Week of Firsts

Hey y'all! 

This week has been totally crazy! I love it! It makes life interesting. 

We've picked up a few former investigators. Vency is an older woman who loves Jesus and reads about different religions. She's a sassy southern woman, so I feel right at home! Every time we leave, she says, "be careful. The devil is out playin' tonight!" so cute. 

Elaine is so sweet! We're not exactly sure where to go with her, but she's interested in baptism! 

We have to drop Johnny 😭 He's been avoiding us, but we know we were supposed to meet him! Kenneth is another man who lives in his complex thing. He's always asking us questions and said he's been reading the Book of Mormon! 

Jason is another former who's had all the lessons! He's super cool and he has the cutest baby! Missionaries aren't allowed to hold children and that's a very hard rule! 

Mike and Debbie are Formers too and we are cleaning their yard. In California, fires are a huge issue, so any dead stuff has gotta go! They expressed interest in us teaching them, so we'll see how that goes! 

We've been teaching recent converts Gabriel and Dillon. They're both 8 years old. They grew up together, so they're basically brothers. Dillon's sister, Nikki, is 5 and reminds me so much of my youngest sister Emily! We're also teaching Gabriel's dad, Andrew who's coming back to church. 

So, my week of firsts list:

-Met a man who actually believes the world is flat....he said the Bible says so. He also called us "damned souls and Christ rejects us" because we're Mormon and we believe in faith and works. He said our service as missionaries is an abomination to God. Now I understand why we need our own testimonies! He's still a Child of God, so I listened. However, I can't deny my spiritual experiences. Just, bless his heart ;) 

-2 people from the same house answered the door NAKED! Y'ALL! I thought that was a joke! It actually happens on the mission! 

-Coco's is a well known restaurant here and I had their pie for the first time. So good! 

-Saw a Tofu BBQ place... No. 

-Sis. Bullock and I saw the laziest person. They got in their car, backed up to the mail box, got the mail, and pulled back in. We laughed so hard. 

-Contacted an Armenian. Anyone who knows the culture knows its kinda hard to do.

-I'm now a proud owner of a homemade Quillow. It's a quilt and a pillow all in one. Sister Truter made it for me! 

Update on my ankle, we went to the doctor today and I'm doing SO MUCH BETTER! #BLESSED! Took long enough, but I'm so happy to finally be able to walk like a normal human! 

I know that Jesus Christ is real and so is His atonement for us! I know that as we add Him into our lives, we can become more. We can become better people. We are not expected to go through hard times alone. Christ truly is a gift to the world. 

Love y'all! And hope you have a great week! 

Sister Sorensen 

1. The traditional doctors picture

2. My cute little quillow! I love it so much! 

The Land of So Much Sun

Hey y'all! 

This week has been so awesome! I'm so happy to be here in Sunland! 

We've had so many teaching appointments! It's so wonderful. I've never loved so many people so much! 

Hernan is the only person on date right now, but he's having a hard time. So, hopefully we can lift his spirits again. 

Gio and Emilio are referrals from the elders last transfer, but they were out of town. They're teenagers and they're so sweet. 

Johnny is a new investigator that we met street contacting! We had a mini lesson on the Restoration and we hope to meet with him again soon!

We're working with other former investigators, but we're still working on meeting with them more often. 

I think the funniest thing that has happened is just little moments with the member we live with. Her name is Sister Trutter and she's from South Africa! She says the funniest things and keeps us laughing! Recently she wore a shirt that said something to the effect of "Let me stop everything I'm doing to fix your problem." I laughed and she was like "does this offend you or something?" I said no, that I found it humorous. She says, "good girl." oh good old Sister Trutter. 

I'd like to bear my testimony of the Plan of Salvation. 4 years ago I lost my grandpa suddenly. It was hard, but through the knowledge of the Plan of salvation, my family was able to endure. We miss him terribly. But I know that we will see him again. Death has no strings. All of us can see and live with our families again as we follow Jesus Christ. 

This gospel brings me so much happiness. I don't know where I'd be without it. Thanks y'all for the support, emails, and prayers! It means a so much. 

Have a great week! 

Love, 

Sister Sorensen 

Sorry I don't have any pictures this week! It's been a little hectic with transfers and trying to learn the area. 

Transfers, becoming a Dad, and Heat

Hey y'all! 

Transfers are today and I'm now in Sunland! My new companion is Sis. Bullock. I will miss Monrovia and Sis. Briscoe, but I'm excited to work in a new area! 

So, in the mission, the person who trains you is your "mom" (if you're a Sister). The companion after your training is called your "dad." Sis. Bullock just finished training, so I'm her Dad! 

This past week was pretty good. The 4th was my 6 month mark! All the fireworks were for me, right? ;) Anyway, that was was a little rough in the finding department, but that's okay. We had to be in by 7. Then it got crazy.... 

So we're sitting in our yard, trying to see fireworks with our front neighbor, Lynn. All of a sudden, our next door neighbors SHOOT OFF SOMETHING AND THIS BRIGHT LIGHT GOES IN OUR FRONT YARD! Okay.... Then we see fireworks going off and hitting our house! Okay, y'all... They're illegal in Monrovia for a good reason! Our houses are so close, I could shake a hand through the window. It ain't like NC... And the crazy thing is, the next town over (Duarte) allows fireworks! Oh my Lanta y'all.... It was crazy. We may or may not have heard a gun shot. Soooooo, that was a fun adventure! Luckily, we were safe :) 

We started our Bible study again and this time it went better! Rudy and Thelma came with a recent convert, Mario. We are so excited! 

I had Carne Assada for the first time on Saturday! I highly recommend it! 

Its starting to get hot now! RIP to all the missionaries on bikes..... 

I have a testimony that Christ Church is on the Earth today! I know that Joseph Smith was truly a Prophet and he really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and the keystone to our religion. 

Love y'all! Have a great week! 

Sister Sorensen 

1. Meeting the new president! 

2. Temp. On Saturday!

 

3. Fairy house! Everyone needs the gospel, right!

Miracles, Mission President, and Mounds of clothes

Hey y'all! 

Its been a strange yet awesome week for sure! 

We have seen miracles this week! Pam and Steph had an awesome lesson and they learned a lot! We baked a cake and tied it into the Plan of Salvation. Like, the cake mix is our spirits in the spirit world, the bowl is earth. The eggs, oil, and water represented the gospel of Jesus Christ. The oven is physical death. Frosting is the Kingdoms of Glory. They gave wonderful answers and we were able to give it to their aunt. It was her birthday that day! They even came to church yesterday! 

Another miracle is that Alicia's son, Erik, came to church and stayed all 3 hours! He's not a fan of how long it is, which I don't blame him. Hopefully we can start teaching him soon! 

Miracle number 3 is John Napotnik's wife had their baby! We won't be able to see them for a little bit, but we're so excited for them! 

Miracle 4- We thought Jim had passed away this Thursday! We knocked and knocked on the door and we didn't hear anything. We decided to go to a recent converts house and come back. When we got there, he told us he was taking a nap! 

Miracle 5- a woman who we did service for a little bit ago asked us to come over so she could thank us again. She's had a lot of trails and she was able to talk with us about Jesus Christ. We prayed with her and she asked us to come back! I know that when we are "in the service of [our] fellow beings, [we] are in the service of [our] God." 

Miracle 6- Micheal had us over for dinner and his kids are opening up so much more! 

We get to officially meet the new mission president this Friday! He seems super awesome though! 

The mounds of clothes came from a local boutique called Honey and Lace! It's very similar to Lulu Roe. They brought in bags full of clothing to the thrift store that had something wrong with it (like a tiny hole or the seam had a string hanging off). We got a whole bunch of new cloths with barely anything wrong with it! Most of their stuff is missionary approved because it's owned by a LDS woman! 

Quick funny story, it's been reaallllyyyyyy hot. Like over 100 sometimes. Sis. Briscoe was licking some ice to try and cool off. Well, her tongue got stuck and part of her tongue ripped off.... She's fine now. But it was pretty funny! (she's allowed me to tell this story) 

I know that diligence, faith, and hope bring miracles. I've recently heard the phrase, "Pray like it's all up to Him, work like it's all up to you." I know that to be true, especially this week. 

Love y'all! Sorry this email is longer this week :P

Sister Sorensen 

1. Sis Briscoe and I in matching dresses

2. SOPAS

3. AN ARMIDILLO PURSE

4. Sis Briscoe taking a picture of me yesterday in my new dress

5. We <3 Sopas ft. Our new clothes