The Love Of God

Hola todos!

I hope that you are all doing well and that you felt God's love for you this past week!

We visited an inactive member in the ward named Evangelina. She wasn't home, but there was a man sitting in his car by her house. We decided to talk to him. His name was Raul. We ended up giving him our number and a pamphlet about the Restoration of the Gospel. A few hours later, he called us and said that he wanted to learn more! We were able to have a lesson with him a few days later and teach him more about the Restoration. He said that he had been searching for Christ but couldn't find Him. As we starting teaching the lesson, he told us that he knows that now is the time for him. It was a very special lesson, and the Spirit in the room was strong. 

Every Wednesday, we do service at a food bank called St. Mary's. It's a big food bank, and they have a whole assembly line going and everything! 50 or more volunteers go each week to help pack boxes of food for those in need. Together, we are able to pack around 1,500 boxes of food within about 2 hours! It's an amazing organization.

We have been trying to do better at taking photos with the members that we eat dinner with. Last week, we ate with the Garcia family at their sushi restaurant. We also ate with Hermana Daniela and her daughter Angelique at a cute crepe place and with the Rodriguez family at their house. It's so fun to be able to eat dinner with the members in the ward and get to know them better. 

We went to an apartment complex called Rise to visit a few people who had talked to missionaries before. As we were walking, we stopped to talk to a man that was standing on his front porch. His name is Carlos. He didn't know when he would be available for a visit, but he gave us his phone number so that we could figure out a day to visit him. The next day, we texted him but we got a message saying that the number was invalid. We didn't know if he had purposely given us the wrong number or if we put it in wrong, so we decided to visit him last night to see. He ended up letting us in for a visit, and we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel. The lesson went really well, and Carlos wants to continue learning! It turns out that his phone number is a WhatsApp number, and thats why we got a message saying that the number was invalid. 

We had a visit with a recent convert in our ward named Bryan. He's in high school, and he's the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in his family. His mom was taught by missionaries a little bit in the past and came to church once. His grandma is very active in another church and has never been taught by missionaries. She is always home when we visit Bryan, and she greets us when we get there but leaves as soon as we start the lesson. Yesterday, we were greeting people as they came into the church building for Sacrament meeting. Bryan walked in and told us that his family was in the car but they would be coming in in a few minutes. We were like WHAT!? Bryan's mom, grandma, and little brother all came to Sacrament meeting! It was a special experience to be able to explain the Sacrament to Bryan's grandma as she watched Bryan prepare and bless the Sacrament. She was so proud of him. 

We had Zone Conference last week. It was amazing as always. I was able to see my past companions Hermana Morgan and Hermana Curbelo. I love them so much! The mission focus for this transfer is on our divine identity as children of God. Several of the talks that were given were about love. President Eyre read 4 Nephi 1:15-16. In this chapter, the Nephites and the Lamanites are all converted unto the Lord. In verses 15-16, it says "And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people... and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God." When we truly love God with all of our heart, there is no room for contention. As I thought about these verses and contention itself, I realized that it can be easy to fall victim to the natural man and have a spirit of contention. However, as President Nelson said in his talk from last General Conference titled Peacemakers Needed, "One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people." When we truly understand the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us, we have a greater desire to love others. Although many of you have probably already read or listened to this talk by President Nelson, I would like to invite you to do so again. As you do, think about and write down the things or people that you feel contention towards in your life. Then make a plan to get rid of that contention. I know that as we make a conscious effort to eliminate contention from our lives, we will become like the people in 4 Nephi 1. When there is no contention and the love of God dwells in our hearts, surely there cannot be a happier people. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us, and they want us to love one another. They will help us as we strive to get rid of the contention in our lives. I bear my testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

I love you all!

Con Amor,
Hermana Kendrick






















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