My First Area!

Elder Eric Scott Kennedy
Missão Brazil, Recife
Rua Das Nifas 30 - Boa Vista
Recife - PE, 50070-050

Hey All! This has been a crazy but amazing week. I just jumped right into the field and was put to work. Above is my new address.  I love my area! It is called Ponte dos Carvalhos, it is a barrio-neighborhood in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho-PE....Pernambuco. It is super hot! Like mid 80´s is the lowest it gets so I’m sweating all the time. I like it though. Besides some gnarly smells, the area is beautiful! Super green and tropical. My second day here I got to walk by the ocean because we had a zone conference at the stake center which is super close to the beach. I am like the whitest person around its funny. Most people when we talk to them or just walk up and say "hello" look at me and say Americano? hahaha sim eu sou de estados unidos.  I love my companion we get along great. His name is Elder J F. (the church asked people not to use names of companions on blogs.) He is from Rio de Janeiro and he doesn’t speak English, like at all. I love it because it helps me learn much faster. I witnessed my first baptism!!!! So exciting. Elder F. baptized Roseane Sunday (yesterday.) Everyday we are walking all over town going to people’s homes and teaching. I am probably going to be black by the time I get home. Our little house is sweet! I’m stoked we have a house not an apartment; its super ghetto but I like it. We live like a block away from the church. It has everything we need. The water doesn’t work all the time so a lot of my showers are bucket showers. We also dump a bucket of water to flush the toilet and stuff. There are bugs and dirt all over the place. It is super legit. It’s crazy most of the people around here have lived like this their whole life. It’s made me start to realize how much we had growing up and all the little things we take for granted on a daily basis. The mosquitoes here are killer but I can get a mosquito net here I’m pretty sure. I’m going to start taking notes to bring so I can write about more things that happened, because there are a ton. 

Please send me Ian’s mission address as well. That is sweet he is about to leave for the MTC. Brazil is so amazing the food is awesome, most days we eat at member’s homes. Everyday I am picking up more of the language but when people speak super fast I get only a word or two. I want to be fluent now but it will come in time. The people here are more friendly and awesome than I thought and I had high expectations! They are all super funny and smiling all the time. I don’t need anything, well one thing if you could, just let me know if it possible. An elder I was friends with in the CTM Elder F. is from Mozambique and he is serving in Cape Verde. He really wants an English quad, the smallest ones possible with the button. I told him I would ask my parents if they could get one for him because he cant afford it and he saved up for his whole mission in Mozambique despite his parents being totally against him going and they are non members.. Ill send you his mission address next Monday. My p-days are Monday, if you can just let me know, thanks. I love you all so much. I’m super stoked to be in Recife and in my first area.

Love you,
Elder Kennedy


Elder Kennedy was finally able to upload a few pictures and send them in his email as well. 

The beach area next to the church building where his district meeting was held. 

Elder Kennedy and his first companion in the field! Elder F. (From Rio de Janeiro)

 Elder's and Sister's in his District

 All the missionaries in his district

The first baptism he was able to witness. Elder Kennedy, his companion (Elder F.) and the lady in all white is Roseane who was baptized.

In the Field! He made it to Recife

We received an email with two pictures from Elder Kennedy's CTM President. The pictures were taken after his exit interview on Sunday. 

On Tuesday, Eric took the two our plane ride up to Recife. He is now officially out in the field. Here is a letter from Elder Kennedy's Mission President after the new missionaries were picked up from the Airport:

Hello Dear Families!

We just want to inform that your missionaries arrived safely in the Brazil Recife Mission!

They are such great missionaries and we are excited to see their work.

Elder Dallin Stephen Carroll

Elder Kiley Pierson Gross

Elder Eric Scott Kennedy

Sincerely,

___________________

Elder Venancio

Executive Secretary

Brazil Recife Mission

CTM Pictures from Provo and Brazil

We received a Mission-Ties email with some pictures from Eric. He sent us 15 photos. Some from Provo and some from Sao Paulo. 

Provo MTC District shot

 Quintessential point to where you are serving

Over 6,000 miles apart

Elder Kennedy and Elder Samuel Smith (First missionary of the last dispensation)

 Elder's at the Provo Temple

Love that raincoat!

 Sao Paulo CTM

 Fellow Missionaries in his district

 Fellow Missionaries in his district

RoomMates 

 Fireworks outside Sao Paulo CTM

 View from his room

 Sao Paulo rainbow

Sao Paulo at night

Last week in the MTC

Sorry to hear a few of you were sick with colds. I had one too but I’m coming off of it. Yesterday my companion and I got to proselyte for the first time and we gave out 7 books of Mormon in like 2 hrs. And we got to explore around a lot further than we do on p-days. Proselyting is so much fun! I love talking to random people even though I struggle to have a conversation with them. The Portuguese is coming along, im struggling but everyone we talk to says I speak really well especially for only learning the language for 8 weeks. They say we know more Portuguese than 2 years or more of learning a language in high school. One Elder in our district took French all through high school and one year in college and now he says he knows more in Portuguese than he learned in all those years of French. Elder Carroll and I laugh so much! We have a similar sense of humor. Can you please send me some pics of waves if you can...(no surfers). Time is flyin by! Next p-day wont be a p-day because I’ll be in Recife! Crazy! I hope this week goes by super fast. Sao Paulo is super cool but I’m anxious to leave. I leave this Tuesday ...one week from today sometime in the morning here. Which stinks because I think most of you are like 5 hours behind Brazil time. 

Mom- thanks for the email, its up to you if you want to get another calling card. I’m down, because I hope I’ll have more than 20 minutes to talk at the airport, but I don’t know yet. I’m assuming i'll be leaving from Sao Paulo airport but they haven’t given us any itinerary yet. Please send me all the numbers of people that I can call. Anyway, I’ll get my mission address to you asap. Don’t worry about the mosquito net yet i'll look for one in Recife and let you know. I don’t think I need anything else, but I’ll let you know once I’m settled in Recife. Please "mission-ties" the instructions for how I can call you. I hope I don’t mess it up.

Joe- that’s sweet you’re starting the last semester ever at Idaho! Enjoy it. I am glad you love your classes. I know you’re going to kill it. There is probably a lot of snow on the ground so study it up and start your dream business! Thanks Renee for keepin my blog legit!

That’s sweet about Ian! I can’t believe he is leaving in 2 weeks! Tell Ian my temple is prettier than his. hahahaha j/k. I’ve got to get on his case and tell him to study more Spanish! I wish I knew some Portuguese when I entered the MTC. Chelsea Snow probably has her farewell this Sunday? It’s crazy our ward is pumpin out missionaries...hope I’m not forgetting anything. Love you all so much and I hope I get to talk to you all this Tuesday from the airport! It's so weird being on a mission but I love it!!!!

Love you

Elder Kennedy

New Years 2013!

This week was sweet. I had an awesome Christmas and New Years! On Christmas, Elder Costa of the First Quorum of the Seventy spoke and I got to shake his hand. He asked me where I was from, and I said San Diego and then he pulled me in close and said "do you surf?" And I said “I do, everyday!”…and he told me when he was younger he surfed all the time, he is sick!!

Anyway, that’s stinks the Chargers did poorly this year and that Norval is getting the ex. Panthers.....probably didn’t do much better. New Years was insane! Fireworks all night! People screaming throughout the whole city, it was legit. I’m stoked Les Miserables was awesome. Today I was thinking about that because I did an endowment session for a guy from France born in 1655 and it made me think he totally was alive just before that era in France, even though Les Mis isn’t a real life story per say. I’m so ready to get out into the field. But I’ll make it these next 2 weeks....I hope. Actually, I’m just super anxious to be leaving in 2 weeks. The 15^th is when I head out I think. I’m studying hard and enjoying my time here. I mostly just miss the family and the waves. It is the highlight of my week walking around exploring the streets and eating out. Today was my P-day cause yesterday was New Years. I ate at an even better place than Tucanos or Rodizio Grill. It’s the same style of food but way more authentic and tasty!!!! I’m so full Haha. My last p-day my companions and I each drank our own liter of smoothie for like 6 bucks. Anyway that’s cool Ian is going to Provo to get missionary stuff. 

JOE- convince him to get Ecco shoes. I just bought a brand new pair off my companion for 40 (American) bucks and they cost him $130. They just didn’t fit. They are way nice. Anyway I’m not in a trio anymore, It’s just me and Elder Carroll from Atlanta. I liked being in a trio but 2 is less of a hassle. That’s sweet Danielle gave her farewell talk. I was always impressed at how great of a missionary she has been her whole life. She doesn’t fear talking to anyone about the gospel. I’m stoked she gave an awesome talk. I love you each so much!!! Take care! I’ll email later! Tchau tchau!

Love, Elder Kennedy

P.S. tell Ian that I, and everyone I talk to hates the first 3 days (at least) of being in the MTC. It’s super overwhelming and you get a weird feeling about starting a mission that’s going to last 2 years. But after the first week it gets better and better and tell him to remember no matter how afraid or homesick he is, every other missionary is in the same boat. My first couple days I just felt sick and like thinking to myself “holy cow this is crazy! I don’t know if I can do this.” But that’s to be expected and Provo is super fun....(not as fun as Brazil), but at least he will get mail a lot, and there are so many missionaries going all over the world! Anyway just don’t stress at all there is no need, the mission is an epic adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!