Dear Family,
This past week has been interesting-- some good things have happened.
First and foremost, Margarita is going to be baptized this Saturday but I am going to have to travel from Phoenix to see it because that's where I am getting transferred tomorrow morning.
My new companion is Elder Ralphs, who was Elder Biddle's (my current companion's), MTC companion, and he's only been out for two transfers now as well. Nevertheless, I have heard really great things about him and I am sure I will be able to learn a lot from him as we work in Phoenix. I've heard from other elders that their favorite part of their mission was the time they spent in Phoenix, so I am excited to experience a new change but am also a bit bummed I am leaving this area and especially living with Brother Hunt. He is seriously such an awesome member of the church and he teaches us missionaries so many things about the gospel that he has learned through some pretty rough experiences in his life. He is a huge jokester but he is also very spiritual. He has an amazing relationship and understanding of his Savior. He has gone through a lot of stuff but he has always stayed faithful and has learned how to cope with challenges in life using the simple truths of the gospel. What is amazing is he doesn't look at any of his past difficulties as unfair but has learned to grow and realize that the only thing that really matters is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is a great guy and I have learned a lot from him. He served his mission in the New York Mission but spent most of his time in New Jersey. Anyway, that is Brother Hunt and I am going to be sad to not have the privilege of living in his house anymore.
This past Thanksgiving was a pretty memorable one. We ate 3 dinners throughout the entire day and I have never been so full in my life. One thing that's pretty cool is the Christmas lights and nightly program at the temple in Mesa have started. I had the opportunity of being one of the missionaries who is assigned a certain area of the temple grounds where I try to find people to teach and/or get referrals. It is really weird how different Spanish people are from white people. They are so much nicer and accepting of other people. Obviously, I am speaking in general and am stereotyping, but it is generally true. The facts, I have to show for it is that every Spanish person I talked to last night who wasn't a member, wanted to have missionaries over to their house to teach them or they gave me referrals of friends who would. I didn't get one from a white person, which I thought was kind of odd. Last night I got to thinking how I could become a more spiritually powerful teacher like Alma, Amulek, and the sons of Mosiah were in the Book of Mormon. I know that if one of them were working the Christmas lights they would have gotten a million referrals and had people gathering around them to hear them bear testimony of the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to be able to invite the Spirit into any conversation that I am having with anyone so that I can enter into their hearts and find their needs. That's one of the reasons I told you that I have been praying to become a more charming person that people are instantly attracted to and like. Anyway, I am sure that if I work hard and seek guidance from the Spirit that I can learn to become like Sam the Lamanite or Nephi.
I saw in the last letter that Dad wanted some traditional Mexican food recipes. I can tell you from experience that about as traditional as it gets is rice, beans and a tortilla. One Mexican recipe that's really simple but good that we make for lunch sometimes is this stuff called alotes. It is just boiled corn on the cob, spread mayonnaise on it, cover it in Parmesan cheese, and then put some type of Mexican hot sauce on it. My favorite is called Tapatio. Anyway, I have to go. It was great to write you guys. Make people send letters to the mission office since they will send it where ever I am.
Love,
Elder Kinney
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
November 23, 2010
Dear Family,
Happy Thanksgiving!! This past week was a pretty average week with some ups and downs. It seriously feels like I was sitting at this computer writing you yesterday -- time has flown by so fast.
This week we have been working a lot on trying to get members to come teaching with us so that our investigators can have members to fellowship them. It is a lot better when a member invites them to come to church for a number of reasons, one being that they are Hispanic and can relate/communicate with them a little better. It is really great to have them in lessons because almost all of them are converts and can share experiences on how they came to know that the Book of Mormon is true, and especially how they were able to overcome certain cultural beliefs. One huge thing in their culture is praying to and essentially worshiping various religious icons. Many of the members can share experiences on how they were able to overcome their habits of worshiping these things. We were able to get a couple of families to come and teach with us, which isn't ideal but it sure is an improvement since our ward has never really been missionary-oriented.
Another great thing that happened this week was that Elder Biddle and I found eight new investigators, which is really good. Right now we have a lot of investigators but Elder Biddle and I can only consider them "progressing" if they are going to church because that is about the hardest thing for us to get people to do. A lot of people will read and pray and even say that they will come to church but when Sunday comes around, we only have two or three that are actually there. I am hoping that as we strive for more member-present lessons, that number will rise.
We have a couple of investigators that aren't completely grasping the importance of our message (reading the Book of Mormon) no matter how hard we try to make it clear. I say the Book of Mormon because it is really the only way that they can come to know that this church is true. These types of investigators just see two white guys who are super nice, struggling to speak their language, and talking about Jesus (whom everybody loves) so they invite us in to preach to them. I say that because every time we ask them a question they say "Uh... no se hermano, qiero que hablen ustedes," which basically means, I have no idea I just want you guys to talk. We will literally feed them the answers but its like it goes in one ear and out the other, or they are just too embarrassed to get it wrong, though that's definitely not the case for everyone.
I had a really cool experience last night with a woman named Brenda, who we taught for the first time. After we explained the importance of the BOM she asked, with a sincere look of amazement and desire on her face, "Puedo recibir respuestas de mis preguntas mediante leer este libro??" (I can receive answers to my questions by reading this book?) We promised her that she could if she read it with faith and prayed with a sincere heart, real intent and having faith in Christ. She was so excited that she started reading in Nephi I as we left. I am excited to see the result of her willingness to know the truth and her faith in the Lord.
I continue to feel the help of the Lord in my ability to speak Spanish even though some days are still worse than others. I pray for the gift of tongues, and for me to become a more charming person so people like me more. [This is the first time in his life that Elder Kinney has ever used the word "charming"!] I can already see that it is working a little bit but it would help if I could be a bit more conversational in Spanish. I am continuing to learn a ton everyday. I am studying the book "Jesus the Christ" everyday so I can learn more about the life of Jesus to be able to teach certain principles of the gospel. It was great to write you guys again. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Elder Kinney
Happy Thanksgiving!! This past week was a pretty average week with some ups and downs. It seriously feels like I was sitting at this computer writing you yesterday -- time has flown by so fast.
This week we have been working a lot on trying to get members to come teaching with us so that our investigators can have members to fellowship them. It is a lot better when a member invites them to come to church for a number of reasons, one being that they are Hispanic and can relate/communicate with them a little better. It is really great to have them in lessons because almost all of them are converts and can share experiences on how they came to know that the Book of Mormon is true, and especially how they were able to overcome certain cultural beliefs. One huge thing in their culture is praying to and essentially worshiping various religious icons. Many of the members can share experiences on how they were able to overcome their habits of worshiping these things. We were able to get a couple of families to come and teach with us, which isn't ideal but it sure is an improvement since our ward has never really been missionary-oriented.
Another great thing that happened this week was that Elder Biddle and I found eight new investigators, which is really good. Right now we have a lot of investigators but Elder Biddle and I can only consider them "progressing" if they are going to church because that is about the hardest thing for us to get people to do. A lot of people will read and pray and even say that they will come to church but when Sunday comes around, we only have two or three that are actually there. I am hoping that as we strive for more member-present lessons, that number will rise.
We have a couple of investigators that aren't completely grasping the importance of our message (reading the Book of Mormon) no matter how hard we try to make it clear. I say the Book of Mormon because it is really the only way that they can come to know that this church is true. These types of investigators just see two white guys who are super nice, struggling to speak their language, and talking about Jesus (whom everybody loves) so they invite us in to preach to them. I say that because every time we ask them a question they say "Uh... no se hermano, qiero que hablen ustedes," which basically means, I have no idea I just want you guys to talk. We will literally feed them the answers but its like it goes in one ear and out the other, or they are just too embarrassed to get it wrong, though that's definitely not the case for everyone.
I had a really cool experience last night with a woman named Brenda, who we taught for the first time. After we explained the importance of the BOM she asked, with a sincere look of amazement and desire on her face, "Puedo recibir respuestas de mis preguntas mediante leer este libro??" (I can receive answers to my questions by reading this book?) We promised her that she could if she read it with faith and prayed with a sincere heart, real intent and having faith in Christ. She was so excited that she started reading in Nephi I as we left. I am excited to see the result of her willingness to know the truth and her faith in the Lord.
I continue to feel the help of the Lord in my ability to speak Spanish even though some days are still worse than others. I pray for the gift of tongues, and for me to become a more charming person so people like me more. [This is the first time in his life that Elder Kinney has ever used the word "charming"!] I can already see that it is working a little bit but it would help if I could be a bit more conversational in Spanish. I am continuing to learn a ton everyday. I am studying the book "Jesus the Christ" everyday so I can learn more about the life of Jesus to be able to teach certain principles of the gospel. It was great to write you guys again. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Elder Kinney
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
November 16, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been another great week here in Mesa, busy and slow at times, but always full of learning. The weeks already go by so fast now, even the days go by fast.
This past week was somewhat slow in terms of finding new investigators but we were able to teach a bunch of good lessons. Some of the days this past week, especially Saturday and Sunday, we taught almost no one... We went by every single investigator, less or inactive member, and assignment that we had and they were all busy or not even home. On Sundays all of the Mexicans that don't work, buy a couple "thirtys" of Budlight, gather outside on the street or on their lawns, blast ranchero music, get drunk, and do inappropriate things . . . all in sight of anyone walking down the street and in front of little kids too. When we go up and try to talk to them they will usually be super friendly but when we start talking about Jesus they say, "estoy borracho" which means I'm drunk (a borracho is "a drunk"). This is a very common thing to see on largely Hispanic streets on Sundays. So some days were kind of frustrating but it doesn't get me too down because everybody always says that a mission is hard and that you have terrible days -- I really haven't had a terrible day yet.
This week we did make some progress with some of our investigators. Margarita is continually progressing and getting excited for her baptism on Dec. 4th so I am really excited for that. We have been teaching her the commandments such as the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity, which she totally understands and has no problems with, so it is awesome. At first, when I committed her to a date I wondered if she said yes just to make us happy but she is really grasping it now and moving forward, so thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case. She is also the one investigator that we have that continually comes to too all the ward activities and to church every Sunday.
Another set of investigators that we have are named Moises (Moses in English) and Reina, who are an odd couple in the sense that I don't picture them together . . . and neither do they for that matter. Moises is a 40 year-old Mexican man that is super awesome and smart. He keeps all of his commitments, speaks only Spanish, reads his Book of Mormon every single day, and is very motivated. His girlfriend Reina is about the same age but is white, speaks only English but can understand everything in Spanish, smokes, has tattoos, and is a recovered drug addict (aside from the smoking). We have committed them to baptism but it is really weird because Reina wants to go to an English-speaking ward, but Moises can't understand English. Moises wants to go to the Spanish-speaking ward, which Reina could do because she has no problem understanding Spanish. I have been helping Reina get over smoking and it seems to have been helping. Since the first time I talked to her, she cut down to 2 a day, and the last time we talked, she said she was going to quit all together. Moises doesn't smoke or do anything bad and he hates it when she smokes, so I can tell that she has good motivation. It is awesome seeing the power of the atonement work in people's lives as they pray to be relieved of burdens in their lives such as this addiction. I am really hoping when we go back tonight that she has completely stopped and that I will see them in the Spanish ward on Sunday.
Yesterday I went on exchanges with the Zone Leader, Elder Morgan, who is such an awesome missionary with a ton of experience and wisdom to instill into others. I learned a ton about how to get members to come to lessons with us, something that is a problem in our ward, which has a 12% monthly home teaching rate (that has been addressed), a Bishop that we can never get in contact with, and members who always say they are busy when we want them to come out with us. Our mission goal is to have 100% member-present lessons, which we almost never have. And the ones where we do have members present, it just happen to be because the investigator conveniently lives with the member (like in Margarita's case). Anyway, every time we eat dinner with members, I am going to commit them to give us a date where we can take them to a lesson with us. After going on that exchange with Elder Morgan, I realize how awesome lessons are where the members are there -- comfortable, and engaged. That is one of the biggest things that we will be working on in the near future.
I want you to check and get back to me if you got the letter I sent you, if brother Read got the letter I sent him, and if Aunt Jill got the letter I sent her. This is really important because I have sent Jeremy 2 letters and it appears he hasn't received any of them, so just send me a confirmation if those people received their letters. Also send me some pictures of Chris's baptism too. I just sent him a package today. I saw that dad sent me an email saying I got a package at 10:30 this morning but I haven't been home so I don't know what is in it yet. Anyway, it was great to write you again. I hope all is well. Matt, practice the piano I want you to be really good when I get back.
Love,
Elder Kinney
It has been another great week here in Mesa, busy and slow at times, but always full of learning. The weeks already go by so fast now, even the days go by fast.
This past week was somewhat slow in terms of finding new investigators but we were able to teach a bunch of good lessons. Some of the days this past week, especially Saturday and Sunday, we taught almost no one... We went by every single investigator, less or inactive member, and assignment that we had and they were all busy or not even home. On Sundays all of the Mexicans that don't work, buy a couple "thirtys" of Budlight, gather outside on the street or on their lawns, blast ranchero music, get drunk, and do inappropriate things . . . all in sight of anyone walking down the street and in front of little kids too. When we go up and try to talk to them they will usually be super friendly but when we start talking about Jesus they say, "estoy borracho" which means I'm drunk (a borracho is "a drunk"). This is a very common thing to see on largely Hispanic streets on Sundays. So some days were kind of frustrating but it doesn't get me too down because everybody always says that a mission is hard and that you have terrible days -- I really haven't had a terrible day yet.
This week we did make some progress with some of our investigators. Margarita is continually progressing and getting excited for her baptism on Dec. 4th so I am really excited for that. We have been teaching her the commandments such as the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity, which she totally understands and has no problems with, so it is awesome. At first, when I committed her to a date I wondered if she said yes just to make us happy but she is really grasping it now and moving forward, so thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case. She is also the one investigator that we have that continually comes to too all the ward activities and to church every Sunday.
Another set of investigators that we have are named Moises (Moses in English) and Reina, who are an odd couple in the sense that I don't picture them together . . . and neither do they for that matter. Moises is a 40 year-old Mexican man that is super awesome and smart. He keeps all of his commitments, speaks only Spanish, reads his Book of Mormon every single day, and is very motivated. His girlfriend Reina is about the same age but is white, speaks only English but can understand everything in Spanish, smokes, has tattoos, and is a recovered drug addict (aside from the smoking). We have committed them to baptism but it is really weird because Reina wants to go to an English-speaking ward, but Moises can't understand English. Moises wants to go to the Spanish-speaking ward, which Reina could do because she has no problem understanding Spanish. I have been helping Reina get over smoking and it seems to have been helping. Since the first time I talked to her, she cut down to 2 a day, and the last time we talked, she said she was going to quit all together. Moises doesn't smoke or do anything bad and he hates it when she smokes, so I can tell that she has good motivation. It is awesome seeing the power of the atonement work in people's lives as they pray to be relieved of burdens in their lives such as this addiction. I am really hoping when we go back tonight that she has completely stopped and that I will see them in the Spanish ward on Sunday.
Yesterday I went on exchanges with the Zone Leader, Elder Morgan, who is such an awesome missionary with a ton of experience and wisdom to instill into others. I learned a ton about how to get members to come to lessons with us, something that is a problem in our ward, which has a 12% monthly home teaching rate (that has been addressed), a Bishop that we can never get in contact with, and members who always say they are busy when we want them to come out with us. Our mission goal is to have 100% member-present lessons, which we almost never have. And the ones where we do have members present, it just happen to be because the investigator conveniently lives with the member (like in Margarita's case). Anyway, every time we eat dinner with members, I am going to commit them to give us a date where we can take them to a lesson with us. After going on that exchange with Elder Morgan, I realize how awesome lessons are where the members are there -- comfortable, and engaged. That is one of the biggest things that we will be working on in the near future.
I want you to check and get back to me if you got the letter I sent you, if brother Read got the letter I sent him, and if Aunt Jill got the letter I sent her. This is really important because I have sent Jeremy 2 letters and it appears he hasn't received any of them, so just send me a confirmation if those people received their letters. Also send me some pictures of Chris's baptism too. I just sent him a package today. I saw that dad sent me an email saying I got a package at 10:30 this morning but I haven't been home so I don't know what is in it yet. Anyway, it was great to write you again. I hope all is well. Matt, practice the piano I want you to be really good when I get back.
Love,
Elder Kinney
Thursday, November 11, 2010
November 9, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
First of all, I want to say happy (one day belated) birthday to Mom!! Mom, you are so awesome and I love you so much. I think about you all the time out here in Arizona. I always hear your voice pop into my head telling me little phrases to keep me on the straight and narrow like "follow the directions" and "work first play later" (stuff you would tell me all of the time). You have helped me so much in regards to my testimony and I appreciate all that you have done in raising me to be the person that I am today. I hope you had a great birthday and appreciate all of the stuff that you have sent me while on the mission. I got the music and the extra belt today.
I am seriously so happy Chris got baptized!!! I saw pictures on the blog and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the picture of Chris, Jeremy and Leon. It feels like it has been so long since I have seen them all, especially Jeremy since he left for his mission almost a year ago. The picture with Chris, Leon and all my other friends was awesome too. I'm glad that they were able to go to the baptism. His conversion is truly amazing and has strengthened my testimony and faith in the Lord so much. Now it is time for him to go on a Mission!! There is an Elder in my district named Elder Williams from Alabama who is really awesome and has an amazing conversion story and a powerful testimony. He converted when he was 20 years old and he got a strong answer from the Lord about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
This past week has been really good. I sent a handwritten letter to you guys about some of the stuff that happened. I was able to set a date for this woman named Margarita, who has a set of 4 year-old triplets and another son one year younger. They are so distracting when we try to teach because they are so wild and hard for her to control. She is set to be baptized on December 4th. She lives with this other member named Candolaria who we reactivated and she just got her little kids blessed and given a name in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. It truly is awesome seeing peoples lives change for the better through the gospel and coming closer to Jesus Christ. It is important that we always remember the times when we have felt the Spirit strongly and when we have known without a doubt that the Church is true because hard times come and our faith will be tested, sometimes to points that we can't even imagine.
I can tell you that the gift of tongues is real and that there have been many situations where I have spoken beyond the ability that I feel I have. I still have a tough time understanding what other Hispanics are saying a lot of the time but it is getting better. It is really weird because some days are much better than others in terms of my language ability. I have this little pocket translator thing that I bought which is super fast and boss. I can look up words really quickly and it is helping my vocabulary come along really well. I think by the end of my mission I will have and very large vocabulary if I continue to have effective language studies every day.
There have been a lot of opportunities for me to teach people randomly in the street using English, which is nice because I can really express myself without there being a language barrier. This one time we taught this college student named Marshall like a 30-minute lesson right on the street, which was really powerful. I told him about the 3 things Moroni tells us we need in Moroni 10:4 to receive an answer from God as we pray, and we prayed with him right there on the street and he told us that he felt the Spirit! Times like those are what really make the mission awesome.
Anyway, I have to email the President our weekly letter so I have to go. It is always awesome to hear from all of you. Once again, Happy Birthday Mom!!
Love,
Elder Kinney
First of all, I want to say happy (one day belated) birthday to Mom!! Mom, you are so awesome and I love you so much. I think about you all the time out here in Arizona. I always hear your voice pop into my head telling me little phrases to keep me on the straight and narrow like "follow the directions" and "work first play later" (stuff you would tell me all of the time). You have helped me so much in regards to my testimony and I appreciate all that you have done in raising me to be the person that I am today. I hope you had a great birthday and appreciate all of the stuff that you have sent me while on the mission. I got the music and the extra belt today.
I am seriously so happy Chris got baptized!!! I saw pictures on the blog and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the picture of Chris, Jeremy and Leon. It feels like it has been so long since I have seen them all, especially Jeremy since he left for his mission almost a year ago. The picture with Chris, Leon and all my other friends was awesome too. I'm glad that they were able to go to the baptism. His conversion is truly amazing and has strengthened my testimony and faith in the Lord so much. Now it is time for him to go on a Mission!! There is an Elder in my district named Elder Williams from Alabama who is really awesome and has an amazing conversion story and a powerful testimony. He converted when he was 20 years old and he got a strong answer from the Lord about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
This past week has been really good. I sent a handwritten letter to you guys about some of the stuff that happened. I was able to set a date for this woman named Margarita, who has a set of 4 year-old triplets and another son one year younger. They are so distracting when we try to teach because they are so wild and hard for her to control. She is set to be baptized on December 4th. She lives with this other member named Candolaria who we reactivated and she just got her little kids blessed and given a name in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. It truly is awesome seeing peoples lives change for the better through the gospel and coming closer to Jesus Christ. It is important that we always remember the times when we have felt the Spirit strongly and when we have known without a doubt that the Church is true because hard times come and our faith will be tested, sometimes to points that we can't even imagine.
I can tell you that the gift of tongues is real and that there have been many situations where I have spoken beyond the ability that I feel I have. I still have a tough time understanding what other Hispanics are saying a lot of the time but it is getting better. It is really weird because some days are much better than others in terms of my language ability. I have this little pocket translator thing that I bought which is super fast and boss. I can look up words really quickly and it is helping my vocabulary come along really well. I think by the end of my mission I will have and very large vocabulary if I continue to have effective language studies every day.
There have been a lot of opportunities for me to teach people randomly in the street using English, which is nice because I can really express myself without there being a language barrier. This one time we taught this college student named Marshall like a 30-minute lesson right on the street, which was really powerful. I told him about the 3 things Moroni tells us we need in Moroni 10:4 to receive an answer from God as we pray, and we prayed with him right there on the street and he told us that he felt the Spirit! Times like those are what really make the mission awesome.
Anyway, I have to email the President our weekly letter so I have to go. It is always awesome to hear from all of you. Once again, Happy Birthday Mom!!
Love,
Elder Kinney
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Chris L. Gets Baptized!
Just a quick update from the Kinney Family. Elder Kinney's good friend, Chris, just got baptized Sunday evening. Jeremy gave a talk on baptism, and Leon, who will be leaving soon for his mission, performed the baptism. Chris will be confirmed by Elder Kinney's dad next Sunday. Chris, Leon and Jeremy are all close friends of Elder Kinney. What a blessing for all involved. Pictures from the baptism were added to this blog. Congratulation, Chris! We are so proud of you!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Week Three in the Field
This past week has been so crazy! First of all, I just want to say I can't believe everything that is happening with Chris L.! It is so awesome he is taking lessons from the missionaries. That just goes to show you that the Lord can do anything. My testimony has already been strengthened by just reading about his experience so far. I am definitely going to send him a BOM (Book of Mormon) with my testimony written in it. One thing that I think the missionaries particularly need to focus on is teaching Chris about enduring to the end. Like Dad said, it is going to be harder for him to stay active and make the right choices with Jeremy and Leon leaving on their missions. I think it is so awesome though. When I read dad's letter and saw that he had a baptismal date I was absolutely dumbstruck. I hope everything works out and that he is able to get a strong testimony and a witness from the Holy Ghost that this Church is true.
Anyway this week has been absolutely crazy for me. I LOST MY TRAINER!!!!!! My trainer and my other companion were having some trouble getting along, so the President had to step in and make some changes. At first, I was going to be sent to Phoenix to finish off this transfer but the decision was finally made to send Elder Reid to Phoenix, and for Elder Biddle and I to finish off the transfer here by ourselves. We are now the "greenest", most inexperienced companionship this mission has ever seen. This is only my third week and my companion's eighth week in the mission field, so we are still struggling with the language. Neither of us can understand everything but Elder Biddle can understand more than I can. I don't know what the President was thinking, but he is ordained of God to receive revelation for us, so even though I am a bit nervous, I have faith that it will all work out. One of my teachers in the MTC, Hermano Lowe, was in a situation like this when he was on his mission and he compared it to "the blind leading the blind". I know exactly what he's talking about now. Anyway, I am sure that this will help me learn Spanish more quickly through a slew of humbling experiences that await me in the future. Because of my inexperience, I will also learn how to rely more on the Lord.
Last night was our first night out as a companionship and it went amazingly well. The Lord was definitely with us. We got this woman named Margarita to commit to be baptized but she wasn't able to commit to a date yet. The next lesson we are going to make sure to set a date and assure her that by doing so, the Spirit will help prepare her and get her ready for baptism by that date . . . if she has faith. When you don't have a goal set, Satan does a lot to make someone procrastinate. During the lesson I was amazed at how much I was able to teach. I shared four scriptures with her and was able to feel the Lord blessing me with the gift of tongues. It was so awesome. I feel that experience was the Lord assuring Elder Biddle and I that we could be successful during this transfer despite our inexperience. That was the most awesome part of this week.
I was able to buy a new bike and I got a $150 dollar discount because the member we live with knew a guy. It is a sweet Trek that was about $650 but I only paid $500, so it was a good deal. I also had to buy a helmet, a lock, and some other stuff. I really don't like the "Jos. A Banks" suits we got in New Canaan -- they just aren't very reliable for hard missionary work. One of the pants ripped on the seam again, so I bought two more pairs of black "Dickies" which I work in during the week and on Sunday I wear my nicer suit. I also need to buy more white shirts that I can use as work shirts. Another belt broke this past week so I am back down to one belt.
As you can tell by my clothes situation, we do a lot of physical labor service. Jacqueline, a recent convert, had her whole back yard filled with trash, trees, bushes, and other organic waste. We went over with axes, chopped up everything, and burned it in a massive bonfire in her back yard (which may have been illegal). I sent pictures of the fire so you can get a feel for how massive the fire was -- easily over 35 feet. That was super fun though.
The beef jerky, seriously, keeps getting compliments like no other. I gave some to the member we live with, who is a huge outdoors person and definitely one who respects a good piece o' meat. He said it was the best he has ever had. I can't wait to try the terriyaki batch. The blog is looking really awesome too. I am sending some pictures you can add to it. Tell Matt to practice his piano a ton so he can play some jazz piano for me when I get back . . . jazz piano is my favorite kind of piano.
I love you all and pray for you every night!!
Elder Kinney
Anyway this week has been absolutely crazy for me. I LOST MY TRAINER!!!!!! My trainer and my other companion were having some trouble getting along, so the President had to step in and make some changes. At first, I was going to be sent to Phoenix to finish off this transfer but the decision was finally made to send Elder Reid to Phoenix, and for Elder Biddle and I to finish off the transfer here by ourselves. We are now the "greenest", most inexperienced companionship this mission has ever seen. This is only my third week and my companion's eighth week in the mission field, so we are still struggling with the language. Neither of us can understand everything but Elder Biddle can understand more than I can. I don't know what the President was thinking, but he is ordained of God to receive revelation for us, so even though I am a bit nervous, I have faith that it will all work out. One of my teachers in the MTC, Hermano Lowe, was in a situation like this when he was on his mission and he compared it to "the blind leading the blind". I know exactly what he's talking about now. Anyway, I am sure that this will help me learn Spanish more quickly through a slew of humbling experiences that await me in the future. Because of my inexperience, I will also learn how to rely more on the Lord.
Last night was our first night out as a companionship and it went amazingly well. The Lord was definitely with us. We got this woman named Margarita to commit to be baptized but she wasn't able to commit to a date yet. The next lesson we are going to make sure to set a date and assure her that by doing so, the Spirit will help prepare her and get her ready for baptism by that date . . . if she has faith. When you don't have a goal set, Satan does a lot to make someone procrastinate. During the lesson I was amazed at how much I was able to teach. I shared four scriptures with her and was able to feel the Lord blessing me with the gift of tongues. It was so awesome. I feel that experience was the Lord assuring Elder Biddle and I that we could be successful during this transfer despite our inexperience. That was the most awesome part of this week.
I was able to buy a new bike and I got a $150 dollar discount because the member we live with knew a guy. It is a sweet Trek that was about $650 but I only paid $500, so it was a good deal. I also had to buy a helmet, a lock, and some other stuff. I really don't like the "Jos. A Banks" suits we got in New Canaan -- they just aren't very reliable for hard missionary work. One of the pants ripped on the seam again, so I bought two more pairs of black "Dickies" which I work in during the week and on Sunday I wear my nicer suit. I also need to buy more white shirts that I can use as work shirts. Another belt broke this past week so I am back down to one belt.
As you can tell by my clothes situation, we do a lot of physical labor service. Jacqueline, a recent convert, had her whole back yard filled with trash, trees, bushes, and other organic waste. We went over with axes, chopped up everything, and burned it in a massive bonfire in her back yard (which may have been illegal). I sent pictures of the fire so you can get a feel for how massive the fire was -- easily over 35 feet. That was super fun though.
The beef jerky, seriously, keeps getting compliments like no other. I gave some to the member we live with, who is a huge outdoors person and definitely one who respects a good piece o' meat. He said it was the best he has ever had. I can't wait to try the terriyaki batch. The blog is looking really awesome too. I am sending some pictures you can add to it. Tell Matt to practice his piano a ton so he can play some jazz piano for me when I get back . . . jazz piano is my favorite kind of piano.
I love you all and pray for you every night!!
Elder Kinney
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