My week was AOK.

July 13, 2014

My email is a bit later today! But we got caught up on a call with the Zone Leaders for ages discussing all the issues in the Zone, then my companion's bike chain got caught so we got all greasy trying to fix that, and it is rainy and so cold so biking was a bit challenging against all the wind:) But alas, we've finally made it to email.

We stopped to see some women playing rugby, when one of the players went down. The physio went out on the field and it made me way pumped to be an athletic trainer. Maybe I'll come back to New Zealand and be a trainer here.

This week we had a dinner appointment that made me feel right at home. It was the Ikitogia family who has the 8 year old boy who will be baptised on Saturday, then 7 and 6 year old sisters, and a little cousin who was 3. We all ate dinner while we told dumb knock-knock jokes. It was really funny and I thought of our funny and all the dumb jokes that we would tell each other. I would like to think my companion and I had less than dumb jokes, but they were all pretty silly ha.

Our miracle for the week was Leighya, the mum whose kids all told silly knock-knock jokes and tested her patience. On Monday we came over with 2 of her member friends and we presented to her the Stop Smoking Program. It's been put together from the church and it's 7 days of replacing any craving or desires with other things. Every day my companion and I would stop by with snacks, send her a text, and make sure the members were encouraging her. It was so awesome! The first few days were so hard for her, but after the 4th day it got so much easier and she knew she could do it. Literally, her skin already looks heaps better, and she feels much better! Today is her 7th day and she's completely smoke free. Yay!! Honestly, I've prepared and taught the Stop Smoking program 4 times now, but she's the first one who had a true enough desire to quit smoking. We know this will help her progress in the gospel now:) It's like that with most things in life, the first few days are so hard, but once you get over the hill it's way easier. We just can't quit in the early stages.

I serve in the prettiest place in the world.

Fun facts of New Zealand:

-They have the Commonwealth Games coming up soon which is essentially the Olympics but for only countries that live in the Commonwealth of the Queen. That's New Zealand. The big events for us are netball, rowing, and other sports that are foreign to me ha.

-Electricity is really, really expensive, so no one really owns dryers. They all just air dry their clothes which becomes really difficult in the winter and rainy season. Luckily, we own a dryer.

-The most common vegetables I eat here are pumpkin, kumara, and silver beet which are all things I'd never had before NZ.

This week should be fun. I turn old and one year this week, we have a baptism of our 8 year old Tomai, and our ward has a talent show on Saturday that we are singing in, so it should be a really great week! I will finish the Book of Mormon this week, which is so exciting! Just over 2 months so I've been reading heaps. Mum, you'll be proud to know that I actually like reading now ha. I love you all and am so grateful for your emails, letters, and prayers in my behalf. I realize that this will be the most I am ever prayed for in my life, so I will try to absorb it as much as possible ha. Have a great week!! 

Love, Sister Kennedy