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
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