December 12, 2011

Dear Mom and Family,
 
I am definitely staying warm but I really haven't needed to use my Mr. Mac coat.  One of my Zone Leaders, Elder Landsaw, gave me an extra pair of leather gloves he had, which have been good enough for the cold weather (which really isn't that cold).

We got transfer news this Saturday, and I will be staying with my companion, Elder Camarillo, for at least another one.  As we were biking through downtown Phoenix on our way back to the apartment, President Ellsworth called me to tell me he and the Lord have called me to be the District Leader of my current District.  I was kind of surprised to recieve the calling and I hope I will be able to do a good job and inspire my District.  It is kind of awkward because my old District Leader is still in my District with his same companion so now I have to do all of the things that he would do to me as one of the members in his District.  He has also been my Zone Leader before when I was in North Phoenix with Elders Ralphs and Pierson (who is my new Zone Leader).  I really hope the Lord will inspire me as to the things I need to do to help the members of the District be succesful.  There is already one Elder I know I will need to work closely with who kind of struggles socially.  I am glad I am around the Zone Leaders a lot and that I have a good relationship with them because their examples help me know what kind of leader I need to be.

This week has been pretty good other than that.  We are moving forward with the Cervantes family and have set up an interview with Gabriel and the Branch President to prepare to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood so he can baptize his wife and daughters the first week of January.

Also we have had a lot of success with another middle-aged couple, Sal and Ema Garcia.  We invited the Elders Quorum President and his wife to take them some treats to kind of incite fellowship and it worked way better than we thought.  They stayed and talked about the gospel for 2-1/2 hours and they invited them to family home evening the next week.  Sal and Ema came to church yesterday and canceled a prior comitment to be there!!!  Members involved in missionary work are awesome!!  Sal and Ema are also very good investigators who actually are "investigating" and have been searching for the truth.

How is it having a General Authority staying at the house*?  I have seen many on my mission and you can just feel something different when you are in their presence.  I just looked up a picture of him and I do recognize him.  I hope all is well at home and that Dad has fun planning the Klondike Derby for this year.  I forgot to take a picture of the Zone t-shirt design but will attach a photo with all of us wearing them -- the coolest part is on the back**.  Thanks for everything and for your prayers!!!!
 
Love,
 
Elder Kinney

*President Don Clarke and his wife Maryanne came back to New Canaan for a visit and stayed with us for several days.

**When we asked Elder Kinney what he needed for Christmas, he asked us to help pay for t-shirts he wanted to design for his Zone.  As you see in the photo, the front of the t-shirt has all the Elders last names listed in the shape of a tie, and the back of the t-shirt has the words "Phoenix Zone" spelled out using ties for the shapes of the letters.