Here's my letter to President Murphy:
Dear President Murphy,
We currently have two investigators with a fecha bautismal--Liliana and Christian Rosado--for the 18th of November. Liliana really is progressing well, but she's having a little bit of a hard time reading the Book of Mormon. Apparently, she's never liked reading the Bible very much, because it can be a little hard to read, so when she told us that she had read a whole eight verses of the Book of Mormon, we were very happy. And her son, Christian, apparently reminds her that they need to read, so I think they'll be fine. Right now, their biggest challenge is attending church, but this week, we are going to their house in the morning to bring them ourselves. I feel like for everyone, attending church is the hardest part, but once they get there and see how it is, they're much more inclined to come. Although sometimes we worry about the ward. They have been described in the past by many less-active members as cold and unwelcoming, but recently, a lot of people have been coming up and welcoming our investigators at church, so there is hope! Alicia couldn't attend church this past week, because she was away visiting her mom, but this past week, we stopped by her restaurant to make an appointment, and she comes up with a cup of coffee, and says, "Hermanas, I heard that your church prohibits drinking coffee. I always drink one cup a day at 6 p.m. to help me get through the rest of work." So, we briefly explained about the Word of Wisdom, and afterwards, she told us that she would start to stop drinking coffee, and that when she is at her mom's house, she would tell her "no" when she offers her a cup. She's such a sweetie, and we are so excited to keep teaching her and help her to baptism. We haven't officially set the date yet, but this week, we are hoping to make it for the 11th of November.
I have to admit, President, I was really rather surprised to be called to train again. I'm so excited to try again, and I hope I can do a better job this time around, but boy was I not expecting that at all! Thanks for trusting me with this responsibility.
I'm so grateful for you and Hermana Murphy and all of your hard work in helping us find, teach and baptize more. I'll see you tomorrow!
Have a wonderful week,
Hermana Kennedy
So, I'M TRAINING AGAIN!!!!! Not only am I training again, but I am also, once again, the only hermana training. Yep, only one hermana is coming to the mission, and I'll be her trainer. I'm not really sure why, but it was definitely unexpected news. I thought President Murphy would give someone else a chance, but maybe because I didn't get to finish last time, he's giving me another chance. I just hope I don't go and break my ankle again, and abandon another hermana! :-) But it's actually really interesting, because she's coming from another mission. She was only there for a day, and then was changed to our mission, but it's cool because tomorrow I'm going to the airport to pick her up. We will then head back to our sector, she can unpack, and then we head back to Quito to eat dinner with President and Hermana Murphy and with all of the other new missionaries. So, I get a second first dinner with President and Hermana Murphy. Isn't that fun?!?!? :-). Then, on Wednesday, we will head up to Quito AGAIN for the training meeting. I am just so hoping that I don't get lost. Metros and buses here stress me out a little, especially in Quito, because I just don't know Quito at all. And then, Thursday, a member of the Area Seventy and two leaders in the General Women's auxiliaries are coming for a conference with all of the Sierra and Cam missionaries with some of the Ecuador Quito missionaries. So last Thursday, knowing all of this was going to happen, I received a text from Hermana Murphy, asking if I would play a special musical number at the conference, so I get to play my viola!!!!!! How fun is that?!?!?!? I'm a little nervous though. It's been so long since I played in front of so many people, and I'm worried about my viola not sounding out over the whole conference (poor little $400 student viola), but I have faith in Javi. He will do his best! :-)
We also had a fun ward activity this past week. It was supposed to be a mission work activity, but no one brought anybody. However, it was a Masterchef competition, and so we, the five missionaries, were the judges, so we got to try all of this delicious food. In the end, a guy from the coast won. His food was so good, and it's cool because last week, his wife gave us a rice mixture of clams, shrimp and octopus. And it was really good. The texture was a little hard for me, but man, aren't missions just the coolest thing ever?!This morning I said goodbye to Hermana Franco and Hermana Hartzog. I was sad to see them go. I love them, but this past six weeks has been really hard on me, trying to adjust back to the mission life. I felt emotionally and mentally drained every day. I never imagined it would be so hard to return to my mission. When I said goodbye to them, I just felt super tired all of a sudden, and while I was in the bathroom at the hermana lideres' house, I just started praying, and I started crying because I just felt so tired, and I didn't realize it until now. It's just been so hard. I'm glad that now, with my ankle all healed and a new trainee, I can have a fresh start and just have fun in Mitad del Mundo. And yep, that's right, I'm staying in Mitad del Mundo! WOOHOO!! My trainee's name is Hermana Caceres, and she's from Bolivia. Gosh, I'm excited for tomorrow.
So, there are these bread things called guaguas de pan. They're children made of bread, and they're how Ecuadorians basically celebrate Halloween. Children go from house to house, collecting bread on the 2nd of November, but every bakery has them now.
Anyway, I love you all lots. Thanks for your emails and love. Be kind, loving and supportive of one another. Don't lose faith in your trials--just know that God always has a plan.
Muchismo amor,
Hermana Kennedy
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