Start of week 3 in Republica

Family!

Well Republica is great. Here we are getting ready to start week 3. This sector is way different than any other sector I've seen because there are no houses. It's all buildings, apartments, outlet stores, and Universities. The closest thing we have to houses are these type of buildings that when you enter, they have a long hall with about 10 to 15 small bedrooms in which entire families live. These houses have one common kitchen and 1 or 2 bathrooms. 

The other different part about this sector is that the majority of the people here are foreigners. They are mostly from Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, but there are people from everywhere. We have Haitian, brazilian, even chinese people here too. Our ward is massive. It's the biggest ward I have seen here in my time in the mission. We have an average church attendance of 230. Out of those 230 about 40 are Chilean. The rest are from other countries. But this ward is not like my other wards, because usually in my other wards we would have like 70 to 100 people attend out of a member list of 1000+. But here we have 230 out of a list of 411. It's really cool to see so many people in a church building. 

The Zone is doing great! We had 2 baptisms this weekend, and we are progressing toward our goal of this month. We have a lot of good Missionaries here, and they all get along, so that's a plus. Being a Zone leader is easier than being a District Leader in my opinion. The one downside is a ZL doesn't get to interact as much with the missionaries. All we do is get reports from the DL's and tell them to help their Districts and how to help their districts. It's a little more hands off. We deal more with graphs and numbers, and report to the Assistants and President. I like it though. It's a lot of fun :P 

Still loving the mission Life. 

Your missionary,

Elder Ian Kennedy

Not much time

Sorry no letter,

But just so you can get ready... I can Skype on the 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th of December.  So I'm not sure what day will be better for you all.

Here are some pictures:

Fam Lorca Zuniga

 Fam Gonzalez Vergara

 Lizardo Gomez

 Juan Carlos Bugueno

 Fam Jauregui

 Omar y Coni Madariago Cartegena

Fam Texeira Pino 

 Fam Soza Bravo

 Republica Centro

The view off my balcony

Cambios

Familia, 

Well Elder Harries and I were surprised by a phone call on Saturday in which I was told I have Changes. So I am no longer in my beloved Zone of Ochagavia. Instead they took me out of there and put me in Republica (Santiago Centro) as a Zone Leader. We are in a trio and my other companions are Elder Hatch from Utah and Elder Sanabria from Colombia. I’m pretty exited for this opportunity, although it was hard to say goodbye to all the people in Villa Sur. I hate saying goodbye to people after being in a ward for so long, It’s really hard. Especially Omar and Cony who just received callings. Omar was called as a consejero in the Young Men program, and Cony as a teacher in the Primary. I love them so much and I will miss them and all the members of Villa Sur.

The good news is that it seems to be a really good Zone here in Republica. Out of the 10 zones, Republica, Ochagavia, San Antonio and Melipilla were the only ones to reach the baptism goal, so that’s good. As a mission we reached an all new, never before seen high, of 92 baptisms in one month! The Plan Piloto has really turned out a lot of fruit. Something I forgot to mention last week actually, is that when Elder Nelson came, he looked at the results of the Plan Piloto in our mission (ours being the one that is having the most success) and said that it is no longer the “Pilot Plan,” but THE Plan. So, starting January 2015 the entire area of South America South will be doing the Plan "El Rescate." And it is currently being looked at in Salt Lake to see if it will be an change in the entire Mission department of the Church. 

All I can say is how grateful I am to be here in the mission. I have seen so many miracles. I know that this gospel is true. And I am so very grateful to be able to share it with my brothers and sisters here in Chile. I love it here and never want to leave.

Your missionary, 

Elder Kennedy

President sent this to us. We are so proud of Ian!

Good Week

Family!

Well, another fantastic week has passed. Elder Harries and I are taking out the trash, contacting everyone. It's gotten to the point where we walk down the streets and recognize 90% of the people and know 75% by name. But we are constantly finding new people to teach. 

Yesterday was the Birthday of Elder Harries. Omar and Coni did a little surprise party in their house and invited a few people form the ward. It was awesome. Omar and Coni are so awesome. They have so much faith. Lately they have been passing through a lot of trials, (typical 'after baptism' Satan stuff). But these trials are not small. However they recognize that with these trials it's even more important to obey the commandments. After Sacrament meeting yesterday Elder Harries and I saw Omar with a tithing slip sticking out of his pocket. Just that little sight gave us so much joy. Also they had and interview with the Bishop, and Omar is going to be called as the first consejero in the Young Men. We are so proud of them. They are just so humble. Despite of the fact that the electricity in their house got cut, after seeing my worn out shoes, Omar went into his closet and gave me his pair of dress shoes. I tried to assure him that I would be ok with my shoes because my mission is coming to an end, but he insisted. I was so humbled by the charity that he has.

I love the mission so much, I cannot express how much I love the people here. I wish I could stay here forever.

Elder Ian Kennedy

P.S.  Wait what?!?!? Renee going to Law School? That's awesome!!!!!  Where are you going? far? or in California? 

Cumpleaños de Elder Harries

con Omar y coni, Myriam, Bruno, Dafne y Lizardo

So short

Sorry,

I don't have much time to write because Im doing family search stuff... but Love you all! I'll write next week. 

Elder Harries and I are taking out the trash here in Villa Sur. I love it here so much. I get why Ammon and his brothers stayed 14 years with the Lamanites. I really love these people. The Lord has blessed me so much, and I am so grateful to Him for putting me here. I'm Learning so much, and I am going to keep working hard and loving the people. 

Your missionary,

Elder Kennedy

Elder Nelson came to talk

Hello my family!

What a week! On Saturday we saw Elder Nelson of the 12. It was so awesome. In that meeting there were 3 General Authorities: Elder Viñas and Elder Christensen were also there. It was an awesome experience. Elder Nelson talked about the Abrahamic Covenant and the Gathering of Israel, and how it is literally taking place right now. It's cool to think that we are really seeing the prophecies about it come to pass. Something I really like that he explained to us is that all the 12 tribes were promised Lands of inheritance, but in the bible it never talks about where the lands of Joseph were. However, thanks to the Book of Mormon we know where his promised land was. It is so cool having an Apostle teach, because they can explain doctrinal points with such amazing clarity. He talked a lot about the covenants we have to make in order to be saved and that we have all the tools we need to help people understand what they are. The Book of Mormon was written to: "show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever" (The title page of The Book of Mormon). The Lord is progressing His work in these latter days, He is gathering His scattered Israel, and we have all the tools we need to understand His will for us. 

I love my mission so much. I love every experience I have here. I know the Lord has put me here to help gather His people. And I am grateful for that call. I love it here. I have come to understand and Love the gospel so much. But more importantly I have come to Love the Lord above everything. I think back sometimes on the stupid Kid I was before the mission, and give thanks that I was given this chance to separate myself from the world and find the things that truly make me happy. If I have learned one thing in my mission it is to love the lord over everything else. I have learned that if you love the Lord over everything, your capacity to love others increases too. 

Love,

Elder Ian J. Kennedy

 Bishop Yanez and his wife are from Spain. We had dinner with them.