Become as a little child.

December 10, 2013

Beautiful family and friends, Sorry if this letter is scattered, it just feels like so much has happened, yet nothing at all!

Last Preparation Day we had a very exciting day in Nelson. We were there to finish our trio with Sister Haacke and so we got to spend the day in Nelson . There's a hill/mountain there where they say the very centre of New Zealand is. Very exciting!! There's a little monument and a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, the city of Nelson and the hills that continue on. We just went on our little hike and to our great surprise the Motueka Elders and Zone Leaders were already up on top. So we took a fun little group picture.

I've really enjoyed taking the D&C challenge alongside Caroline. The Doctrine and Covenants really do have special gems in them. I especially love at the end in D&C 135 and the testimony that John Taylor gives of his friend and prophet Joseph Smith. We taught the lesson in Relief Society this week and it was great because it was also on the prophet Joseph Smith. The ladies in the branch concluded that Joseph was called at the age of 14 because he was teachable and willing to do whatever needed to be done. Sometimes when we get older we get set in our ways, we aren't very teachable, and we don't like change. But Joseph was willing to change everything about his comfortable life to ensure the gospel was restored. He's the MAN! I love Joseph- Praise to the man.

This Sunday was our Primary Program- the best Sunday of the year!! Truly. These kids in Blenheim are the cutest things. I think it's an Island tradition for the kids to wear all white, so most of them looked so radiant in their white dresses and clothes. They all spoke on the plan that Heavenly Father has for them. Many of them talked about the plan to serve a mission and I could feel so much power from even the 4 year olds telling everyone that they wanted to "be a good boy and serve a mission". I've been reading in 3 Nephi this week-- which is so great!-- and I love how Jesus Christ took so much time to gather all the children together. He spoke to each one and prayed for each one as well. I believe Christ still prays for us all and beckons us to become as little children: to be loving, teachable, and happy with the small things.

I got a very exciting package in the mail. It read: Missent to Thailand. Haha so funny.

My two favorite things!!

The package from Mum took almost a month to get to New Zealand and when it did it had this pretty big nibble mark in the package. Some animal loves the U more than I do because it started to eat the U of U drum and feather off my stocking!!

Someone's been nibbling on my package...

We've tried to get into the Christmas season with our own little Christmas tree in the flat, (it now smells much better because Mum sent a pine scented ornament), we listen to Christmas Hymns in the car, and I'm drinking hot chocolate from the States every day now! It feels really weird to be caroling in the heat, but I think I won't mind a Christmas barbecue on the beach.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful snow, because I do really miss it!

Much love from New Zealand,
Sister Kennedy

Let Christmas begin!!

December 3, 2013

We've already begun singing Christmas hymns to people and it's wonderful. It's warm, dry and feels nothing like the Christmases I've known before, but I think I will like it!

The big news: I'm staying in Blenheim:) I'm so happy because I will get to continue to work with our progressing investigators and see the beautiful wedding and baptism in the branch. Transfers are pretty nerve racking, but luckily President had called me last week and he told me I was staying so I was pretty happy!

My Thanksgiving was quite memorable. We were working in Nelson so it was a pretty new day for us, driving around as told and meeting new people. (I love that though, getting to meet investigators, members, and less actives from other areas. I love learning about their life stories and how they are progressing in the gospel. You can never meet too many people!!) Just before heading back to Blenheim we picked up dinner.. Fish n Chips!! Yes, quite a kiwi Thanksgiving. I ate my kumura chips and fish and enjoyed a beautiful park. I hope everyone at home filled up on turkey because it is waaay expensive here.

The senior couple reminded us all to clean out the lint in our dryers after we dry things. Of course I have no idea where our lint is. I have looked before, but couldn't find anything so I pretended lint didn't exist. I finally found it!! You have to pretty much rip off the front of the machine and inside this grill I found a beautiful piece of lint art. Haha I've never seen prettier lint. It's not hanging up to ensure it is commemorated for it's beauty.

These are 3 of the Elders in my District and they are a riot. Notice how they look like they are in a bridal party?? Over time here in Blenheim they have all found the exact same gray striped tie. They all wore them to District Meeting and I couldn't get over it. Haha too funny.

One of the members of our branch had a 16th Birthday on Friday and we were invited to the party. It was so fun to be with all the young girls playing games, singing Happy Birthday and remembering the fun of Birthdays. She won't be dating or driving so it's not quite the momentous Birthday that it is in Utah, but still great fun!

Miracle for the week: We were driving to an appointment when the police were doing a stop. They do it pretty often here where they pick a road and on both sides the cars are stopped. Today the policeman asked for my license. "Yup, let me grab it in the back." I'm searching through my bag and I don't have my wallet!! Ahh. Keep calm, keep calm. I told him I couldn't find it and he just said, "check it and make sure it's not expired. Have a good day." Whoa, what a miracle. Sister White told me he didn't ticket us because of the angels with us.

I love you all heaps. I'll be honest, I don't want Kennedy nover to come home. I like having a sister to serve alongside. I am happy that she'll get to be with family and all that..but I just want her for myself!! I'm doing that thing again where all I do is talk about her. Ha before she left she told me I needed a boyfriend so I wouldn't have to only talk about her. Ha but sisters are cooler anyway.

Have a great week!! Love you all so much.

Sister Kennedy

Cause worth fighting for.

November 25, 2013

Hello my beautiful family and friends!!

It is getting hot, hot, hot, in Blenheim. All the Tongans had their beautiful hand made fans in church to keep cool. We had such a fun branch activity on Friday. It was a Sports Night that was put together at the last minute. We had 3 investigators who came and then heaps of Vanuatu people came. We had soccer, rugby, volleyball, basketball and pizza and drinks to finish the night. All the islander people LOVE sports and it brings people together in ways that nothing else can. I love playing sports in skirts, ha I don't know, I just think it is fun. It was also fun to play volleyball again. Islanders play way different than I do, but it's all good.

My companion and I are the sick taking care of the sick. She got hay fever and a cold last week, and now I have her cold and we are both sick together. Everyone thinks I'm crying, and I guess sometimes that's okay. But mostly it's just awkward in lessons when I'm tearing and blowing my nose. Being sick is the worst!

Each of the cars in the mission had a set number of K's they can travel. We have 2,000 which is probably one of the highest limits in the mission. I'm not sure why because we don't travel too much.. but we don't complain! It's coming to the end of the month and we still had so many K's so we ended up going to Picton a couple times which was such a blessing. We got to see people who we hadn't seen in ages. On the way home I thought of this lady and the Spirit told me to go there NOW. She's always busy but this night we caught her and it was perfect. We sang with her Love at Home and she told us it feels so right to learn about the church now. Her mum is a member and she's been to church before, but I think it's her time now:)

Tomorrow we will go to Nelson and be in a trio for the last week of the transfer. One of the Sisters has been so so sick which is sad, so she's back home getting all the medical help she needs. We'll be in both Blenheim and Nelson with Sister Haacke and it should be crazy busy and fun to get work done in both areas. It's nervous waiting to hear about transfers but I'm confident that the Lord will place me where He needs me so there's no need to fear.

I once thought that the war chapters in Alma of the Book of Mormon were boring, but I was so wrong!! I've been reading this past week in Alma and it is actually so exciting to follow the Nephites and Lamanites as they continue to fight, defend, and claim cities. The Lamanites fought because they delighted in war, but the Nephites fought because they had a cause worth fighting for. The had their faith, families, children, liberties and church to defend. They had a much greater cause than the Lamanites did and the had the help of the Lord to help them. What cause do we have worth fighting for??

I've wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving now for 3 weeks, but this week I mean it. Ha all the American missionaries were convinced it was last week.. but I guess you can get things wrong when you're half way around the world.

Thank you for everyone's love and support in prayers and letters written. I love you all heaps! As missionaries we are the ones who always ask the questions. I love asking questions though and really getting to know people. I can tell you family history and details about people that I just met a couple weeks ago but now I feel so connected to them. We don't often get those same questions asked to us, but when investigators or members ask us questions it's really fun. I love telling everyone about my family, my home town, my university, and the things of my past life. It doesn't happen much, but when it does, it's so sweet to tell them about all you at home:)

Have a great week!! Share a happy message with someone you love. Serve others, it changes people's hearts.

Love,
Sister Kennedy

Solid week.

November 18, 2013

This week has been great, can't complain.

Standing on the rooftop,
everybody scream your heart out.

On Saturday there was a big firework show put on by one of the primary schools for a fundraiser. It doesn't get dark here until after 9, which is our curfew. We had members who wanted us to climb the hills and watch the fireworks, but we were good little missionaries and went home on time. We started our planning as quick as possible because we could hear the big booms of fireworks outside. We have no windows facing the way of the fireworks so we couldn't see!! We came outside after changing and I was jumping up and down because it turns out I LOVE fireworks! We had a fence that leads up to our roof so we climbed up fast and just as we did, they stopped. We thought maybe it was a pause, but no. We had missed the entire show and saw the last 3 seconds of fireworks. Ha what a bummer! We stayed up on our roof for a while because what other time we will be on our roof?? We were singing some hymns and people laughed with us. At least there was a beautiful moon to see and a fun view of the city from our roof.

Our beautiful blooming cactus in our garden.

We had some fun lessons on Sunday. We went to Karen and Liva's and watched the Restoration DVD. Have you watched it lately?? It's so powerful. I love Joseph Smith and his sincere desire to follow Jesus Christ. Anyway, we started to talk about faith and how it's like a seed that needs to be planted that can one day grown into a large tree. Liva told us he had just been telling Karen about faith like a seed. He said he'd just finished when we knocked and that we said it the way he had tried to express it but couldn't. Little miracle that we were able to come and confirm his faith and help it grow. We then went and saw Chloe and felt like we should also talk about faith. She said it was just the message that she needed to hear for the week and she was so grateful we came because we usually come on Saturday. It's the little things that help us see Heavenly Father is mindful of all of His children and we need to be the answers for other people.

We are teaching an 18 year old girl named Angel. She keeps telling us she’s been to an LDS church in Gisbane and Auckland but everything she talks about tells us it wasn’t our church. At first she told us she’d been baptized when she had been blessed on the head and fell over. We’ve struggled to find ways to tell her that she hasn’t been baptized and that it isn’t our church. As we’ve taught the first lesson and the gospel of Christ she’s been able to make real progress. She told us that she now understands she wasn’t baptized but that it was just a blessing of sort. She has committed to being baptized when she knows it is true but hasn’t committed to a date. It’s really interesting teaching her because she does know things about our church like the Book of Mormon and Joseph, but she has skewed knowledge. It’s fun to teach her and show her, or help her remember the truth.

Blenheim artwork at its finest.

We had a super "cultured" P-day yesterday! We went to a free museum in town filled with very artsy art work. This man had painted paper bags and was selling them for $1500. Crazy! We went to the local pet shop and looked at adorable puppies, fish, birds, and lizards. We found a great sushi shop and shopped our way home. It was pouring rain so I only shopped where it was covered with an awning ha. We had to rush home on our bikes because our landlord needed to get inside. The EQC- Earthquake Commission are the people who go around after an earthquake and inspect for damage and such and they came to our house yesterday. Not that we had any problems, but our landlord is very on top of things and wants it all to be good. We were soo grateful we had cleaned our flat very well. One man told us he had a Mormon friend and that he respected our work. Always nice when people think we're doing good things and they told us we were very tidy girls. Ha so grateful for the command to "be clean".

Pet shop.

This week I've been reading in Alma where Alma sits down his sons and gives them counsel and a bit of an interview. I was thinking about all the times I met with my Bishop in my youth and how I also got a big of a Fathers Interview. Ha I thought it was hard having a dad for a Bishop but now I realize what a blessing it was to get spiritual and father counsel all in one. Just think about how Heavenly Father wants us to gain his counsel and how He's given loving parents to help give that counsel. So grateful for my parents and family! LOVE YOU ALL!

I wish you a happy happy turkey Thanksgiving! Being grateful makes me a much happier person so I hope you can all find things to be grateful for.

Much love from the Kiwi,
Sister Kennedy

Blenheim is blossoming.

November 13, 2013

We had a miracle Sunday this week. Pra is a lady from Thai that we are teaching English and the gospel. Yesterday she came to church with her partner and his mother. We saw 2 less actives members who haven’t been to church in years. Jeff is an investigator and he brought 12 Vanuatu workmates to church with him. The non-member is doing amazing missionary work!! He attended the District Priesthood meeting in Graymouth with other men from Blenheim and he is so active in the branch. Ha it's exciting to see how missionary work can effect even those not members. It was a full chapel on Sunday and very exciting.

I saw a cricket game!! For about 2 minutes as we biked by. Such a different sport.

We had such a powerful day last week on Friday. As missionaries we are encouraged the extend the baptismal commitment on the first lesson with have. We met with Ashlee and Angel who the Elders met and gave us and we had a great first lesson. We taught the Gospel of Christ and bore testimony of the importance of following Christ. They both committed to be baptized when they find this is true and it was so exciting! But what was more exciting was when we had another lesson during the day and was able to commit two more people to be baptized. The Spirit bore such strong testimony while we were teaching and it was exciting to see in eyes of our investigators this decision that they would follow Christ. Things are really happening in Blenheim!

This week I had some really great studies in the Book of Mormon about the Sons of Mosiah. They had quite an extreme conversion process and then they immediately went about preaching the word as missionaries. They left for 14 years which is way longer than any missionary is asked to serve these days. Ammon was very powerful in converting King Lamoni and his people. As he was traveling to visit his brother Aaron he met King Lamoni's father and there left with him his powerful testimony. It softened the Kings heart but Ammon saw nothing come from it. When Aaron later came to King Lamoni's father his heart had been softened and he was ready to hear about the gospel. Aaron was able to teach him and he became truly converted to the Lord. In missionary work there are preparers and there are teachers. Ammon's role was to prepare Lamoni and it was Aaron's role to teach and convert him. When there's not physical success of baptisms I like to hope that I've been sent to Blenheim as a preparer. I hope that the people I meet with now will one day accept the gospel because of a testimony I bore. I also want to be a teacher, but it's what the Lord wants and in His time. Pretty neat!

A family moving to Invicargile, with the hopes I'll serve around them again!

There's 2 families who are moving out of our branch for work and schooling which is sad, but what's exciting is the possibility of seeing them again. I have no idea where the Lord will send me next or when He will send me, but I'm hopeful that I'll get to see these cute families again!

I'm quite jealous of the Americans that will celebrate Thanksgiving in the coming weeks! Eat lots of food, watch good football, and laugh at the commercials I can't. It's warming up quickly here, although it likes to flip back and forth between seasons.

JUST found out the most amazing news, probably the best news I've heard my whole time in Blenheim. My favorite family, the Prescott's just set their wedding date for December 21st. Whoot, whoot!! That means a family being united then a baptism to follow and the temple in a year. With this exciting news that probably means I will be transferred two weeks before the date.. but I pray Heavenly Father will still need me in Blenheim so I can be apart of this miracle.

I got a beautiful wedding announcement in the mail yesterday and am so excited for Aunt Lisa's wedding this weekend! I hope that everything goes well and that the marriage is filled with love and happiness!

I think the Lord is so great to show us our weaknesses but gives us the ability to overcome those weaknesses and make them strengths. There's ups and downs of missionary work but we know that with the Lord He is always constant and consistent. We can always improve and become better with His help. I ask that everyone prays with real intent this week to help develop an Attribute of Christ that they need: Faith, Hope, Patience, Obedience, Diligence, Charity & Love, Knowledge, Virtue, or Humility. Tell me how your week improved as you prayed for help to be more Christlike!

I love all, and truly miss you but am grateful for this time I have to serve:)

Love Sister Kennedy

Holidays are here.

November 5, 2013

We've had so many holidays this past week. Last Thursday was Halloween, last Monday was Labor Day, this Sunday was the Indian "Festival of Lights" holiday, Monday was Marlborough Day (like Box Elder celebrating a public holiday), and yesterday was Guy Fox Day. There have been fireworks almost every night here for the past couple days! I realized how much I love fireworks and although we can't see much from our flat because we are surrounded by trees, it's exciting to hear the pops in the sky.

Jaysleen, Sister White, and I all dressed in
traditional Indian dresses.

For the Festival of Lights holiday we were invited over to the Branch President's home for dinner. They had been baking sweets all week for the holiday! We tasted some really yum Indian treats, but more fun was when we got to dress in their daughters traditional Indian dresses! We have quite a few Indian families in Blenheim and it just happened that we got to see nearly all of them on the holiday. Natasha dressed in one of her traditional dresses and they showed us the alter they had built to pray to their Gods.. not too excited about that part ha. Another family we just saw for a minute because they were preparing for the evening's events. It was fun to be a part of a new holiday.. just minus the worshiping idols thing.

We had quite the experience in the park this week. We tried to see a lady but she wasn't home, but she lives right next to a beautiful park so I wanted to show Sister White around. We had a dedicatory prayer in this park when we first got to the area so I wanted to show her the little tower we found. It's a red tower in the middle of rose gardens and so we went up top and just started to sing some hymns. A few people walked by just avoided eye contact and left. This little dog came wandering through so we kept singing, waiting for the owner. This man named Michael came and we actually had a great gospel chat. He was one an Anglican preacher and has been very devoted to Christ. He said that he'd found a glass bottle and was going to throw it away at home, but then he felt like he should just find a garbage in the park. The closest garbage can was right next to our little tower and he told us that he would come to our church. Very excited we gave him the detaisl and he went on his way. We didn't think much of it, but then Sunday came around and he really did come to church! The meeting had already started when he came in and he sat in the back, but it was so cool that he came. He left before it ended and we didn't get a chance to speak to him, but I really hope the Spirit was able to touch his heart and maybe some good will come out of it one day. Who knows!

The Prasad's are the cute family we've been teaching almost the whole time we've been here. The Dad committed again to a baptismal date which is very exciting. We didn't know how to continue teaching because they've had all the lessons and they seem to understand well. So a suggestion came that they should teach us. We assigned them the homework of preparing the restoration lesson for us and it was so exciting to have someone else teach ha. They hadn't actually prepared when we got there, but using the pamphlet they each discussed what they understood about the principles of the restoration. It was so great!! I know I always learn more when I teach, and we could really see how when they taught us it cemented their beliefs and made them really think about what they knew. Ashwin was onto it, he really did teach me. I hope we'll get to use this again in the future because I can see how it really helped them, and it made them realize they know more than they think.

Sister Edna Stratford Eames (My long lost Stratford cousin)
in the beautiful Pollard Park in Blenheim.

We have two Senior Sisters who work in the mission office and they came on a bit of a tour of the South Island. They stopped in Blenheim and we got to see them which was so fun. Sister Eames is a Stratford and we've found our connection with Edwin Stratford long ago. Meeting with others missionaries is always uplifting and especially when they are cute Sisters!

The work continues to move along here in Blenheim. We are teaching more lessons than ever! This week we taught 16 lessons and I am super excited about that. It's the most I've ever taught in a week. If you are living at home near missionaries, please help in their efforts. Offer to help give investigators rides to church, be a member present in their lessons, and give referrals for them to teach. The work is almost impossible without the members and I just wish the members here had a bit more willing heart. Be the person the missionaries know they can rely on!! Being a missionary is for all members of the church regardless of their age, where they live, or how busy they are. Missionary work is the best:)

Love, Sister Kennedy

21 is great.

October 22, 2013

What a week! It was just zoomed by so fast. Everyone suddenly wants to see us since Sister Taleni is leaving so we've had meal appointments galore and hardly anytime to pack or clean the flat.

They lifted us down with a tractor after the trailer ride. So fun!

On Saturday we had a super successful branch activity. The MacDonald's have a big vineyard farm (Old MacDonald had a farm, eeyi eeyi oh) and they invited everyone out. I had my first hongi which was interesting.. I'm not sure I'm sold on the taste. Then they loaded up 2 big trailers behind a tractor and they took us around his land and out to the ocean water. We are so close to the ocean! We had a big turn out and we even had 3 investigators come which was super cool. All the islanders love a good hongi and the kids and adults were playing rugby. It was really warm and I got really sunburned along with all the other white elders, but all in good fun!

The Edward's stayed with us this weekend so they took us out for Chinese Birthday dinner, they got me a chocolate cake, and sang to me in the morning. They are the cutest, and we love having the senior couples around!

My Birthday was so great, probably because it was Sunday as well. I did the normal routine in the morning but when I went back into my bedroom my bed was filled with purple balloons, a big Happy Birthday sign and a present. My companion is the greatest, giving me my 21st key! Turning 21 isn't a very big deal in Utah especially when you're Mormon because you can't go drinking. But here it's the biggest Birthday they celebrate. If you've been a good kid, you get a 21st key which is the key to your freedom. I'd say I've been pretty good, so it was the best present:)

My 21st birthday with a member!

Sister Taleni had such a surprise when her Uncle's family drove up from Christchurch and were just sitting in the chapel waiting for church to start. They are the cutest family and it was so fun that they came to see her before she goes home to Austrailia. We were able to have lunch at a members home, they're work friends, and so they could chat for a bit. It reminded me of how much Heavenly Father loves families and that we really can be together forever. Brother Taleni said he remembers a ginger missionary named Elder Stratford so that was exciting to hear our families are connected!

My new companion, Sister White, arrives on a bus in about 20 minutes.. so we should go get her! She's Tahitian and been out almost a year. It will be exciting to have a day with 3 missionaries .Sister Taleni goes home tomorrow which is so sad. We've cried pretty much every day this week, but tears of happiness really. She's been so good to me and I know Heavenly Father gives us the companions we really need to grow and develop.

Thank you so much for everyone who sent me 21 things they are grateful for! It was so uplifting to see all the things that people really cherish. Having a grateful heart can make any situation better and more pleasant. Life is happier when we have an attitude of gratitude.

You are all the greatest and I love you so much!! It will be exciting to lead an area and try out my grown up missionary skills. God is real, He loves us, knows us and wants us to be happy. That's why He sent Jesus Christ, who knows exactly what we are going through. He's the way back!!

Love, Sister Kennedy

Exclamation Point !

October 14, 2013

General Conference (exclamation point)! I enjoyed conference so much and I loved that investigators, less actives, and members would pop into my mind on certain topics. Since this is my first General Conference as a missionary, I’ve never had quite the experience of thinking of so many other people besides myself. Missionary work is quite the topic among the general authorities and it’s so exciting to be a part of that work. It gave me more resolve on how important this work is and it will pass faster than I know. It was also wonderful to see so many faithful saints and to feel a bit more at home seeing Utah. I use lots of exclamation points in writing and speech so it was fun to hear the General Authority who talked about that, even though he played football for BYU:) The Saturday morning session was sadly a private viewing for the missionaries.. but the Elders had an investigator Saturday Afternoon and we had one come on Sunday. Members don't see the excitement of watching Conference, but one day they will understand how exciting it is to hear the living prophets.

The cute family we're teaching with Sister Taleni. 

They're sad Sister Taleni will be leaving.

This is a pretty big week! I have my 3 month Birthday and my 21st Birthday. In celebration of my Birthday, I would love it if everyone sent me 21 things that they are grateful for in their life. Having an attitude of gratitude can really help as a missionary, so I am anxious to hear what you all are grateful for!

We ran into this guy when we were contacting a referral. "Hi, we're Sister Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". He said, "Oh that's cool your church has missionaries, usually you just see the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons out!" Ha we told him we were Mormons and it confirmed his missionary observations. But he was nice and showed us his pet chinchillas. He only had shorts on so it was a bit weird, but we had a nice chat.

When I was in the MTC a member of the 70 came and told us about how they assign missionaries. He said that often the missionary is assigned to a specific mission not because of the region, but because of the mission president they will serve under. Pretty neat, right?? Well this week I came to the conclusion that Heavenly Father did the same when he was assigning parents. He knew who would help us to grow the most, teach us the best way, and be the best for us. I don't know what I did to belong to my family but I'm sure grateful!! I think we all have so much to be grateful for thinking of the families we've been born in to. Some aren't as lucky, but they're still the ones who will help us to learn and grown the most.

For P-Day we went bowling and it was super fun. We were able to go as a district and it made me feel a little normal just being out and playing. None of us were very good, I guess we haven't been on enough dates bowling ha.

This week will be great! Every day we are finding a miracle and we're exercising greater faith and obedience so we will be deserving of them. We leave to Nelson today for exchanges but we'll both be staying. There will be 4 Sisters to really focus the work there so it should be really great. The Sisters haven't been out much due to illness so we're going to help speed up the work. Exciting!

Remember to Look Up! Be happy and choose the right. (A lot of people see my CTR ring on my wedding ring finger and think I'm engaged or married. They seem disappointed when I tell them what it means and that it's the only finger that fits.)

Love, Sister Kennedy

By their desires and their works you shall know them.

October 9, 2013

You know that cute little phrase, "don't let the bed bugs bite!" That's no longer a cute phrase but a sincere prayer of mine every night. Ha I have been eaten all up my arms and legs with these bites. We had a District Meeting over in Nelson and the mission president's wife was there. I had her look at them and then all the elders came over. She asked them what they looked like and one elder said, "They look like really scratched up bed bug bites". Ha, it's so hard not to scratch! I washed everything on my bed, vacuumed my mattress, and it seems to have gotten better. Apparantly most Americans get the bites; they like our blood.

Leaving our mark with our shoes on the fence to Nelson.

We had a super weekend in Nelson. There's a fence on the drive there that is covered with shoes people have left. It stretches from quite the distance and so we wanted to leave our mark with it! We bought some shoes at the second hand shop because we didn't really have any of our own to leave. I decorated mine up with things I love and left my testimony inside. Maybe one day someone will come and switch shoes with it and find the gospel, who knows! There's an ice cream shop on the way there and it's tradition we stop to get a scoop. Then the 2 cars of missionaries can actually get to the chapel because it's not too easy to navigate alone. We had District Meeting with our district, the Zone Leaders, the Senior Couple and also Sister Kezerian. We each had interviews with President during the meeting. It's always so nice to be surrounded by leadership and get their input on how we can better meet the needs of our investigators. On the way home we took the Queen Charlotte Drive home and it was filled with majestic lookouts on the water and mountains. Sometimes I just can't get over the beauty of this country.

We were able to do a bit of service this week. Service is the best because I can actually wear jeans and feel human. We went over to an investigators house and although she wasn't there we were able to get to work and weed her front garden. We stopped by another investigators home to drop off a FHE assignments and we were able to stay there for an hour and help them weed around their whole home. The kids and mom came out to work alongside us, which was great! We then threw the rugby ball around and played some touch. Always good!

P-Day this week was special because we had the whole district together. Since we can't drive we had the elders come in on buses and we all biked to the park. We had a little sausage barbeque with our small means as missionaries. We invited all the kids in the branch to come play with us and we had a great turn out! It was pretty much a branch activity ha. We played touch rugby and I actually did good! Usually when I get the ball I just stop and pass it to someone else, but this time I would actually run the ball and get right into it. It was a beautiful spring day, something everyone is Utah is probably missing right about now! It's getting quite warm, but then like Utah it freaks out and rains and gets really cold. 

Epic picture thanks to my enhancing feature on my camera. 

This is a look out on Queen Charlotte's Drive.

We'll get to watch General Conference this weekend and we are so stoked!! It's exciting to hear about it from the letters I've received so the real deal will be even better.

D&C 18:38. Everyone should read secton 18 of the Doctrine and Covenants because it is great! The title of my letter this weeks comes from this section. They were asked to go out and find the 12 apostles and the Lord told them that it would be by their desires and their works that they would know them. As followers of Christ and as disciples because should be able to look to up and see our works are in harmony with the teachings of Christ.

This gospel is true and that is why I continue to serve! I love you all and am grateful for the influence you've been in my life. You have all impacted my life. We are all accumulations of what we've seen, heard, and felt. You all have added to who I am and I am truly grateful for the amazing people you are! 

Love, Sister Kennedy

The Priesthood is great!!

September 30, 2013

I saw the power of the Priesthood this week!! I’ve always loved the Priesthood, but this week made me love it more. One of our progressing investigators, Candace, was in need of a blessing. She’s mentally ill and we offered her the blessing and she agreed with some nervous feelings. The Elders and Branch President came over the next night and gave her a powerful Priesthood blessing to calm her and give her help. She just kept telling us how peaceful she felt and that she felt an overwhelming calm. Candace is a single mum and she needs so much help in her life. We were able to share with her The Restoration DVD and the whole night was filled with the manifestation of the power of prayer, the Priesthood, and the restoration of the gospel. That was my spiritual highlight of the week and a wonderful teaching lesson!

Something that is crazy to me. The town I am serving in and the surrounding towns that we cover is about the same size as the cities from Brigham City to Tremonton, and there's only one small branch of members. Back home, that's over 15 stakes of members!! I think about all the great families in my home ward that I love and look up to. I know those families exist in Blenheim and they just need to be found!! We are so blessed in Utah because we have members everywhere. Here, the members have to work much harder with callings and being strong because they don't have much help. It's humbling to see their faith and work, but it keeps me motivated to find people and bring them to the church.

I'm so jealous of everyone who will get to watch General Conference this weekend!! We have to wait until next weekend until the DVD's come to us. I've never been more excited to watch conference, so it will be a treat even if I have to wait another week.

The senior couple who is in our Zone are the Edward's. I've talked about them in past letters and they are great! When they were here last weekend we were talking about life before the mission and found out that he owned a Big O Tires in Sandy. They really enjoyed that and they said they know Brother Toyn, so that is neat.

Sadly this week we have had to push our baptismal dates back. They are still doing well, but they haven't been to church and that is definitely a necessary step towards becoming a member. We pray daily that they will be prepared for the new date of the 19th of October. That would mean confirmations on my Birthday:) But it's not for me, for them.

We have exchanges tomorrow and I get the privilege of leading the area. My companion will go to Nelson and I will stay with Sister Bromley who's been in the field only 3 weeks. This means I'll get to pretend I know what I am doing and train her, make appointments, and act like a confident missionary. Ha it should be quite the growing experience, I'm actually really excited. We also have interviews with our mission president on Friday, which is great. I love President and Sister Kezerian. They are absolutely called of God to be in New Zealand.

We had day light savings this Sunday, and although we missed an hour of sleep, it stays light outside until after 7pm. That's beautiful because we go door knocking from 5-7 every Tuesday and Thursday and people are usually grumpy when it's dark outside. But now that it's staying light, people are a lot nicer ha. Most people tell us, "You are very sweet girls, but it is much too late to be out!" They would tell us that at 6pm and we just laughed thinking how early that really is in our night.

This week we had a Family Home Evening with a member family and we taught about the Armour of God. We always have to get creative when we teach because Tongan is their first language and they are pretty simple with their english. We had them find things around their house to make the Armour of God and they were all about it! We thought they did a pretty great job though, the picture shows their creativeness.

I'm memorizing D&C 4 this week and I love how it tells us that "If ye have a desire to serve God ye are called to the work". I'm so grateful to be surrounded by missionaries and have so many close friends and family who are also serving. That desire is so important!! That's what gets me through the hard days.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week. Thank you for everyone who writes me, you don't know how much it lifts my spirits:) We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and He wants us to be happy!! Not happy one day when something good happens, or happy only in the past. He wants us to be happy right now, so be happy!! Just remember, miracles are a response of our faith.

Love, Sister Kennedy

"Let us not be weary in well doing."

September 24, 2013

Wow, I am seriously overwhelmed!! This has by far been the best week for mail. Seriously, it's so wonderful to hear from loving family and friends to give me the boost that I need. I love you all much more than you know! Thank you to everyone who wrote. Every word keeps me enthused and happy.

What a weekend. I was exhausted after such a long weekend with the Open Home and Special Sunday service. The day of the event, Saturday, it was pouring rain outside. The Branch President called asking what we thought we should do. Of course we just wanted to go ahead, but he seemed doubtful. Miraculously, at 12:45pm it just stopped raining. We were able to wash cars, give chapel tours and invite others to see our church.

The cute kids in the branch on the street to get cars 

to our free car wash Open Home!

One of the biggest successes from the event was the support of the branch. We had members there to wash cars with the youth, the Primary President and Relief Society had beautiful displays and were welcoming when visitors came, and the Family History Specialists were busy all day because that’s where most people were interested. We had children holding signs on the curb inviting the cars to the car wash and youth and adults were willingly washing the cars. We had a less active member, who loves to grill sausages, out back grilling our sausage sizzle. Overall, we felt like it was a successful day. We felt it was such a miracle that it stopped raining so we could have our car wash. We had members who didn’t come or who came late because they assumed we would cancel the event. We probably should have impressed on them that we had no intentions of cancelling or postponing due to weather. Us missionaries never cancel what we plan!

The Kivalu family is the BEST! 

We played the fruit game where you can't show your teeth, 

and we all laughed heaps.

We had a pretty successful Special Sunday service. We had an investigator come with her husband for the first time and they both enjoyed sacrament and Sunday school. All the missionaries in the District sang “I Feel My Savior’s Love” and that was really special to have everyone sing together.

We are teaching the cutest lady name Pra. She's from Thailand and she moved to New Zealand when she met her partner on the internet. When we door knocked into her she thought that we were there to teach her english, which we just rolled with! We've been meeting with her for the past couple of weeks. It's definintely a new experience to be teaching english, especially from someone who speaks Thai. She has decent english skills, we work hard to say things simply and help her understand. We are teaching her to read, spell words, and we always try to teach a gospel principle from the english lessons we teach her. We were thrilled when she and her partner came to church on Sunday for the Special service!! My companion has this gift where she says someones name and they appear. She looked at me and said, "I hope Pra comes," then she walked in the door ha. She didn't understand a whole lot but she loved the music and we helped by moving our finger along the words of the hymns.

Speaking of my companion's gift for seeing people she talks about... We were on the road driving when she told me, "Pull over! It's that girl I was talking about." One of the ladies she had been teaching in Wellington was walking the streets in Blenheim and she was so happy to see Sister Taleni. We were able to go to her motel and catch up with her. She told me that she hopes I serve in her city so that I can continue to teach her:) Then we were in our companion study when she looked out the window and ran to the door saying "Will you follow me outside?" She then yelled after a Stephanie and we ended up running down the street after this lady. She was a recent convert from Wellington area and she was in Blenheim visiting family. What are the chances that we have run into these ladies?? Seriousy a blessing and it's been so fun to see the Lord's hand in Blenheim.

I'm 2 months old now! Cool. Go Utes! I'm so excited to hear that they beat BYU. Elder and Sister Edward's are the Senior Couple here and they are die-hard BYU fans. It was quite fun to call them after hearing the results of the game and get to rub in a little bit that we won. All in good fun though because football scores don't really compare to the work of the Lord in New Zealand:)

This transfer we set a theme: Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." The Lord knows our abilities and our weaknesses. He wants us to make weaknesses strengths by working hard and relying on the Lord. We can all do what is asked of us because Heavenly Father knows we can do it.

Much love!!
Sister Kennedy

God's Plan is Better than Our Plan.

September 17, 2013

Dear family and friends,

 Last weekend we were sitting in our companion study when we saw a family all dressed up coming through our gate. We realized they were Jehovah's Witness and we were terrified! Ha, I mean we're missionaries and that's what we do everyday, but to see other people coming to our door was weird. No one wanted to answer the door, so I finally got up to give it a go. It was a mom with 2 little boys, luckily her husband had stayed outside the gate. They gave us an invitation to a meeting in Christchurch and we had a little chat. It was weird really. Then we were in Picton about a week later. We tried an address of a Less Active member but they must have moved. The girl in the house referred us across the street. So we went, and this Maori guy answered the door. We knew he was serious when he shut the door behind him and came out to talk to us on the porch. He was a Jehovah's Witness and was all eager to "crush us". He kept talking about how in the Garden of Eden, Satan disrupted God's plan for humans. WHAT? We kept trying to say to him, "You think Satan would have the power to overcome the most powerful being in the universe??" I felt sad for him that he thought God's plan for us could be ruined. He was convinced God wanted us to live in a perfect world, and that Satan disrupted that. I realized he didn't understand how powerful our Heavenly Father is and that he loved us enough to send us to this world to learn and to grow. Satan has no power in comparison to God and as we come to understand that we will realize His perfect love and wisdom. He is all-knowing and never changes. He loves us all more than any can comprehend!

This weekend we have a special Zone Conference, District Conference and Mission Tour all in one weekend. Elder Hamula is the Area President and he and his wife came to preside for all the meetings. The District Conference was in Nelson which is about a 2 hour drive through the lush New Zealand mountains. Elder Hamula is a member of the 70 and he has been serving over the Pacific Area for 5 years. His name is Hungarian, cool! He and his wife and our Mission President and wife spoke to us many times. In the adult session of District Conference the 24 missionaries made up about half of the audience. We then had Zone Conference in the morning, and they asked me to play the piano. My selection of hymns is so limited, I really wish I had been a more diligent piano student now. But it's cool I can play some hymns. In the general session of conference was heard from them again and it was so wonderful to have a full audience. It was about the size of my ward back home and this was their whole district.

One of the new Elders in Blenheim brought the wrong bike box so they shoved the bike into our car to take to the Zone Leaders in Nelson. I was pretty angry when we took out the bike and found that it had literally ripped the entire front of my suitcase. Those Elders.. of course I felt bad when Elder Hamula talked about forgiving others and how we must forgive our fellow men if we want to be forgiven from our Heavenly Father. I'm now able to say I have a new credential to add to my list: "luggage mendor". I've started sewing back together all the rips and the torn front zipper pocket. Good thing my Mom made me such a great sewing kit!!

We visited a chocolate factory for P-day!

As we were driving to Nelson for our District Conference we saw fields and fields of baby lambs. So cute!! There are no big predators in New Zealand so that's why sheep and cows do so well. They have nothing to fear or be eaten by. Spring is coming so the little animals are being born. It reminds me of spring time at the ranch and the new animals. Sheep cover the hills here.

Thanks so much for the package Mom!! Seeing pictures from the reunion of all the aunties, uncles, cousins, and great-grand kids was so great. I loved hearing from all my cousins, it was really touching to hear a vote of confidence from them. I was always at the family reunions hearing about my cousins serving missions so it's fun to be on the other side of it now.

Natasha, who is our cute 13 year old with a baptismal date, had a big speech at school. Here, they all have to give a memorized speech in class, then one student is selected from every class to perform at an assembly. She won her classroom, so yesterday we went to her school to watch the big competition! It was so cute to hear about 15 students give speeches on hunting, why kids should be able to eat in school, and why unicorns are better than pegasus. She spoke about "Hate" feeling the negative effects from being a new minority student. She didn't win, but she did so well and it was fun to be able to support her in her academics!

I got to see a bit of Rugby for the first time! 

One of the boys in the branch invited us to watch him play on Saturday.

One of the families in the branch and had a big weekend with their kids and they invited us to come support. Richard invited us to see him play rugby, my first match! We didn't see much of it but it was still exciting. The younger kids were putting on a School Gala and they were performing island dances. We got to see them and it was so fun to support them. We have great kids in our branch and it seems that there's this big gap of members from 18-40. We have to find a way to keep the YSA age members active and involved.

We have a really big weekend coming up! We are putting on an Open Home at the chapel filled with a free car wash, a sausage sizzle, games and treats, and the crowning jewel of a chapel tour. We are very hopeful to see many people come! Of course we will lure them in with the free car wash and food, but then we will spiritually feed them as we show them our chapel. The next day on Sunday is our mission wide Special Sunday Service. We are trying to see an increase of 1,000 people across all wards and branches. We've planned a special program of speakers and we might be singing. This weekend will be so busy but we hope that as people come on Saturday they will feel more comfortable with our building and want to come back on Sunday to see what we are all about. Since we are the Sisters in the District and we are creative and organized we are in charge of the Open Home. We've done so much planning and work so we really hope that is comes off!

Thank you for all those who continue to write and pray for me! The work is progressing here and we feel the pressure to get things done since my companion will be going home after this transfer. It's crazy to get phone calls confirming her flights home and to realize I just got out here. We have a lot of work to get done so we're hard at it every day! Jeremiah said, "External service is usless where there is no devotion of heart and life." Serve others and give with all your heart.

Much love,

Sister Rachel Kennedy

I learned a Maori dance.

September 3, 2013

Peach Days is this weekend! That will be great. I'm not sure who's in the Peach Queen Pageant, but I am excited to hear about it and who wins! Someone will have to let me know. I think this will be my first year ever not watching or being in the parade. Sad!

This is the ocean port in Picton. 

The boats were all out and it was a beautiful day!

I've had such a great week here, we've been able to teach a lot of lessons and we worked hard to meet all of our goals with our key indicators. We did pretty well! Last week I had one of my famous colds. It's hard to be sick when you have work to do!

One of the ladies that we visit is a cancer patient and they had a big Cancer Society event that she wanted help with. It's called Daffodil Day and all of New Zealand works to raise money for cancer research. We agreed to help and so we were stationed outside one of the stores in town with lots of daffodils and a can for donations. We were under the hopes that we wouldn't have to work with the money because we aren't supposed to fundraise on the mission.. unfortunately that wasn't the case. Ha we had fun with it anyway and it was fun to see how busy the town was! Kids from school had come in for games in the square, everyone was walking around with daffodils pinned to their shirts, and yellow balloons filled town.

Saturday the branch put on a Multicultural Night. It was so great!! We'd been passing out invitations all week, we helped set up the morning of, and we'd even been learning a Maori dance that week to perform. The Young Men and Young Women put on the event. They learned about 5 songs each from different cultures. They had Samoan dances, Indian dances, and hip-hop dances. We had a big feed and everyone brought food from their culture. We had amazing Samoan, Tongan, Indian and Kiwi food. I eat too much for my own good but it's hard to resist such good islander food! A Maori lady in the branch really wanted the missionaries to perform, so she taught us a Raukau which is a dance with sticks. She got the Sisters to do it and one of the Elder companionship. We each had 2 sticks and then to her song we would hit them in a way and toss them back and forth. It's actually pretty hard to not drop them as you throw them between each other. During the event we only dropped ours once each, which we were pretty excited about! All the little kids gathered around us to watch and almost everyone in the branch was singing along because it's a pretty familiar Maori song I guess. It was really fun to be a part of the event!

The Kivalu boys cutting off their Dad's tie.

Sunday was Father's Day and apparently it's a tradition to cut off the Father's ties. All the Dads wear an old tie and then they all go into primary and they kids take scissors and go wild! It was a little scary to watch, but the Dads were all good sports and the kids loved having pieces of their Dad's ties and other men in the branch. We helped the branch President's wife during the week to prepare for Father's Day. We made boutonnieres out of roses for the dads, made a handout with a poem, and wrapped chocolates for them. They go all out since they don't have that many members. It was really fun to celebrate the day with Fast Sunday and to think of our earthly father's and our Heavenly Father who loves us so much to send us here.

 While tracting we get to see a lot of different people in a lot of different circumstances. Most people say no to our message but they are quite kind about it. We experience quite often people telling us that they don't want our message but they respect the work that we do and they think it is good. Isn't that interesting that they know we are doing good and they think highly of us, but they won't let that goodness into their life? "Whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledge that he is" Moroni 10:6. All good things come from Christ. We can recognize such good in our lives and recognize when bad thoughts or feelings come it is not from Him! We continue to seek the people who are prepared.

 Two nights ago I was woken up by a pretty good shaking earthquake! We later heard it was size 4.3. That's a pretty scary feeling to be sleeping and then be shaken up. I've been having such wild dreams on my mission so I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not, but it was reality! I hope that all is well at home! Continue serving faithfully in callings, at home, at work, continue to pray and read the scriptures daily. We gain power in doing the small things daily. By small means are great things brought to pass. I love you all so much and pray for you!!

 Love, Sister Kennedy

My Week in Blenheim.

August 27, 2013

I was really surprised when I opened my emails this week and found that my parents are in Poland. What?! That's cool. I realize that everyone has started school now, good luck to you all! I'm pretty happy that I'm not stressing out about my classes and tests, but I am getting sad realizing I'll miss Utah football. For P-day we hiked the mountains of Blenheim. They're more like hills, but they're impressive and green. When we got to the top we could see the ocean dividing the North and South Island and the beautiful mountains around. The city actually looks pretty big from on top! To show my pride for Utah I carried my drum and feather flag to the top of the mountain and gave it a wave.

Sister Taleni, Natasha, and the Birthday cake we baked her!

Last week we had such a special lesson appointment. Natasha is one of investigators with a baptismal date and Wednesday was her Birthday. We came over and taught the Plan of Salvation and that went really well and they understood, which was great! After a lesson of pretending to have forgot it was her Birthday, we can to the car and brought back the cake we had baked for her and some presents. We came in singing Happy Birthday and she just got so happy! She was so surprised and when we asked who would give the closing prayer she quickly raised her hand. She thanked Heavenly Father for the Sister Missionaries and it was then we knew how much we loved her.

While tracting this week we met the most interesting man. He had just poked his head out of the window to check the mail when we were on his door step so we chatted for a bit through the window. He came out to the door so we could have a real nice conversation. When I say we had a nice conversation I mean that he ranted and raved while we listened. He was so anti-church and thought it was ridiculous for us to be out in New Zealand teaching. He told us that no one in New Zealand was religious, and that no one cared about us. He told us to go back home, get an education, and think only about ourselves. He was convinced that us offering service to others was a complete waste because not one person would reciprocate in service and help. We didn't get much of an opportunity to reply to his ranting, but it made me think a lot after we left. The people of New Zealand are absolutely religious. Most everyone we talk to has their own faith, and we see in our members their extreme dedication and love of religion. I have felt so much love serving these people. They show us so much kindness and our love for them grows every day. They continue to ask us how we are and if they can help us in any way. He was convinced that this missionary work would do no good in our future lives. Thinking about what we're giving us to serve doesn't compare in what I'm learning everyday about myself and how I'm growing! This will not be the best 18 months of my life, these will be the best 18 months for the rest of my life. This will help me prepare to be a better student when I come back, a better wife and mother, and a better servant of Jesus Christ. This guy had such passion for what he said, but the difference was that his passion was out of hate and our passion to serve is out of love.

I guess it's been long enough for me to tell my sad story. The first time I used my hair straightener in the MTC I had my power converter on the wrong setting so my straightener got way too hot. I burned my bangs and they turned into a frizzy mess. Ha I've been slowly trimming the hairs out, and when I straighten my hair it looks normal. I didn't want to admit it right away, but now I've figure out the power adaptor and my hair is all good.

Yesterday I got a phone call from the Mission Office from Sister Eames. She told me exciting news that we must be related! She's just seen a letter from Edna Stratford (I was thrilled when I heard I was getting mail!) and she told me that she's Edna Stratford. Her middle name is Stratford because it was her mom's maiden name. I had to pull out my pedigree chart and good thing my Grandma is so thorough because I had to go back to my great-great-great-grandpa Edwin Stratford to find our connection. She screamed when I said "Edwin Stratford" and she recognized the name! She's going to do her research to find how we're related, but it was sure fun to hear her excitement.

Good luck to everyone back home in all the adventures of life! This week I was reminded of a quote that I always saw at Grandma Kennedy's house: "Work as if everything depends on you, pray as if everything dependson the Lord." So true!! Study hard and work hard, so you can play hard. Go UTES!

Love, Sister Kennedy
"Two people can do anything as long as one of them is the Lord"

P.S. Another picture from this week. They had to cancel church due to earthquakes:

The classy sign that was put up on the church fence letting everyone know church was cancelled.

My First Birthday: All Shook Up!

 August 20, 2013 

It's official, I've turned one month old on the mission. In celebration, we have big earthquakes, massive rains, and church was cancelled due to cracks caused by the earthquakes. The Elders gave me my first lava lava and Sister Taleni gave me the cutest card!

The Branch President had asked me to speak on Sunday, which was the one month Birthday, so as a present church was cancelled ha. But really, it was so sad to not be able to take the sacrament and have investigators come to church!! Although.. none have ever come. Time is moving quickly!

 Love, Sister Kennedy

 August 21, 2013 

Sleeping in the kitchen door frame.

Wow, earthquakes are freaky!! I don't know if many heard, but I had quite the experience this past week with earthquakes in New Zealand. While I was in the MTC there was an earthquake that hit Wellington that everyone has been talking about for weeks, so I was waiting in anticipation for my first chance of an earthquake. We were giving service to someone who was preparing their house to move. The Sisters were washing the walls and the Elders were outside cleaning the yard. Sister Taleni and I were alone in the house when suddenly the entire house is moving back and forth, cupboards are rattling, and terrified I run under the door frame with my companion. It lasted for 10 seconds which seemed like an eternity as my stomach is churning. This quake was a 6.9! Elder Edwards is from Farmington and this was both our first quake so we were really quite excited to experience it! Well the excitement left quickly as the shocks kept coming. We were driving home when we could feel our car shaking back and forth and all the power lines above us were whipping around. In the house are cupboards would shake, the doors would open, and I would jump up every time. The first quakes hit us Friday afternoon and the rest of that day there were more than 50 shakes. These weren't small after shocks either, the shocks that came were up to 4 and 5 size earthquakes. My companion and I pulled our mattresses out of the bedroom and we slept underneath our kitchen door frame. Ha it sounds silly, but we were genuinely concerned about our safety! We continue to feel shakes every day, and they are predicting another big one, bigger than the first to come this week or the next. I assumed this big quake I had heard about was pretty bad, but my companion kindly told me these quakes were way worse than what they experienced in Wellington a couple weeks ago. Comforting right?! 

Downpour rain and proselyting.

The earthquakes were bad enough, but for 2 days following we are complete downpour rain. We drove to Picton to teach and make visits and all the fields that we past on the drive were flooded. There were poor sheep standing on the few patches on grass still available surrounded by lakes. We would run from the car to the houses of investigators and be drenched in those few moments. Let's remember, I'm adding lots of rain drops and attractiveness to my future husband:) 

Besides all those exciting natural events, I have really been enjoying my week! They found cracks in the chapel from the earthquake so church was cancelled on Sunday. We still haven't heard word from the inspectors to know if it will be ready for this Sunday. We will try to find another place to meet to take the Sacrament. Isn't that crazy though? The Branch President was calling everyone telling them not to come to church. That's a once in a lifetime command! 

We've had a lot of great lessons with investigators and we see progression! We've also been dropped, people are avoiding us, and we gets lots of door shut in our face. I've come to understand that I don't need to be sad by these people, but continue on and give people the opportunity to learn more. 

Fun facts about New Zealand: 

 -Apparently there's no O-zone here, so sunscreen will come in handy. 

 -All the electrical outlets have on/off switches for each plug because electricity is so expensive here.

 -There are no stop lights here in Blenheim but there are heaps of round-a-bouts! There's also no stop signs, only "give ways". To put you all at ease, I've become a pretty good driver! It seems very natural now to be on the left side of the road. 

 -All the houses have gates around their houses so we just reach our arms over, under, or through and open up the gate to get in. 

 -The houses here don't have obvious front doors. We often will walk all around their house to the back to knock on the door. It seems creepy.. Ha we're very determined to knock every door. 

I love you all so much and am grateful for your support in my life! Although the earthquakes are still happening daily, and they've predicted one bigger than the first to come in the week, I know the Lord will protect us. The Lord will always bless and support us in our trials if we pray to Him and rely on His power. He already knows what we need and desire in our life, we just have to give Him permission to bless us by asking Him for those blessings. Lot's wife was commanded to not look back as they fled Sodom and Gomorrah. She looked back, yearning for the days she'd had before and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Choose to be happy today! Don't look back on good times wishing they would come again and seek for happiness in the future. Be happy now!! 

Love, Sister Kennedy 

 More Pictures from this week: For P-day we had a pizza lunch with the Elders in this beautiful city square. The clock tower behind us is super pretty. 

This is a bridge over the river in town.. it's a little wet at the moment from the downpour of rain over the weekend.