Transfers are coming to an end...

Hey everybody! What’s happenen?? 

This transfer is going really fast, we got one week to go, after conference we´ll be getting the call whether or not I´ll be leaving or staying in CasaBlanca!

This week was pretty sweet, we were able to find some new people who accepted our invitation to be baptized. One of the guys is someone who was a reference from the MTC, he is a taxi driver, named Fabian. He let us in for a little bit and said he didn’t have much time, so we started talking and getting to know him. We shared about eternal families which he was really interested in, and in a short amount of time we talked about baptism and invited him to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized and he accepted! He´s a great guy. 

Pretty sweet experience last night on Sunday, me and Elder Ross were sitting there trying to plan for Monday when out of nowhere we hear directly outside of our door and Mariachi band just start jammin out on their guitars and trumpets and a guy singin love songs in Spanish. Really loud. So we got up and my companion opened the door to see what was going on, and when the people outside saw him, they told him to come out and party with them. 

My companion kindly declined without saying a word and closing the quickly closing the door. Awesome.

The Nupia family has a set date for their baptism the 8th of October, they already have attended church and are just waiting to do it after conference. Exciting!! We´ll see if I stay for the next transfer. 

I’m SUPER pumped for conference, it is going to be pure amazingness. 

We are doing some good things here in CasaBlanca, I love this place!! I’ve gotten to know some really wonderful people here, and it’s been the best. 

Well, that’s all the time I got this week, Missionary life is the best. 

Oh! I forgot, We also had a two hour lesson with some Jehovah Witnesses this week, but that story will have to wait for next week.

Love,

Elder Kendall

We got our door fixed! You're welcome mom!

Also, the beds we have in our apartment are ancient.

The grandkid of the family who gives lunch! We call him our little brother!

Plan Bs

Hey Family how’s it all goin??

This week time went really fast like normal, I can’t believe that there are only two weeks left in this transfer. I’ve already had almost 4 and 1/2 months here in CasaBlanca! 

Well, this week didn´t go quite as planned, and so we are having to go with some plan-bs these next couple weeks. One of those things is the baptism of the Nupia family. So, everything was going good for them to be ready for the 24th, and we were really excited. But, on Sunday we passed by the family to see how they were and to bring them to church, when Kelly, one of the kids that is going to be baptized, told us that her mom isn´t going to go back to church. So we were kinda worried about that statement, since it would be really hard to baptize the three kids if their mom is less active still. So we asked if they were still going to church and she said that she was. Kelly and her sister Paola showed on Sunday, but when we asked if we could pass by the same night to teach the rest of the lessons that we needed to before their baptism, their mom said no. 

So, we are still trying to figure that out, I think their baptisms will have to wait for after General Conference, and after the Transfer. 

Other than that they are all good and ready for baptism. We have some other good people we have found, and are just trying to get people to show up to church. 

I’m super pumped for General Conference in two weeks! I’m going to be here In CasaBlanca which will be really cool. I’m kinda afraid I’m going to be leaving, which would feel a little too soon. But, it will all be the will of the Lord. 

Anyways, not much else happened, we´re getting along here and I can’t believe how fast the time is going!

Awesome Scripture by the way, Alma 34:7-9

The Atonement is perfect, and its why I can change, and I’m so very grateful for that!!!

Love

Elder Kendall

If you look really closely you can see Elder Ross :)

Zach was really intrigued by these men cutting down trees with a machete

2 Toothbrushes Down, 1 to Go

Wow! Time goes like really fast! More than a year ago I was sitting in the CCM and not understanding any Spanish! I’m sure glad that those days are long gone, and speaking Spanish is a lot of fun!

Opened up another one of my 6 month toothbrushes, when I open the next one, I´ll only have 6 months left in the mission! What’s up with that?? Anyways, my teeth are clean!

This week was pretty good, we got some good stuff done and found a little bit of new people. Something that was interesting was that every single day we had someone come up to us in the street and ask us who we were or what we were doing, and we have been able to teach a few of them! 

Wednesday was one of those days! We got to meet with a guy named Yovanni and his 9 year old daughter Geraldine. They are awesome! Yovanni speaks like really good English, and he asked us to teach the first time with him in English! And it was super hard! I have pretty much how to talk about the gospel in English now, it was pretty difficult to think of the words and explain things clearly. It was cool. 

Friday we taught Ninfa again, and we went full out Bible mode to help her out to really understand the Apostasy of the church of Jesus Christ, and she was left with a sure answer that the church has the same exact organization that Christs church had anciently. It was pretty powerful, we are just helping her attend now because she has a little bit of doubts of changing her religion. That’s why I love General Conference!! I know that all her doubts can be resolved just by listening to the prophet Thomas S. Monson. 

Oh yeah, also completed a year on Friday. 

Weird.

Saturday, Bosa had 4 more baptisms and I did 4 more baptism interviews. They are a family that are fantastic, and the opportunity to interview a person to see how they have prepared themselves for baptism is one of the coolest, and most nerve-racking, things you can do as a district leader. That was the cool part about Saturday. 

Sunday. So, we got to the chapel and all the people that said they were going to come, didn’t show up. The only highlight was that Ceniada, an investigator we have been teaching, called us and said" Hey I wanna go to church will you guys come pick me up?" We were like "UM, YEAH!" But, as the meeting started, the Nupia family hadn’t shown up, and that meant they weren’t going to make it to their date on the 24th, and I probably wasn’t going to see anyone baptized in my time here in CasaBlanca.

During the passing of the Sacrament, I was feeling really bummed, and disappointed like I hadn’t done stuff right. In short, I felt like I failed here. Then, the Mendieta family showed up, and I thought alright that’s better! I didn’t totally mess up. Then a new guy named Edwin called us and said he was outside of the church, so we went out and brought him in and I sat with Edwin and my companion sat with Cenaida. I was feeling a little better, when I looked over to my companion and he signaled for me to look back behind me. 

When I looked back, I saw the 3 kids from the Nupia family!!! They came!! By themselves!! Which means they are still on track to be baptized on the 24th of September!!! In that moment, I felt like the Lord answered my prayers and showed His endless love and mercy that he has for me. I was so happy! 

So, this week ended up pretty awesome. God is so good, and he is always willing to answer our prayers! I love being a missionary!!

Love,

Elder Kendall

 

Playing soccer with President Baquerizo

My companion, Elder Ross

Also, new super cool thing, it's no longer Star Wars but Star WABS!!

So I burned a shirt... in a dust pan...

Me and Elder Ross

Obedience is how to live a happy life

Howdy hey everyone!! I'm glad to hear that the Stallions are keepin it up in Football and beat Grantsville, I just gotta say that! 

This week there were some pretty cool stuff that happened.  One of them is that I got to do the baptism interviews of two people in Bosa this week, which are always really cool. The two people were ready for baptism and got baptized and confirmed! 

Also, today for p-day we played soccer against another zone and also President Baquerizo!! So that was really fun. President really knows how to get goals. I didn't do too shabby myself playing too, it was a lot of fun. 

I don't like where all the time is going! I'm already going to have one year in the mission this week, and I remember entering the MTC here in Colombia like it was yesterday. I feel like I have changed a lot, and not only in my Spanish.

Monday: We got to teach the Nupia family!! They are super cool, the mom and the three kids came to church last week. The night of the lesson, the sister Edith's (the mom) daughter, who is a little older than the others, Juliana, was there. The mom told us how in Church she had prayed a lot for her daughter to come back home, because a while ago she left the house and started living with a dude, and wasn't heading on the best path. But, her daughter came back, and the mom's prayer was answered! We taught the restoration and how it was a blessing to their whole family and how if they are obedient they can become an eternal family! It was super cool.

Then, not a whole lot happened the rest of the week until Saturday. Friday, we had a district meeting and tried to have a bunch of appointments but they all fell. We haven't been able to find very many new investigators this week. 

Saturday was really cool. We had a Zone Conference, and in the morning before the conference we had to go run and get the keys to the church. While we were running to the bishop's house, two different people stopped us, one on a bus and one on the street, and told us that they wanted us to pass by and teach them! Blessings!! 

Sunday, only Kelly and Juliana, two of the kids of the Nupia family could come to church, but they loved it. Oh yeah, also Ninfa came to church!!!! We fasted and prayed so that she would come to church atleast to listen to the testimonies, because she has been really worried about changing churches and going to the church, and she came!!! She could only stay for the one hour, but I know that that was an answer to my companion's and I fasting and prayer. She is going to get baptized, she just needs a little bit more time.

The most important thing I think I have learned in this last year is this: Obedience

I actually realized its really simple. Some of my favorite verses from the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 2:22-24 and 41. All that God asks us to do is keep his commandments. Whether that's paying our tithing or simply listening to good music, if we are obedient, we will recieve the promised blessings ALWAYS! God has told us, you just need to be obedient, and I will make you happy ALWAYS! If we arent obedient, we simply miss out on the blessings that God desires so greatly to give us. 

It is like what Jesus says to the guy that asks him "What is the great commandment in the law" He replies "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength." Because if we "Love [God], keep [His] commandments."

My favorite part is the feeling that I get when we are teaching someone and God gives me the opportunity to feel the spirit in such abundance that I am encompased about by His love that He has for His children. There is absolutly nothing like it. 

The hardest part might be between eating the food and the food that I have to eat. Just Kidding!! The hardest part I think is when you see someone and you know that they are feeling the spirit and that they know what your saying is true and they just turn away from it. It's pretty heartbreaking when people just don't want to listen to the truth and see all the blessings that they can recieve. 

I can't believe where the time is going! It is just unbelievable, but I'm trying to live it up to my fullest. 

Love you guys, like a whole lot,

Elder Kendall