A Ministry in Mexico: In Sauces (And Not As a Sous Chef)

Heya!

Wow. It feels so good to be back on the front line working full-time again. :) I missed it so much.

So. The first thing you need to know about my current area is that the ward here is incredible. Absolutely incredible. Very active in sharing the gospel! The bishop is doing an incredible job of leading and inspiring his members. The ward just divided itself about seven months ago (when I was in Universidad, actually), and is on track to do so again this following year. That is the goal, anyway.

The area is on the outskirts of Toluca, as opposed to being right in the center as I was about seven months ago. :) It is very strange here. We have a lot of middle class houses compacted right in center of the area, and then the surrounding area is pure farmland very reminiscent of Crescencio Morales. I personally prefer working out the the pueblos, but as most of the members live in the urban part we spend a lot of time out there.

The secret to this ward is working with the members, doing our all to inspire and uplift them. As I do so, I am coming to find that this is the first ward where I feel as if I am literally building the kingdom of God for now and the future, as opposed to just the present. I am very excited to see what my time here has in store!

When we started here we had absolutely nothing, so Elder Puca and I worked very hard to try and find at least one new good investigator. The Lord saw fit to meet our efforts with two really good families. One of them is a mom and a dad, with three teenage sons who all live out in the farmland. I find going out and visiting them very refreshing. It is so peaceful out there. The other family lives in the middle of the urban stuff; a mom and a 9 year old daughter. They are great, but the dad isn't interested at all. At least he is willing to let us in and teach. :)

Elder Puca is really good. He is from Argentina, with a very heavy accent. It took a lot of effort to try and understand what he was saying right off the bat. :) He is hardworking, and working hard to become even more so. :) I will learn a lot from him this change.

Still haven't heard any word on Jairo. I am worried sick about him. I can't help but wonder if this is one of the reasons the Lord had me come back out to Toluca; to be able to support his mom Italia (who is another absolutely incredible convert) through this through letters and the like.

As far as time permits, that is about all I have got! I hope that you have an incredible week. I love you all so much!!!

Elder Kennington

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q: Is the name of the part of Toluca you are in the name of the zone or the district?
A: The Part of Toluca, and the district. Sauces.

Q: Do you miss the office?
A: Yes and no. Do I miss the people and the amount of information about the mission and getting pouch instantly? Heck yes! Do I miss how much I could work in the field? NOT A BIT. :):)

Q: What is your new Toluca area like compared to Universidad?
A: It has an urban center that looks like Universidad, and then pure farmland outside of it.

Q: What did you mean when you said President was having you work in “Sauces” for a while? I don’t think he meant as a sous chef…
A: That I would be heading out there... Haha. To work as a missionary. Though I did get a side job as head chef. I hate my co worker though. The guy's a rat. :);) [for those who don't know, Owen is NOT knocking his companion! He is quoting the Disney movie Ratatouille]

Q: Tell us more about Elder Puca. How long has he been out. Who decides who is the senior companion?
A: Elder Puca has been out for about nine months. He had seven months in a mission in Argentina waiting for his visa, and just got here this last change! We are comayores. Or we are both Senior Companion. The phone gets passed back and forth and we plan and work in turns. :) Elder Puca is from the northern part of Argentina.

Pics!

Another Elder has a literal version of the One Ring [from Lord of the Rings]. I went full blown fangirl on it for about half an hour.