Hey everybody!
Shout out to BYU for yet another incredible win! Let's all pray Tanner Mangum has better luck with his health than Taysom Hill so I can see him in action fall of 2017! :)
This week was not much different than last week. A lot of people not home/not available/not interested/not keeping commitments. I'm finding that in this area, people LOVE to talk about Jesus Christ and the Gospel and no one is really going to put down your beliefs (there are a few who love to bible bash, which gets interesting). Pretty much anybody will listen to your message and invite you back, however, they don't like to keep commitments or appointments because they don't actually get that we're trying to help them change, not just give a cute message. We need to work on the progress area because we've got a huge pool of potential investigators and new investigators, we just need to help them jump up to progressing investigators, and then hopefully someday to recent convert, then to active member!
Again this week though, I will take a pool of potentials any day with an investigator like Juan Pablo! Holy smokes! Sister Whitney and I were talking this week about if we're being punked by Salt Lake where they secretly give us a general authority under cover just to give missionaries a taste of what could happen in a perfect world. Still waiting to find out if it's true, but in the meantime, here's this week's update: Met with him twice, got through almost all the lessons already, loves everything, says over and over that this is the missing link he's been looking for, is reading the Book of Mormon religiously and taking better notes than I do, has been praying and receiving crazy strong answers, already has a testimony of the things we're teaching, came to a ward activity (more on the activity later) and talked to so many members and made so many friends, said it feels like home/family, came to church again, didn't even need to sit with us because he's so popular and the ward loves him and he loves them, already read two books out of the Book of Mormon (since Saturday night), found out about general conference coming up and got super pumped about it and cleared his schedule to be at all four sessions with us, and finally, get this: he asked to move up his baptismal date (we'll figure out a new date this week). Yep, miracles happen! His conversion has gone like wildfire and I'm just surprised we've been able to keep up with how fast he learns! I have no idea how we got so lucky! The crazy thing is, we found him completely (or so we thought) on accident. We happened to have p-day on Tuesday instead of Monday that week, then we just decided randomly that we should go to a different library to email than the one we always go to, then we had to go to a random little computer lab in the library because the big main one was full. Heavenly Father is so involved in this work. I strongly believe that there are no coincidences and I know with all my heart that this crazy whirlwind called Juan Pablo is no exception. Like I said, I will take a sea of potentials for this one glorious progressing investigator!
Shout out to BYU for yet another incredible win! Let's all pray Tanner Mangum has better luck with his health than Taysom Hill so I can see him in action fall of 2017! :)
This week was not much different than last week. A lot of people not home/not available/not interested/not keeping commitments. I'm finding that in this area, people LOVE to talk about Jesus Christ and the Gospel and no one is really going to put down your beliefs (there are a few who love to bible bash, which gets interesting). Pretty much anybody will listen to your message and invite you back, however, they don't like to keep commitments or appointments because they don't actually get that we're trying to help them change, not just give a cute message. We need to work on the progress area because we've got a huge pool of potential investigators and new investigators, we just need to help them jump up to progressing investigators, and then hopefully someday to recent convert, then to active member!
Again this week though, I will take a pool of potentials any day with an investigator like Juan Pablo! Holy smokes! Sister Whitney and I were talking this week about if we're being punked by Salt Lake where they secretly give us a general authority under cover just to give missionaries a taste of what could happen in a perfect world. Still waiting to find out if it's true, but in the meantime, here's this week's update: Met with him twice, got through almost all the lessons already, loves everything, says over and over that this is the missing link he's been looking for, is reading the Book of Mormon religiously and taking better notes than I do, has been praying and receiving crazy strong answers, already has a testimony of the things we're teaching, came to a ward activity (more on the activity later) and talked to so many members and made so many friends, said it feels like home/family, came to church again, didn't even need to sit with us because he's so popular and the ward loves him and he loves them, already read two books out of the Book of Mormon (since Saturday night), found out about general conference coming up and got super pumped about it and cleared his schedule to be at all four sessions with us, and finally, get this: he asked to move up his baptismal date (we'll figure out a new date this week). Yep, miracles happen! His conversion has gone like wildfire and I'm just surprised we've been able to keep up with how fast he learns! I have no idea how we got so lucky! The crazy thing is, we found him completely (or so we thought) on accident. We happened to have p-day on Tuesday instead of Monday that week, then we just decided randomly that we should go to a different library to email than the one we always go to, then we had to go to a random little computer lab in the library because the big main one was full. Heavenly Father is so involved in this work. I strongly believe that there are no coincidences and I know with all my heart that this crazy whirlwind called Juan Pablo is no exception. Like I said, I will take a sea of potentials for this one glorious progressing investigator!
Man let me tell you, Latinos know how to do ward parties! It may have started an hour late, but shoot it was so fun! People brought food from all their different countries and it was all amazing! I wish I could list all the things I got to try from basically every country from the USA down, but I really can't. It was just amazing. In hindsight, I should have taken pictures. Oops. And then after we ate it was a talent show! All of us (the missionaries) did two little skits and they all thought they were super funny, and then they asked me to play piano too. Sister Whitney convinced me to go up and start playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and then pretend like that was it, and then I actually went into Pirates of the Caribbean. They all laughed so I guess mission accomplished! The whole ward party was just so fun, and I realized that for the first time this feels like home now! I was never homesick or anything, but now I feel like I'm as much a part of this ward as any member or other missionary who's been here for longer. I love the New Orleans Second Ward SO SO SO MUCH!! They are all wonderful people and I feel so blessed to be able to serve here!!
This week I realized even more that The Book of Mormon was literally written for us personally. I'm still in the first half of Alma and I'm reading about all the missions that Alma and the sons of Mosiah went on and I've learned so much from their examples! Alma 26 is my very favorite chapter right now. I love what Ammon says about seeing our fruits, and that in truth, they are many. We may not have tangible evidence of our efforts, but we never really know how big of a difference we make in people's lives with even the smallest actions.
I love you all so much! Enjoy the beautiful Colorado fall! We don't really get a fall (or any season) here, so enjoy it while you can. We're not baking down here as much as normal, because it's actually been around 75-80 degrees. It feels like heaven! I'll talk to you all in a week. Que Dios les bendice con salud y felicidad!
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen
This week I realized even more that The Book of Mormon was literally written for us personally. I'm still in the first half of Alma and I'm reading about all the missions that Alma and the sons of Mosiah went on and I've learned so much from their examples! Alma 26 is my very favorite chapter right now. I love what Ammon says about seeing our fruits, and that in truth, they are many. We may not have tangible evidence of our efforts, but we never really know how big of a difference we make in people's lives with even the smallest actions.
I love you all so much! Enjoy the beautiful Colorado fall! We don't really get a fall (or any season) here, so enjoy it while you can. We're not baking down here as much as normal, because it's actually been around 75-80 degrees. It feels like heaven! I'll talk to you all in a week. Que Dios les bendice con salud y felicidad!
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen