Called to Serve

Missionary hike


Crazy sisters (Penrod, Brown & Kirts)

6 Months- it seems like only yesterday

I still can't believe that I have hit my 6-month mark. It seems like only yesterday that I was at the airport saying goodbye and then at the MTC wondering what the heck I had done. Well those days are long gone, most of the time. We have had a great week out here and it just seems to be getting better by the minute. Things are going well with my new companion Sister Penrod. She's really outgoing and really has a desire for the work. It's really made me be bolder and have a louder voice (not literally).

We have a few people scheduled to be baptized this month and we are super excited to have them enter the waters of baptism. They have all shown such great faith, commitment and love.

I love you all and am so blessed to call you family. Thank you for all that you do and the support that you are to me and my family.

Love,

Sister Kirts

So I got a newbie...again...

Dear Mom and all who take the time to read this,

This week I found out who my new companion was. Her name is Sister Penrod and she is from Indiana. It think it's so true that even though I'm not serving a foreign mission I definitely have had some foreign companions. I mean Idaho, Denmark and Indiana are WAY different than I expected. I told Sister Penrod and my previous companion Sister Brown that we have a gardener and they about fell over. They were all floored that we didn't do our own gardening....let's just say I felt a little stupid.....Oh well, it's supporting the illegal economy of California....now isn't that what it's all about?

Onto the rest of the week: Well President Miller, my mission President, told Sister Penrod, Who loves to work out that she would love me because I love to work out. Now I don't really know where he got that information from, I mean I love playing sports, but running aimlessly has never been one of my favorite pastimes. Needless to say she has kicked my rear a bit in getting me to run faster and harder...need I remind her that we are up in the mountains and we have NO oxygen up here....I mean come on....I know, I know, it's good for me, but it's just taking me a while to get used to it.

We are still living above the barn house and let's just say that I'm still getting used to having spiders crawl up through the drain when I am showering. I didn't expect to have that happen here, but oh well. At least I saw it...That was a good thing.

We got to play volleyball today and it was awesome. They have sand courts out here and I love to play on them. It feels like were at the beach, other than the rain it was pretty awesome. We played with the other missionaries and then we went and grabbed some of the best Mexican food ever. I really love those dirty places and we finally found one in park city. yay!!!

Now onto my purpose, I guess that I should get to that sooner, seeing as I am a missionary. Well let's get onto the spiritual side of things. It has been amazing to see how the Lord prepares people in our path and that at times we have to move a different way to be able to meet those people. Three of those people are a family. The Mother's name is Christine and she is amazing. She has been through a lot with her kids and on her own. She is progressing really well and it has been great to see here grow in her faith in Christ. Her children are adorable. They are so excited every time they get to go to primary.

We also found an amazing woman through a member. She was so prepared by the Lord it's not even funny. She is an at home care giver and she was at a home when some sisters were guess what....visit teaching....and she asked if she could meet with missionaries...can you believe that....she wanted us....How cool is that. Well we went and talked with her and she was so amazing. She had lost her mother about a year ago and was just so unsure about where she was and what had happened to her. I was just able to bare witness of the plan of salvation and that her mother was learning the same thing right now. That this is the true church and that she can gain that knowledge for herself. She was so excited and she agreed to be baptized at the beginning of September.

I also got a visit from an amazing friend, Emy Dambara this week which really brought my mood up and things are great with the new greenie. I don't really know why I keep training, but it's harder than I thought. But I figure the Lord qualifies.

I love you all and hope that all is well.

Love,

Sister Kirts

Thank You

I am still learning what Heavenly Father's plan is for me out here, but I have been able to see that as I place everything in a so-called box if I forget my life and focus on this short time that I have to serve him with all of my might that I am able to find out what it is that he needs from me. I hope to accomplish all that he has for me to do here. It's a beautiful place to be and I know that the Lord provides for us when we are mindful of what he wants from us.

It's getting a little hot out here for my taste and I’m glad that winter is only a month or two away. I still can't believe how fast the times go but as I've heard it said that we only have 18 months to devote and we must to all that we can.

I appreciate so much all of the support and love I feel from each of you each and every day. I appreciate all that you do for me and my family. You mean the world to me and I am so happy for the opportunity to know you. You have all been wonderful examples in my life and I know that I would not be here without you.

Sister Brown and I talked about that this week as we have been working on confidence and thinking about what really brought me out here, it wasn't really just one thing. It was a culmination of events and things that took place at a certain time in my life. I know that the Lord prepares us for all that will be placed in our path and I know that he will be there to help us.

I love you all and hope that you are all doing well.

Love,

Sister Allison Kirts

Bugs, Seriously!!!!!

So a funny thing happened today. We were in the car on the way to go bowling for p-day and there was a bug on me and someone flicked it off. A big change for me. As you well know. Well I was so proud of myself that I felt the need to tell the other sisters in the car that living in our new barn house and all of the bugs and things in there had not really had an affect on me. That I hadn't freaked out at all. Well just about 30 seconds after we had finished talking about that, I felt something on my finger, turns out it was a spider and I proceeded to freak out. I whacked my hand on the dash and continued to scream until I had established the creature was no longer on me. Well let's just say that we had to pull over due to the laughter of the other sisters. I mean I had just stopped talking about my bravery. Well the Lord continues to teach my humility out here in good ole' Utah. I can say that was and still is definitely necessary.

What a Wonderful week!!!

Hello all,

So guess who's training again. I still couldn't believe it when I got the call from President on Saturday. I though for sure that I was going down to the valley right in the middle of the summer, not what I wanted. But to my surprise he informed me that I would be training another brand new sister from the MTC. It's a little nerve wracking and I can see all of the ways that I can improve and I hope to be able to apply all of those things in order to best help this new sister. I can still remember my first day and how terrifying it was. My goal is to help her have the best experience and to help her see all of the amazing things that are going on in the area.

We have been teaching 27 year-old named Mateo and he is going to be baptized at the end of August. It was seriously the coolest experience to see him change. We've only met with him a few times and he's really been struggling with faith. Sister Brown and I had prepared a lesson solely on faith and how we can build it and really test our own faith through our actions and decisions. We were talking about faith and what it does for us and we asked him about his own faith and how he has felt his faith grow. As he started to answer I felt the spirit just guide us to ask if he was prepared to be baptized and to commit to an actual date. It turns out that he had already asked someone to baptize him and that they were going to come out at the end of august. I was so excited. I knew that the lord had been preparing him and that he now has a testimony of God's love for him and that Heavenly Father really does listen to and answer our prayers. It's so cool to be able to see people change and the different things that they can do to make those changes. It's really humbling to see how we really are just tools in the Lords hands and as we study and are obedient and act upon promptings that it's really between the investigator, Christ and Heavenly Father. We really don't do anything and we just have the privilege of seeing people change for the better.

We also had a great experience with Tom. He is 74 years old and has been an atheist for most of his life. He has been coming into the visitor’s center since before I even got here and just in the last four months has really grown and we have been able to see a great change in him. He is softer and more open to the gospel; you can see the joy in his life when he learns about the gospel. Jesus Christ really does change people’s lives if they allow him in. That through sincere change we can find such joy. It's true that the only real convert on your mission is you. My testimony continues to be strengthened by those around me. I know that the spirit really is what allows these people to feel of Heavenly Father’s love.

July 20

This week has been one that will go down in the books....We had some pretty awesome experiences and some that really shook at least me....Well to start off for those of you who don't know I am currently living on a ranch/farm/horse....I really don't even know what to call it. I thought I would never enjoy a place with this much fresh air and open space. You all know how much of a city girl I am.

GENEALOGY:

Well let's start off with the great experiences of the week. So to explain, last week I was helping a sister that was abandoned by her father at birth, mind you she was only 20 years old. Either he left her or her mother took off I really didn't want to get into it. Anyway she came in to the Family Tree Center and asked if we could look him up, typically we wouldn't be able to find someone that was born in the 50's as her dad was, but somehow the Lord intervened. She didn't even know if her father was still alive. Anyway as we searched we discovered that he father had passed away not more than a year ago. As we sat there, she burst into tears. We did all that we could to try to find a family member and someone for her to get into contact with. Luckily enough we did, we came across his obituary and we were able to get some information. I tried sharing the importance of the gospel with her, but she was not open to it. As they left she was very grateful for the time I had spent with her. A few days later one of the sisters handed me a note that this girl had dropped off at the center. It explained how grateful she was for the time that I had spent with her and continued to tell me that she had been in contact with her dad's sister and they had talked for hours.

As I read that letter I was overwhelmed with the greatest sense of gratitude. I could not imagine the life that girl had lived. What she must have gone through and to never have had the opportunity to meet her father. I knew at that moment that the Lord had sent her into my life to help me better show my gratitude for the many wonderful blessings that I had been given.

I knew my father, we were the best of friends and I could not imagine my life having not known him, as I am sure that you feel as well. I received a greater testimony of the greatness of the Lords Plan and that we are all able to be with our families regardless of what happens as we live according to the will of God, and we receive those blessings.

TREVOR (investigator):

I know that I have mentioned Trevor in the past, he was recently baptized and really one of the people that I know I was supposed to meet on my mission. He has drastically changed his life and this week he received the Aaronic priesthood. The light that shined through that young man was amazing. He has truly come to understand his worth in the sight of the Lord and has changed not only his life, but also the life of his family. They are all active now and we are just waiting on his sister to accept the gospel so that they can be sealed in the temple.

DOGS, DOGS AND MORE DOGS...

So onto the scary stories...first of all you know that there are two dogs that I love in this world...Lucy and a recent friend named Clancy...here in park city...on our 40 min walk to church this week we were chased by not one, not two, but three dogs all from different houses and all crazy scary...okay one was just a little one, but still super scary. Everyone up here has a dog...I have had to make some adjustments...but hey, I'm getting better......We also had another dog attack earlier in the week, but I stepped behind my companion to shield myself from any injury.....

Other than that the week has been great, but transfers are next week so I don't know where I will be. I love you all and realize more and more everyday how blessed we are to have the heritage that we do. What was sacrificed for me and how that has truly shaped my life.

Hope all is well and enjoy the Utah holiday Pioneer Day....

Sister Kirts

July 13

On our P-day we hiked up Deer Valley (ski resort), so much fun.

It's getting better with all of the responsibility of training all of the sisters and the senior couples and still training a new missionary in every aspect of missionary work. So we are trying to get all of that figured out while still trying to focus on the work and be a good missionary myself.

We met a young man about my age and he seems really interested in the gospel, he's already reading the Book of Mormon. I was shocked. I mean I really didn't know that people would just do that. I guess I should work a little bit more on my faith and stuff. That would probably be a good call.

Barn House (no overalls-Please)

Oh, so I live in a barn house now...yep above barn with hay and horses and all that good stuff, oh and mules, I didn't know there was a difference between mules and horses....I guess I am learning more about farming that I thought I would on my mission......It's good for me....

Oops, wrong end :)

I was trying to feed it but when the horse would breath it would knock the food off.



Our new home away from home...

Well, the apartment is the size of the entry @ my house in California, maybe and about one and a half times as long....with the kitchen and bathroom included. We sleep in a loft that can get super hot. It's pretty small, but it's home :)

And yes the sleeping quarters a.k.a. "the loft" are up this lovely ladder...

Also Shelby...just because you send a month old letter doesn't mean you are out of the dog house...Trevor (brother-in-law) is not allowed to get into trouble for not writing if you are not writing...I mean it's kind of a double standard-ha ha...

I love you all and will talk to you soon. Brit send updates of how things are going? Hope all is well...

Mark, I love you and can't wait to hear all of the fun things that you have been doing. I still look at my Euro’s and imagine, but the eye is single at the moment, just focusing on the work and the great things that come form it. We had two baptisms and it's been amazing to watch people change.

Love you all,
Allymofro

July 6

We watched the 4th of July parade, it really was awesome to see all of the people, there were probably about 10,000 on Main Street.

Trevor and his sister were in the parade.


The baptism this week was absolutely amazing. I mean it was awesome. I loved it. All of the wonderful things that you want to happen happened. We even had another investigator come. The spirit was so strong and we just knew that he was making the right decision and that our Father in Heaven was so pleased with him and all that he had done. I know that Trevor was one person that I was meant to meet on my mission. He is one that has changed my life and helped me see that people really can change if they choose to do so.

June 29

I really am enjoying myself out here. It’s been wonderful to meet new people and I even had a couple from Wales accept to have the missionaries go to their home. I was so excited. It was awesome. I am trying to do the best that I can up here and I think that it is starting to pay off. Not that it hasn’t been, but I can feel it and recognize it now.

My mission president called me the leader of the sisters up here. I really have a hard time believing that, but then I read and I realize that I do have that. The lord has given me certain talents and I have to figure out how he wants me to use them. It might take some time, but I’ll get there. He said that the sisters look up to me and what I do. They follow my example. I guess I have a lot more responsibility that I signed on for.

I hope all if going well with everyone. I hear Brit is off to Utah and Jenn is basking in the sun...she still is not keeping me updated on the gossip...I mean come on Jenn :)

I am so glad to always hear from everyone. I love you all and wish you a wonderful week of love and laughter. I wouldn't be able to be here without your support.

Love, Sister Kirts

June 21

We have our first baptism this week, we are so excited.

New Companion - Sister Brown

My new companion is Sister Brown. She is from Idaho and totally awesome.

Being a trainer is hard and I am so not used to it. It takes a lot of prayer, so I will be on the knees a lot.

I was able to go to the temple and it was just the best experience. I had really been having a hard time with knowing that I would be training a new missionary. It's a ton a responsibility, but I had been trying to gain the confidence to do it. I had been thinking about a priesthood blessing for a while and in the temple I just came to the realization to the power of the priesthood. it is amazing. Everything is wrought by that great power. The temple, baptism, the Holy Ghost, sacrament, everything is through the great power of the Priesthood, even the atonement was done through the priesthood. I knew then that if I received a blessing that all would be well. I did and it was amazing to feel the fear and nerves just leave. I was so calm as I went through the next day. I had faith that it would help me and it truly did.

June 8

Sister Brant, Sister Chrisiansen, & Me

Dear All,

This week has been and interesting one. I have asked an investigator to set a baptismal date and then testified at a bunch of doors while we were door knocking. It's definitely scary to put yourself out there. But it just takes a door or two and then I am totally fine.

We got to go to a concert at Temple Square and I really enjoyed it. We got some food with the district after the Concert and didn’t get home until like 12:30. The next day we were in the Family Tree and both of us were just exhausted. I will never go to bed late again on my mission.

This week we talked to Trevor (investigator) about the Plan of Salvation. He has changed and progressed. I just felt like we should ask him and recommit him to be baptized and we did. HE SAID YES!!!!!!!! It is seriously the coolest feeling to ask someone to be baptized and to know that they will be. I know that if he continually works hard that he will be prepared to be baptized. He really has come a long way and I can see Gods love in his eyes. He knows that it is true and is progressing slowly, he is doing it for himself, not for anyone else. We are also teaching young boy named Logan.

The journal writing is going slow, but at least I have a sentence every night. Today we are going on a hike to the Park City Mountain….. We are really excited to go with the whole district. It will be fun to get to know everyone a little bit more. It’s just fun to go out and relax and just have fun. I mean Sister Christiansen and I have plenty of fun, but it’s almost like a group of friends now. After the hike we were able to play rugby. I really love it when it is a sport that we are playing when we exercise. Tomorrow for Sister Christiansen's last District Meeting we are going to breakfast beforehand. It will be awesome. We are super excited. Today totally rocked and I really enjoyed all that we did.

The Elders are teaching Enrique, he will be baptized this weekend and we are really excited to go. It will be the first baptism that I will attend on my mission. It’s a big step and Enrique says that he is happy. That was really great to hear him say last night, that he was just happy. The gospel makes him happy. You could see the spirit in his eyes and the joy that he had. I cannot wait to see that more throughout my mission.

I am learning more to trust in the Lord and to lean on him. I know that it won’t be easy, but as I learn to do it more and more I can see discouragement start to dissipate. I think that is Satan’s biggest weapon against missionaries, “discouragement”. It’s hard not to let it get to you though.

I got a letter from my great aunt Shirley today and she is seriously the sweetest woman, it's like having another grandmother. I love it. She was so encouraging and even sent me some stuff.

Just know that things are going well up here and as of today I will be training next week. AAAAHHHHHH......I am so freakin nervous it's ridiculous. I was actually hoping that President wouldn't want me too. It's just a ton of responsibility. Well I guess the Lord thinks I am ready or he just thinks I need another kick in the butt. We'll see how that goes. We have finally recovered from the late night last week so hopefully we will be okay. I get to go the Salt Lake temple this week and I am super stoked. I am finally getting to go after 3 months, it seems like it's been forever.

I also got a letter from Jenn this last week and it was great to hear from her. She updates me on the world and I can't believe what's going on. I mean Leonardo Dicaprio and Blake Lively. WHAT?????? I never saw that one coming, but I did see Angelina with her crash. I only got info from the covers because we aren't supposed to look inside. Shelby I am still counting on you to update me as to the world. If you hear of anything let me know.

I love you all, Sister Kirts

Pictures of Sister Kirts and her missionary companions

Mother's Day

After Cheesecake there was a visit to Nordstrom - no surprise there :)

It's not all work, Yeah for P-Day (preparation day)

Concert in SLC on June 3rd

While attending a concert at the Conference Center I ran into my aunt Liz and cousin Andy --
Mi Familia!!!!!!

On the bus
After the concert

Oh No!!!!!!!

the world has come to an end...we have been asked to quit drinking Pepsi.
Whatever will I do?

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Pictures of me and a recent convert Michelle, whom I love and the book "The Remarkable Soul of a Women" that Pesident Uchdorf gave me. Signed and everything.

Updates on Sister Allison Kirts

This is a compilation of Allison's emails from May 25, 2011.
We happened to be online at the same time and were able to chat back and forth

May 25, 2011 Here is a link to the mission blog. There are a few pictures of me on there. Not good at all. Talk about Dad's chins....I mean seriously...That's what he left me with. I mean come on man. So not cool. More to come..... http://www.utahslcsouthmission.com/wp/ What why didn't anyone tell me it was Trevor's birthday....now I'm the worst sister in law ever....but he knows I love him..so I'll send him something today :) We have a baptism scheduled in a couple of weeks. …What weather calamities? Send me info-I know there is flooding, but don't know how bad it is. It's a sign of the times though right. That the Mississippi will divide the country?... I think Destry might come up today to do my hair. I am so happy cause I have been looking pretty scary...bad ends and no body...gross… Other than that a pretty mellow day has been planned, we are going to go to Michael's and Wal-Mart. I'm thinking about making something. I did have a hard time this week. I got sick again and just had a hard night. I was given a Priesthood blessing and am doing better. It's hard to have faith that we will find people, but as long as we keep working I have been promised to find success, so long as I am obedient...Not always easy, but I can definitely start to see it's worth. Sister Christiansen is helping me a lot, but I am really getting nervous about training, I don't know if I am ready to have that much responsibility. But President Miller says he trusts me and that means a lot. I keep praying for help to know what to do. I have been preparing by reading Preach My Gospel again and the Book of Mormon too. There is so much to know and I feel like I still don't have it all down. I guess that is why we are to study the gospel every day. Have you still been writing in your journal? Mine aren't long entries, but they are there. I can't believe Shel heard the heartbeat. I mean that's crazy. I'm so excited and it's hard to be so far away. Sometimes I still think about what's going on at home and what life will be like when I get back. It gets distracting...but you know me always going to the future. I have been working on my own personal testimony of the restoration and of the priesthood and studying the doctrine and covenants has really helped to open my eyes to the power that Joseph Smith had, and the power of the priesthood in the translation. It has really opened my eyes and helped me see the vastness of this gospel. What else would you like to know? We taught over 30 lessons this week which is a real feat let me just tell you. I mean it's huge. We have been working hard to reach our goals and have been getting good results from it. I’ll send you my letter to the president as well. It tells some more of what has been going on. Maybe we will get a car...yay!!!!! well maybe....no hopes up. I am speaking every week for the next month. woo hoo. Did I tell you I saw Ryan North. He lives up here. I have seen him a few times. Good to see some home. I think that is it. I will be around a bit longer, and will probably check again later today. Love you and I look forward to the letters every week. You really help lift me up. Off to Wal-Mart and Michaels, but will check in around five I think. Love ya. Love you, Sister Kirts

Happy Easter

Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Allison Kirts wrote:

So we got some great news yesterday one of our investigators that we thought didn't want to be baptized anymore actually wants to be baptized by his grandfather.

I will be up here in Park city till at least August training new missionaries. Hopefully I will be able to stay till Christmas, but I know that I will go wherever the lord wants me to.

I actually had a pretty mellow week. A lot of contacting and I got food poisoning...raw undercooked chicken.... yuck!!! the next day we had to move out of our house...It was really abrupt and we had to be out in 6 hours. That took away a whole day of proselyting.... That wasn't too good. Now we are living in the family tree. It's pretty great and we get to save time taking the bus which is awesome...It's definitely way smaller, but I can say that I lived on main street in Park City. It really is dead up here though.

Some things that I have really been studying lately are Christ like attributes. It has truly helped me to stay focused and to think of ways that I can improve. Preach My Gospel (PMG) lays it all out and just helps with studying. I think that it is a great way to do personal study everyday. I studied Faith yesterday and I recognized that it is a principle of obedience. Through our obedience we show our faith. It really helped me to recognize that we don't really know why we have all of these rules, but we follow them because we have faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. Believing that it will work in our lives. That is why we do everything that we do. It's really helped me to understand more as to why we need to be obedient as missionaries.

For Easter we went to a family's home and had dinner and decorated cookies. They kids were adorable and it's helping me practice my auntie skills...They are so fine tuned now. We also were able to visit with a lot of less actives.... not very many let us in..... although there was a wonderful Jewish woman who just loved us... we are definitely going back...her husband is less active and her son was never baptized.

Other than that we are just finishing up our first transfer together. I can't believe that it's already been six weeks.... well, almost...but It's been wonderful. My great fear was getting along with my companions, but it's going great. We have become great friends and I think that it shows in our work.

I love you all and can't wait to hear from you and talk to some of you in 10 days!!!! yay

Love you,

Sister Kirts