Adorable Four-Year-Old Gatekeepers

I don't have very much time today, so this will be brief.

We worked extremely hard this week, searching for people to teach and help. The problem that we are running into right now is that we have tons of contacts, and many first lessons, but we can never seem to nail down a second lesson with anyone, let alone helping them to come with us to church. Whenever we pass by for them the second time either no one answers the door, or a nervous four year old answers the door reciting "mom and dad aren't home and there isn't anyone else here. Thanks!" Adorable as the latter is, it is a little frustrating when we can see the mom peeking out at us through the upper window. :)

We are trying as hard as we can to learn and grow every day, identifying each night things that we can improve to be better missionaries. We have grown and learned a ton together, but simply our success isn't reflecting that right now. I am really excited for the day we can finally bring someone to the chapel who will light up like a bonfire when they take a hold of our message.

We had Stake Conference this week, which was really cool. They piped a live Conference in from Salt Lake City, where Sister Reeves, Elder Anderson, and a couple of the Seventy in Mexico spoke. It was slightly amusing because they didn't use for this, so Sister Reeves and Elder Anderson spoke in Spanish as best they could. Elder Anderson did great, only mixing up the words "holes" and "eyes," and reading the Spanish with a very French accent. :) But it was incredible too. He talked about sacrifice, and I am currently surrounded by people who often sacrifice everything to be a member of this church. One of my favorite concepts that he talked about is the fact that sometimes we have to sacrifice good things for better things, and these sorts of sacrifices take the most faith. A mission is exactly that sort of sacrifice, and definitely not just for the missionary himself.

Gotta run now...I love you all so much and think about you often, praying for you always.

Love,

Elder Kennington

Preguntas Mas Rapido (Very Quick Questions)

Q:  What was that black ribbony hat thing Elder Medina had on his head in the photo you sent a couple weeks ago?

A:  Ha ha. That was a hat from a four year old girl that is a part of a member family who fed us that day. Isn't he adorable?

Q:  Any animal encounters this week? Besides the stuffed variety?

A:  No animal encounters... Here in the concrete jungle the closest thing we have is drug addicts and drunks... :)

Q:  How does the financial situation of most members and people you meet there in Toluca compare with Crescencio Morales?

A:  Holy cow, so much more money. Some people here would be considered rich in the United States. It is a difference of black and white here. I miss my little pueblo. :)

Q:  What are the typical jobs people hold in your area?

A:  The kinds of jobs that you would find in any given American city, with more prostitutes and pornography artists....Also, every three houses in the street has a little shop that is like a mini gas station. :)

Elder Medina is trying to learn juggling with a couple of ill-fated oranges.

Looks like there wasn't any permanent damage from walking into that tree last week...

I found Dr. Pepper!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D (Mom note: I didn't know he even LIKED Dr. Pepper...)

Owen gets his cute legs from his dad. :)

Elder Medina doing laundry. We do all of ours by hand in this little thing.

Sherlock and Watson

Hiya!! 

This week was interesting. We worked very very hard trying to find people to teach because right now we don't have any progressing investigators. The major struggle that we are having and the reason we don't really have anyone right now is because literally 98% of the people that we teach don't live in our area. They are from De Effe (the Federal District State of Mexico) and surrounding areas, so we have tons of contacts and first lessons, and nothing to show for it.. Getting people to come to church is like pulling teeth, both among most of the members and the investigators. The ward here has more than a hundred people, and we have an average right now of about 45 people showing up... We have our work cut out for us! Thank heavens the bishop here is incredible. Very focused on his duties and responsibilities. I have learned a lot from his example about how I can be a better missionary.

Once again I had another really bad sick day; the worst yet. It was kind of like the first two rolled into one, with a few other stomach problems thrown in, and I was forced to take one day in the house. I am feeling much better now, but when it came to about four o'clock in the afternoon I was asking Elder Medina to review the section in the mission manual about dedicating graves so that he could do mine the following day. Haha. 

We did have one incredible experience this week. We were out contacting one morning and we felt impressed to contact a woman who was saying goodbye to someone at her door. As we approached with the words "Hi, how are you, we are missionaries" she said, "I know Elders. Will you come in for a second?" As it turns out she is an inactive member, and has been for four years. She went inactive because her mother, who has 94 years, has been extremely sick for that long, and she was caring for her mother day and night all day every day. She asked if we could give her a blessing. We walked into the room where her mom was, and the only person I have ever seen lying in a bed weaker was my father when he was millimeters from death. All she could do was simply lie there staring at the ceiling and breathe. As we laid our hands on her head and began to give her a blessing, I felt the sheer amount of love that the Lord has for this beautiful woman fill me up from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. It was the kind of love that comforts beyond words, and blesses beyond comprehension. She doesn't have much time left here, but I know that she will have a reception better than all others waiting for her on the other side. It was incredible how thin the veil was that morning. 

I am out of time for this email, but I just wanted to bear my testimony quickly that I know Heavenly Father lives, and that He loves each one of us more than we can possibly imagine. He wants nothing more than to bless us. If we trust Him and love Him in return, through the sun AND the rain, we WILL see His hand in all things, and be grateful. I promise this, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thank you so much for your love and support, as always! I pray for you, love you, and think about you often. 

Ta ta!
Elder Kennington

Quick Q&A:

Q: Any fun(ny) languages gaffes this week? 
A: Not this week, unfortunately... Haha. Will keep you updated.

Q: Weather there this time of year? Still raining all night? 
A: The raining season is over, so everything is bone dry right now! Ah!! Heeeellllllppppp!

Q: When is your next zone conference? 
A: We have them every first Tuesday of the month.

Q: Where do you use the computer to do email in Toluca? 
A: There is a little internet cafe down the street from our house. :)

Q: What is something you wish Utah had that Mexico does? 
A: Rootbeer, more inexpensive chocolate, and sane drivers in the road. (Mom Note: I'm not sure he read the question correctly...)

Q: Are you still just eating cold cereal for breakfast?  
A: Nope! I have upgraded to Ramen. Life is truly extravagant. :):) 

Funny story quickly. In the Dominican Republic it is not offensive to refer to a person by their color (here tampoco), so for a while I have been Elder White... This got me thinking about Psych a little bit because our relationship is very much like Shaun and Gus. Literally one day we were walking and Elder Medina told me that we were like a pair of detectives searching out people. I responded, "Yeah! Like Sherlock Holmes! Which would make me Robert Downey Jr. and you a black Jude Law." Life is great here. 

Zone Conference

Caution: God Protects Us

Dying in my bed...

Guess who walked face-first into a tree because he wasn't looking where he was going? Lots of blood for a tiny cut... Really, I am ok. The thing that took the biggest blow by far was my pride, and second was the tree that tried impaling me in my eye. Harrumphf. I think I am gonna sneak out in the middle of the night and chop it down. It is a video because Elder Medina had it set to video and I had not idea before I cleaned myself up. Haha.

Settling In In Toluca

Hola!

This week was really good, and I learned a ton.

Firstly, my Spanish is finally starting to take off. I can understand most people without too much trouble now, and can easily contact people. 

Toluca is a completely different animal, when it comes to just about everything. Firstly, the people. Holy cow, are there a ton of people. And the people here are much more open to our message! We have many new investigators every day, and are hoping to see fruits from their growth very soon. The people here in Mexico really are incredible strong. What they have to deal with here is crazy. Life in Utah is a very sheltered one, in many ways. 

Secondly, Toluca itself. Busy. Very very busy. And the entire city is flat as all get out. Crescencia Morales was extremely mountainous, so this is a huge change. I'm not too sad that we are doing a bit less hiking to tell the truth; at least my legs are a bit happier... Haha. 

The church is big too. We have about seventy active members in this ward, and the bishop is sharp as a razor. To be frank I was a little afraid of him when I first met him because he was so focused and intense in his calling. I'm pretty certain I left my first meeting with him with my eyebrows singed because he is takes his responsibility as bishop very seriously. 

Elder Medina is fantastic. We get along great, are working hard and having a marvelous time doing so. We share many of the same interests, namely the computer games/tv shows/movies/etc, so a smile is never far away. He has just fifteen more days than me in the mission, so we are learning together, and we are both learning a ton. 

I'm starting to understand just how the members here view missionaries. It is an incredible feeling to make eye contact with a member, smile, and see them light up. Every person has something special to share, and these people are no exception. And they cannot wait to share whatever they have. The missionaries here are very very well taken care of. 

I am out of time for this week, so next week will be the week of stories. And I have many good ones from this area already. Six weeks here is not long enough. 

I love you all very much, and pray for you every day. Thank you so much for the love, letters, prayers, and support. I wouldn't be here without you.

Love,

Elder Kennington

Quick Q&A:

Q: Do you have to change your clocks back to Standard Time down there?

A: Yup! We had one extra hour to sleep one night. That was lovely. It is a bit of a problem now because every night it is dark around six and no one wants to talk after six.

Q: Did you have any special restrictions for Dia de los Muertos?

A: Nope! Just work as normal. We handed out candy to some of the kids while contacting their parents. That was great. :):)

Q: What is Toluca like? All big city?

A: HOLYCOWALLBIGCITYIMSOOUTOFMYDEPTHRIGHTNOWILOVEIT.

Q: Did Elder Lanza stay in Crescencio Morales?

A: Yup. And he is training another elder, this time a latino.

Q: Have you heard from any of the other MTC elders you came out with?

A: Yeah! They are all having lots of success. Elder Lofgreen has had a couple baptisms.

Q: How's the language now?

A: The language is a little better. Still working on it. :)

Q: What do you know about your companion?

A: He loves League of Legends as well, and is from the Dominican Republic. His birthday is 17 November, and he is 18 right now. Haha. I am older than my mission momma. :)

Elder Medina and a ginormous monkey at a member's home.

Elder Medina, members, animals (live and stuffed...)

Finding Everything But Sleep

Well, this week was chalk full of just about everything!

We spent about an hour a day this week working with one of our golden investigators, who is about sixteen years old, so she could be baptized this Sunday. It was great! She was wide open to everything we had to offer, and was learning loads. She called her mom at the beginning of the week to obtain permission to be baptized, and it was all great. Sunday morning her mom called and gave a stone-cold "no" for her answer. Ouch. I hope that when she turns 18 her desire to be baptized still burns. She is an incredible young woman, who would be an incredibly strong member. Fortunately she can still attend church and everything else, so things are looking up.

We also had a huge surprise this week. Remember the town drunks that I mentioned earlier, named Jesus and Moses? Well, we haven't seen Moses for a while, despite our extensive efforts to look for him. It came to Saturday morning and we found him at his house. He had read the pamphlet we left him about the Word of Wisdom a week before, and had quit alcohol immediately afterwards. One week completely without it. We are so excited! He wants to be baptized, and we are thinking that he can be so in about two weeks!!

We found three new families this week, had an all new record church attendance of 21, and contacted everybody in sight.

And I got transferred yesterday. I must admit I felt like my heart was being torn in two when we were leaving my little Crescencia Morales...

I am now in the heart of Toluca, Mexico State.  It is a night and day difference!! We have warm water, the apartment is medium sized, and we even have a WalMart within a five minute walk of our house. Holy cow!! I am having a huge culture shock all over again. :) Haha.

My new companion, Elder Medina, is great. I love him already. He is from the Dominican Republic, with fifteen more days in the mission than me. Sheesh.  My "mama" is just barely older than I am. :) I am really excited to be working with him. He is a fireball of energy and excitement about the work.

I am out of time for today, so I will wrap up by saying thank you all for your prayers, love, and support. I love you so much!

Love,
Elder Kennington

This week's Quick Q&A
Q:  Another missionary from our ward is serving in Oaxaca, Mexico and experiences frequent earthquakes in his area. Does Owen notice any up where he is?
A:  No, I haven't...Dang. Sounds like things are really exciting where he is at!!

Q:  Any talk or preparation for Dia de los Muertos?
A:  Holy cow, everybody here is dying of excitement. Every store is packed with Halloween merchandise! It has taken great self control to not purchase any myself...

Q:  Where do you go for zone conferences?
A:  They are in my area, at a church building. They are fantastic!

Q:  Commodity you miss the most from home?
A:  Sleep. I have about eight hours for it every night, but have slept pretty badly almost every night in the mission..... :/ Tis ok though!!

Hiking and Teaching in San Bartolo

This week has been crazy, but good.

We spent a lot of time in San Bartolo (about an hour's hike from San Mateo) this week with a family that we met Monday. They are really fantastic, and are really receptive to our message. The only trouble we are having right now is getting them to church, because it is so far away.

I had a pretty nasty sick day this week too. I woke up with a fever that wasn't too bad, and I was having an extremely difficult time explaining it to Elder Lanza and asking if he had any Tylenol for it, so I just blew it off. We worked hard that day, walking and talking a TON, and it steadily got worse. Haha... We worked until the end of the day and it was obvious that something was off because I couldn't move faster than a snail. When we got home I immediately took my temperature and it was 104 degrees....Ha ha. My first thought was "no wonder..." and then I fell asleep on my desk. That was an interesting day.

I spent a lot of time studying the Atonement this week because we have lots of investigators who struggle with alcohol and need help changing, and I read Alma 7:11-12:

"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions of every kin; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people.

"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

The thought came to me that there are many people that think the Atonement of Christ is for all of God's children.

But this is false.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is for every one of God's children. See, one of the things I have been thinking about is just how beautifully the Atonement applies to every one of us as individuals.  Christ has your name individually engraven in His palms, because it is for YOU that he died. For you, that he suffered in Gethsemane. "...that he me know how to succor his people...."

I am out of time for today, but I want to bear my testimony that I know Christ lives, and that His Atonement is there for you to take advantage of, that you may have more happiness and peace in your life.

I love you all so very much and pray for you each night!
Elder Kennington

This week's Q&A:
Q:  How does the mailing thing work for you?
A: I don't know. It is kind of confusing. I just know right now that I give my letters to the ZL (zone leader) .... :)

Q: How are the shoes holding out?
A:  The shoes are fantastic. I love them so much. Eccos were the right ones to go with.

Q: When are your zone conferences (this is when missionaries get their snail mail)? Have you gotten any of my snail mail letters?
A:   My zone conferences are once a month, I think. And I have gotten one of your snail mail letters... the mail here is so weird.

Q:  What is the weirdest thing you've eaten so far? What is your favorite new food?
A:  Ummmm.... Parts of cows I didn't know even existed. Who knew cows had so much edible rubber? Favorite food? Carnitas. Meat and bread. Yum.

Q:  Do you get to do any sightseeing on P-day? What is a typical P-day like?
A:  We occasionally do sightseeing (like last week). They are full of buying food, haircuts, and other necessities. Like basketball. :) Tell Dad that all the churches here have basketball courts too. Not soccer fields.

I found creepy German from Indiana Jones 1 sunglasses. :)  Not mine, but fun to wear!

Elder Kennington tests out the First Vision filter on his camera...

Investigators Cometh and Investigators Goeth

Phew! It is a huge relief to be able to sit down and write to all of my favorite people! This week has been crazy full of walking and hiking... I am convinced that when I leave the mission field I am going to have the body of Apollo. Haha. I wouldn't complain.

We have two new investigators right now, but investigator is kind of a strong word. We have befriended the two town drunks, and they both started trying to quit alcohol. The thing that made me smile to myself when we were first getting to know them we found out their names are Jesus and Moses. Perfect for two drinking buddies, I guess. :)  They are fantastic though. We even had Moses at church yesterday, which was fantastic.

Unfortunately this week had a couple disappointments too...  We have spent a lot of time in San Bartolo, which is a neighboring town of Crescencio Morales (where our apartment is). We had three families out there that are fantastic. Unfortunately, however, we lost one of them Saturday because they decided the pamphlets conflicted with the Bible... Shortly thereafter one of our investigators with a baptismal date for this Sunday back out to. We haven't been able to figure out what happened there yet. The area that Elder Lanza and I are working in is brand new though, never had missionaries, so these setbacks are not extremely surprising. Heck, that is a mission in a nutshell.

Also part of a mission though, is a huge amount of success and joy. No matter what happens each day I go to bed happy as all get out and excited for the next day. I've been learning a lot about the Gospel and myself quite a bit. 

One thing that has really helped me was reading Mosiah 7:29. I was kind of passively reading this in my morning study, when the phrase, "hedging up their ways" and "stumbling block" caught my attention. "For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them."  These stumbling blocks aren't placed in our lives so we can fall and fail. They are here to get us on our knees when we trip over them, that we can remember Father is there and that we need His help.

I'm out of time for this update, but know that I love and pray for you all, always. You are very special to me, and I hope you know that. Thank you so much for the continued love and support. Every bit means the world to me.

I love you!!

Elder Kennington

Some extra Q&A from this week:

Q:  Where did that plaid shirt come from (he sent a picture last week I couldn't forward in which he is wearing a plaid shirt I had never seen before, with birthday cake goo on his face. Since it was kind of a weird pic I did not post it here):

A:  That is the nightgown that I've got ...  :):)

(Remember from the MTC when he talked about ribbing another elder in his district about his nightshirt? The elder's grandmother made one for Owen and another elder and sent them to them)

Q:  Did the raw batter make you sick?

A:  NOPE!! IT WAS LOVELY!!!

Q:  Are you warm enough at night? Do you need warmer pj's? 

A:  I'm perfect, thank you so much! The nights here are great. Most of the time it rains all night.

Q:  Christmas wish list?

A:  Will mail it to you through snail mail. :) Oh. If you want to send me packages, never use UPS. They never make it. Always use the USA postal system, it is the best. Would you mind sending word out? (Now you know!)

Q:  How od you get to Zitacuaro for shopping? 

A:  We take a rickety bus that sounds like it is going to fall apart if we run over a penny. Haha. I love it. Will tell more in my next letter.

Q:  Where do you use a computer to email home? How long are you supposed to have for emailing?

A:  I use a computer in Zitacuaro. And we have one hour total for email. :) (Some of that is needed for emailing his mission president each week to report on their work)

This is Crisanto! :D

 My birthday cake. :):):):):):):) The hermanas here are fantastic!! (Mom: I knew this couldn't be the cake batter because there is no way candles would be upright in it...)

 This is my nightgown. :D

 Found this waterfall near San Bartolo. If all goes well I will be able to baptize in it. :):)

 Visited a pyramid today. I am the one furthest to the left. I think you can zoom in and actually see me, if you like. :)

Humble Pie and Conference

I have eaten a lot of humble pie this week, so the cake I had last week was a little redundant. :) 

As always the Spanish is proving to be a major challenge for me, as I try to figure out what is going on and why. Much of what I am doing right now is following Elder Lanza’s lead. I am doing my best to not become frustrated, and am learning a lot about patience and humility though, so it is not being wasted. 

Thank heavens for General Conference. I hope that everyone who reads this was able to listen to conference and the inspired messages thereof. I especially hope that everyone was able to hear President Monson talk about the Bismark. If I have learned one thing from the mission so far, it is that even the tiniest changes in direction, mentally emotionally and spiritually, have gigantic impacts. Most of the temptations and challenges that the Adversary drops in our path are not intended to stop us in our tracks. In fact, rarely will that happen. What he will do, and almost always does, is lay little pebbles in the path of the boulder, so as to slightly divert its trajectory. 

For me, most of these pebbles take the form of a thought. It is almost always very small. Something that bugs me that I want to dwell on about my companion or the mission, or simply a thought that is telling me that I can’t do something or that something is hard. I need to be careful to not give these thoughts much place, because they will always take root and always grow quickly.

I’m out of time for this email, but I have enough time to tell you all that I love you. I pray for you. Thank you so much for your example, love, and support for me. Every bit means the world to me. Really. If you get the chance, I would highly encourage you to watch or listen or read the General Conference talks. Exhort would be a good word. :)

Thanks again. I love you.

Elder Kennington