Elder Zombie Kennington

This week was a party. We worked our tails off working with some of our investigators. A couple weeks back we started working with a man named Hector and his family, and they are wonderful. They love us to bits, and we always look forward to visiting them. Due to some past bad experiences with some Jehovah's Witness missionaries they weren't too keen to let us in, let alone come to church, but this week they will be coming to church for the first time. And Hector has almost completely kicked the smoking habit that he has had for 35 years. The secret? He picks up the Book of Mormon every time he gets the desire to smoke. Another testimony that it is a book inspired by God with the purpose of blessing the lives of God's children. If you haven't read it within the last 24 hours I recommend that you pick it up and see what God would like to say to you.

This Sunday was a little interesting. I had spent Saturday night sick as all get out, so when it came time to get ready to go the following morning I think a zombie could have dressed himself better. But we got out to door, got some good contacts, and then half an hour later had to dash to a member's house to borrow the bathroom. :) Kept this up through the whole day, but that didn't stop us from enjoying a junta* (forgot how to say that in English) with the ward. The ward is really struggling with each person being anxiously engaged in his calling, so one of the stake councilors was there for the junta. Everyone left with their eyebrows a little singed, but with high hopes for the progress of the work of the Lord here in this ward. :) We got home, and I had one of the best sleeps that I have had in my entire mission. :) Twas heavenly.

Eso fue todo para esta semana. Elder Gavilla esta bien. Trabajando muy duro y aprendiendo mucho. Estoy agradecido por su humildad. Nos va muy bien. Hasta luego! Les amo muchisimo, y espero que esta semana sea la mejore.**

Con amor
Elder Kennington

*Junta = literally "board or assembly."  Probably like a gathering, conference, or something.
** "That's all for this week. Elder Gavilla is great. Working hard and learning a lot. I am grateful for his humility. We get along very well. Hasta luego! I love you all a lot, and I hope that this week is the best."

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  Tell me more about Elder Gavilla and his family background.
A:  He is from Veracruz, and was born to a member family. His grandma was the first convert.

Q:  What comments have you gotten about your hair this week?
A:  Just about everything... :p Haha. I got asked by a person that I contacted in the street if I was really just undercover military scouting out the area... :)

Q:  SEND PICTURES OF YOUR HAIR.
A:  ... Ok... :p

Q:  Okay, #3 wasn’t really a question. Here is one: Where will you go now for a haircut?
A:  I don't know. I think if I wanted a better one I would blindfold my companion and give him an Exacto knife. Yeah. I think I'll do that.

Q:  What is your Chamapa apartment like? Send pictures?
A:  It is bigger than the one in Toluca and very nice. Two bathrooms (no idea how we managed to score that) and easy to keep clean. Love it.

Q:  What would you like me to include more of in my letters to you, both snail and digital?
A:  More news about what is going on back home with everyone. Just out of pure curiosity. Like what you did this week? The list of tidbits? Loved it. Everyone in the world back home is getting married. O.o

Q:  Which specific investigators would you like us to pray for?
A:  Maria Ines ( an new investigator from this week whose dad is a self-described retired Mormon), Lupita and her family, and Hector and his family.

Q:  What brand of hair gel do you use?
A:  It is called Ego. It smells nice. :)


The trainers picking up their greenies from the mission home.  Elder Kennington is in the back on the right side.

This is from me, the Mom.  I'm not counting or anything about how many Sundays until it's Mother's Day and I get to talk to my missionary!

The new companionship! Elder Kennington and Elder Gavilla, obviously taken before the Haircut of Doom.

The Haircut of Doom!  I wonder what the shaved-in part looks like...

Elder Kennington's apartment

The kitchen looks a little sparse in the cooking appliances department to this mom.

One last apartment picture.

Elder Kennington and a Newbie Companion

Esta semana que ya paso fue lokisimo. Ayayay!! 

Pues, ya tuvimos los cambios. Elder Taylor su fue a un area se llama El Oro. Esta cerca Michoacan. Y yo me quede. Y con quien? Tal vez teine un poco de curiosidad porque yo no wrote this past Monday*. It is because I spent all of this last Monday in President's house. Why? Because I am now training again! This missionary as new as it gets. His name is Elder Gavilla, de Vera Cruz**. He strikes me as a good elder with lots of willingness to work. I am very excited to see what this change contains. Also a little stressed. This is a huge responsibility. I can only imagine how Elder Lanza felt training a new missionary who didn't even understand a thing he was saying, and opening a new area. My respect for him, which was already sky high, shot up even more. I will send photos next week. 

Because it was Monday I went to get a haircut and the woman there asked me what I wanted. And I told her the same the I always say. She nodded, said yeah she could do it, and then in 45 seconds gave me the shortest buzz cut of my life. I look like an escaped prison inmate trying to pose as a missionary. It is so short I couldn't do the line for my hair (I didn't realize how much I had grown to love that line, by the way). Mom, do you remember how that electric razor you gave me for my 18th birthday had a trimming attatchment on the back? Yep. You know exactly where that went. I had my new hijo [companion] put a line in my hair with that. Fortunately the line looks good. Everything else? I have seriously considered wearing a paper bag over my head with two holes cut out for my eyes. :P 

Bad haircuts aside, we saw a miracle this last week with Elder Taylor. When I was back in the MTC in Provo we had to go up to the Mexican Consulate for to start our visas. When I was there I tried talking with a couple of the workers, but unsuccessfully because I didn't speak Spanish and they didn't speak English. But I remembered one of them; an hermana that tried hard too. 

Now, fastforwarding about 8 months. We were walking in the street and this woman honked her horn and gestured to us to come over. We did. And I immediately recognized this woman from the Consulate back in SLC Utah. Yup. She remembered me personally. We talked for real this time. Her name is Areli, and she will be here for about five more weeks. Apparently she got to Chamapa the same time that I did. And she will be here for this transfer before she goes back to Utah. And she listened to us and invited us in to give the message of the Restauracion. Which went extremely well. She is so incredible. She even has photos of the Salt Lake City temple on her fridge. 

To quote The Incredibles: "Coincidence? I think NOT!" 

We are very excited to be working with her. 

Gotta run now. Thank you all so much for the love and support that you constantly send my way. If you could make sure to keep my investigators in your prayers it would mean the world to me. I love you all! 

 Hasta luego! 
 Elder Kennington 

* Translation:  "This was week was really crazy! Ayayay.  First of all we had transfers.  Elder Taylor was transferred to an area called El Oro.  It is in Michoacan.  And I stayed behind. But with whom?!  I'll bet you're wondering why I didn't write on Monday." 

**Translation:  "Elder Gavilla, from Vera Cruz." 

 Missionary photos. Last Zone meeting photos. Good stuff. The majority of the misisonaries that you see have less time than I do. This Zone was really young.

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  Are there church hymns you sing often on Sundays in Spanish that are not in our English version of the hymn book? 
A:  Not really There are one or two that we sing sometimes that aren't. There are only 209 hymns in the Spanish Hymnbook. 

Q:  Did you listen to General Conference in Spanish or English? Were the two Spanish-speaking brethren dubbed on the Sunday afternoon session? 
A:  I got to see it in English. It was so so cool!! :D 

Q:  Where do you go shopping if your little local street mercado doesn’t have what you need? 
A:  Ummm... We make do... It is the only place we have in our area. :) We have to travel about 1 hour outside the area if we wanna go to the bank. 

Q:  What do most people in Chamapa do for a living? 
A:  They do everything from drive taxis and combos (Volkswagons) to selling food in the street. For the most part it is a very humble part of the city, another blessing for which I am very grateful! Their work schedules are crazy, so helping them get to church is often quite the trick. :)

Missionary photos. Last Zone meeting photos. Good stuff. The majority of the missionaries that you see have less time than I do. This Zone was really young.

Elder Kennington and Semana Santa

This week was totally insane!!!

First off, this was the Semana Santa (Holy Week) for the Catholics here, and for those of you at home that is the vast majority of Mexico. :) The climax of the week was Friday, when they had their big parades. These parades are basically reenactments of the Savior's long walk to Golgotha and subsequent crucifixion. These parades included:

-A Jesus Christ leading it in full costume, crown of thorns and all, and with his giant cross. Actually, later that day, the guy was literally crucified (though they only tied him to it, they didn't nail him to it, they only tied him to it) and left him there for a few hours. Additionally, in the parade there was a group of people behind him with whips beating and spitting on him
-A gigantic Mexican flag with the Virgin Mary emblazoned on the front
-A group of about 40 virgins weeping and wailing
-A Satan in full costume dancing around in triumphf
-Another group of women singing and wailing "perdon, perdon..."
-10 to 12 other "criminals" to be crucified
-20 more "Roman Soldiers" causing general havoc
-A Drum band of more Roman Soldiers
-Pontius Pilate and Wife
-Monks with faces painted have white and half black
-Nuns
-People blowing conch shells
-Lots of graven images
-Lots of images of the Virgin
-And about 10,000 people following behind as part of the parade and normal townspeople.

It was a very different experience. While they were doing their best with this great spectacle to create a hugely moving experience for all present in the which people were expected to succumb to uncontrollable sobbing, there was another moment in which the Spirit testified more powerfully to me of the divinity of Christ and the depth of His sacrifice took place inside a tiny little room on our small chapel, listening to an Apostle of the Lord testifying of the reality of a loving Savior.

I really hope that everyone had the chance to listen to the General Conference. It was truly a powerful one. I particularly loved the themes of family, parenthood, and, in the priesthood session, fatherhood. My future family that I long to have has been one of my greatest dreams for quite some time now, and I realized this last week that it has been another great reason for me to be in the mission. What better place is there to learn how to be a good future father and husband? I have learned a lot of the importance of a family centered in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in Mexico, for, while there is a huge number of families, there is a vast difference between the ones that are covenant making/keeping families vs families founded on solely something else. In one situation the family is focused on obtaining eternal joy, while the other tends to fall prey more often to momentary happiness.Please, never forget the value of heavenly treasure. Maintain that eternal perspective and allow it to influence the most valuable blessings you have right now: Your agency and your family. As a representative of Jesus Christ I testify of the value of doing so, in His sacred name, amen.

I love you all with all my heart, and wish to help you remember that your Savior loves you even more.

Love,
Elder Kennington

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  What is your average daily schedule?
A:  6:25 a.m.  we are on our knees praying. 7:55 we are in personal study. 8:55 we are studying as a companionship. 9:55 we are studying language. 10:25 we are out in the streets contacting everyone in the world. 2:00 we have one hour for lunch. 9:30 pm we are in the house planning the next day. :) That is a normal day!

Q:  What is the best thing you did to prepare for your mission?
A:  I didn't miss one night reading my Book of Mormon. I now have about 3 years running where I have read at least one verse a day. And developing the idea of what an eternal perspective is and trying to apply that to each of my decisions. 

Q:  What do you wish you had known before going out?
A:  MORE of Preach My Gospel, and more of how to follow the Spirit. I could have done a much better job of hitting the ground running on that front.

Q:  What has changed the most about you since being in Mexico?
A:   ... I don't really know.. I haven't been paying much attention to me, so I haven't been watching for that... I guess my love for the Savior has continued to grow and expand. And it is much easier for me to feel the Spirit, remain patient, and practice the Christlike attributes.

Q:  Have you gotten your shoes fixed? How are your feet doing?
A:  Nope! The shoes are still just fine! No problems there. Eccos were the right shoes to go with. :):) And the feet are doing a little better. The callouses that basically form a second sock are a God-sent protection. :)

One of Those Good But Hard Weeks

Hola! This week was really good. I learned a lot about what it means to really truly rely in and trust in the Lord.

We spent the majority of this week trying to help the people that we are currently teaching to be able to make it to church. The family that we are teaching that has the really obstinate dad is still progressing. The daughter really wants to get baptized and can, as soon as she has permission from her dad. The parents have to be in agreement before a child can get baptized, and she is 12 years old. And a powerhouse! She has a lot of potential. This whole family, to tell the truth. We did a fast this week for the heart of the dad to be softened.

And this week culminated in having five investigators come to church. And the Lord brought every one of them through his members of this Ward! We sat there in happy shock watching as one of the members brought a family of their friends for the first time! We worked really hard this week, and the Lord came through.

This change has been my hardest so far in the misión. But this change has also been then one where I have grown the most.

Gotta run for know, but know that you are all in my prayers and thoughts. And in those prayers and thoughts I am hoping that all of you are excited as I am for the General Conference!!! AAAAH! Can hardly wait for this Saturday and Sunday.

Love you all!
Elder Kennington

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  How does the affluence in your area differ from your area in Toluca?
A:  It is both poorer and richer at the same time. The majority here are without as much as they have in Toluca.

Q:  What is the most unusual thing that happened to you this week?
A:  Uumm... I got kissed by a cousin of an investigator.... :P It is a custom here in Mexico that the men hug when saying goodbye and the women say goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. And she had no idea... Haha. The investigator freaked out and she laughed a Little less then she blushed. I just shrugged it off and shook her hand smiling... :) I will not lie, I was a little shocked however... :)

Q:  Any requests from home for the next package I'll send out?
A:  Music CDs that have the church seal on them please!!! Like the MoTab CD "Showtime" or "Home for the Holidays" or "Réquiem." And ties. And chocolate !!!! :D

Elder Kennington and the Week of Awesome

This week was really really good. Elder Taylor and I worked very, very hard to find some new people and to help them come to church, and the Lord saw fit to give us just that! We have been working with one family for the past week and a half that is great. A mom and her three kids. The mom is named Lupita, with Itzel, her oldest daughter, and her two younger sons, Miguel y Gail. They are a great family with a lot of potential. They love coming to church and are having a great time with the people there! The only struggle is the dad. The only way I could describe him thus far is by pointing you towards two Book of Mormon characters named Laman and Lemuel. The dad has told us to our face that the Spirit has told him to support his wife in this and that he doesn't care. It is very disheartening sometimes, but the faith of Lupita and her three kids always works to pick us up. 

We have two other families as well, that are looking like they will be coming to church with us for the first time this coming Sunday, and we couldn't be more excited! We are going to do all we can to help them to make the right choices and receive the blessings and testimony thereof. 

 OH!! 

And something so, so, so awesome I can hardly stand it! Do you remember me talking about Hermana Xochitl, back in Toluca? She just got baptized yesterday! Elder Thompson sent me a photo. It made my day! She was one of my favorite people back in Toluca, and one of the people that I miss terribly. She looked so happy. I wish that I could have been a part of it. 

That about wraps it up for this week! I gotta dash now. We are going to go play soccer again, this time with Lupita's kids, and hopefully they won't destroy us as badly as they did the last week... Haha. Football (the real kind) is really infectious down here. I love you all so much! Hope that things back home are going well, and that life continues getting better and better. Never forget the little things, because the biggest blessings come from them. Like family time, personal scripture study, going to church, and praying whenever the idea comes to mind. 

 Take care! 

 Elder Kennington 

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  How many active members attend church each week in your ward? 
A:  We have, on average, about 90. 

Q:  Are there neighborhood parks for families to go to for picnics and playgrounds? 
A:  Nope! At least, if there were it would be kind of hard to find them underneath the graffiti. :) 

Q:  Is it common for families to keep a pet? 
A:  Everyone here has dogs. Not everyone knows that they have been adopted by one, however. 

Q:  Now that the Mexico City Temple open house and dedication has been officially announced are there any fun rumors about missionaries getting to participate? 
A:  If there  would be, it would be the Mexico City East mission, because that is where the temple is found. Wouldn't complain if some rumors came this way though! 

Q:  Do you need some quick-to-prepare nutritious meal ideas/recipes? 
A:  YESYESYESYESYESYPLEASE

Elder Kennington and the Balancing Act

This will be super super short because time today doesn't exist! We are going to go play soccer with some of the members in about two minutes. 

 This week was really good. We worked hard trying to find people to bring to church and that can progress. That is one thing that I love about this area. There are so so many people, so the number of people that are ready and prepared to progress is bigger too, and we hope to find some new people this week! 

 Trying to balance the work in the mission is much more of a trick than I thought it would be. I didn't realize before the mission just how many different factors went into a single day in the mission. Contacting, teaching investigators, menos activos, miembros, y despues todos los demas. Contactando y buscando referencias*. Working with the members to go do visits. Then realizing that we keep forgetting to eat in the morning and night cause there is just so much. Haha! 

I have never been so busy in my life! I already feel like the time is flying. And it just gets faster and faster. The biggest challenge right now? Trying to avoid the friendly drunk guy who likes talking with us for extended periods of time who lives in our neighborhood. :) 

 The email for next week will contain much more, I promise! AAah! I love you all so much and thank you for your continued love and support. If you write to me and I don't answer please know that I still love you lots. It's just that I only have ten fingers that are accustomed to using the computer once a week. Hope that you make this the best week of your life, and learn something new every day. Hasta luego! 

 Elder Kennington
* " Contacting, teaching investigators, less actives, members, and then everyone else.  Contacting and calling references."

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  How does the 500 baptisms goal affect the focus of your work in Chamapa since the ward there has so many inactives on its rosters? 
A:  It is kind of interesting. This mission likes to baptize- A LOT. The thing I am struggling with is that many elders are under the impression that as soon as the investigators have gone to church enough, so many of the recent converts go immediately inactive, often without being confirmed. This is pretty common in Mexico right now. There are roughly 1,500,000 members total in Mexico, and according to Elder Ortiz, one of the area seventy, there are only 200,000 active members. I am still trying to figure out what to do there. 

Q:  Is your weekly shopping any different there from Toluca?
A:  Yup! There was a WalMart five minutes away from the house in Toluca. Here the only thing is a tiny little Mercado in the area. I bought 1 kilogram of cereal today and milk, and just about bought the entire mercado itself doing so. :) 

Q:  What is it like getting a haircut there? How much does it cost? 
A:  Super easy. There are esthetics (literally, "aesthetic" but colloquially, "beauty shop") on every corner in the street. For example, Elder Taylor got one today and it cost about 35 pesos. (Mom Note: That's about $2.25 here)

Q:  You’re looking so tan. Have you given up on sunscreen (wink wink)? 
A:  Haha... Haven't touched the stuff in about 4 months... 

Q:  What is your Chamapa ward like? 
A:  They are good. The members are very kind and very loving here, especially the recent converts. When they visit we have to be careful to not spend more than about half an hour to fifteen minutes though, because if the members could do it they would have us stay all day. And we are kind of missionaries, so we have a pretty loaded schedule.... :) 

Q:  Have you organized any choir practices yet? 
A:  No!!! I am super excited but bishop hasn't called me back yet! I can hardly way to see what teaching opportunities come from this. 

Q:  Is Elder Taylor fresh out of the MTC? Which MTC? Yup. He went to the Mexico City MTC. 

The photos. The money is the Mexican money. I am missing the 20 peso bill, which is the smallest, blue, and has a picture of Benito Juarez on it. And the 5 peso coin. Which looks exactly like the two and the one coins, but a little bit bigger with a five on it. Another photo is me with the teachers quorum president here. And the other is of Elder Taylor. 

A beautiful handmade leather scripture case made by a local member that Elder Kennington has his eyes on.  

A Two-Fer

March 9, 2015 
AAAH! 

This week was crazy! We spent the whole week running around (literally) so I could get to know the area quickly and find some new investigators. The last elder who was here left us without ANYTHING so we are basically opening this area. And it is super populated. Eesh. 

I spent so much time this week talking that I have almost completely lost my voice. Elder Taylor's Spanish is still coming along, so I spend the vast majority of our time doing the talking. Still trying to get him to be willing to take a dive off of the high dive, but can't quite help him to really get into the work quite yet. I am very excited to work with him. He will be a great elder. 

We ate with the bishop our second day here and we finished up the food by singing a song. He listened, and now I have an unofficial calling in the ward.... Haha. Apparently I am now the choir director. I am really excited about this because this gives me a greater opportunity to get the ward involved in bring more friends and family to church, and helping them become even more excited about the work of the Lord. 

I am a little intimidated, I must admit, at how much there is to do here. In addition to working with my own investigators there are a few less actives in this ward... Something to the tune of about 1,200. If this ward had even 80% attendance than it would be a stake or two. But I am very excited to do this! This is a great area, and a great opportunity for me to grow. I am very happy with the trust that the Lord has put in my by placing me here training, and I will do my best to make Him proud. 

That about wraps it up for this week. I love you all so much and I think about you all the time! 
Love you all! 
Elder Kennington 

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q:  How long of a drive/train ride was it to Chamapa? 
A:  It was a two hour busride from Toluca to the Terminal in D.F. and then another hour in Taxi. The guy tried charging us 40 bucks for it! D: 

Q:  What is the area like compared to Toluca? 
A:  Toluca is very flat. Here it is pure hills! But because it is 1000 feet lower than Toluca and I now have more oxygen to work with I have taken to running up and down the things to get to appointments. And these hills are gigantic! 

Q:  How are you supposed to handle drinking water in your apartment? At members’ homes? 
A:  Ok. Well, drinking water inside a house doesn't exist in Mexico. They have these huge jugs of 20L water that they sell in these little tiendas [shops] that are all over the place that we buy. 

Q:  Your elevation is about 1000 feet lower in Chamapa. Have you noticed a change in climate? 
A:  Yes, I can breathe here! It is also much much warmer. I must admit I am missing how nice and cool Toluca was. :) 

What my new area looks like

Monday, March 2, 2015 
Well. 

Things just got turned on their head. I have been transferred. I am now in D.F., in Chamapa. The Zone is Culturas. It is close to Naucalpan. And it is CRAZY here! So so many people! I saw one tree on the way over here, and it was painted on the wall of a house. :) Haha! 

It seems like the people here are good. Open, happy, and all around great. High hopes. And my new companion? Well... I am training now. His name is Elder Taylor. He is from Tampa Florida, tall and white as all get out, and worked as a cable guy before the mission. Haha. Very excited to work with him. We will spend a lot of time working on Spanish and contacting. :) 

This area is very new to me. I am a little intimidated due to the fact that I don't know it or anything about it, but excited because the Lord has shown a great amount of trust in me in giving me this challenge. Elder Taylor has a lot of potential, and I am very grateful to be able do my part in helping him achieve it. 

 Not much to report right now other than that. Elder Thompson stayed back in Universidad training as well. Was very sad to leave the people there. Gotta run now. I

 Love you all so much. 
 Elder Kennington 

 Preguntas Bien Rapidito 
Q:  Have you had any Mexican candy? How was it? 
A:  There are some good candies here. I am not a huge fan of the candies and the chocolates. What they do have, however, that is absolutely divine, are the cookies and larger savory things. All of the food here is very rich, and there is a particular brand (Chokis) that is to DIE for! It is like Chips Ahoy squared. 

Q:  What are your favorite Mexican treats or desserts? 
A:  Ummm... Probably the same. There is a really good drink here called atole. And sweet tamales. Yeah. I like those. :) 

Q:  What was talked about in your big conference on Saturday? 
A:  This upcoming mes and what we need to do to get ready. This mission has a goal for 500 baptisms this month, and there is a lot of work to do. 

Q:  What do you do to get packed up and say good-bye when you get transferred? 
A:  Well, I spent all day visiting the members and recent converts of mine, and then all night packing. ... Sleep? What is that? :) Haha. Then in the morning we meet in Terminal, and then talk with the other missionaries there and then find our new companion. 

Q:  You’ve mentioned mice before. What are the bugs down there like? 
A:  The bugs aren't too bad during the day. Some houses have bedbugs, but I haven't encountered that. Also, sometimes cockroaches are a big problem, but I have had the blessing of avoiding that thus far as well. :) Chinchas y cucarachas. :)

Saying good-bye to families and investigators we worked with and the area I worked in.

My new companion Elder Taylor