OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO GET BAPTIZED!

The Elders had to come kill a rat that was living in our ceiling this week! 

Enrique and Corina leave with us every night to go teach their friends! It is AWESOME! Enrique wanted our water bottles in the pic as evidence we are working hard haha. He reminds me of papa. Also do you see their hymnbook- so PILAS! 

This is Maria Felix! She is AWESOME.  Love her so much! She is always looking out for us! She served in Guatemala.  I know she was an INCREDIBLE missionary.  You can just tell.


 

Ready for P-Day

And this is where we play soccer every pday. UGH I HATE SPORTS! Every week I get there saying NO, I am not going to play this week. I am just going to hold my ground and say no. And every week they get me to play again! DARN IT SOCCER! I did make two goals today though Hehe. I admit, I do a lot of my awkward screaming whenever the ball comes in my direction and I still have the habit of closing my eyes when the ball is in the air and headed towards me. I am just not a sportzy girl, this we know! 

So the theme of this week has been... WORKING WITH MEMBERS! Seriously we are doing EVERYTHING possible to work with the members cada dia.   Our most reliable and pilas resource is of course the family of Enrique and Corina! I don’t think a more pilas family exists out there in the world. Enrique goes by his friend’s houses every morning sharing a little bit about what he has learned and then invites them to hear our message. At about 4pm we pass by his house and he tells us which of his friends have accepted to hear our message and then we leave with him and Corina to visit them! I am telling you this is the way to do missionary work! It is so nice when we can spend our time teaching rather than running around trying to find somebody who will hear us. WORKING WITH THE MEMBERS is the way to go. I would encourage you ALL to give 1 referral to the missionaries. Just 1 and I know that will help them in SO MANY ways. I would also encourage you all to go with the missionaries if ever possible. Members in the lessons make all the difference! Enrique is so great in the lessons. I will never get sick of hearing him talk about how much the Gospel has changed his life. He always talks about the day we showed up at his door and how the Testigos had passed by earlier as well as the Catholics but he did not receive either of them. We got there and he knew something was different so he let us in. He talks about reading the Book of Mormon and how this book will resolve any doubt you have. He talks about what a GIFT it is to us all. He talks about how much he has changed.  The challenges and addictions he had to overcome and how happy he is now. Corina always talks about how her life has never been happier and she knows with all her heart this is what they were missing in their lives. My favorite part of the lesson those is when I invite them to be baptized and Enrique always sweeps in with OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO GET BAPTIZED! When Christ asks us to do something the answer No doesn’t exist there is only a resounding YES! I just know they are going to be leaders in this church. They are already part time missionaries for crying out loud. They always have a desire to learn more and are reading all the churches handbooks. I LOVE THEM!!!! I can’t wait for them to go to the Temple and become an eternal family! They can go the end of September but if they don’t end up going until after my mission I WILL COME back to see them get sealed. I could talk about them for DAYS and I will when I get back! I get teary-eyed thinking about saying goodbye to them. I feel like Tipitapa is my home now and they are my FAMILY. I can’t even imagine changing areas now.

I literally finished writing that and then got a call from Elder Estes saying I have emergency changes tomorrow............. I am literally bawling right now. This mission is crazy. It is crazy how you fall in love with these ppl so quickly. It is amazing that we get to see the change the Gospel makes in them. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I will NEVER FORGET any one of these ppl. They have changed my life forever! I know this church is true and that is why I will do everything I can to bring it to EVERY ONE! 
Well I have to go. I will let you know how everything went next Monday. I love you!!!! I miss you all! Talk to you next week!

Loves,

Savannah

Member Missionaries

Pizza with the Elders for Elder Degerings birthday!

A Special Dinner with Enrique and Corina

Hermana Miller and I

It has been an AWESOME week! Probably one of my favorite weeks I have had here in the mission. Last night I had a little cry session because I honestly couldn’t imagine leaving the mission. I can’t imagine saying goodbye to these people and not knowing when I will see them again. They have all become so dear to me. I honestly feel like they are just and extension of our family. I love them with all my heart and never want the day that I must say goodbye to come... The only thing holding me back from staying here forever is YOU GUYS -All my incredible friends and family at home. I wish so badly that you could meet these people- the missionaries, members, less actives, recent converts and INVESTIGATORS! I know you would love them all. It is almost impossible not to. We will definitely be coming back here one day all together!

Okay so we started off this week with DIVISIONS! Hna. Miller is the Sister Training leader in charge of our area. She came here to work with me and our comps (the two newbies Hehe) were off working in her area - Managua. Hna. Miller is AWESOME! I didn't think I ever wanted a Gringa comp because I really want to work on my Spanish but I would LOVE to be her comp. She is about to complete 1 year in the mission and is the sweetest girl you could ever meet. She is 26 and the first missionary in her family. She is also a hairstylist so she gave me a quick trim YES! Anyways we had such an awesome day together. Neither of us have great Spanish but we both have time in the mission. It is so fun to work with someone else that has been here for a while and knows how the work is. I felt like I was in a Preach My Gospel video haha. Seriously we just taught together exactly how it should be. I felt such an incredible spirit the whole day. It was so awesome to see that even though we can’t speak the language perfectly the spirit was able to testify to these ppl that we taught with SUCH POWER! Every lesson was a spiritual experience for me. We taught a ton of investigators and put fechas (baptismal dates) with almost ALL OF THEM! We had a lesson with Freddy that day and he was super sad because his daughter from Costa Rica had called him and said that she was coming to visit this SUNDAY. So he had to go to the airport Sunday morning and wait for her all day. Meaning he wouldn’t be able to be baptized until the NEXT week because he still needed to attend church one more time. Well we were pretty sad too, but we just started teaching how the Lord always provides a way. Mid lesson Freddy got a call from his DAUGHTER! She said that something had come up and she wouldn’t be able to make it here until DECEMBER! What a miracle! Seriously the Lord couldn’t have been more obvious and generous in that moment. Freddy had been saying how much he wanted to be baptized he said "Can't we just do it tomorrow? I want to be baptized in the LORDS CHURCH!” The Lord always provides a way!  So this Sunday Freddy was baptized. It was such a beautiful service and he is so excited to now be a member. He is already talking about going to the temple and serving a mission! Look at all these future leaders!

This week we have been working a TON with members! Seriously some of the members here are so PILAS (Awesome)! When I say some of the members I am referring to my AWESOME converts Enrique and Corina. They have left with us EVERY NIGHT this past week to introduce us to their friends, share messages and visit other investigators. Enrique’s testimony is SO POWERFUL! Seriously this guy just blows my mind. He gets so excited every time he can talk about the Gospel and the incredible changes he made in his life thanks to this Gospel. He is one of my favorite ppl of all time. Corina is amazing as well. She is always saying how grateful she is for the missionaries. She always talks about the day we showed up on her doorstep and how everything changed that day. And now she can’t imagine her life without the Gospel. They are both so excited to go to the Temple and are doing everything to prepare themselves. Oh and also Enrique is getting the Melchizedek Priesthood in two weeks! PILAS!

Anyways thanks to Enrique we have found a TON of new investigators. It is awesome to always have SO MANY ppl to teach. I have really been trying to focus on putting the FECHA in the first lesson this week as well. I am trying to master the perfect way to put the fecha (baptismal date) so that the ppl feel the spirit, feel the urge to act on it and then accept the invitation to follow Jesus Christ and change their lives. We have seen so many miracles in this aspect as well this week. I have decided the key is just to FOCUS on Jesus Christ and the ATONEMENT. If these ppl really understand that Christ can CHANGE their lives and He will if they just follow him then they will almost ALWAYS accept the fecha. I have also been trying to perfect teaching PEOPLE and not lessons. I am really trying to listen to ppl, their needs and then teach them how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help them with ANY challenge they have.

Anyways, last night we were teaching a friend of Enriques.  He has a lot of problems with drinking and smoking. He feels a void in his life and WANTS to change. While listening to him and his problems as well as his desires to change I just kept thinking. Jesus can help you change. He wants you to be happy. He is waiting with his arms open to receive thee. After listening to his needs we started teaching the Word of Wisdom. At the end of the lesson we testified that through the atonement he could be CLEAN. He can feel this weight lifted from his shoulders and then... I put the fecha. And you know what? He accepted! It was insane. We almost always teach the Restoration for the first lesson and it is a lot easier to lead into baptism when teaching it. However last night I learned that if we really listen to the ppls needs, teach accordingly and show them how Jesus Christ and the Atonement can change their lives then THEY WILL FEEL THE SPIRIT. And with this sweet spirit they can more easily make the decision to change their lives and be baptized. It was such a learning experience for me and so INCREDIBLE!

So needless to say we have seen a ton of miracles this week. We accomplished ALL OF OUR GOALS! We have a ton of ppl with fechas and we are having an amazing time working with them. One family I just love lives in front of Freddy. P.s. He is super pilas (awesome) as well and is inviting EVERYONE to church. We had and extra family of investigators in church this week thanks to him.  This family is so fun to work with and watch change. We have only been teaching them for two weeks but I have already seen such a change in them both. Ahh that is my favorite part of being a missionary, watching the Gospel change these people’s lives. Not just spiritual but in EVERY aspect of their lives. How could this Gospel not be true?

Okay quick last story I want to share. Corina and Enrique are struggling right now financially. He has been looking for work for 4 months now and just is not having much luck. Every once and awhile he will find a one day thing but nothing solid. I know some days they go with out food and they never know when the next little odd job will come along. That being said they are the most generous and loving ppl I have every met.
We got to their house one night and Enrique started telling us how he had a little work for the day. He didn’t make much but he made enough to be able to buy food for dinner. Right as he is explaining this Corina comes walking out with two HUGE PLATES full of food for us and Frescos. He said that as soon as he got home from work he told Corina "I have money today. Lets make something special for the Hermanas"! AHH how incredible are they. I was holding back tears while eating. The ppl here have nothing yet they are the most giving ppl I have ever met. I am definitely learning a lot from them and hope I can possess this attribute. I am so grateful that I get this chance to visit these ppl and get to know them better EVERY DAY! I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything. I love Nicaragua, I love the ppl, I love the MISSION and I love the Lord!
Well I have to go! As always I miss you with all my heart and can't wait to see you again soon. I keep you all in my prayers EVERY DAY!!! I LOVE YOU!  UNTIL NEXT WEEK!!

Loves!
Savannah

Mission Family

Hermana Justavino with her other daughter, me and my daughter Hermana Tellez. 

 What a cute fam we are.

Hna. Justavino and me.    AHH I MISS THAT GIRL!

This is our family in the mission. Hermana Justavino, her Daughter, Me, my daughter, My great grandma (Justavino's Gma) and her daughter!

I got my Christmas package from you guys! THANKS SO MUCH! I seriously died over the protein bars. DIED! SO tasty and HEALTHY. I almost forgot what it felt like to eat something HEALTHY. I got all my letters and this package at our leaders meeting after a super hard day. IT was AWESOME. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! 

I cant wait for Christmas now haha

IN the taxi to Mission South! We had to go this morning so Hermana Tellez 

could a sign a paper for her visa!

Hermana Justavino's Mission Mom

Sister Rodgers from Texas! Soo Cute!

First off it was fun to read your little email this week and hear about Halloween. I thought about you guys that day and what you might be doing. I was a little sad to miss it but all in due time! They don’t really celebrate Halloween here. However, we had a meeting with all the trainers this week in Managua and Hermana Collado bought all us gringas candy because she knew it was Halloween for us. It was really sweet of her.

So we started out the week with out trip to Managua for the Trainers meeting. IT WAS AWESOME! Seriously probably the best meeting I have been to thus far in the mission. I LOVED IT and learned so much. I just was able to feel the spirit so strongly and the Lords love for his missionaries. I received a lot of AWESOME revelation for this work and our area. It really rejuvenated me to get out there and work. I also got to see all the cute newbies and there SWEET trainers. Seriously there are some INCREDIBLE missionaries here. I always love seeing them and visiting.  At the meeting we watched an awesome video about the Atonement and missionary work with talks from Jeffrey R. Holland and Henry B. Eyring. Incredible! I am going to try and find the talks today to print off and study. Anyways after the meeting we headed back to our area and got right to work. This week I was still feeling pretty stressed out so my district leader gave me a blessing and a few talks to study. It has been helping me out a little and I can at least sleep now for more than four hours. I really was making myself sick from all the stress but I am feeling a little better this week. 

This week we have been working with a great family.  They are all really special ppl and I am so lucky we get to work with them and teach them. The father had his baptismal date for THIS SUNDAY. We had been preparing him all week and working really hard to help him feel the spirit. He was interviewed Saturday and was all set. Sunday we went by his house in the Morning to help him get ready for church and he was so excited to go and had even invited all his family to his baptism after church. He had to take his Granddaughter to her dad’s house so he told us he would meet us at church. Well we got to church and were waiting and waiting and calling him and calling and he never showed... I was SO SAD. We went over to his house afterwards and he wasn’t there either. His daughter told us he left to go to church and then he got an emergency call from one of his nephews and had to go to MANAGUA! UGH SATAN! Seriously it was one of the hardest, saddest days but we have an appointment with him today and we are going to put the date for this Sunday instead. He will be baptized though that is a sure THING!

Socorro and Pablo are friends of Enrique and Corina so we have been visiting with them a LOT. They are such a special family and they love everything we are teaching them. Pablo has cancer and is in a wheelchair right now. He is always really sick and that presents a little of a challenge for us but he and his wife are so receptive to the Gospel, especially during this time in their lives. He can't go to church right now and that is the only thing stopping him from being baptized but we have something AWESOME planned for next week and I am pretty sure he will make it to CHURCH!

Dennis and Isabel are a new family we found this week. They are both pretty shy but very receptive to the Gospel. Our first lesson Dennis prayed to finish the lesson and asked right then and there if Joseph Smith was a prophet. It was so incredible. Most ppl are too nervous to even try praying in the first lesson but he went right ahead and even asked God if our message was true. It was a really unique and beautiful moment for me. The next lesson he said he had been praying all week and is waiting for God to answer. He said he knows God will answer in his own time in his own way but right now he feels really good during our lessons and wants to come to church. We put baptismal dates with them both and hopefully they will be joining us in church this week.

Bydon is a guy we found one day contacting. After talking with him for a few minutes he told us he actually was a member! He hasn’t gone to church for the past 7 years but is willing to go again and give it a try. His wife isn’t a member but is super sweet and loves talking with us. This family is GOLDEN! We are going to reactive Bydon and baptize his wife I tell ya!

So I just wanted to share one other funny experience. 
Thursday night we were at an Investigators house when he asked if we wanted something for dinner. Not wanting to be rude or offend him we said YES! So he comes out with a HUGE plate of rice, a tortilla and 2 FISH!! Fish here are completely different than in the states though. The WHOLE fish was literally on my plate... head, bones, eyes, skin...EVERYTHING. It had been deep-fried and plopped on my plate. I seriously didn’t know what to do or how to EAT it. They all started laughing at me try to eat it. I am sure I had a freaked out look on my face the whole time. I was trying to keep my cool but it was pretty hard as I watched the little kids eat the eyeballs and my comp rip off the head to eat the meat inside! I did my best to eat it but I mostly just did a lot of moving it around my plate haha. It was pretty funny. I did get sick that night though... I wont be eating fish again. 

So other news this week. ENRIQUE got the priesthood! So awesome. He had been so nervous all week. He was studying all the sections in Doctrine and Covenants about the priesthood and working hard to memorize the sacrament prayers. He is so PILAS! Seriously, I think they are going to end up being my two most PILAS converts. He is always leaving with us to go teach ppl and just this week alone he has given us 3 referrals. He talks about the Gospel and the change he experienced in his life with EVERYONE! It is so awesome to see how the Gospel has completely changed his life and his wife’s life. I remember the night we contacted them so vividly. Corina barely said a word and he was so lost. They lost their daughter to cancer and ever since felt a huge void in their lives. The gospel changed everything! Now they know where their daughter is, they know they can be together again forever and they know what they must do in this life to receive these blessings. Now Corina visits with everyone and is always getting all ready for the day. I remember she used to only walk around in pjs. And Enrique is going to be made the branch’s mission leader this upcoming week! YES I baptized the MISSION LEADER! So legit. Anyways, I am just so grateful I have been able to see this incredible change in their lives. I feel so lucky to know them and share in these sweet spiritual experiences. I will NEVER forget them. P.S. we decided on their temple date last night! WOOT!

In short, this week has been bitter sweet...like every week. However, I wouldn’t change this experience for anything in the world. I feel incredibly blessed to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with my brothers and Sisters here. It is hard, scary and exhausting but it is also the most amazing thing I have ever done. I will never forget these moments. 6 months baby!

Love you all!

Hna. Kendall

Hold to the Rod

Hermana Tellez and me .... oh and my arm ha

We got stuck in a big rainstorm this week and all the streets were completely flooded! It was hard to work but fun as well..... and a little COOLER thank goodness!

We found this lake at the edge of our area this week. It is kind of cool in pics and something different from the normal dirt roads. But honestly the water is DISGUSTING!!! And there were people out fishing in it. Oh and when I say fishing, I mean they were swimming
around with wood spears trying to spear the things. So insane. 

Pretty sure those fish aren't sanitary to eat...

Me in front of a sea worthy boat!

This is one of the houses close to the lake.... and their laundry.

We had a branch activity this week with the theme " Hold to the Rod". We planned it and carried it out. This was our "rod". It was a super fun activity and we had a lot of success!

Following the rod and facing "obstacles"... oh and Elder Cipriano!

Following the straight and narrow path!

The tree of Life we made

oh and then the elders stuck some lights on it...... amateur work!

And then I just thought you might appreciate this face haha. 

It is me getting annoyed with Elder Estes!

First off, I love hearing all about the Halloween celebrations! Pumpkin walk, chairlift (mom.... haha), candy and GRANDMA'S PARTY! I LOVE THE PHOTO. Seriously everyone looks so good! I miss you guys all so much. It is weird to think that next Halloween I will probably be back with you guys (if all the changes are normal). Crazy huh!

So this week has been pretty hard. I don’t know why this month has been so difficult for me but it has been a hard one. We have been working so hard to visit recent converts this week and get them to go to church and renew their baptismal covenants. We had so many visits and lessons with them all! It is hard when I have the truth, I know all the blessings they can enjoy and I just want them to accept it all and then they don’t. UGH!! I hate the feeling I get when a recent convert or investigator decides not to live up to their commitments.  I just want to GIVE them my testimony but I know I can't and I know that isn’t the point.  They won't gain a testimony of Gospel principles until they live it!  So many ppl want to see the blessings and miracles BEFORE they commit to do anything. God doesn’t work like that. We MUST show our faith and trust in him. We are going to work even harder to help them all increase their FAITH! We did see a few miracles in church this week though. Three recent convert families that haven’t come to church for over 2 months all came this week. I can’t even explain to you how happy I was to see them in CHURCH! I squealed a little. Now we just have to work on all the OTHER families as well. 

We have had little luck in in finding new families. We always find ppl that will listen to us and accept the first lesson but after that discerning who really is interested in the church and our message is always sad... because not many really are ready. This week we have been working with a family and they are AWESOME!  They ALWAYS take care of us and love coming to all the church activities. The father loves everything about the church but is just nervous to take the plunge and be baptized. I just have to share a tiny experience to explain how awesome they are.   So Thursday we had a REALLY tough day and we were really discouraged. We showed up at their house at 7 o clock one night. All the kids came running down the street screaming " THE HERMANAS THE HERMANAS" and gave us huge hugs- I love that part! We got to their door and he was standing there with two pieces of cake for us... Ahh tender mercies! They are my favorite!

We have also been working with Carlos this week. We had a lesson with him and the ZL`s this week. It was AWESOME! I was sitting there feeling the spirit so STRONGLY and thinking "wow I love being a missionary". Seriously I can’t describe how awesome it was to sit there with 3 other missionaries declaring repentance to him and sharing gospel principles with the promptings of the spirit. I just felt like I was a part of something so real and beautiful. I will NEVER forget that lesson.

This week we have had the opportunity to share lesson 1 a LOT! Lesson 1 is of the Restoration, Joseph Smiths experience and the Book of Mormon. I had so many sweet experiences with the spirit during this lesson this week. Every time I had the chance to share the first vision I felt the spirit moving through me to testify of the truthfulness of this message. I love feeling that sweet presence of the Spirit. I hope to ALWAYS live worthily of its accompany. I am so grateful for the Spirits and the Lords help in this work. We are so blessed to have their help in this work. Who else could be a better teacher! My hope is that every person we teach can feel that sweet testifying power of the Holy Ghost. We are working our hardest and trying to live worthy of the Spirits help ALWAYS so that these ppl can have these spiritual experiences.

So this week we had a couple "scares". I won’t share details and we are FINE but the Elders have decided to move us.  The Elders are dividing up our areas differently right now and we should be moved to our new house and area by the end of the week. I am SO SAD!! I do not want to leave all my recent converts or investigators. I know the Elders will take good care of them but I am still super sad. I am also sad to leave our house it has been so good to us. It will be an interesting new challenge to learn our new area and converts. Thankfully we are still in the same branch though.

Oh also this week was our mission activity. Like you saw from the photos it was "hold to the rod". We set up a rope as the rod and different obstacles or temptation through out the church. The ppl were blindfolded and could either hold to the rod and preserver or give into the challenges and temptations. However, if they endured to the end they made it to the Tree of Life and a small refreshment. Afterwards we watched the "Living Scriptures" version of Lehi’s dream. It was so fun to watch that again... but in Spanish haha. I remember watching those all the time at Nana and Papas. I will definitely be sharing those with my children. It was a real success! We all had a great time!

I love you and miss you with all my heart. I will see you soon!!  
Savannah

New Gringas

Sharing a bunk at Hermana Scott's House.

My new companion Hermana Tellez

Hermana Morales and Me

Hermana Morales and I out back of President's house. 

 It was so PRETTY! And man I miss that girl!

The New Hermanas of Tipitapa! They are in a trio and are the cutest!

Hermana Tellez, Me and Hermana Morales

President, his wife, Hermana Tellez and me

Okay so this week was really...interesting. Monday Hna. Morales and I left for Managua at about three o clock. We were RUNNING to catch a bus with all her luggage and of course looked ridiculous. We thankfully caught a bus and some guy on the bus immediately called us over.   As I got a little closer, I realized he was a GRINGO as well. Turns out he served his mission here 5 years ago and was back to visit. He was SHOCKED to see Hermana’s in TIPITAPA, I was proud to tell him that we were indeed the first Hermanas! It was cool to chat with him for a while and hear his AWESOME Spanish. I hope I can get to that point. Anyways, we finally got to Managua and I had a meeting with all the other Trainers and President. It was great and I learned a lot of valuable things to help my companion out. Hermana Collado was so cute and said she values all the ZL, DL and APs but for her the TRAINERS are the most special missionaries because the Lord trusts them to take care of and teach the new servants here. She is the best. We finished the meeting at about 8pm and got to chill while we waited for some of the newbies to get there.  We were all waiting in the Chapel for them and greeted them with a hymn. Then we had QUIZNOS for dinner!! What the?! I didn’t even know that existed here. It was so AWESOME! Anyways we got 6 new gringas Monday night, one of them being the girl from Travis´s ward. She is so darling! I got to talk to her a little bit and help her out. Seriously such a cutie. A ton of the new gringas came up to me and said they had been reading my blog and were so excited to meet me. It was the cutest ever. I am glad someone enjoys reading my rants. Afterwards all the Trainers and the new Hermanas went to Hermana Scotts house to sleep.

So first off Hna. Scott, the Aps and President live in the South Mission and it is seriously a DIFFERENT WORLD OVER THERE!  We crossed the line over into the south mission and I swear it was instantly cooler and it almost looked like a civilized area! I was DYING. We got to Hna. Scotts house and I kind of felt like we were in a Texas neighborhood. It wasn’t chilly but a little cooler, the houses were nice and cute. Hna. Scott's house is HUGE! When I say huge I mean there were three rooms and 2 bathrooms. So bigger than anything I have seen for 6 months. It was hilarious because I was dying over how nice it was, when in reality it was like a girl's camp cabin, if that nice. There were three rooms with 3 bunk beds each and there still wasn’t enough room to fit us all. So.... we slept two to a bed. It is a miracle nobody fell off the top bunk and died! It was so bizarre and AWESOME! I didn’t really feel like a missionary. It felt like girls camp honestly. We were all running around talking, giggling and sharing stories in Spanglish Hehe. In the morning the Ap´s brought us all Mcgridles from McDonalds. Seriously who would have thought I would be so excited about McDonalds but it was SWEET!

Afterwards we all went to Presidents house to meet up with all the other newbies that were in the Guatemala MTC and meet our new COMPS!! We got to Presidents house and I about DIED! It is so BEAUTIFUL! It is like a house from the STATES seriously and the VIEW... INCREDIBLE. But that’s not the best part- there was air conditioning and a real TOLIET! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. HEHE I may be a wee bit dramatic but you know me. After getting there we were all introduced to our new comps! My HIJA is Hna. Tellez. She is the cutest little thing. She is 19, from Nicaragua and is waiting for her Visa to PERU! She is seriously so darling. I hope they don’t rip her away from me too soon. After meeting all our comps we had a little devotional and activity with President and his Wife. Afterwards we had another DELICIOUS meal and then the newbies had interviews. So all us trainers got to just chill at presidents house. AHHH it was so great and strange at the same time. It was weird to not be doing anything really but so fun to get to know the other missionaries, visit and enjoy the beautiful weather/view.  I also got to visit a little more with all the new gringas. I am so glad they had a better experience than me here in Nicaragua for their first day. I will never forget how CRAZY that day was. It was so fun to talk to them and I hope I helped calm their nerves a little. I remember how stressful those first weeks can be. Well really the whole mission. But definitely the first couple weeks. It was weird to see how much I really have learned and how much I have grown. Sometimes I feel exactly the same and like I have not progressed very much but I know every day I am learning something new and becoming a little bit better. That is my biggest desire- that every day I can be a little better. I also got to translate everything for the new Gringas. What the! I still feel like I need a translator but it was cool to see that I really was understanding and could help them out.

After our little get together at presidents we went back to our areas to WORK! This week has been hard! I don’t know why it has been so challenging for me lately but we just aren’t really finding ppl to teach. Well that’s not true we are always finding ppl to teach but I am having a hard time discerning which of these ppl really are prepared to hear the Gospel at this time. We are teaching a ton of ppl but not many of them are progressing. We will continue to give our all to the Lord and I know he will put the right ppl in our path. This week we have been working hard to involve the MEMBERS! Not many want to help us but the few that do are great. We are asking for referrals from EVERYBODY! For about every 10 ppl that don’t have a referral there is one that does and usually they aren’t in our area dang it. However, I know if we keep trying to work with the members, involve them and ask them for referrals the Lord will but ppl in their lives that are ready to hear the Gospel.

 We work like crazy everyday, all day. We walk everywhere, we sweat like crazy, and we talk to everyone and their dog! It is always one of the most incredible things I have ever done. I LOVE talking with and teaching the recent converts, less actives, members and investigators. I feel so blessed to see the change that the Gospel makes in ppls lives. I love helping ppl get to know their Savior. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to teach his children here and have these experiences so I can learn and grow. I am grateful for all the tender mercies he grants us everyday. The mission is so hard but I know that this is the work of the Lord and he is here with us. Whenever things get really hard I just imagine the Lord walking the streets and teaching.   The words "What would Jesus do" have a whole new meaning to me now.  I am his representative here - wow how grand is this calling- and I must do everything in my power to represent him well. I love my Savior. I love this work and I love the sweet ppl of Nicaragua. I hope they can feel my love and more importantly the love of their Savior.

Loves,

Savannah

Almost like America

At the mall with Hna. Morales today...... so weird it was almost like America. 

Me with my Subway sandwich and McFlurry. I was really happy!!

This week has been LONG and STRANGE. We have been working so hard to find new families and investigators to teach. As a mission we have the goal or standard of finding 5 new families and 15 new ppl every week to teach. This week we found 20 ppl and 6 families. We were working so HARD! I was so happy to be finding ppl and adding investigators to our pool of ppl to teach. HOWEVER, we had little to no success placing baptismal dates with them. It is so hard to be teaching someone and trying to help them change but they aren’t willing to keep commitments, progress and just put their trust in God. Needless to say I have been a little discouraged this week. The past two weeks have just been long and hard. I know that it is after the trial of our faith that we will see the miracles. The Lord is just trying us to see how much Faith we have in his plan, this work and his mercy. Also how diligent and patient we are during our afflictions. I am just going to continue to try and work hard EVERY DAY, put my trust in the Lord and accept his will. 

I got some of my letters this week!!! YES! My ZL called me one day when he went to the office and was like " Hermana Kendall, you literally have 12 letters! You get more letters than anyone else in the mission. Your family must really love you." I then went on to brag about all my friends and family. SERIOUSLY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LETTERS!! I can’t even tell you how much they mean to me. I always get so giddy reading letters. I pour over every word and soak it all up. So THANK YOU!!! I got some dearelder from you mom, a letter from nana and papa and two from Grandma, oh and of COURSE A TON FROM LAUREN!!! Hehehe she is probably the greatest friend anybody could ever ask for. Ahh why am I so blessed? 

This week we also played the Reina de TIPITAPA. This time I was mas guapa y mas tuanies. This zone is full of musos!! Hehehe. No but it was nice of them to vote for me as good things! Hmmmm this week we had dinner with Enrique and Corina. They are the sweetest. It was so fun to visit with them. 

This morning I had to go to Managua with my comp to get my cedula (I think this is her visa to stay in the country)! FINALLY I AM LEGAL! We went with two other Elders from this zone that helped us out. We got there and visited with a ton of other missionaries, including...HERMANA TEICHERT! I SCREAMED when I saw her. Seriously I think I scared some ppl but I was just so excited. AHH she is the best! I miss that stinking girl. We also got to visit with some of the Sisters I knew in the MTC that are serving in the South mission. It was cool to see them and hear how they were doing. Afterwards the Elders took us to the MALL. It was weird to be in CIVILIZATION again. I got an Oreo and strawberry Mcflurry from McDonalds and a sandwich from SUBWAY. Ya it was pretty awesome! Seriously I think the weather and the food are the two things I miss most about America besides you guys of course!! 

SO... now for the big news. Tomorrow we have changes and.......... I AM TRAINING!!! WHAT THE HECK! I am freaking seriously. It is so much responsibility and I am already struggling to just take care of myself. However, I know if I can just trust in the Lord and put everything in his hands he will make my weaknesses strengths. I am still freaking though! The APs called me last night to tell me and I about vomited. Everyone started calling me afterwards and congratulating me... news spreads fast here in the mission. I hope I can do this. All the Latinas are so sweet. They keep encouraging me and telling me how good my Spanish is. There are some pretty good liars here haha. I KNOW my Spanish isn’t good but they are sweet to encourage me. My comp Hna. Morales and I have gotten along a lot better this week. Today she told me after meeting all these sisters I am so grateful I got you as a comp! You are great. It was SO SWEET!!! She is great and I really will miss her a lot. She will be an awesome missionary in Honduras and I know she will see many miracles.

So interesting fact I found out today our mission is the second poorest mission in the entire WORLD. The poorest is in Africa. No wonder we have to buy crap food. It is because it is the cheapest and we don’t have money. Oh well I am learning really well how to work on a budget!!

So I still haven’t been able to sleep... like at ALL.   I swear the mission has added about 20 years to my life. I am going to have gray hair by the age of 30. Speaking of hair... mine is falling out like crazy and just getting fried to a crisp. I am trying to use my umbrella more often and I hope that will help. My hair literally is orange though. So weird. And I am getting a lot darker but I am getting nervous about skin cancer haha because I get burned pretty frequently. I am going to just use my umbrella every day from now on.

Well I have to go back to Managua now for a meeting that all the trainers are going to have. I am going to sleep in Managua today at the Nurses house (she has air conditioning I am so PUMPED) and then tomorrow we will have changes where I will meet my  new companion/ DAUGHTER!!! AHHH am I ready for this.... no but here we go anyways! Please pray for me that we can find families and find success here! Oh this also means I will be here in Tipitapa for at least two more changes. There are TONS of changes happening here in the mission right now though. We are going to have more Hermanas here this change, HOORAY, more in PUERTO, they are opening up more new areas and we are getting two new APs! It is so crazy and so AWESOME!!

 I love you guys so much though and miss you with all my heart!!!! I am going to work super hard here everyday, commit everything I have to the Lord for this short time and then I will see you guys soon! The Lord lives and He loves us! How amazing is that to know. I am so glad I get to share that happy message with all my Brothers and Sisters here. I pray every day they will feel the Love of their Savior and accept his atoning sacrifice so they are receive all the blessings he has in store for them. I love you guys!!!
Until next week!

Love,
Hermana Savannah KENDALL!

P.S. No one can say my name. First or Last. It is pretty hilarious. Especially since Kendall is so stinking easy. Meanwhile I get a good giggle out of it. I am sure they get a good giggle out of me trying to pronounce their names as well.

I'm Not Very Dramatic, haha!

This picture doesn't do it justice, I was trying to utilize the zoom feature and I was to scared to take more than one but this was the Tarantula! Horrible!

So this week has probably been the worst week in my mission besides the first week of course...... darn it! Looking forward to better days. This week has been ridiculously hot. I can’t even describe it. My hair is almost all blonde now, I am super dark or you could say red (I got pretty sunburned this week) and I am constantly drenched in sweat. I mean CONSTANTLY! It is a little miserable but hey I probably won’t complain about the cold any more.

This week I had a little, well let's say health issue. Thursday night I was itching like CRAZY everywhere! I thought I had fleas or something and was freaking out! My comp said I probably had fleas too and there was really nothing I could do. Well we got back to the house so I could look at myself in the mirror and I WAS COVERED in a horrible rash! My comp was like "QUE ES ESO!" WHAT IS THAT! I immediately called the nurse and without hesitating she told me it was from my SWEAT! She told me sadly it was a long process to get rid of it. So right now I am showering morning and night, I have a special cream I use and I just pray I don’t sweat too bad.......which isn’t very realistic.

This week we have been working hard to find new investigators. Seriously I don’t think I have ever been this tired. We have been working like crazies just trying to find new families. We probably walk 50 miles every day. That is definitely an exaggeration but that is what it feels like. I have been a little discouraged because we are working so hard and we are trying everything possible but we have seen little results. I don’t know what we can do better and what we need to change to find more ppl to teach. We are still teaching Francisca though, Carlos and a few other new families that will hopefully continue to progress.

This week was conference as you all know, so we were also working to get all our recent converts to attend conference. Okay I am going to try and explain things here real quickly. Tipitapa is a branch right now. Our whole district (3 companionship) works in this branch. We have a small church that we attend and it doesn’t have a projector. There is another church about 10 mins away by bus that is a little bit bigger and has a projector. So conference was shown there- just the Sunday sessions though. Anyways to get there we had a bus set up to take our branch. We worked hard all week to invite everyone! The Zone Leaders made a rule that if we didn’t bring a family of investigators we couldn’t go to conference. Well I really wanted to go and we ended up bringing one family of investigators and two other investigators. We filled the bus and left for the other church early Sunday morning.  We got to the other church and there was NO ROOM for all the branches. By some miracle we found seats for all the members, but us missionaries had to sit on the floor. So this conference I was on the floor with the ants, dying from heat, listening to the speakers in Spanish and kind of sleeping because I was so exhausted. A little different than my last conference. It was awesome though because our investigators LOVED it and so did our recent converts. The experience really helped their testimonies of the Prophet and his apostles.

Yesterday we were supposed to baptize Francisca but we didn’t have any water here in Tipitapa so we had to postpone until today! So we will baptize her tonight :) 

I don’t have any other news really except for THE MOST HORRIBLE MOMENT IN ALL MY LIFE TOOK PLACE THIS WEEK!!!!!  I’m not very dramatic haha. But seriously it was horrible!  Last night my comp and I were chatting while I was getting ready for bed. I went over to get something out of my suitcase and when I turned back around I saw a HUGE TARANTULA at my FOOT!!!!! I immediately started screaming BLOODY MURDER! Seriously I haven’t screamed that loud in a LONG time and it was out of real fear! I am pretty sure my heart stopped for a good 30 seconds. Then I started to experience a real life panic attack! I continued screaming and ran on top of my comps bed with my phone. I started calling the Elders while my comp tried to get the thing in a plastic bag with her umbrella!!! She is so much braver than me seriously! The Elders said " ARE YOU SERIOUS! Take a pic please......oh and we will be right over". Well the owner of the house heard my horrible scream and came running in with her broom. She knows now that if she hears screaming and it is coming from me, it is the result of a bug. So she was ready and armed. Thankfully she killed the thing and helped calm me down. AHHH I am telling you it was so horrible. I could hardly sleep I was so terrified the whole night. My poor comp probably thinks I am psycho! We cleaned our house super good today and hopefully we will have fewer bugs now. The trick they taught us here is to use lots of Clorox because it kills everything. I just hope it doesn’t kill us too. Last night I was seriously debating using my tent haha. If it wasn’t so hot and I wasn’t so embarrassed to use it in front of my Latina comps I would have been in that thing all night after that experience.

I know better days are coming.  I am working hard and the time is passing quickly.  
Love you all,
Savannah