(no subject)

Yours truly!

Well. This week. It came. It went. Here's what happened.

Monday: Went on exchanges with Hermana Blackmer in Manson! Former companion. Former area. It was weird. Taught a family that I had taught when they were still investigators. Now they're members. Weird.

Tuesday: Worked some more in Manson. Found some new investigators. Served at the food bank. Came back and packed.

Wednesday: We moved. The first time. And lived on the floor of some other sisters until we could find a house to live in for the next few weeks. We also saw Claudius who's doing amazing! He's progressing really well, he just needs to make the decision to be baptized. And then we finished moving.

Thursday: Had an awesome district council. Did some baking and caroling. Christmas visits. Yummy dinner. And we saw Natalya and gave her family Christmas presents. She wanted a picture of the temple. So cute.

Friday: Christmas! Had breakfast as the zone and watched the Best Two Years. It was an interesting experience watching that movie as a missionary. Skyped home. Saw family. Ate dinner. Did some weekly planning.

Saturday: Finished weekly planning. Had dinner. Saw Claudius again, had an awesome lesson. And moved. Again. Into some really sweet member's home for the next couple of weeks. They're awesome.

Sunday: Claudius came to church. We did a special musical number. Had an awesome work day! Saw some investigators, potentials, formers, and found a new investigator! It was a good missionary day. :)

Well. This week was crazy. I'm so tired. And that's ok! Being a sister training leader is rough but, it has helped me have a stronger testimony of the Atonement. I'm really ponderizing the words "not my will, but thine be done". I have so many things that I want to do as a missionary. I want to work hard. I want to see people come unto Christ through baptism. I want to spend all day every day in my area finding and teaching. And this past transfer, I've come to realize that while that is good, it's not what God wants for me right now. If anything, I'm learning how to become a fantastic member missionary and a compassionate leader servant. Definitely not something I want, but it's something I'm excited to become. That's one thing I love about the gospel. It's a gospel of becoming and being. You don't have to live in the past.

Well, have a wonderful, miraculous week and a happy new year! See you next year!

Con carino,

Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Johnson and yours truly.

Hermana Blackmer and yours truly.

Hermanas Streuling, Campbell, y yo. :)

The coming out district.

I Wanna Wish You a Merry Christmas from the Bottom of My Heart!

De las hermanas Kennedy y Johnson. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Well. Let's talk about this week:

Monday: P-day. We taught Natalya about the Book of Mormon again and helped her commit to read it everyday.

Tuesday: Christmas gatherings! We performed our zone musical number which we had never practiced, and it turned out super good.We also performed our sister musical number which we had never practiced, and that went super well too. And we got to watch Meet the Mormons. And, it was an MTC district reunion! Except for Elder Harward, Elder Young, Hermana Hawkes, and Hermana McArthur. We came back to Wenatchee, had dinner, taught 3 investigators super awesome lessons and turned in around 9:30.

Wednesday: Studies, taught a recent convert, let Hermana Johnson do some pre-RM training. (It's a thing. I'm terrified.) Chose a street by the Spirit and found a new investigator. DIned. Taught some recent convert/ less active lessons and called it a night.

Thursday: IT SNOWED. And the tread on our tires was 2/32. ... Which we found out after a cop had to stop traffic so that we could get unstuck from the side of the road and he politely told us that our tires were illegal. BUT, we still managed to have 2 very depressing lessons with our on date investigators who actually both fell off date. :( And then, we drove to the other side of the river in un-plowed roads with our horrid tires for our coordination meeting, just to find out that we didn't have one. And we were the only ones that didn't get the text... So we drive home. a 5 minute trip turned into a 45 minute trip and we miraculous made it up the steep hill to our house. Angels really do push missionary cars.

Friday: We spent the good part of our day in Les Schwab getting our tires changed, weekly planning, and talking with sisters. Went home, had a late dinner, and saw some investigators and Natalya again. And then we went on exchanges! I took Sister Van Orden with me to my area. :)

Saturday: Exchanges. They were awesome. No one was home. Talked to a lot of people. Didn't slip in the snow. Didn't die in the snow. Had a lesson with Natalya about gratitude and helped her write Thank You cards for the people that helped with her baptism! It was so cute!

Sunday: Church. An investigator came, and another recent convert/ less active came! It was cool. The rest of the day we spent trying to find a place to live. No success yet, but the Lord provides.Took a break to have dinner, perform in a Christmas devotional, and then spent the rest of the night packing and helping some sisters out. :)

Well, as you know, this week is the week of Christmas. Something that always comes to my mind around Christmas time is gratitude. I've been thinking lately about my gratitude and whether or not I'm showing enough of it. I don't think I am. To anyone. But, this week, my heart pours out in gratitude every day for Christ and what his birth truly meant for me. Yesterday in gospel principles, our lesson was on the 3 levels of Christmas. The first level is the more temporal things--gifts, Santa Claus, days off of school, etc. The second level is a little more spiritual and it's remembering Christ's birth and celebrating it. The third level is where we apply and are grateful for the Atonement, the reason why Christ was even born. I pray that I will be more grateful this holiday season. I know as I am, the Spirit of Christ will truly touch my heart and help me to be grateful always.

Also, I've been super bad at doing the monthly #wewriteofChrist spiritual message... This month, it's supposed to be "what does Christmas mean to you?" Yesterday, our investigator shared his testimony in Gospel Principles. It was so profound and heartfelt, and he just needs to commit to be baptized. Anyway, the teacher asked me to share my testimony after, and I talked about light. Christmas, to me, means light. #christmas. Think about it. There's all this symbolism of the Christmas story about light. The star was the light for the wise men. Christ is the light of the world. In the Spanish scriptures, giving birth is written as "giving light". In the Spanish version of "Silent Night", it's night of light, night of peace. Even Christmas lights make everything so much brighter! I hope that we all have the light of Christ shining within us and that others will be able to receive that light from us as well.

Feliz Navidad! Prospera ano y felicidad! Recureden la razon por este tiempo, y sonrirse. :)

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

De las hermanas Kennedy y Johnson. (Jajaja. All the politics.)

And Sisters Van Orden and Robalin too.

Christmas Time is here...

Natalya's Baptism!

As you all are well aware, Christmas time is here. Which means that it's the craziest time of year for everyone! Here's the run-down for this crazy week:

Monday: P-day. Saw one of our on dates and found out that our Restoration DVD has the biggest scratch ever on it. Also, did some STL counseling. (Meaning that we spent our night helping out sisters in our stewardship.) Also, our on date for this Saturday, Natalya, didn't show up for her baptismal interview... And she wasn't home when we stopped by... (Insert panic attack here.)

Tuesday: Zone training meeting. Guess who had to speak? Us. Did some sister missionary couples counseling after and went on exchanges with the Chelan sisters. I brought Hermana Olguin back down to our area which I still didn't know, and we had an awesome night working with members that neither of us knew! It was great. We even saw Natalya. She was so sad because she knew she missed her baptismal interview because her dad wouldn't let her get baptized. He thought that Mormons couldn't have quinceneras, and he really wanted to buy Natalya's quincenera dress. Hermana Olguin could testify that you could be Mormon and still have a quincenera. #exchangemiracles

Wednesday: We worked our area on exchanges. Talked to a lot of people. Drove up to Chelan. (I went home! And saw people I knew!) Drove back from Chelan. It was Hermana Johnson's birthday, so I decorated our room and left her a little present. She loved it. After that, we went to Natalya's house because her family prepared a birthday dinner for Hermana Johnson. It was delicious. And much needed. And we found out Natalya could get baptized! So, we set up her baptismal interview, called our district leader, and set it up.

Thursday: Great day. Saw a recent convert, and on date, and Natalya had her baptismal interview. We had a lesson with her mom who's a less active with an active member. It was super awesome.

Friday: Weekly planning. Awesome lessons. Sleep.

Saturday: Natalya got baptized!!!!!! And we had to stay in the church building from 11 to 4.... Finished weekly planning. Had a lesson with an on date and dragged him to our ward Christmas party. Natalya and her family came along with Claudias (the on date).

Sunday: Church was awesome. Natalya got confirmed. And we went out and talked to people for the rest of the day, because we didn't have time to do good work this week. So we talked to 10 new people, found a new investigator, and had a great day!

Spiritual take-aways from this week. So, something I learned from exchanges was that if we are led by the Spirit, we'll be exactly where we need to be exactly when we need to be there. That was the case with Natalya on Tuesday. We saw her at 8:55, and it was something that needed to happen. Something I've been pondering lately is that the Spirit is called the comforter. Sure, it's because he can comfort us, but also because he gets us out of our comfort zones. When we're outside of our comfort zones, but we have the Spirit with us, we're inside the Spirit's comfort zone. His comfort zone is pretty much the entire world. It means that any situation can be comfortable if we're focused on the Spirit. It goes back to that saying, it's only awkward if you make it awkward. It's all up to you and your personal worthiness.

I also have a testimony of service. Decorating our room for Hermana Johnson's birthday was a small thing to do, but it made all the difference for her on her birthday. In return, I fell and scraped up my knee pretty bad, and while I was cleaning it up, she made me some hot chocolate. We have zero companionship problems because we take the time to serve one another. To fold each other's laundry, clean up the bathroom, make hot chocolate, or whatever. I think it's truly the way that Christ would live, and it's really made a difference these past two weeks.

Enjoy the Christmas spirit, and make sure to give. Give others the gospel. Give them Christ. Your life will be infinitely more blessed for it. I can think of no other better thing to be doing right now than being a missionary. Have a merry, miraculous Christmas!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Johnson y yo

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

My my! How this week has FLOWN! Here's the breakdown:

Monday: I said goodbye to everyone in Yakima. 
Tuesday: I said goodbye to everyone else in Yakima.  And took a new missionary on some new missionary exchanges with Hermana Pons. We had an awesome lesson with a now-investigator! Miracles!

Wednesday: I actually got around to packing, left Yakima, drove to Wenatchee in a snowstorm, and unpacked. So eventful. Note: I am serving in East Wenatchee with Hermana Johnson. She's from Alabama. She is the 2nd oldest sister missionary in the mission. She's gluten free and a biology major. And I'm sending her home at the end of this transfer. :(

Thursday: Service making hygiene kits. Got to drive in 2 feet of snow with a car that does not have snow tires or anything like them.   Did some STL planning and weekly planning. Saw our investigator who's being baptized on Saturday and then we saw our other investigator who is also being baptized this month. And they're both super solid and amazing! Even though I barely know them. Then, we had ward coordination. Which we were late to. Snow. Yup.

Friday: Mission Leadership Council. All day.

Saturday: 2 Zone Leadership Councils. 1 hour of tracting. 4 lessons. 1 new investigator. And a new person on date to be baptized in January! And a snowstorm. But that's not important.

Sunday: Fast Sunday. Man. I love fast Sundays, but I don't really enjoy them as a missionary with 9 o'clock church. Especially when your dinner is pushed back an hour because of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Oh well. We had an awesome day. Spiritual experiences all day at church. (A non-member got up and bore his testimony, quoting the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. It was the best testimony ever. And he still wont get baptized. ) Spiritual experiences at the devotional. Just a whole Spirit-filled day! It was awesome.

Anyway. This past week has been a week of spiritual experiences. I have learned so much from the Spirit and from our Heavenly Father about His plan for me in my mission. IT IS EXHAUSTING. Literally. I almost feel asleep in Relief Society and Hermana Johnson almost fell asleep during the Devotional. But, something that has stuck out to me in my studies and all the councils I have had to attend in the past 3 days is that consecrated missionaries never give up. Consecrated people never give up. We don't have white flags. We don't make compromises. We work and we keep working because we've covenanted with God to give our very best. (I am a very good example of failing miserably, so don't use me as an example.) To see the miracles God has in store for us, we have to keep working and acting in faith. It's only after we use our faith that God can give us miracles.

Something else that has been on my mind is the idea of light--especially during this Christmas season. I wonder if we are ever lights for people, the way Christ was our light? I encourage each of you to look up Elder Bednar's talk from the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. You can find it on lds.org. As you read that, I also invite you to read and study Doctrine and Covenants 50:24, included for your enjoyment.

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

How can you be a light for others? Especially apply it to this Christmas season. How can you receive light? I promise that as you study this, you'll be able to feel God's love for you and understand the true meaning of Christmas. If you wanted one more thing to think about, go to christmas.mormon.org. Explore the website. Share the gift of light and help others discover that same light in their lives.

Have a miraculous week, and may God bless us, every one!

Hermana Kennedy

The craziest week of my life

Hermana Pons y yo.

Well. Life happened in so many ways this week. Here's the super-brief run down:

Monday: Hermana Ayala left me and I became a trio with Hermanas Brighton and Bailey.

Tuesday: We worked in the other sister's area, had a snowball fight with the elders for exercise, and had an awesome district council.

Wednesday: Did some service, did some work in our area. Let me just say that being in a tri-pan is the best thing ever. You can go ANYWHERE. You can do ANYTHING. It's pretty great. And then, we found out Hermana Pulido was going home early for health reasons too. Her companion, Hermana Pons, needed a place to stay, so I got her as a companion. At around 10 o'clock. PM. Not a big deal.

Thursday: Count them. 4 companions. 4 days. Craziest. Thing. Ever. Also, Thanksgiving. We, begin Spanish speaking missionaries eat with people who speak Spanish. Do you know what that means? Thanksgiving isn't a thing. TURKEY is not a thing. Yes, I had Hispanic food for Thanksgiving dinner. And it was delicious. We also were able to see practically every less active in our area. It was pretty cool.

Friday: Weekly planning. By myself. And then, we saw Gray again. She thought we had forgotten about her. :( Pobrecita. But, she still loves us.

Saturday: President Lewis scared us by calling us at 8:15 in the morning to tell Hermana Pons that she's going to finish her last 6 weeks of the 12 week missionary training program with someone who came out with her. COOL! And then, I was called to be a Sister Training Leader. (Kind of like a zone leader, but for sisters.) And then I found out I was going to be transferred to Wenatchee. 3 hours away from Yakima. That's cool. After that, we went to work! Did some area exploring. Got lost a few times, but ended up being able to see a sweet part member less active family. It was the coolest. Had an awesome lesson later on that night with a member and one of our investigators. Best lesson ever.

Sunday: Church. Heartstrings ripped out. The members were so sad that I was leaving. The member that came out with us Saturday night actually started crying in Sacrament Meeting (she was sitting with us) and it made me cry. I'm going to miss Yakima and the branch here so much! I really liked the talk that was given in sacrament meeting. He said that if we want to see miracles, we have to serve others, have faith, study the scriptures, repent so that we can be worthy, and receive revelation. Definitely needed that. After church, we went to the Elder's baptism because they serve in the same branch as us. 4 of their investigators got baptized, and it was so spiritual! It was awesome. Afterwards, Alex Boye was in town and had a fireside, so we went to that. GUESS WHAT. Alex Boye loves sister missionaries. He made all of us sister missionaries feel super special. It was cool. Something I learned from him was that the Book of Mormon is the only book you can be a fanatic about and it will be perfectly ok. I really liked that. Why can't we be as excited about the Book of Mormon as we are about Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, or Twilight?! IT'S SUCH AN AWESOME BOOK! When we get excited about the Book of Mormon, then we know that we are using it correctly.

And now I'm here. And since today is the last day of November, I'm going to share one last thing that I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for answers to prayers. I have received so many this past week, and it has made this crazy week be a week of peace. I know that if we pray sincerely, God will answer our prayers. We may not receive the answers we want, but we will receive the answers we need, and that is all we have to be thankful for. #gratitude

AND, since tomorrow is December, I get to start using #christmas. Let me tell you about this lovely website. It's christmas.mormon.org. Go to it. Watch all the videos. Share it with everyone you know, even people you meet on the street or at Wal-Mart. The #christmas can be shared when you share something that Christmas means to you. For me, Christmas means feeling the love of family. I'll be sad to be away from home again this Christmas, but I know I am in their hearts, and they're definitely in mine. I'm grateful for the knowledge I have that these 2 Christmases away from home is nothing compared to the eternity I will spend with my family. #Christmas #share1invite1 #sharegoodness #wewriteofChrist

Remember, CHRIST is the reason. God DOES answer prayers. I LOVE YOU! Have a miraculous week!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Hermanas Bailey, Brighton, y yo con Batman. 

District Sistas!

And then there were the elders....

Year mark, Interviews, and Craziness

The sistrict. (Our district has 3 sets of sisters and 2 sets of elders.)

Well. This week has probably been the most eventful week ever. Here's your brief rundown:

Monday: We had a great P-day that we spent cleaning. And the mold in our bathroom still isn't gone. But that's ok. Hermana Ayala only had enough strength to go to one lesson that night. So, we went to an investigator, July. We met her husband, Tony, instead. He's pretty cool. We had a lesson with both of them and it lasted about 2 and a half hours... Awkward since we got home at 9:30, and we had exchanges... But they're super awesome and invited us over to lunch on Saturday. SPIRIT FACT! So, Tony offered us water/ juice, and Hermana Ayala and I normally don't accept. But, we felt prompted to accept. Hermana Ayala accepted the water, and I got the juice. At the end of our lesson, Tony was like "I accept all your teachings and believe them. Why? Because you accepted my offer of water and juice. I firmly believe that if you want me to accept your message, then you should accept my water. And you two did. And I'm making you lunch on Saturday. Come over around 11." OK. We're accepting the water from now on.

Tuesday: Well, we did end up going on exchanges. Since we live with the STLs, we finally came to the conclusion around 10:15 that we were going on exchanges. I was with Sister Bailey (again) in our area (again). That's 3 times in a row! Sister Bailey and I are practically companions! We had an awesome district council, ate lunch, and went to work. I GOT TO WORK FOR A FULL DAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MONTH!!! I was so excited! We got a new investigator, talked to everyone (which was about 3 people because it was raining), had some other lessons, walked our branch president's kids home from school and took refuge from the rain there. The president's wife was kind enough to let us make some calls and do her dishes while she dried our sweaters. (We both didn't have our coats. Sorry mom.) Presidente's wife just had a baby, so she was very grateful for our help. We went home, had dinner, and went to Tieton to see the Garcias and contact a referral. We did both. The Garcias were worried that it was the last time they'd see us, so they made us tamales and atole (a thick apple cidery kind of drink).  It was delicious. Except I just ate dinner... Oh well. But Sister Bailey was super excited because she finally got to meet the Garcias!

Wednesday: Well. Today was very unproductive. We sat at the church from about 2 to 6 waiting for our interviews with President Lewis. It gave me some great time to practice the piano for our Christmas gatherings and to make phone calls. By the time our interviews finished (we were last), it was 6:10, so President and Sister Lewis took us to dinner. Mexican food. It was delicious. And then they came out with us to see some of our investigators. (Two brothers, R and L. In other words, we needed another woman) Even though it was in Spanish, President understood pretty much everything, so it was a super cool lesson. They're super cool and had a ton of questions and at the end committed themselves to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it! Miracles!

Thursday: Well. Thursday yo cumpli un ano en mi mision. I can't English anymore. That sentence only makes sense in Spanish. Hermana Ayala saw a counselor at the mission office, so I dusted for my best friends, the office workers. It was pretty great. We made some more phone calls, had dinner, went to President Lewis's to talk about our very unique situation. Got a ride home from president. Then, a member took us out to see our two cute girl investigators, B and E. They're super cool and committed to be baptized on December 19th! How cool is that? Also, their mom started investigating!

Friday: Well, I weekly planned. And found out that Hermana Ayala is being medically released. She's going home this week, so I'll be an awkward floating missionary. We went to our branch's Thanksgiving dinner for about an hour. Hermana Brighton and I did a surprise musical number, and July and Tony came! Then we went home and Hermana Ayala died of a headache. Pobrecita.

Saturday: We went to lunch with July and Tony and had an awesome 3 hour lesson! He loves the organization of the church and the Christlike love we show. :) Then we walked, saw members and some other people, had dinner with a member, went to stake conference, and got home about 9:45. It was all President Lewis's fault...

Sunday: Stake conference. Goodbye to members. Dinner. And then the STLs broke down into laughing fits with us while we took pictures. And then Hermana Ayala and I stayed home and cleaned.

Now, I am so grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. #gratitude. I honestly don't know what I would do without the gift of the Holy Ghost. He's the one that keeps this whole show running. I'm grateful for what I learn from him and all the peace and joy I'm able to feel when he's with me. I hope that all of you will be able to feel that Spirit this week, especially the Spirit of Thanksgiving.

Amulek issues a tender Thanksgiving message when he encourages us to "receive [the Holy Ghost], and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." (Alma 34:38)

May we all "live in thanksgiving daily" as we humble ourselves and count the matchless blessings we receive from a loving Heavenly Father. YOU are among my most cherished blessings.

Have a miraculous Thanksgiving week!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Our district leader. He's like Snoopy in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

The elders.

The sisters.

Sisters do it better.

I Can't Do This Time Thing...

The Garcia's!!!!!!!!!!!!

The four generations of missionaries (from right to left, Hermana Cannon, Hermana Cain, Hermana Kennedy, Hermana Ayala)
This week's subject line is attributed to: HERMANA BRIGHTON. Why? Because this week was the longest and yet the shortest week ever. Here's your brief run down:

Monday: We had a great P-Day followed by a super cold lesson with two super awesome investigators that happen to be nice young men that are very offended that we can't enter their house without another woman. BUT, they read the Book of Mormon. Well, part of it. BUT, they're still investigating. And then we saw a less active who's boss is making it very difficult for them to get work off on Sundays. BUT, they're still doing super awesome and are trying to come back to church!

Tuesday: We had an interesting personal study. Hermanas Brighton and Bailey were on exchanges, so our apartment was filled with my companions, namely, Hermanas Brighton, Taua, and Ayala. And then, one of our investigators texted us wanting to talk to Hermana Ayala. It turned into a 9 page text confessing his deep abiding love for her that he felt since the moment he first laid eyes on her. Needless to say, we passed him off to the Elders because he's still interested in the church, we just don't want him to be interested in the sister missionaries... (And, ouch. I've been teaching him for a transfer. I guess I'm just not Hispanic enough.) Anyway, we had an awesome district council. We talked a lot about being led by the Spirit to know the Lord's will for you and where you are, and also teaching super simply as if we're teaching children. We're super excited to work with that this week. After that, we walked. And walked. And walked. And saw a family that's super awesome and gave us relief from the cold. Briefly. And then we walked. And walked. And talked. And bought some hot chocolate. And made phone calls. And ate dinner. (Pozole). And walked. And went home early because Hermana Ayala has been struck with every sickness known to man this week. Seriously. In the past four weeks she has had: a cold, the flu, a sinus infection, homesickness, a cough, anemia, and who knows what else. Pobrecita.

Wednesday: We stayed home during the day today to let Hermana Ayala rest, but we still went out for a little bit because a member was coming out with us. We picked up the member, went to our appointment, and got two new investigators! And then we went home so that Hermana Ayala could sleep.

Thursday: We did some service at the Salvation Army, and they let us take so much food home. It was delightful. There was ice cream. We had dinner with a member and drove to Tieton to see the Garcia's. They're officially moving to Vancouver BUT the church is right across from their home, so they're going to go! They also want the missionaries to continue teaching them! AND, THEIR SON (that they got involved in the lessons for) READ THE BOOK OF MORMON! HE DECIDED TO FIND A JOB AND GO BACK TO SCHOOL! THE GOSPEL CHANGES PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I died when I found that out. They're so awesome.

We were waiting in front of the mission office in the cold. Why not?

Friday: We did some awesome weekly planning, had dinner, met with our branch president about the branch mission plan. HE IS SO AMAZING. Presidente is my favorite. He was like, "Sisters, I think of you like my daughters. I want to know how you're doing. Just shoot me a text whenever you want, and if you need some soup, I'll bring you some soup. We're always here for you." It melted our hearts, and we all just cried our eyes out. I would be perfectly happy if I ended my mission here in Yakima serving in this branch. Plus, they'd get a branch organist for the next 6 months. Who would complain? Anyway, after that, we went and worked. Until one guy started Bible bashing us. It's a very good thing I can't talk very fast in Spanish, because if I could, I would have gone all Ricky Ricardo on him. But, I didn't. So, we moved on and ranted to each other about our conversions and how much people annoyed us because they just denied Heavenly Father. La lucha es real.

Saturday: We did some awesome service raking leaves, and we got to jump in leaf piles! It was Hermana Ayala's first time, so of course it was awesome. After that, we went home, finished our weekly planning, practiced our musical number for a baptism that night, and went to the baptism. It was for a little girl who's learning to play the violin. So, I just had to find a violin. Hermanas Brighton, Bailey, y yo performed. I was on the violin, Hermana Bailey on keyboard, and Hermana Brighton on vocals. It turned out super well, until afterward when the parents pulled out the refreshments and we found out the drinks had green tea in them... Awkward... We cleaned up, ate dinner, and we stayed home so that Hermana Ayala could feel better.

Sunday: WE HAD 7 INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH TODAY! 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We've only had 1 investigator at church every week this past transfer, and it's a part-member family that comes every week. So, the fact that new people came to church today is huge! The Garcia family came as well as one of our investigators in Naches and two sisters that are so awesome. After church, a member invited us over for dinner, so we went. 20 miles later... She made us tacos. And they were divine. But I never got my third taco.   It's ok. I'm over it. After that, we went on exchanges with the STLs so that work could actually get done in my area. Hermana Ayala stayed home with Sister Brighton, and I went out to work with Sister Bailey. It was awesome. We had a lesson with the sisters that came to church along with some of the young women. It was such a cool lesson! Then we saw the two young men that we saw on Monday. They've been reading and praying, but they're going to read some more. We set up a return appointment and went home. :)

Some awesome things I've learned this week:
1. The Atonement is real and wouldn't have worked were it not for love.
2. We all have the talent of repentance, but if we don't repent, we bury that talent and will ultimately be punished for it. Repent.
3. True joy can be found when you reach out to others in love and they accept that love in return.

Something I'm grateful for this week:
MUSIC! Can I tell you of my love for music? I held a violin for the first time in over a year this week, and I just got super happy. I played for about an hour. I'm pretty sure Hermanas Brighton, Bailey, and Ayala were super annoyed with me, but I was happy. #gratitude

Well, have a miraculous week y'all! TTFN! Ta ta for now!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Kennedy