Hermana Kennedy and the Last Goodbye

Well my beloved family, this is it.  The last email as a missionary.  Here's my letter to President:

Buenas tardes, Presidente Murphy,

Well, this is it.  The last letter, but hopefully not the last time that I send you an update on how I'm doing.  The mission may be ending, but the work doesn't.  I know that we have to keep working on loving people and ministering to them after the mission, just in a different way.  Every single convert I have seen be baptized on my mission has been a referral, so I think God is trying to tell me that in the future, I have to give referrals to the missionaries, because where would I be without them?

Daniela was baptized on Saturday.  She was so nervous and excited and just happy to finally be there.  She gave a beautiful testimony about feeling happy through the Gospel in times when she just felt sad.  She talked about how several different members have helped her make it to that point, and she expressed gratitude for them and their help.  She has a strong testimony, and she would be a great missionary, but we will have to see.  She is already sharing her testimony, and she invited a friend from Ibarra to her baptism, and afterwards, he stayed for a ward activity!  She's awesome!

We were able to set a baptismal date with Oskar as well.  I still don't know what we can do with him, but he accepted a date for the 25th of August.  He is a little hesitant, but we are working on explaining really well to him about the plan baptismal and how prayer and reading he Book of Mormon and coming to church can help him gain a testimony of the Church.  Blanca is a really great hermanadora, and when he feels too nervous to pray, she helps him which is really sweet.

We were also able to teach an investigator named Elias and his wife, Genesis.  They recently moved here from Venezuela, and Elias has come to church five times already, but we could never find him during the week to teach him, so yesterday we taught him at church.  He has a lot of questions and likes to share his Gospel knowledge, but he loves church and says that he feels something different.  We are hoping to set a baptismal date with him this week.

We were also able to talk to our ward mission leader this week in Latino.  We explained really directly to him about how we work with referrals with his ward, and we don't know how to help the members.  We explained that we wanted to plan inactivity for the obra missional to animarles and help them, and that we really want to help the ward, because they are doing great work.  He then gave us a referral for his aunt who recently moved in with them from Cuenca.  She has come to church once, and we were able to teach her, her eight-year-old son, and her niece, and the son and die e already say that they want to be baptized, so we will keep working with Patricia, his aunt.  Latino is really working hard, and we love helping the ward grow.  The ward is a great support.

Rene came to visit me one last time <3

I sure do love being a missionary.  It has been a long, hard, and very interesting road, but I know that it has changed me a lot.  I have come to know that my Savior is always there for me, especially during those heart-breaking moments.  He loves these people and He came here for them, and it has been a privilege to have His and my Heavenly Father's trust.  These are God's children, and He loves them, and how amazing is it that he trust us to help them come to the right path.  There is peace in Christ, in knowing that he loves us, and in knowing that through Him, we can be clean and return to God someday.  I have loved seeing how the Gospel brings light and hope to people's lives amidst the trials and tribulations.  Who could ever doubt that this is the truth?

Thank you for being my mission president.  It has truly been an honor to serve with you and Hermana Murphy.  Thank you for your trust, counsel, and guidance along the way, and thank you for helping bring me back here.  I know that there might have been a chance of going to another mission after breaking my ankle, but I know that you and Hermana Murphy worked hard to bring me back, and I can never thank you enough.  To imagine my life without these people and these experiences is just so sad, and I really love you both for doing that for me.  Thank you for supporting me and giving me so many opportunities.  I love this Gospel, and I hope to continue writing you about my progression after the mission as well.  I still have a week to go, and I will give it my all.  Thank you for serving faithfully as a representative of Jesus Christ.

I love you and Hermana Murphy.  Thank you for everything.

Hermana Kennedy
3 Nephi 5:13

At the beginning of my mission, Mommy would always quote Bilbo Baggins as he heads off yelling, "I'M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!!"  Up until the airport, when I was on the other side of security, she showed me that gif :-). I always laughed, but I have felt a lot like Bilbo in his journey, as I think we all do.  At first, you kind of wander around, not really sure what to do, and maybe you forgot your kerchief and want to go back, but we can't.  There is no stopping.  You learn to grow as a person, and change a lot, and sometimes, all you want to do is go home and sit in your comfortable armchair with your hot cocoa and a good book.  Maybe you didn't like strangers or talking to people before, but because of the journey, you learn to let go of those little things and focus on that which is important.  Keeping the peace, loving people, and ultimately trying to do what is best for them.  And as a consequence, you yourself change.  You start to feel a little scared about going home and thinking about what people might think of you now that you have changed.  Maybe they will think you're a little crazy and weird.  But it doesn't matter, because you know that you've changed in a good way.  Maybe you've encountered dragons and magic, or in this case, disappointments and miracles, and you've loved every moment even though it was hard.  But the time comes when you have to go home, because the journey is ending, and you know that you have to move on.  In the last Hobbit movie, Billy Boyd sings a song.  You can look it up to hear it (https://youtu.be/q8ir8rVl2Z4), but here are the lyrics:

I saw the light fade from the sky,
On the wind I heard a sigh
As the snowflakes hover my fallen brother,
I will say this last goodbye.

Night is now falling
So ends this day
The road is now calling
An I must away.

Over hill and under tree
Through lands where never light shines
By silver streams that run down to the sea.

Under cloud beneath the stars
Over snow and winters morn
I turn at last, to paths,
That lead home.

And though where the road then takes me,
I cannot tell.
We came all this way, but now comes the day
To bid you farewell.

Many places I have been
Many sorrows I have seen.
But I don't regret, nor will I forget
All who took that road with me.

Night is now falling
So ends this day.
The road is now calling
And I must away.

Over hill, and under tree
Through lands where never light shines
By silver streams that run down to the sea.

To the memories I will hold
With your blessing I will go
To turn at last, to paths
That lead home.

And though where the road then takes me, I cannot tell,
We came all this way, but now comes the day
To bid you farewell.

I bid you all a very fond farewell.

I love you family.  Stay safe until I get home.  I went on an adventure, and what an adventure it has been.  I'll see you back in Bag End.

Love,
Hermana Kennedy