November 4th 2013

Hi Everyone! This email will be SUPER quick, I'm really out of time, but I thought I'd share a cool thing I discovered while reading one of the old Relief Society Manuals :]

" I really wanted to share something I discovered in my Studies this morning, from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith:

While being taken from Far West, Missouri, in November 1838, to his imprisonment in Richmond, Missouri, the Prophet again taught the gospel: “We were visited by some ladies and gentlemen. One of the women came up, and very candidly inquired of the troops which of the prisoners was the Lord whom the ‘Mormons’ worshiped? One of the guard pointed to me with a significant smile, and said, ‘This is he.’ The woman then turning to me inquired whether I professed to be the Lord and Savior? I replied, that I professed to be nothing but a man, and a minister of salvation, sent by Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel.

“This answer so surprised the woman that she began to inquire into our doctrine, and I preached a discourse, both to her and her companions, and to the wondering soldiers, who listened with almost breathless attention while I set forth the doctrine of faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance, and baptism for remission of sins, with the promise of the Holy Ghost, as recorded in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles [see Acts 2:38–39].

Each member of the Church has a responsibility to share the gospel. “All are to preach the Gospel,” the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.”

“The woman was satisfied, and praised God in the hearing of the soldiers, and went away, praying that God would protect and deliver us.

I truly discovered that teaching the Doctrine of Christ is exactly how the Prophet urged his first missionaries to conduct their sermons, and how they received thousands of convert baptisms all across England, and South America! I've been doing my best to improve my focus on the Doctrine of Christ and I truly feel as if it has made a big difference in how I've been acting towards my calling as a missionary, and have found a brand new desire to talk to everyone, and overcome my reluctance of talking to everyone. 

We set a new Baptismal date with Vanessa for December  14th. She's truly a wonderful girl, and despite some rather interesting circumstances concerning her guardianship with her uncle, I know she's truly been prepared to receive this gospel. I'm SO grateful for the opportunity that I've been give to serve along side these two wonderful sisters as well. I love abottsford! And I would be very sad to see it go. But I suppose wherever the Lord wants me, that's exactly where I should be! 

I'm SO grateful to have such awesome friends and family like you guys!  I promise the email I send next week will be MUCH more interesting ;] Love you!

love <3 Sister Kennedy 

October 28th 2013

Hi everyone!!! This week has been absolutely INCREDIBLE! I can't even begin to tell you about the miracles that I've witnessed, so first I'll just start with a short little bullet list of people we are working with, and a little bit about them.

-Vanessa- She's seventeen years old and from Ghana! She's an incredible teen who's ABSOLUTELY hilarious! She's christian, and has had some really amazing experiences as a christian. She lives with her Sister and Cousin, and has only been in Canada for three months! We set a Baptismal date with her for November 30th. We originally tracted into her, and she let us right in, she's SO cute!

-Li- He's a Chinese man who's lived in Canada for Seven years, and has had experiences when he was a child to help him to know that there IS a God. He's a very humble man who's very well spoken in English and is always hungry to learn more about the Gospel. He's a little different teaching experience, but He's also VERY in tune with the spirit, and excited to learn more! We invited him to baptism and he said No, but he also said! "Toooo Soon, How can I know that its the truth yet?" All he needs is that Mandrin Book of Mormon that we got for him... and He's Golden!

-Star- Her story was pretty incredible. We were on splits with a YSA named Taija, when we met Star. Her sister and her walked right up to us and said, " you're Missionaries?! That's SO cool!" We began talking and got to know them both a little bit, but ended up leaving a short time afterwards. two days later, we had a baptism to go to, and didn't have an investigator to come with us! So acting upon a pretty strong prompting, we knocked on Star's door, and invited her to the Baptism. After a little bit of strange conflict with other members of her home ( She lives in a Recovery House), she said ," You know what? I'd LOVE to go!" We spent about an hour talking to her, and listening to her life struggles after the baptism. She's not quite ready for the gospel at this time, but she cried and thanked us for our kindness and for helping people where we could.

-Amy- Probably the biggest miracle we saw this week came in the form of a returning member named Amy. She's the nicest, funniest person I've ever met in my entire life, and has three adorable kids! Both my companions had felt the prompting to go see her, after some of our other plans fell through, so we arrived at her house. At first, no one answered, but I knocked a third time and she answered! We came right in and she was SO glad to see us. We gave her a copy of President Utchdord's talk, Forget me Not. She began to cry and tell us just how much this meant to her. After we cheered her up, her friend popped by, so we left. Only an hour later, she called to tell us that day had been the one month mark since she stopped smoking, and that just a few minutes before we had come, she had just been about to give up and go buy a pack of cigarettes because of how alone she felt. She didn't tell us these things because her friend had arrived, but she felt that we were truly an answer to her prayers in the form of a miracle.

I'm SO grateful to Heavenly Father for the many miracles that he has blessed me with up till now, and for all of the love and support that you all have shown me as well. Thank you SO much for writing me, and I'm so lucky and blessed to have you in my life! I love you all! And I'm sorry if you didn't get a personal response this week, promise you'll get one next week!

<3 Love,

Sister kennedy

P.S. HOLY CROW, only 10 months left, Howww weiiiirdd!

October 21st 2013

Hi Everyone! What an amazing week we had here in Abbottsford! I can't believe all of the amazing miracles we've gotten to see! I'll have to be very brief since i'm practically out of time! But one of the awesome things that I've studied this week was the Christ-like attribute of charity:

 

Mathew 25

 31 ¶When the ^aSon of man shall come in his ^bglory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
 32 And before him shall be gathered all ^anations: and he shall ^bseparate them one from another, as a ^cshepherd divideth his ^dsheep from the goats:
 33 And he shall set the sheep on his ^aright hand, but the goats on the left.
 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his ^aright hand, Come, ye ^bblessed of my Father, ^cinherit the ^dkingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
 35 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye ^bgave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a ^cstranger, and ye took me in:
 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye ^avisited me: I was in ^bprison, and ye came unto me.
 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
 39 Or when saw we thee ^asick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.
 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the ^aleft hand, ^bDepart from me, ye ^ccursed, into everlasting ^dfire, ^eprepared for the devil and his angels:
 42 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the ^aleast of these, ye did it not to me.
 46 And these shall go away into ^aeverlasting ^bpunishment: but the ^crighteous into ^dlife ^eeternal.

Truly we follow the example of Jesus Christ as closely as we can, both as Christians, and as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints!

Because of all of the amazing things that I have seen happen this week, I only have time to share one, but her name is Lorrie. Lorrie is a Native woman who has struggled with alochol abuse for many years, and has been desperate to get her life back together! We met her on what we call the miracle bench right off of George Fergueson Highway, and she was SO excited to see us! Her family lives in alberta, and her brother was a bishop, but he passed away sveral years ago. When we met her she said, " Thank you SO much for being here, you've made my day so much better." then she started to cry. She gave us her phone number, and said she'd come to church! She was So solid! But when we tried the phone number, it didn't work! A few days later we were walking down the street again... and we saw her again! Truly miracles! We got the correct phone number, and had the chance to help her attend church! She said to us," I felt SO good getting up today, and I'm so glad to be here! All I want to do is turn my life around!"

Miracles, charity, and great faith attends all those who will simply believe. I'm SO grateful for all of the love and support you give me each weeek! Love you guys sooo much! Write Back soon!

<3 Love Sister Kennedy

October 14, 2013

Hola mi Familia y amgios! :D

 

That's random I know, but I just got my Spanish MTC words and phrases booklet, so I can practice gospel terms and such... so far, my reading of the Book of Mormon in Spanish is a little choppy, but we'll see where it goes ;]

 

ANYWAYS, So this has by far been the strangest transfer of my life. My first week was spent in Chilawack... without doing a single day of proselyting!! My poor comp had tore two tendons in her ankle, and was unable to walk anywhere! And of course it was her right ankle, so she couldn't drive! And because of my issues with the DMV, I literally have an absolute zero chance of being able to get A BC license... so there will be no more driving for ME on my mission! Oh well, I'm not really all that bummed about it to be honest haha. But i'm so grateful for all of the many wonderful blessings the Lord has seen fit to bestow upon me this week!

 

First, I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T EMAILED IN TWO WEEKS. Obviously, things have been a little nuts, and considering, I'm surprised I'm even getting things written here today... SO BUSY! But its fantastic! I'll share one of my favorite talks from conference with you, and then tell you about one of the Miracles that occurred here in Abbottsford just a few days ago.

 

Russel M. Ballard

 

Put your Trust in the Lord

 

"My message this afternoon is that the Lord is hastening His work. In our day this can be done only when every member of the Church reaches out with love to share the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to work together in partnership with our 80,000 missionaries now serving. Information about this great work, especially the assignments for the stake and ward council leaders, is clearly outlined on the LDS.org website entitled “Hastening the Work of Salvation.”
We know from our research that most active members of the Church want the blessings of the gospel to be part of the lives of others whom they love, even those whom they have never met. But we also know that many members hesitate to do missionary work and share the gospel for two basic reasons.

1. •The first one is fear. Many members do not even pray for opportunities to share the gospel, fearing that they might receive divine promptings to do something they think they are not capable of doing.
2. •The second reason is misunderstanding of what missionary work is.

We know that when someone gets up to give a talk in sacrament meeting and says, “Today I’ll be talking about missionary work,” or perhaps even when Elder Ballard gets up in general conference and says the same thing, some of you listening may think, “Oh no, not again; we have heard this before.”
Now, we know that no one likes feeling guilty. Perhaps you feel you may be asked to do unrealistic things in your relationships with friends or neighbors. With the help of the Lord, let me remove any fear you or any of our full-time missionaries may have in sharing the gospel with others.
Make the decision to do what Jesus Christ has asked us to do. The Savior has said:
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
“Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
“If ye … know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:7–11).
Brothers and sisters, fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities. Then, we must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children, and surely those opportunities will come. These opportunities will never require a forced or a contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters. Just be positive, and those whom you speak with will feel your love. They will never forget that feeling, though the timing may not be right for them to embrace the gospel. That too may change in the future when their circumstances change."

Everyone, how happy has the Gospel of Jesus Christ made you?! PLEASE, I emplore you to take Elder Ballard's challenge, and have someone in your home by Christmas! We will never be able to repay the Savior for what he has sacrificed for us, But I know, that we CAN give him a wonderful gift for his celebrated birthday! "How great will be our joy if we bring, save one soul unto Christ?!"
And as for the Miracle we saw, we were walking in downtown Abby, and walked past what Sister Bowman and Facer call the Miracle bench. We talked to a woman named Lorrie who had been wandering from Alberta. Her family are members, and she had been taking the missionary discussions years ago! She had wanted to get baptised, but she fell victim to the all too common allure of Alocohol, and couldn't escape her weakness. To start over, she moved to BC to stay with a Friend, and was at that time searching for a job when we ran into her," I always wanted to see the missionaries and go to church again, You three made my day!" And then she started to cry. We set a baptisimal date with her, right there on the street, and have plans to begin teaching her here soon. What miracles!

 

Abbottsford is SO beautiful, and I'm SO grateful to be here with these two wonderful sisters! I love you all, and I hope things are going well.

And guess waht.... I have piiicctuuurees! Love you!! <3

<3 Sister Kennedy

 

September 30th 2013

 Hi Everyone!! :D Hope you haven't all forgotten that I'm still alive!
;] Another week in White Rock, and honestly, the BEST we've ever seen,
especially as far as results go! President Tilleman has issued a
challenge to all of us, and that's to baptize one person per
companionship for the month of October. There's around 125
companionships in this mission!!! The challenge was issued as a gift
to President Monson, to show him that our mission has truly responded
to the call to "Hasten the work!" The past two months have been record
setting for us! Little less than ten years ago, the average baptism
was around 15-20 baptisms a month, and those were GOOD months, The
past two months we've had over forty both months!!!! Now, as we are in
the last day of September, the work to find those who are prepared by
the hand of the Lord has increased immensely! And i'll tell you what,
the pressure has been ridiculous!

I'm a district leader, and with only one other companionship(a very
successful companionship mind you) , in our area, the pressure to have
a solid baptismal date for October was looming over Sister Smigel and
I. We've worked ourselves to the BONE this past week, and I can say
with quite a bit of confidence that I've never walked so much in my
life! We've talked to dozens of people each day, and didn't manage to
find a single person who would become a soild investigator! Our only
real investigator, is a woman named Rene, who's incredibly sweet, but
extremely fearful. We've met her three times now, and FINALLY she
allowed us to share the Book of Mormon with her. In fact, one of the
most powerful witnesses that I've receieved from the Holy Ghost, was
from that particular lesson. Sister Smigel and I were worried that
we'd have to reflect Rene, ( like we've had to do with four other
people in the past two to three weeks). However, as soon as we sat
down, and began to discuss with Rene about some of the Concerns she
had with her family, she started to cry, and softened quite a bit. We
started off with reading the story of the Savior's baptism in Mathew 3
with her, and she listened closely. Then, we gave a brief introduction
to how 2 nephi 31 would explain it better. Then we asked her about her
feelings towards the fact that we read from the Book of Mormon. She
was polite, but said that she had little to no interest in reading it
because of the Revelations scripture that explains no further
scripture. ( This is one of the oldest concerns in the book! -_- )
However, instead of going ahead with our original plan about teaching
the full restoration, I instead began to bare my testimony about the
love of God, and began to explain my feelings as to why Heavenly
Father gave us the Book of Mormon. Heavenly Father loves ALL of his
children, equally! Why in the world would he allow half of the world
to dwindle in unbelief, without prophets, or without the knowledge of
the Savior?? Noah's flood indicates pretty well how much he cares
about the state of the entire world's wellbeing. Better his children
perish physically and recieve the chance to learn the gospel in the
after life, then dwindle in unbelief for their entire life, and sin in
ignorance because of the general populace.

As I began to say this, I was overcome with emotion, and a powerful,
confirming witness ( one that I've recieved serval times before,
although not nearly as powerfully) warmed my heart, and I watched
Rene. Her face seemed to be one of skeptisism, but she was LISTENING.
And by the end of the conversation, she accepted the Book of Mormon,
though a little hesitantly, and invited us back next week to help her
paint. I can't tell you about every single one of the numerous
miracles that I've seen on my mission, but I CAN tell you about the
ones that impact me the most. This was most certainly one I'll carry
with me for the rest of my days.

The days following were still extremely difficult. Sister Smigel, from
an old basketball injury, has to go into the mission doctor this week
because she's been over exherting her left knee from all the walking
we've been doing. And last Saturday, we spent almost every single hour
possible attempting to get that baptisimal date. Our absolutely Golden
investigator by the name of Jill, was going to England for a month,
and would not be home until Oct 24, and there was NO way she'd be able
to recieve all of the lessons by then.
By 8 o clock, we were walking down the major street close to our home,
and I had reached the end of the rope. I despaired because I felt for
a few moments, that the Lord had seen us unfit for the blessings of a
Baptism in October, and that we had failed. Moments after praying in
my heart for relief from the Sorrow, of all things to happen, some
stupid teenager through an Egg right at us! It didn't hit either one
of us directly, but I most certainly felt the brush of it on my hand.
Sister Smigel and I had to laugh, but it was really a testimony to our
Day Lol!

The day closed, and we went home satisfied with the Work we had
done... but still sad we couldn't find that baptisimal date.... until
nine o clock that night when our Zone Leaders Called us. Elder Pierson
and Elder marshall, though our zone leaders, are also the other
english missionaries we have in White Rock. They called us to tell us
that not only were they handing over an investigator to us ( A Recent
Converts daughter by the name of Emma Kwanning, from Guam.), but that
Emma was ready to be baptised at ANY time as soon as they recieved
permission from her father! She would certainly count as our October
baptism.

So here's a long winded, but solid testimony. God DOES answer prayers!
He knows every single one of us individually, and loves us, and knows
our hearts better than even WE do! I am so grateful to be apart of
this mission, and to see the miracles that the Lord blesses these
great people with. Canada Vancouver is most CERTAINLY the greatest
mission on earth, and I can't wait to share more of my miracles with
you!!

Hope everything is going on great back home, and across the world
wherever you are! :D I loveee you all! Transfers are this week, so I
won't find out tonight if Sister Smigel and I are going to be in White
Rock still, or if we'll move on. But I'm grateful to the Lord for
everything I've learned here. Though its been hard, its been my
refiner's fire!

Y'all better write back! I love you ! :D

Love Sister Kennedy

September 16th 2013

Hey everyone!! Sorry this will be so short, so much to do today
unfortunately. But I hope things are going well on the home front! We
just got done with a fireside with President Tilleman last night, and
I'm SO exhausted. It took SO much planning, and organizing things! We
had to do a good portion of the work ( because everyone knows you
can't rely on elders ;] ) but everything went pretty well! In fact, an
investigator who had been sitting in the "reflection pool" for awhile,
showed up with her mom! We'll most likely be visiting her again soon;
hopefully, she'll be ready for baptism this time!

I'm so grateful to all of you for all of the love and support you give
me. Especially to my mom and dad, and for all of the amazing,
uplifting mesages I get from them each week. It means so much to me
that the Lord has blessed our family so much! I have tons to say, but
instead, I'll have to cut it short and just leave you with a little
spiritual thought. I found this scripture in my personal study this
morning. Think about a teaching from the Prophet Joseph Smith when you
read this scripture from 2 corinthians 6 =

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness?

Its interesting, also , to consider what the Lord has taught us in
regards to the glories of his kingdoms, " For there are many mansions
in the house of my father." How awesome to know that we have this
amazing Plan of Salvation!

I love you all, and thank you for all the love and support,

Love,

Sister Kennedy

September 9th 2013

 HI everyone! Yep, another week in White Rock, yay! The weather has
been a little dreary the passed few days, but now its sunny! And that
means more energy and get-up for the Arizona Girl. Its kind of sad how
much the sun affects my mood. Will I ever live anywhere else but the
desert? ....Thats probably a big fat no haha ;]

Anyways, the Lord has been really trying to teach me something this
week.... and I didn't figure out what it was, until yesteday at
church! I was abslutely miserable the whole morning, and my poor
companion couldn't get me to talk about anything, let alone have a
real conversation or be useful. I honestly didn't know WHAT my problem
was, but I tell you, it felt like I had a 500 lb weight on my
shoulders. Which, interestingly enough, was kind of what the Sister
Trainer Leaders had addressed with me, last week. We had the
oppriunity to do companion exchanges with them, and I had the chance
to work in Langely for awhile. Sister Gibb knew about my severe
insomnia, and she said to me," You know, I have a pretty strong
feeling, that I can promise you, that if you filter everything through
the Doctrine of Christ, and stay as obedient as you can, then you'll
be able to sleep peacefully, every night. And read ALma 23 + 24, the
Lord will do the same for you." This is what I found in my Studies of
these scriptures:

ALma 23:

21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to achasten his people; yea, he
trieth their bpatience and their faith.

22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his atrust in him the same shall be
blifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.

23 For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into
abondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God, yea,
even the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob.

Mosiah 24

10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they
began to cry mightily to God.

11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he
aput guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found
calling upon God should be put to death.

12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord
their God, but did pour out their ahearts to him; and he did know the
bthoughts of their hearts.

13 And it acame to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in
their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort,
for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will
covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the aburdens which are put upon your
shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while
you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as bwitnesses
for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord
God, do visit my people in their cafflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma
and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did astrengthen them
that they could bear up their bburdens with ease, and they did submit
cheerfully and with cpatience to all the will of the Lord.

16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their
patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be
of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

17 And he said unto Alma: Thou shalt go before this people, and I will
go awith thee and deliver this people out of bondage.


 ---------------------------

Basically, what Sister Gibb wanted me to learn, was to humble myself,
and I would learn what the spirit had to teach me. I went to church,
and listened to the messages, but STILL felt depressed. Then, an
unexpected, and incredibly thoughtful gesture by Sister Smigel, lifted
me spirits, because she allowed me to cry.
I was simply missing somone, and she has a talent for writing lyrics,
so she jotted down a quick little inspiration of words, and showed
them to me. They were sweet, and exactly what I would have said to the
person if they were here.

And then the spirit whispered to me ," You can't blame everyone else
for your problems, Sister Kennedy. You must understand the sacrifice
that the Lord requires of his servants, and he will transform you."
Its amazing to me, the way in which the spirit works whithin us. And
I'm so grateful for the chance That i have to be on a mission.


and thank YOU all, for your support and love. You have no idea how
much your emails and letters uplift me! I'm grateful, and SO blessed
in order to be able have so manny of you supporting me!

Stay safe, and never forget to be grateful for all you have! I love you!!

Sister Kennedy

September 3rd 2013

"Life has been the same as ever in White Rock; every time we seem to
see a hug surge of miracles, a slow week follows thus, but that's
alright! Basically, it gives me a chance to excercise my faith to get
THROUGH those hard weeks, and deserve the blessings that Heavenly
Father sees fit to bestow upon me! I've been really trying to figure
out what my Companion and I could do differently to affect the work
here in White Rock, hoping to come up with something that could help
me find more investigators... then I decided to crack open Preach my
Gospel and midnight last night when I couldn't sleep ( story of my
life :[ ). It was probably the most productive study I've had in
MONTHS, and thank goodness, because I can't tell you how much more
pumped I am! I figured out the root of my problem....

Faith. Faith is the basis  upon which all things are given unto man
kind, and Alma 32 kind of slapped me in the face on the things that
are required to properly understand the blessings that are given to
us.. and in order for us to understand anything pertaining to the
kingdom of God. Lately, my faith has been as up and down as the waves
of the Sea, so no wonder all of my weeks have been up and down as
well! I forgot one of the own "words of wisdom" that I learned in the
MTC. " As a missionary, you are required to constantly and
consistently set goals, act, reevaluate, and adjust in order to meet
those goals." Its amazing to me how forgetful I am ( Not really, I AM
the one who lost the mission car after having parked it on a small
side street LOL ). But I am now re committing myself to study the
things which are so incredibly paramount to the great Lord's work of
Salvation, and I can feel my faith growing, as does my understanding
of the importance of the Savior's atonement.

In my studies, I "tore apart" Alma 32-34, and gained from it SO much
insight as to why Faith, is necessary for mankind to have. For those
who do not have a Christian background, upon what basis are they
supposed to understand Jesus Christ at all?! Let alone his incredible
gift to all of us. But looking at a logical side, the scriptures tell
us that God, is a God of Order. And because God is a God of Order, he
has laws in which he requires us to obey. The scriptures also tell us
that is no respector of persons, meaning he doesn't give unfair favor
to one person or another. If God is a God of Order, and no respector
of persons, then he requires us to obey his laws, "in addition to
obeying those laws himself." Otherwise, he would be hypocritical,
correct?? So here we look at the laws of Justice:

No un clean thing can live in the presence of God, and this is why
those who disobey the laws, or sin, are "cast out" or put in other
places ( Not necessarily hell) For more understanding on this, ask a
Mormon, or read the Bible on "varying degrees of glory".

God does not appear to ever single man,  because how much more " in
trouble" would we be if we made a mistake having seen him and known
him perfectly, than if we had simply had faith and believed he was
there?? See Alma 32


19 And now, how much amore bcursed is he that cknoweth the dwill of
God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause
to believe, and falleth into etransgression?

20 Now of this thing ye must judge. Behold, I say unto you, that it is
on the one hand even as it is on the other; and it shall be unto every
man according to his work. "

August 26th 2013

HI everyone!! :D This week... has been nothing short of absolutely fanastic and amazing. If I've never known that God's hand is in this work, I most CERTAINLY know now. You wouldn't believe the amazing miracles that I've had the honor of being a part of! I don't even know where to begin! But first:

 

Note: SORRY SHELBEY! I haven't sent your birthday package yet because my stupid wallet.... I finally got my card, so I'll send it off this week! Worst friend ever I know :S

 

 

I suppose I'll start in Chronological order ;]

 

So recently, we've been having a ton of awesome experiences in White Rock with finding those that are prepared. I hadn't handed out a single Book of Mormon in White Rock until a week ago... since then, we've given out four! Its amazing how much the Lord has seen fit to bless me so much! After the wonderful experience we had with Roy last week, the FOLLOWING day, we had an amazing experience with a man named Gary! Sister Smigel and I had been street contacting on 152 st, which is the main drag of White Rock, and had cut our time a little short so that we could arrive at a dinner with one of our members to teach a lesson to a Recent Convert ( Rene, who i'll mention later!). However, we were waiting at a cross walk for this larger man in a wheel chair to finish crossing, when all of the sudden, his wheel chair stopped, mid intersection! Try as he might, he couldn't get it to go anywhere; we assume the battery must have died or suffered some type of dysfunction. Seeing no one else attempting to assist him, I got out of the car, and proceeded to push him by hand out of the way of the Road. My companion parked our car and we stopped for a few minutes to talk to him. He had been on his way to meet some friends at "the White Spot", for dinner. We offered to push him the rest of the way there, ( about five blocks or so down the road.) He agreed, and we had a wonderful conversation about his spiritual background, and of how he was always curious to learn more of Jesus Christ! By the grace of Heavenly Father I managed to push a two hudred or more pound man and his automatic wheel chair up hill all that way.... I was sorely pressed to pass out after we go this phone number... but it was worth it! hahaha :]

 

The next really amazing experience was one that happened shortly after transfers, and this one... I'll never forget so long as I live. Sister Smigel and I had just gotten back from a long day of meetings in Richmond, and wanted to go finding. We had already planned on going tracting down a few streets, but after a few doors of friendly, but not very interested people, we realized that it just didn't feel right to continue the street. Instead, we drove down 152 ( again) to see if there was enough people around to warrant some street contacting. There was a few out, but imagine the look on my companions face when I squealed and said," IS THAT A BRUSSELS?!" She looked at me and understandably, was confused. Walking down the sidewalk was an older woman, and a youngr man who appeared to be her son, with a small, furry brown fluff ball on the other end of a leash. Excitedly, I told Sister Smigel to park the car, and we did, she had to remind me NOT to run across the street and scare them while we approached! Lol But I approached the lady and after I was certain that I knew what kind of dog she had!

 

Turns out, it WAS a Brussels Gryphon! And if you know anyhing about dog breeding, you'd know how rare they are! ( not to mention expensive), and they're even moreso in Cananda. Her name was Gay, and her son's name was bryson. She was excited about my knowledge of the silly dog breed, and we had a great conversation. But suddenly, she pulled us aside, and with an extremely embarassed expression, she said," Girls, I hate to do this... but do you have any money? My son and I were actually stranded because our car ran out of gas... its parked at the Mall parkade, and we have no way of getting anywhere. We're locked out of our apartment until our land lord gets home.. and we were just walking around to kill time. We just moved from Penticton and we don't know anyone! I'm so sorry!" Me and Sister Smigel just looked at each other.. she had no cash on her, since she's been paying for our groceries ever since my wallet had gotten stolen. But since we had been in Richmond that day... I had recieved a really amazing card from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Roy which, had graciously contained some american money in it. We walked back to the car with her while she thanked us profusely. She then exclaimed," Wait! I remeber your church! I had the chance to  tour one of your temples when it first opened a few years back in Langley! It was such an amazing place! I was so honored that they would allow the public in! I'm getting goose bumps just talking about it!" She then hugged us, and started to cry. "Thank you so much girls.. we've been having a really hard time lately, I'll definitely pay it forward... and we really need your prayers." Her son tried to comfort her, but it wasn't until we said a prayer for them right there on the street did she smile and her son removed his hat during the prayer, he himself was teary eyed. " Thank you so much! Please, here's our number, and when we're moved in, we'll have you over. I'm catholic I mean, but my heart and mind are open."

 

We're planning on calling her next week! So first, a slightly humble, and HUGE thank you to my awesome mom for having our obnoxious little rats around the house, I mean... Cute adorable brussel sprouts :]

 

And another huuuugggggeeee thank you to Aunt Nancy and uncle roy to whom I'll be sending a huge long letter too. If one of you has their email,  please forward this to them!

 

I love you all, and I am so grateful for your love and support! I'm so proud of ALL of you for the wonderful influence you have on the missionary work back home, and I hope things are going wel on the home front!!

 

I love you all to pieces! :D

 

Love Sister Kennedy

August 19th 2013

Hi everyone! Another Lovely week here in White Rock.... can you believe I've been here a full month and a half already?! Yeesh!! And Tomorrow I've been gone on my mission a full six months! Only 365 days to go! :D Its been an amazing journey so far, and I know that Lord is far from being done with me......-gulp- haha.

 

Things this past week have been relatively... sad on my part. First, I lost my wallet. Which of course contained my only two means of money ( NOW i get why they tell us to keep Cash at the appartment -_- ), my mission funds card and my personal debit card. THEN, our car over heated. Thankfully, I happen to have been surrounded by car lovers, mechanics and motor heads ( THANK YOU DAD AND ELDER KING!!), most of my life, so I knew what Coolant was, and how to put it in the dang car. A nice guy stopped to check on us, to make sure the engine wasn't going to explode, and we found ourselves a brief oppritunity to share who we were with him. He wasn't interested, but he was super nice!

 

I've found that following the spirit has been easier lately, but less frequent. Perhaps the contention found in my relationship with my companion is why. We've fought quite a bit recently, but I now understand how that reflects on every relationship in your life. And without the Spirit in this work, I may as well be walking in circles! I AM so grateful for her willingness to help me when I'm being an idiot however ( like when I lose my wallet) And let's be honest, neither one of us were the type of girl to spend THIS much time with another female anyway, so Its quite a tender mercy of the Lord that neither one of us has become a fugitive for murder. ( Only kidding of course ;] )

 

We had a pretty amazing experience yesterday actually. I've been eager to tract this specific street ( Oxenham ST) the whole transfer, but we've been putting it off, until yesterday! As soon as we stepped onto the street  I said, " Yep, our new investigator is on this street!" Seven houses later, we met Ray. We started off the discussion of the Bible, and about the nature of the various translations through out the world. I don't think he realized who we really were until I shared with him this ," We love the Bible! And the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ! But I think its pretty common knowledge that the Bible has been far too changed in the world. So that's why we are grateful for the record of scripture called the Book of Mormon!." His face kind of lit up after I asked him if he had heard about that," Yeah actually. Two young men came around visting in the 60's and gave me a copy of that book. I some of it, and knew there was something to it; its pretty much the same thing as the bible!" Imagine the look on my face when He told us this Lol

 

We asked if he wanted another copy, and he was actually excited about it! We handed it to him and he said," I always knew there was something to this...Now I'll find out." Needless to say, my heart was soaring. Guys, this is the first Book of Mormon I've handed out in White Rock. I know the Lord prepares those that are ready to recieve the Gospel, it just takes a full heart and mind to keep looking for those that are there. And to Talk to EVERYONE. Tracting will not work for much longer, and when it does stop working, it will be up to YOU, the members! But until then, we'll continue on through the strife and search for those that are waiting for  us, whether they know it or not! I love you guys, and I hope everything is going well :]

 

Love, Sister Kennedy

August 12th, 2013

Hi Everyyonnee! :D Hope things on the home front are going fantastic! White Rock is as onnery as ever, but I had some really amazing experiences this week!

 

The people in this town seem to really be warming up to us! Sister Smigel and I spend about 8 hours a week just picking up trash around the beaches, main street, and the numerous parks that dot the area. People seem to be much friendlier when we're in jeans ( probably because they don't know we're missionaries lol ;] But we still wear our tags! In particular, we were having a relatively strange day, and couldn't seem to identify where we were supposed to go. But that day, I had one of the most incredible and solidyfying witness of the spirit... that I've EVER had.

As I was saying, we were having a hard time trying to figure out where to go and we decided, as per usual, to just do some finding down by the beach. After five minutes of walking on the path, we passed a couple who was struggling to put up a shade tent, where they were planning to set up an ice cream stand. Their little girl  who was pulling on the strings of the tent, probably wasn't making it very easy either. I suddenly had the urge to help them... I was confused. My usual reaction was to smile, wave at the little girl, and let them be, since one, they were technically working, and two, most reactions we get from people who we offer help to, wave us off, and say " no thanks." And probably leave thinking we're up to something... sad isn't it?

As I walked about a foot past them, I felt a gentle nudge ," No, go and help them." So forcing myself out of my comfort zone ( which has been pretty hard lately), I bounded over and offered assistance. Imagine my surprise when the wife laughed and said," Yes please! Have you put up one of these before?" So we assisted them in pulling all four corners of the tent out straight and positioned it high enough for the cart to go under. We the husband thanked us profusely, told us to come back later for free ice cream later, and quickly left to go check on the store across the street. Meanwhile, the wife and my companion had a conversation while I attempted to entertain little Daniellea ( their daughter). Turns out that Sandra's ( the wife) father had almost converted to the Church when they were living in England. However he didn't feel as if he could pay tithing because he was the only one with income in the household, and they had several children. Josh ( the husband) asked Sandra as he came back up to check on them if she would have converted to the LDS church if her father had.. her response was a pause, then " I don't know"! My companion proceeded to talk to her and discovered that their family was non practicing muslims ( which are very close to our beliefs in many ways). She smiled at me towards the end of the conversation and said ," Thank you. You really surprised us by asking, not many people offer to that around here anymore." I should have told her about my OWN surprise when she accepted!

 

Another amazing miracle happened later that week when we were out tracting a street called Royal Ave on the Terrace of White Rock. ( The terrace resembles Sanfrancisco in the way the houses are stacked on very steep hills, the only difference is that White Rock has multi-million dollar estates on every corner of the terrace.) We were walking past a street, about to head back to the car for dinner when i stopped midway, pointed to the last house on another street and said," I feel like we should just do this one house." Confused but agreeable, my comp and I walked up to the gate. As soon as we did, imagine my surprise ( again) when a hansom young dad and his absolutely adorable baby daughter of 10 months came around the corner at the exact same time, friendly, though understandably confused, he greeted us and we talked a little bit. We asked him a few questions, to which he gave pretty half hearted answers, bu then we testified of how we share a message about how families can be together forever, even after death.. and a light in his face came on.Though still probably a little confused, he said we could come back and try to catch them at home ( his wife and him). What a true miracle the Lord has blessed me with this week.

 

Though it's tough cookie, White rock has so much potential... its going to take some serious hard work, but I can feel the baptisms coming right around the corner! I love you all, and thank you so much for all the support and love you give! Send me letters and such! :D

 

I love you!! Sister Kennedy

August 6, 2013

Hi Everyone!!! :D Sorry the email is a day late this week, BC day was yesterday, and Canadians are ALWAYS looking for an excuse to have a three day weekend lol... Not That I blame them ;] I hope everything is well and good on the Home front, I absolutely love your letters and emails, so please keep writing me! They really bring a lot of encouragement and support that I most certainly Need :]

 

This week was another rough one... the work here in White Rock is Pretty slow, but I believe that the Lord is utilizing my companion and I to lay the foundation work for a fantastic future that's nearby! I've learned that Patience when suffering through afflictions is one hundred percent necessary when face with extreme opposition....Alma 7 has made me feel much better about life! Lol

 

I had the oppritunity to go the Temple today, and the trip was much needed <3. I feel that the Lord has been casting me small, tender mercies all along the way of my mission so far. Whenever I've been feeling down, discouraged, exhausted, or sad, some kind of life line always finds its way to me. This week, it came in two forms. One was in the form of a wonderful trip to the temple, and the peace that the Spirit in the House of the Lord brings. I've been struggling a lot with sleep lately. Ever since I was a teenager, i've struggled with getting to sleep at night, and staying asleep. Waking up more tired that when I go to bed is a pretty common thing for me. Before my mission I always just assumed that it was my love for Dr. Pepper that hindered me, but i can count on one hand the amount of Dr. Pepper Ive had in the past few months... and the sleeplessness continued unhindered. I've come to realize I've been carrying a very heavy tiredness upon my soul most of my life. I've had many wonderful, and significant spiritual experiences that have made the burden lighter, but its never quite fully gone. My mission has truly given me the oppritunity to reflect upon who I really am, and the kind of person I want to be for the rest of the Eternities, and honestly, I can't say I quite know the answer to all of the questions that particular problem holds. But I find that as each passing day comes, I find more and more to build my foundation... for ," it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God that ye must build your foundation, that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea his shafts in the whilwind, yea when when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock on which ye are built. " Helman 5:12

 

Ive come to realize everything that entails building my rock upon his foundation, and the true sacrifice that it takes. Someday I'll be able to completely give my burden to the Lord, and I'll be able to sleep, someday :]

 

The Second Lifeline came in the form of a testimony, from a wonderful, powerful and dedicated missionary who's had far less success that he deserves. His name is Elder Edge, and he's one of the other elders that serve in White Rock with us. After an initial discussion of business in regards to the things that we need to set forth in the ward, he told us of his experiences in his pervious area called Terrace. He was there for the first 7 months of his mission, and he said he didn't bapize a single person there. I can now be a first hand witness to just how hard that feels. He said, as lousey as he felt... he came to understand that the Lord was refining him, and teaching him that True sacrifice brings forth so many blessings. He may not have baptised anyone, but he was trying everything he possibly could. He discovered the greatest thing he was doing was building a relationship with his members, and he realized, he too was building a great foundation. Because of the excitement that he left behind in the ward, for missionary work, Terrace is expecting many baptisms in the coming weeks. He stated that he hadn't planned on sharing that testimony, and I think we've worked in this ward long enough together for me to assume that he's not really the type of missionary who treats his testimony frivilously or shows it off like a cheap accessory. He regards it with a sacred cherishment, and this is how I feel all of the missionaries I've gotten to work with are.

 

Whether it be in the form of a powerful testimony given by an inspired leader, or a peaceful trip to the temple, I know the Lord is watching over me. And I'm all too often quick to forget my many wonderful blessings. I love you guys, and I hope things are going well in AZ! Enjoy the Sun, and soak up some rays for me ;]

 

Love and Joy,

 

Sister Kennedy

"Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear" July 29th 2013

Hiiii Everyone! :D

 

Hope everything is going well for everyone back on the Home front. I'm very much still alive, though hobbling around on a bad ankle is not very much fun, and a nurse in my ward wrapped it up for me ( properly this time Lol ) But she uses a seriously bright yellow banadge... talk about embarrassing haha. My companion and I are kind of an inside joke for our ward now, but everyone seems to regard it as cute rather than just plain dumb ( like it really was), so thankfully my blonde tendencies didn't cost us the little trust that the ward has for us now. I'm really thankful to Heavenly Father to the amazing week I've had... honestly, I couldn't have asked for a more spiritually healing experience!

 

Following the previous week's disasters, we had the opprinutity to hold a zone conference, which was such an amazing experience. We discussed the importance of the scriptures, namely the Book of Mormon, and President Tilleman bore powerful testimony of the things which he knew to be true. I'll never forget the amazing feeling of the Spirit as I sat in that room. I can't even begin to describe to you the incredible comfort and warmth that it brings to my heart, to simply close my eyes for a moment, and be able to reach out and feel the spirits presence. As I shared my experience last week, I've begun to realise more and more how much I am willing to do in order to KEEP the spirit with me. In all honesty, I wish I would have known the importance of the spirit before my mission. Though we all make mistakes, I think this will be the one of the very few regrets that I have. And that would be that I should have taken the Gospel far more seriously than I have in the Past. I'm amazed at the differences I see in myself, and as I'm coming up on the Six month marker on my mission (which will be August 20th), I rejoice and thank the Lord greatly for the teachings of the spirit and the Revelation I have been privelaged with.

 

Missionary Work is a sacred calling. And it's never been more apparent to me than in the past few days. I am now starting to recognize the divine privelage that I have to share this wonderful happiness with EVERYONE. I have many weaknesses, some that prevent me from opening my mouth at certain moments. But as we read in the Book of Mormon," Perfect love caseth out all fear," and I realize that " If I keep the eternal perspective of who I am, nothing will stop me from opening my mouth." These were the words which President Merril said to me in my setting apart, and they seem to really be sinking in these days. But I remember the words of the Savior's apostles to the Ephesians:

 

 Ephesians 5
1 Be ye therefore ^afollowers of God, as dear children;
2 And ^awalk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an ^boffering and a ^csacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling ^dsavour.

And how in the world can I really love the Savior if I don't understand the way he loved me first? I'm going to try and make it a personal goal of mine to try and talk to EVERYONE I can. I'll do my best to serve him with every precious minute that I have left... because lets be honest, this time flies by SO fast for me! I have a count down of days in my journal. At first, it was because I was so excited to be through it.... now it reminds me that every day I am given is precious, and I give a full account to the lord at the end of each day in my prayers.

The work in White Rock is certainly hastening. The Mandrin Sisters in my district last week had 8 Member present lessons, four people at church, and have a baptisimal date! I'm so proud of all of the hard work they are doing, and for the wonderful people in our ward. Its taken a whole lot of cookies, and a lot of time spent with members, but My new companion and I, Sister Smigel, have finally begun to see the fruits of our labors! We're scheduled to have at least three MPL this week, so we're really excited!

Remember Brothers and Sisters, we have a sacred duty to our Savior to share the gospel with all those that we love. That doesn't mean shove them into the baptisimal font with a huge stick, that means LOVE them, friendship them, support them, and share with them the things that make you happy! Have your friends over for dinner, invite the missionaries, let them have a conversation so they realize we're not so scary, and do it all over again :] Not everyone has to become a new "investigator", but they get to feel the spirit! How awesome is that?? I love you allllll!!! And I hope you have a fantastic week!! <3

Love Sister Kennedy

July 22nd 2013

HI EVERYONE!!!

To say that it was a miracle that I survived this week... is a serious UNDERSTATEMENT! Attached are some lovely pictures of my new greenie Her name is Sister Smigel from Calgary Alberta...so many Canadian missionaries in this mission its kind of Ridiculous Lol

White Rock is ABSOLUTELY beautiful, and the houses are more expensive than Beverly Hills. Needless to say, I've gotten more doors slammed in my face in the space of a week than I ever did in the entire five months I served in Penticton Lol But I guess when it doesn't seem like you're in lack of anything, people don't realize how much better their life could be with the Gospel! Amongst those incredibly rude people, there have been some absolutely wonderful ones too!

Let me start at the beginning;]

Our ward was pretty difficult to begin with. They've only ever had Mandrin Speaking sister missionaries here for the past 5 years, and now that they have two sets of English missionaries ( My comp, Myself, and our two zone leaders), in addition to the Mandrin Sisters, they were very excited! But understandably, a little wary of the onslaught of such a missionary force in their midst. We were recieved with welcome, but it took nearly a week of dropping off cookies, keeping ourselves busy, and hunting for ways that we could further develop our trust in order for them to take us seriously. THANKFULLY, by the end of the week, topped off with a very wonderful visit with the Bishop and his family ( though unannounced ;] ), we've gained all of the information we truly need in order to get the work here in White Rock hastened! Which I'm sure is what the Lord and President Tilleman intended when assigning six of us here!

Our newest investigator, Olivia is quite the miracle herself as well. Her aunt and Uncle are members, and have been for about five years after they moved here from China. Olivia described to us, the change that came about them, and how they gained a light in their eyes that she had never seen before! The more Olivia began to acquire more Christian friends, she said that she noticed the light in ALL of their eyes ( It took a lot of self control not to talk about the light of Christ (Too soon!! ) ). But she met the Mandrin speaking sisters when they knocked on her door a little over a week ago, THEN she showed up at the Stake Picnic activity on Saturday where she spoke to another set of Elders. She told them that she wanted English missionaries to help her understand Christianity better, and to help her practice her English! They gave her our number, and she called US. Talk about a miracle for sure! We had a wonderful lesson with her.... but that night didn't go so well afterwards. The way White Rock is set up, there's a beach that lines most of the Area we cover, and we had met with Olivia on the lawn by the Pier. Unfortunately, there is only Pay parking (which costs 5 dollars an hour) all around the area, so we parked our car above the terrace ( a HUGE set of hills with beach houses on them ) and walked a distance to meet her there. And my companion and I, in all our brilliance, paid little attention to what street we parked our car on and went on our merry way.

After Olivia's lesson, I realised that it was getting dark, and we had NO idea where the car was.. after about forty five minutes of looking for the car, the Sun had gone down, and we had to rouse the poor Mandrin sisters to pick us up. We left the car overnight parked infront of someone's house, and went back home. When we did, in all my angel-like grace, tripped down the stairs into our appartment and twisted my ankle. For those of you that know me... Let's be honest, No one's surprised about me injuring myself ( Just ask Shelbey and my parentsLol). But THANKFULLY it was my left foot, and not my driving one! So after a long, anxious day at church, all six of the missionaries of White Rock split up to search for our Car. We searched for about 20 minutes before my companion comments that we should pull over and say a prayer ( I wanted to hit my head to the Steering wheel, we should have done that MUCH sooner! DUH! ) Apparently at the same time, Elder Edge and Elder Marshall did the same thing, though we were on opposite sides of the Terrace looking for the lost vehicle. After we said our prayer, the Elders called us whithin minutes later saying they had located it. And as miracles go, there wasn't even a parking ticket on it. If Heavenly Father didn't answer prayers, I would still be walking to this day, and On my twisted ankle lol

Needless to say, my experiences here in White Rock have been nothin short of a Roller Coaster so far, but I have a stonger faith in the Lord and that his hand is truly in our lives everday. Brothers and Sisters... This month has not been a very easy one. I'll be coming up on my six month marker of my mission here very soon, and its pretty apparent from my emails how much I miss all of you, and how much I miss my Family and Arizona. But last night truly changed my heart, and cured me of the depression that was due to overtake me all too soon. I had been feeling as if the Lord hadn't known me personally, and I had prayed several times to ask for him to help me to feel it, well I had a dream last night that truly answered that Prayer. I dreamed that I was in a large house, one unfamiliar, but marble and white with pretty natural wood accents, there wasn't any furnitature around, but there was a ton of people around me laughing and hugging, most I knew, some I didn't. I turned around and saw my good friend Crystal Whiteman, we hugged and laughed and were getting ready to finish saying goodbye ( I don't know why we were) but behind Crystal I saw another group of my friends, and standing there, laughing and smiling was the Savior. He had just finished hugging and well wishing another one of my friends when he looked at me, smiled widely, and opened his arms. I ran into him with a huge hug and said ," Big Brother! I'm going to miss you!" The dream after that was filled with hazy snippets of other things, but none of them seemed nearly as important as that beautiful image that I'll forever carry in my heart.

I bare with a warm, glowing heart and a fervant rejoicing that our Savior, Jesus Christ LIVES brothers and sisters. He knows each and every one of us, and if I had to guess where in the world my imagination conjured up that scene, I would say it was less of a dream and more of a memory. A memory of a place where we lived with him, before our lives began. A place where he loved us, he laughed with us, and where we said goodbye. Of all the hard things we go through in this life, if all I ever get for ANY of it, is a moment that I get to leap back into His arms and say," Big Brother, I missed you! Thank for never giving up on me." then I would die a thousand times over again.

Thank you all for your love and support, my address for my new place in white rock should have been posted already ;] I love you guys! Take care!!

Love, Sister Kennedy

July 15th, 2013

Dear Everyone,

 

........ WHAT A CRAZY WEEK!!! So after five months of being in Penticton, I say goodbye to it :[ I've gotten transferred to a town called White Rock! Its about 20 mins away from central vancouver city and its right on the coast! I can see the ocean from my apartment! Its absolutely incredible how much beauty the sea has, and its a true testament to how much love and care went into designing this beautiful world for us. If this world is any fraction of the beauty that lies in wait for us in the Celestial Kingdom, how could we even bare to settle for anything less than living with our Heavenly Father there?!

 

As beatuful as this town is, however, the missionary work here was kind of a nightmare. The area book ( which is ALL the information missionaries have about a location they serve in ) was incredibly disorganized and most of it pretty much illedgible. They white washed the area this transfer, which means that both sisters that were serving here previously were taken out, and all new missionaries were put in. Myself, a new sister fresh from the MTC, and a new set of Elders ( who are now zone leaders for our city, and all of richmond) were placed here. I'm so excited for all of the things to come ! But we spent almost four days simply organizing ourselves, and gaining any little bit of traction we could. We have zero information about the area, aside from my miracle of a GPS ( THANK YOU MOM! ). The members seem to be wonderful, but they are also extremely annoyed at us for informing them of the way we now handle dinners with members ( we don't go to members homes unless they have a non member or a less active or Recent convert in attendence). During those precious hours that we spend in in the homes of members talking about ourselves and eating ourselves into a coma, we could be out finding those that are starving for the Gospel! So President Tilleman as asked us to implement this in our work. So far.... the relief society presidency, the Bishop, and a number of other people have expressed their distaste for it. What I politely told the bishop was that we are doing it because people are HOME during the hours of 5-7, so we consecrate that time to the lord for finding new investigators. And its not that we don't want to spend time with the memebers or get to know them, its that our time is SO short, and we want to spend as much time as possible teaching! Unfortunately, a large number of members feel that if they feed the missionaries once or twice every few months, then their duties in assisting them is over with..

 

This is WRONG brothers and Sisters! You have NO idea how much we need your help! Members should no longer be following behind the missionaries and only being available when asked to help. Our Prophet and his apostles has CALLED, and ordered that the members be the ones to lead the Hastening of the Lord's work while the missionaries are to follow behind! Missionaries are here at your disposal! And until our planners our filled with teaching appointments to the absolute brim, we will do what is necessary to find those that the Lord has prepared. And Unless we have people to teach, we can not spend our time chatting with those who already have the privelage and knowledge of this gospel in their lives! We are the Lord's servants, and we follow our mission president who has been called of God and ordained by President Packard to bring forth miracles in British Columbia, therefore, we do as he is inspired!

 

I'm so grateful for all of the love and support you all give me :] Please write me, I love emails, but letters mean so much more! I love you all, and my new address is :

 

Sister Kennedy

1494 133A ST

White Rock, BC v4A 6A4

Canada

 

Love you!  

Sister Kenendy

Pictures from July 8th

 

Cheesecake celebration for the 4th of July

 

Shannon's baptism

July 1, 2013

Hi everyone! :D

 

I'm so grateful for this chance to be able to serve a mission here in Penticton, British Columbia!! The weather here is super gorgeous, its around 80 degrees, and super sunny! It rained for almost a week straight last week.. and it was suuuper depressing, so I'm SO glad that the sun still exists Lol Recently, there has been disastrous flooding in parts of central Alberta, thousands of homes have been lost, and some people have gone missing. Please everyone, keep those wonderful Canadians in your prayers! The Lord loves ALL his children, and allows natural things like this to happen in order for ALL of us to step up, and reach out to those in need, so that we can learn what it truly means to be like our Savior, Jesus Christ! 

 

I don't think I've ever had the honor to witness to men who embody the Pure  love of Christ than I have when spending time with my mission president, President Tilleman, or our Area 70, Elder Christiansen. These two men truly understand the significance of the work we are engaged in, and just how important it is turn to the Lord for all guidance  in regards to the welfare of his precious children. One particular experience I had with President Tilleman I'll share:

 

I Didn't realize how down I've been lately. The work in this area fluctuates a lot, almost from week to week, and sometimes its extremely difficult not to get discouraged. I've always been careful to be extremely optimistic about everything going on in my emails to president every week ( Or so I thought! Lol ), but I was carrying a heavy burden with me and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to change anything. I wasn't getting along with my companion all that well, I hurt the Bishop of the Ward's feelings, and worse yet, I didn't feel as if I was being a good example to my Junior companion and I was homesick often. I felt as if I had failed the Lord and was wasting his time. Then when I came in for an interview ( a rare opportunity mind you!) He sat me down and we talked for awhile. I mentioned as if I felt like I wasn't doing something right and he simply smiled at me sadly and said," I knew you've been feeling this way for awhile, even in your notes I could tell." That's when I started to cry. He offered me a blessing, and in the blessing were the words," Sister Kennedy you truly are a beloved daughter of our Heavenly Father, and these words are not simply comforting words of your mission president. These are the words of our Savior, saying he is PROUD of the work you've done, and you are developing, or already possess the qualities it takes to become a marvelous missionary.

 

Talk about wow. I certainly feel the atonement in my life. Thanks so much for all the support and love everyone! Keep praying for everyone in Alberta, and Don't forget to write! :D

June 24, 2013

Hi Everyone!!! This week has been absolutely insane! So many miracles have happened I'm not sure where to begin!

But first, I think I'll talk about the Broadcast called the Work of Salvation. EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THAT! What a truly remarkable and historic message from so many of our inspired leaders! Not only did Elder Holland give a heart felt, soul stirring plea for the members of the Church to Stand up, and rush head first into the missionary work with the missionaries themselves, but three other General Authorities shared countless miracle-like experiences from all around the world! Never before have I witnessed such an incredible assortment of inspired servants of the Lord! General conference only two months before, was like a splash of cold water to a man who had been wandering in the Desert for days, to my soul! I've never felt such a powerful manifestation and drive to jump out of my seat and get back to work! Truly our Lord watches over his fold of saints with great love and care ! I'm am so grateful for this historic and truly inspired message that the prophet has declared!

 

The message of the Broadcast is a plea for the members of the church to step forward, and fulfill their call as a member missionary! Brothers and Sisters, I can't even begin to tell you how important it is to share with those that we love and care about this wonderful and life changing gospel! The Savior's first commandment to his apostles was to," Go ye unto all nations, preach the word and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The Work is Hastening! And the work of the Lord is going to take ALL of us in order for it to move forward!

In the Broadcast, it now authorizes missionaries to use the Internet, IE Facebook, to make connections with members, investigators, and less actives! Granted, this will come in multiple phases as the bugs are worked out in how exactly it will be implemented... BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EXCITING THAT IS?! I have extensive skills in computer use and Internet utilization, Finally I have skills that are going to contribute to the work! Everyone, you know how important the gospel is to our lives. You also know how necessary that act of faith in getting Baptized is as well. Please everyone! Share with the missionaries the love you have for your family and friends. Find those that need the gospel. Pray to our heavenly Father that you can find " the one." PLEASE, I urge with the utmost urgency, everyone, PLEASE watch that Broadcast! I'm now serving on the very top of a HUGE spiritual awakening that will change the face of missionary work until the second coming!!! Never has it been more important for ALL of us, not just those of us that have tags on, but ALL of use to put our shoulder to the wheel, and push along!

 

I'll update more frequently on the details of the work I'm involved in, but I have such little time this week. Please, never forget how Much I love every single last one of you! I've never felt the love of our Savior more strongly, or has the reality of Forever  Families been more real! I love the Lord and Heavenly Father with all of my Soul, and my desire to serve him only gets stronger every day! Please stay safe, Write me, and I promise more interesting updates in the Future :]

June 17th 2013

Hello all! :D

 

Sister Kennedy here, Hope you all didn't forget I'm still alive! ;] So at the request of my Sister in Law, I'm now going to be doing a weekly update-ish mass email. I'll do my best to do personal emails, but I have a leadership position now, and I have very limited time to do such!

 

These past few months have moved by so quickly, I'm not even sure what happened! My trainer, Sister Tutt has moved on from being a District Supervisor to a Training Sister, which covers two whole zones! I have taken over her position as District Supervisor; basically what that means is that I am in charge of knowing every single person that the Sisters in my district are working with, collecting the information, reporting to President about it, and reporting the results for the various Areas to our zone leaders at the end of the week. I'm also in charge of organizing a weekly training session. My area covers four towns ( technically more) Osoyoos, West Bank, Kelowna YSA, and Penticton. There are a total of eight sisters in our district, and they are all such wonderful missionaries! I'm so excited to have such an awesome privilege of being able to share this great work with them, and to serve them as a supervisor!

 

Some of the investigators that we've had recently have been rather hard. I've had several experiences in the past where our investigators are not really dedicated to discovering more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and tragically turn away from these beautiful truths! When you come to love these people, its very difficult to watch them make the choice you know could ruin their lives. But as a servant of the Lord, I know and understand that the exercising of free agency is essential, and central to the Lord's plan of happiness for us all. My understanding of this wonderful plan has deepened triple what it has in the past, and I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of just how much Heavenly Father, and the Savior love us. And its through our actions, and our acknowledgement of our divine potential, that we can truly know and understand the reason for this life, and the reason for all things!

 

One investigator we have now, is a pretty incredible man, but he has much yet to overcome. He's had a horrid past of alcohol abuse, death of loved ones, and bitterness against our Father in Heaven. But its amazing to see the transforming light that the gospel has had in his life already. In fact, a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses came up to him in the Park and attempted to start a conversation with him... He had called us up super excitedly to tell us this story and I was immediately worried. He had told us in the past how he had all but thrown them out of his house, so I was a little concerned for the wellbeing ( or emotional wellbeing anyway lol ) of those two, most likely elderly women. He immediately told us that he was kind to them, but said," No thanks Ladies, I'm a Mormon! I support them, I read the Book of Mormon, and I believe in the Mormon Church." Me and my companion could not stop laughing... or rejoicing just a little LOL He's a gruff, older man, and has the tendency to act like Rooster Cogburn from True Grit ( Seriously, hes a clone). But bit by bit he's learning to accept the things which are bringing him peace and happiness already in his life. He told us," Since you girls popped into my life, such great things have been happening! And I don't suppose that's a  coincidence, do you?"

 

Truly the Lord's hand is in his work, and all of the awesome miracles that I get to be a part of, are incredible! I love you all, and I'm very much enjoying my 70 degree weather here in Penticton ;] Take care and write me soon!!! <3

 

Love,

 

Sister Kennedy