Hi everybody!!
I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! Turns out Hispanics hate Halloween because in South America it's actually way scary, and crazy voodoo/witch/devil stuff goes down, so when we tried to invite people to the ward trunk-or-treat we got a lot of "how can a church celebrate the devil's holiday?" ..... awkward. So yeah, I hope all you Coloradans (or all the rest of you who just aren't in a Hispanic area) enjoyed it. We had to be in by 6 pm both Friday and Saturday because there was trick or treating both days on account of a huge rain storm Saturday night, so some people switched Halloween to Friday night instead. We just made cookies, watched some old cheesy church movies, and went to bed early. It was quite the party. :)
I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! Turns out Hispanics hate Halloween because in South America it's actually way scary, and crazy voodoo/witch/devil stuff goes down, so when we tried to invite people to the ward trunk-or-treat we got a lot of "how can a church celebrate the devil's holiday?" ..... awkward. So yeah, I hope all you Coloradans (or all the rest of you who just aren't in a Hispanic area) enjoyed it. We had to be in by 6 pm both Friday and Saturday because there was trick or treating both days on account of a huge rain storm Saturday night, so some people switched Halloween to Friday night instead. We just made cookies, watched some old cheesy church movies, and went to bed early. It was quite the party. :)
Where in the world is the time going?! How is it November? I still feel like it's summer here! Probably because the leaves don't change and we've gotten all the way down to a breezy 75 degrees. :) We're already halfway through this transfer too which scares me because any transfer after your first 2 you're in danger of leaving, and I would do anything to stay in Kenner at least one more transfer. We have seen SO many miracles in the last two weeks (well okay in the last 15 or however many it's been) and we have seen a crazy amount of growth and potential in this area – more than I ever have. We've been still going with President's advice to focus on finding new investigators, and we have definitely been able to pull through with the Hand of the Lord. I just feel like this area is bursting with potential, and there are literally not enough hours in the day or days in the week to do all the things we want to do and see all the people we want to see. Which is definitely a good problem to have. :) This crazy burst of people has made our planning so much better. Instead of saying, "Well... we could go contacting at Lafreneire Park..." we have lists of people to see and we have to organize them by where they live and when they're free, and we've been having so many lessons this week, Our Spanish and our teaching skills in general have grown a lot because we just get to practice so much more! Blessings on blessings on blessings!
One cool thing this week was that I left my area for the first time ever! We had exchanges and for once I went to the Sister Training Leaders' area, West Bank. It was cool to see a different part of the mission (even though it's just literally over the Mississippi river from us) and potentially one of my future areas. We only have four areas with Spanish sister missionaries right now so unless things change, there's a good chance I could serve in all of them. On exchanges, I learned a lot of good tracting tools that I hadn't thought of, and just how to teach the Restoration lesson a little smoother.
One cool thing this week was that I left my area for the first time ever! We had exchanges and for once I went to the Sister Training Leaders' area, West Bank. It was cool to see a different part of the mission (even though it's just literally over the Mississippi river from us) and potentially one of my future areas. We only have four areas with Spanish sister missionaries right now so unless things change, there's a good chance I could serve in all of them. On exchanges, I learned a lot of good tracting tools that I hadn't thought of, and just how to teach the Restoration lesson a little smoother.
While I was on exchanges we had this amazing lesson with one of their new investigators, Karen. She just lost her husband a couple months ago, and she's just really sad and kind of angry with God. We taught her the plan of salvation lesson, and I wish I could describe it, but I really can't. The Spirit was unreal in that lesson, and it was one of those moments where I really felt the power of my calling to testify of these things and promise blessings. Sometimes it's scary to say "I know that Heavenly Father has a plan specifically for you" or "I know where your husband is right now" or things like that, but it's true. I do know those things, and as a missionary, I have the power and authority to promise blessings. It was crazy because she mentioned she thought about taking her own life, which completely threw us for a loop, and we had no idea what to say, but we both just opened our mouths and Heavenly Father filled them with the words she needed to hear. We testified that God loved her so much and that sometimes we don't know why other people have shorter times on earth than us, but that everything will work out. She started to cry and said that we were angels sent by God at the exact time she needed us. Have I mentioned I love being a missionary?
So yeah exchanges were super fun! I was glad to get back to Kenner though because it really does feel like home. The apartment, the ward, the streets, my companion, everything. Other than that, this week was pretty normal. No zone meetings or anything for the first time in forever. I love meetings, but sitting in one room for 5 hours gets old after a while. I want to go out and do stuff!
So yeah exchanges were super fun! I was glad to get back to Kenner though because it really does feel like home. The apartment, the ward, the streets, my companion, everything. Other than that, this week was pretty normal. No zone meetings or anything for the first time in forever. I love meetings, but sitting in one room for 5 hours gets old after a while. I want to go out and do stuff!
This week I studied the book of Mormon in The Book of Mormon, and also in Ether, and it's always been crazy to me how Mormon and Moroni were literally the last righteous people on earth at that time. I know that all of the scriptures are written for us, but the last three books of The Book of Mormon were literally written just for us, because no one else would listen. Mormon and Moroni kept fighting so that someday, some group of people who they didn't know, would come to know the fullness of the Gospel. Even though we're definitely not all the last righteous people on earth, we need to press forward and be examples of righteousness no matter what anyone else is doing around us, because we never know how many lives we will affect. I am so grateful for these two heroes because without them, we would not have so many of the plain and precious truths of the restored Gospel. One thing I have gained a strong testimony of on my mission is that The Book of Mormon really is the most correct of any book on earth, and that it brings us to Christ. If you open the bible to any random page, you might find some good stuff, but there's also a lot of changes, and especially in the Old Testament, there's just some fluff. Not that the bible is bad, I also have a strong testimony of the bible and I'm so grateful for it. But The Book of Mormon is so concentrated with crystal clear doctrine that cannot be confused. It really is convincing evidence of the Restoration of the Gospel, and I'm so humbled by the responsibility to "flood the earth with The Book of Mormon" and testify of its truthfulness to everybody I can!
I love you all!! Enjoy the fall leaves and the beginning of the Christmas Season (because everyone knows November 1st is the true beginning of Christmas! :) )
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen
I love you all!! Enjoy the fall leaves and the beginning of the Christmas Season (because everyone knows November 1st is the true beginning of Christmas! :) )
Con amor,
Hermana Sorensen