Grateful and Honored

My first day with Hermana Gonzales. Love her with all my heart!

This was my lunch last week. Mira knows me all too well. She takes great care of us!

This is a photo from one of our family home evenings last week.  They are the greatest!  Maura, the mom, wanted me to tell you to not worry because she is taking care of me and will be my latina mama haha. 

This week has been...hard. However, I like hard weeks because I know that means there is a miracle just around the corner. We have been working like CRAZIES to find new ppl and help the ppl we are teaching to progress. The ward has been awesome this week with helping us teach and giving us referrals. Our ward really is amazing. Sometimes they just need a little bit of excitement to participate in missionary work. So this week we have been working hard to have members in lessons and also to receive referrals at every moment, even from contacts. Our biggest challenge this week has been finding ppl in their homes. Vacation time is over and the ppl have started to work again so it has been a little bit of a challenge to find ppl at home during the day. It is interesting because that was never a problem in my other, poorer areas. However, here the ppl actually work so it is something I am having to adjust to. I love it though because it shows that these ppl actually are motivated to do something with their life and progress. It is a lot different working in Managua. The ppl are smarter and more driven. To me that just screams.... LEADERS! I know we are going to find a lot of leaders while working here in La 14.

This week we did divisions with the sisters of Ciudadela, which is an area in TIPITAPA. It was my turn to travel and work with Hermana Taylor there in her area. To get to Ciudadela you have to stop in Tipitapa and get on another bus. Well once we got off the bus I of course never wanted to leave again. I felt right at home. We walked past my old lunch cita, Hermana Escarlet, and all the kids were out. They instantly started screaming HERMANA KENDALL HERMANA KENDALL and came running out. I got tackled by 6 little kids and LOVED it! Ahh I have missed them so much. We got to chat a little bit and then we were off again. I loved seeing them and it just made me even more excited for when you guys can meet them all. Anyways, we got to Ciudadela and I can honestly say it is in the middle of NO WHERE! It is a "pueblo" of 10 streets by 4. So tiny! It is all dirt roads and plastic huts. However, I LOVED IT THERE! It is a very special area and I loved working there. We had an incredible experience together that I will never forget. 

That night Taylor and I went by one of the members houses that had earlier given them a reference and said they would invite them over for a lesson. Well we got there a little early so we could explain what we were planning on teaching and how they could participate. The guy that gave them the referral is a recently returned missionary. His little sister also participated in the lesson. We taught lesson one of the restorations to his friend, Reina. It was a very special lesson full of the spirit. After teaching about Joseph Smith, Reina said she believes it was all true and that it just felt RIGHT.   We were able to put the fecha for her baptism and invite her to go to church. She is so excited about learning more and couldn’t wait to go to church with her friend. The member family was so key in the entire lesson. They shared their testimonies, how they came to know this church is true and how it has changed their lives. Reina is very special and I KNOW she will get baptized on her fecha, especially with the help of the members. After this lesson we went back to Taylors house and I just have to say... THAT IS ROUGHING IT! They are basically camping... I was dying. Their bathroom is OUTSIDE and is disgusting, their room barely fits their two beds and the sink is attached to the outside of their house haha. It was fun for a night but I am so grateful I am not living there. Taylor said she loves it though so it is perfect for them. 

After divisions we of course had to go back to Tipitapa to catch the bus and lo and behold ENRIQUE was there!!! AHH I was so excited to see him. I couldn’t stop squealing and neither could he. He said that him and Corina still pray for me EVERY NIGHT and they are waiting the day I will come to visit them. AHH I JUST LOVE THEM. He was with 4 of the Elders helping teach. He is so PILAS! Definitely the highlight of my week! 

This week I have been thinking a lot about the calling to be a missionary. All I have to say is that I am so grateful and honored to be a missionary and a part of the Lords work. It is a great responsibility to help, teach and lift Gods children here in Nicaragua. Sometimes it is easy to think how weak, unqualified or insufficient I might be but then I just have to remember that I have been called by a prophet of God and I have been promised that I will have success if I live and keep the commandments. I am eternally grateful for the life and sacrifice of my Savior Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to wear a plaque every day with his name on it and teach the ppl here about His life and how he can change theirs. I know I can never repay Him for all He did but I can give my all in this time and throughout my life to help him in his mission to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. You ONLY SERVE A MISSION ONCE. I am going to make sure I give my all every day all day. And I will come home having no regrets :) 

Okay that is all I have got for my email this week! 

I Love you ALL and I am so thankful for your example and prayers! 

Loves!! 

Hermana Kendall 

Oh, I also forgot to tell you about the stars in Ciudadela. They were INCREDIBLE. Seriously, the stars have never look more beautiful. I think it may have something to do with the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere, but they just seemed so close. The moon, as well, has just been stunning this week. I have felt like I could literally lasso it close to us. I love the heavens! I always feel so close to my Heavenly Father, Savior, you guys and Avalon every time I can soak in the sky!