"I Know What You're Up To"

Said a random old man when we knocked on his door. When he first answered, I wasn't sure if he was even of sound mind because he could barely walk and had a blank stare on his face. But I spoke up and told him that we talk to people about Jesus. He said, “Well I can see that. You're the Mormons right? I know what you're up to.” (If you were wondering, the only thing we're up to is bringing people to Jesus.) Honestly, we weren't sure what to say to that which was alright because he told us to be safe and then closed the door. It was just the most random situation haha. It kinda surprised us for no reason.

Another random situation we were in was also while knocking doors. This guy was just getting home so we walked over while he was getting out of his car to introduce ourselves. He said that he already knew all about our message and didn't want to get into it with us. But then he kept talking. He basically told us that by going door to door we were destroying the light within us and that it's best to just sit back and relax and let people come to us. He ranted about this for a few minutes then he was like, "Are you guys receiving my message?" To be nice my comp was like, "Ya I get what you're saying." I just shook my head at him. I wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction. Then he's like, "How old are you? I'm like, "19". Then to my comp: "And you're older right? See you get it". I'm just an ignorant child I guess? I hate to tell him but the prophets didn't share the gospel by sitting back and relaxing; they had to go out and do the work too. He had the "let your light shine" part right but it went downhill from there. It was just the craziest exchange, especially the manner in which he was saying all this. Usually even when people don't agree with us they still think it's cool we're going out and sharing about Jesus. But not this guy I guess.

Tuesday was a Zone Conference, exchanges, and a relief society dinner! It was such a wild and fun day! Zone conference was amazing and just the spiritual food I needed! It was very centered around Christ’s atonement which is a great reminder of the most amazing thing to ever take place in the world. Like truly His atonement is the reason this life even has a purpose if you think about it. I am very grateful for Jesus Christ, His sacrifice, and His infinite atonement.

Exchanges! I got to lead out the area and was with Sister Williams! We had a lesson with Terell (the guy who gave us pamphlets last week) who is this really awesome guy that just wants to learn. He has an incredible testimony of Jesus Christ and teaching him about the restored gospel went very well considering he is an active Baptist.

The Relief Society dinner was so fun and it was a good chance to get to know some of our members more! Jena, our new member, was there! It's so awesome to see her thriving.

Other funny moments from exchanges include my cookout drive thru disaster and Sister Williams waking up at 1am. So Sister Williams and I wanted a little treat at the end of the night so we went to get shakes at Cookout. But in the process I passed up both the ordering mic and the drive thru window and had to back up twice! I also went over the curb and almost hit a car when turning back onto the street. All this happened within like 10 minutes. It was hilarious !

That night at 1am (probably due to the shake) I had to wake up and correct my blood sugar. Sister Williams however thought that it was 6:30 and we were getting up for the day so she went to sit in the living room. I thought that was strange but I didn't say anything. I just went back to bed and eventually she followed so it wasn't until morning that I found out what was happening. lol.

Now for a quick update on our friend who lives in Pakistan that we found on social media! He is so pure and literally has so much faith! He really wants a way to be involved in the church and in missionary work! His dream is to teach the enslaved Christians about The Book of Mormon. And last week he made all these plans to teach the orphans that he does service for! We love his ambition but we were like Ahtsham! One thing at a time bro, just focus on finding the church first. We need more friends like Ahtsham. That would make missionary work way easier haha! We haven't found him a congregation in Pakistan yet but we have hope there is one. He's gonna go on the hunt next time he travels to the city so we'll see.

Shoutouts:

--To Sister Jones and Sister Livingston just cause I love them!

Highlights:

–Lesson with Kei. He quit smoking and became a grandpa! We wanna finally put him on-date soon.

--Pam is still doing amazing! In fact, we asked her to pray about baptism!

–Member meals!

–Church was so so good! Jesús spoke and did amazing! And the Sunday school lesson on Christ’s atonement was so inspired.

–We gave out a few BoMs!

–Leaky sink = fixed.

–Became quite the baker this week, bread and muffins.

--Conference next weekend!

–Finally met THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND, (and the owner of the prosthetic leg left in our apartment) ... Charles Mickey Brown!! He is no longer a missing person! Welcome back Mickey!

--Also finally met Hector!! He is one of our new members that just kinda dropped off the face of the earth long before I got here. He surprised us by coming to church! We're so happy for him and hope to see him coming back! (pro tip: heart-attacking doors works.)

Lowlights:

–Scary dogs (Like for real this giant German Shepherd was literally body slamming a screen door trying to attack us. I'm liking dogs less and less and I didn't like them much to begin with!)

– Pine Tree Pollen (I've never seen anything like it, it literally covers everything. Even our shoes get coated in it.)

--We had a really awesome on the spot lesson with the sweetest lady but she texted us the next day and said she wasn't interested anymore and we could come get our book back if we wanted.

--Got yelled at on a Sunday folks, A Sunday!! And he even said he was a Christian!

–STILL BEING SICK.

Spiritual thought:

2 Nephi 31:20

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

Steadfast and Immovable by Silvia H. Allred:

“Our faith and steadfastness in Christ will give us the courage and confidence we need to face life’s challenges, which are part of our mortal experience…Our best effort is all He requires from us, and each of us is needed in building up the kingdom. The Atonement is real. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I testify that if we are faithful and endure to the end, we will receive all of Heavenly Father’s blessings, even eternal life and exaltation.”

The word “steadfast” is one that has stood out to me in my studies lately. Being steadfast includes commitment, courage, dedication, dependability, diligence, endurance, faithfulness, integrity, loyalty, obedience, and perseverance. I know that as we are steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ and in keeping God's commandments that we will receive the fullness of blessings that our Heavenly Father has to offer His children. He loves us more than we can comprehend and wants to bless us. I invite y'all to ponder what being steadfast means to you.

Love you guys! Don't forget to watch General Conference this weekend! Shoot me an email about which talk was your favorite!

Peace and Love,

Sister Kendrick

Pictures:

Sister Ken Ken and Sister Jones

Mission Phone Wallpaper

The Sisters!

Exchanges!

Pine Tree Pollen got my allergies going

Coating everything

It's everywhere!

Sister Jones acting out the Brother of Jared! haha