Elder Kennington and the Pizza Eating Competition

Buenas tardes!

I am feeling great!! Actually, a little strange. We had a competition with a couple elders from the district today... I ate a whole Little Caesars pizza, four breadsticks, and a liter of soda in 17 minutes... :P Haha. My feet are great. I have loved those boots we bought. To quote Nigel from Psych, "[they] feel like angel babies, swaddled in a cloud" haha. :) 

This week was really good, and quite the emotional rollercoaster. The recent convert that I talked about last week has really dived off the deep end, deciding he is atheist. It will take some work, but he will come back to the fold. We are not worried. Just very disappointed. 

 But we have learned from the experience. We are going to do a much better job of helping our investigators be prepared for the inevitable trials and tribulations that the Adversary will throw at them when they start on the path of become members of the church of Jesus Christ. One thing that I have been working on and have learned is the importance of conversion. It doesn't matter if someone gets baptized and they are not converted, for if they are not converted we, as missionaries, are not laying up good store for the Lord. Our job is to build the foundations of Zion in our respective missions, but if the bricks that we are laying are made from sandstone, then we are doing only a shadow of what we need to. 

 Baptism will come from conversion, but conversion won't necessarily come from baptism. 

Talking of which, we had the confirmation of Alejandro yesterday, and it was very powerful. We all felt the Spirit and he is very excited to continue learning and growing in the church. He has come a long ways, from some of the darkest paths of life, and is very excited to continue in this path. He feels like at last he has found the way in which he needs to and is capable of changing. We are so happy for him! 

I am out of time and gotta run, but thank you all so much for writing me. If I don't respond to an email or miss writing some of you, know that the neglect is never, ever intentional. I love you all so very much and pray for you daily. Take care! 

Love, 
Elder Kennington 

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  What do you do to pick yourself back up when you feel discouraged? 
A:  It depends. Usually it is just the little hungry grumpies, so I go buy a little 300 ml Coke or something (by the way, Coke down here is AMAZING. Won't touch any junk food for years when I get home...), say a prayer, and try to remember the people. Usually when I start getting disanimated it is because I have forgotten about the people and started thinking about myself. 

Q:  What do you still need to do/get in the way of clothing? (These are so Mom-type questions) 
A:  A few more socks, a pair of pants, and one new shirt. Got a new suit which looks super studly. :) 

Q:  Have you learned to do any Mexican cooking there? 
A:  I have tried, but people here in Toluca are super closed off, and they don't talk that easily. I have however, learned how to make real tortillas from scratch. More to follow. :) 

Q:  Are there any ethnic restaurants there in Toluca? I don’t know if I can picture a Chinese restaurant in Mexico… 
A:  Actually, there is a Japanese restaurant in our area. To be frank I am way to scared to even think of trying it. I have seen how the fish that they serve there look as they are going in, and it looks like they scraped fish-shaped garbage off of the highway. ... Eesh... O.o

This is what our area normally looks like. It is very beautiful, in its own way.

Elder Thompson reveals his Spiderman alter ego.

The new suit!  

Elder Kennington on Losing Some and Winning Some

This week was quite the roller coaster.

We worked our tails off, running all over the district trying to help out the other missionaries get some people to church and get some baptisms, and were met with fruits on that front. One other companionship managed to bring seven to church yesterday!

It did come at a price however. We went to go visit one of our recent converts last night (Jairo, my first baptism here) and were met with a rather unpleasant surprise. He had been struggling a little with his testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and had been messing around on the internet and found all the antimormon stuff there. He believes it 100%. He basically told me to my face that I had betrayed him, and that we had led him astray into an apostate church. I am not going to lie, it was really hard. A testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon is one of the most valuable things we can have in this life. If you don't have one I would exhort you to work on one. If you have one, I would beg you to maintain it. Keep it fresh and strong.

But it wasn't all bad. For example, we had another baptism yesterday. This man is named Alejandro, and he really is an incredible example of the power of the church. He came to us saying that he wanted to change. The other Sunday he borrowed a triple and a Gospel Principles manual from a member, and then the guy read all of them in less than FIVE DAYS! He came to us basically telling us to let him get baptized yesterday. He really is incredible. He has a testimony, and it has turned his life around 180 degrees, from some of the darkest and most depressing paths.

Elder Thompson and I are really happy right now, working our hardest to continue growing as missionaries. The most important thing that I learned this last week? Baptism is a fruit of conversion. Conversion does not automatically come from baptism.

Gotta run now. Thank you so much for your love and support. I love you all so much and think about you often!
 Elder Kennington

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  More detail on the state of your clothing please -- socks; shoes; shirts; pants; suit. What is repairable? Popped seams can be fixed….
A:  Have bought a few new socks. They are ok. Actually, have bought the suit too. The pants were beyond repair... I got home one day and was suddenly very grateful I had used a coat all day because I found two massive holes in the bum. Each one about four inches by five. Huge monsters. :) This new suit looks really good. I really like it. Will send pics this Monday.

Q:  Have you caught up on your sleep yet?
A:  NOPE!! :D Haha. Not going to in the mission. Honestly, I am fine with it though. I am accustomed to functioning with minimal sleep. :)

Q:  Have you gotten the package from Aunt Cristina and Uncle Richard yet?
A:  YES! It got here this last Tuesday. Haha. The tie that I am wearing in that last photo that I sent home is one that I got from them. Thank them so so much for me. It made my day. I was having a pretty hard time here, and it came at just the right time. They are the best.

Q:  How are Veronica and Marta doing? Is Veronica settling into the ward?
A:  Sigh... Veronica kind of exploded... One of the hermanans here said something very unkind without meaning to and Veronica took huge offense. We are still trying to get her to answer her door. Haha. She will get back just fine, it will just take time. :) With Marta we are still struggling. She started setting up fake appointments with us, which means that she is either losing interest or is just feeling like what her pastor keeps telling her is right.


See. You can get Little Caesar's Pizza here.

Our zone at zone conference.

Notice the particularly posh tie on the particularly handsome missionary.

We had a baptism!! His name is Alejandro, and he is fantastic. He read the entire triple, and Gospel Principles manual in about five days. The guy was hungry for change. When we asked him how he felt about baptism, he told us that it was something that he really wanted to do this week. ... Heck, we weren´t going to complain! :D

Elder Kennington and the Bucket of Miracles

This week was really good, really hard, and, above all, really building. 

We struggled a lot with being disanimated this week, just from sheer tiredness and stress. We did splits with the Zone Leaders a lot, dashing all over Toluca and the surrounding areas without being able to work much in our area, making bringing our investigators to church quite the trick. :) 

It came to Saturday and both Elder Thompson and I were really struggling with having the energy and sheer willpower to continue working like we need to. We got to the church at about four o' clock in the afternoon to meet with the bishop of another ward to talk about some of the people that we were teaching who had family who lived in his area. We walked in the first people we saw were the bishop and his wife from Elder Thompson's last ward, so he was really excited and wandered off to talk with them a bit. 

I kind of meandered around looking for something to do and then the stake president and his wife from ZITACUARO walked around the corner, almost running me over. I was so excited! It had been months since I had seen them and they were very happy to see me. We talked for a while about how things were back in Crescencia Morales. The tiny ward there has grown, having seen a few baptisms. Like Moses, the town drunk for example!! :D 

When the other bishop walked in and talked with us, and that went down well. We built some trust with the other ward and hope to see some more stake coordination result from it.

 And then this young woman walked in. Her name is Elizabeth, and she was about 17 years old. She has been coming to church for about six years, alone, and has a testimony that nearly burns down the buildings she is in. She is a powerhouse. And she isn't baptized, as we learned that day. We invited her, and got out the baptismal date for the 15th this month. 

Miracles exist, and the Lord just dumped out a bucket of them on our heads this week. 

Like with Marta. There is still a lot of hope with her. We spent a good deal of time with her yesterday, building her faith in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, finally building it to the point to where she felt the need to pray about them sincerely, thus putting everything in the hands of the Lord. 

Which I am continually learning are the best hands in existence. 

That about wraps it up for this week. Thank you all for your love and support. Hope that everything is ok back at the ranch, and that hope is constantly growing and being found. I love you all so much. 
Elder Kennington 

Oh. And I kind of complete six months in the mission this week. Not freaking out at all. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  Am I even saying that right (“preguntas mas rapido” = “really quick questions”)? 
A:  Es "preguntas bien rapidito" :) 

Q:  What was the hardest thing you did all week? 
A:  Working through a lot of the desanimo that struck this week. I don't know why but a few days this week I felt like I was wading through gel. But the Lord helped us out and we found many people anyway. :)

Q:  Did you get to visit with Marta again? 
A:  YES! We worked really hard with her last night, doing our best to help her understand how to build a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. This is not over yet with her. 

Q:  What is going on with your feet? Bronwyn said you have huge blisters on your heels and soles? 
A:  Haha, yeah... My heel and ankles are pure blisters just by virtue of how much we walk. I have taken to using the boots when my feet hurt, and they have been a huge blessing. They are like two clouds for my little happy feet. :) 

Q:  What is the most fun thing you’ve done this week? 
A:  TODAY ELDER THOMPSON AND I BLEW BUBBLES FOR HOURS. And we found out that we are airbenders, in that we could manipulate the bubbles into doing awesome things. :):) Haha. That, and we have taken to playing slugbug here to keep us animated. You would not believe how many bugs are here...

Setbacks and Inspiring Successes

This week was good. 

 Yesterday we had a baptism scheduled. Her name is Marta, and she is this wonderful little grandmother whom we have really grown to love. We visited her Saturday night and she was really excited to get baptized and become a member of this church. And then her pastor came over that night after our visit. Convinced her that everything we had taught her was wrong, and that she was foolish for even listening to us in the first place. Just destroyed everything we had built with her. We took it really hard. But it's not over yet. We are going to see if we can save the situation this week. The Adversary really doesn't want this powerful woman in the church. But it wasn't all hard yesterday. 

We also had the confirmation of Veronica, which was really exciting! She sacrificed a lot to become a member, including her relationship with the only person she had before, her mother. Her mother tried doing the same thing that the pastor did to Marta, but Veronica resisted, and her mother just ended up completely abandoning her. Even though she is 30, she has no one else. Not a husband, kid, friend, boyfriend, or anything. ... And she chose the church. She is going to do some big things. 

And that was this week! We worked like madmen trying to find new people to bring to the church and to the fulness of the truth. President Whitehead has set a goal for the month of March and the month of April. 500 baptism as a mission in each month. We are going to have to work really hard to meet it, but we are very excited. Because if President set the goal, then it is possible to meet. 

 That is all I have time for now. I am very excited for this week and all the blessings and miracles that it holds. Elder Thompson and I are both really excited to realize them. I love you all so much. Hope that you all doing well, and having an excellent week. 

Elder Kennington 

Preguntas Mas Rapido
Q:  Do you still regularly eat with members for your midday meal? 
A:  Yes. Haha. The other day I had chicken feet... Here they eat the whole thing, not just the little pad on the bottom of the foot. :) 

Q:  Has Elder Thompson gotten you to eat oatmeal yet? 
A:  Nope!! I am still unscathed, basking in my ramen. ;) 

Q:  What do the members there do for fun/entertainment? 
A:  They watch soccer, watch movies, and talk. Pretty normal things, actually! There are a few that love shopping too. 

Q:  Bronwyn wants to know if your favorite color is still purple? 
A:  Yes!!! And white and gold. :) 

Q:  Bronwyn wants to know if you've gotten any marriage proposals or anything like that. 
A:  No, but in the last week I had three different gays flirt with me. The last one is quite the story.... We were in a lavanderia for washing our clothes and these two guys walked in, and one started flirting with me. When they left to grab some clothes Elder Thompson and I made our escape. Apparently they came back the next day trying to figure out where I live and how they could contact us. "where to that guano [handsome guy] live? He could preach the word of God to me aaaany day..." in a really seductive voice... :p 

Q:  Who are some of the members you've gotten to know well? 
A:  Hermana Hilda and her family, la familia Montoya, y el obispo. [and the bishop]

One pic to share this week, thanks to Elder Thompson who has a functioning memory card in his camera. At least he looks like he's got enough blankets for the chilly nights...

Elder Kennington Stays in Toluca

Time is super short today but there is way way way too much to say. 

First off: ELDER THOMPSON AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER ONE MORE CHANGE HERE IN UNIVERSIDAD. Yup. This will be my third change here and we are going to blow it out of the water. We already have five more possibities for baptisms over the next few weeks. :):) 

And talking of baptisms, we had another one yesterday! Her name is Veronica. She is good, with a lot of questions. She has really struggled with family for a while because she is unmarried without kids, and her mom has basically rejected her existence. When we told them about the ward family thing that the church really has going for it, that is really what got her attention. 

 The worldwide community of the church is really truly incredible. It has, does, and will continue to change lives. 

That is all for now. Life here is fantastic. The mission is the best. Holy cow. Gotta run! I love you all so much!! 

 Elder Kennington 

Preguntas Mas Rapido 
Q:  I just read on FB from a friend who is hosting some Brazilian exchange students and discovered they were not flushing their used tp because at home in Brazil they don’t flush toilet paper due to poor sewage system. There were a huge number of comments about how common this is worldwide, including Mexico. Have you run across this yet? 
A:   Yup... It's... Different... :) I can confirm firsthand that they do it here too. 

Q:  Have you found the stickie notes we left in all of your books? 
A:  Yes. :) They make me super happy. I have stuck them all in the back of my English Preach My Gospel. :) 

Q:  Liam wants to know know if you've encountered any more drunk guys. 
A:  Encountering drunk guys is a daily occurance here... We avoid them from the most part. There is one that doesn't seem to believe us when we say that we don't have any money, because he approaches us every two days. :) 

Q:  Liam also wants to know what happened to Moses and Jesus from your first area. 
A:  GUESS WHAT?! Moses got baptized a few weeks ago and Jesus is taking the lessons. They have changed drastically. Moses is one of the most faithful members in that area now. :D

Elder Kennington and the Sunday Miracle

Well, cannot believe that this is already the last P Day in this transfer. Time flies in the mission.

We worked really hard this week, and ended up only bringing one of our investigators to church. To tell the truth, Elder Thompson and I were really disappointed, because we had put in a ton of effort to bringing people to the chapel, coupled with much fasting and prayer.

As we sat down a little disanimated, we started the meeting as normal. And then one of our investigators walked in a little late. We hurredly made room for her in our row. Five minutes later another walked in.

Then another. 

In total we had only brought one investigator to church. And the Lord brought six more. And what is more, of this six we are working to get baptismal dates for this Sunday for three of them.

Miracles exist, and they come only when we work hard, trust in the Lord, and then wait on His timetable for them to appear. I love what Elder Holland once said: "Sometimes the blessings come now, others don't come for a while, and others may not even come in this life. But for the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, they come." I testify this is true, and that it is always worth waiting it out to the end.

I gotta run now because we got to the internet cafe late today, but know that I love you. And more importantly, our Father in Heaven loves you. And if we stick it out to the end we will see Him, and join him in the realms above.

You are always in my prayers.

Elder Kennington

Preguntas Mas Rapido
Q: Did the ward or city do anything special for Three Kings Day this past week? 
A: No, aside from working super hard and bringing seven of our investigators to church this week. :):):)

Q: Were you able to resolve anything with your camera and its memory card? Please get yourself a couple of backups at Walmart. Also, please consider uploading everything you can to your DropBox for safekeeping.
A: I will do so, certainly. Thank you so much for the camera. It has been great!!

Q: What do you use for keeping your part in your hair?
A: A brand of gel called EGo.... I must admit I am looking forward to getting rid of the stuff after the mission. I have always felt a little gross with hair loaded with gel. :)

Q: Any fun language gaffes for the week?
A: I slipped up and tried saying that another elder was a great guy with some members but ended up sounding really gay by saying that I liked him (en me gusta ese Elder...) :p

Q: Do you think you are getting transferred next week?
A: Yeah... The elders here have not stayed more than two changes in a long long time, and I now have almost two changes here. Kinda sad, to tell the truth. I have enjoyed my time here immensely.

Elder Kennington and the Scary New Year's Day

This. Week. Was. Crazy.

Well, as the whole world knows, this week was New Year's Eve. And here in Mexico it was crazy ridiculous. We had a Zone Conference to keep the missionaries off the streets because it was rather dangerous. Fireworks, drunk people, drug addicts, and everything in between.

The truly interesting day was the next day, the first of January, however. 

Just as far as numbers go, we had five different people start tailing us for 15 minutes at a time over the course of the day, we had 3 different guys who were high on some pretty powerful stuff try to engage us, and then saw one dead guy. It was an interesting day, but very powerful. 

We were starting to get pretty nervous, so we found a safe spot and said a quick prayer that the Lord would guide our steps so that we could continue doing His work while remaining safe. Afterwards I felt like I could see something leading us, and we followed it. It wasn't something that we could necessarily see, but it was something that Elder Thompson and I both felt. Though we saw some pretty nasty fights and some other pretty wasted people in the street, we were never in any more danger. We walked with purpose, and worked hard, and now because we had a day like this we are going to have the opportunity to set two more baptismal dates this week. 

The Lord truly blesses us when we look for it. One of the things that I love about the mission is how close the Spirit constantly is. When it goes because we are somewhere we shouldn't be, the difference is from day to night. Like being plunged in a bucket of ice water. It is crazy. 

Hope that you are all doing well, loving life, growing, and laughing.  If you're not having fun you're not doing it right. Something else I've been learning from Elder Thompson. Love you lots. 

Elder Kennington

Preguntas Mas Rapido
Q:  What is your favorite scripture and why? 
A:  Currently I have a lot of favorite scriptures in Hechos. This book is great for getting baptismal dates and getting them for the next Sunday. We are hoping to take out two more baptismal dates this week. With luck! Currently I also love DyC 122:7-8. We are going to suffer a lot in this life. But guess what? It will be for our good. And we won't regret enduring in the long run. And Christ already suffered everything for us. We aren't going to suffer unnecessarily. 

Q  What are the youth programs like down there? 
A:  Currently almost nonexistent, to tell the truth. They have Seminary, but not many attend. This ward is really struggling with less actives because people aren't magnifying their callings like they could. We need some help from the members!

Q:  What are the greatest challenges your investigators generally face? 
A:  Pornography, and not having time to come to church. Unemployment down here is crazy, and when people have work that usually takes precedent over everything. And they can't progress if they cannot come to church.

Q:  What do you like best about Toluca? Least? 
A:  I love how nice it is here, and how the people are willing to talk in the street. The least? Well, sometimes it can be a little sketchy here to tell the truth. But really, I cannot complain. This area is wonderful!!