Email - June 1, 2009

Well we had a very powerful Zone Conference on baptizing and the importance of making that commitment to follow the Savior! It was pretty neat. I learned alot of really good nugets. Our area is doing really good and we are seeing alot of really good success. Alan and Shey came to church yesterday which was really good to see  : ) They are a newly married couple with a baby on the way : )

Well this is my last week on my mission. It really it me at Zone Conference that I am going home. It was a really scaring feeling. This has all I have know for 2 year and it will be different to come home. I talked to my mission president about all the feelings I am going through and he said that is normal. He said this last week I will have a big range of emotions and that is suppose to happen. I love the Lord and will do my best this last week.

Thanks for all the support and prayers and love you have giving me on my mission. This will be the last time I write home until I am a Return Missionary : / Its scary but I know the Lord has been with me on my WHOLE mission and has not left my comfortless. He will be with me now : )

Love Elder Kennedy

P.S. I made a goal to finish the New Testament before I come home and I just finshed last night : )

Email - May 18, 2009

Monday night I got the Flu somehow. It was MISERABLE!! I hate being sick!! It was the 24 hour flu so I feel ALOT better now : )

It is SO PRETTY right now in Alaska!! All the trees have leaves and it is SO green! I hate to leave when it is SO nice right now :/

Well I am going to see my first baptism on a mission tomorrow. They are less active now. They got offened and Antied  by their mom. It is really sad to see. I am going on exchanges in their area. They havent really let missionaries in but they want to see me and talk to me. I am just going to be firend them and just be really nice. It doesn't seem like they need anyone judging them. I just love them SO much and want thier happiness : /

Phillip Calhooon got baptized on saturday. He was an "Eternal Investigator" of over 5 or 6 years. It was a very emotional baptism and alot of people cried. I love this church! We have such good members all over this great world!

I am doing good and have 3 weeks left. My companion and I are working really hard and he is really good at keeping me focused.  I will going home June 8th. Next weeks memorial day and we might not get to email if nothing is open. just a heads up. Well I love

you all and cant wait to see all of you again : )

Love Elder Kennedy

Email - May 11, 2009

I got to call home for mothers day and talk to my family! : ) I was so glad to talk to them and catch up alittle. I will be seeing them in a couple of weeks but it is good to talk with them : )

It sounds like the economy is pretty bad back home : ( That is one of the blessings of a mission is you don't really need to worry about that. Well I guess now is a good time to go to school when there isn't any jobs.

We had a pretty adventful week. Did alot of service and helping people move. Well then we had a fun service project. We helped this part member family get his dock out of the lake. It was a pretty hard. We had these huge water boots to wear to pull it out. Well it was way muddy and I slipped and fell in : ) I got all muddy from head to toe. My teeth even had mud in them. Lucky i have only  a couple weeks left and my clothes are falling apart cause I just threw all that I wore away. Well here are some pictures : )

Love Elder Kennedy

Email - May 4, 2009

DEBBIE AMOS IS GOING TO THE TEMPLE!!!! Debbie from my first area in Wasilla is going to the Temple. We were at our missionary ward correlation meeting at the Palmer chapel, and this kid came up to me. He said hey Elder Kennedy and I was like aren't you the Weatherford kid. He said yeah here is my Mom. I was just SO happy. They Weatherfords are the most Christ like people I have met. They were my favorite members on my mission.

Well we got to talking and I told her this was my last transfer and I go home June 8. I then asked her how Debbie is doing and she said that she is taking Temple prep classes right now getting ready to go to the temple!!! I was SO overcome with such indescribable JOY! It felt just like when she got baptized. She said she might go before I go home and I told her I wanted to be there when she goes.

This will absolutly complete my mission if I can be with her in the temple for the first time! : )  I will tried to get a hold of her but couldn't. I am going to call her today and see when she is planing on going : )

Man this totally makes every hardship on a mission worth it. I have never felt such joy : )

Well I am with my new companion now. He is a VERY hard working and REALLY obedient. It will be good to finish my mission with him. He knows how to work. The area is absolutly amazing! There is SO much work here to do. The area way nice. It is all along the mountains in the Palmer Mountain range. It so warm and nice here. We are starting to get buds on the tree and leaves : ) It is so so SO pretty here. I love this area. If I were to ever move back up to Alaska it would be in Palmer or Wasilla! Abslutely amazing!!

Love IT!!!!

Love Elder Kennedy

Email - April 25, 2009

My companions name is Elder Giles. He is a hard working obiedent missionary. We will see alot of success. He has been out alsmot a year I think : )

Email - April 21, 2009

So this week we had stake conference. We drove up with a member on Sunday and went to it. It was really good. We hadn't seen others missionaries in over 5 weeks so it felt good to say hi to them.

We had interview with President Dance. We have interviews every transfer or 6 weeks with him. He says that I will probably leave Delta Junction for my last transfer. He said that 3 transfers or 4 and a half months is way to long to be in Delta LOL : ) He said this is a very "SSSLLOOOWWW" area. And I have felt that lol. The branch members are amazing but the people here have talked to missionaries hundreds of times. Effects of a small town. President said he wants to go to Tok so we might go this week.

Transfers calls are Saturday and transfers are on Monday. This will be my last transfer. I have 6 weeks left. It has been really good, but  I am really excited to see my family again : )

Doing Good! : )

Love  Elder Kennedy

Email - April 13, 2009

It sure has warmed up this week : ) It got to 35 one day : ) Everything is slowly starting to melt : ) Easter Sunday was amazing : ) lots of smiley faces lol hope you like them.

Well so I came into this area and there is an Elder from the Branch that came home and he decided to go back out and got called to a different mission. He went and we just heard that he is coming home again for good. This is very sad to here. He is such a good kid when we talked to him.

Something that this experience really did for me is to REALLY appreciate being on a mission and being able to finish it. I really haven't thought of it as much of a blessing till now but it is something that really hit me hard when I saw this Elder come how early. I really am blessed to be able to be out here and serve the Lord and finish a two year mission! : ) It really has helped me look at what great blessings I have : )

Church was great this Sunday! Something really bothered me though. I don't maybe I am slow but something just hit my nerves. Our lesson was about Joseph Smith and his time in liberty jail and all that he went through. and all the saints went through. It just hit me really hard. Why was Joseph and the saints persecuted SO much! They lived in a country of freedom of religion. They did that which was right. They never hurt any one. They just wanted to live their religion in peace. The Savior was the same way. He was PERFECT! A perfect being. He could do no ill, but he was still crucified. I guess I just had a "It just DOESN'T make sense to me" moment.

It made me think about today. Would the world do that if the Savior came again? Will they do that to our church again?

I guess I learned that Satan is REAL and that he will do all he can to stop the work from progressing. BUT the Lord promised the work WILL NOT stop progressing and it wont! The Saints went through SO much but never lost the faith. They are an example to me : )

I believe that the more people that feel the effects of the Atonement of Christ there will be more Peace. There will be more missionaries. There will be more converts. There will be more love.

I have felt the Atonement in my life. It IS real! The effects are life changing and everlasting! I have seen those effected by it and change their life because of it. That is what make everyday of my mission worth something. love Christ and I love his Gospel!

Elder Kennedy