Family,
Hey we had an even better week than before and we are getting numbers like I've never seen! I know that the numbers don't count for anything without the people but I still feel really proud of how we did. My zone leader told me that we were leading the zone with our numbers. Our investigators are doing really well too. We have a solid baptism coming up for the 12th of September and we are still trying to get someone else ready for the end of the month.
To tell you more about my companion; his name is Elder Wilkins for Orem Utah. He is doing really amazing for a new missionary and I am impressed every day. Give him a few more cycles and his Spanish will be better than mine. It is great to teach him all of the things I wished I had known at the beginning of my mission so that he can become a better missionary than I am. We have been having a lot of fun together and I am glad to stay with him another cycle.
Our baptismal date for the 12th is named Ra*iel. He is a little strange but has been accepting every thing we teach him and we haven't had any problems. He is getting excited for the baptism which is great.
I'm sorry I've run out of time, I will fill you all in next week about how I'm doing. I am working as hard as I can, staying as focused as I can and loving every minute of it. Thank you for all of your support and love and don't worry about sending money. I pulled out 100 at the mtc for travel and still haven't spent it all, plus I have been really lucky finding money, so I will be fine. I can always pull more money out. One thing though is if you could send me another one of those vacuum bags in my next package. I don't need it soon just some day
Elder Sorensen
First day
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
8.19.09
Family!
Hey it sounds like you all are doing so great and really staying busy with life! It is great to hear all of the news from you all and that you are doing so well. So there were a lot of really big changes in the mission today and from our zone every companionship got changed except elder Wilkins and me. A lot of younger missionaries got put into leadership which will be good in the long run because it will help them be better missionaries. I talked to one of the APs and he told me that they were going to move me because I've been here so long but because we are doing so well in this area they decided to keep me here. So it looks like I will be here for a total of nine months which is a long time in one area but I know it will be great. Who knows I could be here for the rest of my mission! Lol
So Elder Wilkins and I had our first baptism together last week! We baptized Ma*ia a little early because she wanted certain people to be there. It went really well and a ton of people showed up to her baptism. The ward did a really great job fellowshipping her and she has made a lot of good friends here which is awesome. I was so excited that I was able to baptize with Elder Wilkins in his first cycle. I remember I didn't baptize until my third cycle which was a little rough so it's good start for elder Wilkins. I wanted him to do the actual baptism but Ma*ia wanted the bishop to do it which is even better. He didn't care too much but he was really excited that we were able to baptize.
We also have a few more people lined up for September and this one guy named Raf*el is really solid. He is a little weird but he understands everything we teach him perfectly and wants to be baptized. He also doesn't work so we see him almost every day. A few of our other investigators are dropping off like they always do we are really going to have to push to find some new people. We didn't do the greatest job finding new people this week so we have to step it up to find them this week.
Last Sunday Pa*la, my recent convert from Yonkers, came and visited me at church which was really cool for me. It was great to talk with her and to hear that she is doing so well. She said that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight which I hope isn't true because I've never had anything to lose. She also gave me a few bucks to go eat and gain that weight back. lol It was one of those moments in my life that I really felt blessed. All in one chapel were three people I baptized, one that was going to get baptized that night and then an investigator who is going to be baptized next month! I felt really blessed and more determined to work harder.
I am really jealous that you all get to go back to Oregon to see Griff go through the temple. I am really proud of how far he has come and from being on a mission and learning what kind of person it takes to be a good missionary; I know he will be great. It takes a lot of people skills and the ability to click with everyone. He will also learn a ton which will be great for him.
I am still praying for Uncle Jeff and hoping that our family will be able to turn to the Savior in these hard times. Heavenly Father has a purpose for everything in this life and hopefully we can learn from those hard times. We can take the trials in this life only in two ways; positively or negatively. We can be angry, sad, want to quit; or we can learn and grow from those experiences. That is the original plan of our Father in Heaven, that's why we are here today. And we knew that before this life and we agreed to live through these hard times, because we saw then what many can't see now. Our goal, eternal life.
I sure love you all and hope you are taking advantage of every moment we have. This life was given to us, it is not our own. Therefore, don't waste a single moment of the Lord's time by doing something he would not approve of. I am excited to hear from you all again next week and I hope you take care in the meantime. Have a great week!
Elder Sorensen
Hey it sounds like you all are doing so great and really staying busy with life! It is great to hear all of the news from you all and that you are doing so well. So there were a lot of really big changes in the mission today and from our zone every companionship got changed except elder Wilkins and me. A lot of younger missionaries got put into leadership which will be good in the long run because it will help them be better missionaries. I talked to one of the APs and he told me that they were going to move me because I've been here so long but because we are doing so well in this area they decided to keep me here. So it looks like I will be here for a total of nine months which is a long time in one area but I know it will be great. Who knows I could be here for the rest of my mission! Lol
So Elder Wilkins and I had our first baptism together last week! We baptized Ma*ia a little early because she wanted certain people to be there. It went really well and a ton of people showed up to her baptism. The ward did a really great job fellowshipping her and she has made a lot of good friends here which is awesome. I was so excited that I was able to baptize with Elder Wilkins in his first cycle. I remember I didn't baptize until my third cycle which was a little rough so it's good start for elder Wilkins. I wanted him to do the actual baptism but Ma*ia wanted the bishop to do it which is even better. He didn't care too much but he was really excited that we were able to baptize.
We also have a few more people lined up for September and this one guy named Raf*el is really solid. He is a little weird but he understands everything we teach him perfectly and wants to be baptized. He also doesn't work so we see him almost every day. A few of our other investigators are dropping off like they always do we are really going to have to push to find some new people. We didn't do the greatest job finding new people this week so we have to step it up to find them this week.
Last Sunday Pa*la, my recent convert from Yonkers, came and visited me at church which was really cool for me. It was great to talk with her and to hear that she is doing so well. She said that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight which I hope isn't true because I've never had anything to lose. She also gave me a few bucks to go eat and gain that weight back. lol It was one of those moments in my life that I really felt blessed. All in one chapel were three people I baptized, one that was going to get baptized that night and then an investigator who is going to be baptized next month! I felt really blessed and more determined to work harder.
I am really jealous that you all get to go back to Oregon to see Griff go through the temple. I am really proud of how far he has come and from being on a mission and learning what kind of person it takes to be a good missionary; I know he will be great. It takes a lot of people skills and the ability to click with everyone. He will also learn a ton which will be great for him.
I am still praying for Uncle Jeff and hoping that our family will be able to turn to the Savior in these hard times. Heavenly Father has a purpose for everything in this life and hopefully we can learn from those hard times. We can take the trials in this life only in two ways; positively or negatively. We can be angry, sad, want to quit; or we can learn and grow from those experiences. That is the original plan of our Father in Heaven, that's why we are here today. And we knew that before this life and we agreed to live through these hard times, because we saw then what many can't see now. Our goal, eternal life.
I sure love you all and hope you are taking advantage of every moment we have. This life was given to us, it is not our own. Therefore, don't waste a single moment of the Lord's time by doing something he would not approve of. I am excited to hear from you all again next week and I hope you take care in the meantime. Have a great week!
Elder Sorensen
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
7.12.09
Family!
Hey everyone how's it all going? Elder Wilkins and I did really great this week and counting the numbers we did even better than last week. We got 11 with members, eight new investigators, 3 at church and 4 with a baptismal date. The best I have ever done in my mission. As far as miracles we defiantly had our share each day.
Ma**a, the miracle of last week, will be baptized this next Sunday which will be really sweet! I am really grateful that I will be able to baptize with my greenie his first cycle. I never baptized with my trainer and it took three cycles to get one in at all. I am also really grateful to see that the Lord has made me an effective instrument in His hands to where I could baptize without a companion who knows more than me. Heavenly Father has really blessed me a lot and I have a ton to be grateful.
We also had mission conference yesterday and every time we hear from President Smith I feel the confirmation that he really is called of God to lead this mission. He is making a lot of changes in the mission which is a good thing but it will just be a little different. I am really excited to see more of his influence in our mission and the great things he will do.
Elder Wilkins is doing really great and he amazes me every day. He is learning really fast and has been a great help in our companionship. He got hit on by this over weight fourteen year old the other day which was pretty funny, but other than that he is having a great time. "Is that your natural eye color? Its beautiful." lol I have learned a lot from him and I hope we get to serve together for another cycle. I have been here in the Bronx for 5 cycles which is long time but the church now wants to keep the missionaries in their areas for longer which means I could stay. I hope I stay; I have really come to love this area and all of the people in it. I know how to work hard here and see results so I hope I get to stay for at least another cycle.
We met a lot of people right now but most of them seem kind of sketchy. One is a drug addict who is trying to drop over the counter drugs that replaced heroine, along with alcohol and cigarettes. Another doesn't remember anything about his parents or where he is from. We even had one guy tell us that back in Honduras; he was part of this huge gang and had killed 14-15 people. (Don't worry we dropped him quick!) I guess we should be grateful to be teaching people. A lot of our investigators are showing a lot of good progress and are really coming around. We had a great lesson with one named Ro*a yesterday and got her excited for baptism.
It is great to hear that you all are doing so great and staying so busy. It really sounds like you all have your plate full of things to do which is great. Keep pushing to do your best in all that you do and fulfill the measure of your creation. I know from experience that the Lord will help us do whatever is good as long as we stay faithful and rely on Him. I hope you all have a great week and do all you can to make it the best week. I will let you know if I will be staying here in the Bronx next week of if I have moved. Thank you for all of the prayers and thought of support. I can see them in action every day. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!
Elder Sorensen
Hey everyone how's it all going? Elder Wilkins and I did really great this week and counting the numbers we did even better than last week. We got 11 with members, eight new investigators, 3 at church and 4 with a baptismal date. The best I have ever done in my mission. As far as miracles we defiantly had our share each day.
Ma**a, the miracle of last week, will be baptized this next Sunday which will be really sweet! I am really grateful that I will be able to baptize with my greenie his first cycle. I never baptized with my trainer and it took three cycles to get one in at all. I am also really grateful to see that the Lord has made me an effective instrument in His hands to where I could baptize without a companion who knows more than me. Heavenly Father has really blessed me a lot and I have a ton to be grateful.
We also had mission conference yesterday and every time we hear from President Smith I feel the confirmation that he really is called of God to lead this mission. He is making a lot of changes in the mission which is a good thing but it will just be a little different. I am really excited to see more of his influence in our mission and the great things he will do.
Elder Wilkins is doing really great and he amazes me every day. He is learning really fast and has been a great help in our companionship. He got hit on by this over weight fourteen year old the other day which was pretty funny, but other than that he is having a great time. "Is that your natural eye color? Its beautiful." lol I have learned a lot from him and I hope we get to serve together for another cycle. I have been here in the Bronx for 5 cycles which is long time but the church now wants to keep the missionaries in their areas for longer which means I could stay. I hope I stay; I have really come to love this area and all of the people in it. I know how to work hard here and see results so I hope I get to stay for at least another cycle.
We met a lot of people right now but most of them seem kind of sketchy. One is a drug addict who is trying to drop over the counter drugs that replaced heroine, along with alcohol and cigarettes. Another doesn't remember anything about his parents or where he is from. We even had one guy tell us that back in Honduras; he was part of this huge gang and had killed 14-15 people. (Don't worry we dropped him quick!) I guess we should be grateful to be teaching people. A lot of our investigators are showing a lot of good progress and are really coming around. We had a great lesson with one named Ro*a yesterday and got her excited for baptism.
It is great to hear that you all are doing so great and staying so busy. It really sounds like you all have your plate full of things to do which is great. Keep pushing to do your best in all that you do and fulfill the measure of your creation. I know from experience that the Lord will help us do whatever is good as long as we stay faithful and rely on Him. I hope you all have a great week and do all you can to make it the best week. I will let you know if I will be staying here in the Bronx next week of if I have moved. Thank you for all of the prayers and thought of support. I can see them in action every day. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!
Elder Sorensen
7.2.09?
Family,
Hey every one how is it all going? I had an amazing week with a ton of miracles. I know that I say that every week, but really this week was amazing. It was probable the best week I have had, as far as numbers go, in my whole mission. We hit all of the standards of excellence and had ten with member lessons! We also had three at church who all have a baptismal date!
I will start of with some of the biggest miracles we had this past week. The first was that as we were serving our bishop cleaning up his basement, another member working with us told us that he had a new investigator for us, his mom who just came from Mexico. So after working we went over and found out that she was baptized March of last year but never confirmed. So she has to get baptized again, which will be really easy because she already has learned it once. So we gave her a date for the 22 of this month and she could even be baptized before that! That was really cool and it will be my greenies first baptism.
The second miracle of the week actually happened a few weeks ago, but because I wasn't ready to receive it, it had to rehappen this week. A few weeks ago I got a call from this lady who visited the church in Utah and really wanted to go here. It was exciting at the time but after telling me where she lived, I thought she lived in a different area. I told her the direction of the other chapel and I didn't hear back from her until last Sunday. She said that our chapel was a lot closer and she wanted to come here. So I gave here directions on how to get here and she actually came! I got her address to give to the other missionaries and let her leave after sacrament. After thinking for a second I realized that she does live in our area and I had just let her leave without really talking to her. Luckily we were able to go over to her house that night and we give her a baptismal date. She seems pretty cool and again I am really happy for the miracle.
We found a lot of really cool people this past week and our area is on fire. The beginning of this week has looked really great too. This week we have already almost hit the standard of new investigators and with member lessons. Hopefully we will be able to double it again this week. I am really feeling confident in my teaching skills and with my Spanish. I know I have a lot to learn and a long ways to go but it feels good to at least think I know what I'm doing. The Lord will probably humble me again, so I better stop telling you all, how good I think I am.
It is great to hear that you all are doing so well. I wish I could be around to see everything but I also know that I wouldn't trade this for anything. I am doing really well and staying focused on the work, so much so that I guess I talk in my sleep about missionary work. Thank you all for your support and don't feel bad about not sending me mail. I am really bad at writing you all and I know that you are all really busy. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!
Elder Sorensen
Hey every one how is it all going? I had an amazing week with a ton of miracles. I know that I say that every week, but really this week was amazing. It was probable the best week I have had, as far as numbers go, in my whole mission. We hit all of the standards of excellence and had ten with member lessons! We also had three at church who all have a baptismal date!
I will start of with some of the biggest miracles we had this past week. The first was that as we were serving our bishop cleaning up his basement, another member working with us told us that he had a new investigator for us, his mom who just came from Mexico. So after working we went over and found out that she was baptized March of last year but never confirmed. So she has to get baptized again, which will be really easy because she already has learned it once. So we gave her a date for the 22 of this month and she could even be baptized before that! That was really cool and it will be my greenies first baptism.
The second miracle of the week actually happened a few weeks ago, but because I wasn't ready to receive it, it had to rehappen this week. A few weeks ago I got a call from this lady who visited the church in Utah and really wanted to go here. It was exciting at the time but after telling me where she lived, I thought she lived in a different area. I told her the direction of the other chapel and I didn't hear back from her until last Sunday. She said that our chapel was a lot closer and she wanted to come here. So I gave here directions on how to get here and she actually came! I got her address to give to the other missionaries and let her leave after sacrament. After thinking for a second I realized that she does live in our area and I had just let her leave without really talking to her. Luckily we were able to go over to her house that night and we give her a baptismal date. She seems pretty cool and again I am really happy for the miracle.
We found a lot of really cool people this past week and our area is on fire. The beginning of this week has looked really great too. This week we have already almost hit the standard of new investigators and with member lessons. Hopefully we will be able to double it again this week. I am really feeling confident in my teaching skills and with my Spanish. I know I have a lot to learn and a long ways to go but it feels good to at least think I know what I'm doing. The Lord will probably humble me again, so I better stop telling you all, how good I think I am.
It is great to hear that you all are doing so well. I wish I could be around to see everything but I also know that I wouldn't trade this for anything. I am doing really well and staying focused on the work, so much so that I guess I talk in my sleep about missionary work. Thank you all for your support and don't feel bad about not sending me mail. I am really bad at writing you all and I know that you are all really busy. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!
Elder Sorensen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
