Friday, June 12, 2015

A Much-Anticipated Baptism (P.S. He Wasn't Kidding About the Beetles)

Hola. Mi nombre es Inigo Montoya. Mataste a mi padre. Prepárate para morir.*

This week was incredible! I am having the time of my life here! First off, I had the opportunity to go back to Chamapa to baptize Maria Ines and Gabriel. It was a beautiful service. When I got there I just about got tackled and trampled by the entire ward. I was really excited to back, and they were a little enthusiastic at having a familiar visitor. :) I got to meet up with many of the members that I got very close to and say hello. It was wonderful. ... I leave a little piece of my heart in each area that I work. And I don't realize that I am missing it until I make a little trip back.

Owen with Maria Ines (white blouse), Gabriel (light blue tie) and Meredith (pink).  Owen's Chamapa companion Elder Gavilla is on the far right.
Seeing Maria Ines and her family was incredible. They have grown so much over the last month. They had a light that they didn't have before, and this was before their baptism! They were friends with everyone in the ward, and were bouncing up and down with excitement to tell me about what they had learned in their classes that day. I was overcome by the power of their testimony that had been ignited. When I had left them we were blowing life into mere embers and then placing the necessary tinder to begin the blaze. Now coming back a month later when the bonfire has had time to grow and strengthen it really was an incredible experience. I don't think they realize just how much they have grown or how far they have come.

And then the baptism. The Spirit was so powerful. Maria Ines asked me to do her baptism, and their daughter who had turned 8 a couple days previous asked me do to the same. Their daughter Meredith is adorable. I remember that she wouldn't go in to the Primary because she was so penosa when she came to church the first time. Nos cuestó dos semanas de trabajo y dulces para ganar su confianza. :) The whole ward came to the service to support them, which was wonderful. And then the bishops wife, who also runs the music for the ward, asked me to sing for the service at the end. She asked me to sing God Be With You Till We Meet Again. ... It was so rude... :):) Haha.

 Other than that not much else to report. We lost all power in our office yesterday for the majority of the day, giving us a great opportunity to get out and go preach and work with one of our progressing investigators. We were convinced a rat or chewed through the cables or something. They had no idea why it happened. I took my companion and we went looking for a few little charred bodies just in case. :)

 Hope that you all have a fantastic week! I love you!
 Ta-ta!
Elder Kennington

*Translation:  "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die!"  If you don't recognize the movie reference then your homework for this week is to go watch The Princess Bride.

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  Do you have any investigators right now?
A:  Yep. One of the really good ones is a couple. Maria Isabel and Jose Alfredo. They are a really attentive, but very very quiet. Painfully shy, the hermana is. :) The main thing impeding them from getting baptized right now is the fact that they are living together but aren't married. As soon as we get them married they will be able to go get baptized. :)

Q:  Has the plumbing issue been fixed in President Whitehead’s house yet?
A:  Sounds like it has at least been headed off, though the plumbing out there is still super jacked up.

Q:  Did you really eat live beetles or were you just pulling my leg? If you really did, how common is that? No, we really did! They were little tiny guys. Se llamen bichos. They look a little like this, except alive:


Q:  What kind of beetles were they? Where do people get them to eat?
A:  I don't know what kind they are. They buy them live at the market, as just a handful. Then they let them reproduce for about a week into thousands, which is finally enough to make a meal.

Q:  How is Elder Thompson’s leg?
A:  He is good. He has a couple really sweet marks that might scar, but he is walking without any problem. :)

Q:  How often does a new crop of missionaries arrive in your mission?
A:  Usually once every six weeks. Part of my job is getting everything ready for them on this end. These next few months we have a fair number coming in. We are getting a couple Brazilians and a Spaniard, which is very unusual. We are super excited!


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