Hermana Kennedy and Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Sun

Hi family!  Here's my letter to President:

Buenas tardes, President Murphy,

We are seeing such miracles here in Mitad del Mundo.  First off, we just love Carolina and her kids.  They are progressing so well.  We were a little worried about her son, Luis, because he didn't come to church last week, and he doesn't listen super well in the lessons, but we have found that he really does want to learn, but he hasn't learned how to put God first (which makes sense for a ten-year-old who has essentially grown up without religion).  However, he did come to church this past week, and Carolina said that he asked if they could come next week too!  Carolina really likes church. She came on her own this week, and she came to the ward activity last Friday.  She and her kids are of course still a little timid at church, but they want to come and are reading the Book of Mormon and something really interesting happened after.  We were on the same bus as them heading back to our sector, and since it was Sunday, we knew we couldn't contact, and so we were planning on spending the day with members, but planned on going back home to study since we didn't have lunch for a couple of hours. However, the night before, we had gone singing with the elders and our mission leader at the houses of investigators, and we had passed by Carolina's house, and she wasn't home, but her mom lives next door, and she let us (six strangers) come in and sing for her.  So, while riding the bus with Carolina, we asked about her mom, Delia.  Carolina actually couldn't believe that she had let us come in. I think her mom is kind of a hard woman, so the fact that she let strangers into her house was kind of a miracle.  Anyway, we asked if her mom was home, and she said that she was, and would we like to try and teach her?  Of course we would!  She let us in again, and we learned about the relationship between Carolina and Delia.  Delia feels like all she does is love Carolina and try and help her, and all Carolina does is disappoint her.  It was a little uncomfortable at first because Carolina was right there, so how could we agree with her, but also not shut her down?  It was time to hand the reins over to the Spirit, and that's what we did. We felt inspired to share a scripture about Christ, seeing as it was Christmas Eve, and about God's love for his children, and how He only wants to help us, but because of agency, sometimes He is sad too.  But as children, we are trying to learn, and of course we will fail.  That's part of why He sent us here, but Jesus Christ came to this earth to give us salvation and a chance at exaltation.  It's amazing how the Spirit works sometimes.  Delia wants to learn more, and I am excited to see how the Gospel will bless them both and help them learn to love each other more.  Anyway, Carolina and her two kids have baptismal dates for the 13th of January and they are very excited.

Too, we have Carmen Munoz for the 27th of January, but we are a little worried, because we haven't been able to find her for about two weeks because she's been in Milagro, but we are hoping to find her this week.

I love that at this time of year, we really get to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  I was feeling a little down this past week because it's hard at Christmastime to be far from family, but focusing on why we are here really helps me feel closer to my Savior.  He had no home and no property and was always far from his family, but He loved the people He taught, and He did what the Father asked of Him, and that is why we are here.  Not only to remember Him, but to honor the life He lived, and try to be more like Him each and every day.  What a blessing it is to be here as a missionary.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Thank you for all that you do!
Hermana Kennedy

Man, it was so fun to talk to you all yesterday.  Sorry for crying.  I think I just haven't realized how much I've missed you all this Christmas season until I saw you, and then it hit me a little.  Sometimes, I think as a missionary, we become a little distanced from our families, so when we see them, it's a little shocking.  But you all are so darn beautiful!  Thanks for making me laugh.  I do feel like I was bragging a lot, and I didn't mean for it to come out that way, so sorry about that.

Anyway, Christmas in Ecuador is weird.  First off, it hasn't felt like Christmas because where's the snow, man?  Where's the cold weather?  I'm wearing short-sleeved dresses, and I'm HOT!  Second, I think the lack of snow adds to people not feeling like it's a reverent time of the year.  Barely anything closes, and like no one is off work for Christmas.  We talked to our families at a member's house, and after we finished, she asked if she could take us out to eat.  Out to eat on Christmas?  What in the world?  So we went out, and I got spaghetti with pesto because at least it's green!  Too, the talks on Sunday in church were just regular talks with a little bit more focus on Christ, and I'm like, people, c'mon!  Luke, Chapter 2!!

Anyway, it was a little bit different of a Christmas, but it was still good. We got to watch movies as a zone which was our Christmas treat :-)

Too, we continued helping the elders clean the hoarder house.  We totally finished with one room, and this week we are sanding and painting the walls. At least the kids will have somewhere to sleep other than a pile of gross, moldy and wet clothes.  It's slow progress, but it's progress, and it's fun to serve.  In the campo, people were always willing to let us help shell peas or de grain corn or peel potatoes, but here we almost never get to do service, so it's fun to do.

So on a personal note to Mama, remember that conference talk you sent me a couple of weeks ago about miracles, and how we won't always be given a miracle even when we are living our life in accordance with Heavenly Father?  I think you have to stop thinking of the house not selling in terms of God.  The best gift God gave us when we came to earth (other than Jesus Christ) was our agency.  I think sometimes we fall into this thought process that God can do anything, and to a sense, that is true, but He cannot force anyone to do anything.  I'm sure He would love to *poof* someone out of thin air to buy the house, but He cannot force anyone to buy it.  He can soften people's hearts and turn them towards buying it, and we have seen that miracle.  There have been people interested.  But ultimately, He cannot force them to buy the house.  You need to think of this as business.  It's not anything having to do with too little faith or prayer or patience.  It's just life.  Good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people.  Sometimes being a good person means that you will have more trials and hardship, because Heavenly Father knows that you'll be okay.  But He sent Christ here to earth so we could find peace in our trials.  Mama, I know this house thing is so hard.  I don't understand the exact stress you and Daddy are under, because I'm not there, but I do worry about you and pray for you guys everyday.  But there's even a limit to missionary prayers.  Heavenly Father blesses us here with miracles every day.  That's what our purpose is.

Too, everything with Chief will work out.  If it is necessary to put him down, it's okay.  It's better that he doesn't suffer, and maybe it's a little blessing from Heavenly Father that I'm never there when things happen to my animals.  He's a good dog, and we will see him again someday in the celestial kingdom.  All of the animals are going to die someday (although I think Roxy and Jake might be immortal...). But everything will be okay.  This isn't God punishing you or testing you.  It's just life.  Think about the blessings you've seen since moving to Michigan!  You have friends, we have a beautiful house, you have good kids, and grandbabios!  Mark is getting married in the temple, and Glo is killing it at school.  I'm a pretty good and at least obedient missionary.  You're having all these new opportunities to do musical things.  Daddy is so much happier at his job and doesn't have to commute anymore.  God is blessing you and Daddy a lot, but this is one hurdle that maybe we can't overcome, and that's okay.  It'll be okay.

Okay, that's my counsel.  It's not doctrine.  It's just my opinion.  I love you, and I am praying for you.

Well, I think that's about it.  I got to tell you all lots of stuff yesterday, so not much to say today.  However, as always, I love you all a lot, and I still can't believe I actually got to talk to you face to face.

Be kind and good and happy.  I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Oh my, I was so excited to build my Lego Santa!  You know, I actually really like Legos but I feel like such a loser with Mark and Glo and Ethan cuz they just build stuff, but if I have directions, I can DO IT!

Hermana Kennedy and Javi Holly Jolly Christmas

Hi President Murphy,

This was a crazy week.  We had so many things going on, and I feel badly because we didn't get to work as hard as we normally do.  However, Carolina and her daughter, Sailyn, came to church yesterday!  We offered to pick them up, and when we normally arrive at investigators' houses, they aren't ready or they tell us that actually they can't come, but we showed up, and they just stepped out the door, ready to go!  It was awesome!  They really liked church, and it's cute because Carolina feels like she has so many sins and she feels so badly about them, but Hermana Caceres had been assigned to give a talk about how it's not too late for second chances, and it really touched her.  Too, Hosbaldo Mercado gave her an extra copy of the Liahona, and when in Young Women's, Sailyn got to prepare a special musical number to present in Relief Society and was invited to Mutual that night!  We need to talk to them about their baptismal date, because right now, it's still set for the 6th of January, but we know that they will be baptized.  Carolina is so prepared for the Gospel and the happiness and joy it brings and Sailyn is looking for something too--something to fill her with joy.  We are so happy for them!  Unfortunately Carolina's son, Luis, isn't really interested and didn't want to go to church, so his date fell through but Carolina isn't planning on changing her mind.  Hopefully, with Sailyn and her example, someday he will be baptized too.
       
Carmen unfortunately couldn't attend church because she had to go to Milagro again, but when we showed up at her house for an appointment, her daughter told us that she felt so bad for not being able to go and for not being able to meet with us that week.  Rosa also couldn't attend church because she is still taking care of her cousin who recently had an operation and left the hospital, so her date fell through, but it might have been for the best.  She needs a little more time to understand, so we are going to be praying now which date to set with her.

Again, thank you for letting me bring my viola back on the mission.  I love being able to share the Christmas spirit through music, and that activity on Saturday was so fun and something I've never gotten to do before.  I just love being able to share my testimony through music.  Thank you for allowing me this privilege.

Thank you for your example and hard work.  We are so grateful for all that you do.  Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Kennedy

Okay. Hi family.  I don't have a ton of time to write this week, but I'll write about the big cool thing that happened:

So last week, this random elder comes up to me at our zone conference and tells me that he spoke with President Murphy, and I was going to help his zone with an activity they had the next week.  Since our conference was with the Calderon Zone, I assumed he was from that zone, but when I called those zone leaders to find out more information, they had no idea what I was talking about.  So, I just forgot about it until Friday night when one of the hermana lideres from Quito Zone calls me and tells me that I'm playing tomorrow at THEIR activity.  I was like, "Wait, what?"  She then explains that the elder spoke with me and it's all good, and only then did I realize that he was from Quito Zone.  Not sure why he was at our zone conference, but okay.  Anyway, so the next day, I promised to play for a baptism in our district, but the Quito activity started an hour later.  Long story short, I played a quick thing at the baptism and arrived very late to the Quito activity, but it turns out, they hadn't even finished setting up.  I had no idea what kind of activity it was, but after a lot of confusion, we found out that I would be playing outside with a pocket microphone to draw people in so that the missionaries could share a message with people from the street.  At first, I was just playing on the church grounds, and it sounded pretty good and people liked it, but then Hermana Moss, one of my friends from the MTC, comes up and says, "Hermana, can I talk to you while you play?"  So, she suggested that I get out on the street corner and play there!  So I did, and amidst all the traffic and honking and noise, I felt the Spirit.  It was so beautiful, and so fun, and a completely different way to share the message of the Gospel.  Javi (my viola) is such a good missionary.

Okay too, we helped clean a hoarder house this past Saturday morning.  We got there at 8 a.m. and left at 1 p.m., and I wanted to vomit.  The whole house smelled like urine and poop because the kids pee wherever they want and the dog poops wherever it wants, and the hermana was there while we were cleaning and she wanted to check every garbage bag that was open to check that we weren't throwing anything away that MAYBE had a purpose.  I ended up hiding a bunch of stuff, and once I had collected enough, I threw it all in the garbage bag and tossed it to the elders to put outside.  Seriously, it was so awful.

Also, today we went to Teleferico Zone.  It's a lift that takes you up into the mountains and you get to

hike a bit, but after we had hiked for a while, another companionship of hermanas and a companionship of elders and us stopped because we wanted to relax and enjoy the view.  One of the elders had brought a ukulele with him that he bought here, and so he played, and I sang, and it was super fun and totally made me think of that time we sang on Mother's Day on the cliffs in Ireland.  However, I got very sunburned.  I'm hoping it's gone by next Monday because I don't really want you all to see me sunburned.  Also, I have hardcore Spanglish after having a Latina companion for so long.  My sentences are just a mix of English and Spanish.

Okay, that's the big stuff for this week.  I love you all so much and MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I hope it's a really good one!

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and the Mar-viola-ous Missionary

Hiya family!  Here's my letter to President:

Buenas tardes, Presidente Murphy,

We had a pretty great week here in Mitad del Mundo.  We ended up finding a lot of new investigators which is always great, but we were also able to set baptismal dates with five people!  The first is Rosa Jumbo.  Her date is for the 30th of December.  She already has one visit to church.  Her husband is an inactive member, but she really likes church.  Unfortunately, we couldn't visit her much, and she couldn't come to church because her family member was in the hospital, and after, needed to be cared for after she left the hospital, so Rosa was out of town all week taking care of her.  But she was a little reluctant at first to accept a date because it is rather soon, but after a little encouragement, she is okay with it.  Her husband is a serious problem sometimes though.  He doesn't discourage us coming or anything.  He knows the church is true, he just doesn't like the ward.  But he is so hard on his wife.  He is always saying right there how she doesn't understand, and she prays but not with enough feeling and basically saying that she's stupid, and as a result, she doesn't have any confidence in herself.  The other week, when she came to church, in the Gospel Principles class, she would always answer the questions, but just barely loud enough hear, and after she said that she didn't know the answers, but she was always right.  But because her husband is so condescending, she feels no confidence in herself.

We also have a hermana named Carolina and her two kids, Sailyn and Luis.  She is an antiguo, and when we asked her this past week if she thought the church is true, she outright said that yes, she does.  It all makes so much sense.  Sailyn too said that she had prayed and she got an answer, and she's only 11 years old!  Luis is a little more difficult because he has a shorter attention span, but we are working with him.  However, they also couldn't come to church this week because Carolina had to work, so we are really, really hoping that they can make it to their goal of the 6th of January.  But they are a sweet family, and we love visiting them.  

And we have Carmen Pera Munoz.  She's an older lady, and she has family members who are members.  Her granddaughter introduced us.  She and her family are from Milagro, and Carmen has attended church before and accepted missionaries, but because of changes in the missionaries, they stopped visiting her.  She doesn't actually know why other missionaries stopped visiting her, but that is our best guess.  Her date is for the 27th of January.  Her understanding is a little slower, so we are having to teach slowly, and she wants to feel really ready, but maybe when we present her baptismal plan this week, she will feel a little less confident, and she will have a desire to be baptized a little sooner.

I love being a missionary.  I can't thank you enough for letting me bring my viola back on the mission with me.  I'm so grateful to share my testimony through music, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunities you are giving me to play.  I know that this is the true church and that Jesus Christ is the head.  I can't believe sometimes that I'm really here, sharing the beautiful message every day.  How blessed we are to be here!  Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Have a wonderful week,
Hermana Kennedy

Okay, lots of stuff happened this week!

First off, our Christmas Conference!  It was so fun.  We had a regular zone conference for two hours, and then we did fun stuff.  Each zone got to do a little performance, so on Friday, the hermana lideres and we were talking, and we thought it was kind of boring that we were just going to sing some Christmas songs and nothing more.  So, we came up with the idea of doing The Twelve Days of Christmas, but adapted it to the mission (Kennedy family style).  Here's what we came up with:

1 Grand Mission Quito Norte
2 awesome countries
3 Nephi 5:13
4 words in Quichua
5 cool Sectors (Costa, Campo, Sierra, Selva, and Fronterra)
6 weeks together
7 days of rice
8 hills to climb
9 months of rain
10:30 bedtime
11 dogs a chasing
12 Books of Mormon

For each thing, we had funny props and actions, like someone said four words in Quichua, or two elders holding big bags of rice, or an elder acting like a dog and chasing his companion.  I think it went well, and I laughed :-)

Afterwards, we headed to the mission home, and ate delicious food, accompanied by a white elephant gift exchange.  I ended up with one of those old quill holders with the little stand with an ink pot with a little rabbit next to it.  Super random, but it now proudly sits on my desk.

Afterwards our zone had to practice for the Christmas Night of Music we were doing on Sunday, so we all stayed after and practiced.  And that leads me to our next event:  The Night of Music.  It was beautiful.  I was planning on playing O Holy Night while an elder sang, accompanying the hermanas on What Child is This (playing the written men's part), and soloing on the first verse of Silent Night, but it being more than that.  The stake choir was supposed to learn two hymns, but they ended up only learning one, so I also soloed on I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  But Silent Night was my favorite.  I played solo on the first verse, then a missionary choir sang with me on the second verse, and everyone on the third.  It was beautiful.  Also, Cole Murphy is a BOSS on the piano.  Seriously, it was so nice to be accompanied by someone who plays at the level of Mommy :-)

Afterwards, all these people were telling me how beautiful it was, and how beautifully I played and everything, but really it was all Javi.  Little did he know that when he came on the mission with me, he would end up being a missionary too :-). He may not have the sound of Charlotta, but he held his own.  I couldn't thank President and Hermana Murphy enough for letting me come back with my viola.  Seriously, it is like the one benefit from breaking my ankle.

Speaking of Christmas, I am allowed to call on the 24th or the 25th.  Either day works, but if it's on the 25th, after 6:00 would be the best, because since Christmas is also our P-Day, we want to use it to enjoy the time to do nothing.  On the 24th and 25th, we shouldn't be contacting, so I'll be in members' houses pretty much all day, so you let me know, and I'll find out if it works for them too.

And I seriously love the Advent book, Mama.  I cannot even tell you how many times I've cried from the beautiful stories in there.

Also, I am counting my daily steps again.  There are some days when I forget my pedometer, but I do mu best.  It's actually crazy to think about my ankle.  I forgot to mention it, but the Saturday after I broke it (like five days after), our ward had an activity in this park.  The bus could take us to a certain point, but after that, we had to walk.  That day, I ended up walking 11,274 steps, or 6.4 miles. Yeah, not really sure what I was thinking.  I know the priesthood is how my ankle healed so well, because really, I don't have any problems anymore.  Sitting cross-legged or crouching is a little hard because my ankle is in a funky position, but I'm hopeful that after maybe a year, it'll be a little more back to normal, but sometimes it's hard to think that I'm weak, and my ankle will never be the same.

We bought some great tasting pizza here today!

And thanks for the picture of the kitty friends.  I miss them.  I really worry that Jake is going to die before I get back, but I think he's going to make it to the first resurrection :-). And how aesthetically pleasing KitTen is :-)

I love you all lots.  I sure am lucky to have family who loves me so much.  Have a wonderful week.

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Me, opening my Christmas package.  Like I said, I quickly put it away in a box :-)

Puppers.  I just can't HELP myself!

Hermana Kennedy AND A SPORK!

Hiya family o' mine,

Here's my letter to President this week:

Buenas tardes Presidente Murphy!

This was a week of miracles.  Last week, we had an "invasion" in our sector, and we got some really great referrals from it.  Several of them ended up being investigators with a lot of potential, but the best was finding an antiguo (an elderly person) who is part of a part-member family.  Her name is Rosa, and her husband is an inactive member and who has a very long history in the church.  It's sad because he is letting his pride get in the way of attending church.  He says that when he goes back to the coast, he will start attending church again.  His wife, Rosa, couldn't be baptized two years ago because they weren't married.  However, two weeks ago, they were married!  We received her name from the invasion, and we visited her on Tuesday and that's when we found out everything about her and her husband, and long story short, I didn't have much hope, but she said she would attend church on Sunday if she could.  She and her husband and stepdaughter are caretakers for a house, and if the owners are there, they can't leave.  So if the owners weren't there, she said she would attend church.  And sure enough, she and her stepdaughter (a member) showed up and stayed for the first two hours!  They were supposed to leave after the first hour in case the owners of the house came back, but decided to stay for one more hour.  They loved Gospel Principles.  She wants to come again, and we want to try and set a date with her for the 30th of December.

We also received a referral for another antiguo, Carolina.  On Thursday, we stopped by, and she and her two kids all listened to us, and she really wants us to come back and keep teaching her.

We are still working with Monica, but she can't come to church this month because her son is doing Catacismo up in Cala Cali every Sunday from 9-10.  However, in between lessons, she read the Introduction, the testimonies, the Brief Explanation, and the first two chapters of 1st Nephi!  And, she had questions!  She's amazing, but maybe she can be baptized in January or February once she can start attending church.

We also had a random thing happen this last week--evidence that there are no coincidences.  Last week, we were heading to lunch with our mamita, and as we passed a store, this 22-year-old comes running out, and yells, "HANG ON!  DON'T GO ANYWHERE!" and then runs away.  So we waited, and she came back.  Turns out, she's a member from Milagro, but her grandmother lives here in our sector.  Last Sunday, we taught her grandmother, Carmen, and we returned this past Saturday.  She accepted the invitation to be baptized, but only once she is sure.  She's a little older, but she's very lucid.  Her understanding is just a little slower.  She's accepted teachings from missionaries before, but the missionaries always disappeared, and she doesn't know why!  Anyway, her granddaughter Joselyn, has been trying for a while to find the missionaries in this area, or the ward, but couldn't, but it just so happened that we were passing that store as she was in it.  How crazy is that?

Anyway, we have just seen a lot of miracles this week.  We have been a little hopeless lately, because we have been feeling like we aren't seeing success here, and no one wants to listen to us, but these people are prepared, and we are happy to see God's hand in this area.  Too, the ward is good.  Aron as our mission leader is great.  He's planning all of these activities and wants to help us so much.  Too, we are receiving a lot more support from the members, and we are growing to love the area more. 

I'm so excited to play in the fireside this week.  Thank you again for letting me bring my viola back with me.  I've had a lot of opportunities lately to play, and I love being able to share my testimony through music.  Thank you for all of your hard work and for your example.

Have a wonderful week,
Hermana Kennedy

Seriously, this week was such a miraculous week, at least in terms of finding and people progressing. However, we had a little hitch happen at our house.

So, right now, they are building a suicide circle (traffic circle) on the road next to our apartment complex.  This past week was when they had to turn the pipes off to do something which meant that we were without water.  Sometimes this happens in the States, right?  Well here in Ecuador, they don't leave a notice or anything.  They just do it.  So everyone was without water...and completely unprepared.  We got home on Thursday night and found out from our neighbor that there wasn't any water.  I was at least relieved that I just hadn't forgotten to pay the bill or something!

Anyway, they said, "Oh, they said it'll be back on on Saturday.  Sunday at the latest!"

WHAT?!?!?!?!?  There won't be water from Thursday until possibly Sunday?  You better believe that that night, I said a prayer.  And I genuinely believe that Heavenly Father was looking out for us.  No one else had anything, but we, for two days somehow had water in our toilets so we could flush them, and our spout out back was working, so we filled gallon jugs with water.  Once the water really left, we used the gallon water to flush the toilets, brush our teeth and for me, wash my face.  However, without water, we couldn't shower.  So, on Thursday, I also asked Heavenly Father to please help me not to smell (because as a missionary, we're walking all the time, and my hair naturally doesn't last too long without being washed).  Somehow, for four whole days (the water didn't come back until Sunday night), I didn't smell, and my hair looked freshly washed every day.  It's amazing how Heavenly Father really does take care of His missionaries, and how awesome prayer is!

Sunday night, we walked into our apartment without much hope but when the sink started spouting water, I almost cried for joy.  Friends, if you want to serve someone this week, find some way to help kids in Africa or South America have water.  I don't know how you can do it, but let me tell you, being without water is the WORST!!!

Also, some random kid in the street this week, as we were walking past, just outright said, "You're very tall.  That's not normal," and just kept walking.  Yes, thank you child.  I know.

Okay, so other funny thing this week.  So you know that Brian Regan sketch about the airports?  He starts out talking about the airport itself and everyone trying to get on the plane ("It's the last plane out of Vietnam!"), and then he talks about the plane itself.  "Bring me the head of a pig, someone from coach fiddle for me, etc."  And there's the part about how he's sitting in the back of the plane with his elbows touching with his coloring book, and the stewards are coming down the aisle, saying, "Sir, we have today a nice lettuce wrap, baked chicken...and a stone cold fish head."

Wow, I wonder what I'm gonna get.

And they make it back to him, and it's as if the other two options weren't ever there.  "Sir, today, we have a lovely cold fish head, with a piece of lettuce, and a SPORK!"

Man, I'm laughing just typing that.  I can just see Brian Regan's face.

This past week, we headed to a mamita's house.  Her name is Mayuri, and we love her.  She's from the coast, and she was baptized a little over a year ago.  People from the coast eat a lot of fish. That's normal.  I still don't love fish, but I can at least eat it (unlike that guatita).  So, I see the fried fish tails and I'm like, "Oh okay, fried fish tastes like chicken."

Well here, there is almost always a soup before the main course for lunch. And I see that there is more fish in the soup.  Okay, that's fine.  So, I'm eating my soup and pulling out the little tiny fish bones when what comes up on my spoon, but a FISH MOUTH!  Like, if you were to catch a fish from the ocean and just cut off its mouth, that's what was staring at me.  I seriously didn't know what to do.  I think I just stared at it for a while and finally I just looked at Mayuri and asked, "Hermana, do you eat this?"  She seemed a little confused and then she was like, "Of course, Hermana!  You just give him a big ol' kiss!!!!" And then starts laughing at herself and everyone else too, but I was so in shock that I couldn't do anything.  But bless Hermana Caceres, because she eats everything, and she she was like, "Give it to me!" And she ate it!  AHHHHH!!!!!  Anyway, later I laughed thinking about Brian Regan, and it was especially funny because on Saturday, we ate at a restaurant with Bishop and his family, and it was chicken, but they gave us sporks.  Turns out, they are called cubiertos in Spanish. Little fact for ya there.

And different fun stuff.  This upcoming Sunday, our stake is having a musical night put on by the mission, so I get to play O Holy Night with Cole Murphy, and after play with a hermana choir for What Child is This? and after, Silent Night with the choir and congregation!  I am so dang excited!  And the day before, we have a Christmas conference with President and Hermana Murphy, and then Christmas dinner with them!  They asked us to bring a white elephant gift, and optional, bring them an ornament to put on their tree.  They said the best ornaments are made with love, so today I bought some pipe cleaners and made a little viola. <3

And we got a call from the elders in our ward (who are great, by the way) and told us that on Friday, we were going to perform in the park in their sector with the zone.  They asked me to bring my viola. We thought it was just like, show up at the park and sing a little, but we got there, and it's a whole shebang with a seated audience, and microphones, and risers and everything!  We had practiced a little beforehand, and I had a hymnbook to play from, but we showed up and there wasn't a stand or anything.  Boy, was I grateful for my musical training, because I played everything just right there, without music, including a solo instrumental in between verses of The First Noel.  And after, we contacted.  It was super fun, and I'm really loving Christmastime in the mission!

Also, my Advent Book is the most wonderful thing in the world.  Seriously, the first thing I do every day is run downstairs to my desk and read my story!  Seriously, I cry a little bit in every story because it just makes me so dang happy.

Woo-hoo, that's a lot.  My fingers are tired from typing.  Okay, I love you all so much.  Pray for all those people.  I have such faith that they can progress.  Also, I didn't feel anything like an earthquake on Saturday, so I think we were too far away or something.  But keep praying for me--everyone is kind of worried about something bigger happening soon.  They're really emphasizing our emergency bags.   Okay, I love you all SOOOOOOO much!  Have a wonderfully snowy week!

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and the Green, White, and .... Orange?

Buenas, mi lovely family!  Here's my letter to President Murphy:

Buenas tardes, Presidente Murphy,

Well, the work continues here in Mitad del Mundo.  We are ready to work even harder this transfer, and we know that with Christmas time, we can really do a lot here.  Aron, our mission leader, wants to do all sorts of activities in December to find people and light the world :-). We are so happy to have a mission leader, especially one who is so gung-ho for the work.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday, Janeth told us that she just can't keep listening to us.  She's dealing with so much right now, with cancer and her husband, and us coming was just one more reason for her husband to yell at her and push her around.  We understand completely, but we were so sad to say goodbye to her.  We know that one day, she will be baptized, because she knows it's true.

By Thursday, we were feeling rather low.  We are having to leave almost all of our investigators, because no one is progressing, but after what you told us on Thursday about not keeping commitments, we don't feel so badly.  We aren't here just to visit people--we are here to baptize converts and preach repentance, and Heavenly Father will lead us to those who are prepared not only to let us in, but to keep commitments as well.  It's hard to say goodbye, but we can't waste time.  This is the Lord's work, and the Lord's time, and we need to find those who are prepared to come closer to Him.

After verificationes on Thursday, we went out feeling a little down because no one is progressing.  We had an appointment with a contact, but she wasn't home, so we headed farther up the street and ran into some kids we met the other day.  We asked them where their parents lived, and they were really reluctant to tell us.  A little strange, but we headed there anyway.  But in a little back street, we heard a voice, and so we knocked on the door.  A woman answered, and all we said was, "Hello, we would like to introduce ourselves," and she just said, "Come in, come in!"  Her name is Monica, and she has never been baptized in any church because she hasn't ever felt like any one was the right church, but she has attended the Catholic and Evangelical church.  She understood the Restoration perfectly and just about started crying when we told her that we would like to give her a Book of Mormon!  She can only meet with us on Thursdays and Fridays, and the next day she had a conference for her son, but she called us the next day and told us that she really wants us to come this Friday and explain more of the Book of Mormon to her!  We have a really good feeling about her, and we really hope that she can progress.

Too, we visited Georgina Munoz this week, and her daughter came too, so we were able to teach her. Georgina has such a sweet spirit, and we really don't understand why no one has visited her since she was baptized, but she was very happy to have us.  It's funny how she seems more excited to share the Gospel than anyone else, and we were able to gain a little bit of the daughter's trust.  We are really hoping to help her.

Hermana Caceres is progressing really well.  Sometimes I think she's a better missionary than me.  But we are trying to learn more patience.  She doesn't like waiting or when someone is talking for too long, she cuts them off, but we are working on it.  She's fully aware of it, and she wants to improve.  But we are really excited to have one more transfer here together.  We feel like the first transfer was all about planting seeds (a lot of seeds), but we have seen a lot of miracles this past week, and we feel like this transfer will be all for harvesting.

Thank you for all of your work.  We are so grateful for your example.

Have a fantastic week,
Hermana Kennedy

Okay, so first funny thing.  We had Hermana Caceres' first verificationes this week, so we had to travel to Quito, but we didn't know EXACTLY how to get to the chapel, and we had to be there by 7:30 a.m.  So, I basically always get lost, so at 4 a.m., we woke up, got ready, and prayed really hard to not get lost.  Well, we didn't, and we arrived at 6:30 a.m.  Yep, an hour early.  But it was fine.  We walked around Quito a little and saw some strange stuff.  Really, city life is not for me.  First off, I saw a sign that said, "Copies...one and a half cents."  Like, I hope you need at least two copies, or else you're going to overpay for the one.  Second, we saw a car that had run into a pole, and we saw a handcuffed man being dragged away by a security dude.  So that was fun.  And again, while Hermana Caceres headed to the Panecillo, I was the only hermana with thirteen elders.  And elders really don't feel like they can talk to hermanas, so I was a little uncomfortable, because nobody talked to me, and when I tried to join a conversation, no one thought anything I said was funny, or just didn't listen to me.  Needless to say, I was grateful when Hermana Caceres came back.

Also, pretty much every North American forgot it was Thanksgiving.  But I was determined to celebrate.  But we sort of did it today (and not on Thanksgiving itself).  I cut out all sorts of things of paper to create a GRATITUDE TURKEY!  Tom, in my opinion, is actually very cute, and he makes me happy, because every time I see him, I see the names of all the people I love.  And today, we bought what said it was a pie, for a whopping EIGHT DOLLARS, and it was a lie.  It was basically an empanada de apple.

Wow, that Spanglish though.

But when in Ecuador....

Also, we set up our Christmas stuff today.  I'll send a picture, because our little Christmas corner is adorable.

Okay, so two very funny things happened yesterday.  We were on the bus from church, heading back to our house to eat lunch, and I looked over, and this blonde guy had something in Gaelic written on the back of his shirt.  First off, white guy, super weird.  It's no wonder people look at me all the time.  Second, the Gaelic.  I was like, no way is an Irishman in Ecuador.  So, I slyly made my way a little closer (#creeper), and sure enough, that gorgeous Irish accent rang in my ears.  Oh my gosh, I could have listened to him talk forever.  And the funny thing is that I now see how being a missionary has changed me.  Without any fear or anything, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "Excuse me, are you from Ireland?"  He turned around and said, "Yeah, I am.  Nice to meet you," and he stuck out his hand.  He then started asking me if I had been to Ireland and everything (which, duh, of COURSE I have :-)), and asked, "You're American, are ya?"  Before my mission, I never would have just randomly started talking to someone, but man am I grateful. I feel like it was an early Christmas present to me, hearing the accent I love so much and being reminded of may favorite country in the world.  I actually got off the bus with my hands shaking a little bit.  I stick by it, folks--if I were to marry an Irishman, it wouldn't matter if we were poor, if I was dying, or always sick, I would be happy.  Ugh, the struggle is so real. And in full disclosure, I had to remind myself repeatedly that I'm a missionary.  I'm a missionary.  I AM a missionary. :-)

Also, we found these puppies on the side of the road yesterday with a mama dog, and another dog sitting close by.  We assumed they belonged to the nearby house, but I can't resist a pupper, so I bent down to pick one up, and it was more than happy to let me.  Meantime, the other dog, the papa dog (I assume), walked over and peed on my leg.  What the heck??  Are you kidding me? Luckily he didn't get my dress, so I used the pupper to clean off my leg.  But that was gross.  Of course, pre-Ecuador, I would have been a little more than grossed out, but now?  It's pretty standard.

Thanks for your emails.  Also, I GOT MY CHRISTMAS PACKAGE!!!  It came in last Tuesday, and I like freaked out when I got it!  Man, I could like FEEL the love radiating off of it.  Of course, they sent Hermana Bustos' package to me, and I'm guessing they sent Hermana Caceres' package to Hermana Bustos, but it's okay.  We have time to fix that.  Of course, I took my Christmas bag and promptly put it in a black bag which when we got home, I then put in a box and taped it shut.  And I opened the other bag today, and it is KILLING me not to start reading the Advent book now.  Man, I am so excited for December 1!!!  Thank you, Mama, for doing that for me.

Okay, I love you all.  I thought about you guys all day on Thursday.  I hope it was so fun eating lots of food and being together.  I'm grateful to be here, helping other families be eternal, but I'll be very happy to be with you next Thanksgiving!

Okay, I love you all lots.

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and Lights Out

(As a post script, "Lights Out" is a favorite scary movie of the Kennedy family.  Diana, the terrifying, malicious creature featured in the movie, frequently plays into our Kennedy lives.)

Hi family!  First off, HAPPY TURKEY DAY!! For some reason, when I think of Thanksgiving, I think of the Brooklyn Nine Nine episode where they make Boyle Bingo, and it makes me laugh every time.

Fun thing is that I get to spend Thanksgiving with President and Hermana Murphy, because Hermana Caceres has her first verificationes on Thursday, so while she heads to the Panecillo with the elders from her group and President and Hermana Murphy, I once again get to spend a couple of hours with 13+ elders.  Why does this keep happening to me?  Honestly, I cried a little bit today thinking about not being with you guys this Thanksgiving.  I miss you all a lot, so eat lots of green bean casserole for me!  Okay, anyway, here's my letter to President.

Buenas tardes President Murphy!

I had an interesting insight this week.  I often hear people say that Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers from before the mission.  We all pray for something:  something that we want to learn, or accomplish, or something we want to change while on our missions.  I hadn't thought about it for a while, but when I heard that, I began to think about what I had prayed for.  I prayed to learn to love people.  Not just investigators, but members, companions, and myself.  When I was sent home, I realized that I really do love the people.  That was a prayer that Heavenly Father had answered, but little did I know that He wasn't done with me yet.  I am now having to learn how to deal with people I love who then disappoint me.  It's probably the hardest to do.  This past week, both Janeth (and Dayana), and Liliana Rosado (and her son Christian) said they were definitely going to attend church.  Janeth attended last week and really liked it so we didn't think there was going to be a problem. But there is.  It's her husband.  Honestly, her husband is a bad man.  Every time we have seen him, he's been a little drunk, and Janeth told us that pretty much every day, he comes home drunk.  Even though Janeth is currently dealing with cancer, he still mistreats her.  He pushes her around and yells at her, all because he can't control his drinking.  Last week, after she attended church, he picked her up drunk, and asked her how it was.  She told him that she liked it, and they talked a little more, and there wasn't a problem.  But later that day, he came home completely drunk and started yelling at her, talking about how she was going to change religions, and he pushed her over.  Janeth is currently ealing with a cancer that affects her bone marrow, so she has a lot of pain in her back and legs, and for the rest of the week, she was limping because of him. She cries in every lesson with us because she just feels so alone in her life.  She just feels like no one loves her and no one understands her, and sometimes she really does wish it would all just end.  This has provided us with a lot of opportunities to love her.  How could we not?  No one else does.  It has also been an incredible opportunity to testify of the Atonement and the understanding that Christ has for her afflictions.  At first, she wasn't planning on being baptized or attending church anymore after the experience with her husband, but her daughter, Dayana, who really loves her dad, told her, "Mom, it doesn't matter what he thinks.  Let's go anyway."

That was kind of a big deal, because Janeth told us that Dayana is a daddy's girl.  She loves her dad a lot so for her to still feel a desire to go to church anyway is amazing.  After talking to her, Janeth decided that she definitely wants to attend church and still wants to be baptized.  However, on Sunday, we passed by her house to pick her up in the morning like she wanted us to, and she wasn't there.  Her husband had told her that they needed to go somewhere early in the morning, and by the time we got there, they hadn't come back.  I don't know if it was on purpose, as in her husband knew we were coming and he delayed her so she couldn't get back, or if it was just an accident, but it was really hard on me.  It's hard that here, someone's word doesn't seem to mean anything.  Liliana too told us that she would definitely be able to come this Sunday. At this point with Liliana, we don't know what to do.  We prayed, and we feel like we need to keep teaching her, but it's been almost two months, and she still hasn't attended.  It's so hard for me, because I love these people so much, and I feel like if they knew how much we worried and prayed about them, they would flock to church.  But in the end, it isn't about us. It's hard for me to understand why people don't go to church, because I was raised with parents who always made me go to church until I learned to love it for myself, but most people don't have parents like that, and so they don't love church, and they don't have that love for God, because they haven't had the chance to know Him in their lives.  And that's so sad to me.  But it just means that we need to teach in a way that helps them understand the love that God has for them, but it's so hard to have a desire to go back when I feel like they've lied to me.  But as long as I'm doing my best, that's all that Heavenly Father asks of me, but I just hate knowing that they are missing out on blessings in their lives because they don't put God first.

Janeth and Dayana still have their date for the 9th of December.  We are so hoping that they can make it.  We are hoping to work more with members with Janeth so that she can feel supported and loved at church, because she doesn't feel that way at home.  She had some good experiences with members last Sunday, so we are trying to plan a family home evening so that she can get out of her house and feel the Spirit while surrounded by people who love her.

I know that God answered prayers, but sometimes He answered more than we maybe want Him to, or not I the way we want, but that's part of life.  We learn how to trust in Him, and that's really the most important.

Thank you for your example, and thank you for your hard work.  We are trying to have higher goals for the sector so as to help you with your goals! Thank you for trusting us, and thank you for letting me train Hermana Caceres.  She's a light in my life, and I'm so grateful for her example and this time that I have with her.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Hermana Kennedy

Seriously, there are so many little Ecuadorian men whom I want to pick up and shake because they're just horrible.  But all we can do is pray and hope for the best.

Okay, so super funny story from this week.  We got home one night, and after doing the area book and everything, I headed up to take a shower while Hermana Caceres started cooking something on the stove.  I had stepped into the shower and gotten my hair wet, when suddenly the power went out.  My first thought?  DIANA!!!!  I was so freaked out, sitting there in the now cold shower, in the dark, WITHOUT MY GLASSES!!!  And that's when I remembered that there's a mission rule that we can't use the electric stove and the shower at the same time, because it shorts out the electricity (fun little Ecuadorian fact there for ya).  Anyway, I just told myself to not open the shower curtain in case Diana was out there, and after telling Hermana Caceres to call the hermanas lideres to find out what to do.  I continued showering in the FREEZING COLD water.  I was already wet, so it didn't make sense to go down and try and figure anything out until I could actually get dressed.  So, I showered rapido, because that cold water on your back is just the worst, and then I just didn't put my glasses on, because if I can't see Diana, she isn't there, right?  I got dressed, and we headed out to the guard station for our complex, and he helped us get the electricity back on.  And not a single elder needed to know.

Also, I experienced my first tremor today.  Ecuador is notorious for having earthquakes, and this wasn't a quake, but while studying one morning, Hermana Caceres looks at me, and asks, "Do you feel that?"  I was like, "Feel what?" then started paying attention, and there was a light rolling motion.  That was weird.  But it didn't last, and nothing happened, so that's good.

Hermana Caceres hit her one month mark this past week.  She's so happy to now tell people, "Yes, I only have 16 months and 27 days left on the mission!" :-). I love that girl.

Also, we had an exchange this week (where we trade companions with the hermanas lideres), and I got Hermana Smith to myself the whole day.  It was so fun, because while I love Latina companions, I just can't express myself in the same way because of the language barrier.  And they can't do it either, because there are expressions and sayings that we North Americans don't know.  So, we both liked that we could say exactly what we wanted, and it was so fun!  Hermana Smith is just so full of joy and happiness, and I'm glad to be considered her friend.  She's entering her last twelve weeks in the mission, and she's like "AHHHH!!"  I also realized that Mikaela Gardner is entering her last twelve weeks, mas o menos, and that freaked me out, because in my mind, she left like at the same time I did, but she left a whole six months before me.  And when she finishes her mission, Hermana Giles enters her last twelve weeks, and when she finishes, I enter my last twelve weeks!  Thinking that way, nine months seems so short! But not really, haha.

Anyway, it was really funny, because at night in the exchanges, we decided to order pizza, because Hermana Smith and Hermana Carre have a DOMINO'S in their sector! *squee!* So we called, and it was funny because the sisters didn't know their address (because half the time, there isn't one), so while on the phone, the sisters are running outside to look at what their address is, but they have four locks and doors to get through, so the guy on the phone was like "Call me back when you have the number." But we eventually got our pizza at 10:10, and it was delicious :-)

Thanks, Mama, for always writing me.  You, Glo and Allison are just rock stars in that aspect.  Give Glo a big hug for me.  I miss her a lot.

Okay family, I love you SO MUCH!!!  I always think of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad when I saw that, but it's so true.  I LOVE YOU!!  Have a wonderfully wonderful Thanksgiving.  I'll be here if you need me :-). Do a turkey trot for me and don't hurt your ankle.  We are going to try and make thankful turkeys or something to show on Thursday, but we shall see.  Also, today, we bought some ornaments and stuff because we have a little Christmas tree in our apartment, so we are going to decorate next Monday!!  It's been killing me not to listen to Christmas music, but on Friday, let loose the heavens!

Okay, love you!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and Walking the Line

Hi family!  Here's my letter to President:

Buenas tardes, President Murphy!  Well, this was a week of miracles.  Last Sunday, we found a woman and her sister outside of their house. Their names are Janeth and Susana Carrera.  Janeth is a mother of three, and is currently dealing with cancer. She's really scared that she will die soon and leave her husband and kids alone.  At first, she didn't seem particularly interested, but on Thursday, we went back to visit her and taught the Restoration.  We found out that she has spent a lot of time investigating churches, but some don't seem sincere in their hearts, or others are all about getting money, which fit really well into the Restoration.  We taught her Lesson One along with a little bit of tithing, and we left her with a Book of Mormon to read along with her 11-year-old daughter, Dayana. We asked to come back on Friday, and she agreed.  So, on Friday, we arrived to find that she had indeed been reading the Book of Mormon, so we began with Lesson Two. It was funny, because her nieces and nephew kept coming into the room and interrupting (which, for us, is normal), but she kept telling them to tell their mom that she couldn't talk right now because we were teaching her.  As we taught more and more of the Plan of Salvation, she just seemed happier and happier.  At the end, she told us how excited she was to be able to see her mom again someday, and I think it probably eased her worries a lot about her future and her family.  At the end, Hermana Caceres invited her to baptism, but all she asked was, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ?" and Janeth just said, "YES!"  We then finished the statement, and she still agreed, and we set a date for the 9th of December for her and Dayana.  We then asked her to come to church, and she said yes to that too, and on Sunday morning, we arrived to find her, Dayana, and her three-year-old niece, Camila, ready to go to church.  So we headed out, and she loved church.  It was especially fun because it was the Primary program, so she got to see what it is that the church teaches young children, and she was asking questions and participating in the Gospel Principles lesson on eternal marriage.  During Relief Society, the lesson was on helping new converts and others feel loved and included at church, and she kept turning to us and commenting on how some people were really friendly and coming up to her to introduce themselves before sacrament meeting that morning.  I loved seeing how that lesson impacted the sisters in Relief Society, because afterwards, a couple of sisters came up to her and were talking to her.  One sister, Hermana Duenas, talked to her, and we found out that she too dealt with cancer a few years ago, and she wants to have a family home evening with Janeth this next week!

Meanwhile, the other 11-year-old girls had welcomed Dayana with open arms, and Camila came out of nursery with a painting to show her mom.  While waiting for her husband to pick her up, Janeth told us all about her family and her life.  We gave her her baptismal plan, and we are so excited for her.  I think the church is going to be a great blessing for her in her life.

It's amazing to see how Heavenly Father puts people in our path.  It's amazing how He shows us miracles after the trial of our faith.  We have been feeling kid of bad these last couple of weeks because no one has been coming to church, but to have someone who is so ready and willing is just wonderful.

We have been praying a lot about staying here or not, and we both feel like we still have work to do here in this sector and this ward.  We have been praying a lot for the ward, and since we started praying for them, things have been getting better.  The bishop finally has a second counselor, and in correlation, he was giving us suggestions as to how we can help the members more.  And way more people came up to say hello to Janeth on Sunday than I've ever seen.  When I came into this ward, I didn't have the best attitude, but President, everyone is here to learn and to grow, and I'm learning to love better and to have more patience.  Our goal is to continue praying for the ward, but to also really get to know the members.  I know that there is something we both need to learn for the next transfer here.  We feel like there is something that we need to do here.

I love being a missionary.  Hermana Careers is helping me find joy in the mission again.  She is so patient with me, and she has such a desire to be a perfect teacher.  She's so worried about her first verifications, but she can teach Lesson One on her own without any problem.  She's such an amazing missionary.

Thank you for your counsel and advice.  We sure do appreciate all that you and Hermana Murphy do for us.

Have a wonderful week,
Hermana Kennedy

How did I know that I wasn't supposed to climb up it?
There's a BREAK in the ropes!

Well, today was a pretty fun P-day.  After being in this sector for twelve weeks, I FINALLY went to Mitad del Mundo.  As in the monument/tourist trap.  It was super fun.  It was actually just the two of us with eight elders who all showed up in their white shirts and ties, and there we were, wearing our Ecuador jerseys with exercise pants.  Turns out that was a good thing because we did a lot of jumping pictures. But it was just so fun, walking around, the two of us, taking pictures, buying fun souvenirs, and trying their very natural hot chocolate (100% cacao--needless to say, we added some sugar).  At first, we tried to hang out with the elders because it was a zone activity, but they were just kind of dilly-dallying, and we weren't about that.  Also, I balanced an egg on a nail, so I'm considered a master of the egg.  No biggie.  Anyway, I got to take a bunch of pictures on the yellow line, indicating the middle of the world, and I even got in trouble because I climbed up the monument to take a cool picture.  Daddy would have been proud.  Luckily, Hermana Caceres took the picture before the security guard reached her :-)


Also, this past Wednesday, I hit my nine month mark.  It's kind of weird to think that I now have less time left in the mission than I have on the mission.  Sometimes I think that I still have a whole nine months left, and other times, I'm like, what the heck, I have less than nine months left.  That's just weird, especially since in the next two months, we have Thanksgiving (not celebrated here), Christmas, and New Years.  After that, I hit a year.  Then after that, it's just a few more months!  AHH!!

I just love Hermana Caceres.  Seriously, before this transfer, I asked Heavenly Father to give me a companion who would help me find joy in the mission again, and she's it, 100%.  I love being with her, and we are seeing so many miracles in our sector.  She's just the best, and I'm so grateful that not only did I have the best trainer, but I've also had two of the best trainees.  I love that with them, I've laughed and laughed, and cried a little.  But mostly, I'm just so grateful that Hermana Caceres is helping me feel happy again.  I know that when I was home, I wasn't much fun to be around, but it's because I just felt so badly about myself, like a failure, but I began to be happy with you guys again.  Then I was so sad to leave you all again, and to think that it would be another year until I saw you, and then I came into that very difficult transfer, and I just wondered why I had come back.  But Hermana Caceres is reminding me why I did, in fact, come back, and I am SO happy to be here.  I still miss you all like crazy and think about you all the time, but in a happy way, because at the same time, I'm so happy to be here and to have another life-long friend.

Funny little life fact.  We live in an apartment complex, and our neighbors next door are the WORST!  They always leave their gate open, blocking the sidewalk, and sometimes they'll just randomly be outside and we can feel them judging us as we walk by, but the worst is their DOG!  It's a beagle.  I know there are some people who love beagles, but never in my life will I have that rat of a dog (and you know that if anyone is a non-animal hater, it's me, so it's gotta be bad).  It barks all the time.  The other day, the owners left it inside alone for like seven hours straight in the night, so it was barking forever, even after we went to bed.  Hermana Caceres woke up a couple times, and found that it was still barking.  Before we went to bed, I thought that maybe some food would shut it up, so I went to our back porch (which is connected to theirs), but there are concrete walls in between, so we can't actually see each other.  Anyway, I took some crackers and started chucking them over the wall, and it worked, but very temporarily.  The funny thing is that Hermana Caceres was watching from the window upstairs, and she didn't know what I was doing, but she saw some stuff going from our side to theirs, and she had a good laugh about that :-)

And yep, that video of me breaking my ankle is pretty gnarly, huh?  It's especially crazy that for the rest of that day and the following, I was walking without a boot on a broken ankle.  To think that I got on the bus, off the bus and walked to our district meeting and later in Quito, to the hospital.  I'm really not sure how it was possible.  A lot of Heavenly Father's help, I guess.

I need to thank you again, Mama and Daddy, for buying me Javi (viola) the day before I returned.  I love having him with me.  I love being able to share the gospel through music.  And in the greatest music news of the century, President and Hermana Murphy are planning a Christmas devotional for December in all of the stakes in the mission, and it's a MUSICAL fireside, and they asked me to be one of the performers!  How fun is that?  I'm super excited.  I heard that my current stake agreed, and I really hope all the others do too so that I can get to know the other parts of the mission.  It's so fun doing this.  Thanks for all those music lessons growing up :-)  They sure are coming in handy now!

I love you all lots.  Don't forget to read the Book of Mormon everyday.  I'm on my second time of reading it in Spanish and my third time on the mission, and there's always something more to find.  I love receiving conference talks each week, so yes, please keep sending them to me with your thoughts.  I'm SO excited to receive my Christmas package!  Okay, I love you.  Have a FABULOUS week, and do something nice for someone else.

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Umbrellas are good for rain...and for protecting feet from being sunburned :-)

Hermana Kennedy and Playing the Part of Mozart

Hiya family!  I'm going to switch things up a bit this week and start with these three pictures:

Three generations.  I love this picture.
Hermana Giles (my trainer), me, and the two sisters I've trained, Hermana Bustos and Hermana Caceres.
So much love in just one picture.

GAH!  I miss her!

Here's my letter to President:

Buenas tardes, President Murphy!

Wow, was this a crazy week.  We didn't feel like very much was happening because by Sunday, we had only found one new investigator, and we didn't understand why our week was slow.  We were working hard, and we were studying every day, but we just felt like we weren't having much success. However, after the conference with Elder Falabella, we did decide to do some things differently.  On Saturday, we had lunch with our bishop and his family.  Normally, they tell us to sit on the couch while they finish preparing lunch, but we decided to sit at the table, because Elder Falabella told us to learn to love the members more.  For me, this meant interacting with them more on a personal level.  So, while we were sitting and trying to have a conversation, the bishop's three kids, Daniella, Francisco, and Diana asked if we wanted to play Monopoly. Well, why not?  And you know, I had never really talked to or gotten to know those kids before, but it was a really nice chance to get to know them better and feel a little more comfortable with that family.  I think Geoconda, Bishop's wife, appreciated that we were entertaining her kids while she finished cooking.

Too, we are trying to listen more to people.  Sometimes, I do get too focused on teaching the lessons, and not on focusing on the people because I feel like it's wasting time, but this past week, we went to visit Liliana Rosado.  Her mom recently came into her life, and last Sunday, she met with her for the first time.  So, we talked about it.  She talked and talked, and it was really nice to just sit and listen.   She didn't receive much affection when she was younger, and she feels badly that she isn't super affectionate with her kids, but after listening, we told her that it was okay.  As long as she is doing her best as a mother, that's all that Heavenly Father asks.  Liliana serves everyone.  Everytime someone comes to her house, she feeds them.  She looks after a three-year-old named Mateo almost every day because his parents don't care about him.  And she serves her kids.  So, we talked about service and how that's a form of demonstrating love, and I think it helped her, but we are hoping that maybe by finding friends within the church, she can feel like she's reached the shore.  However, she told us she would come to church, and Sunday morning, we called her, and she said she had almost arrived, but never did, so we are going to need to find out what happened.

We are hoping that Mariana, Dora, and Allison can come to church this week so as to make their goal for December 2nd.  We taught the Book of Mormon this past week, and Allison especially was interested.  Sometimes, it's hard for her mom and her grandmother because they just get distracted easily, but we hope that Allison can help keep the lessons focused, because when they got a bit distracted, she scolded them a bit, and said, "Stop!  We are reading!"  It was pretty funny.

Sunday was a miracle.  After church, we were feeling a little desanimado, because we had had a slow week, but Heavenly Father shows us miracles after the trial of our faith, and we found seven new investigators in between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.  It was mostly on the part of Hermana Caceres.  Holy cow, President, she is progressing like crazy.  She just has no fear of talking to anyone and everyone, and she has the Spirit to help her know to whom to speak.  She's taking the lead in lessons, and she's doing additional study on her own to better her teachings.

I know that Heavenly Father has His hand in this work.  It wouldn't be possible without Him, and I'm grateful for my calling as a missionary.  I'm grateful that I can be here and help other people come unto Christ.

Thank you for all of your hard work.  Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Kennedy

Okay.  To start off, a couple of humorous anecdotes for you:

First off, this week we went to visit a contact, and she wasn't home.  However, there was this adorable puppy outside her house, and so of course, we picked it up.  Well, I picked it up.  Yes, I have a problem not touching the animals here.  Anyway, we then heard a whining from inside the house and through the open window, we could see three very similar looking puppies inside.  I felt bad that this pupper was outside, especially since he was whining to go in.  But no one was home, and the window was open, so I did what any animal lover would do:  I put him inside.  However, I could only put him on the chair next to the window, but he was too scared to jump down, so I couldn't leave him there!  So, I took my long, purple raincoat, put the pupper inside the hood, held the hood closed with his head sticking out, and slowly lowered him to the floor.  Thankfully, he made it, and he walked right out to join his siblings.  Yes, I probably shouldn't be putting puppies in houses, but he was so sad, and no one was around.  Plus, I imagine it was fun for him, like a little elevator.

Okay, other animal-themed anecdote.  So, as a white girl here in Ecuador, I get catcalled a lot.  It's just part of life, and Ecuadorian women do it to the white elders too, so I think it's pretty normal. Anyway, we were walking and someone whistled, and I thought, "Well yep, no surprise there," but there were birds around who then picked up the whistle, so I walked up the street to birds catcalling me.  We had a good laugh about that :-)

This past week, Elder Falabella of the Seventy came to visit again, and my zone, Ofelia, was asked to give the musical number.  Three days before, the zone leaders called me and asked if I would lead it, or like get it together.  Well, yeah!  And President told me that day in interviews that if I could accompany on my viola, that would be awesome.  Thankfully, I have a couple of arrangements of some hymns, so I decided on "I Feel My Savior's Love."  I have an arrangement, and with The Children's Songbook, I could translate the words.  So, I had to translate the words and copy them by hand (since, you know, we can't use a computer), and then I made copies.  Meanwhile, I somehow had to get the music to an elder in our zone who can play piano, but he's far away, and we can only use the computer if we get permission from President or the assistants.  So, all of Wednesday, he and I were calling the assistants to get permission, but they're busy guys, so they didn't answer until later at night.  Thursday morning, I had to scan the music and send it to him.  Then, I had to write a viola part.  That was actually really fun.  I got to go back to my music theory classes!  Of course, I wouldn't know how it would sound until Friday morning when we would practice before the conference.  So, we get to the conference early on Friday, and a bunch of other missionaries were already there, so it was loud, and I was trying not to snap at anyone because I was a little stressed and I really wanted it to be good, and then some missionaries from our zone didn't show up on time, but I was just trying to be nice and laugh.  But when we practiced, first it was me directing the zone, and then after, I took

out my viola, but everyone was still kind of watching me out of the corners of their eyes, so I was like directing and playing at the same time.  But.....I think it all turned out well.  I don't actually know, because I wasn't listening from the front, but I'm sure it was fine.  Of course, we took our Christmas pictures after the rehearsal, so I was stressed which means that the picture turned out with me looking as red as a tomato :-)  Something to look forward to, I guess :-)

Yes, Mama, my brain is very tired from having to speak Spanish all the time.  Also, my tongue.  Like, at the end of the day, it's hard for me to speak because my tongue is just so tired out.  But I'm just building a stronger muscle, I guess :-)  And yes, with native Spanish companions, I do feel like I'm forgetting English sometimes.  I'll write sentences weirdly in my journal, and I'm just like, what in the world?

An ending thought:  Everyone says that every companion you have will possess a certain characteristic of your future spouse.  So, I'm starting to get an idea of what my future spouse will be like.  Here are a couple of things I've noticed in common with my companions:

• They are almost all sweet, gentle, kind and patient people.  Very good, because I am not very.
• They like to cook.  Hermana Caceres is studying gastronomy, Hermana Bustos cooked for me when my ankle was broken, and she shows love through food.  Hermana Franco loved cooking, and it was delicious because it was all Mexican.  And Hermana Giles cooked.  Maybe not because she loves to do it, but because she loved me.
• Hermana Giles and Hermana Caceres also both really, really love dancing.
• They have all liked music, and I haven't really had a single athletic companion.  My poor children....
• And I think my future spouse will have had a lot of personal family trials.  Hermana Bustos has an inactive, drug-addicted dad.  Hermana Franco has inactive parents and has gone through a lot, and Hermana Caceres lost both of her parents two years ago.

Anyway, fun little fortune telling there for you.

Okay family, I love you all lots, and I love hearing from you!  The Church is true!  God loves you!  I pray for you every day.
Have a fantabulous week!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy

My guagua de pan, and colada morada, eaten for breakfast on November 2, the Day of the Dead here in Ecuador.

A cat named Pepe Lucha.  He's basically want I want two of in the future.