Rain Boots

We had a big rainstorm this week so I was decked out in my rain gear -boots and ALL. The streets are absolutely flooded here when it rains, I am soooo grateful for my boots. HOWEVER, I don’t know if I will ever be able to wear them again because EVERYONE just wanted to talk about my boots and how cute they are haha. I never knew there could be so many questions about rain boots. 

Hermana Lopez and I already for the day.

This was taken outside of our house.

This is the pathetic shower curtain we found for our bathroom door.

First off...I am SO jealous I am missing out on the Mexico trip! I am sure you guys will all have a great time though! I can’t wait to hear what it is like there. I like talking to the Mexicans here in the mission because their Spanish is a lot clearer and they talk slower. Everyone tells me that the Nicas and Guatamaltecas talk the fastest! I BELIEVE IT! We have some ppl here that I swear they could be speaking English and I wouldn’t understand haha. I can’t believe it snowed already! I am so jealous. I would do anything to get a little cold air haha. I am sure you never thought you would hear me say that. But yes I miss the COLD! I will never complain AGAIN...probably. I am glad Branson and Grant got to go snowboarding. I am sure they were in HEAVEN.

Well this week has been interesting. Hermana Lopez has officially left for Argentina :( I miss that girl so much! She sent me a picture today from Argentina and it is SO BEAUTIFUL! I definitively want to visit one day. She was in a coat and hat! Haha poor thing is dying of cold weather. Anyways now it is just Hna. Morales and I. I am learning A LOT from her.  So I have been talking with my District leader a lot about some of my concerns and stresses. He has been helping me a lot and this week after talking with him I felt really impressed to fast with my comp. She agreed to fast with me and in return we saw miracles immediately!! Honestly I can’t even describe how incredible that day was for me. I remember anytime I felt thirsty or hunger I just began to pray a little harder and tried to remember the sacrifice of our Savior. That day we placed 3 baptismal dates! THREE!!! I felt like I was in a bubble filled with the spirit and floating for house to house. I can’t describe the joy that I felt when those three ppl accepted our baptismal invitation. Enrique and Cornia were the first two to accept! They are the family I told you about last week. AHH they are incredible. I know they will never leave the church. They are two of the happiest ppl right now and it is such a privilege to know them. I don’t remember if I told you last week but.... We gave them a Book of Mormon last week to start reading. The first two lessons I left chapters with them to read but the third lesson he told me he wanted to start reading the WHOLE BOOK. So we showed him where it starts and he began reading. Corina can't read so every day he reads allowed to her and then they discuss the stories. HE LOVES Nephi! He is always talking about Nephi and Enos. It is the cutest thing EVER! Anyways he finished the Book of Mormon in 4 days! Yes 4 days... God is a God of Mercy. I don’t know why I have been so blessed to get to know them but I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this tender mercy. Enrique has a coffee addiction and the past couple days have been really hard for him. When we taught him the Word of Wisdom the first thing he said was " Coffee is bad! Oh no I am so sorry I didn’t know." Then he said, " I know that this is what the Lord wants but sometimes he wants hard things!" Ahh he is the cutest. That day he quit drinking coffee because he wanted nothing more than to be baptized. Well YESTERDAY we baptized them and married them!! It was such a beautiful service and Enrique COULD NOT stop smiling. It was the sweetest thing. I can’t wait to see them go to the TEMPLE. Just one more year. All I can say is that I am so grateful that I had the chance to be a part of their lives and help them get to know their Savior a little better. I will NEVER forget them.

We also placed a date with a sweet Grandma, Francisca. Her brother is a member and we just started teaching her. She loves learning more about the Gospel and accepts everything with an open mind. She even showed up to church all by herself! That NEVER happens. We are helping her prepare to be baptized this SUNDAY!

I am pretty sure I have also told you about Carlos. He has been investigating the church for about 1 year now. His wife has been baptized and he comes to church with her and his daughter EVERY WEEK! He just always wants to feel more sure and more confident in his decision to be baptized. In reality he wants to know EVERYTHING before he is baptized. Well this week we saw a real miracle with him. We got to his house late one night just to share a small scripture and make an appt. for the next day. Well as we were there I felt impressed to share some different thoughts and scriptures about the atonement. We ended up having an incredible lesson and a beautiful spiritual experience that I will NOT forget. Right then and there I tried to commit him to baptism (probably for the 20th time in his life) and..... he accepted. WHAT THE!? I didn’t know what to do for a second because I wasn’t prepared for that response. I am so happy for him and his wife though. We are going to do everything in our power to help prepare him so he can feel confident and good about his decision. We will baptize him the 13th of October :)

Okay to answer a few more of your questions. I DON'T want you to come get me here in Nicaragua! Haha. I don’t think I want you guys to see what it is like here better to just hear the stories. I don’t know if you could fall in love with it here with only a couple days. Also, this week is General Conference but if I get to see any sessions it will be in Spanish :( So I would love if you could send me the Ensign with the talks! Also tomorrow I will complete 5 months in the mission!!! Sometimes it feels SO FAST! Other times I just miss you guys and it seems like I have a lifetime left. But I know the time is going to fly by so I will make the most of every second. I remember my first day here when Hna. Justavino had 5 months in the mission. Yesterday I got a call from her wishing me a Happy 5 month anniversary and I wished her a happy 9-MONTH anniversary. I can’t believe she is half way done. I know the time is going to fly for me too.

I have been getting emails from my Recent Converts and members in Matagalpa. I miss them all so MUCH! I hope I can go back one day and visit them all. Hermano Hector had a brain aneurism, he is not doing well at all and is in the hospital. Hermana Justavino is going to call me the next time they go visit him though so I can talk to him.

Now I am just stressed about finding new investigators but we are going to work super hard and I know the Lord will put his chosen sons and daughters in our path if we are giving our all. I have learned a lot about sacrifice here in the mission. It is something profound to me. Here in the mission we sacrifice all our time, efforts, strengths and heart to try and find those chosen children. However, how much of a sacrifice is this really. The blessings, the joy and the peace far out weigh any sacrifice we could make. In the bigger picture our Savior, Jesus Christ, sacrificed his life for us. He suffered every class of pain, affliction, trial and difficulty that we could imagine. Because of this great sacrifice of Love we don’t have to wander lost in pain, despair or sadness. Because of his sacrifice we can experience more love, peace and joy than imaginable. His plan is PERFECT! His life was perfect! And his sacrifice was perfect. We can rely on him and find rest. I love my Savior. I love this work. And I hope one day I will be able to return and live with our Heavenly Father if I live worthy of such a blessing in this life.

Okay okay I have to go now....  :( I miss you guys! I love you!!  I have now been here for 5 months! Soon it will be 6 and then I will only have 1 year left! WHAT THE! It will be crazy once October is over to think "this time next year I will be home". It doesn't seem real. It seems like this is my life now. I cant imagine it any other way right now. Well I love you with all my heart! Give my love to the boys and daddy as well! Oh and nana, papa, grandma, grandpa, the whole fam, friends and students!

Love,
Hermana Savannah Kendall

P.s. I hope you guys are recording modern family and Sherlock for me!