Goodbye President King

Hey family, 

Thank you for all the recipes and scriptures you sent. It’s always good to hear from you guys. Mom, Renee and JF- The package did come, so thank you very much for that. I love these sunflower seeds! Especially the jalapeño hot salsa ones .... MMMMMM tan rico. Thanks again for the music sister, although Elder Tyler (an elder in the pention) listens to it more than I do haha. But the music on it is perfect. It has only rained once since I´ve been here in San Antonio so don't worry about flooding we are fine. And no we aren't cold either, we all have lots of blankets so we are good. 

Earlier in the week we had a Zone conference (the last one with Pres. King). He talked a lot about how important we all are to the Lord and how much trust He has in us. We also watched a Youtube video (which YOU all can watch too) which was awesome. One of the talks was from Elder Holland who talked about why missionary work is so hard and why sometimes life can be challenging even if we are doing everything The Lord asks of us. The answer was because it wasn’t easy for the Savior. Salvation is not a cheap bargain and it will cost us a lot at times but it is always important to remember that the way we receive blessings from the Lord is by enduring whatever challenge we have and follow Christ even if its hard or a struggle for us. Salvation can't be easy for us, because it was never easy for Him. 

Anyway, I am so grateful to be here in The Santiago Best Mission. I love you guys. Thanks for all your support and love.

Elder Ian Kennedy

J.F- Awesome story about how you are able to be “steadfast and immovable” even at your work when the natural man is everywhere. You are an awesome example to me. I love you bro.

 Elder Lopez and President's King

 Adios Amigo's for the Kings. Because they are leaving

Yep!

 Elder Lopez and Rodrigo

Pics in La Costa San Antonio Chile

Happy Father's Day!

Hey Fam,

Another week flew by and I'm writing you again. Happy Father´s Day dad, I hope it was a good one. Renee and Joe your car is gorgeous. haha you now have 2 cars and 2 motorcycles between the both of you ha. That’s awesome! Joe you’re a boss for working so hard that another man from another company noticed and wants to hire you.

San Antonio is awesome. Elder Lopez and I are working hard and taking out the trash. Anyway the time is flying by here on the mish and I am learning so much. I can feel the love of my Savior everyday. It is an awesome experience to be able to share the gospel with people. I am so blessed to be in the service of my Heavenly Father as I help to bring His children back to Him. There really is nothing like it.

It seriously is the best thing you could ever do in your life. 

I love being a missionary, especially because of all the time I get to study the scriptures. That’s something I almost never did before the mission which now when I look back I regret. Cause I know I could have avoided so many of the stupid things I have done in my life just by trying to bring myself a little closer to the Lord. But oh well, that is why we have the Atonement. Try as much as you can everyday to love the Savior and to love this gospel, because it is true. You can avoid so much stupid stuff and be so happy just by doing what our Father wants. That is something I never really understood before the mission. I love you all and I am grateful for your love and support.

Before I forget, I want to know all of your favorite scriptures. So next week if it’s possible can you send me those. Also any easy recipes for good food, that don’t require tons of ingredients, like brownies and cookies or anything. 

Gracias,

Elder Ian Kennedy

Loving the Coast

Hey!

The city here is not as Urban as Santiago but still fairly developed, picture Encinitas on the 101 but a little more janky and hilly, also with more houses and shacks. To get here (from Santiago) we took the metro for a while and then took a bus for about an hour and a half. The Coast is awesome! It is way calmer than the busy city of Santiago. I love it. Every time I see the water in my head I sing Let the lower lights be burning... or whatever that hymn is called. Its called Brillan Rayos De Clemencia in Spanish. It’s one of my favorite himnos now. The people here in San Antonio are so awesome and the ward functions way better than my last ward. We have so many lessons with a member present. We have some awesome investigators like Sergio who has a fecha for the 29th of this month! I am super exited for him. He doesn’t know how to read so we are also teaching him that. Renée you had a question about how changes work here. What happens is every time there are changes (every 6 weeks) there is a meeting in Maipú where the office is and they announce who is going where and with whom. Then you find your new companion and go to the sector and do work. You only go if you or your companion is being transferred. Today we went to the beach as a Zone. AWESOME! We took some pictures and stuff. So I´m making this email short so I can send pictures to you guys. Love you,

Chao!

ELDER KENNEDY

A few minutes later….

Well I was gonna send pictures, but is appears the USB ports on this computer are broken ... next week entonces. Anyway, since I can´t send pictures I´ll tell you a funny story. In my last sector Elder Burk and I were leaving an investigators house and we decided to take our jackets off cause it was hot. As we were walking there was a dog that really wanted to play and kept jumping up on our legs. (It was a pretty small dog). Getting annoyed we tried pushing it away but it thought we were playing with it. Anyway, I had the brilliant idea to hit it with my jacket. That was a stupid idea cause the dog caught the jacket in its mouth and tried to play tug-of-war and ripped a hole in the sleeve. The good news is the was the one with a two year guarantee ... I don’t know if the warranty covers dog bites but that would be cool if it did. Anyway there’s the story for the week. 

Love,

Elder Kennedy

Oh Mom- For reals can you check up on the warranty for my missionary mall suit?

Transfered to La Costa

Hey Everyone!

I just learned that I am being transferred. I don't know where yet or with whom, but I will find out in about an hour because that’s when the 'changes' meeting is. I'll try to let you know as soon as I can. But this means I will probably not be going to Misión Santiago Sur, unless I get transferred from La Cisterna to San Miguel (the neighboring Zone). Those are the only two zones that are being taken from the west and going to the new south mission. I am going to miss the Elders here; Elder Burk, Elder Salines, and Elder Gonzalez. Elder Gonzalez is going back home to Honduras tomorrow and Elder Salines and Burk (my trainer) go home at the end of next change. They are all such awesome Elders and they helped me learn and grow so much. I loved all the elders in my pention and basically all the elders in my zone (I didn’t get to know a couple that well so that’s why I said “basically”). But seriously, I love being on a mission. It is just awesome in every aspect.

The mission is going awesome now that I’ve got my 3 months here in Chile. The language is coming… I can understand what everyone is saying even with their flaite slang. kinda haha. I can understand basically everything and I can say what I need to say in any situation. Basically, I know enough Spanish to learn more Spanish. This is good.

It is so awesome to hear all of the news from you guys. Renée, JF, and Mom, I cant believe you guys are moving to Xana.¡BACÁN! And so soon too! What a blessing, and a good chance to start with a fresh plate. Craziness about Nate trying to leave earlier for his mission. That would be cool if he can. But yes please, I would like the address, and emails of all my friends on missions if possible. Joe, I'm sorry you’re so busy man, but you’re a boss for being such a gnarly breadwinner! Dianna, that’s awesome about trying out Spanish prayers. Spanish is an awesome language and I recommend that all of you learn it. Anyway, I´m loving life and looking forward to this change. It´s a very high possibility my next companion is a Latino. Which means my Spanish will increase even faster. Thank you all for your love and support.

Chao,

Elder Kennedy

A few hours later….

Hey Again,

I have been transferred to La Costa. This means I have been saved from Santiago South. My sector is called San Antonio and my new companion's name is Elder Lopez. He is from Guatemala, and doesn´t speak English. This will help my Spanish progress even more. It is so gorgeous here on the coast! It’s so nice and way calmer than the city. I don’t have druggies cussing me out anymore haha. LIfe is good and I LOVE my mission! And I'm excited to be serving in this area. What an awesome blessing I have, to be able to see the coast of Chile. I am extremely grateful to the Lord for this. And I’m grateful to be able to continue serving in the Chile Santiago BEST Mission. Love you guys.

Elder Kennedy