Half Way There

Hey y'all!

Its been a pretty good week. We had a great lesson with Sunny! We hope that she'll progress. We were able to do some unplanned service for Amanda. Hopefully we can really get into teaching! We taught a good amount of members too, so that's exciting. 

We also did some service for a less active. We moved some furniture into her house. That was super cool because I FED A PEACOCK! Yes, a wild peacock! So, I guess you could say I'm cool. After that we drove around a little bit to find some more and SURE ENOUGH! It was so cool! The blue ones are the males and the white and green ones are females.

Its been freezing this past week! It was in the 60's! Rexburg is going to kill me next year! This upcoming week is supposed to heat back up, but not in the triple digits!

I hit my half way mark and honestly, I can't believe how fast it's gone by! I'm so grateful that I was given the opportunity to serve the people of Arcadia California! 

I'm so eternally grateful for the Plan of Salvation. One of my best friends from back home and her father passed away unexpectedly. I am still heartbroken, but I KNOW I will see them again! I KNOW she's being a fantastic missionary on the other side. I KNOW she is without pain. I am so grateful for the Savior and His sacrifice for us so that we CAN see our loved ones again. I keep thinking of Alma 7:11-13. Y'all should look it up in the Book of Mormon. 

I love y'all so much! Have an amazing week! 

Peacocks

My companion is so cute so we take a lot of selfies ;)

My moms the greatest and sent me a half time show package for my half way mark! It's so cute!!! 

Alma 7:11-13

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictionsand temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Miracles Happen

Hey y'all!

This has been a pretty crazy week for sure!

So, remember when it was so hot the mountains were on fire? Well, it's been in the mid 60's this past week! I've been freezing! Sunland has strange weather for sure!

Another crazy, and sad thing, is we had to drop almost all our investigators. :( BUT, we saw some amazing miracles!

We got a referral about 2 months ago. We made contact, but we never had an opportunity to really teach her. Last Monday, we were finally able to teach her about the Restoration!

Another miracle was a woman named Sunny. We were sitting in Relief Society (a women's organization in the church) when all of a sudden someone from the Spanish ward comes in and asks for us. Sunny just walked into the church and wants to learn more! She couldn't stay for sacrament meeting, but later in the day we gave her a church tour. She asked awesome questions, including how fast she'll learn the basics of the church!

We have been struggling to find, so Sunny was an amazing miracle! God really does prepare people for the gospel. I know that through our diligent efforts and prayers that a miracle happened! I definitely don't think that I am the reason for this miracle, but I do know that when we are open to them and do our part, they happen!

Quick funny stories and explanations to my pictures:

-Bro. Gillan fell asleep while he was in the middle of talking... He's a stinker. 

-We learned from a member that green spots on your potatoes means it got sunburned. So when I saw a green spot on my fry, we had to take a picture! 

-Sis. Honey (a member in our ward) called a former investigator OUT for not getting with the Lord! 

-Sis. Honey also fed us this week and she had her crazy chicken Luise running everywhere! 

-We got clothes from a member and I was feeling fabulous. You get sick of wearing the same things so many times. 

I'm so happy to be a missionary! I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience thus far and I'm excited for the future ones too!

Love y'all!

Sister Sorensen

She forgot a subject heading......

Hey y'all!

This week was better than the last! Wooo! Thinking positive!

We didn't have a lot of appointments... BOO! But it's a new week! And we finally got people to church!

We had an awesome lesson with the Browns. They are really opening up more and expressing their goals to us. We love them sooooooooooo much! They came to church yesterday and everyone there was so kind to them!

Fun story from the week. I went tracting up and down a street for the first time! Usually we'd only do a couple of doors because it's not very effective here. But, we showed our faith and hope to the Lord. We didn't see immediate success, BUT we had fun doing it! One guy opened the door and said hello, saw the badge, and said NOOOOOOOOO THANK YOU! We yelled "have a nice day!" and laughed. On the mission you have to laugh and find joy, even if you wanna cry.

Not much else has happened. We had a BOMB zone conference on Tuesday and I saw my old companion Sister Briscoe! She's companions with one of my MTC comps., Sister Luke! Ahhh I was so happy!

I have a testimony of the atonement and how it blesses each and every one of us. I don't know how I'd be able to get through my mission, especially the tough days, without Him. He is ALWAYS there! We just have to take His hand and cry with Him a little bit. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon and all that it teaches about Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. We're reading the Book of Mormon as a mission and it's such a wonderful experience!

Have an awesome week y'all! Love y'all!

Sister Mackenzie Sorensen

1. A Wild Peacock! Yup, that's a thing here. We have wild Parrots and Peacocks, so I guess you could say I'm exotic ;) it's a cool story if anyone wants to hear about how we got wild Parrots and peacocks.

2. SISTER BRISCOE HOLY MOLE! I was so happy you can't see my eyes! :P

This Week Ended in FLAMES

Hey y'all!

This week was interesting for sure. It stayed over 100 this week. The lowest temperature was 106... Thank goodness for awesome people giving us frozen waters and such.

It wasn't our best week, unfortunately. Almost all our appointments fell through. I guess people don't like the heat! At least we had a bomb lesson with the Brown's! We get to see them tomorrow and I'm so excited! 

Soooooo... The fires. Because it's been so dry and so hot, THE MOUNTAIN WAS ON FIRE!!!! We were safe and nobody was harmed. But it was a crazy experience!

Friday we were weekly planning and all of a sudden, the zone leaders call us to make sure we're okay. We're like, ".... Yeahhhhh? Why?" they're like, go outside and look at the mountain. IT WAS HUGE! Well, at least to me. And the thing about fires here is that they JUMP AROUND! It kept spreading and we watched it move down toward some of our members! We were even an emergency contact for a member that's 90 YEARS OLD! 

Ashes were coming down like rain. The interstate was closed. It smells. You can't breath... It was insane! But, luckily everyone was safe and they are out now! The mountain is still red and there's huge clouds of smoke! Honestly it looked like a war scene.

Another funny (I guess you could say) story is that Saturday Sis. Bullock and I were running away from this crazy dog and when I opened the door, it slammed into my nose. It's not broken but man, it scared me for a second. I hope I come home in one piece!

Despite having a tough week, I am so hopeful! Opposition in all things! Missions are one huge roller Coaster ride! But it's such a great one! Today I hit my 8 month mark and I honestly can't believe I'm almost half way done! I feel like I just got here! I know the Book of Mormon is true ans I'm so thankful for all that it has taught me.

Love y'all and stay safe! Keep praying for Sunland, Houston, and Montana.

Sister Sorensen