Keepin it 100 (degrees)

Hey y'all! 

Its been a pretty good week, but this upcoming week is going to be BRUTAL! It's supposed to stay over 100 degrees! Dry heat is not very fun, but I'll survive... Hopefully ;) 

We had some amazing lessons! Most of them were with people we haven't seen in a while and thought about letting them go. 

The Brown's kept their commitment! We had them watch, "What is the Blueprint of Christ's Church?" it's a very bold devotional. They really liked it and we're looking forward to seeing them today. 

Mike and Debbie are doing well. We reviewed the Restoration and the spirit was so strong! 

Brad Owen is such a cool dude! He's open to our message, he and his family just have to work through a couple of things. 

We finally had a lesson with Jackie! I met her street contacting a couple of weeks ago. She's so awesome! She had a lot of good questions and she has an open mind. 

One of the coolest moments this week was at a member's house for dinner. Her name is Dora and she's from Mexico. She speaks pretty good English, but sometimes she still speaks Spanish. Somehow, I was able to understand her even though I don't speak any Spanish! Blessings! And her food is so good! She made us papas en salsa de tomate. Which translates to potatoes with tomato sauce. It was SOOOOOO GOOD! 

Not much else is happening here! My east coast peeps, please send humidity.... This dry weather is killing Sis. Bullock and I ;) 

I love my mission. I love the people I meet and the experiences I have. Even the crazy ones! I love this gospel and most importantly, I love my Savior. 

Have a great week y'all! 

Sister Sorensen 

1-2 The OLIVA'S!! I love them so much!

This man was in a hospital bed just goin across the street! There's not a hospital close by either sooo...?

A tree in the middle of the sidewalk.

A Pretty Faced Hillbilly

Hey y'all! 

Its been a great week! We stayed busy, got 3 new Investigators, and STAYED HEALTHY! WOO! Transfers are today, but Sis. Bullock and I are staying! We love Sunland <3

We starting teaching former investigators and it's going amazing! I had a prompting to go by the Brown family and we were able to pick them up and start teaching! Hopefully all goes well with that. They're such a sweet family and love missionaries! 

We also taught a former named Jeanne. She's so sweet! Her son's mother in law was there and she's a member! She was so awesome and bore her testimony every chance she got! 

Vency is doing well. Her granddaughter just started school, so we're hoping to get her to church! 

We've missed Mike and Debbie so much! Hopefully we'll meet up with them soon. 

A young man in the Sunland ward had a farewell party thing on Saturday because he's going to BYU I! It made me think of all the amazing memories I had there! Crazy to think that it was a year ago when I started my first semester of college! Time flies and a lot happens in a year! 

So, the subject line. Tuesday was so nuts! We went by an older less active because he loves visitors and he's just so sweet! But when I offered for us to do service for him, he said I was just a pretty face! I laughed it off, but I can work y'all! Then after him we went by another less active and HE CALLED ME A HILLBILLY BECAUSE I GREW UP IN THE CAROLINAS! I ain't a Hillbilly! I'm southern! I got class with a little bit of sass! Ain't nothing wrong with that! But it was kinda funny because he's more of a redneck than I am! 

I have a testimony of this restored gospel. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share that with others and help them change their lives. I love the Book of Mormon and all that it teaches me. I love the Savior and I'm eternally grateful for His sacrifice for each of us. 

Love y'all! Have an awesome week! 

Sister Sorensen 

1. Craft I did for some members! I thought they turned out. Could work on my cursive though ;) 

2&3. Looking at the Eclipse!

4. Sis. Bullock and I <3

0 to Hero

Hey y'all! 

I won't lie, it's been a pretty tough week. But everything picked up right at the end of the week! 

I don't have a lot to say about our investigators because a lot of our appointments fell through, but this upcoming week is looking up! 

We recently did what's called a District Blitz. It's where 4 other sets of missionaries came to the Sunland area and we gave them a list of people to go by. It went SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! We ended up getting 2 new investigators and an update on people we haven't seen in a while. We also had 8 people at church on Sunday! Our spirits went from so discouraged to super excited. Opposition in all things! 

Craziest thing from this week is that one of our investigators has the craziest dog EVER! It gets out of the fence a lot. Well, Wednesday we had dinner dropped off. So we're just chilling in our car before our lesson. We see her dog in the distance and ALL OF A SUDDEN IT STARTS JUMPING AND SCRATCHING THE CAR! After it walked away from our car we drove off and IT CHASED OUR CAR DOWN THE STREET! I literally had a mini heart attack.... 

Besides that crazy story, not much is happening here! 

I have a testimony of the Savior and His role in our lives. He is at the head of this church and He is constantly directing our paths! His hand is in all things and He cares about the little details of our life. As we continue to pray, read our scriptures, and go to church, we will be able to come closer to Him and better recognize Him. 

I love y'all and I'm so happy to be a missionary. Time is flying by! 

Sister Sorensen 

We have fig trees in our back yard! They're pretty good! 

Goldfish statue thing in a trailer park. 

The view in Sylmar! 

Church Tours and Hospitals

Hey y'all! 

Its been another crazy week for sure! 

Mike and Debbie were able to have a little church tour, which was so awesome! They feel more comfortable coming now, which is such a blessing! 

We had to drop Elaine :( when they don't fully feel the spirit, it's hard to teach. 

Vency is doing well. We've kept pretty good contact, but she wasn't able to meet as much as we wanted. 

Dennis is another investigator/part member family. He can't get baptized until his girlfriend/person he's kinda engaged to gets a divorce. All of that is going well and they're progressing in the gospel and with all the other logistics. 

We did some fun stuff this week for members. During weekly planning (Friday we sit down for 3 hours and plan our lessons for the upcoming week and some other things), we baked some goodies for members of the ward. We heart attacked the Olivia's and left some baked goods. We also delivered some goods to Darlene because she came to a lesson with us. It was a lot of fun! 

So, the hospital. Thursday night after I was done praying, I wanted to put my hair up cause it's pretty hot. Well, I'm on the top bunk and the lights were out. I miss judged how close the ceiling was and smacked my head pretty hard. I'm pretty sure I blacked out, but only for a second. After almost 30ish seconds I was able to respond to my companion. Somehow I also made my jaw go out of place. But we just went back to bed. By Saturday night, my head was still hurting, so I decided to text the mission presidents wife and tell her what happened. Right as we're falling asleep the mission nurse calls me and says I need to go to the emergency room ASAP. Now, missionaries are supposed to be in bed and asleep by 10:30. It was so weird being out past 11. Long story short, I'm okay. No concussion. Worst case, it was a super minor one. But it was an interesting adventure. 

I love this gospel. I love watching it work within people and help them change their lives. It changes my life. I'm so grateful to have amazing parents who taught me about the Savior. I'm so grateful for all the youth leaders who have helped me learn and grow. 

Love y'all! Keep being awesome! 

Sister Sorensen 

Some pics before we went heart attacking! 

Deer going up the mountain! 

My hospital bracelet! 

OK, story time! So 21 years ago, almost to the DAY, I went to the ER for head trauma. Kenzie remembered this picture and made the same pose. SOOOooooo.... who wore the hospital bracelet better???

I was voicing my concern for all her injuries after only 7 months and she replied this to me, 

"Lol I'm sorry my injuries made you frustrated. Not going to lie, I'm pretty frustrated with how many injuries I've had. But I'm always reminded of this talk by Elder Holland to mission presidents. 

Missions are not easy because salvation was NEVER easy! It wasn't easy for Him, it's not easy for Investigators, so little wonder why missionaries have it hard. We are representatives of Jesus Christ and we stand shoulder to shoulder with Him. So that means we must go through trials! I don't know why I have been in so much freaking pain for the past 7 months, but I KNOW my loving Heavenly Father knows me and understands me. Jesus is weeping alongside you and I! He knows more than anyone. Alma 7:11-13 is an amazing reminder. 

LOL I'm so glad you caught on to my hospital bracelet picture! I meant to mention that. The next day I was like, "I have to recreate this picture!" like mother like daughter. Except, yours was worse."

I don't know if mine was worse or note, but I can chuckle a little bit.

I'm praying that she'll have NO MORE INJURIES!!!!! Say a prayer too!

"God Keeps Ya Busy!"

Hey y'all! Sorry this is a day late. I forgot to mention that zone conference was yesterday, so our P-day got pushed back.

This week has been good. It's a struggle getting people to church, but we're working on it! We've had a lot of set appointments. The work is great here! 

Vency...where do I begin. She's really impressed with us and our dedication to our missions. She always says the Lord keeps ya busy so the devil won't get ya! She has a point! We read the Book of Mormon with her and she enjoyed it! She got more out of it than normal. 

Mike and Debbie are doing well! We did more service for them. They have a pool that's empty, so we decided to take pictures it in! As missionaries, we're not allowed to swim. So we thought it was pretty awesome that we got to go in a pool ;) their lesson was pretty good. Everyone is taught in a different way and needs different things. 

Elaine is doing well. Hopefully she'll be able to be baptized some day! 

Lilia is doing well too. We need to really dive into the lessons with her. 

SHOUT OUT TO THE OLIVA FAMILY! They're so stinking sweet! We went over to their house for dinner on Thursday and we were talking about how Sis. Bullock and I are trying to eat healthier (cause the pounds come on a mission!) and that we love fruit. Sis. Oliva works near a farmers market thing and offered to get us some fruit. After some protesting, we decided to let her do it. We requested only a couple of items. 

Saturday afternoon we get a call from her and she said to come over and pick up our food. THIS FAMILY BOUGHT US A WEEK OR MORE WORTH OF FOOD! Y'all! That was such a blessing! Members arent required to do that by any means. Seriously, that made our whole week. We were in tears. Blessings are there! 

I love this gospel and I know that the Lord has a plan for us. Getting to know our new mission president has truly showed me that God knows the people He is calling. President Wells and his wife are perfect for the California Arcadia mission! Zone conference was amazing and has a great focus on how missionaries use the Holy Ghost. 

Love y'all! Thanks for the emails and support! Keep studying the scriptures and praying! 

Sister Sorensen 

(We did a district activity at Forest Lawn. It has amazing Christian paintings and stain glass windows. SO COOL!) 

The empty pool! 

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.