Hi family! First off, HAPPY TURKEY DAY!! For some reason, when I think of Thanksgiving, I think of the Brooklyn Nine Nine episode where they make Boyle Bingo, and it makes me laugh every time.
Fun thing is that I get to spend Thanksgiving with President and Hermana Murphy, because Hermana Caceres has her first verificationes on Thursday, so while she heads to the Panecillo with the elders from her group and President and Hermana Murphy, I once again get to spend a couple of hours with 13+ elders. Why does this keep happening to me? Honestly, I cried a little bit today thinking about not being with you guys this Thanksgiving. I miss you all a lot, so eat lots of green bean casserole for me! Okay, anyway, here's my letter to President.
Buenas tardes President Murphy!
I had an interesting insight this week. I often hear people say that Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers from before the mission. We all pray for something: something that we want to learn, or accomplish, or something we want to change while on our missions. I hadn't thought about it for a while, but when I heard that, I began to think about what I had prayed for. I prayed to learn to love people. Not just investigators, but members, companions, and myself. When I was sent home, I realized that I really do love the people. That was a prayer that Heavenly Father had answered, but little did I know that He wasn't done with me yet. I am now having to learn how to deal with people I love who then disappoint me. It's probably the hardest to do. This past week, both Janeth (and Dayana), and Liliana Rosado (and her son Christian) said they were definitely going to attend church. Janeth attended last week and really liked it so we didn't think there was going to be a problem. But there is. It's her husband. Honestly, her husband is a bad man. Every time we have seen him, he's been a little drunk, and Janeth told us that pretty much every day, he comes home drunk. Even though Janeth is currently dealing with cancer, he still mistreats her. He pushes her around and yells at her, all because he can't control his drinking. Last week, after she attended church, he picked her up drunk, and asked her how it was. She told him that she liked it, and they talked a little more, and there wasn't a problem. But later that day, he came home completely drunk and started yelling at her, talking about how she was going to change religions, and he pushed her over. Janeth is currently ealing with a cancer that affects her bone marrow, so she has a lot of pain in her back and legs, and for the rest of the week, she was limping because of him. She cries in every lesson with us because she just feels so alone in her life. She just feels like no one loves her and no one understands her, and sometimes she really does wish it would all just end. This has provided us with a lot of opportunities to love her. How could we not? No one else does. It has also been an incredible opportunity to testify of the Atonement and the understanding that Christ has for her afflictions. At first, she wasn't planning on being baptized or attending church anymore after the experience with her husband, but her daughter, Dayana, who really loves her dad, told her, "Mom, it doesn't matter what he thinks. Let's go anyway."
That was kind of a big deal, because Janeth told us that Dayana is a daddy's girl. She loves her dad a lot so for her to still feel a desire to go to church anyway is amazing. After talking to her, Janeth decided that she definitely wants to attend church and still wants to be baptized. However, on Sunday, we passed by her house to pick her up in the morning like she wanted us to, and she wasn't there. Her husband had told her that they needed to go somewhere early in the morning, and by the time we got there, they hadn't come back. I don't know if it was on purpose, as in her husband knew we were coming and he delayed her so she couldn't get back, or if it was just an accident, but it was really hard on me. It's hard that here, someone's word doesn't seem to mean anything. Liliana too told us that she would definitely be able to come this Sunday. At this point with Liliana, we don't know what to do. We prayed, and we feel like we need to keep teaching her, but it's been almost two months, and she still hasn't attended. It's so hard for me, because I love these people so much, and I feel like if they knew how much we worried and prayed about them, they would flock to church. But in the end, it isn't about us. It's hard for me to understand why people don't go to church, because I was raised with parents who always made me go to church until I learned to love it for myself, but most people don't have parents like that, and so they don't love church, and they don't have that love for God, because they haven't had the chance to know Him in their lives. And that's so sad to me. But it just means that we need to teach in a way that helps them understand the love that God has for them, but it's so hard to have a desire to go back when I feel like they've lied to me. But as long as I'm doing my best, that's all that Heavenly Father asks of me, but I just hate knowing that they are missing out on blessings in their lives because they don't put God first.
Janeth and Dayana still have their date for the 9th of December. We are so hoping that they can make it. We are hoping to work more with members with Janeth so that she can feel supported and loved at church, because she doesn't feel that way at home. She had some good experiences with members last Sunday, so we are trying to plan a family home evening so that she can get out of her house and feel the Spirit while surrounded by people who love her.
I know that God answered prayers, but sometimes He answered more than we maybe want Him to, or not I the way we want, but that's part of life. We learn how to trust in Him, and that's really the most important.
Thank you for your example, and thank you for your hard work. We are trying to have higher goals for the sector so as to help you with your goals! Thank you for trusting us, and thank you for letting me train Hermana Caceres. She's a light in my life, and I'm so grateful for her example and this time that I have with her.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hermana Kennedy
Seriously, there are so many little Ecuadorian men whom I want to pick up and shake because they're just horrible. But all we can do is pray and hope for the best.
Okay, so super funny story from this week. We got home one night, and after doing the area book and everything, I headed up to take a shower while Hermana Caceres started cooking something on the stove. I had stepped into the shower and gotten my hair wet, when suddenly the power went out. My first thought? DIANA!!!! I was so freaked out, sitting there in the now cold shower, in the dark, WITHOUT MY GLASSES!!! And that's when I remembered that there's a mission rule that we can't use the electric stove and the shower at the same time, because it shorts out the electricity (fun little Ecuadorian fact there for ya). Anyway, I just told myself to not open the shower curtain in case Diana was out there, and after telling Hermana Caceres to call the hermanas lideres to find out what to do. I continued showering in the FREEZING COLD water. I was already wet, so it didn't make sense to go down and try and figure anything out until I could actually get dressed. So, I showered rapido, because that cold water on your back is just the worst, and then I just didn't put my glasses on, because if I can't see Diana, she isn't there, right? I got dressed, and we headed out to the guard station for our complex, and he helped us get the electricity back on. And not a single elder needed to know.Also, I experienced my first tremor today. Ecuador is notorious for having earthquakes, and this wasn't a quake, but while studying one morning, Hermana Caceres looks at me, and asks, "Do you feel that?" I was like, "Feel what?" then started paying attention, and there was a light rolling motion. That was weird. But it didn't last, and nothing happened, so that's good.
Hermana Caceres hit her one month mark this past week. She's so happy to now tell people, "Yes, I only have 16 months and 27 days left on the mission!" :-). I love that girl.
Also, we had an exchange this week (where we trade companions with the hermanas lideres), and I got Hermana Smith to myself the whole day. It was so fun, because while I love Latina companions, I just can't express myself in the same way because of the language barrier. And they can't do it either, because there are expressions and sayings that we North Americans don't know. So, we both liked that we could say exactly what we wanted, and it was so fun! Hermana Smith is just so full of joy and happiness, and I'm glad to be considered her friend. She's entering her last twelve weeks in the mission, and she's like "AHHHH!!" I also realized that Mikaela Gardner is entering her last twelve weeks, mas o menos, and that freaked me out, because in my mind, she left like at the same time I did, but she left a whole six months before me. And when she finishes her mission, Hermana Giles enters her last twelve weeks, and when she finishes, I enter my last twelve weeks! Thinking that way, nine months seems so short! But not really, haha.
Anyway, it was really funny, because at night in the exchanges, we decided to order pizza, because Hermana Smith and Hermana Carre have a DOMINO'S in their sector! *squee!* So we called, and it was funny because the sisters didn't know their address (because half the time, there isn't one), so while on the phone, the sisters are running outside to look at what their address is, but they have four locks and doors to get through, so the guy on the phone was like "Call me back when you have the number." But we eventually got our pizza at 10:10, and it was delicious :-)
Thanks, Mama, for always writing me. You, Glo and Allison are just rock stars in that aspect. Give Glo a big hug for me. I miss her a lot.
Okay family, I love you SO MUCH!!! I always think of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad when I saw that, but it's so true. I LOVE YOU!! Have a wonderfully wonderful Thanksgiving. I'll be here if you need me :-). Do a turkey trot for me and don't hurt your ankle. We are going to try and make thankful turkeys or something to show on Thursday, but we shall see. Also, today, we bought some ornaments and stuff because we have a little Christmas tree in our apartment, so we are going to decorate next Monday!! It's been killing me not to listen to Christmas music, but on Friday, let loose the heavens!
Okay, love you!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
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