Hermana Kennedy and the Adventures of Aluminum Girl

Hi family!  So, exciting news!  Last week, I broke my ankle!  Woohoo...  I went to the doctors on Tuesday, and I have two partial fractures in my ankle, and I have to wear a boot for six weeks.  It's pretty epic, I have to admit.  My boot is so heavy duty, and it's 15% aluminum, and I'm pretty sure I could kill a dog with it if I kicked it.  It's heavy too, so every morning, I do my exercises with it on, and man, I am going to have wicked crazy strong thigh muscles by the end of this six weeks!  So, all of my email is going to be about that, but here's my letter to President Murphy:

Hi Presidente Murphy!

Well, it was an interesting week for the district "Las Poderosas".  With my broken ankle, the hermanas de Cayambe being robbed, and with a death in la Familia Perachimba (one of the investigators of the elders), we were feeling a little rough this week.  But, my ankle is doing great, the hermanas are excited for their new sector, and La Familia Perachimba wanted the members of the church to speak at the funeral instead of their catholic family members, so there's always a silver lining to be found.

At first, I was feeling so broken, President, after finding out that my ankle is broken and needing a boot.  That first day was really hard.  But, I'm grateful for it now.  Yes, it's still hard, but it's a good way for me to learn patience and humility.  It's difficult for me to ask for help from Hermana Bustos and other people when I need it, but I'm learning that it's okay not to be the strongest person all the time.  It's okay to ask for help, not only from other people, but also from Heavenly Father.  He doesn't give us anything that we can't overcome, and He is always blessing us with trials so that we can

become better, and stronger, and more like Him.  I'm really grateful for this trial in my life.  And I'm grateful especially that it isn't worse.  Wearing a boot for a few weeks isn't so bad, especially since it's a good conversation starter :-). There are trials in the lives of every person, and this is just one more in my life, and while the boot isn't the most comfortable thing, I know that He too is giving me the help I need to keep going.  At first, I felt like I was never going to adjust, but I received a blessing from the elders, and President, how amazing is it that we have the power of God at our fingertips?  Seriously, I've been feeling new strength in my ankle everyday, and I've already grown accustomed to walking with it.  Hermana Bustos joked that the new hashtag for August should be #prayforhermanakennedy. We had a good laugh about that :-)

I know that this church is true, and that we really do have the power of God available to us when we need it.  I know that what we are teaching is the truth, and I especially felt it with Mariana.  Her date for the 2nd of September is right on track, and the Spirit is so strong in our lessons with her.  Her heart is so pure and so ready for this Gospel, and I'm so grateful to the missionaries who started teaching her kids a year and a half ago so that today, we can be a part of her conversation process.  She's just amazing, and I love her, and I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for calling me to be here.  This mission is hard, but what's the point of being here if it isn't hard?  God requires a lot from us, but He also has faith and confidence in us, and as a 20-year-old, that's pretty amazing.  He trusts us with the salvation of His children, and I know that he doesn't fail, and I'm so grateful to be a part of this work.  I love being here so much, and I love these people.  Thank you for all of your hard work.  My parents are really grateful to you and Hermana Murphy for taking care of us, and I'm really grateful too.  I love you both, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have in this year and a half to learn from you.

Have a fantastic week!
Hermana Kennedy

So yeah, this was an interesting week.  The other hermanas in our district were being stalked, and these people were trying to rob them, so for the last few days, they've been saying with us in our apartment, and it's been a party.  It really is funny, because we all go out every day and teach people about the Gospel, but in our hearts, we really are just 20-year-olds.  We like to have fun and eat delicious food and talk, and it was so fun having them with us.  But they're being transferred, and they're putting elders in Cayambe, because it just isn't safe there for hermanas.  And Robert, the baby of the family Perachimba, died this past week, so we attended his funeral, but let me tell you, Ecuadorian funerals are WEIRD.  Like, they come walking down the street, and this little viejita (old lady) has the coffin strapped to her back, and there's a guitar and a pipe, and this dude singing, and the old women are carrying these branches of some plant, and at first, it looks like herbs or something, and they're hitting people with them.  Well, turns out, it's STINKING POISON IVY!!  We are sitting down, because my ankle and all, and this woman comes down the line of people sitting, swatting us with this poison ivy, and there's nowhere to run.  I'm just grateful for my boot, because my right leg was totally protected, but Hermana Bustos got hit in both legs! Turns out, it's to drag away any sad feelings and the demons inside of people, and it's to make them focus on that pain instead of the emotional pain.  Well, when we told this to our mamita that afternoon, they thought it was weird too, so it's a very small part of Ecuador.  It's always fun to have exciting experiences to tell.

Anyway, we didn't get to leave the house much this week, but my ankle is recovering, so we can go out a little more this week.  I felt awful for all of the appointments we were missing, and all of the people we couldn't visit, all because of my silly ankle.  Anyway, I'm excited to go out a little more, and I have definitely laughed out loud several times this week, thinking of Daddy calling me things like Gimpy or Stumpy.  I'm pretty sure this is just payback from all those years ago, huh Ethan?  But for the record, I can still kick higher than you :-)

The slide where it all happened :-(

I do regret though the way it happened.  I tell most people that I just fell, because it sounds so stupid to say, "Yeah, I went down a slide and landed wrong." #uncoordinatedwhat?  Anyway, it's been funny, because as if I didn't stand out enough, now I have a giant metal boot.  Hermana Bustos has watched as every head and eye in the buses turn to look shamelessly at me, and she knows English pretty well, so she said that we should make up a song that says, "I am a Gringa.  I have a boot.  Look at me."  So, I said, "No Hermana, that isn't right.  It's 'I am a Gringa.  I have a boot.  Look at me PLEASE!'"  We laughed so hard about that!

Daddy sent me an excerpt from the Screwtape Letters last week, and it was exactly what I needed to read this week with my ankle and all.  Screwtape says that in order for us creatures to become more like God, it is necessary for Him to take away His hand sometimes, and that He relies the most on the troughs of our lives for us to become more like Him.  While Satan may try to use the troughs of our lives to bring us down, if we can rely on our loving Heavenly Father, we can overcome any trial and become the better for it, and so I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for trusting me enough to continue to rely on Him.  What a glorious work this is, and how amazing is it that I get to be a part of it?  I love Heavenly Father, and I love knowing that I can find peace and comfort in the troughs of my life through the knowledge I have of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that He lives, and he loves us, and that is why Heavenly Father and Jesus came up with this amazing plan for us to come here and learn and prepare to stand before God at the last day, and I hope that I can do that and tell Him that I did my best, even with a broken ankle.  I love you, family, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your letters.  It's like everything everyone wrote me last week was exactly what I needed this week, and so thank you, thank you, thank you.  I love you, and God loves you, so don't give up on Him, and He won't give up on you.

With so much love,
Hermana Kennedy/Gimpy