Hey everybody!                                                                                                    August 19,  2013

Thanks for the emails it's always great to hear how everyone is doing. That's crazy that school is already starting and everything. Wow Jami is a senior. That's way cool that she is helping you in here class mom! Sounds like a good deal to me. Mom sounds like you're a little depressed that school has started again. You just partied too hard in St. George all summer long, that's why it seems so fast haha. I know you can do it mom. You're strong :) That's cool to hear about Kaylee getting a job at a snow shack. Good work Kaylee. YOU'RE A DRIVER. Weird. Mom and Dad you're super old now. All you kids are grown up and can drive. It feels like FOREVER since I've driven. I wonder if I even remember how? Taylor Hyde's homecoming sounds like it went well. Hmmm I don't know if I'm going to bear my testimony in Spanish mom...it would be weird because you can't understand me! I'll think about it...I got a year. No luck on Grandpa's letter. I'll let you know when I get it. WOW Tyler that's way cool that your team is so good at selling. You've won a bunch of cool stuff. You're going to have to let me crash at your fancy place when I get home all poor from the mission Ty. You killed it out there on the course Dad! Nice work. Maybe someday I'll be able to beat you. 

Well this week we started out really slow. We had lots of special things going on all week long. We had an important meeting with President and Elder Martinez (70). The meeting was great. We had a couple other days this week where we visited a TON of people, but nobody was there. It happens sometimes. This weekend ended really well. We were able to put 2 baptismal dates for the 7th of Sept. One is named Brenda and the other Paola from separate families. They are both super chosen and prepared. I continue enjoying the work out here in the field. It's the work of the Lord, and we're building the Kingdom of God!

This past week as I passed my year mark, one night I was thinking and reflecting on the countless things that I have learned this past year. It's incredible. I have learned more in this one year than any other year in my life. Learning a new culture and people is a life-changer. I am so grateful for this missionary experience. I love and pray for each one of you. Thank you for the love and support. I am now in Alma in the Book of Mormon reading for the second time in Spanish. READ THE BOOK OF MORMON. It is personal strength that we all need each day. I just finished reading about Abinadi. BE like him. Never back down or deny your testimony, rather nourish it and help it grow. Love you guys!

Con Amor

Elder Ryan Kitchen

                                                                                                                                   August 12, 2013
Hey guys how is it going? Mom I got a kick out of your stereotype comment haha. Yeah there are a lot of times where I don't think I'm in Mexico at all, but most of the time it feel and looks just like you'd imagine Mexico to be. That's too bad that everyone is just about headed back to school already! I can't believe Jami is already a senior and Kaylee is a junior!! Keep a close eye on Kaylee because junior year always seems to be the troubled one for most people. That was interesting to hear about Taylor Hyde and the ward picnic thing. Well here comes "hump day" and I can't believe it. Apparently they call it hump day because you climb the hump the first year and then the second just blows by. It feels like the first blew by. Mom I'm pretty sure I saw in the office one time that I have the 6th of August posted as my release date. I'm guessing that it could change, but who knows. Before I forget, dad no Grandpa's letter hasn't got here yet. I've expected other letters that never arrived too...I not sure what happens sometimes. You also wanted to know a bit about my comp. Well something crazy....he was born in Feb of 95!! The same year as Jami hahaha. He is really young. We get along pretty well. We have pretty different personalities, but it works out. He only has one sister and both his parents are Doctors.

Well this week we had a baptism (as you can see in the pic). What happened is we found a little girl who hasn't been baptized yet and is 8 years old. The problem was both her parents aren't members, only her brothers and sisters and grandma. So we had to teach her and baptize her and everything. We also found some other investigators that should be good. We are doing really well here already. We hope to baptize more this month. We had a pretty cool experience this week. We headed out in a combie to one of our little towns to visit a member who was going to invite their non member friend to listen to us. We finished around 8:30 and we waited about 30 minutes for the combie and it never came! We started to think that we were going to be stranded out there haha. I said a little prayer and so did my comp and about 10 minutes later a member comes driving by and offers us a ride. Sure enough the last combie had already left. We even made it home on time! Power of prayer!

Love you guys! Keep up all the hard work. Make everyday count. Try to make weaknesses strengths! 

Con Amor

Elder Ryan Kitchen

Dear Kitchens,                                                                                                        August 5, 2013

Hey guys how are things going? Sounds like Dad is still suffering from all the estrogen in the house right now. Sorry for abandoning you Dad. Don't worry before you know it we'll be golfing and skiing together...that's if you're still a man after all that time with the girls. Mom to answer your question about my new area, it just depends. It's actually more farm-like than city. There is a city part here in Atlixco, but if you get out of town it's pure fields and stuff. We live closer to the edge of town, so we have a lot of members in more of a normal residential part, and then we also have a few pueblos in our area too. It's like a perfect mix between my two first areas. It's cool I like it.  Wow that's crazy to hear about Taylor Hyde!! He is already done. I do remember thinking that he had a year when I started.

Anyway I'll let you know a little bit about this week. We have been doing a lot of getting to know members and the area like you said Dad. That's what we have to get down well first, because we don't knock on doors. We have actually been receiving a lot of referrals from the members here. Like I said before we have some little towns kinda far away from where we live and everything, and so we also have made some visits there. We did some service in a little town called Castillotla and it reminded me so much of Atexcac!! We also have some really really rich gated areas in our area too. We have an investigator family in one of them really close to where we live and both the parents are Doctors, one already retired. They are great, and go to church a lot. We just need to help them with some doubts and they'll get baptized. Also, we went with President Lopez (our counselor to Pres. Reeves and also our neighbor here Atlixco) to the gated area called "El Cristo" which is super nice! Huge houses and a nice country club golf course and everything. We taught some friends of Pres. Lopez and they are GOLDEN! There is a lot of work to do and I'm excited. 

Just so you know, there really isn't any notable volcano issues. Nobody is really that uptight about it at all. Apparently they have a green, yellow, and red system to indicate how active the volcano is. Right now it's in yellow and has been since the 90's. So don't worry. I love you family. I was thinking about all of you during sacrament meeting this week, and I'll have to say, I really miss you guys. There are moments like that for sure, but it's normal. I love and miss each and every one of you. Do what matters most and stay strong in the Church and close to the Savior. Until next week,

Con Amor,

Elder Ryan Kitchen

Hi family,                                                                                                                      July 29, 2013

What's up guys how is everybody doing? Thanks for sending me some good pictures of your cousin camp! It's too bad some of us couldn't make it. Sounds like it was really fun and I enjoyed the pictures. Everybody is really growing up fast it's crazy. It rained the whole time huh? Well that makes two of us because it rains all the time here like everyday! Well at least in the city, but in this new area it hasn't rained much. I'm sure you're dying to know where I am huh? I'm glad to see that you all are safe and happy and having a good time. I'm still loving it out here in my mission. It's hard to get used to telling everybody I almost have a year on my mission. I sound like an old missionary already! It's weird how time goes by. I think about each area that I have had so far and the very different things that they taught me. I have learned so much, and I can't wait for the things I'll learn here. 

Okay fine I'll tell you all where I am right now. I'm in Atlixco, Puebla!! It's soo awesome up here! Atlixco is way up here close to the volcano, but on the oppostite side of Nealtican and Atexcac where I was before. It's about an hour and a half drive from Puebla to get up here. We took a big huge nice tour bus up here from Puebla. Looking around on the way up here I thought I was going into paradise! It's super green everywhere. After being in a city for so long it's nice to see so many green fields, hills, mountains and all that. Apparently this is the best time to be in a place like this, because it's the raining season and the green time of the year. Also, Atlixco is famous for it's flowers. I've heard about it all my mission. My companion is named Elder Ortega from Nayarit, Mexico. That's really close to Puerta Vallerta where we went zip-lining on our cruise line a long time ago. He is a great missionary fresh out of the new Mexico MTC. It's been nice speaking in pure Spanish again...I'll have to admit I missed it. It just comes faster and more fluent when you don't have to keep turning the switch off and on. We are working in the Madero ward here pretty close to the center of Atlixco. By the way, Atlixco is not a little town or anything, it's a pretty big place, just not as big as Puebla of course. We live on this street where the Familia Lopez lives. They are a big grown up family of a bunch of brothers and all their kids and wives and they are all members of the church. We live right next to this gated community too that has a bunch of members and the chapel. There are 3 area seventy Elders, a counselor to our mission, a mission president (not here right now) and a that all live close to us-haha we are really protected. Our little flat is great I really like it. It's owned by the Lopez family. I don't have time to tell you what has been going on this week, so I'll let you know next week.

Love you guys! Keep up the good work. Thanks for everything. Mom you've been asking if I need anything, and I thought about it for a minute and I don't think I need anything, thanks for asking. What I do need is more of those prayers on behalf of these people, because my companion and I are going to baptize a lot here!! Thanks for all the prayers. Please thank everybody for all the prayers too. I really appreciated hearing that and if means a lot. Take care, and we'll talk next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Ryan Kitchen