Hermana Kennedy and the Cat Who Didn't Catch the Rat

Hi family!  Here's my letter to President Murphy:

Buenas tardes, President Murphy,

Well, we currently have one investigator with a baptismal date.  However, we talked with Paco this week, and we all agreed that he is progressing fast enough to be baptized sooner than November 18.  Our goal is October 7.  Our biggest obstacle right now is time.  If we change his date, it will still be for October, but it will be for the 21st, because he will be out of town on the 14th.  We have really good lessons with Paco, but it still doesn't feel like he really, really understands the importance of baptism.  Each time, he comes a little closer, but he's a little older, and I think he just takes a little more time to understand, but we'll see.

We also have a LOT of potential with an investigator named Alicia Mosquera.  She first allowed the missionaries into her house because her nephew is on a mission right now, and she wanted to know what he does.  I think she is one of those people who will progress very slowly, but she will progress. This past week, we were planning on teaching her the Plan of Salvation, but the Spirit initially took us another direction.  Somehow (I can't remember how exactly), we ended up talking about why difficult things happen in our lives, and I told her the story of my ankle and having to go home.  From that, she told us that she had a daughter die a few years ago from being hit by a car which was a perfect lead-in to teaching the Plan of Salavation!  The Spirit really is amazing, and God sometimes works in mysterious ways, but He sure knows what He's doing.  When I was set apart for the second time, I was blessed to be able to use my whole experience to mourn with those who mourn and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and I can see that happening already.  Today, I was speaking with Hermana Evert at a zone activity, and it was amazing to share the smilier feelings about being sent home.  It is an awful thing, but I'm glad that now I can better understand how people feel in similar, or even worse situations.

As for our companionship, we are working on it.  Being in a trio is a different experience, and we are all very imperfect beings.  We are trying to learn more and grow, but unfortunately there has been some disunity in our companionship.  But each companionship inventory, we are getting a little better at being honest, and also not getting offended.  It's a big growth experience, and I'm grateful for that, but I'm hoping that we can be better not only in our companionship, but also as individuals.

I love being a missionary.  I love feeling the Spirit take over in lessons.  Heavenly Father really does have a plan for every person on this earth, and sometimes it's hard to trust Him, but He does know best.

Thank you for your hard work in this mission.  We sure are lucky to have you.

Have a great week!
Hermana Kennedy

Well, our companionship is getting better, but any advice would be great, because while I don't mind being the buffer, it is exhausting sometimes.  However, I am starting to reach Hermana Franco.  She's pretty tough, and she feels like she has to keep everything in, and she isn't really sentimental. Last night, in comp inventory, I just started to tell her honestly how wonderful of a missionary she is, and she started crying.  I think she didn't have a very good experience training, and this is only her fourth transfer. I think Hermana Franco just hasn't received much love or praise in her life, so having someone tell her how amazing she is really touched her.  I'm just grateful to have broken through one of the walls around her heart.  Maybe over the next three weeks, I can go from using a sledgehammer to a stick of dynamite, and she will come away from this cambio having a renewed confidence.

Hna. Franco, me, Hna. Smith

We went on exchanges this past Friday, and I stayed here with Hermana Franco and Hermana Smith, mostly because with my boot, the hills of the hermanas' sector would have been difficult for me, and they wanted Hna Hartzog to have some one-on-one time.  I feel horrible saying this, but we just felt so free.  We just felt light in our hearts, ad honestly, it's because of Hna Smith.  She is just a doll, and she is from Alaska (#canibeher?).  She seriously radiates joy and happiness, and it is so contagious.  We taught wonderful lessons, and we laughed a lot.  But the funniest part came the next morning.  So in our house, we have a little back patio with our piedra and clothesline and stuff.  We had the door open in the morning to let the morning air in, and while sitting there making breakfast, Hna Smith freaks out and yells, "I SAW SOMETHING MOVE OUTSIDE!" So, I go out and see this little mouse nose sticking out from underneath our piedra.  I didn't know where the heck it came from, so I lifted up the stuff it was under, and this rather medium-sized RAT comes scurrying out and dives into this hole in the middle of the floor.  Now, I'm not scared of rats, but anyone shrieks a little under those circumstances.  So, I grab a bucket and put it over the hole.  I think everything is fine.  However, after a moment, the rat starts SHRIEKING, and I realize that I might be suffocating the rat.  So, I run out and take the bucket off the hole and figure that maybe we can trap the rat and take it outside.  So we wait until the rat runs out again, and I cover its hole with the bucket so it can't escape back into the hole again.  Then I go over and lift up the stuff again, and it darts out--not into the bucket as planned, but runs back to its hole but obviously can't get back in.  That's when I hear some more shrieking from the hole.  My guess is that the rat has baby rats in that hole too, and I was suffocating them at that moment.  So with my plan to capture the rat failing BIG TIME, I uncover the hole, and the rat goes back in.  Hermana Smith and Franco just tell me to cover the hole and let them die, but how can I stand before God at the judgment day and hear Him say, "So Hermana, about that rat you killed while you were on your mission...."  Anyway, the two of them, of course, were no help whatsoever, but we laughed a lot about it.  I did try again this morning to catch it, but it didn't work.  My last-ditch effort?  I just need the rat to come out of its hole.  Then I'll run out, put a bag in its hole, then scare it so it'll run to its hole and into the bag, and I can scoop it up.  The babies might die which makes me feel awful, but we can't have a rat living in our apartment.  It's trap the mom and take her outside, or suffocate them all which I couldn't have on my conscience.  I'll let you know how it goes next week.  (As a side note, Johannah's dad told her to pour gasoline down the hole and just light the whole thing on fire.)

Also, we were headed to Paco's house last night when we turned a corner and saw a bichon frisbee type dog sitting on a porch (which is rather normal) except it's blue.  Yes, it is in fact a very blue dog.  We laughed our heads off.

And that's crazy how hot it is at home right now.  It's pretty hot here too.  I guess that's what happens when you serve on the equator.  I'm really grateful that I can stop wearing my boot in a week, because I'm starting to get heat rash from it.  We just sweat so much.  I worry about drinking two whole bottles of water in the morning, because I don't want to have to pee a lot (because who knows where we will ever find a bathroom...or if we will at all), but we end up sweating all the water out anyways. But it's okay.  But I do take my boot off every change I get even though it stinks to high heaven now because of the sweat.  I even washed it recently, and it still smells.  #thatecuadorlife

Also, I think I'm just destined to be a spy because everyone trusts me with the secrets.  I can wheedle the truth or guilty secrets out of anyone, even other missionaries.

And you think I'm going to tell you what they are now....

...but I'm not.  Because what kind of spy spills the secrets?

Finally, something came to me today.  I've met a ton of broken missionaries on my mission.  People who have pasts they regret, or who aren't exactly obedient, or who just feel sad and lost in their lives. And you know, we are all still on the same mission here in Ecuador.  God doesn't send all the perfect people out into the world to preach the gospel.  He sends anyone who is willing, broken as they may be, to teach His other children and to help bring them to salvation.  And really, aren't we all broken in some way?  But the beauty of serving a mission is how it helps us all heal and regrow, sometimes literally in the case of a broken ankle :-)  Everyone has a past (all saints have a past, and all sinners have a future, right Mark? :-)), and we can't judge people for what we don't know, because everyone has regrets and sorrows in their lives, but if we see them as children of God, it doesn't matter.  They are trying, and that's what really counts.  God didn't send me here because I'm perfect.  I'm broken too, and I'm grateful for the opportunity He is giving me to grow and become more like Him.  I still have a long, long, LONG way to go, but I hope someday I can be a little bit closer.

I love you all.  Thanks for your emails.  They really do mean so much to me.  I pray for you every day, and I hope that you can continue to see the blessings in your lives.

Have an absolutely fantastic week!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and Buffer, the Cake Slayer

Hiya family o' mine!  Here's my l-o-n-g letter to President Murphy:

Buenas tardes, President Murphy,

I have to admit, this sector is growing on me.  It is still very, very hot here, but there are good people here, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to know them and help continue the work here in Mitad del Mundo!

First, I wanted to share a great experience we had with the Book of Mormon.  After Zone Conference on Tuesday, we decided to try using the Restoration and specifically the Book of Mormon more in our contacting.  Normally we say something about families or the Atonement, which almost always works, but it isn't usually what we teach first and foremost, so we decided to use the Restoration more.  This week, we were contacting for a long time on this one street, and no one was really letting us in.  One woman told us that it was a very Catholic street, so no one would want to listen to us.  We knock on this big green door, and this mid-20s man answered.  His name was Paoul, and at first, he didn't seem very interested.  But then, Hermana Franco handed him one of the pass along cards with the Book of Mormon on the back, and she explained a little, and he very surprisingly asked, "Wait, there's another book?" to which we happily replied YES! and he told us we could come back the next day.  We went back, but he wasn't there.  However, his mother was, and at first, she seemed a little weirded out by three missionaries asking for her son, but then we again contacted her using the Book of Mormon, and she too was surprised that there was another book.  We then asked if we could teach her, and she agreed!  We taught the entire Restoration to her right then and there, and we have another appointment set up for this Friday!  Her name is Lourdes, and she's the mother of eight kids.  We have a really good feeling about her.  I always felt a little funny contacting with the Book of Mormon, because sometimes people just really don't understand that it isn't a replacement for the Bible, and they turn us away, but this experience really showed me that people are looking for more of the truth, and if we explain the Book of Mormon the right way, it will be the most powerful tool in missionary work.  Too, we shouldn't ever be ashamed to share anything about this Gospel.  Sometimes, I feel worried about talking about keeping the Sabbath day holy, or sharing the Book of Mormon right off the bat, but this message and this church are true, and if people really are prepared, they won't care what they need to do in order to be a part of it.

We currently have one investigator with a fecha, Paco Michilena.  His wife and sons are all baptized, and after seeing his youngest son baptized this past month, he decided that he wanted to find out about the church and be baptized, and though his date is for the 18th of November, we are working to try and help him gain a testimony so he can be baptized a little sooner.  We had a really great lesson with him this past Wednesday.  We were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and at the end, I explained to him that really, there's only one choice, and it's the celestial kingdom, and after, I asked him what he really wanted, and he said that he didn't want to be alone for eternity.  He wants to be with his family, and so he wants to achieve the celestial kingdom.  He is progressing so well, attending church every week, and participating in the classes.  This week, we are going to review some things about the Word of Wisdom, but whenever he feels like smoking, we told him to recite a scripture, which a week ago, he couldn't say, but two days later, he knew almost the entire thing :-)  We are so excited for him, and we know that his wife wants this so badly.  She loves him, and she has been so patient for years, waiting for him to make this choice, and I'm so honored that we get to be a part of it.

*cough cough* GO BLUE!!

I say it every week, but I really mean it, President Murphy.  I love being a missionary.  It's a hard life, but the people are worth every tear, step and broken bone :-)  I love being here, and I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for calling me to this mission.  Thank you for your hard work and dedication.  I am incredibly grateful for your example.

Have a fabulous week!
Hermana Kennedy

Okie doke, so let's get started.  I seriously have so many things to write today.  It's crazy.

Yep, the Buffer ;-)

So, you know how Mark said there's usually a buffer in a trio?  Yep, that's me.  Hermana Hartog drives Hermana Franco up the wall, and in turn, she isn't very nice to her.  So this week, I've had several one-on-one conversations with each of them to try and work everything out.  I agree with a lot of what they both say, so I can see both sides, and it's hard to see them both unhappy.  Hermana Hartzog feels like Hermana Franco doesn't like here, and she wants to try to do what she needs to in order to be better friends with her, but unfortunately, they just have very different personalities, and so just her way of being is kind of what upsets Hna Franco.  And Hna Franco isn't very patient with Hermana Hartzog, so I talked to her this week, and I told her that we both need to be a little more patient and loving, and it's actually working okay.  It's still very far from perfect, and who knows if they talk about me when I'm not in the room, but we are improving.  Unfortunately, with time, we didn't get to have companionship inventory this past Friday, so we are doing it today, but they have both told me this past week that it's going to be interesting.  The hardest part for me will be not siding with one or the other.  I just need to say my one thing for each of them, and just let them work it out.  There just isn't very good communication in the trio, so it makes it hard to teach, especially when our teaching styles are different too.  Anyway, I am the Buffer, with a capital "B", and though it's a little stressful sometimes, I'm just grateful to not be the problem child ;-)

Karina's cake <3

Okay, so about my super fun birthday.  Mommy, you needn't have worried.  We started my birthday with a darling investigator.  Her name is Alicia, and she has the most gorgeous house I think I've seen in Ecuador.  Also, when she opened her gate, this HUGE Akita puppy came bouncing towards us, shedding like crazy!  After the lesson, Alicia let us help brush Nicole which was super fun, and because I was wearing one of my new polyester dresses, none of her fur stuck to me which was awesome!  Seriously, such a pretty dog, but definitely the wrong country for her.  Then, we went to lunch, and afterwards, we headed back home to do weekly planning, but not before we bought my cake from the drug dealer.  Yes, we did in fact buy a cake from her, compete with her Colombian-bought chocolate, and it was delicious.  Also, we picked up this delicious, out-of-this-world tasty stuff called Polaca.  It's like condensed milk but with other stuff in it, and it sells like hot cakes here.  So, we went back to the house, weekly planned, ate cake and drank Polaca.  Ugh, so good.  Then, we had an appointment with Paco at 6:30, but his wife, Karina, knew it was my birthday, and so when we showed up, there was no lesson taught.  She had a whole little party set up for me, complete with food trays and a cake!  Also, a candle made of chocolate.   So cute.  Seriously, Karina is just darling, and I so want Paco to be baptized just for her.  I'll attach a video.  And the next morning, we had Momoitas (where the Hermanas Lideres come over and interview us and talk about how we can improve and everything),

The "candle" was a firecracker!
I tried to blow it out twice, but I couldn't do it!

but they also brought a cake.  So, not only did I have a cake, but I had THREE CAKES!  It was awesome!  Also, at zone conference on Tuesday, Hermana Giles gave me a birthday present, and I got chocolate from Hna Murphy, and so it's just been a great birthday season.

Also, I SAW HERMANA GILES!!!  Goodness me, I love that girl.  Seriously, we couldn't stop talking, and seeing her made me so happy to be back.  Thinking about not having come back and not seeing her just makes me sad, and it just helped me know for sure that it was the right choice to come back.  I left my family behind, but I really do have an Ecuadorian family too, and they need me right now :-)

So, today we went to Quito, because I had to pick up my new debit card, and while at the offices, we went to the distribution center, and I found a Liahona (a church magazine).  Not so exciting, right?  But it was in GERMAN!  Holy cow, so fun reading German again.  I totes bought it, and reading it was so awesome, and I definitely need it, because I'm having a hard time reading certain things how Germans do, and not like Spanish speakers :-)

ANNNNNNNND.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!  Best birthday buddy ever!  I love you a lot, and I sure am grateful to have you as my namesake.  Congrats on your marathon, and I hope you got some cake too!  I love you!

I love everyone else too, and man, thanks for the outpouring of love that I felt throughout all of your birthday wishes!  Seriously, I have the best family and friends anyone could possibly ask for.

This church is true.  I wouldn't be here if it wasn't, and I know that sometimes Heavenly Father asks us to make hard, hard sacrifices, and sometimes it seems like too much, but He loves us so much, and has promised blessings beyond what we can comprehend.  Just be patient and faithful and kind and courageous, and everything will be okay.

I love you!
MUCHISIMO AMOR,
Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Kennedy and Baskin' and Bootin' in the Middle of the World

Hi family!  In the words of Luigi, "Imma back!"

Here's my letter to President Murphy:

Hi President Murphy,

Well, I'm back!  I have to admit, I was worried about readjusting to missionary life when I came back, and the first night was hard because we came back and just got ready for bed, and I just didn't feel like myself.  It was hard saying goodbye to my family again, and I was so worried about coming back and not being a good missionary.  When we headed out the next day, I was so grateful to feel that sense of peace and calm that comes from being a missionary.  It's such a beautiful calling because you are called to focus on other people and their needs, and it helped me forget my anxiety and worry, and it helped me feel at peace about coming back.  I thought it was going to be so easy to come back, President, but leaving my family again was hard, and I think Satan was really trying to make me doubt myself, but throughout the week, it's gotten so much better, and I'm starting to feel like my old missionary self again.  The transition into a trio has been a little tricky, just because we are trying to blend three different styles of teaching, and three different personalities, but we are trying to help each other, and we are praying a lot to have more unity as a companionship.  

We currently have one investigator with a fecha bautismal.  His name is Paco Michilena.  His wife and sons are members of the church, but Paco has always been a little hesitant to listen to the lessons, but he's been coming to church, so other hermanas have been teaching him, and I am actually super grateful for Paco.  Coming back in the missionary life, I felt like my teaching had suffered while I was gone.  I was out of practice, and it felt choppy, and it didn't feel like the Spirit was really there helping me in the lessons, and I was getting a little discouraged.  But yesterday, we were teaching Paco, and I can tell that his wife wants him to accept this Gospel so much, and so I knew that this lesson was extra important.  We decided to reteach him the Restoration, because he still doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith, and he heard Lesson One a while ago, so we taught him again yesterday.  Hermana Franco and Hermana Hartzog started the lesson, teaching about prophets and Jesus' ministry on the earth, and the grand apostasy, but they turned it over to me for the Restoration.  I started out explaining Joseph Smith and his prayer, and I told him the First Vision, and after I just kept going.  I felt the Spirit guiding me to what to say, and I felt the missionary mojo come back :-)  My teaching was more fluid and I explained and made connections that I never had before.  I've been praying hard this past week for Heavenly Father to please help me feel that coming back was the right choice, and I hadn't really felt it until that lesson with Paco.  He is why I am here.  He and every other person that is searching for the light of Christ in their lives.  Honestly, there were times while I was home that I debated not coming back because this way of living is so difficult.  But I could never bear to think of all the people that might go without the Gospel in their lives if I chose to stay home.  How could I face them someday, knowing that I could have helped them, but instead I chose to stay home in a comfortable and easy life?  The way of a missionary isn't easy, President, and unfortunately Satan uses that to deter some people from coming back, but I'm so incredibly grateful to my loving Heavenly Father for giving me the strength to come back here, because I love being a missionary.  I love teaching, and I love seeing how the Gospel blesses the lives of the people I teach.  It has blessed my life so much, and I am grateful to use this time as a missionary to thank Heavenly Father for those blessings by helping more of His children find the truth.  I know that this church is true.  We wouldn't be here if it wasn't.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and how wonderful it is that we get to teach about him and his faith, and especially, the Book of Mormon.  That book is full of so much light and evidence of God's love for us, and I am so blessed to have its guidance in my life.  Thank you for supporting me throughout this whole time with my ankle.  You and Hermana Murphy both are an inspiration and a motivation for me, and I am so grateful for your examples of love and hard work.  I hope you have a wonderful week, and I'll see you tomorrow at zone conference.

Hermana Kennedy

The fog in our sector can get super crazy cuz, ya know,
we are up in the mountains and all :-)

I have to admit that first night when I arrived, I started asking myself why in the world I was crazy enough to come back here.  I had a hard time feeling happy to be back, especially since I'm not in San Pablo anymore.  I didn't realize how much I truly loved that area and those people until I was sent here.  I'm in a sector called Pusuqui, but it's better knows as the Middle of the World, because the actual middle of the world is in my sector.  Yep, I'm serving on the equator.  We have the Mitad del Mundo monument and museum in our sector, but turns out, it's actually a lie, because the monument isn't the middle of the world (IT'S A TRAP!)!  From the monument, you can see this mountain with a big pole on it, and it turns out that that is actually the middle of the world.  But only a few select people know that, and couple of the members told us, so we are planning as a companionship to go there on a future P-day to stand in the middle of the world.  Pretty cool, eh?  I'm not actually in Quito.  I'm about an hour outside of it which is close enough to enjoy the fruits of city life without actually having to live there.  And one of those fruits is Baskin Robbins.  Yes, it exists here!  Oh my goodness gracious, how happy I was when Hermana Franco told me that it was here.  Like, how can anyone be sad when they have Baskin Robbins?

So, I'm in a trio.  My companions are Hermana Hartzog and Hermana Franco.  Hermana Hartzog is from Colorado and comes from a family of six kids, and she's studying computer science at BYU-Idaho.  Hermana Franco is from Chicago, but she grew up with Mexican parents so she speaks fluent Spanish and English and what I wouldn't give to have her accent.  Ugh, #goals.

My ankle is actually doing really well though.  It starts to tire out around 7:30 or 8:00 each night, but we come home an hour early each day to do companionship study (since everyone around here goes to bed at 8:00).  We leave an hour earlier in the morning to compensate (which I love) so I can go home at night, put some ice on my ankle, and elevate it.  I know Heavenly Father is helping me though, because we've walked about 6-8 miles every day, but each day, with my exercises, my ankle is getting more flexible.  I can almost go down stairs normally now without my boot which is super exciting!

Also, oh my gosh, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR ALL OF THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!! Seriously, what an outpouring of love from you.  It made my day to open up my Inbox and see forty emails, all with the subject line of HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I will be celebrating my birthday with the four large Reese's peanut butter cups that I brought from the States and have been saving :-)  Also, Hermana Franco says there's an investigator from Colombia who sells delicious cakes, so we think we are going to buy one from her.  She's also a drug dealer, so maybe that's why her cakes are so good :-)

Anyway, I'm sorry I can't thank you all personally, but unfortunately, there just isn't time.  But I love you also much, and thank you for your support and love as I've come back to the mission.  Also, I do NOT have a washer.  Still washing my clothes on a rock.  Our rock in San Pablo was actually nicer than the one we have here, but oh well :-)

Family, I love you so much, and I loved being home so I could see all of you.  Be kind and loving to each other.  I pray for you guys every day.  I miss you like crazy.  Love you lots.

Love,

Hermana Kennedy (the second :-))