Hi Everybody!
So everyone and their dog has been asking me about all the flooding, and honestly, you probably know more than I do. I haven't really heard a lot of statistics, nor have I seen a majority of the affected area. Here's what I do know: the flood waters are all down, but the damage is insanely bad. You drive down pretty much any street and there are just piles of people's dry wall, furniture, clothes, toys, and other belongings. It's really humbling and super sad. Also, all the streets smell really bad like old wet socks. As missionaries, we are doing a whole lot of service. Our focus is still teaching the investigators that we can, (namely, those who aren't displaced, or helping someone who is displaced, which is the great majority of our investigators). However, given the situation, we are doing a lot with the Mormon Helping Hands crews that have been coming in from all over to help out. The Church is so beautifully organized when it comes to disaster relief. I love it!
In the beginning of the week, we spent a lot of time in the shelters that I talked about last week. One day, I made friends with this cute little kid named Jacob, but he told me to call him Tiger Boy because he had his face painted like the LSU tiger. He is 5. He was stuck to me like glue for a good 3 or 4 hours. Every time he would leave somewhere, he would say, "Hold on, Imma be RIGHT BACK. Okay?" And then he would kiss my hand or my cheek if I was sitting down. One time, he came back and a couple little girls were braiding my hair because they thought my blonde hair was super cool, and Jacob comes back and says, "Aw man I got some real bad problems..." and I said, "Aw man, what's the matter?" expecting him to say something about the shelter or something. He said "You gots new friends now..." and I just laughed and hugged him and then played Chutes and Ladders while the girls braided my hair. J
So everyone and their dog has been asking me about all the flooding, and honestly, you probably know more than I do. I haven't really heard a lot of statistics, nor have I seen a majority of the affected area. Here's what I do know: the flood waters are all down, but the damage is insanely bad. You drive down pretty much any street and there are just piles of people's dry wall, furniture, clothes, toys, and other belongings. It's really humbling and super sad. Also, all the streets smell really bad like old wet socks. As missionaries, we are doing a whole lot of service. Our focus is still teaching the investigators that we can, (namely, those who aren't displaced, or helping someone who is displaced, which is the great majority of our investigators). However, given the situation, we are doing a lot with the Mormon Helping Hands crews that have been coming in from all over to help out. The Church is so beautifully organized when it comes to disaster relief. I love it!
In the beginning of the week, we spent a lot of time in the shelters that I talked about last week. One day, I made friends with this cute little kid named Jacob, but he told me to call him Tiger Boy because he had his face painted like the LSU tiger. He is 5. He was stuck to me like glue for a good 3 or 4 hours. Every time he would leave somewhere, he would say, "Hold on, Imma be RIGHT BACK. Okay?" And then he would kiss my hand or my cheek if I was sitting down. One time, he came back and a couple little girls were braiding my hair because they thought my blonde hair was super cool, and Jacob comes back and says, "Aw man I got some real bad problems..." and I said, "Aw man, what's the matter?" expecting him to say something about the shelter or something. He said "You gots new friends now..." and I just laughed and hugged him and then played Chutes and Ladders while the girls braided my hair. J
Now that it's been a week, the shelters are a lot smaller and calmer, so missionaries have been focusing more on the homes and helping people gut them out, which is a gross and very humbling process. It amazes me how optimistic the people are despite losing everything. We were driving around some of our area last night to try to see some of our investigators and every street looks the same. We went to Denham Springs for the first time since the floods happened because I-12 finally opened up again, and holy smokes. It's still like a war zone. National Guard everywhere, stores are all dark and closed, there's piles of stuff everywhere, not just in front of homes, and the whole thing is just kind of dark and scary. Not scary like dangerous scary, just empty scary.
This week we were able to see a couple of our amazing investigators which was a huge tender mercy. One of them, Norma, is probably the nicest person I've ever met. We taught her the Restoration because it had been months since missionaries had seen her, and the whole time she was saying "this makes sense! this all makes sense now!" At the end, when we asked if there's anything we can do for her, she said the best thing we can do is just to come back and teach her more! I love it when that happens! And the biggest miracle is that when we asked for a referral, SHE ACTUALLY GAVE US ONE. Like a real live person with a name and an address and an interest! We went and contacted her right after and she was walking out the door so we couldn't teach her right then, but she made a return appointment for this upcoming Friday. Doing service is fun, but it feels good to still focus on our investigators and help them to progress in this glorious Gospel.
One personal tender mercy this week was that on Thursday, in my personal study (which, due to a bunch of craziness this week I hadn't had a really good personal study all week), I happened to be in the end of Luke, D&C 19, and Mosiah 3, all of which talk about the Atonement of Christ. I mean, all of the scriptures testify of Christ, but it was cool to have my New Testament reading, my D&C reading, and my Book of Mormon reading all coincide to focus heavily on the Atonement. The tender mercy is that night I was praying and I really needed help with some things, and I had a thought come into my head to remember what I studied, and when I did, I felt so much peace and comfort knowing that Christ knew my situation perfectly and that because He did, He could give me the strength I needed. Christ really is our Savior. I've always known that the Atonement helps us to overcome sin, but what I learned/felt this week was the second part of the Atonement, which is the enabling power. Christ suffered for all of our sadness, stress, worry, pain, everything. He descended beneath everything, which puts Him in the perfect position to lift us up when we think our strength is fading. I know my Savior lives. More than I ever did before. He really, really lives. And He loves us.
I love you all so much! Keep the sweet people of Louisiana in your prayers, because like someone said in our combined Sacrament meeting yesterday, this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's going to take a good while to get everything in good shape again.
Have the best week ever!
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen
One personal tender mercy this week was that on Thursday, in my personal study (which, due to a bunch of craziness this week I hadn't had a really good personal study all week), I happened to be in the end of Luke, D&C 19, and Mosiah 3, all of which talk about the Atonement of Christ. I mean, all of the scriptures testify of Christ, but it was cool to have my New Testament reading, my D&C reading, and my Book of Mormon reading all coincide to focus heavily on the Atonement. The tender mercy is that night I was praying and I really needed help with some things, and I had a thought come into my head to remember what I studied, and when I did, I felt so much peace and comfort knowing that Christ knew my situation perfectly and that because He did, He could give me the strength I needed. Christ really is our Savior. I've always known that the Atonement helps us to overcome sin, but what I learned/felt this week was the second part of the Atonement, which is the enabling power. Christ suffered for all of our sadness, stress, worry, pain, everything. He descended beneath everything, which puts Him in the perfect position to lift us up when we think our strength is fading. I know my Savior lives. More than I ever did before. He really, really lives. And He loves us.
I love you all so much! Keep the sweet people of Louisiana in your prayers, because like someone said in our combined Sacrament meeting yesterday, this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's going to take a good while to get everything in good shape again.
Have the best week ever!
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen