D.O.G. | Depend On God...August 17, 2017...Week 45

i'm baaaaaaack. sorry folks for the long wait but our p-day got pushed to thursday, which made for a super long week. but we survived. thankfully!

alrighty, first things first, my new companion is sister southwick and i LOVE her! she is so cute and so ready to work hard. i mean what more could you ask for?! oh right shes from california as well, so all in all this is going to be a great transfer. it was quite a funny start though. i ended up sitting behind all the new missionaries and so before the meeting started i got to talk with all of them. it was kind of fun knowing that i would be training one of them, but that they didn't know that. well the new missionaries got assigned to their trainers one by one and then sister southwick was called to stand up. she stood up, stood there for a minute, and then it was realized that President hadn't written my name down to be her trainer and so they had no idea who her trainer was. so they had her sit back down and called everyone else. finally at the end it was just sister southwick sitting in the front and me sitting behind her and all the missionaries sitting behind us. finally President got up and just started to scan the room looking for her trainer when all the missionaries behind us just started pointing at me and it was then that he remembered, and called our names. everyone was laughing, we were laughing and it literally has been that way since. we laugh all day!  like i said this is going to be a good one!

johnny is still going strong and getting ready for his baptism. we were able to have an awesome lesson with his family this past sunday about the spirit, and man it was SO strong. that will probably be a moment i will never forget on my mission. im so excited for him and this journey that he is on towards baptism.

we have been tracting a TON lately and that always make for some good stories. like the one about how there was an ice cream truck and so we flagged them down and got ourselves some ice cream. or the one about how this man opened the door with just a shirt covering him saying, "oh honey im completely naked". like no sir, you did not have to answer the door then. okay? okay. or the one where we ran into a preacher who wanted us to believe in his Jesus. because you know, they're different...or the one where they give you dr. peppers and want you to take a picture with them in their new hat. aww fun times. gotta love tracting!!

we were able to attend the temple today and man it was just what we needed. so good as always!!

here is one of my new favorite scriptures talking about Christ. It says, 1 Nephi 19:9 "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." so perfectly summed up! i know my Savior lives and He loves each one of us!

i hope yall have a blessed week!

love always,

sister kennedy

we're all married to Jesus.....?...August 7, 2017...week 44

hey yall!!

this week was a good one. sad to say though that johnny's baptism got pushed to september 2nd, but we truly feel as if this will be the best thing for him! and we are so excited to work towards this new goal for him!!

transfer news! so we got the call saturday night, and we were the last ones they called. like how horrible is that??? normally we get our calls at 9pm but we didn't get ours till about 10:10. so it was just and hour of us sitting there waiting in anticipation. it was the worst thing ever! but the call came and we finally got our news. the trio days have sadly ended. sister pond will be headed to a little town called fayette, sister humphreys will be headed to florence to serve with the homie SISTER WINTER! and i will be staying in anniston training a new missionary. so i dont know who it is yet but i am so excited to meet her and i can't wait to show her anniston and introduce her to all the amazing people here!!

so our washer and dryers got taken away about 2 months ago so every week we've been having to go to a laundro-mat. well one day we were studying outside the laundro-mat and some man was getting into his car and saw that were studying out of books of scripture and goes "is that a good book cause ive heard its a good one! i love that book!" obviously he thought it was the bible but little did he know it was the book of mormon and that is actually is a great book! well he drove away before we could say anything but i just love the south and that something like that is not out of the ordinary!

met some lady who legit had a PET ALLIGATOR. like one that lived in her house. had a t-shirt on it and everything. it was still a baby but like at least 4ft. long, and that was only a baby! we asked if she was going to keep it a house pet like even when it got big and she was like of course..why wouldn't i?? like that was the dumbest question we ever asked hahah. we were like oh okay..aren't you scared it'll eat you or attack you?? and shes all like, nope you just dont go near it after 5. like yup okay smart choice.

had a man stop us in the mall to ask us if we were married and when we told him no, he responded with thats good, cause were all married to Jesus. i dont think any of us said anything for at least a solid 10 seconds. like what the heck??? people here are so interesting i love them so much

had a member feed us steak this week. i mean blessings from on high!!! thank you sister tola!!

we have been helping this cute older couple with their family history and this past thursday they surprised us with a pizza party! how cute is that! so after eating all the pizza we could and doing some family history we went to go shake the man's hand (who has dementia and sometimes forgets things) and he tried to kiss sister humphreyson the nose! it was the cutest and funniest thing ever! thankfully his wife quickly ran over and saved sister humphreys but man we all did get a good laugh out of it!

taught a lesson to our investigator melvin yesterday and when he asked us how we get paid, the member that went with us told him that we don't get paid and actually pay to come on our missions. melvin was so taken aback for a second and then quickly pulled out his wallet and started to hand each of us $100 bills. we were so shocked we didn't know what to do hahah but thankfully the member stepped in and said "oh no they can't accept money either" which made melvin really sad, but we couldn't help but just laugh that this man had so quickly pulled out his wallet and was trying to give us cash. well instead he gave us a bag of chips and we gladly accepted. fast sundayblessings am i right?!

saw a quote on lds.org that said, "when you reach for the Sacrament, you reach for the Savior" and i just love that. 

i love yall and hope that you have a blessed week!!

love always,

sister kennedy

MOMMM THE BOOK CLUB IS HERE!...July 31, 2017...week 43

hey yall! You know it's been a good week when you don't know which line to put as your weekly title because they're all just so good!

well first things first Olivia came to church YAY!!! and absolutely loved it! we still aren't able to set a bap date due to extended family that doesn't want her to be baptized but oh well! she loves the gospel and everything about it and can't wait for the day she actually gets to be baptized! she talks all about "when i get baptized..." and i love it. ahh i love her so much!

we had our third lesson with johnny (the 12 year old boy of the part member family) and he is getting ready for his baptism on august 12th! we are so excited for him and for what this will mean for him! we were able to have 2 of his member friends there and i think that helped so much. so grateful for this ward and for their willingness to do missionary work.

we also had a lesson with this man named melvin and we were able to bring Brother Stewart along with us. they both served in the army for 20+ years and hit it off right away. it was really cool too because bro stewart is a convert of 14 years+/- and so he was able to talk to melvin about that journey that he went through and how its very similar with he one melvin is going through right now. it was there that we found out that brother stewart got a copy of the Book of Mormon form the missionaries and 4 days later had read the whole thing. 531 pages and all. like what?! he just knew it was true from the moment he read it and couldn't put it down. brother stewart is awesome!!

had tacos at the Andersons for dinner one night and guess what hot sauce they pulled out. tapitio. i swear probably the only people in alabama who even knows what it is! it's the little things yall.

was teaching this man who told us the funniest story! he told us how he walked into work and said to this lady "good morning how are you doin today?" in which she responded, "great! I am just so blessed! how about you?" in which he responded, " im great too! the Lord has just blessed me abundantly!" to which she got this super mad look on her face and responded in a sassy way, "why you think you more blessed than i am?!? hmm?? do you think you better than me or somethin??" this man was so taken aback he said he just walked away. all of us were dyin listening to this story. only in the south yall only in the south...

store contacting in walmart and heard over the loudspeaker, "JOSEPH SMITH TO THIS AREA. I REPEAT JOSEPH SMITH TO THIS AREA" i mean is that not a sign to join the mormon church or what?!? i mean when you here the prophet's name at walmart it has to mean that it's all true. it has to.

hit my 10 month mark on friday. man that's weird. only 8 left. that's sad. anyway moving on we got krispy kreme to celebrate so it wouldn't be too sad so yay for a dozen donuts from the best place ever (besides buttercream of course! if anyone knows how and would like to send me a custard filled maple bar with bacon on top from there, feel free to. im just sayin)but ya got donuts from krispy kreme and its like i could almost here blake in the background going "you should get another dozen just for me!" 

knocked on a door, they answered and quickly said "no thank you we believe in the true gospel" *slams the door* literally i cant help but laugh so hard when door slams occur like this! 

we've been teaching this one lady named louvenia and she has the CUTEST daughter ever! shes about 5 and every time we come over she answers the door (oh her name is zekorea by the way! like how cute is that!! her mom really like the name korea but wanted to add a little somethin more to it and so from thence comes the name zekorea)  but yes! every time we come by she answers the door and yells up the stairs "MOMMM THE BOOK CLUB IS HEREEE!" ahh i just love it every time! if and i do say so myself, i think our book club is the best.

Jesus is the Living Christ! The Book of Mormon is true! His gospel is restored on the earth! How grateful am i for this knowledge!! fun video to watch for the day or for FHE! The description for this video goes : Don’t let the whirlwinds drag you down. These are your days—to stand strong as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzWXSz9hlxw

i hope yall have a blessed week, not blessed too abundantly, but blessed just enough. we wouldn't want to make anyone mad or anything!

love always,

sister kennedy

y'all wanna come in for bible study??...July 24, 2017...week42

why hello everybody!! *michael scott voice*

i hope this week was as good for yall as it was for me! i know this week was full of funny moments that had me dying laughing and yet i just can't seem to rmember them and ugh that's frustrating. im gonna have to start writing them down during the week.

well i know one thing for sure and that is the humidity is coming in strong. so. much. fun. i just LOVE sweating the very second we step outside. ohh gotta love the south. i mena it's not horrible but im pretty sure its going to get worse and then it will be so I'll keep yall updated on how things go!

we went tracting a ton this week which i guess is normal but the heat just makes it DRAG on. but that's okay we have this thing where we try to see who can look the best before they open the door because we all know we be lookin SO rough. like sweaty hair stuck to face, makeup underneath our eyes rough. it keeps us laughing and makes tracting bearable

went on an exchange this week with sister madsen. blessings from on high! it was so fun and i had a great time! went tracting and got some sprite form this family so we legit were just tracting going door to door with opened sodas in our hands but i think the best part of the night was when we got invited in for a bible study. the man opened the door, saw that we were missionaries and said "hey yall wanna come in were having a bible study??" and sister madsen and i got all excited and started saying ya we'd love to as were taking steps into this person's house but little did we know that he wasn't finished with his sentence. so in all he actually said "hey yall wanna come in were having a bible study *let us walk forward a bit to come inside* JUST KIDDING! *slammed the door in our face and turned off the porch lights all in the same moment* quite impressive if i do say so myself. best door slam ive ever gotten. sister madsen and i just sat there in the dark (it was like 8:30pm) not knowing what just happened. we just turned around laughed it off and enjoyed our sprites. funniest thing ever.

do yall remember cute little olivia that went to girls camp?? well this past week we got to sit down in her home and teach her the restoration lesson and she LOVEd it. the spirit was SO strong, probably one of the strongest times i've ever felt teaching the restoration and when we were describing what the Spirit feels like, she stopped us and said, " I think I'm feeling that right now. Yes I feel that." like so cute! ahh i love that girl!

pioneer day is today and so we had a fun zone activity in BHAM and got to watch 17 miracles. blessings from on high! also we had the best sunday yesterday! we sang with our 8 person choir in church yesterday and then got to hang out in primary and help them with their pioneer activities! got to wear bonnets and everything! gotta love mormon culture.

well i hope yall have a blessed week and if you ever get the chance to, watch 17 miracels. is a great movie about the pioneers. it sounds weird but its amazing and powerful and i just love it!!

love always,

sister kennedy

it was ice cream from the Lord...July 17, 2017...week 41

hey you guys! is it bad that saying you guys sounds weird to me and im not even saying it out loud. im literally just saying it in my head and its weird. oh gosh i've been here too long. jk i love the south and i love saying yall and im going to try my hardest to get everyone back home to say it on a regular basis within a month. wish me luck

this week was a great one! we we're able to teach a lot of lessons, meet a lot of people, and hand out a TON of Book of Mormons, which is like my favorite thing ever. we have a lot of great people that we are working with and we are excited to see how the gospel will bless their lives.

update on our cute little 8 yr old lexi! she will be baptized not this saturday but next and we are so so so excited for her!!

got to go up to Madison this week for zone conference and i absolutely LOVED it. it was exactly what i needed and honestly a turning point i feel for me. i am grateful for President and Sister Sainsbury and all the hard work they do and i just love them so much!!

plus we got to spend the night in madison since it was about 3 hours away and guess whose place i got to spend the night at?!?!? sis willy's!! ahh i've missed that girl. tender mercies from the Lord.

went tracting a lot this week and one night we were knocking doors at about 8:45pm and no one was answering and we were just about to head back to the apartment but decided to knock just a couple more till we had to go in. the very next door we knocked was on nancy's carport side door (because the front door had been covered with a hug spiderweb which occupied a huge spider. thank you but no thank you.) well she opened it right away because she was eating some ice cream for a late night snack in the kitchen. it was approximately still 80 degrees outside and so seeing us looking rough and sweaty she let us come in right away and have some ice cream with her. i mean can you say miracle or what?? it's the little things yall! anyone who knows me knows that i LOVE ice cream and i had just vowed to not eat it for a month but you guys. but i was craving some ice cream real bad and when someone offers you something you don't say no. and the Lord knew of this rule of politeness we have and so He knew i would have to eat it and so really all in all it was just a huge blessing. God is good yall. plus we got to introduce nancy to the Book of Mormon and she just loved it! we're going back to see her soon and i'll keep yall updated!

we got a call this past week from a member that is from alaska visiting his father and step-mom here in alabama. well he felt impressed to give them both a blessing due to some health problems that his dad was facing and so we were able to help get that all  in order for him with priesthood members form the ward here in anniston. we were actually able to sit in on those blessings and it was probably one of the most powerful moments on my mission. I am so grateful that the priesthood authority of God has been restored to this earth and that you can see His power in simple blessings of comfort given to those in need and healing blessings given to the sick. it truly is a gift that we are able to have this priesthood in our own homes. well after that beautiful experience we all shared together we are now buddies with Judy and Sam, his parents. He has gone back to alaska and so we've decided to start hanging out with them! they are so cute and we have plans to go back and play some games with them. ahh i love them already!!

trio life is fun as always! we are just having a party!! sister humphreys showed us the other night some really intense karate moves and had both sister pond and i pinned to the ground. yall she is tiny but mighty!! 

well i think that's about it for this week! i came across this video about service this past week and i think this has become my new favorite mormon message ever!! and that is saying something! just take 10 min out of your day, i know i know it's long but it is SO worth it!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAuqdPWTGLI

well i love yall! have blessed week!  feed the missionaries, share the gospel, read the book of mormon! (i feel like those should be the new go to answers in church. im gonna make it happen!)

alright bye!!

love, sister kennedy

"i'd be honored to me you"...July 10, 2017...week 40

first off happy 4th yall! i hope that you guys had a fun day and that it was filled with fireworks! i know mine was. we went to the lake right by our house talked to the ten million people that were there. at one point this boy named alex came up to us and asked us what we were doing and so we told him. at first we were a little hesitant but then saw his real intentions and ended up teaching him the restoration with pre-show fireworks going off in the background and everything. he gladly accepted the Book of Mormon and was so excited that there was another book of scripture. probably one of the funnest first lessons i have ever taught!

we had our last lesson with our cute little 9 yr olds and they are just the sweetest! we were able to teach them all the lessons within about a week so that was fun being able to see them everyday! we came one day and they had made us all this jewelry and so we gladly put it all on right then and there and then wore it for all our other lessons with them and promised we would wear them at their baptism! Celeste, one of the girls said that as she was praying to Heavenly Father the night before she told Him "I'd be honored to me You." is that not just the cutest thing you ever did hear? oh my heart!!

a sister from our ward had us come over and learn how to make and can salsa using tomatoes straight from her garden. it was so fun and definitely a learning experience! i can now say i know how to somewhat can food so if ever need help just ask me and id be happy to get you in contact with someone who actually knows what they are doing!

there was a family owned BBQ food truck at the 4th of July celebration at the lake and all the family was sitting outside the truck. we quickly learned their story and became homies and man i just love the south. as we were leaving they were all like come on girls looks like yall need hugs bring it in!! and then we went around getting hugs from everyone at the truck! did i say that i love the south?!? because i do!

drew the Plan of Salvation in the park near  our house! that was fun felt like a little kid again!!

met this man named aaron yesterday at church visiting from NY. he is a recovered alcholic and drug addict and has just about the coolest story ever. he's been clean for quite some time and now has the cutest little family that is strong in the gospel. and he owes it all to that. this gospel and finding Christ. he gave us the best advice on what to say to someone when you see them struggling to try to get clean. " i love you" and i know that we hear it all the time but hearing it from him was something special and more meaningful knowing how much of an impact those words can have. 

in the spirit of it being the 4th i want to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon that prophesies about the land it takes place on. aka the americas cause you know the Book of Mormon takes place int h ancient americas starting around 600bc anyways:

Mosiah 29: 32 And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.

i am grateful for this gospel and for the knowledge I have of my Savior. and i am grateful for this free land to be able to tell others of this knowledge freely. i know that freedom isn't free and so I am grateful to those who sacrifice so that we may continue to have this right! i hope yall have a blessed week!!

love always,

sister kennedy

what day is it?!? HUMP DAY...July 3, 2017...week 39

*mrs. doubtfire's voice* why HEllloooooooooo. sorry just felt like shaking things up for todays hello. and legit when typing that i just wrote sister doubtfire. gosh i am such a missionary.... anyways heres my week for yall. sorry for wasting 10 seconds of your life with that weird intro

went on a hike on monday and got stung by a sweat bee. was fine all day until the next morning i woke up and my eye was swelled shut. got better throughout the day but was still a little swollen at transfers ughh.  oh well it made just about everyone we see laugh so at least it brightened up their day i guess.

got the glorious news that because theres gonna be a trio we couldnt fit in our old apartment so we got to leave that place and go to new apartment HALLELUJER legit almost cried when i got the news. so tuesday we spent all day packing and moving homes and saying goodbye to everyone. it was quite the day.

had to go to transfers because sister durbin left ughhh miss that girl but got my new companions sister pond and sister humphreys. seriously the cutest girls ever!! this is gonna be a fun transfer for sure. and the new apartment definitely helps with that one. guys i can actually sleep through the night with the lights off. it is amazing. didn't realize how sleep deprive i was because of hat place but this last week it hit me and man im exhausted but oh well. i guess well just keep on keeping on.

met a lady that told us how she was saved from the streets from doing 20 years of crack and prostitution and never once got aids so blessings. one way to look on the bright side of things in life am i right?? she then proceeded to pray for us and even slipped in a little speakin in tongues.

had a little kid yell out in Sacrament "no! i want another cup because im still thirsty!!!" hahah kid just keepin it real

had a man give us some great advice at the amazing hobby lobby(like the best store in the entire world) he said, 'being a good Christian is not just refraining from sin, it's being like Jesus." i love the south!

teaching this little 9 yr old girl named Lexi who is picking between two baptism dates for this month! we are so excited for her and she is just the cutest thing ever! all during Sacrament Meeting yesterday she would turn around and wave and smile to us. cutest thing ever!

also teaching this lady named Crystal! she has the sweetest spirit and im am so grateful that we are able to teach her. she is a seeker of truth and is very interested in the Mormon church. she told us "you know i was raised southern baptist so this will be a little bit of a change but im excited" and then at our lesson she asked if we wanted anything top drink "water? lemonade? sweet tea?" and then stopped herself and said "Oh wait. do WE drink sweet tea?" ahh i just love her and am so excited to keep working with her and her husband Sam!

WOAHHHHHHH HALFWAY THEREEEEE WOAHHHHH LIVIN ON A PRAYER!!!!! yall i hit my 9 month mark on wednesday and it's a little strange to think about. halfway done. a little sad, a little confused that it's gone by so fast, and a little concerned that i still have 9 months left. im just kidding really i think im just pushing it out of my mind so i don;t have to actually think about how one day i won't be on my mission because that is just a little too much to think about at the moment. i am so grateful or the experiences i have had so far on my mission and i will treasure them always. heres to 9 more months!!  here's on of my favorite scriptures at the moment to celebrate!! Ether 12:11 " Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled." I know that this gospel is the more excellent way and I am so grateful for that. The gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I am grateful for this knowledge and I hope that yall have a blessed week!

love always,

sister kennedy