Halfway done in the MTC and Zone Leader

Hey,

Sorry, I don't have much time so i'm going to make this short. 

Dad and Dianna- Thanks for looking up the latitudes of Chile for me. It's a comfort knowing the weather is going to be similar to what I am used to in San Diego. From what I understand Chile is in the same time zone as Brazil. I'm not sure if that is true, because it is on the opposite side of the continent. Also, it is so true about the book of Acts. It is a very inspiring example of how the spirit is able to give the gift of tongues to the people who follow Christ.

Renee- Thanks for the updates on where my friends got called to serve.

Mom- I’m so glad to hear that you had a good time in Florida. I did get aunt J's package. That was so nice of her. Also thank you for sending me a copy of Eric’s letter. I'm really glad to see his experiences, because I know I will have similar ones once I'm out in the field. I was jut made a Zone Leader. So that means lots of meetings and interviews with other missionaries. Also I may or may not have misplaced all the numbers for the phone card... so yeah haha. I’m learning more everyday here. But I’m sure it’s going be really hard once I get to Chile because they speak with a very distinct accent. Thank you for all your prayers for me. I hope all is going well. I love you and miss you so much.

Te amo

Here are some pictures from the MTC:

Joe's favorite Statue at the MTC "Anxiously Engaged" two bike missionaries riding on top of the world. 

 The first Missionary of this Dispensation Elder Samuel Smith

 My District on P-Day in the Laundry Room

My district has 8 people in it. Us in our mission clothes from left to right:

Me, My companion Elder W, Hermana A, Hemana M, Elder Wh, Elder T.(super awesome!), Hermana Mc, Hermana Mo.

 My Companion and Me

 Some Elder's from my district and Elder's from the other district. Recognize the one in the middle?  Elder Rice (from back home)

 Here he is with me 

 Recognize these missionaries? Del Mar Stake representing!

 Classic point to where you're serving

 Love these fellow missionaries. 

Having fun at the Provo Temple.

Short and sweet

Hey family,

Thank you for all your prayers. My P-day schedule is easy. We wake up at 5:45 a.m. and we go to the temple and once we are done we try to get our laundry done and then we go to class for personal study time. After that we email and write letters (the order changes a bit) but it is awesome here. I am so grateful for your prayers.

  

Mom- Thanks for the talk. It is awesome.

Renee and Joe- Yes I did get the chain for the S.I.T.A ring. Thank you so much. And thanks for the advice, I will always teach people with that in mind. I love you guys. And thank you for the Valentine Cupcakes from Cocoa Bean. I really appreciated them (and so did my district).

ALSO- I have been using hand sanitizer like 100,000 times a day. Like every time I touch a door handle or a railing or anything! ....Staph! Is Everywhere! Hahaha.

-Elder Kennedy

Letter # 2 (First real P-day)

Hey Everyone, I am writing one big email to everyone because they limit email time to 30 mins per P-Day and I am a slow typer. My P-Days are on Friday's (this is my first one because we didnt have one the first week.)

Anyway, I love it here! My bunkmates are so funny I love it. The food is pretty good for how many people they need to serve. On wednesday there were 860 new missionaries that reported and next week they expect 1000+. We do have lessons with progressive investigators (we teach the lessons in spanish, and also when our teachers teach they only speak spanish.) But I really love it here.The spirit is so strong. I love my District, they are all super awesome.There are 8 people in my district. My companion Elder W. and I (Elder W. is going to Rancagua, Chile). Elder W. and Elder T.(Elder W. is going to Calgry, Canada and Elder T. is going to Xalapa, Mexico). Hermana M. and Hermana A. (Both are goin to Osurno, Chile). Hermana Mc. and Hermana Mo (Hermana Mc is going to Pocatello, ID and Hermana Mo is going to McAllen, TX.) They are all so great and I know they will be awesome in the feild.

The language is coming along slowly. I understand wayyyyyy more than I can speak. The teachers here are so awesome and the each have a diffrent style of teaching which is cool cause you get a bunch of different perspectives. My teachers are:

Hermano Monroe (who happens to be the older brother of Hermana Monroe. They are from Poway). He always has these awesome spiritual lessons that are super epic. Hermana Ayala is from Guatemala, her and her twin both teach us. Hermana Comacho is from Puerto Rico and is so funny! She makes learning the language super fun and has cool stories about her mission in Oakland.

I ran into Sister Calder and Sister Snow before they left so that was good. I have also seen Elder Meiling And Elder Rice. Elder Rice used to be in my zone, but our zone was so big they split it. But he still has the same schedule so I see him all the time. I have some pictures I hope to be able to send home but there are only a few computors here that can do that and they're always in use (cause theyre in the laundry room.)

Well Im glad all is well with everyone. I love you guys. Vos amo!

P.S. Thank you Joe and Renee for the Step Into the Arena quote. 

Elder Kennedy's first letter

Elder Kennedy's P-days are on Fridays. But the first Friday he was in the MTC he didn't get a traditional p-day. We received this letter from Elder Kennedy on Monday (Feb 4th). 

Hola!

My stay here in the MTC (CCM para Español) has been fun for the most part. There have been many times that it has been hard though. The main things that are hard for me are: The language, which is mainly hard for me because I have to learn all sorts of new words and phrases relating to the gospel. Another thing that is pretty difficult for me is knowing what to study for an investigator. Here in the MTC, we have an investigator that we visit almost everyday. We have to teach her in Spanish. That makes it difficult because even if you know what to say in English, you have to teach in Spanish. My investigator’s name in Heidy. My companion (Elder W) and I have to plan lessons for her everyday. Oh yeah! I was in a trio-companionship but it was split up because we had Elder T transfer into our district. Elder T is so awesome! He is really funny but super sincere and so in tune with the spirit. I love him. 

Anyway, back to Heidy. My companion and I have to prepare lessons for her. The more we do it the easier it gets. But that is only because the spirit helps us. With the help of our teacher we realized why our first lesson didn’t go very well. It is because we were relying too heavily on our own knowledge and not the spirit. But when we went back in, we were able to connect with her better and know what she needed to hear. I’m still not the best at it but I know that if I study while keeping Heidy in mind I will know exactly what to prepare to teach. I know the spirit will guide me but sometimes I draw blanks and I don’t know what to say and that get’s me discouraged, and the more I get discouraged it makes it impossible for the spirit to teach through me. So if you could please pray for me, that I will be able to have faith enough to have the spirit teach through me and that I will know what to study for Heidy. And lastly pray that I will be able to learn Spanish and be blessed con el don de lenguas (the gift of tongues). I know that heavenly father wants me to serve a mission and that he loves me very much. And I know that he will answer our prayers. So please if you could, pray for Heidy and me. I would appreciate it.

Much Love,

Elder Kennedy

P.S. I'm sorry if my letter doesn’t flow well. I’m trying to become a better writer.