Merry Christmas

Hey y'all!

Just wanted to send a quick email wishing y'all a very merry Christmas! 

I made it to Glendora and it's been great! I'm excited to be here. Biking is interesting, but the exercise is nice! 

We had a zone conference recently and it was amazing! We're going to have a mission wide meeting next month and Elder Oaks is coming! He's an apostle, so that's pretty cool. 

I love the Christmas season! It gives us an amazing opportunity to serve others and share the Light of Christ. We should continue that same service attitude ALL year long! I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ and the gift He has given me! I love His gospel and I'm so fortunate to have the chance to share it with others. 

Love y'all! 

Sister Sorensen 

Our zone at zone conference. 

Merry Christmas

Hey y'all!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was a great birthday! 

This week was kinda crazy. We've been able to have a couple Facebook lessons, so that's been cool! Mike is doing alright. We wanted to have more contact this week, but it is what it is. We met this cool guy who loves to restore cars! We had a pretty good lesson with him. He has some pretty awesome stories! 

Sister Parker and I are BOTH GETTING TRANSFERRED!!! They're going to bring in elders now! I'm going to miss this ward! 

I'm going to Glendora and Sister Parker is going to Monrovia!!! That was my first area! 

We were supposed to be transferred today, but both of us have the stomach flu. BOO! But, we'll go to our new areas tomorrow. I'm super excited! It's a biking area, so pray for my accident prone self! ;) 

We have a Christmas zone conference coming up, so I'm excited for that. We'll also have a whole mission conference next month! So much to look forward to! 

I'm so thankful for the Christmas season. It gives us a chance to think more about the Savior and how we can become more like Him. I wanted to share a quote by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. You can find the whole thing on his Facebook page. 

 

"With only Joseph’s inexperienced assistance, [Mary] herself brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in the little clothes she had knowingly brought on her journey, and perhaps laid him on a pillow of hay. Shepherds would soon arrive and later, wise men from the East. Later yet the memory of that night would bring Santa Claus and Frosty and Rudolph—and all would be welcome. But first and forever there was just a little family, without toys or trees or tinsel. With a baby—that’s how Christmas began."

I love my Savior. He is the reason for the season. Amid all the holiday activities, find time to ponder Jesus Christ and His life. 

Love and miss y'all! Have a very Merry Christmas! 

Sister Sorensen 

1. Saying goodbye to the Dial family! 

2-5. My birthday at Dora's!

THE MOUNTAIN WAS ON FIRE

Hey y'all!

So, the Sunland area had another fire. We actually got evacuated this time! We even made the Mormon Newsroom! Sis. Parker and I went to Glendale with other sisters. It was so much fun! I love them, but I definitely did miss my people. 

Tuesday we evacuated and Friday afternoon we came back. It's been a crazy week! 

There have been so many miracles! Not one house from our ward caught on fire! One family lost their garage and barn. The fire melted a few things on the outside of their house, but the house MADE IT! Even a HUGE TREE MISSED THEIR HOUSE! I can't help but sit and think that there's a loving God who loves us and cares about us! Keep praying for the people in Ventura. They're getting hit the worst.

We got Facebook this week! Yay! Just a reminder, I'm using Facebook for missionary work. My birthday is coming up and I love getting birthday wishes, but if you could send me an email or letter instead of posting on my wall, that'd be great! Thanks! 

It's been a hard week, but through it all we've been able to find comfort. The holidays have a special feeling because we really focus on the Savior. I love the new 2018 youth theme: Peace in Christ. He is our ultimate source of peace and comfort.

Love y'all! Have a great week! 

Sister Sorensen 

1. Mormon Newsroom! 

2. Smoke from the fires on Tuesday 

3. #LightTheWorld by dropping off goodies for a sick family

4. Sisters Church and Mowes! I'm in the back seat. #BLESSED! 

Picture 1 didn't come through - Mormon Newsroom - but there was an article about the fires.

OK, so, now for some of what she wrote me!!!!

"THIS WEEK WAS NUTS!!!!

SOOOOO. We didn't have a car this week, so that alone was gonna be an adventure. Monday night the wind was so dang bad. We wake up Tuesday and THE POWER IS OUT!!! So I can't take a shower cause the water is too cold! And we had interviews in LA Crescenta!! BOY I WAS LOOKING ROUGH!!! As we were walking to the bus stop, THERE'S SMOKE! Now I'm like, "Craaaapppppp...." in the middle of interviews, the Zone Leaders leave because they needed to help a family evacuate from LAKE VIEW TERRENCE!! I'M LIKE THAT'S IN OUR AREA AND WE LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO THAT MOUNTAIN!! 

We FINALLY get home around 12 and we have power (BLESSED!) So we fix lunch and stuff. Then we call some people and members by us are like, yeah we're evacuating. So I'm like SHOOT! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! We go outside and start walking to see what's going on and it so happens that a member was driving by and was like GET IN YOU CRAZYS!! So we helped an elderly woman with cancer evacuate. We get home and we look at a map and we see that WE'RE ON A MANDATORY EVACUATION! Well, we don't have a car! We pack 3 days worth of stuff and wait for the Wells. After a couple of hours, the Wells picked us up and took us to dinner. We get to Glendale safely. 

Now, I've never been in an apartment with another set of missionaries. Most of the sisters were from the South and I had so much fun! Especially with Sisters Church and Mowes! We were able to come back Friday afternoon after we picked up our car. Some people didn't come back until Saturday. One family in the ward was blessed because their house should be gone. But it survived! All our stuff is fine too. I think they were worried about the winds picking up."

So there you have it folks! The story of her evacuation. I'm glad she is safe and her Ward family is safe. Now hopefully she'll have an uneventful birthday week!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Hey y'all!

Its been a pretty tough week, but we know we're about to see some miracles! 

Mike is doing great pretty good. He cracks me up! I love the people I get to meet! 

Dennis came to church so that was awesome! 

We're trying to keep in better contact with our new friends (we're trying to call our investigators our friends because it just sounds better!). 

Our car is in the shop this week, so that makes a lot of walking!!! It should be good. At least it's not too hot this week! 

The #LightTheWorld is SO AWESOME! EVERYONE SHOULD DO IT! I think the coolest experience we had was on Day 2. The theme was, "I was thirsty and ye gave me drink." Our original service plan fell through, so we went to a drive thru. No one was behind us, so we asked the cashier if we could wait until someone else came because we really wanted to pay for them. He was super impressed and even asked if we needed anything. We paid and went on our way. We don't know if the chain continued or not, but I'm sure we made someones day!

For service ideas and the #LightTheWorld videos, go check out mormon.org!

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve others around me. I absolutely love the people I get to meet! Sunland will always have a little piece of my heart! (and so will Monrovia.) It's been an amazing 11 months (today!) 

Love y'all! 

Sister Sorensen

1. Selfie with Bro. Gillan!! Fave old man! 

2. Me and the CUTEST PUPPY at a friend's (investigators) house

3-4. The view from our hike today! #RIPMyAnkle

More Adventures

Hey y'all!

Its been a great couple of days since I last emailed! Thanksgiving was AMAZING! I hope it was for everyone! 

We started teaching this guy named Mike. He's so cool! He's been learning off and on. He comes to our Book of Mormon class! I'm so excited to work with him! 

We've taught a couple of other people and hopefully they'll keep letting us back! It's great to be a missionary! 

Funny story, there's an investigator who HATES the word y'all! He always picks on me! But, you know what they say. You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl ;) 

I had a really cool experience on exchanges (we change companions for the day) on Saturday. We didn't really know where to go and we're just kinda walking around Pasadena. We ran into this guy who's a member but hasn't been in YEARS. At first, I didn't really feel like he wanted to talk to us. But the more we got to know him, he was so sincere! I know the Lord is preparing people for us to talk to! We were walking down the street for a reason! I love the Spirit!

Quick reminder that I will be getting Facebook this week! This is an amazing opportunity to hasten the work of the Lord! My purpose is the same. I'm still inviting people to come unto Christ and make promises with him. The best way to reach me is still through this email. Thanks y'all for helping me stay obedient and focused!

I'm really enjoying my time on the mission! I love the people I get to meet! I love the Book of Mormon. I love our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am eternally grateful for Him. 

Have a great week y'all!

Sister Sorensen 

(Sorry. No pictures from this week. Enjoy a picture of my one of my favorite members, Bro. Gillan and a picture of Sis. Parker and I messing around)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Our P-day was changed to today.

CHARLES WAS BAPTIZED!!! It was such a great day! I love the Dial family! 

We've been able to meet some great new people! I love being able to constantly meet new people!

Tuesday we had zone conference and it was amazing! Not only are we getting smart phones in February, but WE'RE GETTING FACEBOOK NEXT WEEK! I'm so excited for the opportunity to reach more people! That being said, I'm still on my mission and my purpose to bring others to Christ is the same. If you'd like to get in contact with me, still use this email :) I'll be using it strictly for my friends that I get to teach for the next 7 months. When I come home, it'll be back to normal :) thank you so much for supporting me in spreading the word of God!

I'm so grateful for so many things! I'm grateful for my AMAZING FAMILY THAT I MISS SO DANG MUCH!!! I'm grateful for all the companions I've had. I'm grateful for my mission leaders and the love they have for me and those we teach. I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and most importantly Jesus Christ! 

I love y'all so much! Check out mormon.org for #LighttheWorld, 25 days of service! It's a great way to show the love of the Savior thus upcoming Christmas season. 

Sister Sorensen 

This is Bro. Gillan. He's 90 years old and he always gives us chocolate pudding and candy. He's so sweet! <3

Charles Baptism!

Temples and Transfers

Hey y'all!

Transfers are today and... SIS. PARKER AND I ARE STAYING IN SUNLAND!!! I'M SO HAPPY! 

Charles is so awesome! He's getting baptized this Saturday!!! We are so excited! We were able to go with him and his whole family to the temple visitor's center on Friday. It was so awesome! Enjoy the fun pictures! 

We've got a few pretty awesome potential investigators! One of them had come to church twice and is coming to our Book of Mormon class! Exciting things are ahead! We also got to meet a member who doesn't really come to church. She's so sweet and I can't wait to get to know her and her family more! 

Fun activity from this week is we got to decorate pumpkins with the Olivia's! We had a FHE with them because Sis. Oliva has been working way too much! She needed some love!

I'm so grateful for the Holy Ghost! Without the Spirit, we cannot learn gospel truths, feel God's love, and be directed. I am so grateful that I was able to receive the gift of always having the Spirit with me, if I live worthy of it. I'm grateful for the Spirit influence on those as teach! That's how they begin to grow a testimony! 

I love y'all! Have a great week! 

Some temple pictures! Charles is the guy in the white shirt. 

Our pumpkins! And we're matching! 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Hey y'all!

We FINALLY got some cooler weather here and we're pretty sure th is heat is behind us! It was in the 60s this week and we were frozen! But I'll take that over a burning mountain!

Charles is doing awesome! We're so excited for him and his family! 

We haven't heard from Dennis or Sofia :/ but I'm sure they're still doing good! 

We found a new investigator this week. He's a former investigator and he was there the first time we stopped by! That doesn't usually happen, so we're hoping he's ready for the gospel now. He and his brother are pretty cool! 

Halloween was pretty great! We did service pretty much all day long. We had to be home by 6, so that was kind of a nice change. But it was weird being in so early.

We found plenty of creepy decorations! We didn't take very many pictures, but the ones we have are pretty great! 

I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving season because it gives us an opportunity to see just how blessed we are and show the love of our Savior by helping those who aren't as fortunate. I'm thankful for the time I have to serve those in the Arcadia California mission! I'm thankful for a Savior and His perfect gospel. 

Love y'all! Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts! 

Sister Sorensen 

1. We saw this at another members house and had a good laugh!

2. SISTER ACTIVITY! We all tried different kinds of fruit and... I was not a fan of some stuff. We all got a good laugh! 

3. I was VERY pink for service! And I had to use my Idaho jacket cause I was so cold in the sprinkling rain! 

4. Creepy doll in someone's yard. We were driving down the road and I was so freaked out!

5 & 6. A cut out of Nick Cannon... It literally scared me half to death when we walked up to a members house! 

Halloween Parties

Hey y'all!

Its been a great week! We've had so many ward things going on, it's crazy! 

We had our ward Halloween party and y'all... This thing is THE party of the year! Over 400 people come to this thing. And they go ALL out. It was awesome! We met a bunch of nonmembers and got to know some less actives. We left a flyer on a less actives door that we've been trying to find and SHE SHOWED UP! A former investigator even brought a friend! I was filled with so much joy! 

They also have a Spook Alley... Nope. Luckily we got to go on splits and Sis. Parker was able to go. They make it super creepy and that just ain't for me y'all! 

We finally set one of our investigators on date! That's super exciting and I'm praying so hard for them! We also have been able to get a former investigator to church a couple of times in a row! What a blessing!

So, for our 5th Sunday lesson (it's when the men and women have a huge lesson together, usually in the chapel) we talked about emergency preparedness and self-reliance. We have actors and directors in our ward, so we did a Skit. Sis. Parker and I were in it and it was SO MUCH FUN! I love this ward so much!

I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I KNOW that God has a plan for us and His Son is central to it. If we follow the example of our Savior, we WILL be happy in this life and in the next! We will still have challenges, but we know that we can go get through it. 

Love and miss y'all! 

Sister Mackenzie Sorensen 

1-2: Pumpkins from our Bishops block party. He invited some nonmembers for us to meet!

3-4: the Bishop's dog, Rockwell. Like, Porter Rockwell. HE'S SO CUTE!

5: Me, Sugar (Jennifer), and Sis. Oliva. Love them so much! 

6: Me and Bro. Veliz! He was so scary! 

7: a very puny sticker on a less actives door. 

8: Sis. Parker and I! Aren't we so cute?

9: The Extra Smile! I thought it was pretty dang funny.