Hermana Kennedy and "Bussian" Roulette

Hola mi familia!  Boy, have I got some news for you, but first here's my letter to Presidente Murphy:

Buenas tardes, Presidente Murphy!

Presidente, I just love this sector.  The people here are so incredibly prepared to hear the Gospel, and they're so willing to accept it in their lives.  This ward is so powerful, and being here with Hermana Giles is incredible.  Every day, I learn something new from her, and I'm so grateful for the
opportunity that I have had to be her companion.  She's so patient and kind, and her testimony is so powerful.  She doubts herself too much, because I see what an incredible missionary she is, and I'm so grateful for all that I have learned from her.

We have four investigators with a baptismal date right now.  Three are the kids of La Familia Ajavi:  Lisbeth, Willian, and Lillian.  Johann has been really back and forth about being baptized, and he didn't come to church this past week, but someday, maybe when he's a little older, or maybe after seeing his siblings baptized, he will know for sure if it's something he wants or not.  But Lisbeth, Willian, and Lillian all passed their baptismal interviews!  Presidente, I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see them all so excited to be baptized.  They were all a little nervous for their interviews, but they have such deep desires to be baptized, and they've been studying and listening, and they're all so excited.  I know that the Gospel is going to be such an amazing influence in their lives, and I know that they are examples, not only to their siblings and parents, but also to me.  It isn't easy to be a member of the Church, but with faith in Heavenly Father and love for Him, they can do anything.  Their dad wants to invite his brother and his sister to the baptism, and they can't come on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, so we moved the baptism to the 6th of June.

We also have Hermano Jonathan David with his fecha for the 17th of June.  Presidente, he loves the church.  It's amazing to me how much he wants to learn and share the Gospel.  He already knows that he wants to serve a mission as soon as possible, but honestly, he's already a missionary. He's been inviting people to our English classes, and he showed up super early to church on Sunday.  He wants us to teach him from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at night, because he wants to know everything!

This sector is so special.  I can't believe all of the people that we have to teach.  Sometimes, it's a little overwhelming, because we want to teach every single one of them, but there just isn't enough time in the day to teach all of the people we meet.  They're all so humble and so hungry for the gospel, and I can't believe that Heavenly Father sent me here, because it's just such a blessing to me to be here.  I love this mission, I love these people, and I love being a missionary.  Thank you for all of your hard work, and thank you for taking care of us missionaries!

Have a fantastic week!

Hermana Kennedy

Okay, so I love Ecuador.  I really do.  However, there are just some things that are different...like standards of hygiene, and I'm afraid that this week I discovered that I have been affected by that lack of standards.  What, you might ask, has happened to me?

It's not E. coli (for which we sent meds with me).

It's not tapeworm (for which we sent more meds).

Nope.

It's LICE!

Yes, my dear friends, I had lice for the first time in my life.

I managed to escape elementary and middle school, as well as the Interlochen Lice-pocalypse of 2015 unscathed...

....but I got it here in Ecuador.

And how, you might ask?

Well, we don't know anyone with lice, but unfortunately we ride a lot of buses with cloth seats.  So, our best guess is that I somehow got the unlucky seat on one of the many buses we have ridden, and there are now evil little parasites living atop my head. #bussianroulette

So, guess what we spent today doing?  That's right.  We went to Otavalo this morning and bought lice shampoo...the one thing that we didn't send with me in my two 70-pound suitcases.

Hermana Giles, bless her soul, spent probably three hours today combing my hair, putting mayonnaise and lice shampoo in it to get rid of the lice.  She is just the best companion I could have ever been given.

And how exactly did I find out that I have lice?  Yesterday, Lisbeth, Willian, and Lillian had their baptismal interviews, and Lisbeth and Lillian love doing our hair.  So, while Willian was in his interview, Lisbeth started to do my hair when suddenly she picked something out and said, "Hermanita, tiene piojos!"  Well, piojos aren't exactly a normal vocabulary word in my Spanish studies, so I didn't know what she was saying and neither did Hermana Giles.  So Hermana Giles comes over and actually shrieked a little and told me that I have lice.

I have to admit that I actually cried a little bit.  I couldn't believe that there were little bugs crawling around on my head, eating my scalp and laying eggs.  And at that moment, Willian walks out of his interviews, so I was just sitting there in the hallway of church, crying very silently with three of our investigators.

Lice isn't a big deal here, because I guess it happens all the time, so to the Ecuadorians it wasn't a big deal, but to me I was freaking out.  Lisbeth and Lillian then spent 45 minutes picking the bugs out of my hair and killing them.  Bless those girls too.  Seriously, I'm so grateful to them, because I felt a lot better afterwards even though I still knew that there were lice in my hair.  Then, when we were visiting another investigator last night, Mariana Antamba, it came up that today we couldn't go to the activity today for our zone, and she asked why, so we told her that I have lice.  She then proceeded to search my head for more.  Anyway, I'm not sure if lice are considered parasites, even though it's a relationship that only benefits them (#sciencenerd), but if they are, then I guess I got my first parasite in Ecuador.  Darn buses.

So, some funny experiences this week (in case me getting lice isn't funny enough...):

We got to pick corn in the dark with Joselyn this past Tuesday.  We had just finished teaching her, and it was like 7:30, and she said she needed some help picking corn, so we went to her field close by and traipsed through the corn, and boy, I finally got to use my height for something here.  There were a bunch of ears way high up that no one in this country would be able to reach, so I just reached up and picked them down. #tallgirlinecuador

You know, just standing around discussing the best
way to kill a guinea pig.  And yes, I had to stand in the back
just to fit in the frame of the picture :-)

Also, we helped with a Relief Society activity this week, and I will mention that the Relief Society here is just very different than the Relief Society in the States.  In the States, the women discuss babies and gossip about other people, but the women here discuss the best way to kill a guinea pig or a chicken.  Hermana Giles and I had a good laugh about that.  One woman was saying how she just can't kill them.  She just can't handle it.  The other women then started talking about how you just do this or that, and it's super easy.

Also, best moment of the week.  Yesterday, when Willian came out of his baptismal interview, Elder Vela, our district leader, said that he was "rock solid". Boy, did that mean a lot to me.  Hermana Giles and I were discussing it later, and she just said, "Girl, that was all you. I didn't do anything to help him get to this point."  I know that I didn't really do anything.  I was the mouthpiece for the Spirit to testify to Willian that the church is true.  I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to help him grow in his testimony, and it was nice to receive a little credit, but really, all the credit goes to Heavenly Father.  He planted those ideas in my mind, and I'm just grateful that I could hear them.  It's amazing to me to see the difference in Willian since our first lesson because now, he participates in all the lessons, with or without his family, he answers questions, he loves to pray, and each Sunday, first thing he does at church is ask me if I have his Spanish Book of Mormon verses for him.

I sure do love being a missionary.  It's just the most amazing calling in the world, and I can't believe that I ever thought about not going on a mission.  I'm so grateful though to Heavenly Father for saving me for this time instead of telling me to come earlier.  I'm so grateful that I know Hermana Giles, because she's seriously my best friend, and I'm already dreading two weeks from today when she will be going somewhere else.  I wish we could stay together for the duration of our missions, maybe changing places every once in a while, because we just love being companions.  We have so much fun together, and we lift each other up, and she's so patient.  At first, we had to work out a few things, but we have become better.  She's already decided that she's coming to my homecoming, and we are already planning all of this stuff that we want to do when we get back.  Also, it's funny because her mom and you are a lot alike, from not liking Relief Society, to loving to visit as many Hard Rock Cafes as possible around the world.  It's really cute, and her mom says that the reason we get along so well as companions is because we both have awesome moms!  Obviously, mine is a little more awesome, but details, details :-)

I'm glad you all accepted my gratitude challenge.  I wish some of our investigators were as willing as you all are :-) I was a little worried that it came off as chastising, and I promise that I didn't mean it that way.  It's just something that I've noticed while being Here.  It's so important to be grateful for what we have, because th people here just don't have very much.  It's so sad to me to hear that all of these people want to travel, especially to the United States, but won't ever be able to because they don't have the money or the time.  But we have had such amazing lives, and we are so blessed by Heavenly Father.

Family, thanks for your prayers, your letters, your encouragement, and your love.  I couldn't do this without you all, so thank you.  I love you all so much, and I know that Heavenly Father loves you too!

Have a wondertastic week!

Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Bob now has a sombrero!

This is a picture of an Ecuadorian wedding.  It always involves people walking through the streets, playing music and dancing.  Do you think I could borrow one of those violins for just an afternoon?

Hermana Kennedy and a Cat Named Moustache

Hi family!  There is seriously so much to write about, so here's pretty much all of the spiritual stuff in my email to President Murphy:

Hola Presidente Murphy!

President, I am completely convinced that our investigators in San Pablo are the best investigators anyone could possibly ask for.  They are amazing!  I love it here, and I just love these people!

We currently have five people with a fecha bautismal.  The first are four of the kids in La Familia Ajavi:  Lisbeth, Willian, Lillian, and Johann.  We originally didn't expect Johann to want to be baptized just because we didn't think he was paying much attention in the lessons, but like Dayana, he actually knows way more than we thought!  I had another amazing experience with Willian this week.  Last week, when we found out he wasn't reading or praying, we (with Gladys' permission) decided to split the lessons so he didn't feel pressured or uncomfortable.  So, I taught Willian while Hermana Giles taught Gladys and the other kids.  We worked on his praying, and he's excellent now.  He's more than happy to pray whenever now which is such a miracle!  But when I found out that he wasn't reading the Book of Mormon (because he didn't feel he had time), I offered to write small verses for him for each day of the week in the hopes that it would help him take a small step towards reading the Book of Mormon.  In all honesty, I didn't know if it would make a difference, but I felt like it was the right thing to do.  And President, I have no doubt that it was the Spirit prompting me to do that.  When we visited the family this week, we split the lessons again, because Willian, Lillian, and Johann still needed to be taught The Word of Wisdom (which Hermana Giles had taught to Lisbeth and Gladys the time before).  I asked Willian how his reading was going, and whether or not he liked the verses I had given him.  He then pulled out a notebook in which he had written the verses, the page numbers, and the questions I had written for the verses I had given him.  Oh my gosh, I almost cried.  More than anything I've seen so far on my mission, that moment was the most amazing for me.  Not only does he have a notebook with all of that information, but he has also marked the verses in his own Book of Mormon with the papers I gave him.  President, the Spirit is so amazing.  With his help, we can do anything as missionaries.  I thought that maybe going through all the work of writing verses from the Book of Mormon in Spanish was going to yield very little fruit, but it turns out that it was exactly what Willian needed.

These kids are all incredible.  They love coming to church, and they're so excited to be baptized.  However, we did need to change their baptismal date for the 3rd of June from the 27th of May.  It's hard right now for Gladys and her esposo because they're about to finish their house, and they can't attend the baptism this week.  We also think the the kids need a little more time to understand how to recognize the promptings and answers of the Spirit before they're baptized, but we are so excited for them.  We are so excited for them to have the Spirit in their lives to guide them and help them feel the love that Heavenly Father has for them.

We also have a baptismal date set with an investigator for the 17th of June.  His name is Jonathan David, and sometimes I feel like his testimony is stronger than mine.  He was a referral from the elders of Punyaron, and he recently moved to Ecuador from Colombia.  He's had a hard adjustment period, but he loves the scriptures, and he attended church for all three hours two weeks ago, and the only reason he didn't attend church yesterday was because he offered to help a man in his community harvest his corn.  When we told him that he could be baptized on the 10th of June if he wanted, he was so excited!  He said that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night because he was so excited that he could be baptized, but he wants to keep his goal for the 17th because he doesn't feel prepared, even though he has three and half lessons, is reading the Book of Mormon every day, and loves attending church. He knows without a doubt that the church is true, and it's amazing to me to see the faith and testimony that he has.  We are going to try to help him feel more prepared so that he can be baptized on the 10th.

Also, our recent convert, Sandra, is incredible.  Since her baptism, she has only continued to strengthen in her faith and testimony, and she has such a hunger for the word of God in her life.  She has now passed me in the Book of Mormon in Spanish, and is halfway through Mosiah.  Two weeks ago, she asked Hermano Casco, our mission leader, if she could take the Principles of the Gospel book home with her and has since read forty pages of it.  And all because of Joselyn and her referral. And, without us even asking, Sandra gave us a referral for her aunt, Blanca Flores with whom we have an appointment this week!

I love this work.  I love being a missionary.  It isn't the easiest job, but it is so worth it all to see the joy that the Gospel brings to people's lives.  Thanks for all you do!

Have a marvelous week!

Hermana Kennedy

Okay, we have this other investigator.  Her name is Janice, and she, her daughter, and her mom all love the lessons, and it's so nice because they're a little bit wealthier than most people around here (not sure how wealthy that is by American standards, but ya know #ecuadorlife).  We actually get to sit on couches when we teach them, and they all have really nice teeth because her parents are dentists.  They also have this big, goofy white cat.  Most people here have scrawny, underfed, odd-looking cats, but their cat is so soft and friendly, and he fell asleep in my lap. #heaven But it's so funny because his name is Bigote which translated mean Moustache.  It's the little things in life that bring me a little extra joy :-)

So, I wore pants for the first time this week.  I know, Mommy, aren't you proud of me!  I wore pants! Anyway, we had intercambios in Carabuela with the Hermanans Lideres, and their sector is very buggy.  Like, ours isn't much better, but we figured we would try the pants thing.  And it was fun!  With my khakis and my long raincoat, I felt kind of like a detective.  But it POURED in Ecuador on Wednesday.  Like, rivers in the street.  It's been raining all week and last week, but Wednesday it felt like all heaven had let loose her tears.  So, we wore pants, and everything else got soaked, but I felt so bad for Hermana Giles.  Even though I was with another companion, I was thinking about her all day.  Because she's from Southern California, she gets cold really easily, and I was cold, so all I could think was that she must be freezing.  And sure enough, she looked so sad and wet when we came back at the end of the night, but we had a good laugh about it :-)

Also, Hermana Giles has a bright yellow raincoat, and with my purple raincoat, we look pretty cool together.  It's become the joke that we are Power Rangers :-)  Every time we leave in the morning or in coats, we throw up our arms and say "Go! Go, Power Rangers!" and today, we decided to take some photographic evidence :-)

But funniest experience of the week was in my lesson with the three kids in La Familia Ajavi:  Willian, Lillian, and Johann.  We definitely have to change up our teaching style for kids.  At first, I tried teaching them the commandments how I would normally do, but they were bored and weren't responding, so I wrote the commandments on pieces of paper, crumpled them up and had each kid pick one.  I was teaching follow the prophet, obey the law of the land, the Word of Wisdom, tithing and fasting and .... the law of chastity.  So, teaching the Law of Chastity actually isn't awkward at all. It's simple, so it's usually pretty easy.  And the lesson was going fine until then.  I told them that you shouldn't have sexual relations outside or before marriage (just like we teach other investigators).  But they all had blank looks on their faces, and they didn't understand.  So, I asked, "Do you guys understand what sexual relations are?"  They're 12, 10, and 8. Maybe in some places they would know, but these kids told me that they did not.  So, I got to explain sex to three kids ... in Spanish.  And I did the best I could.  Very simple, in the vocabulary that I have, I told them that sex is when a man and a woman sleep together ... sin ropa, or translated, without clothes.  The BUSTED out laughing!  Oh my gosh, they thought it was so funny.  And it took a good two minutes to calm them down, but at that point, I was laughing too.  It was just so funny that I had to explain this to them, and that was the best way to explain it.  Anyway, they got the point, but I was glad to have a good laugh about it.  To be totally honest, I think they think I'm pretty funny.  They laugh at a lot of the stuff I say which maybe isn't a good thing.  It could be like Daddy's joke:  you're funny....funny LOOKING!  Anyway, I love those kids, and I'm so grateful that I'm going to get to see them baptized!

My invitation to you all as a missionary this week (thanks Ethan and Mark for teaching me the commitment pattern before I left :-)):  I am inviting you all to say gratitude prayers this week.  I want you to spend a few minutes each day only telling Heavenly Father all the thing in your life for which you are grateful and not asking for anything.  So, will you all pray this week, only thanking Heavenly Father for the blessings He has given you?  I promise that if you do, you will better be able to see the blessings in your lives, and more importantly you will better be able to shoulder the stress and anxiety you all feel.  And like Alma and his people, Heavenly Father will make your burdens light.  I know that this church is true.  I know that Heavenly Father has a perfect knowledge of each one of you, and that HE LOVES YOU!  I know that through the great atoning power of the Savior, you can each receive a lightness and happiness in your lives, because He knows your pain and your troubles.  So, when you feel sad or stressed or upset, turn to Him and use the gift that God gave us when He sent His Son.

I love you guys so much, and I'm sorry that I can't be there to lighten your burdens myself, but help each other.  I'm here teaching about the eternity of families because I can't wait to be with my family forever, and I want the people to have that blessing too.

I love you!  Be grateful!

Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and a Hitchhiker's Guide to Ecuador

Hi family!  Man, I love you all so much!  It was a great week, and I can't wait for you to read all about it!  Here's my letter to Presidente:

Hola Presidente Murphy!

It's just amazing to be a missionary in this beautiful country with these amazing people!  Every day is an adventure, and a blessing, and I'm so honored to be here.  I just love Hermana Giles.  I love learning from her, and I love teaching alongside her.  We had an excellent week together, and every day, I'm grateful to have her as an example and a friend to me.

We currently have four investigators with a baptismal date.

The kids of La Family Ajavi have decided that they want to be baptized right away.  They're all so excited to be baptized, and they're so prepared.  We love visiting that family, because everyone comes together to listen to the lessons, and they love to participate.  It was interesting though, because one of the kids, Willian, has been struggling a little bit lately.  He hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon, and hasn't been coming to church, and he's always too scared to pray in front of his family, and we weren't quite sure what to do about it.  But this past Saturday we decided to try something.  We have noticed that he's always really quiet around his family, and with six siblings, it's understandable.  He's the second oldest, and I think that sometimes, he feels lost among his siblings and doesn't feel like he matters because his mom is really occupied with all of the littler kids, and his older sister, Lisbeth, is really outgoing.  So, we decided to try teaching him one on one. So while Hermana Giles taught Gladys and Lisbeth, I went to the side to talk to Willian to find out what's been going on, and why he hasn't been reading or coming to church or praying. Turns out, he feels like he doesn't pray well, and he hasn't been reading because he's been busy with helping his mom with the littler kids and sewing the traditional blouses to sell.  He hasn't been coming to church because he doesn't like going without his dad but his dad is inactive, so it's hard to find a way around that.  But I just had a conversation with him.  We talked about prayer, and why it's important, and then I suggested that we practice.  I said a short, simple prayer first, then asked him to pray, and he agreed rather hesitantly, but he said an excellent prayer.  And we came up with some ideas together as to how he could read a little bit of the Book of Mormon every day. I asked him to come to church on Sunday, and he agreed.  When we rejoined Gladys and Hermana Giles and it was time to close with a prayer, Gladys said she wanted him to say it, and seriously Presidente, it was amazing.  He stood up, and without any hesitation, prayed for everyone.  And the next day, he showed up at church with the rest of his family, despite the absence of his dad, and I wanted to stand up in the pew and yell because I was so excited!  It's amazing how following the promptings of the Spirit can work miracles, even among younger investigators.  #MayTheSpiritBeWithYou.  So, Willian, Lisbeth, and Lillian all have a baptismal date for the 27th of May!  We also have Mayra Erazo for the 10th of June.  Her biggest challenge has been coming to church, because she's been working, and she was traveling for Mother's Day this past week, and she has to come to church the next three weeks in order to meet her baptismal goal.  But she knows everything is true, and she recognizes answers to her prayers, and she has incredible faith, so we are really hoping that she can make it to the tenth of June.

This church is true. I feel it every day in our lessons, and I love seeing how the Spirit touches the lives of those we teach.  I know that this country and this people are so special, and it is such an honor to have the opportunity to serve here.  Thank you for your leadership and for your love and care for us missionaries.  We all really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Kennedy

Seriously, this experience with Willian was so cool.  It's probably my favorite mission experience yet!

Okay, so funny thing about Ecuador.  We have a place in our sector called Angla which is pretty far away from everything else.  It's up in the mountains, and it's where the majority of the indigenous people in our sector live.  It's also where they speak the most Quichua (the indigenous language here).  Anyway, so because it's a little more out there, the buses for Angla don't pass very often.  We have lunch in Angla every Sunday, and if we don't catch the bus at 12:30, we have to wait for the next one at 1:40.  Yeah, crazy right?  Well, because of the limited number of times that the bus passes, it's almost always full to the brim with people.  So, this past Sunday, we were waiting after church to catch the bus to Angla with a few of the members from Angla.  It was late which we thought was kind of strange, but we were ready when we saw the bus with "Angla" written on the front.  However, the bus didn't stop when we hailed it down, because like usual, it was full to the brim and couldn't take any more passengers.  I was thinking that we were going to have to take a bus to San Pablo, then take a taxi from there to Angla, but the members had another idea.  They somehow saw a friend of theirs driving by in a truck and hailed them down, and we all hopped in the truck.  I thought we were going to drive all the way to Angla, but turns out, the thing to do here is hitchhike until you pass the bus you want, and then drive to a stop further down the road so that you can catch your bus.  So, we actually did end up driving all the way to San Pablo, at which point, we got out of the car and caught the bus up to Angla #thatecuadorlife

So, talking to you guys yesterday was like the best thing ever!  Oh man, I thought I was gonna be crying, but I just felt so happy, because I seriously have the best family in the world!  Although, I am sorry about the comments about not getting mail.  It was so silly of me to say anything, especially since I can print your emails.  I'm sorry that I sounded so ungrateful by complaining that I don't get any mail.  Don't feel any pressure to send me anything.  I'm a little spoiled, and that manifested itself a little yesterday, and I'm sorry.  I really can't tell you how much I love your emails, but I've always loved getting mail, and I have the rest of my life to get mail, and that shouldn't be what I'm focused on right now.  Mommy, for real...DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.  I DON'T FEEL BAD.  Hermana Giles' mom sent her a letter like weeks before I even left for my mission, and it still hasn't gotten here, and I just don't think there's any hope for it.

I really do have the best family though, and you know, it was really interesting for me this week to read Alma 38.  It's the one chapter dedicated to Alma's words to his son, Shiblon.  For so many years, I've heard people say that it's kind of sad that Shiblon only has one chapter while his brothers each have two or three dedicated to them.  But, if you read it, it's such a beautiful chapter.  Shiblon has been righteous for his whole life, and there just isn't much for Alma to say to him because he doesn't need the help that his brothers do.  But it really struck me, because Shiblon is a middle child.  For so many years, I've struggled with my identity as a middle child, and I've always looked at it as a curse, because honestly, it's not because my parents never gave me attention, but it's hard because middle children are surrounded by our siblings, and I'm especially surrounded by my siblings, it's hard not to feel intimidated or jealous.  But I've come to realize that being a middle child is the best position that you can hold in a family.  We middle children are in the unique position of touching everyone around us.  We get to be a part of everything in our lives.  I remember being small with Ethan and Mark, and there isn't a time that I've ever felt like Ethan or Mark is far away from me, and I've always had Glo in my life.  There's never been a gap or a point where I don't feel connected to my siblings.  As a middle child, we get to be the bridge in our families, and I've become that in mine, and I love it.  There are still times when I feel a little intimidated, just because my siblings are amazing, but I love having a completely unique connection with each of them.  I love that I've gotten to grow with them, and that all three of them have been incredible examples to me.  And I know that they love me.  They tell me that all the time, and I know it without a doubt.  It's such a blessing to be me and to be where I am in my family.   I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to realize it, but it really is the best.  And Mark, this applies to you too.  #rockinthemiddlechildlife. I love you guys so dang much, and I wish I could adequately and eloquently express that to you.

Also, cute thing:  I don't know why, but I've been wanting some type of flora to put on my desk, but I haven't wanted cut flowers or anything, because they die.  But this past week, for my third cumpleanos, I found a cactus (just a small one) at the Nuevo Mercado, and Hermana Giles bought him for me to celebrate!  His name is Bob, and he sits on the corner of my desk, and every day, it's so fun to say good morning to him.  He's in a little red pot, and Hermana Giles wrote his name on the side all fancy.  I can't wait for my first transfer when I get to carry Bob to my new place with me.  Of course, the dream is that I would never be transferred, but when I am someday (hopefully in the very far future), I'm excited to be that missionary with a cactus named Bob :-)

Anyway, thank you everyone for all of your emails and love and support and general awesomeness!  Thanks for your prayers.  I love you all, and I know that Heavenly Father loves you too!  Have an incredible week and keep being the wonderful human beings that you are!

Much love,

Hermana Kennedy

It rained here all week last week, so there is so much dang mud on the roads!

Yep, mud everywhere.

This was the beginning of the Mother's Day celebration in Relief Society.  It was followed by rice, chicken and potatoes.  Followed by brownies.  Followed by more rice, chicken and potatoes.  Followed by pizza.  We finally had to "excuse" ourselves to use the restroom because there was no way we could eat anymore food!

Pictures

We went the cascada de taxipamba today for our zone activity, and it was gorgeous!  Ecuador may not have monuments or museums (at least not in the camopo), but it doesn't disappoint with its neature!  Also, it rained all week here, so there is so much dang mud in the roads!  And the daughters, Lisbeth and Lillian, o La Familia Ajavi love doing our hair, so heres a snapshot of my ecuadorian braid.  It's super legit.  I love you!​

Hermana Kennedy and the March of the Tortugas

Hi family!  There's so much to write about this week, so let's get started!  Here's my letter to Presidente:

Hola Presidente Murphy!

Sandra and her daughter, Dayana, were baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday as members of the Church!  I didn't know that I could feel this happy and excited for them, but Saturday was such an incredible day because I had the opportunity to see two daughters of God make such a righteous decision!  I know that their lives are going to be richly blessed because of the decision to be baptized.  Sandra's life has gotten incredibly harder ever since we started teaching her, but when we first started, she was so sad and downtrodden.  But, as she learned more and more, and grew in her faith, we saw a difference in her life.  Her trials and difficult times are still there, and if nothing else, they have increased, but she better withstands them, and we see the light of Christ grow more in her.  We have seen how the Gospel has affected her emotionally, and I am so incredibly grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing me to be a part of her conversion process.  I'm grateful that I could help invite the Spirit into her home, and I could watch her receive a testimony and a witness that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What an incredible work this is!  It's amazing that through Sandra's and Dayana's dedication and desires, they can be baptized into Christ's church and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I'm so grateful to be a missionary, and I just love our investigators.  I love seeing how the gospel changes their lives and how coming to a knowledge of their Savior allows them to better feel the love that God has for them.  This is the work of God, and He prepares people for us, and what a blessing it is to be an instrument in His hands.

We also have Mayra Erazo with a baptismal date for the 10th of June.  She knows that what we are teaching is true, and she is so excited of the prospect of being baptized.  We just need her to come to church.  She hasn't been able to come for the past two weeks because she's had to work, but she told us that she could come this Sunday, so we are hoping and praying that she'll be able to come.

We also have Angel Guatancela with a date for the 27th of May.  He's been coming to church for weeks, but we have had to move his date because it's hard to find him.  He works during the day, so it's been tricky finding a time to teach him when he's home and isn't otherwise occupied.  But he loves the church, and we are excited to see him progress more and more.

Presidente, I'm so grateful to be a missionary.  I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for calling me to the best mission in the world, because I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.  I know that this church is true.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, and that He perfectly called me to this beautiful place.  I know that my Savior lives, and that this is His church, restored on the earth for us.  I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and His teachings, and that a man truly can come closer to God by abiding by its precepts.  I know that this mission is hard, but it is also incredible, because this is God's work, and He does not fail.  I love my Heavenly Father, and I love being a missionary.  Thank you for your encouragement and support.  I'm so grateful to have your example to follow.  Hermana Murphy too!  

Have a stupendous week!

Hermana Kennedy

Man, Saturday was just amazing!  Seriously, I'm so happy for Sandra and Dayan!  I know I had my first baptism in my first week here, and I love Joselyn, but because I didn't know her, she didn't feel like my convert.  But I've gotten to know Sandra and Dayana, and I love them.

So, funny thing about Ecuador.  There are so many viejitas here.  That means old lady.  And the women here, young or old, have a habit of carrying things on their backs in a sling made of a white sheet.  So, they put whatever it is that they need to carry (watermelons, propane gas tanks, babies) in the slings, bring the ends over their shoulders, cross them over their chest, and tie the ends around whatever it is that they're carrying.  So, the viejitas have these slings, and all of them are hunched over anyways because they've been carrying things like this for 70 years, and they always wear some kind of turban on their head to protect them from the sun.  And they shuffle along slowly.  So, this week, we were on a rather crowded bus, with every seat full, and lots of people in the aisle, and we were standing at the front of the bus.  At a stop, all of the viejitas get up with their back slings, and they start shuffling in a line down the aisle of the bus because they needed to get up.  Well, with the sling on the back, and being hunched over, and with their little turban, they look like turtles, so in my mind, I've started calling them "the tortugas" because they're just so cute, and they needed a different name than just "old lady".

On the other hand, the men here are driving me crazy.  Hermana Giles commented the other day that we just are really helping the Priesthood grow, but in my mind, it's okay, because as hermanas, it is a little difficult to find men to teach.  But this week especially, I'm grateful we don't teach many men, because I'm just not feeling much charity and love for the men here.  Let me explain:

Sandra wants a divorce from her spouse, and we understand why.  He doesn't support her, and he's currently living with another woman, and he knows that right now, she needs work, so he uses money and support for her kids to control her (even though he's living with someone else).  The reason she couldn't come to church two weeks ago is because he told her that if she went to church, he wouldn't give her money that week for food and for her house.  What a loser.  Anyway, we have been joking that he's the devil incarnate, because through all of this, he won't divorce her.  We don't know why.  But he came to their confirmation on Sunday, and man, when he walked in with them, I was grateful it was before the sacrament, because I had some bad thoughts about him, and I needed to do some repenting.  But when we stood up for the congregational hymn, I sized him up, and I realized that I could totally take him....although those horns and pitchfork might prove to be a problem!

Obviously, I still need to do some repenting....

Second, we met up with one of our favorite mamitas on Saturday, Hermana Berta.  She's just the sweetest woman, and she has amazing food, and her son, Diego, is just about the cutest kid you'll ever meet.  We show up on Sunday to find her outside of her house, crying and practically hysterical because her inactive husband is inside, drunk as a skunk, and she can't be inside with him.  How awful is that?  And through all of her explanations, she's apologizing to us because we can't come inside, but she called another mamita up the street to take the food that Hermana Berta has cooked and to feed us at her house.  What an example of turning outwards.  Can you imagine?  Here she is, with a testimony as strong as a lion, with an amazing son, and she has to deal with that in her life?  How blessed we are in the Gospel!  There's a reason that Heavenly Father has given us commandments in our lives like the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom, and it's because breaking those commandments brings such pain to families.  We wanted to stay there with her, and I wanted to go inside and shake that man awake and ask him what he thought he was doing!  He has an amazing family, a rather nice house, and a good job.  What right does he have to be drinking and causing such pain to his family?  But we couldn't do anything but hug her and tell her that we love her.

Anyway, long rant, but I just love the people here, and it's awful to see the trials in their lives, and it makes me realize how blessed we are in our lives.  Heavenly Father has given our family so much.

I'll end with a funny story.  We went to Sandra's the other day, but she wasn't there because she was at a church activity (before she was even a member), but her daughters were there, and we asked if they needed help with anything.  Well, the great thing about kids is that they actually DO let us help, and we love it!  Service is one of our favorite times.  So, they had all of these dishes to wash, so we stood at the piedra outside, and were washing dishes.  Remember the piedra?  A big stone table where we wash our dishes...and our clothes.  Well Mommy, you know me.  I manage to see spiders in the most random places.  There's a tin roof over the piedra with wooden beams holding it in place, and I look up and I see (because my head almost hits the roof) a GIGANTISIMO spider sitting in between the roof and one of the crossbeams.  Well no spider is allowed to be within ten feet of me without losing its evil, pathetic life, so I took a pot, filled it with water, and as Hermana Giles explains it, "I heard a huge splash next to me, and Hermana Kennedy looks over at me and says, 'There's a HUGE spider right there!'"  Well, Hermana Giles doesn't like spiders either, so when I saw that it was still there, she told me to throw water on it again!  Well, this dang spider was so big that even the force of the water wasn't working, so she hands me a stick and says to poke at it until it falls!  Well, the spider fell into the piedra, and we both started freaking out!  So, I took water one more time and threw it at the spider, and it washed out of the piedra and far away from us (thank goodness!)  And as it turns out, Noemi, Sandra's second daughter, came out as I was throwing the water for the last time, and she looked at us like we were crazy (which we were...), so we tried explaining ourselves, but we were laughing so hard that I'm pretty sure she thinks we ARE crazy!  There was a time that I wanted to be the first hermana called to the Orient (or the jungle) section of our mission, but this week I learned that there are spiders there bigger than your fist, so, no thank you!  I'll stay where I am!  Anyway #thatecuadorlife

And oh my gosh, Glo is so GORGEOUS!!!!  She and her date are so cute, and I'm so excited for her, and man, I just love that boy for asking her to prom!  And holding her hand?? So exciting!  Could I have a more beautiful sister?!?  Man, I wish I could have been there to help her get ready, and to see her off, but it's okay, it's okay.

And I love the picture of Daddy with the bishops.  And props to Daddy for taking it and organizing it :-)

And no worries about a few leaks in your new house.  The roof of the Colombian MTC leaks so much that it had a waterfall down the wall :-)  #southamericanproblems

And yes, the native clothing is the BEST!  Mark would seriously love the men's clothing, but I'm not sure we could actually find any pants long enough for him! We actually wear the apalgatas in our everyday wear with our missionary clothes because they're super comfortable, and it's only like $5.00 a pair.  And they're so sturdy!  The anacos, or skirts, are tricky though because we have to layer the two skirts on top of each other without tucking them in or anything, and we hold them in place while wrapping the belt around.  I'm not sure how these Ecuadorian women do it alone.  That must be one of the sole functions of a husband around here... (I know, I'll repent again....)

I love it here so dang much.  I love my companion, my area, my investigators, and my Heavenly Father!  Thanks for all of your support and love and encouragement.  I really can't tell you all how much I love getting your emails, and maybe in seven months I'll get your letters or packages.  Not sure why Ecuador to the U.S. takes three weeks, and the U.S. to Ecuador takes who-knows-how-long, but I'm glad the letters made it!  Now that I know that, I'll send more!  I love you!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and the Green House Effect

Hi family!  It was an awesome week, but let's start out with my letter to Presidente:

Hola Presidente Murphy!

This was a great week!  We worked so well together as a companionship, and I just love our investigators!  We currently have the same six with baptismal dates!  The biggest problem that we have encountered is the investigators feeling like they need to know everything before being baptized, and so they're really worried when we set a goal for a month later.  But we are trying to work with them to explain that it isn't necessary to have a perfect knowledge of the Gospel before being baptized.  We are missionaries, preaching the Gospel every day, and we are far from having a perfect knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.

So, Sandra and Dayana attended church for the third time this past Sunday, and we are so excited for them to be baptized this Saturday!  It's amazing, feeling the love that I have for these people, and I've only known them for a little over a month!  Sandra has been encountering some serious opposition since we set her baptismal date, and we have been so worried about Sandra, but she's working so hard, and she and Dayana both really want to be baptized.  They love coming to church, and having Joselyn always accompany them is so helpful!  We also have Angel, and we moved his date to the 27th of May, mostly because he's been a little hard to find, but we made some progress this week, and it's such a privilege to teach him, because he loves the Gospel, and he loves coming to church!

Mayra Erazo has her date for the 10th of June, and we have another appointment with her this week, to find out her desires for being baptized, because she's been a little hard to find ever since we set her date, and we want to make sure that she doesn't feel pressured or stressed.  And finally, we have Roberto and Ximena Perechimba.  They're so humble, and they know that God exists, and they're so grateful to Him for all of their blessings.

We also had a serious miracle occur this week.  We have two rather new investigators, Marta and Victor Garcia, in San Rafael.  We had an appointment with them on Saturday, but we missed it because we were with another investigator.  However, Hermana Giles called them that night to schedule another appointment and to apologize for missing our appointment that night, and she also invited them to church.  We invite all of our investigators to church, but many, especially those who are new, are always hesitant to attend, and it usually takes a lot of convincing (and a lot of help from the Spirit) to get them to commit to attend church.  But Marta and Victor agreed right away, and sure enough, the next day, they were waiting at the entrance to Otavalo for us to show them where to go.  They are so hungry for the word of God in their lives, and it's such a blessing to teach them. #abreloscielos

I love this area.  I love these people that I have the honor and privilege of teaching, and I can't imagine being anywhere else.  I can't imagine teaching anyone else, because to me, these people are my friends, and it is so easy for me to see them the way that God does.  I love being a missionary, and I'm so grateful to be serving in the best mission in the world.  Thank you for all of your efforts, and for the example that you are to us missionaries.

Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Kennedy

I'm so dang excited for Hermana Sandra and Hermanita Dayana!  Seriously, when they showed up at church on Sunday, I was so relieved!  I'm so excited for this Saturday, because I know that their lives are going to be so blessed for their obedience and desires to be baptized.

So, the Green House Effect.

There aren't any addresses in my sector.  The way we find people, or remember where they live is by writing down what their house looks like, and where they live in relation to other things.  #thatcampolifethough  Anyway, so we meet so many people who tell us that they have a case verde, or a green house.  Now, there is a wide range of colors in the houses here, but I swear that the people here are color blind only to the color green!  We will show up in an area, and see a couple of green houses around where the person said they lived.  We will knock on the doors and find that not a single green house contains our investigator.  So, we call them, and they tell us that they'll come outside and they do, and they see us, and we see them....outside of a very cream or yellow-colored house!  Meanwhile, there are like four other bright lime green houses in the area.  This has happened to us like five or six times now, and it's always a green house!

Also, we were riding a bus this past week (we ride a lot of buses--it wasn't like we only rode one), and older American music was playing on the bus, and "I Love Rock 'n Roll" came on, and it totally made me think of Daddy, especially in Five Guys, when his music comes on, and he starts dancing and singing, and it made me so happy :-)

Also, #mostawkwardmissionmoment.

We were visiting a recent convert this past week.  He's thirteen, and his name is Jordan.  He was home alone, so we had to sit outside of his house, and we were in the middle of a lesson when three people walked up.  We're like, okay, and then they say, "Hello, we are missionaries from the Apostolic church.  Who are you?"

So we introduce ourselves like we do with everyone, and say, "We're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Nice to meet you." :-)

No joke.  First thing they ask:  In whose name do you preach?

In the name of Jesus Christ.

That's good.  In whose name do you baptize?

In the name of Jesus Christ.

That's also good.  Then, one of them starts preaching to us.  And this is where I felt so grateful to the church for teaching us how to introduce ourselves.  These people didn't ask us anything else about ourselves, or try to get to know us.  They just went right into their message and preaching to other missionaries no less.  They were more focused on us than Jordan.  So, we politely asked if we can finish our lesson with Jordan, and we tell them they are more than welcome to join us.  So they stop and just stand there and watch us for a while, and then walk away and wait until we are finished teaching Jordan.  Anyway, super awkward moment, but Hermana Giles suggested that Jordan share his testimony of the church with them after we left :-)

Also, we had mission correlation on Saturday night, at which point the mission leader tells us that the third speaker for church tomorrow can't speak, so could I speak instead?  Holy cow, no pressure.  It actually wasn't bad.  I can speak pretty well in Spanish now, and it never hurts to talk about Christ and the Holy Ghost.  The worst part was actually that I'm so tall that the microphone couldn't reach all the way, and people couldn't hear me very well.  #tallgirlinecuador

Then, we also had to teach Principles of the Gospel to our new members and investigators, and we found out in the moment, but again, I'm so grateful that we teach all day, because we had a really nice lesson about faith and repentance which was so cool to teach with all of our investigators present!

So, I finally have a picture of me with some llamas for you!  I was actually kind of scared of the llamas because when they're annoyed, they spit, and there were a few times that I got close enough that they started doing something with their mouths, so that was exciting!

Also, there's this place in Otavalo called Nuevo Mercado, and it's where we can get the same quality of traditional Ecuadorian clothing for way cheaper!  It's still pricey, but so worth it!  I don't understand though how some of these Ecuadorian women do yard work in their traditional clothing  It's so precious to me!  Isn't it just beautiful?  I was actually super worried about the fit, but I think it looks pretty good on me! 

I want to thank everyone for the encouraging emails this week.  Seriously, I ave felt such an outpouring of love from so many people this week, and I can't express how much it means to me.    It really is so helpful to hear some encouragement and advice from people.  Especially Sister Koide.  I know what she means, and I understand.  We do need to be part of the choir in order to sound the most beautiful, but it's just so hard because the people here are tone deaf, rhythm deaf, and just sing so quietly :-)  Also, thank you Mama.  Thank you for helping me prepare for my mission.  Thanks for helping me shop, and pack, and everything.  When I was sick last week, I was so thankful to have everything I needed to get better packed in my bags.  I'm so grateful for you and for how loving you've always been to me.  I know that I haven't always been the easiest child, but I'm so grateful to know that you love me.  I really am the luckiest missionary in the world to have so many people supporting and encouraging me.  I love you all, and THANK YOU SO MUCH for your love and advice.  I know that Heavenly Father loves you all and keep doing the best that you can!

Love,

Hermana Kennedy