Final Testimony From the Field

Wow!!!!! 18 fast Sundays, 1 Birthday, 2 Christmases, lots of tears and fears later and I am at the computer for the last time on my mission.  It came A LOT faster than I thought.  If I were to sum it up into one thing that I have learned on my mission is how to live the gospel of Jesus Christ or how to be a member of the gospel of Jesus Christ.    President Monson told us in the General Conference in Nov of 2014

"We need not walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked. All of us can walk the path He walked when, with His words ringing in our ears, His Spirit filling our hearts, and His teachings guiding our lives, we choose to follow Him as we journey through mortality."

Living the gospel and being a member of the church of Jesus Christ means that we have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father we trust them.  We are truly repentant and strive every day to live a Christ centered life every day.  We worthily take the sacrament each Sunday to renew the promise we made at baptism that we would follow Him.  We are striving to listen and live worthy to the Holy Ghost.  Finally we enjoy or endure to the end.  We constantly strive to be the best we can be or do the things that our Savior Jesus Christ would do.  I LOVE this gospel and I cannot imagine life without it.  I know that this church is true!!!  I know that our Savior Jesus Christ came to this earth and suffered for our sins and felt the heartaches that we face in life.  I know that He is there to help us when we can’t bear it anymore.  I know that our Heavenly Father loves us more than we can imagine.  I know that they restored their church through the prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that he translated the Book of Mormon and that by reading the Book of Mormon we can come to know who our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father are.  I know we have a prophet here upon the earth today named Thomas S. Monson.  We get to hear from him in just two Sundays!!!!!  I LOVE this gospel!!!  I LOVE being a missionary.  I am so grateful for the experiences I have had.  The people I have been able to meet and love.  

I love and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!

Nos vemos pronto!!!!

Hermana Kent

March 14, 2016 - Working Together

We had such a neat experience this week!!!!  Hermana Moore and I were able to travel about an hour away from our area to an area here in Lujan called Mercedes.  We were able to be there for a day working with members throughout the district and other missionaries throughout the zone!!!  President Robertson was able to come and be a part of this activity!!!!  It was so neat how much we work we were able to do!!!   We started working early in the morning and worked up until the afternoon.  We then ate lunch and the members started a soccer game!!!  I went with a sister and the district President and visited a less active member.  We were able to talk to him and help him feel the sprit and the love of our Heavenly Father and invite him to come back to church!!!!  It was so neat to see the whole district and a number of us missionaries come together and find and teach so many people in such little time. 

I LOVE missionary work!!!  I know it is the work of the Lord so that all have the opportunity to hear of his gospel and accept it in their lives.  I know that this church is true!!!  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us more than we can even possibly understand.  I know that this is their church and they guide it through a living prophet!!!  I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of this dispensation.  I know that that through him the true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored.  I know that our prophet Thomas S. Monson is who leads and guides us today.  How blessed are we to be able to hear from him in just about two weeks!!!  I love and miss you all lots and lots and lots!!!!

Con amor,

Hermana Kent

Heleman 5:12

This week was really great!!!!  Nothing big happened at all it just simply was another great week in the work of the Lord!!!  We were able to find investigators this week and have really great spiritual lessons with the recent converts and less active members we are working with!!!  Last night we had a great lesson with a member who was baptized almost a year ago!!!  We decided to take the invitation we were given in the last general conference to ponderize a single scripture for a week with him.  We decided to study Heleman 5:12 where it talks about building our foundation on Christ.  It promises us that if we build our foundation upon our Savior Jesus Christ we will be protected and we will not fall.  I have come to love more and more and see more and more how true this scripture is.  When we put Christ as the center of our lives He will not let us fail!!!  I am SO excited to start this challenge and continue studying the scriptures in a different way by writing them on my heart and in my mind!!! 

It sounds like Stake Conference was really great.  Ok, I agree with the mottos you all thought of:

"You don't have to be friends, but you have to be nice."

"Return With Honor,"

"Remember Who You Are and What You Stand For,"

"A Family That Works Together, Stays Together."

I would also add:

“We can do hard things.”

“Tell me about the baby and not the delivery.” (jajajajaja sorry, I just couldn’t resist)

“Leave it on the stage.”

I think all of those are things we have lived by and have been repeated over and over in our home.

I am SO grateful for church leaders who lead and guide us every day!!!  I am SO excited that already in less than a month we will be able to hear from our living prophet and apostles again!!!  I LOVE this gospel and I know that it is true!!!  I LOVE my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ!!!  I know that they live and I know that they love us way more than our human minds can understand!!!  I LOVE the Book of Mormon that the examples of ancient prophets who we are also able to learn from and follow!!!  I LOVE being a missionary!!!  I LOVE and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!!!

Con amor,

Hermana Kent

Elder Bednar

Wow this week was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!  I heard a prophet’s voice!!!!!!!  We had the incredible blessing of listening to Elder Bednar speak to us!!!!!  It was INCREDIBLE!!!!!  About 3 weeks ago we were given three talks to read about faith and about the spirit.  When he began speaking he asked us the question, ¨What did you learn?¨ He then opened it up for conversation and we were able to talk with him for two hours.  We talked about the things we learned from reading talks already given by him and were than able to learn more from other missionaries and from the spirit in the meeting!!! We even learned things that were never even said but from what the spirit was testifying to each one of us individually.  I learned from him how to better help our investigators learn by the spirit.  When we allow them to talk about what they learn and build on their knowledge it helps them understand better and have a more firm foundation!!!! 

Our investigators are struggling............It’s just that they are not progressing.  We have appointments with them and they aren’t there or they are too busy or whatever excuse. 

However, we did lots of contacting this week and are going to go back and visit those people and hopefully they will have a desire to learn and listen to us.  We are working hard to talk to everyone and find new investigators!!!!!!!  Trying to be meticulously obedient

I LOVE Hermana Chineppe a lot!!!!!!!  We have said goodbye like 3 times now thinking that it would be the last time we would see each other and I think finally it was the last time after Elder Bednar’s meeting.  I HATE goodbyes!!!!!!!!  I have definitely learned that, that friendships are eternal!!!!!!!!!

I know that our living prophet and apostles on the earth today are men that have been called by our Heavenly Father to lead and guide us through our lives.  I am so grateful to be able to learn from men who know our Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father so well.  I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life!!!!  I know that it was restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us more than we can imagine.  I know that they know what we need and when we are in need.  I LOVE thsi gospel!!!!  I am so grateful for my calling and being able to share this gospel with who will listen!!!!  I love and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!!!

Con amor,

Hermana Kent

There is a Reason for Everything!

Wow the week was SO great!!!!  Hermana Moore and I had divisions this week!!!!  It was her first division in the mission and she stayed in our area after only being here a week and two days!!!  She led the area as I left and went to another part of Lujan!!!  She is learning and growing so much!!!!!  She is being able to participate already in the lessons!!!!  She is doing AMAZING!!!!!  I am learning so much from her about faith!!!!!!  She has so much excitement to participate in the lessons!!!!!!!! 

We were able to teach to a recent convert that we are working with yesterday about the atonement!!!!  I am SO grateful for the atonement in my life!!!!!  I am grateful for every minute that I can feel it working, helping me over come challenges and difficult times!!!  Through the atonement we can take one more step every day and Heavenly Father is able to carry us through our challenges.  We are able to continue forward with faith and hope in Christ.  I love being able to see it take effect in others’ lives as they repent and enter the waters of baptism!!!!! 

I received the greatest news this week!  I get to go and be a part of a sealing of someone I taught and shared the gospel with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I taught them in my first area.  She was less active and he wasn’t a member.  He got baptized in March of last year after I left but when I went back to Hurlingham I got to see them at stake conference and talk to them about their plans to go through the temple!!!!!!!!!!  I knew it would be close.  It is the 26 of March at 1:00!!!!!!!!!!!  My last Saturday here.  This is why my mission was extended.  See there is a reason for EVERYTHING!!!!!  I can’t even stand it I am SO excited!!!!!

This week we found out that Elder Bednar will be coming to Buenos Aires and we will be able to be taught by him!!!!  I am SO excited to have to opportunity to hear from an apostle of the Lord!!!!  I am so grateful to have a living prophet and apostles to be able to lead and guide us and teach us the will of the Lord and what he wants us to be doing in our lives and learning!!!  I know that this church is true and is the Church of Jesus Christ!!! I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us more than we can imagine.  I love and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!!

Con amor,

Hermana Kent

February 15th - I'm Training!

This week has been amazing!!!!  My hijita is named Hermana Moore!!!!  She is from Virginia and Lujan is her first area!!!!!  She is the 6th of 8 kids.  She arrived here in Argentina less than a week ago!!!  We are learning so much together!!!  We are learning how to be better missionaries, how to teach better, how to help our investigators better, and we are learning how to speak Spanish!!!  It has been such a humbling experience being able to help a new missionary learn and grow and remember the exact same feelings that I had when I arrived and not being able to speak or understand anyone and always looking at my trainer for help speaking or understanding someone.  My companion is so great and we are going to learn SO much this transfer together!!!  I am SO excited to see what miracles our Heavenly Father has for us this transfer.  What hardships we are going to face, what will be the cause for our tears late at night, or what will be the cause for such joy late at night when we come home!!! 

This week we have been studying and practicing teaching the Restoration and how grateful I am for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ!!!  And the decision that Joseph Smith made to ask God which of all of the churches were true.  Yesterday we were able to practice teaching this lesson with a member!!!  My companion was able to start and lead the lesson and through her broken but progressing spanish we were able to share this message!!!  I have been so blessed in my life from the restoration. 

We don't have very many investigators and we don't have any that are progressing right this second :(  We are teaching a big family that includes the grandma her kids and their kids so that is really fun but they dont want to come to church.....

We found another investigator this week.  She wants help seeing that there is a God.  She kind of believes in God but it is hard for her to see past all the bad that is happening in the world.  And than we found a lady like a week and a half ago who is really great and needs lots of help but we havent been able to find her again.  She is so great and I have faith that she will progress we just have to find her again.   

I am so blessed to be a member of the true church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints!!!  I know that this church is true!!!  I know that the Book of Mormon is ture!!  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us!!!  How blessed I am to share this message!!!  I miss and love you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!

 

Con amor,

 

Hermana Kent

 

My hijitas first alfajor

Selfie in front of the Basilica

My companions first taste of Argentine ice-cream

Riding our bikes

My hijitas first Sunday
 

 

Hola!

Well another transfer has come and gone and I am now beginning my last transfer.  Unfortunately my time with Hermana Throolin has come to an end and she will be leaving Lujan and leaving me.  My new companion will be a sister that’s arriving to the Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission tomorrow from the MTC!!!  I am so excited to begin this transfer and to use everything I have learned over the last 12 transfers all at once and be able to teach all of that to another sister and help her have the most successful mission she can!!!  

Yesterday a tender mercy happened!!!  It rained!!!!  It hasn’t rained in so long and had become so hot!!!  Oh I have been DYING!!!!  And this week I was a little sick too because of the heat.  It was such a blessing and it is still raining!!!!!!  As soaked as Hermana Throolin and I had become we were very blessed to have help from members during the rain storm!!!  I am so grateful for all of the tender mercies that our Heavenly Father pours out to us each and every day!!! 

We are helping the relief society president change the visiting teaching assignments!!! It was a neat experience thinking about the sisters of our branch.

To answer your questions about the zoo: Yes there was a keeper in there.  I don’t know why he (the LION) was so calm.  I was a little nervous if you didn’t notice how far away I was from him which then made me more nervous because I thought he would sense it.  What did you think about the scratch from the lion cub??? Pretty cool, huh?  Too bad it’s gone now already.

 I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ who live and love us so much!!!  They know each and every one of us personally and know what our needs are.  I am so grateful that we are able to pray and speak with them when we need their help.  This week for our district meeting we had received permission that each of us individually could go into a room in the church and pray openly about whatever was on our mind.  It was so incredible the feeling that came to me after!!!  I KNOW that this church is true!!!  I LOVE this gospel!!!

Love and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!

Con amor,

Hermana Kent

Clothes from milagros. We might have gotten super soaked Sunday!

Crepes!

Lujan Zoo - February 1st

New perspective to Daniel and the Lion's Den

Bears for Mom

Don't feed the bears... or do:)

No big deal, Hermana Throolin and Hermana Kent hanging out with a Bengal Tiger

Adorable Tiger Cubs

Scratches from holding those adorable Tiger Cubs

Chillin with the elephant for Karadie - Happy Birthday!

Keep the Commandments of God

Well this week was such a great week!!!  We were extremely blessed on Wednesday.  In the morning we had a meeting with President Robertson, one of his counselors who have recently been called to be a mission president as well as an area 70 who was recently called to be a mission president.  It was an experience!!!   We were able to listen to the words of modern day prophets on missionary work!!!  We were able to hear from Elder Andersen, Elder Bednar, and Elder Oaks!!!  It was so neat.  Each talked about different aspects of missionary work.  I felt the spirit SO strong!!!  I have SO much to work on and to improve in these last two months of my mission!!! I am trying my hardest.

Also yesterday in Relief Society the lesson was on the talk from President Monson about keeping the commandments.  It was such a great lesson!!!  I have really come to understand in my mission the importance about keeping the commandments.  When we keep the commandments we are allowing Heavenly Father to bless us.  We have to do our part before he can bless us and when he is able to bless us we can feel his love which helps us have peace and happiness in life because we are doing what Heavenly Father asks us to do.  

I love the scripture Mosiah 2:41

 ¨And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.¨

I LOVE this scripture and I know that it is true!!! 

I LOVE my companion and I LOVE my area!!! We found a lady this week named Yamila!!! She is not married but they have plans to get married. She and her husband have 3 kids the oldest is 11!!! She seems so great and we are going tonight to meet her husband!!! They seem really receptive and we are praying a lot for them. We are also praying a lot that we can continue to find people.

I was teaching a couple in Caseros a year ago. They will be going through the temple about the week I leave. I found out on Wednesday that they moved to Linears. They have invited me so many times and I really want to be a part of it!!! I’ve asked President Robertson for permission.  We’ll see if it works out.

I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ who stands at the head and was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that our prophet Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today!!!  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us SO much!!!  I LOVE and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kent

Ten Weeks - So Much to Do!

Hola!

Well this week was such a great week!!!  It started off a little hard and difficult.  Hermana Throolin and I have really struggled to have lessons and find new investigators to share the gospel with.  Friday night we had a ward activity and one of the companionships of Elders in our branch had gone through their area book and found a bunch of old investigators that lived in our area.  It was an answer to prayers of Hermana Throolin and I.  We immediately went and contacted one of them Saturday morning after a meeting we had.  We were hoping that they would be there.  The son opened the door and we were able to have a lesson with him and he is SO receptive to the Restoration.  It was such a great lesson and he has desires to learn more.  Hermana Throolin and I were so happy for this answer to many prayers. 

Later on Saturday I was able to participate in my 6th church open house.  It was so much fun.  Church open houses are so great and help so many people who happen to be walking on the street walk into the church and feel the spirit and see what it is like to be in the church house. 

On Wednesday we will be having a meeting with Elder Oaks and Elder Anderson.  They will be in Salt Lake City and it will be streamed to us and throughout the world for missionaries.  I am SO excited!!!

I LOVE this gospel and I KNOW that it is true!!!  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us VERY much.  They know us personally and are here to help us through the hard times that we face in life. 

Love and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!

Hermana Kent

2000 Strippling Warriors

This week was another great week!!!  It was another week filled with teaching and finding and getting to know Lujan!!!  Daddy it is SO pretty!!!!  I mean it isn’t much different than my other areas other than I am on a bike and it is more green.  My area is the city part of Lujan.  I LOVE the area!!!  We have such great people we are working with.  We don’t have a lot of investigators.  We are working with recent converts and trying to find new ones. 

This week I was able to learn a lot again from the 2000 stripling warriors in the book of Alma!!!  I LOVE this story A LOT!!!  I LOVE the example that they set for us to be exactly obedient!!!

In Alma 57:21 we read:

“Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them;”

I LOVE this story SO much!!!  Their example of obedience and faith to us that they had learned by example of their mothers!!!  Hermana Throolin and I were able to share this story with a family who struggles in coming to church.  We shared with them that these young men had examples where they learned to be faithful and keep the commandments!!!  The parents have 4 very young children and want to be an example to their children.  We invited them to be the example of faith and obedience to their children and to come to church so that their children can see their examples and the testimonies that their parents have.  It was an INCREDIBLE lesson that we had.  And the parents took the invitation and the whole family was in church yesterday!!!   It was an INCREDIBLE experience where I knew that Hermana Throolin and I were guided by the spirit to help this family!!! 

I LOVE this gospel and I KNOW that it is true!!!  I KNOW that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us so much!!!  I know that they know us individually and our needs.  I LOVE and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kent

It's Not Just Like Riding a Bike...

Wow what a week!!!!!!  This week has been SO great!!!  I have LOVED getting to know Lujan!!!  It is BEAUTIFUL and GREEN here!!!  It is SO pretty!!!  I have learned to ride a bike which was an experience!!!  I have already fallen from my bike so don't worry about that!!! Jajajajajajajaja  Oh I fell HARD!!!!  I have been nursing my knee since Wednesday because it was UGLY!  It's worse than what the pic shows but it is better now!!!  There are more dirt roads also.  But my area I feel like it isn't much different than my other areas.  It's A LOT prettier though than all of my other areas.  But A LOT more humid :((((( 

Hermana Throolin is really great!!!  She is really nice!!!  She is from just outside of Seattle Washington.  She is coming up on her year mark in her mission!!!  She really likes to cook!!!  She cooks well too!!!!  We have hardly any investigators but we have a lot of recent converts that we are working with.  We are trying to find a lot. We are going to work hard and find people.  

Other than my new area and getting to know the area and the members here nothing much happened this week!!!  I hope everyone had a great New Years!!!  I am so excited to start this new year and make goals of how I want to progress even more in my life this year and things I want to accomplish!!!  Its a time to start totally new!!!  

I LOVE this gospel and I KNOW that it is true!!!  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ live and love us SO much!!!  I know that they are there to strengthen us!!!  I have felt their strengthening power a lot this week!!!  I KNOW that they LIVE and know each and everyone of us!!!   This is THEIR gospel and not mans.  I LOVE and miss you all lots and lots and lots and lots!!!!!!!!

Buen Dia!  Monday Morning Selfie!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kent

Christmas Week - December 28, 2016

What a week we had here in Argentina!!!  It was such a special week being able to remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!!!  We were able to go around to our ward and sing to the members and investigators that we have!!!  It was such a neat experience being able to bring the Christmas spirit and sing for two days!!!  

It was so great being able to have some time to talk and be together 14 hours away from each other.  After we talked Hermana Wiborny and I were able to have Christmas Eve dinner with the family that invited us to come and Skype!!!  It was a beautiful dinner with them and a spiritual experience after talking about the wisemen that came and how they were witnesses that Jesus Christ was born!!!    I LOVE Christmas and being able to remember our Savior!!!  

Well my time here in Atalaya has already come to an end and I am headed to my last area which will be Lujan, campo!!!  I am so excited to be able to have new experiences in another area and learn from my new companion!!!  Her name is Hermana Throolin.  I lived with her for two transfers when I was in Hurlingham.   She was the tall sister with red hair.  I am REALLY nervous.  It is going to be a change!!!  But all will be well and if that is where Heavenly Father wants me than I can ride a bike and be in campo!!!!

BTW, things changed on Thurs after we talked and I will be getting home a week later on the 29 of March.  Well the MTC is going back to being 3 weeks and so it affects the transfer that I come home.

This Church is true and I LOVE being a missionary!!!!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kent