Hiya family! Here's my letter to President Murphy:
Buenas tardes, President Murphy!
Well, I am incredibly excited to be back here in Otavalo! I always hoped I would come back to this beautiful place, and I am so excited to work here again. Thank you for the opportunity to be an hermana lider. I really hope that I can learn a lot from the hermanas here and help them as best I am able. I promise to do my best.
Thank you for the transfer with Sister Knapp. I love her, and she is going to be an amazing trainer. I just know that Santa Anita will continue to improve and see success for the time that she is there. She has such a loving heart and she believes in people. She will help the sector grow so much.
Santa Anita has three persons with a fecha bautismal. Hugo is set for the 21st of April. He actually had to go to Ambato for two weeks, and we were concerned that he wouldn't be able to make it to that date, but he worked it all out so that he can come back on the 14th, have his interview, go to church the next day for his third attendance, and be baptized. He decided that he wants Elder McClees to baptize him because he's the only one tall enough :-) And he has been reading and praying everyday.
Franklin is also set to be baptized on the 21st, but they will need to verify with him. His girlfriend from Guayaquil is a member, but we thought it was a little strange that she stayed with him whenever she came to visit.
And Natali Caceres is getting ready for the 12th of May. She will be able to come to church this week, and after being very direct and honest with her this week, she finally started really reading the Book of Mormon. She's great, and she will progress.
I'm really excited to be working with Hermana Carré. She was such a great hermana lider in Ofelia, and I am very excited to learn from her. Thank you again for all of the opportunities you have given me on my mission. Thank you for your hard work and for all that you and Hermana Murphy do.
Have a wonderful week!
Hermana Kennedy
Yep, I'm back in Otavalo! Like, in the city itself! It's the sector Otavalo/Latino, because we cover two wards. It still doesn't feel real. It feels like I just came today for a visit, and I'll be heading back to Quito later, but I won't be! I'm here to stay in this beautiful countryside, probably until the end of my mission. In fact, one of the wards we cover meets in the same chapel as my very first ward, so I'll get to see all of my converts and friends <3 I'm so grateful to be back here in the country, especially now that I'm armed with a heck ton of bug spray and Gold Bond!
It WAS super sad saying goodbye to Hermana Knapp. The transfer I had with her passed so quickly, and I just love her. I do feel some comfort knowing that I'll see her at BYU so we will get to spend way more time together.
I'm with Hermana Carré, one of my own hermana lideres from Mitad del Mundo. She's from Trujillo, Peru. She's the first Peruvian companion I've had which is crazy. And yes, I'm an hermana lider! That means I'll be visiting other hermanas here in Campo and do interviews with them and work with them, and I'm super excited! I can't wait to get to know them and learn to love them and learn FROM them! We have three companionships under our care, and I'm hoping that I can love all of them with all of my heart. The hermana lideres whom I've had in the past have made such a difference for me on my mission. Maybe I can be the same.
I will miss Santa Anita. Even though I only had a little time there, there were people I loved. I'll miss Rene most of all. He is such a wonderful person. Something funny about Rene is that he always loved buying us food. I think he was trying to make us fat! Anyways, my last lesson with him, he stopped us in the middle and said, "Hermanas, I'll be right back." We were like, "Hermano, where are you going?" "To buy you cake!" he said. And then he left. We sat there for a while until he came back a few minutes later with ice cream cones for all of us, including himself. We were like, "Hermano, what's this?" "It's ice cream because they were out of cake!" We laughed about that. We finished the lesson and ate our ice cream, and as we left the chapel, we passed the bakery where he went to try and buy cake. He passed the door then whirled around and walked in yelling, "Hermanas, there's cake!" Before we could stop him, he had bought us each a piece of cake. Isn't he so cute? I'm going to miss him.
Also, wasn't General Conference so awesome?! The solemn assembly at the beginning was amazing, seeing each group of members stand and sustain our new prophet. I love President Nelson, and all the new things happening in the church! One of the key messages I got from conference was to follow the Spirit. I love the quote, "Live a more guided life." We can just follow others or expect God to do it all, or we can take initiative and be leaders, especially in regards to the standards of the church. And the emphasis on ministering? It's more about meeting people and getting to know them and love them in a gospel-centered way! Also, the church is focusing on diversity. Did you notice all the speakers from outside of the US? So cool. You know, I think each General Conference is better than the last.
And one last funny story. Last night, I was packing, and I had put my viola and my first bag out next to the door, and we went to bed. However, we got a phone call from the phone outside the room, and we had the lights turned off, so Hermana Knapp ran out in the dark to answer it when she bumped into the extra fridge by the door and then tripped over my viola and plopped on the floor. I just heard this crash from the other room, and of course I had to find my glasses before I could go out and make sure she was okay! I finally got out and first thing she says is, "I ate it so HARD!"
Also, Happy Easter! I was thinking about Celebration of the Egg all weekend. The best we could do here was buy a slightly chocolate-filled rabbit made of bread and celebrate like that, but that's okay. There isn't much time to celebrate holidays on a mission, but we do the best we can.
I love you guys. Tell each other that you love each other. Be kind. Be courageous. Do what's right. Think a little more about each other. I think about you guys all the time, and thank you for your continual support of me on my mission! I love you all!
Love,
Hermana Kennedy
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