Hey everyone! September 25, 2011

Sounds like everything over there in the distant land of American Fork is doing wonderful. Things over here in New Zealand are doing great! I was looking through some other pictures you sent me a little while ago on the e mail and just thinking how everyone is growing up so fast. Sometimes you kind of forget that just because you’re clear over here in New Zealand time doesn’t stop for you over there. Everyone looks older. As for me I don’t think I look that much older than when I came out haha....but oh well. My week was pretty interesting. And it sounds like your week went really good. Just before I forget....I found out I can’t e mail other family members, so just my immediate family. So tell Aunt Esther (she wrote me this week) and the cousins and family I’m sorry. I think that is one of the things I am just not good at...writing people back. I feel so bad but I am staying completely focused and just working hard to build up the Kingdom of God.

I’m glad you received my pictures. I can’t remember whether Whangarei is one those or not. It will be fun to go through all of them with you. Thanks for sending some pictures. Your right Jazzi does look really weird. Wow and Savanna looks SO much older! wow! All the cousins look older. And yup your right Jazzi looks like a goat....Haha its cool to see Dad with his gray....now white Go-Tee haha! And the one of the Temple in the goal is so cool. I printed it out and I’m we are going to give it to some of our investigators. The one of Ryan with the snowboard is awesome. Man he looks really good and it’s a cool picture. Can you send more of his senior pictures? You should send some of you mom. And Dad send some more of you haha. Mom I’m sure you have been staying really busy....I can’t wait to go see your room. I can only imagine right now what it would be like for you to be a teacher. It will be cool to come see your class and students, maybe I can sit down and listen to you teach sometime haha. What is your favorite part about teaching? Have you had any crazy experiences yet? haha That will be nice for you to have the whole summer break off and all the holidays. I can’t believe the Zach is already done with his mission...wow. That is so cool we have 12 missionaries from our ward serving the Lord. What a blessing....I’m so excited for Ryan to be able to go serve the Lord and experience the joy and happiness of serving a mission. How is he doing preparing for it? Is he still working on his papers?

Dad thanks for sending the e mail. That’s cool you can just send it right off your iphone. haha I was laughing when I read that grandpa can’t wait for the hunt. That will be way fun to go with him when I get back. That would be really cool if you got to see Devan when he was serving his mission. You asked the temple trip. It was an amazing trip and I loved it. It is always fun to be with all the missionaries and with President and Sister Lekias. The zone conferences and temple trips are always a high light because of the amazing spiritual experiences and the things you learn. I always learn so much as I attend the temple and the feeling you get there is very strong. Yes you can rent clothes when you go inside the temple there. That would be amazing if we can go do a session when we are here!

My week was great! The temple trip was definitely one of the high lights of the week. We got to have a devotional before, then the temple session then a zone conference after. We went to Pokonos after to get ice cream again. It’s a famous place for the members in New Zealand. It’s really good ice cream and you can get a ton of scoops! It’s really cool to see some missionaries try to beat the records...We got to do some interviews for baptisms after for the missionaries in our zone. We met a lot of cool people this week. Talked so many and had some good experiences. Thursday I went on a trade off with Elder Shepard in our zone. He is in the Tongan Program. So we went to a lot of Tongan speaking appointments. He is from Utah and is white but speaks Tongan fluently. Wow the gift of Tounges is so real on a mission. It’s a cool experience. I also did a baptism interview for one of their investigators that got baptized this weekend. Saturday was another high light of the week. Because we had Dodie's Baptism!! :) I was the one that was able to baptize her too so it was such a great experience for me. She is an incredible convert and has a strong testimony. She was so happy when she got baptized. She shared her conversion experience to the Bishop and it was cool to listen because I was a part of it all along the way. I remember when we first met her mowing her lawn out on the street. Sunday we had her confirmation. We were supposed to have Lisa's confirmation too (she got baptized last Saturday but wasn’t confirmed on Sunday). It is a long story and I was sad that she didn’t but we will keep helping her. Yesterday we had an interesting experience. We had the opportunity to teach two different Muslim people. We taught one from Saudi Arabia, and the other was from Fiji. It was one of the first times I have taught someone from the Muslim faith. I have talked to a lot but never really sat down with a very strong one. He was interested in the Gospel. It went good but we will have to help him a lot. It’s so amazing on your mission....especially this mission to be able to experience so many different kinds of cultures. You get to see so many different things. My eyes have been opened to a lot of different things on my mission. It’s amazing everyone’s different beliefs and everyone’s way of life and cultures. I have met people from all around the world and have been in a lot of their homes teaching them the gospel. What a great experience that only comes once in a lifetime.

I have to go now....but I just want to share a little bit of my testimony of the experience Joseph Smith had in the Sacred Grove. I know with all my heart and Soul that the young 14 year old boy saw what he said he saw. As I read his experience, as I share it with others and as I pray about it the holy spirit of God confirms to me that it is true. I know that God the Eternal Father and his beloved son the Lord Jesus Christ appeared face to face with Joseph Smith. That one glorious vision means that everything this church teaches us is true, that we are a part of the Kingdom of God on earth. Wow what a blessing. We are so lucky to be able to have the fullness of the Gospel in our lives. I love it so much and I love to share it with others. I love you all...keep living the gospel. Do all you can to live the right way and we will be happy. I say these things in the Name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Love your son and brother, Elder Kitchen