Monday, May 23, 2016

Oh Hermanos, adios, pues adios!

"Placentero nos es trabajar
en la viña del gran Rey Jesús,
y honroso nos es predicar
a Su pueblo Su ley y Su lluz.
Por Su luz, por Su luz,
placentero nos es trabajar.
Por Su luz, por Su luz,
moriremos en El sin pesar.

La palabra de Dios escuchad
con ahínco, lealtad y fervor.
Para siempre jamás recordad
Su pureza, verdad y amor.
Con amor, con amor,
la palabra de Dios escuchad.
Con amor, con amor,
la bandera de Dios empuñad.

¡Oh hermanos, adiós, pues, adiós!
El momento de ir vino ya.
Si guardamos la fe en el gran Dios,
nos veremos aún más allá.
Más allá, más allá.
¡Oh hermanos, adiós, pues, adiós!
Más allá, más allá,
moraremos con Dios en amor."

"Placenteronos es trabajar" Himno 88

For those of you who don't know this hymn, it's a Spanish hymn. You can only find it in Spanish, but it has come to be one of my favorites. It's very fitting right now. If you don't know what it means, find a translator. ;)

This is the last email, so I just wanted to share some final thoughts:

1. That was too short. Being a sister is so unfair. Elders are so lucky to have 2 years.

2. My testimony has grown so much on my mission in many ways. But the biggest testimony I have right now is of sacrifice. My brother asked me if I wanted to come home early from my mission to be at his wedding. I told him no, and he said that would be his answer too. :) I was thinking about it today, and I realized that if I had gone home early, I could have been there for my brother's wedding, but also to say goodbye to my grandfather one last time. He passed away on Saturday night. And then I thought of all the miracles we have had in the past two weeks--the Elder Christofferson stake conference, we found two GOLDEN investigators Eva and Sophie, we had some miraculous exchanges, and we saw two of our investigators come to church. And those little miracles that we saw every day made those sacrifices worth it. God knows our lives better than we do, and when we have our hardest days, he sends us the smallest miracles that make the hard days so much brighter.

"In ancient days, sacrifice meant to make something or someone holy. It has now come to mean to give up or suffer the loss of worldly things for the Lord and his kingdom. Members of the Lord’s Church should be willing to sacrifice all things for the Lord. Joseph Smith taught that “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” In the eternal perspective, the blessings obtained by sacrifice are greater than anything that is given up."

Oh hermanos adios, pues adios. El momento de ir vino ya. Si guardamos la fe en el gran Dios, nos veremos aun mas alla.

Hasta luego!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Monday, May 16, 2016

The Last Song

​Hermana Streuling, Hermana Harston, Hermana Dee, and I. Notice that Hermana Dee and I have the same skirt
Wow. These past 18 months have been a blur! Where did they go? I feel like I'm just barely getting adjusting to missionary life, and now I have to pack up everything I own and adjust to returned missionary life. That is just not fair. It's a good thing that everything that is not fair in this life will be made right through Christ's Atonement.

Well, this past week has been really eventful! Here's what happened:

Monday: We actually kept our P-day schedule, meaning that we started our laundry at 10 instead of during our studies. And crazy things happened! Our apartment is clean, our clothes were folded before 6, we got to have fun with some other sisters, go shopping, and start proselyting at 6. Miracle! Also, 3 people came up and talked to us about the gospel, which is great! I didn't even have to go outside my comfort zone to share the gospel. Nothing really exciting happened because I was sick, but we did meet a few new people and have another lesson. And then we went on exchanges. :)

Tuesday: Well, Sister Torman came with me to our area for this exchange. It was really fun. We worked with less-actives pretty much all day. We even tracted for 5 hours, and nobody except members opened the door. Great fun. Not. We did have some fun sorting legos and building shelves at our service at the museum, though. Something I learned from Sister Torman was how to have a sense of urgency. Even if all your plans fall through and nobody answers the door for 5 hours, it's time and effort that you gave to the Lord, and He will bless you for it. :)

Wednesday: This day was a little better. (Also, it was Hermana Ayala's birthday, so Feliz Cumpleanos, hermanita!) We had a great district council where we got to roleplay teaching simply. It was great fun, except I was companions with an elder. Can you say awkward? Anyway, we taught the Restoration toward the commitment of baptism, which started with Joseph Smith and how he wanted to know which church to unite himself to. We unite ourselves to churches through baptism. That was a new way for me to introduce baptism into the Restoration, so I learned a ton. Then we had to change our oil and rotate our tires, but we talked to about 3 new people while we did that. We also saw a huge miracle! I've been trying by one former investigator in particular, E, since my first week here. I went by her last summer when I worked with Hermana Marble on transfer day once. And since I've been here in Wenatchee, I've tried by her a couple hundred times probably. So, we decided why not? Let's try her one more time. We went by, we knocked, and she opened the door. She's been in the hospital in Spokane for the past couple of months, and her husband was too scared to answer the door. Anyway, she was busy, but we set up a return appointment for the next day. Stay tuned for more on E. We also met the non-member brother of a less-active who agreed to be baptized. Too bad he doesn't live in our area. ALSO, LANDMARK!!! I bought tamales from a lady who was selling tamales on the street. They we soooooooo good. No regrets.

Thursday: E actually kept her return appointment! Miracle right there. We had an awesome first lesson with her and she is so excited to come to church and read the Book of Mormon again. WE ate dinner with our ward mission leader and then tried by a less active. We just found out where this less active lives, and so we decided to visit her around 6. We get there, we knock on the door, we ring the doorbell, and the returning less-active mother that we met on the street a couple weeks ago came out, told us there were a few problems, and told us to run away and hide. So, we ran away to a member's house who lived just down the street, they hid us as we jumped in our car, and then we skedaddled. Probably the scariest moment of my mission. Anyway, we talked to another guy on the street about God and science, which was actually a really fun conversation. And that's about it.

Friday: We had an awesome lesson with a less active family and our ward mission leader. It was so good! And then we had interviews. Well, everyone else had interviews. President Lewis decided to wait to do mine for my departing interview. But, I did get to talk with Sister Lewis who totally called me to repentance on journal writing. Did you know that it is a commandment from the Lord to keep records? Those records being our journals? And did you know that we progress more when we keep a record of our life than when we don't? Food for thought. We kind of weekly planned, had dinner with some investigators, and met 5 new people and had 3 other lessons. Pretty fun stuff.

Saturday: Well, we had our studies and did the funnest service ever. We were maids for a Downton Abbey themed tea party. We did not partake of the tea, we just served food and stuff. And OYMed like 20 people. The museum director now wants to talk to us every time we come over about religion because he's searching for the truth. Good things came, I promise. We spent the rest of our day talking to people and then we got to go to stake conference. With Elder Christofferson and Elder Schmutz (of the 70). Can I just say, Elder Christofferson is hilarious? At the beginning of his talk he read a sign posted on the podium that said: "Speak clearly. Take pauses. You are being translated." *Paused to look up at heaven* And then he said: "I can't wait!". I about died, I was laughing so hard. Anyway, it was an awesome conference where I learned that not even bullets can penetrate 2nd Nephi and that the temple is our safe haven.

Sunday: Well, we woke up at the break of dawn to go to a Spanish session of stake conference. (Did you know that Elder Christofferson is fluent in Spanish? And his accent is perfect? Only slightly jealous.) They talked a lot about making sure to pay your tithing and give what the Lord deserves to Him. Then, the Sunday morning session called me to repentance about my scripture study. I get that I need to study the scriptures now. Like, there are no excuses. That is the only way we can progress and learn God's plan for us! Anyway, cool story: A former investigator that I found in Chelan who got baptized after I left CAME TO STAKE CONFERENCE!!!!!! It was the investigator that I gave a bag of pretzels to. We'll see if anyone knows who I'm talking about. ;) Anyway, I also got to see pretty much all the members from Chelan as well, so that was fun. We tried by some referrals, but we saw a lady standing outside watering her plants, so we decided to talk to her. Her name is Rose and she asked us to come in. We had a great first lesson with her where we got to explain the Godhead. I think she got it the third time. It was just a good time to focus on teaching simply and make sure they understand what we're teaching. Our next lesson with her is on Tuesday. Miracles all over the place!

Well, I think that's about it for this week. Life continues for the next week, and after that this time of my life is over. I don't want to go. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what the Lord will have me do. I'll do that. See y'all soon!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Leavenworth. 


​Queen of Hearts and Jack Sparrow

​I'll build you a rainbow

The ridiculous hat store.



Washington

​Elder Call and I

​Elder Shuggart and I

​My MTC peeps! Hermana Streuling, Elder Wilson, and Elder Call

​May the 4th be with you! I give you Anakin Skywalker with his yellow back-scratcher and Hermana Leia with her deadly inhaler!

The Elders covered our car in sticky notes.

​Elder Turley, Elder Wilson, and I

I'll send the rest next week. Self-explanatory.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Mother's Day and Testimonies

Hola a todos!

This week was exciting but not at the same time... Anyway...here's what happened this week!

Monday: Well, we went up to Leavenworth for our P-Day. It was beautiful, but the best part was when we went to the chocolate store. Yes. Sweet, hand-crafted, German chocolates. And we met this guy, Nate. Our conversation started with "have you seen Vikings?" "No, but I'd like to." "Well, why haven't you seen it?" "Well, I'm a missionary." Oh. We bought the chocolates and left to buy some gingerbread. Then we saw him walking and asked him to direct us to the fudge shop. (We really wanted sugar, ok? Don't judge.) Then, he took us on a whole tour of Leavenworth, asked us what our purpose was as missionaries, and accepted a Book of Mormon. We also met with a part-member, less-active family and had an awesome lesson! The less active son said the closing prayer! Miracle!

Tuesday: Well, we attended our Mission Leadership Council in Yakima. Hermana Dee and I wore the same skirt, so that was pretty cool. We talked a lot about becoming recognizable disciples of Jesus Christ through our conduct, our language, and our appearance. I learned a lot, especially about how I do my hair. So, we'll be working on that this week. :) We also talked about changing the culture of P-Day from being a day off to being a day of preparation. It started today, and we've already seen so many miracles from being more exactly obedient!

Wednesday: Our car was in the shop, so a member drove us up to Chelan for a meeting, we had a good meeting, then a different member drove us back. Then, we walked and talked. Members were nice and gave us rides, we met a Buddhist, and then a member took us out to see her injured nephew. And then stayed with us for the rest of the night and drove us around everywhere. It was so much fun! She's so awesome!

Thursday: Meetings. We got our car back, and we went to the Food Fair as part of the Apple Blossom Festival. Members paid for our food, and we got to talk to some pretty cool people! Oh, and Hermana Harston got some gluten free crepes. :)

Friday: We drove up to Chelan to meet up with the Manson sisters to drive another hour up to Omak to their Zone Training Meeting where I learned once again that my hair has to be done well if I want to be a recognizable disciple of Jesus Christ. Then, we came home, did some weekly planning, went to a classic car show where we saw some of our investigators, and then saw a less active family and taught them the plan of salvation. They are taking it step by step to come back to church, but they'll get there!

Saturday: We had an awesome Zone Training Meeting where I got to give my departing testimony. :( And then the zone had a party just for me. A birthday party and a funeral party. Gifts included. I got the dating and eternal marriage edition of the New Era, a pair or ripped Elder's pants, and let's not forget the ice cream cake shoved in my face. Oh well. And then, remember the guy from last week, One? So, he's in California right now. So, we texted him and he actually responded. And then we called him, and we just followed up with his reading and his praying, and then he kept the conversation going for about 20 more minutes! So, we just taught him a lesson and prayed over the phone. He was so happy we found him, and he's already seeing his life change from the gospel! Anyway, it was super awesome.

Sunday: Happy Mother's Day! Well, the most exciting thing was teaching Relief Society about prophets and apostles because Elder Christofferson is coming this week. Oh, and we had steak and salmon for dinner. And it was delicious. I also got to practice the piano for an hour while Hermana Harston talked to her family, so that was fun. :)

So, I have shared my testimony a lot this week and I always take for granted the testimonies that we do share. They can have a huge impact on other people, more than we can see. Something I love about testimonies is how different they are each time you share them. The first time I shared my testimony this week, I talked about charity and how I have grown in the pure love of Christ on my mission. The second time, I shared my testimony about seasons and how there's different times for everything. The third time, I shared my testimony of the Doctrine of Christ. Ultimately, those are the basics of what I have learned on my mission, and it's been amazing.

Anyway, I love each of you and I hope you have a miraculous week! Give your mothers a kiss for Mother's Day!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Monday, May 2, 2016

"Weird" week

Hola Presidente!

Well, it's been a weird week, and I think I tell you that every week is a weird week, but this time it really was. I promise. Anyway, here's what happened this week!

Monday:

See? I told you this week was a weird week. On Monday, we had a great P-Day, ate dinner with some members, saw a couple potentials, and talked to 3 new people. That was about it.

Tuesday:

We went on exchanges!!!! I was with Hermana Dungan in my area. We saw so many miracles and worked super hard. At the end of the day, we had done 2 hours of service, taught 6 lessons, found 2 new investigators, and contacted 1 referral. It was a super awesome day. Some new phrases I learned "hueso de la alegria" is the funny bone, and "cascara de platano" is banana peel. Anyway. Nothing too exciting to report, just that we found a random less-active walking up the street and she turned to run away because she thought we were the Jehovah's witnesses and then she saw our nametags and came running up to us to give us hugs, tell her where she lived, give us her number, and promise she'd come to church on Sunday. So yeah. Pretty cool.

Wednesday:

​We had a great district council and enjoyed being out in the rain with all the spring roses! We met a ton of new people, 6 in fact. And we had 6 other lessons. Coincidence? Definitely not. That's right. We had a lesson with every person we talked to. Anyway, for the out of the shell moment of the day we were brave and talked to a guy sitting in a corner in the apartment complex we were in. We thought he was doing drugs or smoking or something. He was just on his phone. Anyway. We met him and he had a ton of questions. We taught him the Restoration and set up a return appointment for Thursday. His name is One. More to come on One.

Thursday:

Well, we were smart and decided that it would be a good day to walk. Bad idea. It was so windy! Thank goodness I wore a long skirt. Anyway, we got to see another less active whose 9 year old nonmember niece was there. It was awesome. Anyway, so you remember One? HE WAS THERE. They're never there when we set up return appointments. Anyway, we had a really good review of the Restoration with him and we set up another return appointment. We also saw our recent convert, S, and talked to him about faith. We also went to Olive Garden for dinner because some members gave us a gift card. And then another member from our ward just happened to work there and pay for our dinner. Yeah. Members are the best. :)

Friday:

​Wenatchee is so beautiful and green!!!! I love it. Anyway, we finished our weekly planning, saw a less active part member family, met another less active who told us where his mother lives (please not, I've been searching for her for the past 6 months.), and met a couple new people. It was great! One of the new people we met was the son of one of our members. He just recently got out of prison and is looking for God. He said he'd come to church, so that's cool.

Saturday:

Well, one of our investigators had baby kittens. And they offered one of them to me. Can I please have it, Mommy?? It's so cute!!! Anyway, we met a few new people, sweated our faces off, ate 4 dinners, and sang at a baptism. It was pretty great.

Sunday:

This is my companion. She has a licorice mustache. Anyway, we went to church and I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting. It was my last fast Sunday as a missionary, you see, so it was quite sad. But, after church, we walked and talked to a few new people and then we saw One again with a member, and at the end he said the prayer. He's going on a trip to California this week, and he might be gone for a couple 3 weeks. But, during the prayer he said "I hope that I can come back soon and talk more with the hermanas. I really like what I'm learning. I feel tranquility. I feel peace." During that lesson, he had told us that he hadn't felt peace in a really long time, so we taught him about the Spirit, and he started to recognize it RIGHT THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway. Rant over.

​Well, this week I have a stronger testimony of charity. Charity should always be our motive. I know that we need to have charity for others, but especially for the Lord. When we feel that pure love of Christ for the Lord, it is easier for us to forget ourselves and go to work. It's easy to submit ourselves to His will. It's easy to humble ourselves. It's easier to be patient, obedient, diligent, virtuous, hopeful, and faithful. We gain small treasures of knowledge. Charity never faileth, and without it we are nothing. Do you really want to be nothing? That's a question I've been pondering for a while, and I think I finally came up with the answer "Heck no!". So here I am trying to be more charitable. It should get better from here. I want you all to know that I know the church is true. The Book of Mormon is so simple and teaches us the great truths about charity. If you don't believe me, read Moroni 7. I know that God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us more than we can comprehend. I know Jesus Christ is our perfect example of charity, and if we follow Him, we'll find a new life where we focus more on others and not on ourselves, and I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Well, I think that's about it for this week, y'all! Hope you have a miraculous week!

Hermana Kennedy