Hola Presidente Murphy,
Well, this was an interesting week for sure. First off, we lost Jonathan David. I don't mean spiritually or emotionally...I mean he randomly left for Colombia this past week, and he doesn't know when he will be back. He told us that he tried to call us to tell us, but every time he called, it said that our number was "occupied". That was a little hard, because he was starting to internalize the stuff he needed to learn in order to be baptized, but we are hoping that he will continue to attend church in Colombia, and hopefully he will be back soon!
I must admit, President, it's been a little hard on me, having the elders here. The elders themselves are great! They're hard working, and they're dedicated, and it's great to be working with them. However, the ward has been treating us hermanas differently ever since the elders arrived. I know that Ecuador is a rather male dominated country, so it's to be expected, but it feels as though nothing we do now is of any importance. Everyone is so focused on the elders, and the things that they are doing, and it's been a little hard on me, because I don't feel welcome in the ward anymore. This past week in church especially was hard. None of our investigators who said they were going to come to church came which was emotionally difficult. I guess that's the problem with loving people; when they let you down, it's awful. But in ward council, Hermana Bustos and I presented our informes de progreso, with all of the information, with all of the help that we need. Then, the elders presented theirs, and everyone was so willing to help them and offer assistance, and when they said they wanted to have a missionary activity to play futbol and volleyball, the president of the Elder's Quorum said, "This is why we need elders in the ward." We hermanas have been trying to get the ward to do an activity for missionary work for about a month and a half now, and no one has been enthused about it, so that comment hit me pretty hard. The bishop then proceeded to ask all sorts of questions to the ward about our investigators and converts, which we had already answered with our informe. It feels like they aren't listening to us, and that our work doesn't matter anymore. I know it's silly to feel this way, because ultimately, as long as we keep working hard, that's all that matters. That, and what Heavenly Father thinks of us. But it's just hard to be in a place where it feels like I don't matter. I love having the elders here, but it feels like we aren't involved anymore.
However, yesterday afternoon made all of the pain worth it. First off, we visited Sandra, and President, if I do nothing else on my mission, I'm happy knowing that I helped in the conversion process of Sandra. She is the light of my mission. She's so dedicated and faithful, and she trusts so much in Heavenly Father, and she's starting to see the blessings of being baptized. After months without work she finally found some, and her family is helping her take care of her kids so that she can work. She's so much happier now than when we first visited her, and seeing her each week at church just brings such joy to my soul.
Too, we set a baptismal date with Patricio Quilumbaquin for the 29th of July. He is the brother of the second counselor in the bishopric, and he recently separated from his wife. He's come to church three times now, and he really, really wants to know if there is a true church. We invited a member to accompany us to the lesson, and man, having the perfect hermanador just makes such a difference to the investigators. Javier Casteneda is a returned missionary of nine years, and he's about the same age as Patricio. At first, I was hesitant to ask him, because he lives on the other side of our sector from Patricio, and he works in Guayaquil, but one minute into the meeting, I knew that it was a prompting from the Spirit to invite him. Patricio is excited now to find out if this is the true church, and he's going to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true. Especially not knowing the language perfectly, it's so nice to have had someone with the training of a missionary, but the friendship of a member who can explain everything simply and clearly. He basically taught the entire lesson about the Book of Mormon, and Patricio is so prepared. He said that of course he would be baptized if he receives an answer that this is the true church.
We are also still working with Mariana Antamba to achieve her baptismal date of the 2nd of September. She's starting to feel more comfortable with the idea, and she's learning faster now. We also created a baptismal plan for her which I think is helping, because she knows when and what we are going to teach, and we went over the baptismal questions with her, because she was worried about little things in order to be baptized, and worried about not being prepared enough, but she already knows a lot of the things in the interview (like the role of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ). She has a knowledge of some of the commandments already also. We really are so excited for her, because it has been a long time since she started learning from the missionaries, and this is the farthest anyone has gotten with setting a date and having her attend church. It's amazing to see how one missionary started this process a year ago, and now Mariana is starting to feel ready for baptism. It just shows that we shouldn't give up on some people.
Hermana Bustos is learning more and more every day. She doesn't have much confidence in herself, but when she teaches and bears her testimony, it's really, really powerful. She loves this Gospel so much, and she's such an example to me. It's been a hard couple of weeks, because we have been contacting a lot, and no one has really been letting us in, but she continues to have a good attitude as well as a desire to keep working hard. It's hard being a trainer, because there is so much responsibility, but I'm grateful for the things that I'm learning from her everyday. She's definitely ready for her verificaciones this week!
Thank you, President, for your support of us missionaries. Thank you for being here for us, and for helping us in this marvelous work. I am so grateful for you and Hermana Murphy, and I love you both! Have a fantastic week, and we will see you in a few days!
Hermana Kennedy
Yep, so we lost Jonathan David. We have been going to his house every two days this past week, because his phone hasn't been working, and we didn't know how else to contact him. We finally connected with him on the phone, and he told us that he's in Colombia. What the heck, dude? WHY?? Anyway, as we were standing outside his house after he hung up, my mouth open wide in disbelief, a little kitten came out of the window upstairs and started mewing. Well, Jonathan David owns two kittens, so we knew that it was his but since he's gone, we were like, what do we do? This kitten is his, and we can't count on the other people living here (it's a casa comunal) to feed it and take care of it. Hermana Bustos especially was rather worried about it. So, she starts trying to find a way to reach it, but it's on the second story, so she finds this long tree branch and hoists it up to the kitten, hoping that it would climb down. Well, it didn't, but it made for a very funny picture :-).
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But on the way back to Gonzalez, we went a different way than we came, and for some random reason, there was this huge canyon in the road, and all that was there to help people cross it were three thick planks of wood. I forrealz thought I was gonna die. It was so dang sketch, and in all honesty, with a running start, I probs could have jumped the gap, but I was too nervous, and Hermana Bustos never would have made it, so I inched my way across this super sketch bridge, and helped Hermana Bustos cross.
Aaaaaaaaand another kind of sketch story from this week. We were contacting in Pijal when we saw this super short woman hanging something from her clothesline way above her, and in my mind, I was like, "Yes! We can help her and then we can teach her." Well, turns out, she was drying meat on the clothesline. And we aren't talking nice, happy meat. We are talking sketch, wet, looks-like-the-skin-of-a-cow meat, and when she would turn it over to dry the other side, there were drops of meat sweat that would fly off of the meat. We ended ups standing a couple of feet away, but there was no escaping the odor. It was definitely rotting. Naaaaaaasty. Also, she's dirt poor, and told us that she was born a Catholic and would die a Catholic, and if we wanted to help her, we could do what another Gringita had done for her before and give her money and clothes that she wanted. Yeah, well not all gringas are alike, and I certainly wasn't going for that. So yeah. There were also a heck ton of flies all over the meat. Yep, Ecuador really is lovely, but sometimes, in the backwoods parts, it's a little sketch :-)
So yeah, church was kind of awful yesterday. I almost burst into tears about five times during sacrament meeting because I was so mad and disappointed and sad that three of our investigators didn't show up when they had promised me less than 24 hours earlier that they were going to come. And then the whole thing with ward council. Seriously, I wanted to yell at some of those people, and remind them that yeah, we are here too, and why is it that suddenly you're all hyped for missionary work just because the elders are here? But I kept my cool and I had a little more control of my emotions, but then after church, while waiting for the bus, Elder Seaman pulls out a huge package of Twizzlers and offers some to us. I couldn't believe it, and my first thought was that he got a package or something, but no. There's been an American family that's been visiting for the past three weeks, and they gave the elders the Twizzlers to tell them to keep doing what they're doing and to thank them for working hard. Wasn't that nice of them? However, even though we met them and spoke to the family, no Twizzlers for us. You know, no big deal. They're only my favorite candy in the world....and your package that contains Twizzlers and that was sent three months ago hasn't arrived here...and probably never will.
Seriously, on the bus ride to our mamita's house, I had to keep reciting The Living Christ in Spanish in my head to keep myself focused on ANYTHING other than my feelings and thoughts about how awful and unloved I felt. And then, we got to our mamita's house, and of course, as if my day couldn't get any worse, we were served FISH! Yes, that was about the last straw for me. All I wanted to do was go home and cry in my bed. But I was reminded of something I did like about church that day, and it was the Principles of the Gospel lesson. It was on service, and there's a quote that says, "When you focus on other people's needs, you forget your own worries," and I knew that the only way to feel better was to keep going and keep working, and later, we had seriously excellent lessons. I know that they were tender mercies from Heavenly Father, telling me that everything was going to be okay. And I need to remember that I'm here for the members and for other missionaries. I'm here for the people that don't have the Gospel in their lives, and I know that while this ward may not remember my name or face after I leave, I know that Sandra, and the kids of the Familia Ajavi will never forget me, and they're the most important. I really do love being a missionary. Yes, sometimes there are days that are physically exhausting, and there are days when the work is emotionally draining, but I also know that Heavenly Father is always with us because this is His work for His children, and He doesn't fail. He is always helping us as missionaries, and a day without a trial is a day without progress, so I guess we were just progressing A LOT this week :-)
Thanks, Mama, for feeling prompted to fast for me this week. It's nice to know that yesterday, someone was thinking of me and showing love for me, even if from so far away. I love you all so much, and thanks for letting me be here. I love it here, and I love the people that I know here. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ, restored on the earth by the prophet, Joseph Smith. I know the Book of Mormon is another testament of our Savior, His teachings, and His love, and I know that a man can come closer to God by abiding by its precepts. I know that Heavenly Father loves me, and he loves each of you, and I know that that is why he sent His only Begotten Son to the Earth, so that every one of us could have the chance to repent and be baptized in His name and return to live with our dear Heavenly Father. I love you guys so darn much. Thank you for telling me all about your lives!
Have a great week!
Hermana Kennedy
As a P.S., Larisa received an email from the American family who was visiting Ecuador along with a picture. Johannah is definitely hiding her frustration well! :-)
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