Hey guys!                                                                                                             February 17, 2014

Sounds like you're having fun in St. George. Tell everyone hi for me out here. Wow dad your story about going shooting with the cousins is pretty sketchy. Whoops...I'm glad ya'll made it out of there alive. Mom I got a laugh out of how Jazzi is now a toothless granny...hahaha. Well maybe she will still be alive when I get home. Yeah that's crazy that Talon is getting home on Wednesday! That went by so fast. I got an email from him that he sent to family and friends. It was like his last words as a missionary and it sounds like he had a great mission and that he has changed a lot. To answer your question, no I haven't gotten the package yet, but I'm sure I will get it tomorrow at the transfer meeting! Thanks for sending me a love package ;)

Well as you probably have already gathered from my subject phrase, I have transfers and I'm leaving the ward and the zone. I finished 3 transfers here in this area. Like I've said each time that I get transfers...it's partly sad and partly exciting. After 3 transfers though you do get a little sick of seeing the same things everyday. This ward and area has been my favorite on the mission so far. I've learned and grown a lot here. I've had the privilege to find, teach, and baptize many people here and I will miss all of them dearly. We put 4 more baptismal dates with recently new investigators this week, which makes a potential 7 more baptisms in the end of this month and into the next. I won't get to see it all happen, but hopefully I'll get to come back for at least one of them. I'm glad that I was able to participate in finding and starting the teaching process with all of them. It's just as satisfying. We had another awesome week and I've finished strong here. I'm pretty excited to see where I'll be going. There are two zones that I've never been to that I'd really like to serve in. I'll find out tomorrow!! 

Have a great week guys. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers in my behalf. I really do feel super supported out here, and I always have the blessing of knowing that all is well with my family back home. Keep working hard and doing what's right. We all need to constantly look for a lasting conversion in our lives. Read Helaman 15:7-8 and Alma chapter 5. The Lord wants converts. I love you guys!!

con amor,

Elder Ryan Kitchen

Dear Family,                                                                                                            February 10, 2014
It's called día de amor here in Mexico. Hey guys!! How is everyone doing? Wow sounds like there were some big changes in the stake presidency and everything. Scott Miller from the 3rd ward...isn't that Brett Miller's dad? Or maybe it's Maddie Miller's dad who knows. Well it's going to be weird leaving the mission with a brand new president and coming home to a new stake president haha. Oh well it doesn't matter too much. I'm really jealous of you guys watching the winter Olympic games!! Dad when you told me that the first American gold medalist was slope style boarding from someone from Park City it made me super pumped up. That's awesome! Also really cool that they made that new event. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures of the mission council. You're right dad I'm really having a great experience. All four of the missionaries that I came here with that were in my district in the MTC are zone leaders now and they were at that meeting. You really do make a lot of good friends on the mission. I got Krissy's wedding announcement in the mail finally. It still is a shock that she got married already.

Well this week was another great week out here in the 3 Cerritos ward. My companion and I gave the zone meeting on Tuesday which went really well. After that we just taught a lot of lessons to investigators. We did divisions with the ward quite a few times throughout the week in the evenings so that we could go to two appointments at the same time. We were able to find 7 more new investigators and 10 of our investigators went to church! It was awesome! 4 investigators also accepted baptism on a specific date as well. It was an all around good week. Well I keep getting the feeling that these are my last days in this area. This is the last week of this transfer, and it's the 3rd transfer for me in this area. There is still a chance that I stay, but I feel like I'm probably leaving. I hope that I don't leave though because this whole transfer we've been finding and now a lot have baptismal dates. We'll see what happens. I'll know by next P-day whats going to happen.

I'm glad that everyone is safe and happy. I want to wish each and every one of you a happy valentines day!!  Love you guys. I hope you have a great week, and I look forward to talking next week.

con amor

Elder Ryan Kitchen

Hey guys,                                                                                                                    February 3, 2014

Nooo way.....the broncos lost :( I don't know if you all remember, but I was a big broncos fan when I was in elementary school and jr. high. I'll admit I did start giving up on them. Also I've always been a Colts fan with Payton Manning and now that he is on the broncos it's even more of a reason. That's too bad. Well sounds like everyone is busy, but doing well. Thanks for letting me know how things are going. Mom thanks for letting me know the news about Ashley and Sean....wow that was fast!! HAHA. I remember when I got the wedding announcement not too long ago. Good for them. So would their kid be a niece or nephew of mine, or does that not count because she is my cousin? Tyler says he is finally seriously looking for the wife, so maybe someday I'll get some nieces or nephews. I'm glad to hear that Carson is doing well on his mission. Thanks for telling me that they said hi and tell em hi for me when you get a chance. That was weird news when you told me that Cassidy is already married. I guess that's the new thing huh?...getting married. It's about time someone went boarding this year. Tell the "flying red tomato" hi for me haha. I wish I was there to go with em. Next season should be good...let's hope. Well I did find out that the Winter Olympics start soon. You'll have to tape it for me or something. That's cool that Grandpa Smith is going to be a great great grandpa now! Is he going for the big 100 years yet? haha dad I can just picture you getting inpatient with a bunch of 5 year olds. It's your future as a grandpa coming up here pretty quick! I got a kick out of the picture with Kit. Jazzi is depressed in the background like she's been forgotten about hahaha. Wait so the stake pres already asked me to talk in other wards?? Isn't he going to be released before I get home? That's what bishop told me. Man I'm going to leave with a new mission pres. and get home to a new stake pres. 

Anyway this week went really well, and SUPER fast. We had two elders from a different zone at our house for a few days visiting the hospital. We did divisions in our area so that we could go to more appointments at the same time. On Thursday we had a all day long leadership meeting and the very next day on Friday we had a all day long mission council. We ended Friday and Saturday in divisions with elders from the zone. We were able to teach a bunch of investigators, 7 went to church yesterday, we found like 8 new ones, and yeah. It's going well. We just need to focus on putting baptismal dates with a bunch of them. We have at least made the invitation to most all of them so far. Tomorrow we have the zone meeting. I'm not sure if you guys know what a zone meeting is, but basically it's a training meeting that we do for the zone. We transmit all that we learned from Pres. in the council and we teach also according to the needs of the zone. Zone conference is different because pres. and his wife both train and teach along with us and it's longer. Anyway I hope that goes well. There are several families that we are teaching right now. Most a part member families. I really want to see them unite and make the decision to get baptized. 

Well after fasting on Sunday and before we went to eat lunch, I was studying my patriarchal blessing and my goals that I've made for this year. I was reflecting on the perspective on our Father in Heaven and when He wants me to achieve in this life. We all have divine potential and a divine destination. We determine our destiny as said by our dear Prophet. I know it's true. The world is constantly trying to gain our attention and to put us down making us feel like we don't have much worth or that we're just not good enough. You all need to read the first presidency message of the month of January with this thought in mind. PUT YOUR GOALS HIGH. We can't be conformists. "if we want to be great, we have to do the things that the greats do." Thanks for everything you all do. Remember through Christ all things are possible. Love you guys!

Elder Ryan Kitchen

What's up everyone?!                                                                                          January 27, 2014

Well I took a little extra time to write some people individually and everything, so sorry I'm not going to be able to write quite as much as usual. Well I really liked seeing the wedding pictures! I'm glad that the wedding went well. It looked real nice. I still can't get over the fact that 3 cousins are going to get married while I've been out here. Just wait a sec alright! haha when is Samantha getting married? You'll have to let me know what goes on with all that. You guys are right about Krissy growing up and all it really does seem like she has grown up a lot. Elder Dzul got to know the church through a friend and his family never accepted very well, mom. He says that it's going to be his first thing that he does when he gets home...convert his family ha. It was cool to hear about McKay King speaking in the ward. Does that mean I have to take a tour of the stake to speak every week?? Not too worried though because it's really not bad at all anymore. I can take 10 in Spanish with ease, so in English it shouldn't be too bad. I've had to speak like 4 times in this ward so far! Ha dad your comment about how reality is going to hit the newly weds was pretty funny...I guess that's how it is huh. I'm glad you were able to beat the young guns this time, but when I get out there you won't stand a chance pops. I'll try and write grandma and grandpa a quick email.

Well this week was a whole lot more finding. We actually taught a lot more and our finding efforts are starting to turn out. We have a bunch of new appts. this week as well. Sadly, Alejandra didn't get baptized this weekend. We had made an appt with her mom and the bishop, but she refused...mainly because they fear the dad who has been abusive in the past and is really against the whole idea. She is 16 turning 17, so if she isn't able to get permission soon, I know she'll get baptized later on. She has a great testimony. We found another family!! Wooo! The dad is inactive and he wants to share the gospel with his non member family and get back to church himself. I hope I stay here to see the end result. Well we had two divisions (one with the assistants and another with one of our DLs), and 4 baptismal interviews this week. Other than that we had time to do normal visits in our area a lot. We did splits with two brothers in the ward on Saturday night and I got to visit an awesome family that has a recent convert daughter. The parents and their son aren't members. Since I got here we have visited them a lot, but they never would go to church. Apparently they went a few times in the past, but I never saw it. We had an awesome lesson with them! They went to church finally this Sunday!! Wooo I was pumped. Well this week we have a leadership training meetings and a mission council in the mission home. Good stuff.

I love you guys. I know I said I wasn't going to write much, but I did anyway. Thank you for everything. You're great!!

Love

Elder Ryan Kitchen