Hi People!
Things are finally starting to settle into a routine again, which is super appreciated. There's still a ton more service to do, but at least everything is mostly organized. It was so awesome - on Sunday we got to church, and the parking lot was completely packed, including people making up their own parking spots, and parking all around the grass. When we went inside, there were hundreds and hundreds of people wearing yellow Mormon Helping Hands shirts! They had a mini Sacrament meeting at 8am, where apparently the governor and the mayor spoke, and then they all went out and did service. It was amazing to see an army of people here willing to help out our city! We still had combined Sacrament meeting as well, and ours was super packed too. After church, we went out and did service, which included taking all the dry wall and flooring out of someone's house. It's really sad, but not going to lie, it's really fun to be able to kick through walls and tear things apart! :) We had a bunch of hammer-happy elders who looked like they were having the time of their lives being able to just destroy things!
It's been amazing to talk to so many people who were affected by the floods, and to hear how hopeful and positive they still are. The people of Louisiana have been through so much, so their resilience and strength are astounding. Everywhere, people post signs that say "we're in this together" or things like that. It's interesting how after this city was torn in two over all the shooting drama, it is now stronger than ever as people are finally treating each other like family and realizing that we're all brothers and sisters, and we all need each other. Everyone is helping everyone else out, no matter the religion/race/education/etc. The faith of these people just amazes me. Trauma has the power to divide the people for sure, so that's why I love this city, because in the face of so much adversity, they stick together and help their brother out. If only the rest of the world would do that too.
The work is finally picking up a little bit again too. Luckily, a few of our most progressing investigators are still here. We were able to see Carmen, and she just amazes me every time. We were reading in the Book of Mormon about the story of Nephi and his broken bow, and we just shared what it meant to us. We then asked what it meant to her, and she said, "I love this because this is exactly my life. Everything I read in here applies to me. I know that as I trust the Lord, things will always work out." She is just amazing. She needs to be a Mormon.
One last cool thing from the week is that on Thursday, we got a text from a family in the ward asking us to come over for dinner that day. Which is a miracle within itself, because we never ever ever have dinner appointments in this area. Ever. We were so grateful for it because everything else had basically fallen through that day, everyone was cancelling on us, and Sister Alder and I really just needed something to go right that day. When we went over for dinner, Sister Portal (pronounced like poor-TALL) told us that she had been having a feeling for a while to invite us over for dinner, but she kept pushing it off, but that morning she had the strongest impression that she needed to invite us over that day, so she did. Little did she know, it was exactly what we needed that night. Tender mercies of the Lord!
I love you all so much!! I hope you all have an amazing week :)
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen
Things are finally starting to settle into a routine again, which is super appreciated. There's still a ton more service to do, but at least everything is mostly organized. It was so awesome - on Sunday we got to church, and the parking lot was completely packed, including people making up their own parking spots, and parking all around the grass. When we went inside, there were hundreds and hundreds of people wearing yellow Mormon Helping Hands shirts! They had a mini Sacrament meeting at 8am, where apparently the governor and the mayor spoke, and then they all went out and did service. It was amazing to see an army of people here willing to help out our city! We still had combined Sacrament meeting as well, and ours was super packed too. After church, we went out and did service, which included taking all the dry wall and flooring out of someone's house. It's really sad, but not going to lie, it's really fun to be able to kick through walls and tear things apart! :) We had a bunch of hammer-happy elders who looked like they were having the time of their lives being able to just destroy things!
It's been amazing to talk to so many people who were affected by the floods, and to hear how hopeful and positive they still are. The people of Louisiana have been through so much, so their resilience and strength are astounding. Everywhere, people post signs that say "we're in this together" or things like that. It's interesting how after this city was torn in two over all the shooting drama, it is now stronger than ever as people are finally treating each other like family and realizing that we're all brothers and sisters, and we all need each other. Everyone is helping everyone else out, no matter the religion/race/education/etc. The faith of these people just amazes me. Trauma has the power to divide the people for sure, so that's why I love this city, because in the face of so much adversity, they stick together and help their brother out. If only the rest of the world would do that too.
The work is finally picking up a little bit again too. Luckily, a few of our most progressing investigators are still here. We were able to see Carmen, and she just amazes me every time. We were reading in the Book of Mormon about the story of Nephi and his broken bow, and we just shared what it meant to us. We then asked what it meant to her, and she said, "I love this because this is exactly my life. Everything I read in here applies to me. I know that as I trust the Lord, things will always work out." She is just amazing. She needs to be a Mormon.
One last cool thing from the week is that on Thursday, we got a text from a family in the ward asking us to come over for dinner that day. Which is a miracle within itself, because we never ever ever have dinner appointments in this area. Ever. We were so grateful for it because everything else had basically fallen through that day, everyone was cancelling on us, and Sister Alder and I really just needed something to go right that day. When we went over for dinner, Sister Portal (pronounced like poor-TALL) told us that she had been having a feeling for a while to invite us over for dinner, but she kept pushing it off, but that morning she had the strongest impression that she needed to invite us over that day, so she did. Little did she know, it was exactly what we needed that night. Tender mercies of the Lord!
I love you all so much!! I hope you all have an amazing week :)
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen