One Month Down

Hello Friends and family from the flat and hot land of Canada!

 

But really, it has been so hot and humid, and this place has one hill. First thing I am going to do when I get back is give a mountain a hug.

 

So, like I said, I am one month into the mission, and I am loving it! I love being a missionary, it brings me so much joy, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to shar the gospel with my fellow men. We are preparing three people for baptism right now, Wayne, who is doing really well, he has all the lessons and is keeping commitments, is still struggling with health, but overall is doing ok. He almost couldn't get baptized because he went to court and was almost sent to prison (long story) but he is doing well, and is free, so that's nice! we are also working with Mckenzie, she is 9 years old and is the child of a less active family, they invited us to come teach her because they really want her baptized, so we are working on teaching her and re-activating the family, and that is going great as well. Our last progressing investigor is Nino, we found him last week, he is from chile, and this week we were able to teach him quite a bit of the resoration, we left him with a book of mormon, and he came to church! He is so receptive and prepared, he has experienced a lot of hardship, but he told us he just wants to live a good life, and that when he is with us he feels confidence and trust, and told us that he knows anything we tell him will be the truth and he will believe. I was grinning from ear to ear :) I am just so happy for all these people and to see the joy that the gospel brings to the lives of others, I can't wait to teach more and help people come unto Christ, that's what I am here for!

 

My spiritual thought this week comes from mosiah 24:14, and ether 2:25. I will allow you all to read those verses, but what I enjoyed about the inspiration I received from them was this. life is going to be hard, we are going to have burdens, and storms, and it is going to be at times overwhelming. But our savior promises that he will prepare us against these things, and that if we rely on him, he will make our burdens light, because if we always turn to our savior, with full faith and hope, he will be with us always, to the point where we won't even feel the burdens that we experience. I know this is true, that Heavenly Father will always take care of us, if we are always quick to remember him and really on him with full purpose of heart. If we do this, there will be no reason to fear or doubt, for through him we can overcome anything. I love this gospel, I am so happy to be serving as a missionary, it is a marvelous work and I am happy that I have the opportunity to do my part. I am praying for you all, I hope you have a great week, thank you for everything!

 

Elder Kendall

Another week of Work

Hello friends and family from the still warm area of Winnipeg! it reached a temperature of about 42 degrees C, which is pretty stinking hot! We are doing are best though despite these hot summer days, and I am in good spirits! I cannot believe it has already been about a month since I left, it has gone by sort of quick, but the days are certainly long. I don't really like being in the apartment, I would much rather be out working, but that's the way it should be eh? (stil working on the language). We have about six new potentials that we found last week, all of our scheduled appointments with them are for this week, or for some we will just be stopping by if we didn't get a return appointment, but it is great that we have work to do! We have two baptisms coming up, Wayne, who I mentioned before, will be baptized on August 3rd, and then an 8 year old of a less active family that we have been teaching will be baptized soon as well. We are working hard with strengthening the members of the area, because we really need their help with missionary work, we cannot progress the way we want to without them. It is definitely different culturally speaking, there are people here from so many different countries, we have potentials from Chile, Africa, France, Australia, and then a couple canadians on the side. It is nothing like what I expected Canada to be like, but it is still great to be a part of this area doing the marvelous work of the Lord.

 

My spiritual thought this week is in regards to knowing and developing a relationship with our savior. I have been studying Christ-like attributes, and in my personal reading I am in 3 Nephi, and chapter 17 is what I would like to specifically focus on. When the savior visits the Americas, and is teaching and blessing the people, there is a moment where he kneels in prayer on behalf of the people. This had such a profound impact on me, to think that Christ continiously prays on behalf of us to our Father in Heaven. It brings me so much comfort to know that my Savior is mindful of me, he knows me individually, he wants me to succeed, and he will pray on my behalf so that I may achieve what I need to, so that I may fulfill my purpose here. I know that if I am on the Lord's side, I will not fail. I am so grateful for that knowledge. Lately my mission motto, whenever I get discouraged, has been to, "Forget Yourself, Trust in God, Go to Work". I know that as I continue to develop Christ-like attributes and cultivate my relationship with my Savior and my Father in Heaven, that I will be a great instrument in the hands of God, to help the work move forward.

 

I love you all, I pray for everyone that I can back home, I hope that all is well! Thank you all for your continuing support.

 

Elder Kendall

Never Fear- Elder Kendall is Here!

Hello friends and family!

 

I am just about to complete my first week in Canada, where I was assigned to serve in the Winnipeg area for my first transfer. It is nice and humid and warm, but it is going well. My area is basically the phillipins. I had no idea when I opened my call to Canada Winnipeg that I would actually be serving in the Phillipins, so that is definitely a surprise! Also, apparently I need to prepare myself to eat a delicacy from the phillipins called balut. It is a large, hard-boiled egg that has a nearly fully developed baby duck in it. And you eat it. A baby duck. So that's great. but the work is going well, and the people are just incredible. We are working on retention right now with a lot of converts and less actives, and that has been a huge part of our work, but we have plenty of opportunities to find as well. Knocking on doors wasn't so bad, we've been shut down a couple times, but that was certainly expected. My Companion's name is Elder Moore, he is from Vancouver and has been out for almost a year and a half. He is a great trainer, and is very obedient, which I like, because exact obedience on the mission brings miracles. It is great to be a part of this marvelous work at such a historic time. The mission is changing, and we are just hitting a point where we can begin to really help this area grow and come unto Christ. I had my first lesson last friday, and it was not what you would expect from a first lesson. The man's name is wayne, he has cerebral palsy and bi-polar disorder, and was on schedule to be baptized the following day. However, he was struggling with keeping some commandments, so my first lesson was to tell a man that we had to move back his baptism. It was heartbreaking. But he is a humble man, and is really going to work hard so that he can be baptized within the next few weeks, which I am really grateful for. We also will be teaching some potential investigators this week for the first time, and I am just hoping that I can follow the spirit and teach according to the spiritual needs of those who have been prepared to receive the message. We have been working a lot with the members in regards to the special broadcast from last week, and are just hoping that we can get them on board to being a part of this great work. I know that The Lord will provide a way for missionary work to progress in this area, I've seen it already, and I know that the members will be a great assett to us as we, through The Lord's help, move the work forward.

 

My spiritual thought this week focuses on John 16:33

 

It says, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world".

 

Christ knows that each of us have our own personal trials, he experienced them firsthand. We live in a world that we honestly cannot overcome on our own. But the beauty of our Heavenly Father's plan is that we don't have to. If we have our foundation built upon our savior, we have no need to fear. We can take great comfort in the knowledge that Christ overcame the world. that is a profound thought that he conquered the tribulation of the world, so that we, through him, could do the same. I know that as for myself, I am nothing, but that through The Lord, I am everything, I can do all things, I can be of good cheer, I can overcome the world.

 

May you all be blessed in your endeavors this week, I love you all and am so grateful for the continued support that I received from each one of you. I know that as we build our lives on this gospel, that we will conquer anything and everything that comes our way. Have a great week!

 

With Love,

Elder Kendall