A Ministry in Mexico: Week.... I Dunno. What Number is This One...?

Hey there!

This last week was a party.

Yup. We spent the whole week running around like maniacs trying to maintain everything that we've got going. I felt kind of like a spider this last week. In that I was doing my best to help maintain everything in our web (the area), only to have an inquisitive toddler pick it all apart with a stick. :) Haha.

We are having to give some of our investigator families a little more time to progress, as they have decided they are not ready for the message of the restoration. Which, as always, is a little disappointing, but we made up for it with trying to find as many new people as we could. I have gotten very accustomed to street contacting. :)

BUT.

The toddler messing around with our web didn't leave us totally in the lurch. We were going through the area book this last week and found an old investigator that we decided to visit. We went to the door, knocked, and then five minutes later she was telling us how she still had this crazy huge desire to get baptized. She has continued reading the BoM and the pamphlets, despite the fact that the missionaries had stopped visiting her ages ago. She started traveling, and was unable to come to church or stay up to manage her old baptismal date. We have an appointment tomorrow, and will be trying to secure a baptismal date for the first Sunday of the following change (transfers are a week from today!!).

Then we had a little bit of an emergency to help out with. There is an elderly sister in this ward (late 80's) that has terminal cancer that we visit and animate. She always asks for the same hymn (I Stand All Amazed), and we are happy to help. We got a phone call two days ago from her. She had been walking around the house, and had fallen and couldn't move. And her doors were locked, and she really really needed help. So Elder Puca and I did the natural thing, scaled her 18 foot cement fence and then broke into her back door to get to her (all on her orders, I must clarify :)). That was a party.

Yup. That about wraps up this week.

Oh. Elder Christofferson is going to come and visit the mission on the 29th. Totally going to meet an apostle of the Lord for the first time in my mortal life. No, I did not about start jumping up and down with excitement when I found out. :) Haha.

I love you all! Hope that you have an incredible week, and that it is loaded with all of the good things that life has to offer. 'Church is true!
Elder Kennington

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q: Your former Toluca district was called “Universidad.” Does that mean there is literally a university there? Are missionaries assigned to college campuses?
A: Yes, there are some universities there. Though not like we think of them (campuses and the like). They look a little like high schools. There isn't student housing, or anything like that.

Q: Do you have an oven right now?
A: More or less. I don't trust it enough to find out... :) Haha. It is nice and clean. It is just that no one here in Mexico uses the oven, so I don't know if they bothered connecting everything down there correctly. :)

Q: How did the mini-mission go? Did you have a great turn-out of kids?
A: The mini mission is going to be this Saturday. I hope everything goes well. President Whitehead and the assistants are going to be there... O.o

Q: Any crazy farm animal stories to share?
A: Umm.... The frogs in the area have been super busy. All of the little roads in the pueblo are coated with these tiny little frogs, and all of the puddles are full of renacuajos (Little froglets? I forgot the word in English...).

Q: What are the pueblos like?
A: Very calm. Very quiet. Very catholic. And super chismoso. [gossipy] Everyone talks about everyone else.

Q: Any birthday requests? Clothing? Food?
A: AAAAAAAAAAH I TURN 20 NEXT MOOOOONTH!!!! D: Umm.. Anything chocolate-y and minty, please. I miss mint. And Peanut butter. It is super expensive here. Ties. Socks are ALWAYS welcome. Photos of the family (Mine got wet. :P). letters. Yeah. Give me a bit to think. :)

Q: How is the altitude there? Are the days still warm and the nights chilly (Elder K was in Toluca in the fall/early winter)?
A: Yep! That is how Toluca goes! A normal day:
Cold
Hot
Hotter
Holy cow Elder Kennington is a puddle
Crazy rain.
Cold
Colder
Colder yet
My hand just froze to a doorknob cold

A snippet from his letter to his little brother:
The rain here is crazy. It comes once a day and it rains with a vengeance, complete with thunder and lightning. The works. It is a party! We try to take refuge when we can in the house of an investigator or member, but usually we get to spend the rainy parts running around outside trying to avoid the major puddles. :) Talking of puddles, about half the puddles here in the farmland areas are loaded with little tadpoles. When they become frogs I am totally spending a P Day running around like a maniac trying to catch as many as I can. :):)

Clouds here

The food is carnitas. Absolutely divine. Everything from a pig that is not bone is stuck in a taco with salsa and consumed. Divine. :) :)

Photos in the apartment

Toluca Zone: Elder Kennington is on the back row, far right, next to his former companion Elder Taylor. Elder Puca, his current companion, is on the back row far left. I don't think that should suggest they are not getting along!