Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Second week in the mission field has begun!

Hey everybody!!

Second week in the mission field has begun! 

I am starting to get a bit more comfortable with the area right now! I was able to teach my first lesson last night! She just wants to be apart of the church for the welfare so it is probably not going to go anywhere but whatever... good practice! Do you remember Joe from my last letter? He was just baptized two weeks ago! Well he doesnt work or have really any money! He has problems with his back! Well he came with us to teach her and he said he felt so sorry for her! He said I know were she is coming from! I feel sorry for her! I am going to go tomorrow and buy here a food box! So he did and when he brought it over to her he said she started crying! Joe is a wonderful example of Jesus Christ! He cares so much for people and really shows how a deciple of christ is! Joe just got a calling from the church to be a home teacher! He was so excited for that! We can learn alot from joe because he loves to serve people and really empersenates what a christ like person should be! He has so many challenges of his own but doesnt complain when he is asked to do hard things! He does it with a smile on his face!

My companion and I are going to go down to Old Town Scottsdale today and then later go play tennis at Brother Maughans ( The billionaire) house! His house is so dang big! When we were over there the other night for dinner we were able to see all his collections of things that he has collected over the years! He has a huge mayan calender in his living room! He has a 500000 dollar car that we were able to sit in! All in all he is wealthy! He pays like 2 million dollars in tithing a month! He said he was going to go and by the Noahs Ark Instructions thing that they just found! 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Send mail and packages to Mission Home

The Mission Office address is: 6265 N. 82nd Street, Scottsdale AZ 85250.  Elder Kennedy lives close to the mission home.  Packages and mail.

1st few days in the mission field‏

Hey everybody!

Made it to Scottsdale, Arizona! I am in the Mountain Shadows Ward which is in Scottsdale Arizona! 
I am in a car section of my mission so i don't need a bike right now! So happy about that! Elder Jackson is my companion and he is from Rexburg, Idaho! He says he has the back of a 50 year old man so that is why we have a car! Score! He looks a lot like Jordan Wiemer! Which is kinda cool! 

Yesterday I was able to meet with some pretty amazing people! We meet with 2 Recent Converts Ricky and Joe! They both are so amazing! With Ricky we were able to watch a Mormon Message! It was funny because we were just going over to introduce ourselves and he is like "so are we going to watch a video or something" I thought it was so cool that he just automatically wants to watch a video and discuss it!

Joe is way awesome too! He is a little bit special but has a sweet spirit about him! He calls us his brothers! He got a phone call in the middle of us visiting him and he said "I cant talk right now ... I am with my brothers! No not my real brothers but my church brothers!" He has a sweet spirit about him and is way awesome! We were able to help him with some things and he made a CD for us! He is a really really kind person!

I was able to meet with alot of the ward missionaries!


We were able to eat dinner with Brother Owens last night! His wife had to work but he is way awesome! I think Mom would have liked his apartment because it is very stylish!

Tonight we are eating dinner with a billionaire! I think his name is Brother Mone! He is the owner of BYUtv!

This is a really humbling experience! I feel like I know nothing, so i am just going with the motions right now! Hopefully I can start to pick this missionary thing up! I am learning a lot though! 

Love you guys!
Keep me in your Prayers!
Love,
Elder Kennedy!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

First Day

We received from a friend of Elder Kennedys:

Hey I'm Dallas' friend from college! Long story short is that his mission is my home town! And all the sisters stay at my house and I have to stay at the mission home with the new elders! President Sweeney let me go tracking on the streets with them yesterday. Elder Kennedy is truly a missionary called of God. He is so comfortable and good at it. You should be proud. 

Monday, February 17, 2014

Traveling to Scottsdale

Karen and I heard from Elder Kennedy today. He was at the Salt Lake Airport waiting to catch his plane to Scottsdale, AZ. He sounded great. There are 16 missionaries that are going the Scottsdale mission. Wow! He asked that we keep praying for him. He sends his love to all.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

MTC - First Letter

Hey everybody,
You guys are the best family in the entire world! Thanks so much for all your support and prayers!

The first week at the MTC has been easily the hardest thing i have ever done in my life. 

When Austin first dropped me off I was immediately rushed into the swing of things! Got my name tag, dropped my luggage off and then met my companion! My companion is Elder Hunt. He is from Riverton, Utah and is 23 years old. I really think that we were meant to be together. In my patriarchal blessing it said that i would be a source of inspiration and strength to missionaries who are struggling. That promise has started right from the beginning of my mission! He told that before he came on a mission he was very shy and not very social. He said that i have been able to be a friend that he is able to be himself with and to really grow into the missionary God wants him to be! This was an amazing experience to see!

As i said before this has been a really hard experience! We have to wake up at 630 AM every morning which if anyone knows me I am not a delight to be with, but i have learned that as I have been able to be obidient the lord has bless me! For the first couple days I was struggling a little bit! I really questioned why I was out hear! There was a process I would go through everyday that went something like... in the morning i would feel really sad and really questioning why i was out here. I was terrified because i felt like i wasnt qualified to teach! That i didnt know enough, but as the day went on I kept having experiences that really built my confidence in myself and my ability to listen to the spirit! Each day we have classroom sessions were we learn how to teach, learn the gospel, and learn how to be guided by the spirit. We practice these techniques with our companion, then we teach our teacher, and then starting at the beginning of this week we were able to start teaching real investigators. As I have done this I have been able to gain confidence in myself, learn how to be guided by the spirit, and to really focus on the persons need and share how the gospel of Jesus Christ can help them. 

Something that i have learned really well here is that as missionaries we need to focus on each inverstigator, find there needs and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. If they dont know how the gospel will bless their lives then why would they listen to our message!

Elder Hunt and I were made Zone Leaders! This has been a good experience for us because we were able to welcome in new missionaries and really calm their fears! I know how hard it is to leave your family for two years but as i have been able to grow and progress I have been able to really feel peace and comfort about being here! I know that I am suppose to be here on a mission! 

In our district we have Elder Rassmuson, Elder Hunt, Elder Hunt, Elder Mayberry, and Elder Vergara! I have really learned to love them! They are some of the coolest most amazing guys I know! Elder Mayberry, Elder Hunt ( Not my companion), and me are the ones in our district going to Arizona Scottsdale. The other Elders are going to San Antonio, Texas!

Today is our P-Day! We were able to go to the temple today! I could really feel peace, comfort and the spirit at the temple! It was such a good experience to be able to go to the temple!

So like I mentioned earlier we have the opportunity to teach real investigators at the MTC! We are teaching a man named Don Cosney! He is a really incredible man and Elder Hunt and I are feeling really close to him! We have been able to teach him 3 times so far and will teach him tonight for the last time! We gave him a Book of Mormon and have invited him to be baptized. He said that baptism is something that he will sincerly considered! We were able to teach him about the restoration and the plan of salvation! He really likes history and thought that the story of the restoration was very interesting! He was able to pray about it and said he felt a sense of peace as he prayed. The next lesson was on the Plan of Salvation! He really responded to it and wanted to know more about his purpose in life and his relationship to heavenly father! we can really feel the spirit with him!

Another investigator that we met while walking to lunch one day is Junichi! He is from Japan. One thing i should mention is that at the mtc they have investigators wear gold name tags and they walk around the MTC. We as missionaries are able to approach them and set appointments up! So with Junichi he actually approached us and we were able to set a appointment up with him! Yesterday we were able to met with him and really get to know he better! He took pictures with us and said he would send it to our parents so be expecting something from him in your email! He was a really amazing and cool guy! He said he will take my wedding pictures for me and will take me our to dinner when I get back!

It is amazing how much you can change in just one week! I have grown to love the gospel and our savior Jesus Christ! I have grown of a greater understanding of the plan of salvation and the peace it brings to my life! I am so greatful for the atonement and the ability to be forgiven of our sins! It brings peace and joy into my life! I love the book of mormon and the direction it has given me and the peace it brings to my heart! I know that we have a modern day prophet who guides us in these latter days! 

Well I hope everything is going well back home! Keep me updated on everything! Keep praying for me!
I leave for Scottsdale, Arizona on Monday the 17th at 430AM. I am so excited to go!

Keep me posted. This will be my first and last time to email you guys while at the MTC! Next time you hear from me I will be in Scottsdale Arizona! I need to figure a way to send photos but i promise i have taken pictures and will send them as soon as possible! Make sure I have enough money to buy a bike, helmet and lights for it when i get down to scottsdale!

Love you guys so much,
Elder Kennedy