And Just Like That...

 Letter originally posted July 18, 2016

This will be rather short, due to a certain lack of time. Today we had our all day P Day. It was full of goodbyes. The email that you got today was from the Brady family, the ones that we skyped with last time.

... What can I say?

This is the last time that I will write you guys. I never imagined that this moment would come.

Oops. That was cliche and obvious. *banging head on keyboard trying to be creative*

I am so excited to see all of my loved ones again. I am excited to do everything that I loved doing before the mission and more. I am excited for everything that follows.

I am devastated from the goodbyes. I have never had my heart wrenched so far and so hard in this way. I never realized just how much I have grown to love the mission and love the people here in México. I love this Gospel.

Thinking about these goodbyes has brought me to the conclusion that nothing hurts more than loving a person. Loving someone so much that you would give anything and everything for them. And opening your heart so widely to someone that living in very imperfect conditions in this very imperfect life, making sometimes not-so-perfect decisions paves the way for pain and grief that is as profound as it is exquisite.

I guess that is why, in part, the Atonement was such a harrowing experience for our Lord and Savior. I can't even imagine all that he went through and felt participating in all of our disappointments, sadnesses, unjustices, sins, sicknesses, depression, and everything in between. I am so grateful that there are people in my life that aren't afraid of being hurt. People that are willing to love me. Love and devotion is the most valuable gift that one can recieve and give.

Sometimes I wish that loving someone was easier.

But then again, it wouldn't be as worth it without that hard aspect.

I'm not crying. It is raining inside.

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I honestly don't know what more to say aside from the overriding emotion that has dominated my mind and soul for these last two years.

I love you.

See you soon. :)

Elder Kennington

Profound and Poignant

Letter originally posted July 11, 2016

This last week was really good. We had a lot to do, and at the end we had four baptisms. They were all really good and all really prepared. I am very excited for these new converts! They are great.

Elizabeth has more than a year that she has been looking into the church with a lot of interest, but she hasn't been able to be baptized due to the fact that she hasn't been married. She just got married a couple weeks ago, so we got her on a fast track for a baptism last Saturday. Though the gas ran out and we didn't find out until my companion stepped into the baptismal font (there was NO hot water... :) ), it was a beautiful service.

The following day we had the baptism of a family of three. Rosa Maria and her two kids Jorge and Sharon. Rosa Maria suffered a lot to get to this point. All of her family are Jehovah's Witnesses, and they have been attacking her right and left since the first time she came to church a little over a month ago. But she has managed to put all of that to one side and continue following her Savior. She has been an incredible example to me. Not many investigators are so diligent with the little things such as praying and reading her scriptures as she and her children have been, and those little things have made all the difference in her conversion process. Love it!

We have a few investigators that could possible get baptized this week, but nothing 100% secure. We are looking and praying for someone to show up or for something to happen with a few of the investigators that we are teaching. We will see what happens.

This last week was kind of tough too. I have never been more stressed before in my mission. There is a lot to do. And not a lot of support... :) My zone leaders are about four hours away from here (On the other side of the mission.) And on this end there isn't anyone that really helps me out. :) Just help from above. Which makes the fruits of that help and opposition that much more sweet. Everything I feel is so profound and poignant right now... If I feel happy, I am living in heaven with joy that blows a hole in my heart. And if I am sad, it is the kind of sad that just makes you want to melt into the floor and stop existing. I have gone completely bipolar.... XD Haha. I guess that it is a side effect of being in your last week as a working missionary. :) Sigh. Not sure what to think now.

Hope that you all have a lovely week. I love you so very much. Seeing you will be wonderful.

Love,
Elder Kennington

The four baptisms that we had!! :D Wooooo! :D Super stoked. And the baptismal suit that I used to baptize (freaking heck, I can't find my white pants. They disappeared! :( )! Elizabeth, Rosa Maria, Jorge, Sharon.

Three-Zone Conference: Toluca, Metapec, Zitácuaro

Preguntas Bien Rapidito

1. How are you doing with keeping your focus and not getting (too) trunky?
I am doing alright. Honestly, it is being a little tough right now. We five more baptims lined up for before I go, and having that there and set increases the temptation to just relax and go with the flow. I am trying to fight that remembering that the end of my full-time mission isn't the end of the Lord's work. The second coming of Elder Kennington and the Second Coming of Christ are two very different things.... :) Haha.

2. Besides the members, what are some things you will miss most about Mexico?
THE TACOS. OHMYGOODNESSIWILLCRYMYSELFTOSLEEPEVERYNIGHTMISSINGMYTACOS. I will miss all of the cool parts of the culture. I will miss how friendly everyone here is. There is a lot to miss. Haha. I had to chuckle that the first question you asked me along the lines of "how are you trying to not be trunky?" and then immediately afterwards I get a question designed along the lines of "what can I do to make my oldest child even more trunky than he is?" Haha. :)

3. Any interesting changes coming into place with your new president? 

So far nothing too huge. I think that the really big changes will come with time as Presidente Grossen gets more familiar with the mission and its missionaries. I sincerely doubt that I will be a witness to any great humongous change in the way things work.

4. Crazy story of the week:
I saw a pidgeon yesterday. That was pretty loco.

5. Did you get out to Zitacuaro?
Just for a zone junta. It turned out to be too far away to go for P Day. But for the last zone conference it was perfect. It was incredible seeing where I started my mission almost two years ago. I even fondly patted the the first toilet that I threw up into in the Zitacuaro chapel. :) Haha.

6. I am teaching RS on the temple next Sunday. Any experiences you can share about how the temple has blessed you and/or your converts and the members there? Did you see a change in people there once the temple was rededicated?
The change in the members was incredible. The level of obedience, unity, and personal/family consecration rose dramatically. We even started baptizing more. The temple is the reason that we do everything here. One of my dreams of my mission was bring a family to the temple and be present in their temple sealing. And I cannot express the joy that I felt on having that dream fulfilled. It was something that shaped my life.

Crazy Week!

From July 4, 2016

*Heavy Sigh*

This last week was crazy. Running all over the place, special conferences, baptisms, the works!

Well, first off we had a wonderful baptismal service yesterday. Do you remember Laura Tovar, who got baptized with her kids last month? We baptized Eliazar, her husband, yesterday. He is such an incredible man. He hadn't been able to listen to us or go to church for a very long time thanks to his work. Then, a few weeks ago, he had a random day off and we took advantage to go and teach him. He expressed the desire to be more with his family. We taught him the importance of the Sabbath Day and how to sanctify it, and the blessings that come from that. And a few days later we found out that he had quit his job and bought a tie for Sunday. :) I have met very few people that are as willing as he was to drop everything and follow the Lord.

There is something immensely satisfying about being in church and seeing that a little less than ten percent of the congregation are YOUR converts. I about melted with joy when I saw my converts going to go grab tithing slips to pay their fast offerings yesterday. I love this work.

We have four more baptisms this Sunday! Rosa Maria, her to beautiful kids Jorge and Sharon, and a miracle that we found last week named Elizabeth. I will tell their story more in depth next week, but all of these people have suffered a lot of trials to get to this point. I have never seen any one of my converts fight so hard to be able to get baptized as Rosa Maria has. The people here in Mexico are truly incredible in their potential in the Gospel.

I cannot believe that I am down to the two week point. It feels incredible to me that I can only claim roughly 15 more days as an official representative of Jesus Christ. Thank heavens I still have a couple more emails before I have to write that last letter. Haha. Will get into this later.

Sigh.

I am not quite sure what to think right now. I am just trying to focus on helping these last five or six people get baptized and leave more progressing investigators behind, but the nagging thought that I am leaving so much that has brought me joy leaves me a little paralyzed. With such a huge district in my care, a brand new mission president, and all these new converts and investigators I feel kind of like I'm leaving a party early. Like I came to a wedding to support a friend, knowing that I would have to duck out early, and realizing that I will have to do so before the "I do." Finishing my mission is both an exciting and heartbreaking prospect.

That is pretty much the story of everything right now. Love you all so much! Hope that you have a wonderful week. :)

Love,
Elder Kennington

Fotos

From June 27, 2016

THE BAPTISM!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D Jonathan, the young man that got baptized, is a STUD. :) His dad, who lives in D.F. came all the way out here for his baptism. There is his mom and his sister. Me and my companion. The two other guys in white that aren't in wheelchairs are the ones that baptized him. One sustained him in the water while the other said the prayer, and then between the two of them they carefully submerged him.

And I played the violin in his baptismal service! :D

Elder Reyes. He is really really quiet. And awesome. :)

Preguntas Mas Rapido

From June 27, 2016

Are you fully recovered from your stomach virus?
Not yet. Haha. We went with the doctor last week to get it checked out and it turns out that it is just full blown parasites from having been in Mexico for two years. So now I am taking pills twice a day until I finish my mission. But after that I am good. Would drinking a few liters of pesticide help? ;)

Are you allowed to visit cathedrals while you officially a missionary?
I am not sure. Honestly the people here would probably kick us out. They don't let the Jehovah's Witnesses come even close to the churches.

What was the most random thing you did this week? 

There was a report on the news of a protest in Mexico City where this guy threw a tlacuache at the police. I didn't do it but I have been looking for a tlacuache since so I can take a picture too. :) I don't remember how to say tlacuache in English. And it sounds cooler in Spanish anyway.

What is something new you learned about your companion this week? The gospel?
He has had health problems all his life. And his dad is a Evangelical Pastor. That is cool.

About the gospel? Lots, but way too much for the time that I have left to write.... Lemme get back to you on that one.

Weeee #1

From a letter originally posted June 20, 2016

HI THERE! :D

Blessings and miracles exist. I love my mission!

We had an incredible miracle in our area this last week. On Friday we were in a taxi going from one cita to another and got a phone call from a number that I didn't recognize from D.F. Turns out it was a bishop from another mission, calling us to pass us the phone number of an investigator from our area. He said her name was Miriam, and that she had been wanting to come closer to God for a long time and the first people she got ahold of were us. We call them up on Friday, got an appointment for Saturday. When we made it to their house (we got really really lost. They live FAR away.) we got in right now quick. The husband gave us a funny look when he first saw us. And we soon found out why. He was a member, baptized as a teenager, who went inactive when he was 18 and never went back. And it is something that has been hounding him for years. Now he is married, with his wife, and a little daughter, living with their niece. The Spirit was so powerful in that visit. His wife and niece have baptismal dates for the 17th of July. And they all came to church yesterday. They were so happy, and were received so well. My favorite part is divided in two.

1. It will be my last Sunday in the mission

2. José, Miriam's husband, has the Aaronic Priesthood, and he will likely have the chance to baptize his lovely wife and niece. So cool.

This week will be very strange. It is the last week of Presidente Whitehead... I can hardly believe it. Time has flown by so fast. By the time I write next week I will have my new mission Presidente, Presidente Grossen. I will likely not get to know him well because he will just barely be getting here on the 28th, so a good report on how awesome he is will likely have to wait a little. :) It is going to be strange not having Presidente Whitehead here. He has been such a solid and good constant in all of my mission. Sigh. I am gonna miss him like crazy. It was such a blessing to be under his stewardship.

On top of all of the incredible things that happened this last week, on Friday I got to go to the temple sealing of Gabriel and Maria Ines and their little daughter Meredith, a family that I baptized a year ago in Chamapa. We almost didn't make it, due to problems with traffic and the fact that the human body ALWAYS decides that it needs a bathroom right when you are running most behind. But we made it.

It is something incredible to see your converts in temple clothing. Seeing them in a temple, kneeling on an altar, with so much love and joy in their eyes. It was the first sealing that I had ever seen, and I was extremely impacted by it. This family passed by so many problems and trials to make it to this point. But it was totally worth it. They are so beautiful. This was something that I wanted most as a missionary: To accompany a convert family of mine through the temple. And I got it. I cannot describe to you the immense satisfaction that I felt witnessing this wonderful moment. Words will ever be inadequate to describe the heavenly moments that we experience from time to time in our lives.

That about wraps up last week. 

Love you all!

Elder Kennington

Weee #2

From a letter on June 27, 2016

This last week. Was. Awesome.

First off, we found a miracle baptism for yesterday! We were wandering around in the street on Wednesday afternoon after a series of important appointments had fallen when we got a phone call from our ward mission leader. He told us of a single mother in our ward who had been inactive for many years until about a year ago, when her teenage daughter got baptized. And he told us that her son, who had been taking the missionary lessons, after a long series of treatments was living with her again. Her son, Jonathan, is sixteen years old. He has a type of cerebral palsy that basically leaves him unable to move. He has motion in al of his head and face, and his left arm, and a little bit in his legs. He is such a special spirit. Such a prepared one. We finished preparing him in a couple days and he got baptized on Sunday. Woo! :D

And this Sunday we have two more baptisms lined up. The husband of the Tovar family, who got baptized a month back (the ones that were singing their lungs out coming home from the temple a couple weeks back) is finally able to get baptized. He sacrificed working on Sundays. The sacrifices of this family are truly incredible. In the same moment that his family got kicked out of their house due to financial issues and are currently living in what is literally a storage shed, Eliazar stopped working Sundays so he could come to church. He is truly incredible. The Lord has some truly wonderful blessings in store for him.

We officially have a new mission President. Presidente Grossen just got to the mission today. We are so excited to have him! He will be able to help us out a lot. Tomorrow early in the morning Presidente Whitehead's airplane ships out to Utah. Can hardly believe it. I am going to miss him and Sister Whitehead so much. They have done more to help me through my mission than I could ever express.

That wraps up this last week! Hope that y'all have a good one! :D

Love you!
Elder Kennington

Photos:

1. Temple sealing day for Gabriel and Maria Ines and their daughter

2. Gabriel and Maria

3. Last zone conference in Lerma-Zitácuaro with President and Sister Whitehead

Preguntas Mas Rapido

From June 20, 2016

1. Tell me some more about Elder Uelese.

He is a really cool Elder from Samoa. The only one in the mission right now. Elder Costello was his trainer. He loves to sing and eat. He got tattoos removed so he could go on a mission. One of the humblest elders that I have met here. When he was in his first change I was in the offices as a secretary. When he and Elder Costello came into the offices for a capacitation they spent the night with us and Elder Uelese and I made pancakes. Nothing bonds two missionaries like good pancakes and a mutual love for music. :)

2. Elder Reyes sounds great. Has he taught you how to cook anything Colombian?

NO. Something that I am quite peeved about. :) haha. Today he asked his mom for a recipe for coconut rice, which is one of his favorite foods.

3. Does Elder Reyes have French ancestry? Jean Pierre is rather interesting for a South American.

Nope! His mom just liked the name. :) Haha.

4. How many missionaries are coming home in your same flight?

It's kind of wierd. There are at least 10-12, but on my flight itinerary the only missionary that appears is Hermana Drew, who was in my district a couple changes back. Not quite sure, in other words, how many are gonna be on my flight.

5. Have you learned to make flan YET?

YESIHAVELEARNEDHOWTOMAKEFLANANDITISDELICIOUSANDREALLYEASYWEAREGOINGTOMAKEITWHENIGETHOME.

6. What is this week’s silly story?

I got sick. And kept working 'cause I'm a burro. :) Hahaha so funny.

Hullo Thar

From a letter originally posted June 13, 2016

FAMILY!

Things are going alright here. We are working hard to keep our families progressing and reach our goals of baptisms this month. I can't believe that we are already more than half-way through June!

We have several families that are progressing well right now. There was a mom with her two kids that came to church yesterday that loved everything about it. Turns out that one of our Recent Converts that is super good is an old friend of hers, and that just made her experience at church yesterday awesome for her. She and her kids have a baptismal date for the 10th of July. We also have another family that is coming along well but that has difficulties with coming to church, due to some problems with very Catholic family. They are doing great, and have baptismal dates for the 3rd of July.

Progressing particularly well is an older gentleman named Jaime. He is a stud! Father, Grandfather, and retired employee of a law firm. He has every reason to just be happy how and where he is, but he decided that he needed to change his life and find God. He came to church a couple Sundays ago on his own, and just came again yesterday. He really wants to get baptized. He about cried when we invited him to do so, saying that he would love to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ, and wasn't sure if he was going to be accepted. Each lesson that we have with him is very touching. He has a baptismal date for the 26th this month. He will only have four assistances, so you will be receiving a phonecall asking for the exception. And Jaime is truly exceptional.

Our work with the ward is going well. Our ward mission leader (who is 23 years old) just got a girlfriend who got back from her mission three weeks ago, which has kind of taken him off of the face of the planet for these last two weeks. :) Aside from that we are working very hard with everyone. This ward is extremely supportive. I am so grateful that I will finish my mission here.

We went to the temple again yesterday! I am really excited for all of the families that went. They are progressing so well. Do you remember Laura and her three kids and granddaughter that all got baptized last month? We spent the whole car ride home with them. They are such strong converts. The kids spent forty five minutes singing all of their favorite hymns at the top of their lungs. Through the monster headache that I had after the first two minutes, I was really touched that these people have a mere month in the church and they have memorized so many hymns. I love the people here. I would never have chosen anywhere else for my mission.

Church is true and the book is blue!!

Love you!

Elder Kennington

Preguntas Mas Rapido

 From a letter posted June 13, 2016

1. What more have you learned about your new companion? Do you know his first name?

His name is Jean Pierre. He has two and a half years as a member. He loved music before the mission. His favorite music is Salsa and dubstep. His mom and sisters are all members. His dad, who lives apart, is an evangelical pastor. That made things tricky for his baptism. Elder Reyes is a cool guy. :)

2. How many missionaries are in your district?

We currently have eight missionaries. It is very possible that they will put another area in my district in the next couple of weeks due to some challenges with a new district leader over there, making us 10 missionaries. Which was the whole zone anyway last change. It is like I never changed assignments...Haha.

3. You said to remind you about a story about Elder Alegre Soto.

I cannot figure out how, but somehow Elder Alegre Soto figured out how to forget ALL of his clothes when he went to his new area. I got a phonecall a couple nights ago from the Secretaries saying that Elder Alegre needed me to send it through pouch for concilio today. And that he wanted me to wash everything. I am nice, but not that nice... Haha. Yup.

4. What is the quirkiest thing to happen to you this week?

When we were going to the temple yesterday we kept poking fun at our ward mission leader for the last time we went and how he got us lost for four hours in the middle of the city. On the way home we were behind his car, with another family in front. When we went to take a right turn, the ward mission leader went straight. So our driver went barreling on after him almost crashing to go save him. The whole way we were all laughing. We couldn't believe that he got lost again. We pull up next to his car, honk the horn...

And then we realized that it wasn't his car. It was someone else. Haha. Yup. We were the burros. It served us right. :)

5. How far away from your church building are you?

We are roughly twenty minutes away. Walking it would be a few hours. I really took it for granted that in Payson we can walk to church in about 10 minutes.... Haha. :)

Hey There

 From a letter originally posted May 23, 2016

This is gonna be a short one! We are running around like crazy right now.

Things are going awesome. Lerma was in really bad shape (our zone is Lerma) for a really bad time, but things are really picking up here. We are so excited for things. We have had more baptisms this last month than the last six months combined, and things are looking like they are still going upwards. Lovin' it! :D

We had three baptisms yesterday. Martina, Laura, and Karen.

Martina is so great. She is the grandma of the family, and the one who wears the pants. :) Usually when we went to go pick her up for church she already had all her kids and grandkids all bathed and dressed up and ready to go. She was a missionary for the Catholic church for a while, and she always says that she understands that a mission is hard. She always gives us sliced fruit or cereal or other little foods when we go to teach them. She is wonderful. :)

Laura is awesome too! She was the one that couldn't get baptized last week because she wasn't married. She got married this last Thursday, and it was a beautiful service. While her husband isn't really interested in the Gospel right now he agreed that it was really important that they take this step; especially as they have two kids together. She was so happy in her baptism.

And Karen is Laura's little granddaughter, who is adorable as all get out. Her parents got really upset when she went and told them that she wanted to get baptized just like the rest of her aunts and uncles, and she got really sad. We went with her to go talk with her parents. We got to know her parents, brought them to church, and she wound up getting her parents permission to get baptized. Her mom is really interested, but her dad is proving to be a little harder. :) We are working there.

This week is going to be a great one. We have another family of 3 that is progressing that, if we can get everything worked out with crazy work schedules, will be getting baptized. I love this area. I love the mission. And I love this work. With all my heart.

Have a wonderful week. :)

Love,

Elder Kennington

Postscript: My feet are great. I am a master of treating ingrown toenails. I have fixed three myself and feel rather accomplished. :):) Haha. Health? Doing great. I currently weight 79.5 kilos, which is great. And fat. :);) Haha. Sleep? I get more and more tired by the day, but that came in the job contract. :) Warm enough? Yep! I think that I am a polar bear like dad. :)