A shortcut to the mushrooms

The mushrooms

WELL. This week was super eventful! Here's the run-down:

Monday: P-day. Hermana Blackmer packed. We saw Michael one last time. We lost him in our area split. But, he committed himself to be baptized on October 3rd, so it was worth it! And then we went to say goodbye to our branch president and his family, and pretty much the entire branch was over, so we said goodbye to everyone, took some pictures, ate some cake, and went home to do what we do best: sleep.

Tuesday: Did some service at the food bank. Hermana Blackmer said goodbye to Gray, and we took some pictures. Then, we had the awesome experience to take a new missionary out for about an hour to experience mission life! We picked up Sister Christensen, and we went tracting. Surprisingly, everyone was SUPER nice and we even found a pretty solid potential that wanted to start testing the waters of other religions. It was pretty cool. We had a dinner break that consisted of sitting in our car eating hi-chews until we saw a part-member family. His divorce should be finalized within the next month or two so that they can get married and he can get baptized! He's so excited! Then, we saw Amigo for the last time. :( I'm so sad to leave him, but I guess I'll see him at church and everything. After, we saw a recent convert/ less active family that fed us cheesecake and gave us balloons. And a lot of shoes. They're so awesome. I LOVE the members here in Yakima. Then we went home and packed some more.

Wednesday: Well, I said goodbye to Hermana Blackmer. But, I got to say hello to Hermana Brighton! We went to the transfer meeting, took her stuff back to our apartment, did some service at the food bank, went food shopping at Wal-Mart, and then went to the part-member family's house for dinner. They fed us chile reyenos. They were SUPER hot, but delicious. :) Hermana Brighton and I survived. Then we saw Gray and we started teaching her husband, Jeshua! We've been trying to teach him this entire past transfer! #miracles And then we saw a less-active family that had a part-member family recently move in with them! We stopped by and taught the plan of salvation, and we're going to start teaching them now! All the transfer miracles.

Thursday: Hermana Brighton unpacked, I wrote in my journal, we did some orientation for our new area, and then we went and did some service at the Salvation Army. I love the people there. They are so amazing. After that, we walked, knocked, and OYMed people. Had some lessons with them about miracles and whatnot. We had dinner with some members who were kind enough to pick us up and drop us off at our appointment after dinner. We were dropped off in a trailer park and our set lesson canceled with us, so we walked, knocked, talked, saw some less-actives, and had some lessons. Because what else are walking missionaries going to do? Then, the members picked us up and took us home too. My legs really appreciate members now.

Friday: Weekly planning. It was super difficult. Most of the people we saw were in the other part of our area, so I had to do it all by myself with what I knew. I'm surprised it didn't take the entire day. We had pasta for dinner and we had the car, so we tried to contact some referrals, but we ended up helping people fix their cars... And then we saw a neighbor of some members that we met a couple weeks ago. They're a young couple and let us right in! We had an awesome first lesson with them, and they're preparing to be baptized on October 3rd! They're super cool. I'm excited to work with them.

Saturday: Well, we didn't have the car today. It was 90 degrees with no clouds in the sky. And we walked about 7 miles. Guess who's red? Yo. But it's ok. We talked to so many people and had so many lessons! We even found some new investigators, saw some of our other investigators, and got rides from members! One of our investigators lived at the Mexican Frat house. His name means "eagle" in Spanish, so that's what his name will be. He's an amazing guy! He's very polite and has some pretty cool vision in life. He's a very philosophical Mexican. Anyway, we had a 15 minute dinner before we had to leave for another appointment. We saw Gray and then some members stayed out with us from 7 to 8:30. They even drove us home! #mylegsaresodead

Sunday: Church. I tripped up the stairs on my way to the organ. It was pretty loud. Who's a clutz? Yo. We saw Eagle again and gave him a Book of Mormon. He's super excited to read it. Had some dinner. Pasta again. But with some salad and chicken and brownies because a member made it for us. We saw a less-active who just got back from Mexico and doesn't want to come to church. Awkward... And then we saw the couple we met on Friday, gave them a Book of Mormon, and had a lesson with the family next door since they didn't come to church. They had a good excuse. A good family friend was in a pretty serious accident, so they were at the hospital. They're cool, though, and they're coming out with us this week!

As for the subject line, yesterday while eating dinner, Hermana Brighton and I heard some pretty funky noises outside. So, we went outside to find two little girls cutting up mushrooms on our air conditioner. I still have no idea why.

Brief description about Hermana Brighton: She is from Texas. She's the 3rd of 6 children. She's good at math and science. She's a pro in Spanish. She talks to EVERYONE. She is fearless. I love it. She's pretty funny and a seriously dedicated missionary. She just came from Royal City serving with HERMANA HALL! All the connections... She's also a cousin of a good friend of mine, Michelle Dart. Didn't know that.

Hope you have a miraculous week! Keep on keeping on!

Con carino,

Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Brighton y yo.

Don't be a wall

Whelp. This week was less than eventful. Something I learned: whenever somebody starts talking to you, don't be a wall. Respond. It's helpful. Other than that, nobody got baptized, so here's the brief run-down:

Monday: We found a Mexican Frat house. Always fun when you're two blonde, white girls who can barely speak Spanish. Needless to say, I talked to the guy who was interested in the gospel while Hermana Blackmer talked to the two guys who were interested in her. Am I that horrible of a companion? You betcha.

Tuesday: Did some service at the food bank. Hot peppers really don't agree with my skin. It's a good thing I had 3 layers of gloves... We walked and knocked and talked and helped some recent converts put together some beds. (Thanks Dad for teaching me how to read instructions.)

Wednesday: Did some more service at the food bank. Saw some investigators. Got some delicious pizza for dinner. Helped Amigo get a priesthood blessing. We found out that he has colon cancer and wants to stop smoking, so... And we saw another recent convert family that gave us some sketchy pears. But they were delicious, so totally worth it.

Thursday: Had a pretty awesome Zone Training Meeting. I'm so excited to work this next transfer! We're going to see so much success! Did some service at the Salvation Army. Walked and talked and saw some less-actives and formers. Pretty exciting.

Friday: Weekly planning. We had a lesson in Gray's car because it was chilly outside. That was the most eventful thing that happened.

Saturday: Did some service. Drove to Cowiche to knock. Drove to Tieton City to go to a panaderia that wasn't even that good. And talk to 1 person. Saw a less-active who's doing so awesome. Tried to see some other peeps, but ended up seeing Gray again. She fed us dinner and sent us home with a bunch of food. We're not that poor... Hermana Blackmer and I also tried menudo for the first time. Once you get past the slimy intestine part, it's not that bad. Unless you put too much lime in it. Then it's just bad. We also got transfer calls. I'm staying here in Yakima, receiving Hermana Brighton. But, my area is being split in half, and I'm losing Amigo. :( Hermana Blackmer is being transfered to.... wait for it.... MOSES LAKE! Serving with... wait for it.... HERMANA STREULING! I think I was happier than she was when we got the call...

Sunday: Church. I was brave enough to play the organ last week, so I played the organ again this week. Until the last hymn. Then, the organ decided to break and I had to run to the other side of the stand to play the piano for the closing hymn. Only to Hermana Kennedy. Other than that, we saw some investigators and other peeps and then we went home to start Hermana Blackmer packing. :)

That's pretty much my week! Hopefully y'all had a great, miraculous week. I know I did!

Paz afuera!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Thou Heifer

Hermana Blackmer y yo

WELL. This week happened. Here's your weekly day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: Had some P-day stuff going on. Taught our investigator, Michael, who is now on date to be baptized! He does have a problem with tithing, though. Oh well. He'll get over it. Then, we went to talk to our investigator who was supposed to get baptized last Saturday, Gray, but she wasn't home, so we had a lesson with her Jehovah's Witness mother-in-law instead! It actually went really well.

Tuesday: Had zone conference. (More on that later.) We taught an investigator, Jess, the plan of salvation. She loved it, and we found out she's a cosmetologist, so haircuts are totally in our realm of possibility with her. We had dinner with a member and ended up talking to her neighbor afterwards because her neighbor had 4 cats and one was pregnant. I gave in. But it was worth it. We got a return appointment and everything! We saw our other on date, Amigo with a less-active, and he's doing awesome. He committed to baptism and to stop smoking. Kudos to him. And then we saw Gray and taught her about tithing. She's nervous to be baptized, but totally down.

Wednesday: Went tracting. Met a really nice white guy and found some awesome potentials. Did some service at the food bank. Went knocking some more and found some more awesome potentials. Had dinner with a member, and I MADE MY VERY FIRST TORTILLA! LIKE A REAL LATINO! Soy Mexicana! It was a very exciting time in my life. They celebrated by eating my tortillas for me. :) They're so thoughtful like that. :) Then we saw Gray and went over tithing/ priesthood because she wanted Hermana Blackmer and I to baptize her... #comosediceawkward? But she's super awesome and ready to be baptized.

Thursday: We did four hours of service for the firefighters up in Okanogon and the Salvation Army. We ate dinner. And then we waited for 3 hours in the church while Gray was supposed to have her baptismal interview. (She showed up an hour and a half late...) I ended up practicing the piano and organ, and Gray passed her baptismal interview! She just needs to keep the law of chastity now... We're still working on that. Funny story: She brought her 4 year old with her, and he was playing inside with his mom during her interview. He came outside, and we didn't know what to do, so we took him to the nursery and had to leave him because we can't be alone with children... He peeked his head out a couple minutes later and said: "Hey. I peed my pants man." Hermana Blackmer, Elder Woodward, and I looked at each other with horrified glances and ended up finding an old, big jacket from the lost and found that he could wear instead. Awkward...

Friday: Weekly planning. We got to go to the mission home for the first time. We had a great talk with President and Sister Lewis. A member bought us Arby's for dinner. (I miss curly fries.) And then we talked to Michael about faith. He asked us about extraterrestrials, so that was fun answering in Spanish. #giftoftongues And then we saw Gray and went over the 10 Commandments.

Saturday: Did some service out in the wind. I pulled a few Marilyn Monroes. Luckily, I was wearing tights. I also slid into a gravel driveway like a baseball player does to home base while chasing after runaway trash bags. The things I do for people. We saw some potentials, got lost driving to Cowiche to contact a referral, bought ourselves a pizza for getting un-lost, and invited everyone to come to a baptism! Nobody came. Oh well. Next week.

Sunday: I realized that I had to give a 20 minute talk in church during personal study, so I wrote that during personal and language study. Then, we went to church and 5 of our investigators showed up. It was a miracle. Michael, Amigo, and Gray all came along with a new investigator and a part member family. I gave my 20 minute talk perfectly in Spanish, butchered playing the organ in sacrament meeting for the first time, and rewarded myself with a Chewy bar because I didn't get breakfast or lunch. We went around contacting referrals and asking people if we could help them until it was time for dinner. We got kicked out of dinner by the elders because we were in their area, and we can't eat dinner together, and we went to see Amigo. He loved church and we had an awesome lesson with him. He's going to try to be a better example to others this week.

As for zone conference: President Packer's son, Elder Packer, presided at our zone conference. Was I ripped in to? You better believe it! I loved it! He focused on doing the little things to keep the Spirit with us, so I invite all of you to look for the little things to keep the Spirit with you. Something awkward: The assistants asked us to roleplay in companionships, so we did. Then, after we roleplayed they said, "Now we're going to have a demonstration." Guess who they called? Hermana Blackmer. I was a luck added bonus. It was terrifying roleplaying teaching skills in front of an apostle, but it all worked out in the end.

As for the subject line, Hermana Blackmer and I have random conversations. She asked me to pretend to be a guy and then she asked me how old I was. I replied: "Thou heifer! Asking a man his age is like asking a woman her weight. You don't do that, you imbecile!" We died laughing. We say it to everyone to argues with us now. (Not to their face, of course. It's just added in the car.)

Well. Hope you had a miraculous week! Paz afuera!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

This Sprite can describes my life.

My late welcome to Yakima.

I had 9 months. (I probably look bigger than Rebecca).

And the delivery. The gigantic delicious watermelon from the food bank.

Us with President Lewis.

Me with Sister Lewis.

Hermana Blackmer y yo in our favorite room in the mission home. (It has a window seat..)

Halfway there!

Hola a todos!

This week was super eventful as I hit my 9 month mark out in the mission field. YIKES! I have officially reached middle age mission-life. I don't know if I can handle all the hot and cold flashes I have ahead of me!

Anyways, in missionary news, here's what happened this week:

Monday: We saw one of our investigators who's kind of an eternigator and figured out his problem! Yay! Then we met with Presidente (of la rama) and a part member family for some pozole and a scriptural thought. Presidente made the best faces, and it was there that I found out he could be funny.

Tuesday: We had a great district council about LOVE. I thought I was pretty loving. Guess I need to repent and be better. We also went tracting and talked to some awesome white people who referred us to one of our new investigators! Man, I love it when people give us referrals while tracting. It's the best. Then, we taught our on date for baptism (SATURDAY!) the word of wisdom. She has no problems. It made us two very happy missionaries. Then we saw a different investigator who asked us about the apostasy and baptism. He seems super interested, so I'll enjoy teaching him.

Wednesday: We got our oil changed, did some service at the food bank, got a huge watermelon (I'll send a picture of it next week.), and went to Les Schwab to get our tires rotated. 2 hours later we found out they couldn't rotate our tires because the tread was 2/32... It was bad. We saw a less-active who's seriously like my grandma. I love her and shared an awesome scripture with her. Then, we had a super late dinner with a member. As we were eating dessert, two random guys came to fix her lawnmower, so we had a lesson with them. Hermana Blackmer and I still can't decide if they were flirting with us or sincerely interested. Yeah... Awkward... We're completely oblivious, we know. Probably not the best combination.

Thursday: Got new tires. That was fun. The car moves much better now. Did some service at the Salvation Army. We were the regular worker's salvation because nobody else came that day. That was fun. We had an awesome dinner with a recent convert who's going to teach us how to cook like Mexicans and speak Mixteco. Then we saw another investigator, shared some funny stories and the plan of salvation, and foolishly promised him chocolate if he came to church on Sunday. (He didn't come, so guess who gets to eat the chocolate!)

Friday: Some great miracles and weekly planning. We put our investigator that we saw on Monday on date to be baptized on September 12th! He's excited and so are we. Then we saw our investigator who's getting baptized this week and got her a priesthood blessing. We prayed that she'd come home before the elders got there, and the elder's car broke down... They blame us. We accept it. Her priesthood blessing was super powerful and she's really excited to be baptized now! We're so excited for her. She bawled for a good 20 minutes. :) The Spirit was SOOOO STRONG!

Saturday: We did some service. I got attacked by spiders. I have the wounds on my ankles to prove it. We saw some investigators and less actives and had dinner with the Sister Training Leaders. They were very grateful for the ride in our car because they're walking missionaries and Yakima is on fire, so the air here isn't that great. It was a great day.

Sunday: Church was awesome. Hermana Blackmer locked her Spanish scriptures in the church, but we were able to teach without them. We saw a less-active family in a miracle stop by. The oldest boy turns 12 today, and he comes to church regularly, so he's so excited to receive the priesthood! We bought him a purple tie for the occasion. It was a miracle.

And that was our week. It's been awesome. And this week will be even more awesome! We have zone conference tomorrow and Elder Packer from the Quorum of the 70 will be speaking to us. It should be a great call to repentance! I'll send my pregnancy pictures next week! Love you! Have a miraculous week!

Con carino,

Hermana Kennedy

Pray for my Weight Problems!

Hermana Blackmer y yo.

Well, this week was awesome. Here's the breakdown:

Monday: Well, we saw an awesome less active family and watched the Restoration with them. They loved it and have such a strong testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restoration! They also have a peach tree, so they gave us a ton of peaches. Yum. :)

Tuesday: It was kind of a slow day. We walked around our area knocking for about two hours. When we were done, we walked back to our car (which was parked at the mission office), walked inside the mission office, and grabbed some water. We talked to the office missionaries for a little bit, and they gave us some thank you cards. Then, as we were about to leave, a random guy came in and started talking to us. He wanted to know the process of missionary work, etc..., so we told him. And then he kind of started mocking our beliefs. The office missionaries were super good at confounding him in his own words, though. At the end of our lesson, he took a Restoration pamphlet and asked if he could pray. We said sure. And he prayed. In his prayer, he asked the Lord to help all those that were sick or had issues. He specifically mentioned Hermana Blackmer and I and asked that the Lord would help us with our depression, our thyroid problems, and our weight problems. One of the office missionaries mouthed to me: "Did he just call you two fat?" I died. So please, pray for my weight problems. (I'm actually losing weight, so I don't know what problems I have...) And then later that night, we enjoyed a nice Mexican dinner with fried chicken, tortillas, and rice with a recent convert family that just gets me so pumped for missionary work. It was great.

Wednesday: We had a wonderful zone training meeting where I got to reunite with Hermana Taua! She loves her new area and I love mine, so that's cool. Later on that night, our appointments in a certain trailer park fell through, so we walked around picking up trash. We started a trend. The little kids outside started picking up trash too. When we went back on Saturday, it was perfectly clean. And then we saw one of our on dates for baptism, and found out that he smoked, so we're going to have to push his date back. But, he really wants to be baptized, so all is well.

Thursday: We went on exchanges! I got to leave my area (for the 4th transfer in a row...) and go to the Sister Training Leader's area with.... (wait for it...) HERMANA CAIN! Cain and Kennedy killed it. We walked for a long time. I got sunburnt and I HAVE A FOOT TAN! (All the other missionaries have feet tans and I'm just the white girl with nothing. Now my foot is two different shades of white! It's so exciting!) We met so many people and so many miracles happened! I love exchanges.

Friday: Weekly planning. Plus, dinner with a part member family. He's totally converted, they're just waiting for her divorce so that they can get married. Legal processes. We got some pears and cucumbers out of it though. Yum. Nothing quite like fresh Yakima fruit/ vegetables. We also made a cake for/ gave it to one of our on dates for baptism. It was her birthday, and her family didn't get her a cake, so we did. She loved it, and she's doing everything she can to be baptized on August 29th. I'm so excited for her!

Saturday: We had some awesome district service and had a lot of miracle lessons. Walking and talking to everyone really works, surprisingly. People are actually outside during the day in Yakima. They're inside at night, though, because our part of Yakima is super sketch. And it's the least sketchy part of Yakima too. But, we had a lot of miracle lessons and we got a couple new investigators out of it too! It was a good day.

Sunday: Church was awesome. Only one of our investigators came... And we saw a guy that Hermana Blackmer and Hermana Johnson contacted on exchanges. He's super interested and wants to be baptized. The only problem I have with serving in a language I don't know, though, is that I never know when people are interested in me or in our message. I'm oblivious either way, I guess, so... Anyway. It was a great night, and we met most of our goals for this week, so this week should be awesome!


That's pretty much it. Keep praying for those weight problems, though! Have a miraculous week!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Hermana Cain y yo

My foot tan. Enjoy.

Hermana Blackmer y yo.

Sunburns and Service

Hola!

Wow! This week was crazy busy! Here's the brief rundown:

Monday: We had three awesome lessons. One with an investigator. We taught the Law of Chastity. He committed to live it. One with a less-active family. We watched the Restoration, and they committed to be awesome missionaries. One with a part-member family about gaining testimonies. It went super well, and the non-member spouse really wants to get baptized! They're just waiting for a divorce from the wife's previous husband so that they can get married. :) For cute.

Tuesday: Did some service at the food bank. I can now spot a bad green pepper from a mile away. We walked. A LOT. No complaints. I got sunburnt. We got to talk to a lot of seriously cool people. We also saw a less-active family, a single mom with 7 kids. She is my hero. One of our on-dates had a breakdown session with us. She has had a lot of problems/ drama since she accepted a date to be baptized. Seriously. If you know Mexican drama, times that by 10 and you get her drama. Ugh. But she's still going strong! She's trying to separate from her boyfriend while finding a job and taking care of her 3 kids. She is Superwoman. Then we saw a recent convert family that's preparing to go to the temple! They're the best! The love the gospel so much! They make me excited to find more people like them!

Wednesday: We had an awesome district council. Which the President and his wife attended. it threw us all for a little loop. But, it was amazing. After, we did some service at the food bank. I now know the code for corn. And peas. And then we went to see some people, but all our appointments fell through, so we walked and found this lady that was washing her car. We asked if we could help, and she said yes! NOBODY EVER LETS US SERVE THEM! So, we took off our shoes and washed that car like there was no tomorrow! Sure she was English. Sure she's agnostic. And sure we got soaked and sunburnt. But that one hour of service was worth it. Always find ways to serve others! Mosiah 2:17. Then we ran to the mission office (because we parked there) and told the senior couples our miracles, and one of the couples found out that we didn't have dinner, so they invited us over for dinner! We quickly saw a less-active that is super sick and we had an awesome dinner with them. Then we spent the rest of the night getting lost. It was kind of fun.

Thursday: Did some service at the Salvation Army. We're tight with the ladies there now. We saw a less active family that wants to come back to church and then we saw a new member that just moved in. She's from Utah. Her husband is Peruvian and she's learning Spanish, so they go to the Spanish branch here. She's super awesome, and we can't wait to get to know her.

Friday: Weekly planning. I also found out where President and Sister Lewis live. Now we can creep on them all we want. We had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators. She loved 3 Nephi 11, but she's super busy as a single, working mom, so... Then we had dinner with one of the Spanish members. I never knew fried chicken and tortillas could go together, but they can! We went to try a less-active family, but they weren't home. As we were going to leave, their neighbor started talking to us, so we talked to her, taught the Restoration, and she seems to be really interested! But, we had to refer her to the English elders. :( And then we went home and finished planning.

Saturday: We walked for a while. Met some cool people. Found a guy that wanted to pray with us after we talked to him about the Book of Mormon. Found and gave water to three super skinny adorable kittens. Got sunburnt. And then, we had an awesome lesson with this guy and his wife. They are so ready for the gospel! They are thirsting for it. They couldn't wait to start reading the Book of Mormon! And then we found out they were in the elder's area.  Oh well. We saw another investigator who has super bad arthritis in her knees and she loves the church. She totally believes in priesthood power, and she asked some members for a blessing. They gave her one on Sunday. We had dinner at Panda Express, because I wanted Chinese. And why not? There's one in Yakima, so... Then we saw the on date with the drama. We had a great time with her, and she is working so hard towards baptism! I can't wait to see the miracles she's going to experience.

Sunday: Church. Dinner. Surprise fireside that (guess what) the full-time missionaries had to sing at. It was an amazing fireside, though, so no complaints here! Except that President Lewis wants us to go Christmas caroling now... That's actually not a bad idea. I'm down.

And that was the (simplified?) version of my week! Hope yours was miraculous! Love you!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy

Todo es nuevo!

Hermana Kennedy and Blackmer

Hola!

Well. This past week was crazy. I left Chelan and now I'm in Yakima! Here's the breakdown:

Monday: Said goodbye to everyone in Chelan. :(
Tuesday: Cried because I had to pack and leave Chelan. :(
Wednesday: I left Chelan. :( But, I came to Yakima and met Hermana Blackmer! And I saw Hermana Taua, who is also serving in the Yakima area. We did some work, and we saw one of our investigators who is on date, Che. Che is a friend of a less-active, and he loves the church! We taught him the plan of salvation, and he reminded us of his baptismal date! He's so amazing!
Thursday: We saw a progressing investigator, taught her the law of chastity, and she is on date to be baptized for August 29th! Her aunt is a member, and she wants to be baptized before her aunt leaves for Mexico at the end of August. Super awesome experience.
Friday: Did some weekly planning and saw a cute less-active family that's totally reactivated! The son even wants to serve a mission! In Spain! Yay!
Saturday: Did some tracting, had a branch activity, heated up some tortillas like the Latino ladies do it. Did some more weekly planning.
Sunday: CHURCH! So, here in Yakima, I'm serving solomente espanol! That means that everything is in espanol! Ward council was a blast. Although, I learned the word "chispas" which means "sparks". The branch here is totally going to become a ward. No question about it. We had an awesome day, and we went home and slept/ cleaned. Because who needs dirty dishes?

Anyway! I love Yakima. We have an apartment all to ourselves, and I get a bunk bed. :) Yay! The members are awesome, the people are awesome, and the mission office and mission home are in my new area. Yikes... President Lewis really wants to keep an eye on me I guess...

That's about it! Have a miraculous week!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kennedy