Cooking Lessons

This week our investigator, Hermana Miriam, taught us how to make all sorts of goodies.
This is us with our Mango fresco she made us. I can’t get enough mangos!

Hermana Miriam taught us how to make atol this day. It is like a pudding.
 Don’t be fooled by this picture. I didn’t really cook haha. Miriam just told me
 I had to pretend for the picture at least. I still can’t cook...

With the finished product. Hermana Miriam vends atol as well as many other
 little treats on the street! Oh, and that is Antonio behind!
 He is always sneaking in the photos haha

Miriam has a huge avocado tree out back and these were the few she picked
 in the morning. You can’t really tell in this picture but they are huge!

This day Hermana Miriam taught us how to make a coconut treat.
 It is just coconut and about 2 pounds of sugar.
 This is us peeling the coconut!

The coconut and sugar boiling!

Where we formed the treats to place in the baggies to vend.

Well, this week has been a HOT ONE! I literally feel like I am melting sometimes. It has also been and incredibly fast one! We have been able to see miracle after miracle in our area and I have learned a lot!

We started off the week with a meeting in Managua with all the Leaders Tuesday. We went to become "certified".  As a mission we are finding more than we ever have, putting more fechas than ever and taking more ppl to church. However, we are baptizing less. President has determined it is because something is wrong in the teaching. So he came up with a list of 13 things a good lesson should have and decided we all need to become certified in these things. To accomplish it he has started with the leaders. We arrived Tuesday to teach all the mission lessons to President and get certified in the things he thinks are the most important. My comp and I have been a little stressed about this certification but we practiced ever morning during companionship study and felt ready. Well, it all paid off because we got certified are were voted the best teachers! Now we just have to apply all these things EVERY DAY WITH EVERYONE WE TEACH!

After getting certified President taught us all some GREAT stuff on how we can teach better. I learned SO MUCH! What I liked most was how he taught us "Simple teaching". He told us that Satan wants us to use a lot of words and knowledge and facts. These things give the people room to doubt, feel unsure, feel like they aren’t ready to accept and there is too much to learn. President taught us how to teach an effective lesson with short powerful phrases, testimonies and commitments. We have applied these things in our teachings this week and seen MIRACLES. It is so much easier to feel the spirit when teaching in this way and the people are more receptive to our message. I love that we can never stop learning. There will always be room to improve and more to learn.

This week we have been able to find some new really positive ppl. With our new method of teaching we have been able to put tons of fechas and commit many ppl to follow Christ. We are really excited about several of the new families we are teaching and the ppl that we have been working with. Juniette and Luis are as good as ever. Last week we had a FHE with them and 3 other member couples. It was such a great lesson on the family and how the Gospel can help us raise our families on true principles. They felt so loved when all the members showed up to support them. They are progressing along perfectly and will be baptized this Saturday. They have been inviting all their family, neighbors and friends to be baptized. Through them we have found SEVERAL other ppl to teach. I know as we continue to work side by side with the members we will be able to help them stay firm in the church forever! 

This week we have also been working with Miriam and Antonio quite a bit. Miriam has become our mission mom. She loves us so much and loves taking care of us. She invites us over almost every morning to teach us how to cook a new treat! She always has everything all ready and measured out so we just have to dump it in the pot... she knows my cooking abilities all too well haha. She really is such a sweetheart and is helping us find several other investigators as well. She and her brother are reading the Book of Mormon together and know it is true. She has accepted a baptismal fecha. She is nervous she still doesn’t know enough but we assured her that we would be there ever step of the way.

We had a really hilarious experience with her this week while cooking. Early Thursday morning she called us and told us she wanted to teach us how to make atol. (It is like a warm pudding.) We ran over quickly to learn from her and share a quick lesson. Well we were just about to finish cooking when she decided to review all the ingredients with us so we could make it for our families when we went home. She started explaining how we have to start with warming up the milk and cinnamon sticks, then add the sugar and flour which is then followed by vanilla and a pinch of salt. We were clear all on those ingredients then she said "and my secret to have the best atol is... a cup of alcohol!"  WHAT!! My comp and I looked at each other in shock then back at her right as she was about to dump it in. We then both screamed NO and started nervously laughing haha! She got surprised and asked "What the? Why not? You can't even taste it!" and then went to put it in again. My comp and I both screamed NO NO NO again and then explained that we couldn’t eat it with alcohol. We were both nervously laughing and slightly screaming the whole time. It was really quite hilarious. Miriam was cracking up by the end as well. Needless to say, we had to teach the Word of Wisdom! Haha.  I just hope that not all atols have alcohol because I have had quite a few...

This week we were also able to do divisions with several of the Hermanas here in Chinandega. I loved working with the Hermanas and I learned a ton from them all. Tomorrow I am headed off to Managua once again to learn from President. It is always a long trip but it is worth it to learn from our President and find out what things I need to better. 

Well, I love you all and I hope you have a week full of missionary experiences. If there is one thing I have learned from being here in the mission it is that the Lord has prepared people to hear and accept His Gospel in EVERY PART OF THE WORLD! I know that as you all pray and then diligently seek after Missionary experiences the Lord will present you with them.

I love you!!!!
Love,

Hermana Kendall

P.S. I am becoming so Nica. Many of the ppl here don’t like going to church because of the air conditioning. They say that it makes them sick. I always just thought they were crazy but this Sunday I got a HUGE headache from the cold air.  What I am going to do in UTAH!?