Thank You, Mr. Gardener

Hola todos!

I hope that you all had an amazing week!

We had a couple more lessons with Elias last week. He is amazing! Unfortunately, he won't be able to be baptized for a while. We are trying to help him become friends with the ward members so that he can continue learning with them and stay motivated. Then we will visit him once a week to help him continue progressing toward baptism. 

Last week, we were notified that Hermana McInnes' Visa is ready. She will be heading to her original assignment in Ecuador at the end of this transfer. We were both pretty shocked that it was ready so soon. Usually we don't get our transfer news until a few days before transfer day, so its weird to already know that she will be transferring. I'm sad to know that she will be leaving, but I'm excited for her to get to Ecuador. She will continue to be amazing there. We are still enjoying all of the time that we have left together before then.

We stopped by a bunch of inactive members last week. Only a couple of them actually answered the door, but we left notes for the rest. We were a little sad that we didn't get to meet more of them. However, on Sunday, the majority of them came to church! We were able to get to know them and even set up some visits! 

The cute senior couple in our apartment complex invited us over to have peach shakes. I had actually never had a peach shake, but it was so good! Then they recommended a few restaurants to try. One of them was called Seydi's and had Salvadoran food. We ended up not having dinner scheduled with anyone that night, so we decided to try it. It was amazing! One of the great things about Arizona is that there are so many foods to try from different Spanish-speaking countries.

We had Zone Conferene last week. It was President and Sister Fisk's first Zone Conference here. It was amazing! Our doctrinal focus for this transfer is the Law of the Harvest. During Zone Conference, we talked about how there is a season for everything. We all go through different seasons throughout our lives. There are also different seasons within missionary work. Sometimes we need to focus our efforts on strengthening the ward and other times our focus is on helping our friends make the last few steps before baptism. Sometimes we are having to stop teaching people who aren't ready to progress so that we can find those who are. I've been thinking a lot about this last season of starting fresh with finding new people to teach. It reminds me of the analogy of the currant bush by Elder Hugh B. Brown. Elder Brown talked about a currant bush on his farm that had grown over six feet tall. It was nearly all wood and no blossoms. Elder Brown cut the currant bush down to the stump. As he looked at it, he felt that it asked him "how could you do this to me?" The currant bush thought that it was growing so well because it was almost as tall as some of the other trees. Then Elder Brown said "Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.'" We all go through different seasons or stages of life. Sometimes we feel like we are doing everything right. Then we are faced with a trial that seems impossible to overcome. During these times, we may be tempted to ask why we have been cut down. I know that during these times, God is lovingly redirecting us to become the person that he wants us to be. He is the gardener. He knows our potential, and He knows what it will take for us to reach it. I would like to invite you all to look at whatever trial you may be facing right now through the eyes of the gardener. Instead of wondering why you are having to face that trial, try to figure out what God wants you to learn from it and how it is helping you to become more like Christ. I testify that trials are an opportunity for positive growth. God will not give us any trial that we cannot overcome without His help. I testify that God loves you. He wants what is best for you, and He will help you to become the best version of you. I bear my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all! Have an amazing week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Kendrick
















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