There's a new church in town

June 24, 2014

Hey friends and family!

So, I am really excited to tell you that yesterday we secured the new location for our church services, we are moving out of our living room and on to bigger and better things! We will be having services in the back room of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center in Morden (the neighboring town to winkler) starting in August! I am so excited for this, to already see the tremendous growth that has taken place here, I love serving in Winkler so much, what a blessing it has been!

If there is one thing I want to ask it is that you please keep E and L in your prayers, that they will be able to be baptized. They are so close, they just need that final step of faith! I feel your prayers on my behalf and on theirs, please keep it up! This week was good, we found two new investigators, C and J. They are cousins, and both have families so hopefully we will be able to teach their families in the future. We met them just going from place to place, they were sitting in their front yard in lawn chairs so we just sat down and started talking, and an hour later they both had copies of The Book of Mormon in their hands! I was really excited for this, the Lord really does provide when we work hard and trust in Him.

I know that this gospel is true, I love it with all my heart, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to preach that gospel each and every day. I love you all so much, thank you for the support, I hope you all have a great week!

With Love,
Elder Kendall

Ups and Downs

June 17, 2014

Hey friends and family!

Winkler is doing just as well as ever. It has some ups and downs, but is going so well overall! I love my mission so much, I am just really grateful to be serving here.

So. A couple things. E and L are our main investigators, and are really struggling to keep the commitments to come to church and live the word of wisdom. PLEASE KEEP THEM IN YOUR PRAYERS. please pray that they may be baptized this transfer, we feel really good about it, and they want to be, so please pray that they can reach that goal that they have. Other than that E, J, and J are doing really well. J is struggling with commitment level as well, so those prayers on their behalf would be much appreciated.

Also, we have been fasting that we would be able to acquire a new meeting space for church, and we got one! there is a spare room behind the exhibits in the fossil discovery center where we volunteer, so we will be holding church starting at the end of july in the fossil center! We are so excited this got approved, especially because we did all we could to invite as many people as possible out to church, and we didn't have everyone that we invited show up, (including E and L), but we were still able to have a miracle in getting the building approved! The Lord really wants His work to move forward here.

I was studying miracles this week. I feel like I sometimes don't have enough faith to expect miracles, and I was thinking about that a lot, so I read about miracles in the bible dictionary, which says, in essence, that miracles are an important element in the work of Jesus Christ. and what is His work? to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. His work is missionary work, and miracles are an important part of that! I am so grateful for this study, it truly has strengthened my faith that the Lord is going to perform miracles when we exercise the faith and give it all we've got. I pray that this may be so for E and L especially at this time.

I love you all, I am so grateful for all that I have and all the support and love that you give me. Have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Kendall

One year down

June 10, 2014

Hey friends and family!

Thursday is my year mark. SAY WHAT?! I cannot believe that this has gone by so quickly! I have LOVED my mission, the good, the bad, the learning that I have done, and the lives that I have seen affected by the gospel. I am so grateful for everything that I have been a part of during my service as a missionary, this gospel is true, the church is true, and I am honored by the privilege of spreading that great message!

This past week was wonderful, the first and foremost blessing being the fact that T was baptized in Kenora! I am so grateful that he continued to progress to the waters of baptism, and that I was able to participate in a huge portion of his teaching. It is incredible to see the change of heart that has taken place in his life since we first met him, the gospel has truly changed his life forever. What a wonderful blessing. The rest of the week was really busy, we had two trips to Winnipeg to prepare for a presentation that was given in a world religion's class to 15 students and 5... skeptical visitors (pastors) :), and It was a really incredible experience! I loved the opportunity to testify to each of those individuals and tell them that I knew the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored and that it could bless their life. They each left with a copy of The Book of Mormon, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to spread that message in that setting.

Please keep E and L in your prayers, they are having a hard time with church attendance and keeping the word of wisdom, and we really want them to meet their date of june 28th. Also J, that she can overcome push-back from friends and family; J, that he can recognize God's love in his life and be willing to act.

I want you all to know that I have a testimony of this work that we are a part of. This is the only true and living church on the earth today. What a wonderful blessing to be a part of that work, and to spread the joy of the gospel to all who will hear the good news. I love you all, thank you for the support, I hope you have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Kendall  

Here Comes the Sun do do do do

June 4, 2014

Hey friends and family!

So, the title of this e-mail is ironic because it is actually raining right now, but it has been very sunny and hot so I decided to include it. Also, you may be asking yourself why I am e-mailing on a wednesday. It's because I was in Winnipeg on monday and portage la prairie on tuesday, so this is the first opportunity I have had to get an e-mail out to everyone. My apologies!

Anywho, week. We are doing super well, Elder Johnson is already my favorite companion that I've had, we get along really well and are working very hard, we are teaching a lot and still have baptismal dates for E and L for June 28. They are progressing nicely, as are some of our other investigators, such as J, and J, and E. We are also going to be giving a 1 hour presentation in a world religions class on our church, we have free reign to bear testimony, hand out copies of the book of mormon, ask and answer questions, and teach everything about our wonderful church! I am very excited for this opportunity. Also, last transfer I told my previous companion that we needed to fast for member move ins to help the work grow, and last week we ran into four new members, two in Winkler and two in Morden, that just moved in! they are both hispanic families, a couple and a single mom. They are really great, and I can't wait to work with them more. It just goes to show that God is watching out for us.

I want to just bear my testimony to you all that I know this gospel is true. We are part of an incredible plan that our Heavenly Father has established for us because He wants us to be happy. He loves us! Although I know you all believe this, I promise that He will answer your prayers. He wants what is best for you, and He will NEVER let you down.

I love you all, thank you for the support, I hope you have a wonderful week!

With Love,

Elder Kendall

Elder Johnson's coming to town

May 27, 2014

Hey friends and family!

We just received transfer calls, and I will be serving with Elder Johnson, who I actually went to high school with, so that will be really great! I am super excited to work with him.

We found two new investigators this week, p and l, they are a really great young family that have a lot of faith, they are strong in their belief but are willing to read the book of mormon, so hopefully that goes well and they are able to progress, as long as we teach by the spirit we will be successful. E and L also have new baptismal dates for the 28th of june, so please keep them in your prayers!

I learned a big lesson this week in the importance of teaching by the spirit, and I would invite you to read chapter four in preach my gospel if you ever have the time, because relying on the spirit is the most important part of this work.

I love you all, thank you for the support, I hope you all have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Kendall

Youth Night

May 20, 2014

hey family and friends!

It's me, Elder Kendall, hanging out in Winkler. Actually, working quite hard in Winkler! This past week was really good, we actually had a lot of appointments with a lot of other religious groups and different pastors and stuff, so that was interesting. One instance in particular that I can think of is going to a youth night. Their worship was so crazy, and it is strange to see how they treat their relationship with God, but also good to see that a belief in God is still going strong here. Canada has a 9% religious affiliation, so it is very different in this area, but still great to be serving here!

E and L are doing well, and should be baptized in June.

I am so sorry, I am running out of time, but I hope you all have a wonderful week, thank you all for the love and support!

With Love,
Elder Kendall

Mother I love you, Mother I do

May 13, 2014

Hey friends and family!

I just wanted to give one more Mother's day message to the best mom in the world! I love you so much mom, I am so grateful for you, thank you for the support that you offer to me every day, I can feel the prayers offered in my behalf, and I am just so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with such a wonderful mother. I love you mom!

This week was kind of slow, we were out of our area for 2 days in a town called Brandon for our Zone Training Meeting, but we still were able to get one new investigator! there was a young lady riding by on her bike, and she went pretty quick so we weren't able to talk with her, we kept going and then she turned back around and came and talked to us! She is very religious, and just told us she wanted to pray for us right there in the middle of the sidewalk! So she did. and it was crazy. That's the third time I have been prayed for on the street since I've been in Winkler! It was really strange, but good. She then, after having known us for all of 2 minutes, invited us over to dinner. So we went this week, and although she is very passionate about her faith, she wants to learn more, and is willing to read the Book of Mormon, so that is really exciting! Also, E and L were able to come to church, so we should be setting new baptismal dates with them soon! So many answers to prayers this week, I am so grateful for it!

I love you all, thank you for the support, I hope you have a wonderful week!

With Love,

Elder Kendall

Here Comes the Sun

May 6, 2014

Hello friends and family from Winkler!

Slowly but surely the weather is warming up, I even had a few days where I didn't need to wear a jacket! I know. Crazy. Things are going really well here in Winkler, We had another successful week with three new investigators, J, J, and E! All of them are really great, E is definitely ready to make some big changes in her life, so hopefully that all goes well!

E and L had to move the date back because they need some more time to keep certain commitments, but we'll keep working hard with them! please keep them in your prayers.

I am doing super well, I am loving my mission experience and sharing the gospel with the people here. One scripture that left an impression on me this week was 2 Nephi 26: 23-24. Sometimes life seems to be tough, and we turn and look into Heaven and ask "Why me?" just remember that the Lord doesn't work in darkness, that everything that takes place in your life is for your benefit, and that we will one day rest from our afflictions, and be lifted up. I love you all, I hope you have a wonderful week, thank you for everything that all of you do for me!

With Love,
Elder Kendall

Teaching J

April 29, 2014


Hey friends and family!

Elder Kendall here, and I am doing super well in Winkler! It was a really great week, ups and downs just like with any experience in life, but we have a lot of good to look forward to. This week we found five new investigators to teach, J, who is an older man that we found while we were walking down his street to an appointment, T, who is a pastor for another church that was referred to us by President Palmer, and C and S, who are a mennonite family that we also met street contacting.

I don't have too much time for detail, but my favorite lesson was with J this week. J is a man with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He is really looking for peace in his life, and so his lessons are really spiritual, and I always learn a lot with him.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, I love you all and appreciate the support!

With Love,
Elder Kendall