Hi family! Here's my letter to President:
Hi President Murphy,
Well, we have three people right now with a baptismal date. We have Franklin for the 21st of April, and he's doing well. He understands pretty well. It's just a little hard to keep his attention, but it just means that we need to ask more questions and engage him more. Hugo is also set to be baptized on the 21st of April, and this week we were very direct with him about keeping his commitments. He reads and prays, but only on the weekend, and he tells us that he builds up to a big prayer, but we explained that it doesn't work that way--he can pray small prayers everyday. He is now reading his scriptures and praying everyday, and he came to church on Sunday. We also have Natali Caceres set for the 12th of May. With her, I do worry a little. She's attentive during lessons, but she always says that she doesn't have time to read or pray. But we know that she has three whole days each week of not working. So I really hope that she can make it, but it all depends on her.
We also had something really exciting happen this week. We have a family of investigators. I think I mentioned them last week, the Loor Family. Anyway, this week we got to teach the whole family, and all five of them came to church. The parents aren't married, but yesterday we spoke with them, and I think it's all because Viviana (the mom) thinks she doesn't deserve to be loved. She has no confidence in herself, and so she worries that her spouse (?) wouldn't love her if they were married because she's too hard to live with. But I really feel that little by little, they could get there. The kids are great, and they liked church a lot. We are hoping that they can watch General Conference this upcoming week!
I love Hermana Knapp. She makes the work fun, and I love working with her. This week was all about adjusting to the trio, but it was good. Hermana de la Ossa is struggling a lot with the hills because of her knee and ankle, but she's a great teacher.
Thank you for your example and your hard work.
Have a great week!
Hermana Kennedy
Okay, so my time today is a little shorter because I had to fill out some stuff for my visa renewal, but I'll do the best I can.
Not gonna lie, this week was hard. Our other hermana is fine, but it was hard adjusting to the trio. I think I have trio trauma ;-( I was very miserable on Tuesday and Wednesday. I just love Hermana Knapp so much, and it felt like I lost her a little bit because we have to include someone else now. I guess you could call it jealousy.. So, I kind of shut down into my Tourette's silence a little. Anyway, it's gotten better, but we both feel a little cheated because transfers are this week. We don't know if we are going to stay together another transfer, and four weeks together just wasn't enough! Seriously, this has been the fastest five weeks of my mission because I just love Hermana Knapp. We know that the third hermana is leaving. because she has knee and ankle problems (we are taking a lot of taxis because she can't climb the hills, poor thing). Anyway, please pray that Hermana Knapp and I will stay together another transfer. Prayer can work!
This past Tuesday, we headed to visit a family of recent converts. They're really nice, but they're very childlike (innocent maybe?), so it's always an adventure at their house. Anyway, they have a five-year-old son who may or may not be potty trained. We get there, and after a few minutes, he goes into the bathroom, and I start to smell poop. When he comes out, Hermana Knapp goes in to use the bathroom, but before she went in, the mom asks the son if he pooped, to which he replies that no, he didn't. Well, Hermana Knapp comes out, and we keep teaching. Hermana Knapp is in the middle of something really spiritual when suddenly she stops and looks at the dog who just came out of the bathroom, and she says, "I think the dog is eating poop." Sure enough, he is. The mom takes care of it and asks, "Lucas, did you poop?"
He replies again, "No Mommy, I only peed."
"So who's poop was the dog eating?
His response? "It was the dog's."
We laughed about that because the dog definitely didn't poop in the house. His mom keeps asking him, and finally he says, "It was the hermana."
Now that was super funny, because I know for a fact that Hermana Knapp CAN'T poop. Remember that laxative tee that cleaned me out, but had little to no effect on her? That's why we don't have mamitas, and why she has such a strict diet. So we laughed about that a lot!
Then yesterday, we went back to the same house, because on Tuesday we had tried to speak with the husband, but he wasn't there, so we went yesterday to speak with him. When we sat down, Hermana Knapp asked me, "Do you feel that?" I didn't know what she was talking about, so I didn't think anything of it. However, when we stood up to leave, I felt that my butt and skirt were a little wet, and I just thought, "Oh no. Maybe it's just water." Well, we got home, and I smell my skirt, and it's pee. Definitely pee. There was pee on the couch. The only question now is "From whence did the pee originate? The dog, or the child?"
{Hermana Knapp wants me to let Email World know that she did in fact poop twice this week which is an improvement.}
I love running in the morning. The altitude can make it difficult, but I can feel myself getting stronger every day, and it's so exciting. And losing weight is awesome too. I stayed pretty consistent this week, but that's because I wasn't very good about what I ate, but I have a plan now, and it involves running. And making our own food--that has been a saving grace for my weight loss challenge. Seriously, I love running. It just feels so good to do something that requires no thought or talking or mental or spiritual growth. It's just good, hard, physical movement, and I love it.
Well, that's about it for this week. Pray for Hermana Knapp and me. We were both a little homesick this week. We are okay, but occasionally it happens. I know though that Heavenly Father will make sure that everything works out. He's there for me a lot. I'm glad to know that I've got awesome heavenly AND earthly parents!
I love you all a lot. Watch conference this week. It's gonna be awesome! And HAPPY EASTER! Next week, I'll maybe be somewhere else with someone else, but we can hope not. Just pray for me. I need all the spiritual support I can get. The mission is hard sometimes, and I miss you all a lot, but it's not too much more time, and Hermana Knapp helps the time fly by.
I love you all!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Hermana Kennedy and A Week of Waiting
Hi family! Here's my letter to President Murphy:
Hi President Murphy,
It was, once again, a great week here in Santa Anita. Hugo is progressing well although he wasn't able to come to church yesterday. We are going to find out why tonight. Right now, there are a lot of problems between him and his brother. They live on the same property, and they don't always see eye-to-eye. Last week, his brother set up security cameras inside the property which is actually illegal here, but he says it's to ensure that no one does anything they shouldn't. It's driving Hugo and his wife crazy. They feel like their privacy is being violated. However, they both came to a family home evening with some members this past week which is awesome, because Marina, his wife, is kind of timid, so it was a big step for her. Hugo is set to be baptized on the 21st of April.
We also have Franklin set to be baptized on the 21st of April. We were kind of worried, because it hasn't seemed like he has had the desire to be baptized, but upon talking to him this week, he told us that yes, he wants to be baptized. He is waiting until the 21st because that's when his friend from Guayaquil is coming. His family isn't interested in him at all, and she is like his family, so he wants her and her family to come.
And we have a newer investigator, Natali Caceres with a baptismal date for the 12th of May. It's set pretty far back because her work is a little weird. She works three days, then rests for three days, then works for three, etc. It means that she isn't free to come every Sunday, and we aren't sure what to do. We don't want her working on the Sabbath, but it's a good job and she has a four-year-old to take care of. We are going to have a lesson with her and a member this week, because she listens well in the lessons, but we sometimes lose time at the end because she wants to talk. We want her to have a friend in the church so she can talk with them, and we won't feel badly leaving her all alone. She's alone pretty much all day, and she wants someone to talk to, but we need to work too!
We also found this really great family this week! The mom's name is Viviana, and she has three sons, Luis (13), Diego (11) and Joel (10). They loved talking to us, and all three boys actually love reading this book about Jesus Christ which is cool, and we are really hoping that they can progress.
Rene is doing well. We are hoping that he can go to the temple this week, but we aren't sure, because we don't know if he was able to get the Priesthood on Sunday. We are meeting with him tomorrow to accompany us and we can ask then.
I love Santa Anita. I love being a missionary. Thank you for your hard work.
Have a wonderful week,
Hermana Kennedy
OH MY GOODNESS! This week has been the longest week of my life, just waiting to find out if Baby #2 was a boy or a girl, and when he or she was born! All week, I've just been saying "it" because I didn't want to discriminate :-) My goodness, I'm so glad to know that Baby Everett is finally here, and I can finally tell people that I have a nephew! AWWWW! A niece and a nephew! I'm such a proud aunt! But seriously, longest week EVER! He is so cute and totally looks like a boy Baby :-) I'm glad everything went okay. I was praying all week for him and Rebecca. Rebecca, what a boss.
Okay, business stuff. I prayed a lot about it this week, and I received a very firm confirmation that I'm supposed to be an RA (a Resident Assistant in the BYU dorms). I figured it may actually really be good, and I can still do the phlebotomist training, and when spring semester comes around, there will be less competition for jobs, and I won't be an RA anymore, and it'll be perfect! I'm actually super excited because honestly, I'm going to love those kids! I prayed, and afterwards I just started to feel so excited and happy! It's going to be a little cray-cray, but I'm so excited. They have to pay me something. BYU wants to prepare people for their futures, and they wouldn't stop kids from making any money when the church teaches them not to be in debt, right? Thanks, Mommy, for your support in helping me with the RA application. Heavenly Father sure is cool in that He helps me out so much. I told him to not give me the job if it wasn't right, but I really think the Spirit helped me in the interview, and when I prayed, I seriously started to feel so happy. It means I need to be at BYU on August 20th which doesn't leave much time to do stuff when I get home, but I think it'll be okay.
Yes, Hermana Knapp is helping me with things like makeup and stuff. I love her so much. We so want to be companions for another change, but we aren't sure that is going to happen. Please send up some prayers that we can stay together.
It's been a pretty chill week. We have been going up hills running. I got a little bit of food poisoning on Saturday and had a very upset stomach, but it took me down another two pounds, so I'm actually not too upset :-) Also, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! Hermana Knapp and I bought mint chocolate and vanilla ice cream last Monday so we could make shamrock shakes for the best day of the Kennedy year! We both wore green, and we enjoyed saying "EEJIT" all day :-)
Also funny story. So we were at an investigator's house, and they have the prettiest kitty ever (not as pretty as Hootie, but Hootie is really more handsome than pretty). Anyway, they handed her to me, and she's fat just like Hootie. At first, she tried to jump off my lap, but I started rubbing her back and under her chin, and within minutes, she was fast asleep. But I had her with her head on my knees so when she fell asleep, her head just kind of dropped off. Hermana Knapp took some really cute pictures.
Rene is a boss. I love that man. He is so committed to the Gospel, and we just love being able to say he's a member now. We are so proud of him.
That's about it this week. Not much to report. We are working hard and figuring stuff out, and it's all good to go! Honestly, my thoughts were so consumed by Baby #2 that it was hard to write about anything else! I love you all. Tell each other you love each other. Be kind. Be good.
I love you!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
Hi President Murphy,
It was, once again, a great week here in Santa Anita. Hugo is progressing well although he wasn't able to come to church yesterday. We are going to find out why tonight. Right now, there are a lot of problems between him and his brother. They live on the same property, and they don't always see eye-to-eye. Last week, his brother set up security cameras inside the property which is actually illegal here, but he says it's to ensure that no one does anything they shouldn't. It's driving Hugo and his wife crazy. They feel like their privacy is being violated. However, they both came to a family home evening with some members this past week which is awesome, because Marina, his wife, is kind of timid, so it was a big step for her. Hugo is set to be baptized on the 21st of April.
We also have Franklin set to be baptized on the 21st of April. We were kind of worried, because it hasn't seemed like he has had the desire to be baptized, but upon talking to him this week, he told us that yes, he wants to be baptized. He is waiting until the 21st because that's when his friend from Guayaquil is coming. His family isn't interested in him at all, and she is like his family, so he wants her and her family to come.
And we have a newer investigator, Natali Caceres with a baptismal date for the 12th of May. It's set pretty far back because her work is a little weird. She works three days, then rests for three days, then works for three, etc. It means that she isn't free to come every Sunday, and we aren't sure what to do. We don't want her working on the Sabbath, but it's a good job and she has a four-year-old to take care of. We are going to have a lesson with her and a member this week, because she listens well in the lessons, but we sometimes lose time at the end because she wants to talk. We want her to have a friend in the church so she can talk with them, and we won't feel badly leaving her all alone. She's alone pretty much all day, and she wants someone to talk to, but we need to work too!
We also found this really great family this week! The mom's name is Viviana, and she has three sons, Luis (13), Diego (11) and Joel (10). They loved talking to us, and all three boys actually love reading this book about Jesus Christ which is cool, and we are really hoping that they can progress.
Rene is doing well. We are hoping that he can go to the temple this week, but we aren't sure, because we don't know if he was able to get the Priesthood on Sunday. We are meeting with him tomorrow to accompany us and we can ask then.
I love Santa Anita. I love being a missionary. Thank you for your hard work.
Have a wonderful week,
Hermana Kennedy
OH MY GOODNESS! This week has been the longest week of my life, just waiting to find out if Baby #2 was a boy or a girl, and when he or she was born! All week, I've just been saying "it" because I didn't want to discriminate :-) My goodness, I'm so glad to know that Baby Everett is finally here, and I can finally tell people that I have a nephew! AWWWW! A niece and a nephew! I'm such a proud aunt! But seriously, longest week EVER! He is so cute and totally looks like a boy Baby :-) I'm glad everything went okay. I was praying all week for him and Rebecca. Rebecca, what a boss.
Okay, business stuff. I prayed a lot about it this week, and I received a very firm confirmation that I'm supposed to be an RA (a Resident Assistant in the BYU dorms). I figured it may actually really be good, and I can still do the phlebotomist training, and when spring semester comes around, there will be less competition for jobs, and I won't be an RA anymore, and it'll be perfect! I'm actually super excited because honestly, I'm going to love those kids! I prayed, and afterwards I just started to feel so excited and happy! It's going to be a little cray-cray, but I'm so excited. They have to pay me something. BYU wants to prepare people for their futures, and they wouldn't stop kids from making any money when the church teaches them not to be in debt, right? Thanks, Mommy, for your support in helping me with the RA application. Heavenly Father sure is cool in that He helps me out so much. I told him to not give me the job if it wasn't right, but I really think the Spirit helped me in the interview, and when I prayed, I seriously started to feel so happy. It means I need to be at BYU on August 20th which doesn't leave much time to do stuff when I get home, but I think it'll be okay.
Yes, Hermana Knapp is helping me with things like makeup and stuff. I love her so much. We so want to be companions for another change, but we aren't sure that is going to happen. Please send up some prayers that we can stay together.
It's been a pretty chill week. We have been going up hills running. I got a little bit of food poisoning on Saturday and had a very upset stomach, but it took me down another two pounds, so I'm actually not too upset :-) Also, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! Hermana Knapp and I bought mint chocolate and vanilla ice cream last Monday so we could make shamrock shakes for the best day of the Kennedy year! We both wore green, and we enjoyed saying "EEJIT" all day :-)
Also funny story. So we were at an investigator's house, and they have the prettiest kitty ever (not as pretty as Hootie, but Hootie is really more handsome than pretty). Anyway, they handed her to me, and she's fat just like Hootie. At first, she tried to jump off my lap, but I started rubbing her back and under her chin, and within minutes, she was fast asleep. But I had her with her head on my knees so when she fell asleep, her head just kind of dropped off. Hermana Knapp took some really cute pictures.
Rene is a boss. I love that man. He is so committed to the Gospel, and we just love being able to say he's a member now. We are so proud of him.
That's about it this week. Not much to report. We are working hard and figuring stuff out, and it's all good to go! Honestly, my thoughts were so consumed by Baby #2 that it was hard to write about anything else! I love you all. Tell each other you love each other. Be kind. Be good.
I love you!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Hermana Kennedy and the Communicabra
Hi family! It was an awesome week! Here's my letter to President:
Buenas tardes, President Murphy,
Well, he did it. Rene was baptized and confirmed. We are so incredibly proud of him. He has waited so long for this, and he just loves the Gospel. Thank you for coming to his baptism. It meant a lot to him to have so many people there supporting him. We are especially grateful that the ward is supporting him. We hope that Rene and Fausto (who was baptized in December) can be a service to the ward soon. And we are so happy that Rene can now tell people that he is a Mormon ;-). And we hope that we can teach some of his family, because almost all of them came to his baptism.
We tried to commit Franklin to baptism this week, but he feels like he still isn't ready. He comes to church every week, and he came to Rene's baptism, but he's usually more focused on his phone than the actual meeting, so we are going to check in with him and see exactly what he wants. He's very sweet and obedient, but we don't know if he's really becoming converted to the Lord. But we are hoping that the baptism could touch something in his heart.
And you met Hugo. He's great and has a baptismal date for the 14th of April. He keeps trying to convince us that maybe he won't be ready by then, but he has such desires to find out if this is the true church, and we know that if he does his part, he will receive an answer.
We found this great new investigator this week. Her name is Nataly, and she was a referral from the zone leaders of Ofelia. She has a four-year-old son named Gabriel, and she accepted the baptismal invitation. She told us she would come to church this coming Sunday and that we can visit her any time Thursday, Friday or Saturday, so we are hoping to set up at least two appointments with her each week.
Everything is great here in Santa Anita. Heavenly Father was so good to us this week in helping Rene be baptized. I know that He is involved in this work, because it is right. He helps us each and every day. I love being a missionary.
Thank you for your hard work and your example.
Have a great week!
Hermana Kennedy
RENE DID IT!! Seriously, we are so, so proud of him! When he walked into the chapel at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday for his baptism, we were like, HE DID IT! He's here! He can't escape now! ;-). Of course, not five minutes later, Hermana Knapp looks out the front chapel doors, and she sees President and Hermana Murphy! I've never had President at a baptism before, so I was like "thank goodness I did my hair, and I look like a missionary!" ;-). We always look like missionaries but for conferences and other stuff with President, we always dress up a little more :-). Anyways, so we walk out to greet him, and while talking to him, Hermana Pincay and her mom walk up! She told me last week that she was coming all the way from Guayaquil, but she didn't know President was coming either so she sees him and does the "what the heck" face! She was even in pants and everything! It was awesome! And Hermana Moss (one of my friends from the MTC and Hermana Pincay's companion here in Santa Anita before me) also came to support Rene. Seriously, everyone showed up for him. Unfortunately, our bishop didn't show up, and he was the only one with keys to the baptismal clothing, so we were calling him and calling him, and finally his wife picks up the phone and is rather upset at Hermana Knapp because they were in the middle of dinner. At this point, it's 6:05, and none of us likes to run late. Thankfully, Sister Murphy gave the bishop a call and he came over to unlock everything. There's always something at a baptism, right?
But it was so beautiful. Patricia Puetate, a recent convert and friend to Rene gave the first message, and she was so nervous, but she gave a beautiful testimony about her own baptism, and afterwards, I gave a small talk on the Spirit. I was super nervous too, but I think it was okay. And then Rene was baptized. It's so funny how he has waited a year for a moment that lasted about two seconds, but the blessings last for eternity. And then the best thing ever happened: people here don't necessarily wear suits and dresses to church. Some do, but a lot wear jeans and sweaters, or something like that, so Rene showed up to his baptism like that, but when he came back in after changing, he was wearing a full suit and tie. It was the cutest thing ever. He told us that he wanted to come out as a new man :-). We just about died.
And the next day he was confirmed a member of the church, and as he passed us on the way back to his seat, he shook our hands and said, "I'm a Mormon!" And after the sacrament, they opened the door so all the people who were late could come in, and I looked up and saw ROSA JUMBO!! She is one of my investigators from Mitad del Mundo, and it turns out that on February 10, she was finally baptized after thirty years.
She sat next to me and hugged me, and I was like, 'What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, Hermana!"
I couldn't believe it! And, she brought me mandarin oranges and lemons to make lemonade! She and her daughter cried saying goodbye to me after church. It's funny because I didn't even know that I had made an impact in their lives, but I am so grateful to Heavenly Father. I've been feeling lately like I haven't been working hard enough or that I'm not doing enough as a missionary, but not only did I feel like that was Heavenly Father telling me that I'm doing okay, but it also motivated me to want to work even harder to help more people.
And as always, my email wouldn't be complete with some funny animal story. So first, we found these goats on Tuesday, and I was like cool! Goats! Anyway, I started bleating at them as only a Kennedy can do, and they started talking to me! Oh my gosh, Hermana Knapp and I were cracking up! I kept talking back and forth with them for about a minute! Anyway, I can communicate with goats. I can now put that on my special skills list on my resume :-)
Too, last week, while we were contacting on a road, this pack of five dogs came up and started following us. We named them Alma, Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni. They followed us for three hours. So Friday and Saturday, we went back to that same road to try and contact again, and they were all there and they followed us again. Super cute. They're like our protectors.
Also, I woke up this morning with a double ear infection. That was fun. Thankfully, modern medicine is a thing these days, but man, I haven't had an ear infection for like 18 years, but those things hurt like heck!
Okay, I think that's about it folks. I can't wait to here about BB2 next week! I love you all so much!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
Buenas tardes, President Murphy,
Well, he did it. Rene was baptized and confirmed. We are so incredibly proud of him. He has waited so long for this, and he just loves the Gospel. Thank you for coming to his baptism. It meant a lot to him to have so many people there supporting him. We are especially grateful that the ward is supporting him. We hope that Rene and Fausto (who was baptized in December) can be a service to the ward soon. And we are so happy that Rene can now tell people that he is a Mormon ;-). And we hope that we can teach some of his family, because almost all of them came to his baptism.
We tried to commit Franklin to baptism this week, but he feels like he still isn't ready. He comes to church every week, and he came to Rene's baptism, but he's usually more focused on his phone than the actual meeting, so we are going to check in with him and see exactly what he wants. He's very sweet and obedient, but we don't know if he's really becoming converted to the Lord. But we are hoping that the baptism could touch something in his heart.
And you met Hugo. He's great and has a baptismal date for the 14th of April. He keeps trying to convince us that maybe he won't be ready by then, but he has such desires to find out if this is the true church, and we know that if he does his part, he will receive an answer.
We found this great new investigator this week. Her name is Nataly, and she was a referral from the zone leaders of Ofelia. She has a four-year-old son named Gabriel, and she accepted the baptismal invitation. She told us she would come to church this coming Sunday and that we can visit her any time Thursday, Friday or Saturday, so we are hoping to set up at least two appointments with her each week.
Everything is great here in Santa Anita. Heavenly Father was so good to us this week in helping Rene be baptized. I know that He is involved in this work, because it is right. He helps us each and every day. I love being a missionary.
Thank you for your hard work and your example.
Have a great week!
Hermana Kennedy
RENE DID IT!! Seriously, we are so, so proud of him! When he walked into the chapel at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday for his baptism, we were like, HE DID IT! He's here! He can't escape now! ;-). Of course, not five minutes later, Hermana Knapp looks out the front chapel doors, and she sees President and Hermana Murphy! I've never had President at a baptism before, so I was like "thank goodness I did my hair, and I look like a missionary!" ;-). We always look like missionaries but for conferences and other stuff with President, we always dress up a little more :-). Anyways, so we walk out to greet him, and while talking to him, Hermana Pincay and her mom walk up! She told me last week that she was coming all the way from Guayaquil, but she didn't know President was coming either so she sees him and does the "what the heck" face! She was even in pants and everything! It was awesome! And Hermana Moss (one of my friends from the MTC and Hermana Pincay's companion here in Santa Anita before me) also came to support Rene. Seriously, everyone showed up for him. Unfortunately, our bishop didn't show up, and he was the only one with keys to the baptismal clothing, so we were calling him and calling him, and finally his wife picks up the phone and is rather upset at Hermana Knapp because they were in the middle of dinner. At this point, it's 6:05, and none of us likes to run late. Thankfully, Sister Murphy gave the bishop a call and he came over to unlock everything. There's always something at a baptism, right?
But it was so beautiful. Patricia Puetate, a recent convert and friend to Rene gave the first message, and she was so nervous, but she gave a beautiful testimony about her own baptism, and afterwards, I gave a small talk on the Spirit. I was super nervous too, but I think it was okay. And then Rene was baptized. It's so funny how he has waited a year for a moment that lasted about two seconds, but the blessings last for eternity. And then the best thing ever happened: people here don't necessarily wear suits and dresses to church. Some do, but a lot wear jeans and sweaters, or something like that, so Rene showed up to his baptism like that, but when he came back in after changing, he was wearing a full suit and tie. It was the cutest thing ever. He told us that he wanted to come out as a new man :-). We just about died.
And the next day he was confirmed a member of the church, and as he passed us on the way back to his seat, he shook our hands and said, "I'm a Mormon!" And after the sacrament, they opened the door so all the people who were late could come in, and I looked up and saw ROSA JUMBO!! She is one of my investigators from Mitad del Mundo, and it turns out that on February 10, she was finally baptized after thirty years.
She sat next to me and hugged me, and I was like, 'What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, Hermana!"
I couldn't believe it! And, she brought me mandarin oranges and lemons to make lemonade! She and her daughter cried saying goodbye to me after church. It's funny because I didn't even know that I had made an impact in their lives, but I am so grateful to Heavenly Father. I've been feeling lately like I haven't been working hard enough or that I'm not doing enough as a missionary, but not only did I feel like that was Heavenly Father telling me that I'm doing okay, but it also motivated me to want to work even harder to help more people.
And as always, my email wouldn't be complete with some funny animal story. So first, we found these goats on Tuesday, and I was like cool! Goats! Anyway, I started bleating at them as only a Kennedy can do, and they started talking to me! Oh my gosh, Hermana Knapp and I were cracking up! I kept talking back and forth with them for about a minute! Anyway, I can communicate with goats. I can now put that on my special skills list on my resume :-)
Too, last week, while we were contacting on a road, this pack of five dogs came up and started following us. We named them Alma, Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni. They followed us for three hours. So Friday and Saturday, we went back to that same road to try and contact again, and they were all there and they followed us again. Super cute. They're like our protectors.
Also, I woke up this morning with a double ear infection. That was fun. Thankfully, modern medicine is a thing these days, but man, I haven't had an ear infection for like 18 years, but those things hurt like heck!
Okay, I think that's about it folks. I can't wait to here about BB2 next week! I love you all so much!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Hermana Kennedy and Yu-Gi-Oh My Goodness, That's a Toucan!
Hi family! Here's my letter to President:
Buenas tardes, President Murphy,
Well, it was a great week here in Santa Anita. First, Rene passed his baptismal interview! And he has told us about possible situations which worry him this upcoming week. Last Friday, he actually asked us to walk him home, because he knew his friends would be out drinking, and he knew that with us, they wouldn't come near him. And at church on Sunday, he told us that that night, his family was attending a last goodbye to someone who died, and he knew that everyone would be drinking, and he asked us what to do. He wanted to be with his family, but he is so scared of messing up, so we asked if anyone would be there that he knew would not be drinking. He told us that his mom is part of another church and she doesn't drink, so we told him to stick close to her, and I gave him something called a worry stone. It's basically just a rock with a mark in it that you rub when you're worried, because we wanted him to have something physical to touch to remember what was most important. He is so excited, but with that he is so nervous. We have appointments set up with him, or for him to accompany us each night so that he's busy when he comes home from work.
We are going to set a baptismal date with Franklin this week. We have been a little hesitant to do so before, because his understanding is very slow, but we decided that he isn't going to progress just coming to church. So that's the plan and we have a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) planned with him and Rene on Thursday. We also met someone named Hugo this week. He actually contacted us as he was coming out of his niece's home. We were talking to her, and he just told us that he's looking for the true church. He then told us that he would come to church that Sunday. However, Saturday we were out contacting, and we found his house! He let us in and we taught him and his sister-in-law, and the next day, we stopped by someone else's house to pick them up and we hear, "Buenos dias!" We turned around and there he was, dressed up and with his Book of Mormon in his hand. He told us he would see us at the chapel. He stayed for all three hours, and at the end, he told us that he knew without a doubt that this is the true church. We are planning on setting a baptismal date with him for the end of March or the beginning of April. He also told the elders during Priesthood that he wanted home teachers :-)
I love Hermana Knapp. I love that she just wants to work. We have so much fun, and I'm finding so much joy in the work with her. We share the responsibilities and she is helping me be more like Christ. She loves everyone and really connects to them on a personal level, and people love her for that. Her health has been improving a little which is awesome. I just love her and I love working with her.
I love this sector. I think some people have bad feelings about this sector, but I love it here. It's beautiful, and we find people and God works miracles here. We have good investigators, and I love having the chapel so close. Even though people are busy, they are still willing to listen.
Thank you for your example and hard work. We pray for you and Hermana Murphy. We love you both, and we hope you have a wonderful week!
Hermana Kennedy
Okie dokie lokie. Pray a lot for Rene please. We want him to baptized, and he wants to be baptized, and we are so worried and excited for him because we just really, really want him to make it! My goodness, we say about ten prayers a day just for him.
So this week, we met with an investigator. Her name is Alexander, and she's cute. She has an 11-year-old son named Axel. So we go by their house this week, and they let us in and we teach them and I start to talk to Axel about superheroes and stuff. I notice that he had some Yugioh cards on the table, so I ask if he plays, and he goes off, telling us all about them and stuff, but then asks if we can
translate some of the cards for him (because they're in English). So I was like, sure. But there wasn't time to do them all right there, so Hermana Knapp offers for us to do it at home. And by us, she meant me. So, we took his cards home, and I spent an hour and half translating these silly cards with words like "special summoner" and "fairy warrior". Goodness me....
Also, we are in Zona Quito which means we have the office elders in our zone, and their P-Day is Saturday, so we got permission from President as a zone to change our P-Day to Saturday (but we still write home on Monday). So on Saturday, we headed to Mindo. It was actually part of my sector in Mitad del Mundo, but we never went there because it was two hours by bus. But it's super hot there because it's lower in altitude, and boy is it humid! It's like your typical tropical feel. But we have always heard about the birds there, and I was like, I just want to see a wild toucan. The elders knew about this zipline basket that takes you over the jungle, so we went up there, and it was so cool! Seriously, like if this thing fell, we would definitely die. It's kind of like a ski lift, but open and Ecuadorian, with no thought for personal safety. It went super fast and we got to look all over the jungle. After we went to the other side, we hiked down to a waterfall, and man was it nice to sweat.
I'm sweating now in the mornings when we go running, but I felt like I had seriously exercised after hiking that! And it's nice knowing that my ankle is okay and I can do things again like run and hike. The waterfall was fine, but the hike was beautiful because it was all tropical and stuff, and as we were walking back, it started raining for which I was grateful, because no one could tell if I was sweating or just wet. My face was very red though #AlwaysAKennedy. So we hiked back up the mountain to the zipline basket, and I was a little scared. I don't have a fear of heights, but I do have a fear of dying, so I said a little prayer before, and as we were flying out to the end of the world, Hermana Knapp yells, "THERE'S A TOUCAN!!" I was like "WHERE???????" She pointed it out to me and there was indeed a toucan. A little present from God. Isn't He cool?
I just love Hermana Knapp. We laugh so much, and we talk, and we are there for each other, and I love just being a missionary with her. We work and walk and talk and it's all fun. It's been hard since coming back to the mission to feel truly happy, because I just feel like I lost so much confidence when I was sent home, but Hermana Knapp helps me feel relaxed and happy and like everything is going to be okay. We talk about everything, and we just love being missionaries.
Okay, that's a lot. I love you all so much, and I can't wait to hear from you all next week, especially if there's a new Kennedy <3
I love you!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
Buenas tardes, President Murphy,
Well, it was a great week here in Santa Anita. First, Rene passed his baptismal interview! And he has told us about possible situations which worry him this upcoming week. Last Friday, he actually asked us to walk him home, because he knew his friends would be out drinking, and he knew that with us, they wouldn't come near him. And at church on Sunday, he told us that that night, his family was attending a last goodbye to someone who died, and he knew that everyone would be drinking, and he asked us what to do. He wanted to be with his family, but he is so scared of messing up, so we asked if anyone would be there that he knew would not be drinking. He told us that his mom is part of another church and she doesn't drink, so we told him to stick close to her, and I gave him something called a worry stone. It's basically just a rock with a mark in it that you rub when you're worried, because we wanted him to have something physical to touch to remember what was most important. He is so excited, but with that he is so nervous. We have appointments set up with him, or for him to accompany us each night so that he's busy when he comes home from work.
We are going to set a baptismal date with Franklin this week. We have been a little hesitant to do so before, because his understanding is very slow, but we decided that he isn't going to progress just coming to church. So that's the plan and we have a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) planned with him and Rene on Thursday. We also met someone named Hugo this week. He actually contacted us as he was coming out of his niece's home. We were talking to her, and he just told us that he's looking for the true church. He then told us that he would come to church that Sunday. However, Saturday we were out contacting, and we found his house! He let us in and we taught him and his sister-in-law, and the next day, we stopped by someone else's house to pick them up and we hear, "Buenos dias!" We turned around and there he was, dressed up and with his Book of Mormon in his hand. He told us he would see us at the chapel. He stayed for all three hours, and at the end, he told us that he knew without a doubt that this is the true church. We are planning on setting a baptismal date with him for the end of March or the beginning of April. He also told the elders during Priesthood that he wanted home teachers :-)
I love Hermana Knapp. I love that she just wants to work. We have so much fun, and I'm finding so much joy in the work with her. We share the responsibilities and she is helping me be more like Christ. She loves everyone and really connects to them on a personal level, and people love her for that. Her health has been improving a little which is awesome. I just love her and I love working with her.I love this sector. I think some people have bad feelings about this sector, but I love it here. It's beautiful, and we find people and God works miracles here. We have good investigators, and I love having the chapel so close. Even though people are busy, they are still willing to listen.
Thank you for your example and hard work. We pray for you and Hermana Murphy. We love you both, and we hope you have a wonderful week!
Hermana Kennedy
Okie dokie lokie. Pray a lot for Rene please. We want him to baptized, and he wants to be baptized, and we are so worried and excited for him because we just really, really want him to make it! My goodness, we say about ten prayers a day just for him.
So this week, we met with an investigator. Her name is Alexander, and she's cute. She has an 11-year-old son named Axel. So we go by their house this week, and they let us in and we teach them and I start to talk to Axel about superheroes and stuff. I notice that he had some Yugioh cards on the table, so I ask if he plays, and he goes off, telling us all about them and stuff, but then asks if we can
Also, we are in Zona Quito which means we have the office elders in our zone, and their P-Day is Saturday, so we got permission from President as a zone to change our P-Day to Saturday (but we still write home on Monday). So on Saturday, we headed to Mindo. It was actually part of my sector in Mitad del Mundo, but we never went there because it was two hours by bus. But it's super hot there because it's lower in altitude, and boy is it humid! It's like your typical tropical feel. But we have always heard about the birds there, and I was like, I just want to see a wild toucan. The elders knew about this zipline basket that takes you over the jungle, so we went up there, and it was so cool! Seriously, like if this thing fell, we would definitely die. It's kind of like a ski lift, but open and Ecuadorian, with no thought for personal safety. It went super fast and we got to look all over the jungle. After we went to the other side, we hiked down to a waterfall, and man was it nice to sweat.
I just love Hermana Knapp. We laugh so much, and we talk, and we are there for each other, and I love just being a missionary with her. We work and walk and talk and it's all fun. It's been hard since coming back to the mission to feel truly happy, because I just feel like I lost so much confidence when I was sent home, but Hermana Knapp helps me feel relaxed and happy and like everything is going to be okay. We talk about everything, and we just love being missionaries.
Okay, that's a lot. I love you all so much, and I can't wait to hear from you all next week, especially if there's a new Kennedy <3
I love you!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
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