Quick Update

From letter posted May 4, 2016

WEE!

This last week was all over the place. We have been running around like maniacs trying to get everything together in our area so that we can get out and start working really well with the zone. We have found a lot of success. We have a family of five that will possibly get baptized this month (we just need to help the dad get over some problems with the Word of Wisdom), and another family that is definitely going to get baptized next Saturday. On top of them we have a few other individuals that are progressing really really well that will also be making covenants very soon.

The zone is doing ok. We are having a few problems with a couple of sister missionaries that are less than enthusiastic about being here on a mission and finding out that work and obedience are naturally expected as a result, but they are doing ok. Things are looking up. We had a really good zone meeting yesterday to try and get everything up. We also have an activity planned for the zone if we can reach our goal of baptisms for this month (28 baptisms in six wards).

Elder Alegre Soto and I are doing really well. I remember when I met him for the first time when he was with Elder Ramirez in Independencia, and he has grown and changed a lot since then. I think I'm still the same dork that I was back then, so I am grateful to have a companion that will help me to keep growing and getting better. We have fun working together and we are going to have a lot of success.

Our work with the ward is going well. It is so nice to have a fully-functioning ward mission leader once again, and ours is really good. He is an ex-missionary, which is also really nice. Last Saturday we had an activity with the youth of the ward where we basically took them out contacting all morning, and found a few families that could progress nicely. The youth here are so strong! I am really excited to continue working with them.

That is about it for now. Have a wonderful week! :D

Love,

Elder Kennington

Three pics:

1. There are two dogs on the roof next to ours that always bark like crazy when we walk by.

2. This is the view from our house. If there wasn't so much smog you would be able to see the volcano and two of my old areas (Las Torres and Universidad).

3. My companion hanging up laundry.

Baptism on the Run, Welcome to Lerma

Letter originally posted May 4, 2016

The mission goes by way too quick. I just entered my second to last change, and can hardly believe it. Last change went by so quickly. Sheesh.

I got transferred to Lerma this change. Now the only zone that I haven't worked in in the whole mission is Lomas Verdes, out there in Naucalpan. I am also a zone leader now, and an intimidated one at that. The Zone currently has a lot of problems. Aaaaand I get to try and help fix everything. Woo!

My companion is Elder Alegre Soto. We worked together a couple of times when I was in my second change and he was in his first. We are going to work really well together. He is from Argentina, loves pasta, working, baptizing, and working with the zone. We are going to get along great. :)

Lerma is one of the three stakes here in the part of the State of Mexico that the mission contains. I have served in the other two (Toluca and Metepec). Lerma is really beautiful. Currently I live on a hill that overlooks the whole valley and the other two stakes, which is nice. There are two pit bulls on our roof that always bark at us. And the house is nice. It is probably my last area and my last house...

Next week I won't be writing you until Wednesday, because we have concilio with Presidente Whitehead and the other líderes de zona on Monday all day. It is always fun.

Hm. I got a haircut today. It looks nice.

OH. HUGE STORY from last night.

Elder Lara and I were with a member family saying goodbye for me and all of a sudden, at 8:30 at night, the sister missionaries from Atla (Hermana Drew and Hermana Soria) call me:

"ELDER WE HAVE A BAPTISM GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!!!"

And so we went with the members an hour over to their area to go talk with the investigator. She, Veronica, was going to get baptized but met up with some horrible opposition from her family (all of whom are members) and hadn't talked with the missionaries since. She is a single mom that lives with her family-in-law. We go, 9:30, talk with her. 10:00 we are in the chapel getting the baptismal font ready. 10:30 the font has about a foot and a half of water and we decide it will have to do for sake of time. 11:00 she and I are changed and we are having her sitting down in the water to just lay down she gets submerged completely. 11:30. After three tries she finally gets all the way under and we are changing. 12:00 a.m. I am home packing my bags to get here to Lerma today.

Gotta dash. Love you! :D:D:D:D

Elder Kennington

Hard Work and Working Hard

Letter originally posted April 18, 2016

Preguntas Mas Rapido

1. What is the mission policy regarding eating fresh fruit and veg? 

We can eat everything that isn't fish or sea food. Here there were lots of missionaries that got sick from eating fish, so we can't eat it unless it is approved by Presidente Whitehead. I miss salmon!! 

2. How much longer in this change? 

This is the last week of this change. I am both a little disappointed (there is still so much to do!) and a little relieved at the same time. :)

3. Weirdest people story of the week: 

Ummm.... We had a stake conference yesterday and the Sister Training Leaders in the zone brought this older investigator to church. And halfway through the conference he decided that he had received revelation from God and that he had to get married with one of them. So he proposed. Sigh. That cruel sister missionary told him no. ;) Haha. He took it well though. He is still going to get baptized one day. :)

4. Weirdest non-human story of the week: 

Saw a dog that had a really swollen foot. Like the size of three of my fists put together. That was gross. Or maybe when we saw another dog peeing on some of the images of the Virgin de Guadalupe in the street. .... There are lots of dogs here in México.

HI THERE!! :D
I cannot believe that we are on the last week of this change. It has flown by so quicky. It has been one of the more difficult changes of my mission, for many reasons, but also one of the most rewarding. I have learned so much and have so much to practice applying in the next two changes.

We found a couple new families yesterday that are really really good. One of them now has a baptismal date for the 22 of May, and we are working with the other. They live about three houses down from each other, so it will make bringing them to church and going with them for the sufficient time a lot more easy. :) I am so excited to start working with them! They are great. haha. Actually, it turns out that the 22nd of May is the birthday of the grandma of the first family, which made her that much more excited. They have received us so well.

We have been working so hard to try and find new people and still aren't seeing the fruits that we are hoping for. Finding these two families was a huge blessing and an answer to a lot of prayers and fasts. And, in the end, there is no replacement for good hard work. We worked like maniacs this week, talking with everyone we could, trying to find the people that the Lord has been preparing for us. I love this work, especially when we have time and opportunity to do just that: WORK. It is so satisfying. :) We are doing our very best to find people.

Our work with the ward is going ok. We still haven't received a new ward mission leader, so coordinating our work with the ward has been tough. But we are getting along as is. We are trying to have the young men come work with us as much as we can.

This change has been very very hard. There has been a lot to do for the sisters, in the zone, to take care of my companion and try and maintain a good relationship, work with my leaders, and keep trying to baptize every week and keep improving as a missionary. But it has been a good kind of hard. Missionary growing pains. :) And I want to keep working and growing until the end.

There has been a little bit of everything. I am grateful for all that has happened. I am also grateful for changes and the chance that I will now have to keep going and learning and growing and working. Mission is the best the ever! :D

Love,
Elder Kennington

District photos!

1. Happy and baptizing! :D
2. Serious, "We gonna kick butt" photo
3. Walking to an appointment in the city part of our area and 7:00. Gorgeous! :D

 

Preguntas Mas Rapido April 11, 2016

More Quick Questions from Mom...

1. How much do you communicate with Elder Siufanua, Elder Durrant, and Elder Thomas? 

Elder Thomas I write every week. Elder Siufanua, not much. Elder Durrant a little more. There just isn't time to write everyone that I want to... :)

2. How many missionaries are in your district now? 

 It is just us and the Sister missionaries, Sister Drew and Sister Soria. They officially took the elders out of Atlatlahuca.

3. Do you have enough money? 

Yeah, I guess. I have enough for emergencies. There are lots of times that I am walking in the street on P Days and I see things that would be perfect gifts for the family when I a couple months after the phonecall (squeeeeee!!!), and it would be nice to have a little bit of cash on hand sometimes for that. But honestly, I am fine! My clothes will all hold out the the end of my mission. I just found a brand-new pair of shoes just sitting there in the house, which have been a huge blessing. Don't worry. :) Partially because when I get home there is a decent amount of stuff that I might need a little help buying for at first. .... Like a laptop and other college stuff....... ?

4. What time of day are you writing these days? 

Usually about this hour. We print out the emails first thing in the morning and then come back later and write. :)

5. How often do you take those moto-taxis? What do they cost to use? 

Not too often. They just exist in the little tiny pueblos out in the middle of no-where. :) They are five pesos. (like 25 cents). They're a lot of fun. There are speed bumps EVERYWHERE here in Mexico, and sometimes the mototaxis forget that they´re speedbumps and get them confused with motorcycle jumps.... Haha. I love México. :)

A Visit to the Mexico City Temple

Letter originally posted April 11, 2016

More pics:

• Sister Alejandra (who helped us find Julieta and Ian) and us. 
• Do you remember Fidel, the older guy that I baptized in December? The one who had all those idols in his house? He went and did baptisms for the dead too! :D
• Another baptism photo.
• Julieta, Ian, y Alejandra
• Me and Elder Lara
• SIGO AL CRISTO!!! :D
• Us and Ian.  This temple is the one where his mom got sealed.
• Couldn't resist a sun-set photo.  That photography class that I took in 8th grade forever addicted me to taking pictures of the sky around 6:00 - 7:00 ........

And finally this gem also came through on April 11, 2016....(Elder Kennington and Mom exchanged many emails that day :D)

FRICK MOM IT IS REALLY HAPPENING IT IS REALLY HAPPENING IT IS REALLY HAPPENING I HAVE MY FLIGHT ITINERARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D D: O.o O.o O.o :):) :(:( :):) :P O.o O.O AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you send a copy to the stake president please (what is his name...? :P)

I bought so many flights for so many missionaries while I was in the offices. It is so strange being on the other end now... It's unreal. I am actually coming home. .... Can you believe it? :):) 

Oh. And Hermana Drew, who is in my district right now, says that you and her mom are friends on Facebook. I will be sitting with her for both of the flights on the way home. .... I was kind of hoping to sit next to a super chosen guy that was going to get baptized within two weeks of meeting us. :) Haha. :)

Summer After the Snow Melts

Letter originally sent April 11, 2016

Presidente,

This last week was, once again, all over the place.

I'll start with the baptism that we had yesterday! :D Ian just got baptized yesterday. The Spirit was so powerful in his baptismal service. His mom brought her sister and her niece to the baptism, and they aren't members. They are from San Mateo Atenco, so we will be passing that reference along right now. Ian was a little nervous about the whole water part of getting baptized, but he did a great job. SO grateful that we didn't have to re-do the ordinance. He is 13 years old, so within a couple of weeks he will have the priesthood and will be passing the sacrament. I now have a convert blessing the sacrament, a convert passing it, and another convert that is in charge of the door. :) Sweet! Haha.

We went to the temple on Saturday! We went with the ward and took Ian and his mom with us, and while all the members (including two of my converts!! :D) went inside to do baptisms for the dead and a couple sessions. They loved it! It really helped us finish getting Ian ready for his baptism yesterday. Only downside? We got there too late for the distribution center to be open. Bummer. I wanted to buy a hymnal for Myrna.

We are still struggling here. We now have about four months without a ward mission leader, and we have been in the "I'm going to interview him next week" stage for roughly two months. It is making working with the ward a little more complicated... But we are doing our best to make it work and keep things going. Las Torres is truly an incredible ward. I would really really really love to finish my mission here. It is also so nice to be able to see and help out Universidad a little too each Sunday (I was there three changes a year and a half ago). :)

Elder Lara and I are still struggling. We both come from cultures that are very different, and there are some things that we each do that really get on each other's nerves. :) I know for a fact that I annoy him quite a bit sometimes, and I really appreciate that he is always willing to give me another chance to be better. :)

I particularly loved the testimony that Ian's mom, Julieta, shared in the baptismal service. She got baptized about 30 years ago, and then sealed to an ex-missionary a year later. The ex-missionary wasn't the most stellar person, and she wound up going inactive about 25 years ago. In those 25 years she has seen several divorces, been kicked foreclosed many times, almost completely ignored by her family, and has just been though, in her words, "living Hell." When I asked her to share her testimony she didn't want to at all, but we got her convinced. :)

In her testimony she talked a bit about what had happened in her 25 year haitus from the church, and how it has been. She said that the time for forgiveness and change had come. At the end of her testimony, giving a beautiful consummation to these 25 years of unrelenting torment, she said, "My war has finished." The peace and the joy and the light that entered her person, especially her eyes as she said that was incredible. It was like watching all the snow melt and see summer come. The room filled so much with the Spirit that even the screaming little four-year-old girl ("I'M HUNGRY and I wanna go home NOW!!!!!!") sensed the change and calmed right now. I love being a missionary and being a part of rescue stories like this. I have come to understand so much better why the father felt so much joy when the prodigal son came home, where he belonged.

I know that this church is true. I know that the Lord loves us. His ministry on this earth was individual and personal with every lost and struggling sheep, and today it is no different with his chosen and set-apart servants. 

Hope you have a wonderful week y'all. :)

Love,
Elder Kennington

Preguntas Mas Rapido

Quick questions from March 21, 2016

1.  Introduce us to your new companion:

Elder Heriberto Lara:  He is from Juchitan, Oaxaca. He is 23 years old. His favorite activity before the mission was talk on the phone and surf Facebook. His favorite food is called tlayudas (like tacos/quesadillas on steroids). He has a couple years as a member, and has a few brothers and sisters that are members. He comes from a big family. Like 11 siblings. O.o He is right in the middle. Yup!

2. Any possibility he would know Jared Rasmussen? The Oaxaca mission was where he served. Hmm... It is possible. Ask him if he ever met Heriberto Lara.

3. How many missionaries are in your district now? What areas do they serve? 

We currently only have our area and the area of the Sisters, which is Atlatlahuca. They just took the Elders out of Atla, so it is just us two. :) Somos cuatro.

4. Do you want me to go ahead and register you for classes for fall semester? Any requests?

.... Yeah that'd be great. ... Is that really so close?? Question that I really want answered before I start throwing out ideas. What options are there???

5. How did you resolve the pigeons dropping unpleasantness on your drying laundry? 

Umm.... Elder Costello and I might have made a habit of sneaking up on top of our apartment building with broom handles to chase away and beat up all the pidgeons that roosted there..... They all migrated to the neighboring apartment buildings.... :) There are just a couple now that roost in a window on the other side of the building. Missionaries by day, pidgeon terrorizers by night... :)