedicated.  (I feel like whenever Mormon abridges something about the war, it's like President Uchtdorf talking about planes.  It's just kind of what he knows).  Plus, they obeyed every word with exactness.  And that's what we're doing.  If we obey with exactness, we can pull off miracles like the armies of Helaman.  Because we're fighting this war against Satan, we are the armies of God, and He will direct us to win.

I love you all so much!  Let's go fight the battle!

Sister Kirkland

 Hola!

Nothing much happened this week - I hit 1 month in the field (I don't know how that happened), we got a car, and what was that other thing?

Oh yeah,

BAPTISM

That was so cool.  He was just a contact in the plaza, we gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to church, and then he actually came!  What a miracle.  He accepted a date and was baptizedSaturday, less than two weeks later.  It was so incredible.  The Spirit was so strong every time we taught him.

I am so happy to be on a mission!  The gospel changes lives!  It's so easy to forget outside of the mission, but don't do it!  I love you all!

Hermana Kirkland