Conversion

¡Hola a todos!

I'm officially back in Paradise Valley! My new companion is Hermana Shaw. She's from the same stake in Arkansas as Hermana Shefchik, one of my past companions. She is very diligent and excited to be a missionary. Its going to be an awesome transfer! 

During my last night in Mesa, we had a lesson with our friend Luis Enrique. He came to church with his wife, Marisela, a couple of weeks earlier. He told us that he was super interested in meeting with us, but he didn't think his wife would be because she attended another church. However, she joined us for our lesson, and we talked about prayer. Luis shared his past experience with prayer and we talked about how we receive answers to our prayers through the Holy Ghost. We were about to explain some different ways that we can feel the Holy Ghost then Marisela started crying. The Spirit in the room was strong and we were able to help Marisela recognize that she was feeling the Spirit. I have never felt the Spirit so strongly in the home of someone that I've taught. Luis and Marisela have a 3 year old son, and they truly are a special family. I'm so excited to hear about their progress! 

Hermana Petranek and I were companions for a few days after transfers since the trainees didn't get here until later in the week. On my first day back in Vía Verde, the Elders that we share the ward with told Hermana Petranek and I that we would be having dinner that night with the Irula-Martinez family. Then they told us that the parents, Shirley and Miguel, were getting married the next day! Shirley and Miguel are two people that I visited the first time that I served in Vía Verde. I was so excited to hear that they were finally going to get married! We went to dinner that night then went to the wedding the next day. Now we are going to be planning for their baptism!  

Daniel and Marisol got baptized yesterday! Hermana Shaw and I were able to go back to Mesa for the baptism. I sat in-between Marisol and Sister Julianna Larson. Sister Larson is the owner of the Refugee Center that Daniel and Marisol showed up to by accident when they first got to Mesa. They were trying to find a different place, but God led them to where they needed to be. When they got to the Refugee Center, Sister Larson called President and Sister Valle because she needed someone to translate. The Valles drove over and got to know Daniel and Marisol. They also invited them to attend church and meet with us. We had our first lesson with Daniel and Marisol a few days later, and they have been 100% committed since then. During the baptismal service, I thought about this chain of events that happened in order to get Daniel and Marisol to where they are now. It's amazing to see that God's hand was in every moment. Daniel and Marisol's story is a testament that God is in the details and there really are no coincidences in life.

During church yesterday, we studied a General Conference talk by Elder Valeri V. Cordón. In his talk, Elder Cordón said that "Accidental conversion is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Conversion requires daily effort. Becoming like Jesus Christ does not happen merely by chance. President Nelson said that “God will do everything He can, short of violating your agency, to help you not miss out on the greatest blessings in all eternity.” God wants us to return to live with Him again and enjoy all of the blessings that He does. However, He will not force us onto the straight and narrow path-we have choose to get on it and stay on it. I testify that faith is an action word. Faith in Jesus Christ leads us to pray, read the scriptures, and attend church. I would like to invite you all to make these things a priority in your life. I know that it is by doing these things that we become more converted to Jesus Christ and His Gospel. I testify that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is also your personal Savior. I know that He loves each of us and will never leave us alone. Of these things I testify in His name, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

I love you all! Have an amazing week! 

Con Amor,
Hermana Kendrick

















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Power Of The Book Of Mormon

Image
¡Hola amigos y familiares! It was a busy week with Zone Conference and lots of lessons with our friends. There is so much work to do in this area and its awesome!  Our friend Blanca and her two kids, Ashley and Gael, told us that they want to be baptized but aren't quite ready to set a date. Blanca is a little nervous about being baptized because her extended family isn't very supportive of her wanting to join our church. We had one of our lessons with Blanca at the Laytons house, and the Laytons did an amazing job of responding to some of her worries. We are continuing to pray that her and her kids will be ready to set a baptismal date soon.  Daniel and Marisol are doing so well! Last week, they told us that they are ready to change what they need to and commit to following Jesus Christ. They come to every church activity and refer to the branch members as their family. It has been so neat to see how quickly they connected with the branch, and now you would think that they...
Read more

I Made It To Phoenix!

Image
Hola everyone! I made it to Phoenix! My mission President and his wife (President and Sister Eyre) are amazing! I already love them so much. My companion is Sister Farnsworth. She's great! She's been serving for 14 months, so her Spanish is really good. She does most of the talking in our lessons haha.  When I was getting ready to leave the MTC, the wheels on one of my luggages broke. Two of the guys working at the reception desk tried to tape them on for me. Needless to say, the airport was an interesting experience. Before I left the MTC, I received a priesthood blessing from one of the Elders in my district. During the blessing, the Spirit in the room was so strong. I know that the words the Elder said were from God. I was able to feel the comfort I needed before coming to Arizona. I am so thankful for the priesthood and priesthood blessings. I know that priesthood power truly is from God.  My final devotional at the MTC was a video of Elder David A. Bednar. He talked about...
Read more

Be In The World

Image
Hola a todos!  I hope that you're all doing well! We had another lesson with the Romero family and they are doing so well! Their goal this year as a family is to come to all of the branch activities. They have lots of friends in the branch and the members have been great at helping them feel welcome. We have been praying hard for the Romero family to open up more, and every lesson it seems like they feel a little more comfortable with us.  Last week was Zone Conference week, and President Fisk introduced a new mission initiative called "the lost coin." As a mission, we started teaching quite a few people last year but only a small percentage of them ended up getting baptized. This year, we are going to focus more on using the tools that we have to find those who were taught by missionaries last year and in years passed. Then we are going to check up on them and see how we can help them to continue learning. We have lots of amazing tools as missionaries and it will be awes...
Read more