A training life for me

HEY,

Apologies for the tiny email. This week was good fechou. Hahaha life is great!

My comp and I are really stepping it up and teaching a boatload of people. We totally found a family of gold and started teaching them. It was way sick! We were walking around all day teaching lessons and knocking doors when, in this last sketchy stairway we past by a house and felt impressed to stop by. We talked to this lady Vania, and she totally is going to be baptized. She had so many questions and paid so close attention to what we were teaching and her family is really awesome. Anyway they are going to go to church this Sunday.

I understand my comp a lot better and he is learning really fast! He is still noobish but he is just a sweetheart! He is totally is going to get hit by a car one of these days. Lovin the training. “Do work son!!!”

tchau vai com deus

 Love my companion! 

 Friends he was able to see at Zone Conference

 Friends he was able to see at Zone Conference

Training Elder Gonzalez

Yeah, I'm a dad finally (it's what they call you when you are the trainer). It's super strange. Being a Junior companion is the best thing ever!! Now I have to do all of the hard stuff like make decisions hahahaha oh well, its been great so far. My greenie companion is Elder Gonzalez from Peru. Yeah, he doesn't much speak portuguese yet, but he is learning fast. His accent is super heavy and I understand him maybe 50% of the time. Anyway I am such a good father because we had a marked baptism already so Elder Gonzalez came into the field with a baptism ready for him. We baptized Irmã Elizabete! It was awesome and such a miracle that she decided to be baptized. She has been an investigator for a couple years, but we finally got her to go to church one sunday and during the gospel principles class we marked her baptism. I know the gospel is going to help her in so many aspects of her life. She lives alone and isn't married and doesn't have children. She just has like 4 dogs. She doesn't know how to read, but she has the book of mormon on tape/audio, so she listens to it everyday! She is really funny though and has some wonderful friends in the Relief Society. 

Anyway, back to my greenie companion. Hahaha he is such a noob! (Also known as newbie) Hahaha he attacks me with questions like every second! And when we walk out on he street he is like hugging my shoulders! Give me some space man! But other than that he is super awesome and teaches pretty well. People don't understand him like at all so I do most of the talking, but he is getting there. Man the president threw me a curveball on this one because 98% of Americans train brazilians and visa versa. Hispanics usually train Brazilians and Brazilians also usually train hispanics. (I'm assuming this is because between a hispanic missionary trying to learn Portuguese and an American who barely learned Portuguese, there is a definite language barrier). But here I am. An American training a Peruvian. I actually feel like a Brazilian who is training an American which is difficult hahaha. Oh well it makes me realize how I first was when I arrived here. 

Here are some pictures. One is of last week's baptism. The other's are of Elizabete's baptism and Elder Gonzalez. 

Caroline's baptism

 Elizabete's baptism with my Greenie Elder Gonzalez.

 My Peruvian greenie Elder Gonzalez.

Hooray for my new companion Elder Gonzalez

I'm going to be a trainer!!!

Hey everyone! I am going to train. Mind blown! Crazy excited! I will receive meu filho on Wednesday. Today was transfers and I got to see a bunch of my buddies from the mission. Sunday I got to confirm Jonathas a member of the Church and we had another baptism too! Caroline that one moça we were teaching decided to be baptized. The Lord has truly blessed our area these past couple weeks. Summer is coming in even though it has been raining a lot. This week we are going to try visit Irmã Elizabete and invite her to be baptized. She is around 60 years old and she had the fear of joining our church and loosing her friends from other churches. But she is beginning to develop a strong testimony and we are going to teach her some more with a member named Ceça. Ceça is really funny and served in Rio de Janeiro, so she likes helping the missionaries out. 

Anyway I am going to be working a lot training my Greeny! I’m going to work my butt off and show him what’s what and how to baptize! kkkk muito responsibilidade! Wow before I finish training this Elder I will reach my year mark! A year away from home!!!!!!!! hump day tá chegando!!! hahaha I am super excited and I know that I am going to learn a whole lot real fast! Christ lives this is His church and God is a God of miracles! I know these things to be true! I miss you guys a ton!

Com todo o amor do meu coração,

Elder Kennedy

Renee and Joe- Did you get my letter? How has the surf been? How is Joe’s new wetsuit?

Here is my address just in case you need it ;-P

Rua Das Ninfas # 30

Boa Vista, Recife-PE

Brasil 50070-050

Best decision of my life!

Elder D and I had a baptism Sunday! His name is Jonathas and he is 13. He is super funny and legit. He was a reference from a ward member, who is his neighbor. He totally didn’t plug his nose before going under and he opened his mouth so he came up out of the water coughing and with water in his nose. I told him before to grab his nose before I dunked him. Anyway, it was funny. Cleaning the baptismal font is harder than it seems, definitely work up a sweat, but I’m a batizador so I have it down to an art form now. There are always dead crickets and cockroaches and centipedes and all kinds of animals to take out before cleaning it.

I like going to church down here in Brasil. They always have sacrament meeting the last hour.  But everything is pretty much the same and everyone uses the same manuals. This year it’s the Lorenzo Snow book. My companion and I always teach the Gospel Principle class for recent converts or investigators, that’s always fun kkkkk. The two church buildings I’ve been in are nice and so it feels normal (i've attached photos). There are tons of rented houses in the mission that are churches. They can be pretty ghetto, so I guess that would feel maybe a little different than normal.

My last area was fairly dangerous, but I don't feel like my life is in danger or anything of the sort. Most of the people here are really nice and just living life. I am learning how to cook and I am trying to master some authentic dishes. I am starting to like my area even more and making friendships with the ward members. Today I am going to Marcos Zero for p-day and I’m going to check out some old museums and stores and stuff. This is the last week of the transfer! I could totally be transferred, but probably won’t be. It always feels hot here but it has been a relatively cold winter, like low 80's upper 70's, but this summer is going to be deadly in about a month or two. We have another lady that we are going to baptize (Elizabete) she is like 60 and super nice. We actually marked her baptism not this Sunday but the next, dia 15 I think.

I’m happy Pat and Granny got my letters in time! Letters get there fast! Hint hint…you all can send some letters to me. I’m the only missionary that doesn’t get mail.

Scorpions! The Elders that are from Macaxeira have like tons of scorpions in their apartment! I’m glad I haven’t seen any in our house. We do have cockroaches though, so scorpions are gonna be around somewhere. Life is good though; I am thoroughly enjoying my mission, and teaching people the gospel. I know my mission has opened my eyes in many ways and I am so grateful I have his opportunity to help others better their lives. I am also grateful that I have met so many people that have changed my life forever. I have made some lifelong friendships and I know when I go back home I am going to painfully miss Brasil and its culture. But, it’s been really cool to realize the things that are important in this life. For instance family, I miss the family more than anything, more than surfing (although I miss it almost as much as I miss all of you). Hahah

I am trying to enjoy every moment because time is passing by rapidly! The mission has already been the best choice I have ever made and it hasn’t even been a year yet. Time is passing by so fast and I know the 2nd year is going to go by even faster. I’m doing my best to serve the lord with all my heart might mind and energy. The church is so true! And the mission has given me the testimony to be certain of this and to stay strong in the gospel my whole life. I know the church is true! I know that Christ lives and that he is the Savior of this world! Só alegria.

que saudade de você! Eu te amo,

Elder Kennedy

Pat- Hope you had a wonderful birthday! 30!!!!! hahahaha Te amo cara. sinto tua falta. Send my love to the fam. Paz e amor