TESTIFICATION!!!!!

i never know how to open emails home. I always just end up saying something lame like okay. so today i will say something not so lame like.... TESTIFICATION!!! haha i dont remember if i told you all that story, but someone used that word in a prayer in a tuesday night devotional in the MTC. it was funny because, well just look at it!! It is my hope and prayer today that my email can help you all recieve a testification of this work!
 wow already i have the little red squiggly line all over the place in this email. i never were all that good at english ya know! hahaha now, down to business. what has been going on here in New York!?! Well good news!!! we got to teach Brother Swetish (more like Sweet...ish i think) this week. The whole scary thing with his wife's dad turned out to be ok, and so is he! he is still going strong and is still planning on the 19th of Feb. We have picked up a few more potential investigators that seem really solid, and so we are excited about that as well.
We had a... different experience this week too with one of our lessons. we got into some super super deep doctrine stuff. everytime we tried to bring it around back to the lesson they would ask another deep doctrine question. finally i just stopped them and was like, yo, this is much more than we teach. we teach line upon line. It is milk before meat. so take a sip and sit back down. (didnt really say it like that ) But really that is how it is. and all problems with the doctrine of the church come back to the Book of Mormon. It resolves all concerns. every last one of them. do you know why? because if it is true, then the Prophet Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and every other concept of this Church is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and is the word of God, Therefore i know this church is true.
I got to go to Stake Priesthood in Albany yesterday. that was way awesome. it was a really really good meeting. i dont think i have ever been in a room more attentive, yet absolutely dead silent before. it was sick awesome sweet, thick with the spirit! I actually get to go back to Albany tomorrow for zone conference. And guess what mommy! your assumption from all those many years ago was right. I have been asked to play the piano for it. so just like you said, i should practice because i am going to need it on my mission someday. it really has happened now! i am actually accompanying a special musical group as well so that should be fun!
"The Standard of Truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop this work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, independent til it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, til the purpose of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." It is so true! this is the work of God and no matter what happens in this life or world it will continue the way that He wants it to. He is our Father. He loves each and every one of us. I have never felt closer wrapped in His arms then i do now. I pray that each of you can grow closer to Him. if any of you are struggling, take courage in a little spiritual CPR. Church attendance, Prayer, and Reading the scriptures. He truly will bless you! i Love you all and as always thank you for your continued love and support!
Love
Elder Shane Kitchen

oh ya by the way, check out Mormon.org. it is way cool. they are having a completely new style of missionary work that is centered around it. there should be an insert in your January Ensign with some info on it as well. check it out, and if you want make a profile! that way i can refer people to it!

Yay Elder Shane! We're so proud of you. Remember to keep Elder Shane in your prayers. The church is true!

-27 Degrees

Wow it has been so super cold! today it got to about 27 below zero. It gets kinda hard to breathe when it is that cold. we went to the building to do our laundry and, well i dont know how to explain it other than the fact that it was really super cold!  Sorry about the no email thing last week! hopefully you will get my letter soon if you have not already recieved it. So lets see here what is new in Saratoga Springs? i am beginning to learn the area much better now so i am taking on alot more of my senior companion duties now. i am making sure that we are workin hard here! In the letter i mentioned our new investigator Jonathon Swetish i think. We have not been able to teach him since that first time sadly though because he is in the Navy and of a family crisis that came up. Hopefully we will be able to teach him this week though. I dont remember if i said this already, but he is basically already a member. He just hasnt been baptized. He is awesome! We are doing a lot of finding since we dont have many investigators. this week we went around doing shovel tracting. essentially what it was is we shovel someones walk and then knock on their door. (It snows a lot in New York if you had forgotten) infact there is about 24-30 inches of snow on the ground right now. It makes it really difficult when you are on a bike. going down big hills is like having ice shot into your face! it gets even funner when it is snowing on top of it! We are participating in some service activities around town so that is good too. I have gotten a lot of questions about what my area includes. It is basically a lot like Stephens actually. It has the City of Saratoga, then a lot of little villages like Ballston Spa, Malta, Corinth, and so forth. it takes about an hour (in a car) to go from one end to the other! Well another week gone by! Love you all and thank you for all of the support in this difficult time.
Love Always
Elder Shane Kitchen

Keep Elder Shane in your prayers. Remember the church is true!

Saratoga Springs

Straight from his mouth:
This week has been a super long one. I know how my companion feels though being a fresh missionary and having to try and teach a new companion the area. It is not an easy task. He is a champ though and is doing well with it. Elder Stratton is gonna be a great missionary. On tuesday we were able to go to a soup kitchen here and give some service. It was good to be able to do that. apparantly elders have been going there forever to do it. The ward members here really help out alot, since we dont have a car, we have to rely on the members for rides a lot. Saturday morning we woke up to about 11 inches of snow. and it is supposed to start snowing here again this week too. Saturday was the baptism for sister Larney-Marcus. she was the lady Elder Stratton had been teaching before. It was a really nice service. my area is including the town of Balston spa, wilton, Malta, Milton, and a bunch of other surrounding places. It really is gorgeous here, just frigid cold. No new Investigators to mention, but hopefully there will be soon. Love you all tons and tons. Thank you for the love and support
Elder Shane Kitchen

Remember to keep Elder Shane in your prayers. The church is true!

The "New" Week

Elder Shane says Hello from NEW York with the start of a NEW year with a NEW companion in a NEW area.

Elder Shane was told on Saturday he needed to pack because that afternoon he was transfered to Saratoga Springs, NY on an emergency transfer.  His new companion is Elder Stratton from Hurricane, UT, and his district leader is Elder Smith (who he went to High School with).

His new area is about 30 minutes north of New York's capitol city, Albany. He says it's comparable to Park City, but instead of having skiing as the main attraction, it's horse racing.

There is a baptism scheduled this Saturday, and even though the Elder that did the teaching was transfered out of the area, he still gets to come back for the ceremony.

Remember to keep Shane in your prayers. The church is true!

Fishermen vs. Hunters

Elder Shane was able to spend Christmas at some members' homes, and even though was away from his own, it helped him see more fully the true meaning and spirit of Christmas.

The first two weeks in Africa were very difficult for Elder Shane, but these first two in New York were even more trying. But Shane's learned to trust in the Lord and engulf his mind in His work. Shane will be transferring to a different area this week, so we'll find out next week where he'll be.

Shane's mission president gave him a little analogy: he said that in Africa i was a fisherman. throwing out the nests and bringing in tons of fish. Here in New York  i will be more of a hunter. The deer dont come around nearly as much, (unless of course you are lynn) but when they do come they are super rewarding. So i better get out there and start some pushes! actually a hunt is a really good way to explain what is going on i think. most always are they frustrating, and tiring. but they are for sure always rewarding.

Continue to keep Elder Shane in your prayers. Thanks for all the support that you give him. The church is true!

New York

Elder Shane arrived in Utica on Monday Dec. 13th. He's in the mission home with 3 other AP's, Elder Cutler, Elder Swain, and Elder West, who are all from Utah or Salt Lake Valley.

It's SUPER cold there and it snows tons and tons; Completely opposite of what it was in Africa.

Remember to keep Shane in your prayers. The church is true!

Changes

So, quite a bit has happened since the last post. Elder Shane was sent home on medical leave. After getting taken care of, the doctors gave him the all clear to go back and serve the Lord. He was reassigned to the Utica New York mission. Congrats Elder Kitchen! He flies out to New York on Monday the 13th to finish his mission.