Looks like he had some fun taking pictures!

 

 

Happy Halloween!

So I received the little package that you sent this past week! thanks so much for the pictures, everyone seems to be having lots of fun over at the house! The costumes look great too... Nachooooo... haha dads was pretty funny! at least I think that is who he was being.. haha any way this Halloween is going to be pretty fun for us, we are going to a member's to eat and play some games a stuff.. We have to be in at 6 on Thursday, just so everyone stays safe I guess.. I will have to let you know how it turns out.

It’s really hard to think of where I would like to start with this week, because we had so much going on and so many great things happened this week! Monday was the start of our great week! We went over to the G..... home for dinner and found out that a few investigators were also coming over, it was a surprise but a good one at that matter! During dinner we ate some wonderful food and had a little hot pepper eating contest.. haha bad idea! Elder Cutler and myself  both had a bite of one and man were our mouths on fire!! Brother G..... ate one, it was super funny, I was crying because it was super funny, not because it was hot.. but that all transitioned to our lesson which went very well!

We spent two full days out of our area this week, which is really tough on the area and the people, but the Lord made up for it..I’ll tell you why in a little bit. On Wednesday we went all the way down to Lenox, over 2 hours away.. I had a great time serving with the elder in that area. It was a cold day and wasn’t snowing but almost. Missionary work is a lot harder it seems like in the cold. Right after that we had a district meeting and then traveled to Chariton. Elder Brown and myself went on exchanges together. We saw a lot of miracles that day, it seemed like everyone we talked to wanted to listen to us, so we taught everyone that we talked to.. which doesn’t always happen that way. The day just goes by so fast when you teach all day, it’s crazy really. The last person we talked to lives out in a little town, in a rugged old house, with old cars all over and random things all over the place. Honesty I was a little scared to go knock on the guy’s door, but we continued to press forward. We ended up teaching the man and his girlfriend, they accepted the gospel very well. They had so many questions that can only be answered by the restored gospel! It’s really humbling to think about how blessed we are as members of Christ’s church. You really don’t realize what you have until you don’t have it anymore. I have seen a lot of crazy things out here in Iowa and it has taught me so much, stuff that I would have never learned anywhere else! My invitation is to look at the life that you do have and see how blessed you are compared to some people who don’t have very much. The world CANNOT give you want you need as a child of God, only God can do that for you. Another thing that I learned well at a lesson the other day, that the spirit taught me was, not to hide my true identity as a missionary, now it took me a little bit to figure out what that really meant to me. Hiding the truth or who you are as member of the church is something that Satan likes to make you do. Share what you know and let the world hear your voice, as you continue to cry unto this world with a sound of a trump! I am grateful for the spirit:)

On Sunday we ended up having 5 people come to church, which is the most that we’ve had in a long time! It was a miracle and was a blessing for the work that we put in this past week. People are changing everywhere you go, let yourself  be changed also. The work is true I know it is!

I hope you have a great Halloween! you will have to let me know how it goes! LOVE YOU ALL!

LOVE ELDER KIRTON!!



No pictures this week.

Happy October! Family!

Heaven is up!.. haha and things are doing well here to!
Man its sounds like you had a great Halloween party, to bad I missed it.. next time. Halloween is definitely on its way here with the leaves falling and the work of the Lord continuing always. It’s been cooling down very fast here and is supposed to snow tomorrow, but we will have to see what really happens. The weather men around here seem to have a hard time getting it right.. haha o well :)

On Tuesday we had our annual meeting as a mission leadership, in Iowa City. I always enjoy those meetings so much, because they are filled to capacity with the spirit! We are working really hard to bring as many souls as possible to the waters of baptism and conversion. We know that the Lord has prepared 550 souls this year, which is our goal as a mission. The time is continuing to move at a very fast pace, with so much work to do.

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to teach a bunch of kids at the church about testimonies. It really helped me focus and think about what a testimony really is. Testimonies are a simple a belief in something that is true. Receiving a testimony is something that can take time or can happen through a very simple prayer. Joseph Smith received a testimony that changed the world, with one prayer! I would invite everyone to gain a testimony of what Joseph Smith did and what he was able to restore to this earth. As was announced in the past general conference, A testimony alone will not stand in the last days. Turn your testimony into a conversion and your will overcome the fiery darts of the world! This is my testimony:)

I was able to go on exchanges this week with a new elder in our zone. Elder Roberts is his name. The exchange took place in Osceola Iowa and it was a good one. We were able to talk to quite a few people and teach a couple member lessons. But the funny part of the exchange was in an old folk’s home. We walked by a lady just sitting in her wheel chair, started saying.. enemy, enemy, enemy and said you don’t know God.. after talking to her for a moment and saying have a nice day, Elder Roberts and I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. You really don’t know what you’re going to get each day out in the mission field.

On Sunday we were able to teach a less active man that is desiring to come back to church. After a long while of being away from the church, he found that nothing could make him happier then when he was actively going to church. He finally broke down and told his member friend that he would like us to come by. We would have never known that he lived there and was a member of the church, if it wasn’t for the Lord enlightening his mind. That was such a blessing from the Lord. We also had a great lesson with Q.....and K....., who have started coming to church each week. The only thing holding them back is getting married... marriage.. it’s a killer around here. If people knew about the family proclamation to the world, there would be a lot more people baptized throughout the world. We are working very hard with them and helping them receive answers to their prayers, which is the only way that they’re going to know if this is the right thing for them.

That was my week in a nut shell. How’s the weather? I hear it’s snowing there now. What are your plans for Halloween? It’s always good to hear from you all! always! I still can’t believe that I have less than 4 months left.. Wow! don’t blink.. because it will be gone..

So I think I failed to tell you about my comp.. thanks mom for reminding me:) Elder Cutler is from Paradise Utah, Logan area. And has been out one transfer less than me, so you could say that we are both really old!!! haha we get it all the time from all the missionaries.. But ya we are doing great and are having a fun time doing missionary work!

You better have a great week! I will chat next week! LOVE YA!! :] LOVE ELDER KIRTON!

Service Project Chopin' Wood!

Outside the barn house where he lives.

Lesson on the plan of salvation.

What up family? !!

This week has been one to remember for sure! We have received a lot of blessing from the Lord this week and I am very grateful for that. It’s taken about 6 weeks for as to get some stuff started, but the Lord is definitely blessing us for our efforts. There was a family that came to church this week, randomly, it was super cool. Hopefully we will be able to teach them super soon. So I got an email today about flying home... O man!! haha She wants to know the airport that I will be flying into.. I think it is the Salt Lake airport. But if it’s not then you will have to let me know what it is.:) It’s crazy that it is already that time for me.

Nicole’s car looks great! maybe she will have to some car art work for a job or something! So how’s everyone doing? So dad got a calling to be scout leader.. haha that’s pretty awesome! I hope that you’ve all had a really good week.

This week we were able to teach a lady that we talked last week, named C.... The cool story behind her is, we were trying to find a person who has talked to missionaries in the past, but we weren't able to find her. So as we were in the truck finding our next location, I felt like we should go knock on the door next to where we were parked. We ended up talking to her for 20 minutes and setting up a return appointment the following week. We taught her on Tuesday with Brother V........ She was very receptive to the message and doesn’t have any concerns right now. That was a little miracle for the week. We have been working with a guy named D...., who I told you a little bit about before.. I think.. anyway we set a baptismal date with him for Nov. 23. Now we just have to help him come to church. We were teaching a recent convert at the square on Thursday, which went very well. The cool part about it, is that her daughter showed up to.. so we started to teach her a little bit and invited her to be baptized and she said she would. S..... is her name and she’s was able to go to the women’s conference. When she was there she felt the spirit, but didn’t tell anyone but her mom.. her mom told us, so than we knew that we needed to go talk to her. It all worked out in the end, because the Lord blessed us a lot! Those are a few blessing this week!

Guess what? This week I ate something that you wouldn’t normally eat on a regular basis.. I had some Raccoon!! It was different, but wasn’t too bad, the only hard part was knowing that you are eating a raccoon..haha, Do you wanna try some? My companions stomach didn’t agree with it very well.. haha it was super funny. I don’t now if I should laugh about that or not..

Elder Graham, my companion from Dewitt about a year ago. Is know serving in our district. It was so good to see a him. It was really crazy to think that I served with him about a year ago.

I almost forgot our Sunday experience. So I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on receiving revelation. It’s been so long since I’ve given a talk in sacrament meeting, I think it went pretty good. It’s going to give me some practice for the future. Right after church we had to drive to Des Moines for a meeting with the stake president and mission president regarding the missionary efforts in our zone. like before.. I always love going to Des Moines, because it brings back good memories of serving there with Elder Maugham who I saw at the meeting. we drove back to Osky to our dinner and lesson appointment with the G..... and Q.... and K..... and than a lesson with A..... a new investigator. Things here are really starting to pick up a lot. I hope we will be able to do all we can before the end of the year!

It’s good to hear from you guys again as always! I pray for you safety! love ya a lot!!

LOVE ELDER KIRTON!!

Just relaxing

Service work

 

Cool old train

Scooping up Black Walnuts

He called it a picker uper thingy.

Taking a break.

One of the districts.

 

Hey

Everybody

Lots of

Love

October

!

General conference was definitely the high light of the week for me and for most of you I hear! There were lots to be learned at this conference for me, it’s sad to say that it will be my last conference that I will ever attend as a missionary! :( I really felt the love that comes from all the members of the church as they prayed for the missionaries at conference. It’s such a blessing to be serving in this wonderful time and dispensation. Where there are many prepared and searching for the truth. I think we all need to ponder the messages that were shared at conference for the next 6 months. I don’t think that there’s anything more important that General conference, now that I've been serving as a missionary.

One thing that stood out to me this time, was the importance of families! I know that the family proclamation to the world is prophecy for this day and age! I would encourage everyone to read it and look over it. As a missionary, I have seen a lot of families that are being destroyed by the wickedness of the world today, I do not want to see that with the family that I’ve grown up in, love and care about! So please give heed to the words of eternal life. :) Enduring to the end is going to get harder and harder as it gets close to the coming of Jesus Christ, so we need to strengthen our testimonies, but most importantly our conversion! Daily prayer, scripture study and weekly church attendance will keep you safe! There really is so much that was talked about at this Conference but those are just some of the things that stuck out to me.

On October 1st.. I did something I've never done before in my life.. I gave Blood at the Blood drive, here at the University of Penn. I know that Nicole wouldn’t have liked that at all .. haha .. After I was finished giving blood, I felt great and got up off of the bench. I about passed out.. haha but luckily I didn’t but just had to sit down for a minute or two.. It was a fun experience for me.

The picture of Tod is great.. I still think that it’s crazy that he’s just up the road from me here in Osky! The mountains look great as well.. so did you guys get snow? I heard that some states got some snow already.. it was super cold the other day here, I had to put on a sweater..

For the teaching.. We were able to find a few new people to teach this week, which was really exciting! T.... is the name of the lady that we’ve just started to teach, she’s met with missionaries in the past. She believes in the Godhead, just like we do.. That they are all separate beings.. the funny thing is that she goes to a church that doesn’t believe that.. pretty crazy huh.? but we’re working on her.. we are hopefully going to teach her this week again. The other person is Sh...... she’s gone through a lot and needs this gospel in her life. She wants to change her life around.. well she found the greatest place to do that at.. haha it’s going to be a great week of finding and teaching. General Conference should give us a really good boost for the rest of the year and for the rest of the time that I have left to serve.

We received our transfer calls today as well.. I will be staying as well as Elder Cutler. YA!!

I hope you guys have another great week! I will talk to you next week! LOVE YA ALL!!

LOVE ELDER KIRTON!!! IN IOWA>> OSKY!!