January 4, 2011

Happy New Year!!!

This next year may be one of the only years that will be fully dedicated to the work of the Lord.  I am excited for the experiences that await me as I strive to be a powerful servant in the hands of the Lord.  I hope that you guys had a great holiday season and created some good memories.

This past week has been really good.  We still have 8 baptismal dates and we will hopefully have one this Saturday.  It is a 9 year old boy named Steven Moreno who really loves the Church but doesn't really like the missionaries...at all.  Every time we step into the house he is always playing and having a good time but as soon as he sees us he throws his arms, lets out a puff of air and displays a look of despair on his face.  It is hard for us to get him to say anything because he seems very shy and just flat out doesn't like us.  I am afraid that he won't pass the baptismal interview with our District Leader because he won't want to answer his questions.  His mom is less active but his grandfather is awesome and takes Steven to church every Sunday.  So I really hope it goes through.

In church this past Sunday I bore my testimony about repentance and how we can take the chance we have as we enter into a new year to change our lives for the better, repent, and use the Atonement that has been provided for us everyday.  I have noticed repentance is a constant thing that you need to always be doing in your mind.  God knows our thoughts, so we can have a conversation with him in our mind as we are engaged in the matters of our daily lives.  When we do something we know is wrong, we can't repent for it right there on the spot, especially if it is something small like leaving the house a few minutes late or singing a song that is stuck in your head that doesn't invite the spirit (those two things obviously are missionary examples).  If we are always repentant, then we will always have the Spirit with us.  When we can feel the Spirit and recognize the Holy Ghost has found us worthy to receive his guidance and feel his presence, we are candidates for the Celestial Kingdom.  If we died that moment, we would go to Paradise.  This is how I think the Lord wants us to live our lives everyday: by the Spirit.  So bearing my testimony was a good experience.

Also this past week there was a day where it rained from the early morning, all the way into the night which was cool because it never rains hear.  On one day it got into the high 30's and we saw a couple snowflakes so I can say that it snowed here while I was on my mission.  You learn to really love any type of precipitation when you are from CT and it is always sunny here.  Other than that my week was just an average one in the life of a missionary, filled with trials, joy, miracles, teaching and humbling experiences and of course the Spirit. 

I love you guys a ton and think about you a lot (and by a lot I mean whenever appropriate -- I don't want you to think I'm distracted or anything).

Love,
Elder Kinney