Hermana Kennedy and the Sisters Grimm

(These two stories must be read in a funny British accent, so sit down, pour a cuppa (herbal tea, of course), and let's get started.)

Who Needs Red Riding Hood?

Once upon a time, there was a missionary in the land of Ecuador named Hermana Kennedy.  She loved walking the streets of San Pablo, teaching the people about the Gospel.  She loved the mountains and the rain, and she did it all in her purple rain jacket. But one day, while walking along, the big bad sun came out in the sky and burned the little Hermana (very badly, I might add).  But she found that if she wore her rain jacket, she was too hot, because the big bad sun in the sky was very strong, and because Ecuador is very close to the sun.  So, she needed a solution.  She found that by buttoning the top button of her rain jacket (without actually wearing it), she could make a cape for herself which would protect her from the sun and still keep her nice and cool.  And so, she become known (mostly to herself) as Little Purple Proselyting Hood, and in this manner, she could happily proselyte among the people of Ecuador without worrying about the sun burning her (although, to this day, she's still feeling the sunburn on her back).  And she lived happily ever after.

The Pied Pipers of Pijal

Once upon a different time, two Hermanas were contacting in the town of Pijal which sits rather high in the mountains of Ecuador.  They weren't having very much success that day, and they were feeling rather downtrodden, so they decided to pray to Heavenly Father to help them keep going (and not feel too sad about the lack of interest that people had about their message of Jesus Christ).  After their prayer, a puppy (from who knows where) suddenly happened upon them, and it was very friendly.  It wanted nothing more than to be pet by the two sisters, and they were more than happy to oblige for a minute or two.  Their work needed to continue however, so they left the happy puppy and continued on.  They came upon a house where another puppy was sitting and playing in the grass.  They thought it very cute too, but they went up to the door of the house (instead of petting the puppy)

and knocked.  No one answered.  So they walked up a small hill to another house above the house with the puppy and found a black and white cat sitting there.  One Hermana who loves cats, pet the kitty and found it to be very friendly.  But they found no success at the house.  No one was interested in their message. But as they walked away from the houses, the little puppy began to follow them.  In fact, it followed them quite a ways, and the owner of the puppy yelled at them to bring her dog back.  They brought the tiny puppy back to the house, and began walking away again, only to find that the puppy, once again, followed the sisters.  So, they pet it and took a picture with it.  Then, Hermana Kennedy took a piece of bread from her bag, walked back to the house with the puppy, set it down, crumbled up the bread on the ground, then RAN AWAY AS FAST AS SHE COULD.  Though the little hermanas found little success that day, they also know that the animals were sent to comfort them, and then followed them because Heavenly Father knew that the sisters needed a little cheering up.  These sisters became known, far and wide, as the Pied Pipers of Pijal.

We now come to the conclusion of our stories, so please stop reading in a British accent, because I'm serving a mission in Ecuador, and not England :-)  Thank you for your attention.

Anyway, here's my letter to Presidente this week:

Dear Presidente Murphy,

Wow!  Being a missionary is just the best calling in the world!  I love every day that I'm here, and I love the opportunities that the Lord has given me in the three weeks that I've been in Ecuador.  This week was just full of miracles.

We have an incredible investigator.  She was a referral from Joselyn Calle (who was baptized on the 24th of March).  Her name is Sandra, and she lives in San Pablo with her three kids.  The first time we went to her house, she was super open to listening to our message, and I think it came at a time when she needed it.  She's been having trouble with money lately, and she has felt like she isn't receiving help from any source. That first lesson, she was really down and feeling sad.  Since we have started teaching her over the last two weeks, her attitude has changed, and she is a lot happier.  She loves having us teach her, and this past week, we set a baptismal date for her for the 29th of April!  Joselyn has also been a huge help, because she has been accompanying us on our lessons with Sandra, and it has made a huge difference, because she can relate her own experiences and her own testimony, all in perfect Spanish :-)

It was actually really interesting in the first lesson we had with Sandra when Joselyn accompanied us.  She was basically teaching Sandra everything, and I felt really bad about myself because I wasn't participating in the lesson at all, and I felt like I had absolutely nothing to contribute.  I couldn't understand half of what Joselyn and Sandra were saying, and I felt like a failure of a missionary.  And then I realized that through the entire lesson, I was thinking about myself.  I was so concerned with my own participation in the lesson that I missed the incredible Spirit that was present there.  Joselyn was being an incredible member missionary, and I was so wrapped up in my own feelings of uselessness that I couldn't fully appreciate the testimony builder it must have been not only for Sandra (to have her friend there testifying), but also for Joselyn to have the opportunity to be a missionary.  I have to constantly remind myself that this mission is not for me.  I know that I will learn a lot here, and grow, but in the end, this is God's work for the salvation of His children, and I am merely an instrument in His hands.  The next lesson we had with Sandra and Joselyn, I could better appreciate how amazing it was to have Joselyn there.  She can express feelings and experiences that Hermana Giles and I cannot.  Having her in our lessons is such a blessing, and it's really helping Sandra.  She's been praying, but she hasn't received an answer, and Joselyn was able to relate her own experience of not receiving an answer for a long time, but that eventually, she will receive an answer from God about the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What a blessing it is to be a missionary.  I know that this Gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ restored on the earth today.  I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and His teachings, and that we can come closer to our Heavenly Father by reading it.  I know that this is where I am supposed to be, and that this call to this beautiful place is a call from God.  I love being a missionary!

Hermana Kennedy

So, this past Saturday, I hit my two month mark!  Woohoo!  It's crazy to think that two months have passed since I left home, but man, I love being here.  Hermana Giles and I celebrated my second complemes with cake and a candle.  I'm two months old!

And to celebrate my two months, here are TWO funny things about my life in Ecuador:

See our heads in the reflection?

1.  Tiny buses.  No one in the world can say that they have good balance until they ride the buses of Ecuador standing up.  The buses are constantly shifting and turning so sharply that I've almost fallen over at least 20 times.  I think that I should be given a priority seat on the buses, because even though I'm not old or pregnant, my center of gravity is so much stinking HIGHER than anyone
else's, that I'm a lot more prone to fall over!  The buses are also obviously built for Ecuadorians, not 5'10" hermanas!  Standing, I can touch the top of the bus with my head, and there are always two bars at the top that people can hold onto, but while most people have their arms completely outstretched to reach them, my arms are bent at a ninety degree angle.  Imma take a picture of it this week so you all can appreciate it.  Mark and Ethan would not be able to stand upright in the buses here.

2.  Music.  Today, we went to Octaval for our P-Day, because I needed to buy an overnight bag for companion exchanges this week with the sister leaders, so we went to the Plaza de Ponchos.  But there's an empanada place in Octaval called Empanadas Argentinas (go Daddy!).  Something I have been missing a lot on my mission is my music.  I love classical music and all of my hymns and everything, but there's something about pop songs that just makes me happy.  So today, when we went into the empanada place, Sucker for Pain (from Suicide Squad) was playing, and since I know every word (including the rapping), I just about died inside.  Ugh!  It was so hard to not sing it!  Then, Don't Let Me Down started playing right after, and I just had to take a moment....  I LOVE those songs, and it was so hard to not sing, and especially to try not to listen to them.  That missionary life though....

Anyway, it's been an awesome week.  I seriously love my call to be a missionary, especially here in this gorgeous country.  I'm so blessed to be here, and I'm so blessed to have Hermana Giles as my companion.  I love you all, and thank you for your prayers, emails and other forms of support!

Hasta luego!
Hermana Kennedy