Hi People!
This week I ate octopus. Not calamari, just octopus. Like the little kind where you just pop the whole thing, head, tentacles, suction cups and all in your mouth. And I didn't die. The mission changes you.
This was one of those weeks where everything fell apart but then better stuff came together. So much happened that I don't even know where to start. I guess one of the coolest/most humbling things this week was that we went and visited a less active sister, and I mean I'm used to people living in trailers and such, but this lady lives in like a quarter of a trailer. It's a glorified box. I was so heartbroken. Then, we find out that her furniture had been purchased through a rent a center thing, and she didn't realize how much it cost, so she couldn't pay. They were coming the next day to take all of it away, bed, heater, everything, and she would just have a table and a couple chairs left. I thought my heart was literally going to shatter. Thank heavens for some amazing members. Through a miracle, we found someone who had just moved and was getting rid of a bed, and someone else had a truck, so we got it to her so she could have a bed. There was some poverty in Kenner, but nothing like down here in Houma. It's crazy because there are two extremes here: super fancy plantation type homes, or trailer parks. And it's super rare we're in the fancy homes, so we spend 99% of our time in the trailer parks, and other run down places. The crazy thing is, they always offer us food or water or anything they could give us and what do you say.... I don't even know. It's an incredibly humbling experience to be here. It's proof that Jesus was not just a mortal man because to walk where He walked and spend time with the people He spent time with, it just breaks your heart. I just want to give these people everything I have!
I think even harder than physical poverty is that we are with people in spiritual/emotional poverty a lot. I can't tell you how many people are lonely in this world. We see so many less active members that have basically been forgotten about, and they're just so sad. We see one lady pretty regularly because she literally has no one but us. I have no idea who her visiting teachers are, or if she even has any. Her kids don't speak to her even though they live right by her (she was in the hospital a couple weeks ago and her daughter refused to come see her, even though she worked in the same hospital). We were with her last night and she was talking about how her depression was bad that day and that she just felt like crying all day. She told us we are the lights in her life and that she's always so grateful when we come see her. I love that lady with my whole soul and it just breaks me to see her so sad. I've heard from a couple of my South American missionary friends that Elder Bednar gave an instruction to the missionaries down there about how we have to stop praying for people who aren't at church to just "magically" appear the next week. We have to go to their houses and rescue them for goodness sakes! You have no idea how many people just need a friend and just need to know that someone knows them and loves them.
This week I ate octopus. Not calamari, just octopus. Like the little kind where you just pop the whole thing, head, tentacles, suction cups and all in your mouth. And I didn't die. The mission changes you.
This was one of those weeks where everything fell apart but then better stuff came together. So much happened that I don't even know where to start. I guess one of the coolest/most humbling things this week was that we went and visited a less active sister, and I mean I'm used to people living in trailers and such, but this lady lives in like a quarter of a trailer. It's a glorified box. I was so heartbroken. Then, we find out that her furniture had been purchased through a rent a center thing, and she didn't realize how much it cost, so she couldn't pay. They were coming the next day to take all of it away, bed, heater, everything, and she would just have a table and a couple chairs left. I thought my heart was literally going to shatter. Thank heavens for some amazing members. Through a miracle, we found someone who had just moved and was getting rid of a bed, and someone else had a truck, so we got it to her so she could have a bed. There was some poverty in Kenner, but nothing like down here in Houma. It's crazy because there are two extremes here: super fancy plantation type homes, or trailer parks. And it's super rare we're in the fancy homes, so we spend 99% of our time in the trailer parks, and other run down places. The crazy thing is, they always offer us food or water or anything they could give us and what do you say.... I don't even know. It's an incredibly humbling experience to be here. It's proof that Jesus was not just a mortal man because to walk where He walked and spend time with the people He spent time with, it just breaks your heart. I just want to give these people everything I have!
I think even harder than physical poverty is that we are with people in spiritual/emotional poverty a lot. I can't tell you how many people are lonely in this world. We see so many less active members that have basically been forgotten about, and they're just so sad. We see one lady pretty regularly because she literally has no one but us. I have no idea who her visiting teachers are, or if she even has any. Her kids don't speak to her even though they live right by her (she was in the hospital a couple weeks ago and her daughter refused to come see her, even though she worked in the same hospital). We were with her last night and she was talking about how her depression was bad that day and that she just felt like crying all day. She told us we are the lights in her life and that she's always so grateful when we come see her. I love that lady with my whole soul and it just breaks me to see her so sad. I've heard from a couple of my South American missionary friends that Elder Bednar gave an instruction to the missionaries down there about how we have to stop praying for people who aren't at church to just "magically" appear the next week. We have to go to their houses and rescue them for goodness sakes! You have no idea how many people just need a friend and just need to know that someone knows them and loves them.
On a lighter note, here's how Heavenly Father uses random candy cravings to move the work forward: one day this week (I think Wednesday, I don't really remember) we were looking for a place to go tracting, and we passed by Dollar Tree. Randomly, I wanted candy (which hasn't happened in a long time because I'm kind of over the whole sugar thing) and so we went in. We wandered around for a while trying to decide what we wanted, because nothing was jumping out to us. Finally, we found something we wanted, and then got in line. In line, I noticed a mom and her daughter looking at my tag, with the typical look of confusion as they try to figure out how to say what they think is my first name, Hermana. I kind of laughed and explained to them what it said in English, and then we just started chatting, because it's the south and that's what you do. Come to find out, she has another daughter who is 11 years old that loves church more than anything! And she just always wants to be in a dress! And she wants to be a preacher when she grows up! So we're like HELLOOO future missionary! So we asked what church they go to, and they said, "Whichever one we feel like! She just likes church, not really a specific one!" And now we're teaching them and we're super pumped about it! :)
On a terrifying note, how in the world am I halfway done with my mission now?! I'm not okay with that. I still feel like I just got here, but on the other hand I can also see that I've grown up a ton and it feels like I've been here forever. This is the hardest/funniest/scariest/wonderfulest/most exhausting/best thing I've ever done, and I wouldn't trade anything in the world for it. There is nothing like a mission, and I feel so blessed for every day I have to be down in the bayou doing the work of the Lord.
Have the best week ever! I love you all so much!!
Hermana Sorensen
Have the best week ever! I love you all so much!!
Hermana Sorensen