Kenzie in Chile

Hey Fam Bam,

How are you guys this week?? Sounds like everything is going great with the crazy basketball and school life!! Haha its so funny reading your emails about how crazy and packed the weekends can be sometimes with basketball, but I honestly miss it so much. Weird? Yes...but its the truth. 

This week has been filled with its ups and downs, thats for sure. But I definitely can be thankful to the Lord for giving me so many experiences to grow from. Hermana Valladares is a really fantastic missionary...she is an incredible teacher, and I already have learned so much from her. Im really thankful for the example she is to me. Saying that, its definitely been an adjustment (and still is) but I know its something thats going to make me stronger. 

I had two experiences this week that really made me appreciate the mission and my companion. One was earlier this week when me and my companion were visiting a less active member (also a member of two years) and her family. She has three kids. The two 11 and 9 year olds were downstairs with us when we arrived at her house. When we walked into her house, we could just tell she was SUPER stressed. She had just gotten home from work and was helping her kids with their homework (it was English homework so i basically did all of it for them...you know, thats what missionaries are here for.. ;)  Obviously I could tell that we were probably the LAST people that she wanted to have over, she probably wanted to help her kids get ready for bed, clean up the house...etc. Then, thats when her kids started throwing full on TEMPER TANTRUMS, screaming and crying and carrying on. I felt so awful. I kept thinking, "dang...we should probably leave...get out of her hair" and a couple of times I nudged my companion, trying to hint to her. But she just shook her head. I thought, oh gosh this is awful! Heck is breaking lose and the poor lady probably doesnt want to hear from us! But my companion asked if we could sing her a hymn, and of course she said yes. As we began to sing, "I Need Thee Every Hour" you could just feel the entire mood change in the house. The Spirit was so strong, and the contention just melted away! Afterwards, we shared a small scripture and were able to talk to her about everything that was going on. It was amazing to see the example of my companion....my first instinct in this situation was to get the heck out of there! But Hermana Valladares knew that Gabriela needed to feel the Spirit in her home, and by the end of our visit, the kids were hugging their mom and saying the closing prayer. Its amazing what the Holy Ghost can do to people's every day lives! The Spirit is so powerful!

My other experience is definitely more of a miracle. As the Hermanas of Cordillera (who happen to live a street away from our Stake President), we have the responsibility of opening the Stake Center every Tuesday for our District Class. This past Tuesday we were opening it up, and this lady and her boyfriend came up to us, and she says, "Do you have something you could give to me about what your church is about?" Literally we were shocked. Someone was ASKING us to share with them? hahaha that isnt something that happens very often. Anyway, we set a day and a time that we could visit her, and that was YESTERDAY. Yesterday we stopped by her house at the time we had planned and she wasnt there....but the place that she lives is a little scary, not going to lie. There are MANY people who live in the same little complex, a bunch of people who kind of gave us the creeps. As we were walking down the street, pretty bummed that she wasnt there and pretty creeped out that we didnt want to come back, we hear people yelling after us and there she was, walking down the street towards us! Basically we were able to have a really great lesson with her, and shes AMAZING. Not only her, but her boyfriend wants to listen AND their neighbor. This shows me that when we are obedient, our Heavenly Father has complete trust in us, and will send His children our way. He can have trust that theyre in our hands. Im grateful for little miracles like this, thats for sure. 

SHOUTOUT to my brotha-from-anotha-motha for getting his mission call to ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA ASL SPEAKING this week! Im so happy for you, Alec!!!!! 

I love you guys so much, and miss you even more. Dont forget it!

Lots of love 

Hermana Randall

 Hermana Jimenez! s

Shes my friend for life!

Hermana Rivero and I! Shes one of my favorite Argentinas