Hello, all y'all in the frozen land of Idaho. We here in Houston experienced a wet and overcast Thanksgiving week, but nothing too drastic. Some days were chilly (in the 50s and 60s), some days were warmer (in the 70s), and some days there was even wind. It made me shiver just a bit, but the anticipation of true Winter both makes me shiver even more (because I am afraid I've become a Texan who believes that what I'm experiencing is Winter) and warms me from the inside out (because that will also mean Idaho and YOU). It sounds like good Thanksgivings were had by both parties, even separately. And the Christmas party sounded nice, for those who attended. I'm sure the football game was just as exciting, whoever played in it and whoever won. Our Thanksgiving was very thankful. We had a brief lunch with one family in the ward, the Speckhards, who were inviting over quite a few friends and neighbors. And our real dinner was with the Davidsons who are also in the ward. We played some fun games and enjoyed not only pie but eggnog milkshakes (made with premium Blue Bell ice cream). They had the best sweet potatoes I'd ever eaten, and a secret delicious ingredient in the stuffing: pomegranate seeds.
We also went to the temple, found plenty of time for tracting, had another lesson with Pablo, sent Joseph off to California after passing his baptismal interview with flying colors ("He is very prepared," said the district leader), and learned that Sister Radin and Sister Schlauder will be training a new missionary after my departure. We are pretty sure she is from Idaho, so the balance of power will be maintained in the mission. It's becoming quite bittersweet to say goodbye, knowing how much I love my companions, my fellow missionaries, the people here in Texas, and just the opportunity to have the gospel as the only priority in my life. But I am also anticipating some wonderful things ahead. "For after much tribulation come the blessings." I really haven't had all that much tribulation. It's all been a small moment in the end. But somehow I know the Lord will bless me anyway. He already has so much. I have a wonderful family, many friends--new and old, Texan and otherwise--and a knowledge of and covenants in the restored gospel. What more could I want? Well, I guess I could think of a few things, but because I have been a missionary, I will not have to worry about those things. I know they are coming my way just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. And the next morning after that. And the next morning after that, when I am enjoying it in snowy, old, beautiful Idaho, my home.
I suppose I should tell you one last funny story by e-mail before I attempt to fill you in on all the details in person. We were teaching a lesson this week to a former investigator who has some unique health challenges, one of them being that both of her legs were amputated about a year ago. She requires some extra care because of this, which is provided by her younger sister, although both of them are probably in their late forties or early fifties. But, not wanting to be a burden, she told us, "She doesn't need to be taking care of me. This is her time to be a cougar." I was able to contain my laughter but just barely. It reminded me of earlier on my mission, in Tomball, when I said something in the presence of the Spanish elders about "not being that kind of cougar, " meaning that I was a BYU cougar and not a Tomball cougar (since that is their mascot), but they intentionally took it to mean the other kind of cougar, the kind the investigator was talking about...a lady who likes younger men. I'm not sure if I've even heard the end of that episode of Sister Sorensen puts her foot in her mouth. I saw one of the elders recently at a zone conference, and he mentioned something about it. Oh well. It was a good laugh, and the moment with the investigator wouldn't have been nearly as funny without that moment so many months ago. I love how jokes can build up like that, like loose ends being tied up. This is one of them.
I took some excellent pictures yesterday with some of my favorite people and families in the wards. I'll show you when I get home. For now, enjoy these of me with the Kleinwood ward mission leader, Brother Williams. As you can see, the sun was shining brightly and there is not a flake of snow in sight.
I think this is one of the final lines in "Apollo 13," just when the space capsule is touching down in the ocean water. I think Tom Hanks says it. Or it might be Kevin Bacon. Or it might be something like this earlier in the movie. But the point is, someone in the movie says something like this, and it's been going through my head all week, so it must be what I'm supposed to say. "It's been a beautiful ride."
Love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
11-22-10 "T Minus 10 and Counting"
Well, I think it's safe to say there will be snow in Idaho in December. Wow! And I really can't wait to see Griffin playing in it. That sounds really cute. He looks good in a scarf. To be honest, I am super excited to meet this animal, and I think we'll be great friends. You may not have gotten that impression from me saying I think he's taken my place in y'alls hearts and such, but I'm fairly certain I will like him and want to take him with me to college. Except that's not possible. Speaking of dogs, remember how I told you that dog got sick on my skirt a few weeks ago? Well, apparently that dog was not just having an upset stomach. It died. I don't think it was an allergic reaction to me or anything weird like that, but how sad.
As far as the weather goes, here it is much cooler than the summer, with temperatures holding around 70 or 75 during the day and probably hitting the 50s at night. It's not cold by any means, but it usually requires a cardigan, at least when it's overcast and you might get downpoured on any minute. I must say, I'm a little nervous about not having the cold tolerance of a native Idahoan anymore....
Yes, my final zone conference was great. It was much more conversational and interactive than most. President Hansen had a time slot where we just asked questions and he answered them. Really informative and nice. We had an opportunity to practice our teaching skills with some other missionaries and pretend to have the same concerns as our investigators. We were paired with some of the zone leaders for one of the Spanish zones, one of whom was one of my friends from Tomball. Good to see everyone again, I guess most of them for the last time, at least for a while. Weird. They even had the new or departing missionaries stand up and bear our testimonies at the end. Kind of a bittersweet, but mostly sweet thing, to have a few moments to reflect and witness how much the Savior has changed me and brought me through this. My gratitude runneth over. I think it's great that Dad has become a legend in the Idaho Pocatello mission. Do you know what it takes to become a legend? Well, that is it, but, just for the record, I already knew you were legendary, Dad.
Other than that, it's pretty much been missionary life as usual. I can't really think that life on Sycamore Circle is any more or less exciting than life in the Texas Houston mission, just different in its own ways. We did a lot of tracting and had a few long-anticipated lessons with some investigators while others continue to drop off the map despite our efforts to help them find the iron rod. We helped out with a youth fireside last night in one of the wards about how to answer difficult questions about the gospel they are sometimes asked by friends at school. Someone we met while tracting told us, "If you really cared what Jesus Christ thought, you'd reject the Book of Mormon," but we just kept tracting. I know it's nothing to compare to the suffering of the Atonement, or even the trials Joseph Smith faced as Prophet of the Restoration, but sometimes it makes me think of those lines from Joseph Smith history: Why persecute me for telling the truth? Usually when people throw lines like that at us, we think of these two lines the evil guards say to Joseph and company in Liberty Jail in the Joseph Smith movie: "This faith of yours is such a waste!" and "Looks like God's forgotten you!" We realize that whatever those people are saying to us is bascially the November in Houston, Texas equivalent of one of those phrases. It makes it a lot easier to heed them not when you see them not as isolated incidents directed to personally attack us but as mockeries and taunts that have always followed the truth. Sister Schlauder even has a chant, taken directly from a line in the Doctrine and Covenants, that she made up at EFY once: Fools mock, but they shall mourn. It also makes me think of Nephi's final testimony at the close of 2 Nephi. "All ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, (or share these words with you) notwithstanding my weakness. And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day." I hope that that comes across in a hopeful and loving manner, like both Nephi and I intended it to. I love these peole, and my heart aches to know how much joy they are rejecting while they do not even understand what they are doing. I rejoice that God is a God of mercy because I know He will continue to send them His tender mercies as long as it takes. I'm glad He allowed me to be one of them for so many people.
Okay, I better break away from that train of thought before I get too sentimental. On the docket for the next ten days are two trips to the temple, a Thanksgiving holiday, moving apartments, packing up all my stuff, final shopping for souvenirs for the family, many pictures to take with beloved companions and friends, and whatever else the Lord has in store that He hasn't let me know about yet. It should be a fairly typical week, minus the whole it being my last full week in Texas thing. Strange. I still kind of think it's a lie, and next week at this time someone will call and tell me I'll be going to College Station or Montgomery or Katy or somewhere else for the next six weeks. But I think it will probably start to settle in soon enough, so until then I'll just enjoy it.
Much love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Cassidy, you didn't say anything about the David Archuleta Christmas album? Do you have one? Would you like to have mine when I get home? Details, sister, details!
PPS The box I sent home really isn't that exciting for y'all. Just a dictionary and a book about the Houston temple and a few other odds and ends, plus a little surprise I found for everyone. But I still want you to wait a few more days to open it..until I get home that is.
PPPS Happy snow!
As far as the weather goes, here it is much cooler than the summer, with temperatures holding around 70 or 75 during the day and probably hitting the 50s at night. It's not cold by any means, but it usually requires a cardigan, at least when it's overcast and you might get downpoured on any minute. I must say, I'm a little nervous about not having the cold tolerance of a native Idahoan anymore....
Yes, my final zone conference was great. It was much more conversational and interactive than most. President Hansen had a time slot where we just asked questions and he answered them. Really informative and nice. We had an opportunity to practice our teaching skills with some other missionaries and pretend to have the same concerns as our investigators. We were paired with some of the zone leaders for one of the Spanish zones, one of whom was one of my friends from Tomball. Good to see everyone again, I guess most of them for the last time, at least for a while. Weird. They even had the new or departing missionaries stand up and bear our testimonies at the end. Kind of a bittersweet, but mostly sweet thing, to have a few moments to reflect and witness how much the Savior has changed me and brought me through this. My gratitude runneth over. I think it's great that Dad has become a legend in the Idaho Pocatello mission. Do you know what it takes to become a legend? Well, that is it, but, just for the record, I already knew you were legendary, Dad.
Other than that, it's pretty much been missionary life as usual. I can't really think that life on Sycamore Circle is any more or less exciting than life in the Texas Houston mission, just different in its own ways. We did a lot of tracting and had a few long-anticipated lessons with some investigators while others continue to drop off the map despite our efforts to help them find the iron rod. We helped out with a youth fireside last night in one of the wards about how to answer difficult questions about the gospel they are sometimes asked by friends at school. Someone we met while tracting told us, "If you really cared what Jesus Christ thought, you'd reject the Book of Mormon," but we just kept tracting. I know it's nothing to compare to the suffering of the Atonement, or even the trials Joseph Smith faced as Prophet of the Restoration, but sometimes it makes me think of those lines from Joseph Smith history: Why persecute me for telling the truth? Usually when people throw lines like that at us, we think of these two lines the evil guards say to Joseph and company in Liberty Jail in the Joseph Smith movie: "This faith of yours is such a waste!" and "Looks like God's forgotten you!" We realize that whatever those people are saying to us is bascially the November in Houston, Texas equivalent of one of those phrases. It makes it a lot easier to heed them not when you see them not as isolated incidents directed to personally attack us but as mockeries and taunts that have always followed the truth. Sister Schlauder even has a chant, taken directly from a line in the Doctrine and Covenants, that she made up at EFY once: Fools mock, but they shall mourn. It also makes me think of Nephi's final testimony at the close of 2 Nephi. "All ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, (or share these words with you) notwithstanding my weakness. And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day." I hope that that comes across in a hopeful and loving manner, like both Nephi and I intended it to. I love these peole, and my heart aches to know how much joy they are rejecting while they do not even understand what they are doing. I rejoice that God is a God of mercy because I know He will continue to send them His tender mercies as long as it takes. I'm glad He allowed me to be one of them for so many people.
Okay, I better break away from that train of thought before I get too sentimental. On the docket for the next ten days are two trips to the temple, a Thanksgiving holiday, moving apartments, packing up all my stuff, final shopping for souvenirs for the family, many pictures to take with beloved companions and friends, and whatever else the Lord has in store that He hasn't let me know about yet. It should be a fairly typical week, minus the whole it being my last full week in Texas thing. Strange. I still kind of think it's a lie, and next week at this time someone will call and tell me I'll be going to College Station or Montgomery or Katy or somewhere else for the next six weeks. But I think it will probably start to settle in soon enough, so until then I'll just enjoy it.
Much love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Cassidy, you didn't say anything about the David Archuleta Christmas album? Do you have one? Would you like to have mine when I get home? Details, sister, details!
PPS The box I sent home really isn't that exciting for y'all. Just a dictionary and a book about the Houston temple and a few other odds and ends, plus a little surprise I found for everyone. But I still want you to wait a few more days to open it..until I get home that is.
PPPS Happy snow!
Monday, November 15, 2010
11-15-10 "Totally Out of Subject Lines in Texas"
Another week, another e-mail, and just like last week, I'm not really sure where to start, or what to say after I start. Oh well. Such is life. We've been working super hard to find new people to teach, and we've been putting in a lot of effort talking to people--tracting and talking to everyone. Your basic missionary stuff. Not too many takers yet, but a few nibbles here and there. Enough to keep us going. Plus, we've been blessed with quite a few referrals lately, so if anything, the Lord is giving us hints about where to focus our efforts. You still get the usual--dismissive waves goodbye after three words out of our mouths, a chorus of "not interested," and the occasional actual heckler with comments like "Your Bible doesn't count" and "We only become the children of God after we accept Christ"--but there are also tender mercies and good people amid them all. I choose to focus on them, at least when I've stopped laughing about the "bye-bye" wave from a sixty-year-old man who could not possibly be threatened by three twenty somethings knocking on his door and offering free eternal happiness through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Actually, it amazes me how lazy people think the gospel is intended to be. Simply "accept Him as your personal Savior" (which is not a work, by the way) and you can know you are going to heaven no matter what you do from that point on. It defies logic, it defies reason, it defies the Spirit, and it even defies the Bible if you really read it. But, then again, "Our Bible doesn't count." Still, I love that most of Texas still respects and honors God with their defense of morality and Christlike living, even though they don't think works count for much. I love them, and I'm sure their beliefs are going a long way in preserving and preparing the earth for the second coming.
We had a strange occurrence on Wednesday afternoon. We were watching Legacy with a member in one of the wards at her house, and then we left, got in the car, and started to drive away. There was this lady running out of one of the houses in the cul-de-sac, waving her arms for us to stop. Which we did, but only after we stopped did she recognize us as missionaries. She only spoke Spanish, but we think we deduced that she is a member from Guatemala and has been in Texas for a few months but couldn't find the church. We gave her the number of the Spanish elders and also sent her address in as a referral so they can contact her if she doesn't contact them. My Spanish has come in handy here in Houston, although its not perfect and certainly far from polished, but I can use it to communicate and I understand a basic "yes" or "no" when I ask about sending missionaries. However, the lady from Guatemala also, we think, said our Spanish was about as good as that of the elders...and we don't think she meant it as a compliment. Which is unfair. I've known many missionaries with very good Spanish speaking skills, but I guess I'm not exactly the best judge of that.
Yesterday, both of our wards had the Primary program, and because the Relief Society lesson was about baptism, we ended up singing "Come, Follow Me" three times yesterday. Great hymn, but a little much for one day. I do, however, love watching the faces of the kids as they sing, and I really like that song, "I know that my Savior loves me." Really beautiful.
Love the thoughts of Eli wondering if I will recognize him. I must admit, I've wondered the same thing myself, but I also know I would know him anywhere, along with the rest of you. As for adjusting to post-mission life, I don't have many worries about it because I think that when I'm with y'all again, we'll all have so much to say that even if its random banter, we'll be able to fill in the holes of things the other party is not understanding, either me about the happenings while I've been gone or y'all about Texas things that never quite made it into e-mails.
Happy everything from your shining Houstonian!
Sister Whitney Sorensen
PS It's my last zone conference this week, and then it'll be Thanksgiving, and then we're going to the temple, and then it'll be my last Sunday in Texas and then it'll be December, and you know what happens in December... Christmas!
We had a strange occurrence on Wednesday afternoon. We were watching Legacy with a member in one of the wards at her house, and then we left, got in the car, and started to drive away. There was this lady running out of one of the houses in the cul-de-sac, waving her arms for us to stop. Which we did, but only after we stopped did she recognize us as missionaries. She only spoke Spanish, but we think we deduced that she is a member from Guatemala and has been in Texas for a few months but couldn't find the church. We gave her the number of the Spanish elders and also sent her address in as a referral so they can contact her if she doesn't contact them. My Spanish has come in handy here in Houston, although its not perfect and certainly far from polished, but I can use it to communicate and I understand a basic "yes" or "no" when I ask about sending missionaries. However, the lady from Guatemala also, we think, said our Spanish was about as good as that of the elders...and we don't think she meant it as a compliment. Which is unfair. I've known many missionaries with very good Spanish speaking skills, but I guess I'm not exactly the best judge of that.
Yesterday, both of our wards had the Primary program, and because the Relief Society lesson was about baptism, we ended up singing "Come, Follow Me" three times yesterday. Great hymn, but a little much for one day. I do, however, love watching the faces of the kids as they sing, and I really like that song, "I know that my Savior loves me." Really beautiful.
Love the thoughts of Eli wondering if I will recognize him. I must admit, I've wondered the same thing myself, but I also know I would know him anywhere, along with the rest of you. As for adjusting to post-mission life, I don't have many worries about it because I think that when I'm with y'all again, we'll all have so much to say that even if its random banter, we'll be able to fill in the holes of things the other party is not understanding, either me about the happenings while I've been gone or y'all about Texas things that never quite made it into e-mails.
Happy everything from your shining Houstonian!
Sister Whitney Sorensen
PS It's my last zone conference this week, and then it'll be Thanksgiving, and then we're going to the temple, and then it'll be my last Sunday in Texas and then it'll be December, and you know what happens in December... Christmas!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
11-8-10 "YOU need to make up YO mind!"
One morning this week, as we were heading to the gym for our workout, we encountered this couple in the middle of a mild domestic disturbance. I think she wanted him to help her load some stuff into the car, but the conversation has been a source of laughter all week, especially as we all try to imitate their accents. It went something like this: (her) "Pop the Trunk!" (him, mumbling) "I gotta go." (her) "No. You need to come ova' here and hep me!" (him, still mumbling) "It's past 6:30. I gotta go." (her, angry) "YOU need to make up YO' mind." That's all we caught, so really, it's obviously her who's the quoteable one, but you should hear Sister Radin say, "Pop the Trunk!" It cannot be recreated on e-mail.
This week was pretty crazy and normal at the same time, somehow. Don't ask me. I don't really know what I mean either. We attended a leadership meeting on Wednesday that was nice. We are still teaching Joseph and preparing him for baptism, and we had another investigator give a soft commitment to baptism this week, but unfortunately she wasn't at church on Sunday, so we still have a lot of work to do there. Still, the stake patriarch has been helping us teach her, and our member present lessons have been sensational. No contact with Pablo on our part, but he did come to a mutual activity this week, so the ward is fellowshipping him wonderfully. Now if we could just get in contact with him again. Oh well. It's in the Lord's hands, and ultimately it's His work anyway. I'm starting to realize that I'm going to leave a lot of things undone in His hands and trust that they'll get taken care of.
Speaking of which, a bit of sad news from Illinois. Our friends have fallen on hard times, and I don't have very many details, and too few to really disclose any here, but if you could keep Brigette and Allen in your prayers. Let's just say that going back to Illinois was a way of walking into many former, bad influences when their testimonies are still young and tender. Agency. It's a hard truth, but an essential one. Sorry for being so vague. I think the Spirit is softening the pain of it for me a lot by helping me learn from it rather than just feeling the sorrow of the situation. Plus, somehow I trust that the Lord's plans can overcome even the lastest tests and trials in their life if they will turn to Him. I don't know what else to report from this week.
I should be getting a box of in the mail today, but don't open it until you see me again, whenever that happens to be. It's fine that you won't be sending anymore mail my way. It'll make it easier knowing I don't have to secretly hope for mail everytime we go to the box. Anything I happen to get from anyone else will just be a pleasant surprise. In leiu of words, since they just aren't coming, I'll send some pictures. Two of last weeks trunk or treating adventures, and one of us with Joseph who said a prayer out loud this week. THAT was big.
The stone continues to roll forward without hands. (I think I mixed up some prophecies there, but hopefully you get the idea.)
Love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
This week was pretty crazy and normal at the same time, somehow. Don't ask me. I don't really know what I mean either. We attended a leadership meeting on Wednesday that was nice. We are still teaching Joseph and preparing him for baptism, and we had another investigator give a soft commitment to baptism this week, but unfortunately she wasn't at church on Sunday, so we still have a lot of work to do there. Still, the stake patriarch has been helping us teach her, and our member present lessons have been sensational. No contact with Pablo on our part, but he did come to a mutual activity this week, so the ward is fellowshipping him wonderfully. Now if we could just get in contact with him again. Oh well. It's in the Lord's hands, and ultimately it's His work anyway. I'm starting to realize that I'm going to leave a lot of things undone in His hands and trust that they'll get taken care of.
Speaking of which, a bit of sad news from Illinois. Our friends have fallen on hard times, and I don't have very many details, and too few to really disclose any here, but if you could keep Brigette and Allen in your prayers. Let's just say that going back to Illinois was a way of walking into many former, bad influences when their testimonies are still young and tender. Agency. It's a hard truth, but an essential one. Sorry for being so vague. I think the Spirit is softening the pain of it for me a lot by helping me learn from it rather than just feeling the sorrow of the situation. Plus, somehow I trust that the Lord's plans can overcome even the lastest tests and trials in their life if they will turn to Him. I don't know what else to report from this week.
I should be getting a box of in the mail today, but don't open it until you see me again, whenever that happens to be. It's fine that you won't be sending anymore mail my way. It'll make it easier knowing I don't have to secretly hope for mail everytime we go to the box. Anything I happen to get from anyone else will just be a pleasant surprise. In leiu of words, since they just aren't coming, I'll send some pictures. Two of last weeks trunk or treating adventures, and one of us with Joseph who said a prayer out loud this week. THAT was big.
The stone continues to roll forward without hands. (I think I mixed up some prophecies there, but hopefully you get the idea.) Love,Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
Monday, November 1, 2010
11-1-10 "What IS the definition of sweater anyway?"
Well, according to the marquee of a local pizza joint, a sweater is a "garment worn by child when mother is cold." Yeah, we're not really sure what that means either, but it makes a great conversation when we drive past it every day. Actually, the pizza place is really good, and I like supporting them because they are not open on Sundays. They even gave us free lunch one day when we picked up an old lady from the ward who was walking there on a very busy road. Come to find out, the lady thought the lady in our ward was homeless. She's not, but we didn't know that the pizza lady had thought that until later. But they have really good pizza and salad, and it's all you can eat, but their signs are not nearly as easy to digest as their food.
In other news, we had an interesting experience with animals yesterday. I'm not sure if they could sense Halloween in the air or something, but they were nuts. First we went to visit this less-active family we'd never met. They let us right in, and their chihuahua is sitting on my lap for a few minutes, until it starts making this strange gagging noise. I somehow just knew it was going to throw up. Which it did. Right on my skirt. I couldn't get it off of me in time, plus that might have hurt it or something, so I just let it happen. Gross. But a cool story. And it totally made it so we had to stay and visit with them a little bit longer because they felt bad because their dog had thrown up on me. Not exactly a tender mercy, but maybe. And then at our dinner appointment, the sister's cat was sitting on Sister Schlauder's lap, but it would NOT let her pet it. It kept raring its teeth at her every time she would touch it until finally the member just took it. This is what happens when animals attack missionaries.
Speaking of which, I have been DYING to tell you some amazing news we got last Tuesday. We were doing some contacting when we got a call from the Assistants. They had a sister coming in from Temple Square for a few months and would we like to have her as our companion? YES! Wow! I never saw that coming! She arrived the next day, and we have been enjoying her excellent missonary skills ever since. Her name is Sister Radin (ruh-DEAN), and she is from the Philippines. She is AMAZING at asking for referrals, and receiving them. And she is so nice and personable that everyone loves to talk to her. She makes tracting so carefree almost, except that she is afraid of dogs and bascially everyone has one in Texas. She is so small though that she can easily hide behind us when the dogs are trying to get out. So far no disasters.
This week has been full of crazy surprises actually. The second one involves running into Elder Judkins again on Saturday. He was going to the temple, and we were walking around, trying to contact a few investigators. They saw us as they were driving, apparently, and he said, "Hey! Pull over. That's my cousin. I know her." So now I have a picture of us together to prove we served in the same city at the same time and by some intense celestial calculus were able to run into one another twice in less than a month. I don't know how God does it, but he works it out. I had been thinking about him all week, hoping he was doing okay with Grandma Ricks and everything, but he seemed very happy, and I was really glad to run into him again.
Other than that, this week has been filled with trunk or treating, featuring some excellent costumes. My personal favorites were Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa and the BEST Ms. Frizzle costume ever. Seriously. I thought she WAS her. Also, love the pictures of Eli as the Karate Kid. Very smooth. Very dojo. Very sensei. Very black hair. I'm sorry I couldn't see it in person.
It sounds like Grandma Ricks had a lovely funeral. I'm sure you did just fine, Mom, although you know I would have helped you in a second with the life-sketch. But give yourself some credit. You are an excellent wordsmith yourself. Grandparents--I haven't forgotten your birthdays. I just didn't have time to send your birthday cards/notes yet. I will get them in the mail today.
As far as who can come to the airport, I'm sort of undecided on it. It's not that I wouldn't want everyone else there, but I think it'll be kind of overwhelming as it is, and I've kind of always pictured it as just the few of us. But, I'm not making any official decisions yet. I'll think about it and let you know soon. Maybe it would be possible to have some kind of get-together at the house that evening, but I know that's hard on Aunt Anna, so maybe everyone should just come to the airport. You may know when my plane arrives, but I don't know yet, but I guess I'm assuming its not at some weird hour of the day but one that is pretty feasible for everyone. All in all, I guess my gut is saying I think it would be fine for everyone else to come as long as there's no squabbling about who gets the first hug. I remember going to see either Roger or Russell or both back from their missions at the airport, so I guess it would be selfish of me not to invite everyone to mine. And I really am eager to see everyone. The more, the merrier, they say. I think as far as opening the mission call, I think I was just overwhelmed about finally knowing and I just needed a second to breathe and think about it to myself, but this I will have had plenty of time to ponder the homecoming hugs all the way home on the flights, so I'm going to go ahead and make a final decision by saying you can invite whomever you want. I want to see anyone and everyone you think would be good. Final answer, Regis.
That's all for this week!
Much love and shining,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS I will use the funds wisely. That is way more than I expected to that should be just perfect. I might even send a package home this week with various things I've collected.
In other news, we had an interesting experience with animals yesterday. I'm not sure if they could sense Halloween in the air or something, but they were nuts. First we went to visit this less-active family we'd never met. They let us right in, and their chihuahua is sitting on my lap for a few minutes, until it starts making this strange gagging noise. I somehow just knew it was going to throw up. Which it did. Right on my skirt. I couldn't get it off of me in time, plus that might have hurt it or something, so I just let it happen. Gross. But a cool story. And it totally made it so we had to stay and visit with them a little bit longer because they felt bad because their dog had thrown up on me. Not exactly a tender mercy, but maybe. And then at our dinner appointment, the sister's cat was sitting on Sister Schlauder's lap, but it would NOT let her pet it. It kept raring its teeth at her every time she would touch it until finally the member just took it. This is what happens when animals attack missionaries.
Speaking of which, I have been DYING to tell you some amazing news we got last Tuesday. We were doing some contacting when we got a call from the Assistants. They had a sister coming in from Temple Square for a few months and would we like to have her as our companion? YES! Wow! I never saw that coming! She arrived the next day, and we have been enjoying her excellent missonary skills ever since. Her name is Sister Radin (ruh-DEAN), and she is from the Philippines. She is AMAZING at asking for referrals, and receiving them. And she is so nice and personable that everyone loves to talk to her. She makes tracting so carefree almost, except that she is afraid of dogs and bascially everyone has one in Texas. She is so small though that she can easily hide behind us when the dogs are trying to get out. So far no disasters.
This week has been full of crazy surprises actually. The second one involves running into Elder Judkins again on Saturday. He was going to the temple, and we were walking around, trying to contact a few investigators. They saw us as they were driving, apparently, and he said, "Hey! Pull over. That's my cousin. I know her." So now I have a picture of us together to prove we served in the same city at the same time and by some intense celestial calculus were able to run into one another twice in less than a month. I don't know how God does it, but he works it out. I had been thinking about him all week, hoping he was doing okay with Grandma Ricks and everything, but he seemed very happy, and I was really glad to run into him again.Other than that, this week has been filled with trunk or treating, featuring some excellent costumes. My personal favorites were Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa and the BEST Ms. Frizzle costume ever. Seriously. I thought she WAS her. Also, love the pictures of Eli as the Karate Kid. Very smooth. Very dojo. Very sensei. Very black hair. I'm sorry I couldn't see it in person.
It sounds like Grandma Ricks had a lovely funeral. I'm sure you did just fine, Mom, although you know I would have helped you in a second with the life-sketch. But give yourself some credit. You are an excellent wordsmith yourself. Grandparents--I haven't forgotten your birthdays. I just didn't have time to send your birthday cards/notes yet. I will get them in the mail today.As far as who can come to the airport, I'm sort of undecided on it. It's not that I wouldn't want everyone else there, but I think it'll be kind of overwhelming as it is, and I've kind of always pictured it as just the few of us. But, I'm not making any official decisions yet. I'll think about it and let you know soon. Maybe it would be possible to have some kind of get-together at the house that evening, but I know that's hard on Aunt Anna, so maybe everyone should just come to the airport. You may know when my plane arrives, but I don't know yet, but I guess I'm assuming its not at some weird hour of the day but one that is pretty feasible for everyone. All in all, I guess my gut is saying I think it would be fine for everyone else to come as long as there's no squabbling about who gets the first hug. I remember going to see either Roger or Russell or both back from their missions at the airport, so I guess it would be selfish of me not to invite everyone to mine. And I really am eager to see everyone. The more, the merrier, they say. I think as far as opening the mission call, I think I was just overwhelmed about finally knowing and I just needed a second to breathe and think about it to myself, but this I will have had plenty of time to ponder the homecoming hugs all the way home on the flights, so I'm going to go ahead and make a final decision by saying you can invite whomever you want. I want to see anyone and everyone you think would be good. Final answer, Regis.
That's all for this week!
Much love and shining,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS I will use the funds wisely. That is way more than I expected to that should be just perfect. I might even send a package home this week with various things I've collected.
Monday, October 25, 2010
10-25-10 "The Earth is on the Church Again!"
This week, I made up another funny phrase I thought you all should be made aware of. During companion study, Sister Schlauder and I were practicing teaching the Restoration, and instead of saying, "The Church is on the earth again" I said, well, I bet you can guess. It conjured up this mental image of a globe spinning a top a church steeple. But better yet, when we shared it with a member, she suggests this one: "Can't you just picture President Monson holding up the earth like Atlas?" Love it.
I suppose first things should be first. I am sorry to hear of Grandma Ricks' passing, but not entirely surprised. I had a feeling when I left for Texas that she wouldn't physically be there when I got back. Not a vision or a revelation, just a feeling. Honestly, I've been happily surprised that she made it this far and this long. What a lady! And I don't think funny is the right word for it, but just yesterday I was thinking about a random memory I have of her, and I shared it with Sister Schlauder. We were at the church building making a copy of one of our records for the ward mission leader, and I kind of tripped on the carpet, which made me think of a small moment in my life that I shared with Grandma Ricks. Once I was with her and Grandpa and Grandmother at a hotel in Layton. We were going to see one of David's sons off on his mission at the airport. So this must have been over ten years ago, because we could still go right up to the gate, pre-September 11th. Anyway, once when we were walking back to the hotel room, I tripped on the carpet, just like I did last night, and Grandma Ricks turned to me and said, "Oh good. You do that, too. I thought I was the only one." Then she smiled at me, and I can still see that image, although quite blurred, in my mind. I know I remembered it last night as a tender mercy from the Lord. He knew Grandma Ricks was finally about to be reunited with her precious husband and Sharon and Max...and so many others. And He knew that I wouldn't know until today, but that if I remembered that then, I would be okay now. And I am. I believe that tender mercies come in layers. They are set up years in advance, like this one, and then when you come to the other side of it, you look back and marvel at the tenderness and wisdom and compassion of God. Another image is coming to my mind now. I see that photograph of Grandma Ricks and Grandma McClellan as nurses, both gazing off into the futures of their lives. And it is the same look that Grandma Ricks gave me that day in the hotel in Layton, Utah. Only she was passing it on to me, inviting me to dream about my future and then live it. And now she and Grandma McClellan are reuniting and looking back on all the layers of tender mercy in their mortal lives, rejoicing in the Lord's blessings and marveling at the detail in their own personal plans of salvation. Mom, you said something to me right before I left for my mission that has stuck with me, like a layer of tender mercy in my life. You told me that the Lord wanted me to be a writer, but you knew somehow that coming on a mission was an essential part of preparing me to be a writer. I think about that now when I think about that lovely artifact of two of the most elect ladies I will ever know, a picture I have always felt was my muse. And now it can fully speak to me. Partly because my muses are now back together, but also because I have gone through (most of) this essential step to becoming a writer. I feel the calling to write more than I ever have before in my life now. I listened to general conference with a question in my heart, really wanting to know if the Lord saw writing as a good use of my talents and testimony. I received such a fervent but simple confirmation that, yes, the Lord would have me write. Having met all these wonderful people and experienced life for myself, I feel I am now ready to write. Sorry.
That paragraph started out as a tribute to Grandma Ricks and became more focused on me towards the end. I didn't mean it to be self-centered. Sometimes my thoughts just flow out that way. I don't really have time to edit them while e-mailing, so I guess you could surmise that these are my thoughts in their purest form, nearest to raw material as a writer gets. A member in Katy shared this analogy with me once, and I have come to appreciate its truth over time. Writers are like word sculptors, but unlike sculptors, they not only chip away at their marble but must create it as well. Thanks, Miss Rhonda.
Speaking of tender mercies, we experienced one this week. Well, probably several, but my spiritual eyes are not yet refined enough to recognize them all. Dad, also a long time ago, back when I was still working at the Credit Union and it was more than two minutes from our house, I remember you saying something to me that was very prophetic. You told me that you saw great things in me and you could envision generations of people who speak Spanish one day thanking me for sharing the gospel. I remember at the time thinking to myself, I don't think so, Dad, because I don't know if I'm even going on a mission. That moment was when I was probably a sophomore in high school. But for some reason the memory has stuck with me. I ponder on it periodically, wondering how and when that could be fulfilled. Well, one of those moments of periodically happened this week. We have been increasing our finding efforts, and for some reason we decided to try a group of apartments in our area. We knocked around, and most people spoke only Spanish, but at one of the doors we met a young man who said, after we shared our brief schpiel about having a message about Jesus Christ, "Is that it?" Obviously, he wanted to learn more. We set up that we would return on Saturday. Which we did. He is from El Salvador, and a junior at the local high school. When asked about his beliefs in God, Pablo said, "I just want to know the truth. There are so many different ideas that I get confused." Later, we asked him if he had ever prayed to know something, and he said, "Yes. Often at night, I pray to know where we go after this life. I am asking God to tell me why I am here on earth, why we came here." All the time I am hearing this sincere seeker of truth talk to us, I am also hearing Dad's words in my head again, and I'm wondering, "Could this be him? Maybe I came to find him." Now, I'm not trying to be dramatic or say that he is or that I was sent to find him and he'll soon be a stake president and generations will call me blessed. It's not about all of that. It's about him finding the truth his heart has been seeking, ever so humbly. But at the same time, a father's words sure motivate me to think about what a difference the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ could make to generations if Pablo chooses to embrace it. I pray he will.
Now, as for Sister Tetreault, I will be sure to send a letter her way today. I have been incredibly busy, but she has been on my mind a lot. Thank you for sharing her lovely words with me. She is my best Texas friend, another layer of tender mercy in my life. The earth is truly on the church again. And it should come as no surprise to you that the Rangers defeated the Yankees to enter the fall classic. God lives in Texas. Duh.
Love from the Lone Star sister,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS I'm attaching some photos of us at the temple with a member from Katy who received her endowment on Saturday. What a blessing to be able to share it with her!
I suppose first things should be first. I am sorry to hear of Grandma Ricks' passing, but not entirely surprised. I had a feeling when I left for Texas that she wouldn't physically be there when I got back. Not a vision or a revelation, just a feeling. Honestly, I've been happily surprised that she made it this far and this long. What a lady! And I don't think funny is the right word for it, but just yesterday I was thinking about a random memory I have of her, and I shared it with Sister Schlauder. We were at the church building making a copy of one of our records for the ward mission leader, and I kind of tripped on the carpet, which made me think of a small moment in my life that I shared with Grandma Ricks. Once I was with her and Grandpa and Grandmother at a hotel in Layton. We were going to see one of David's sons off on his mission at the airport. So this must have been over ten years ago, because we could still go right up to the gate, pre-September 11th. Anyway, once when we were walking back to the hotel room, I tripped on the carpet, just like I did last night, and Grandma Ricks turned to me and said, "Oh good. You do that, too. I thought I was the only one." Then she smiled at me, and I can still see that image, although quite blurred, in my mind. I know I remembered it last night as a tender mercy from the Lord. He knew Grandma Ricks was finally about to be reunited with her precious husband and Sharon and Max...and so many others. And He knew that I wouldn't know until today, but that if I remembered that then, I would be okay now. And I am. I believe that tender mercies come in layers. They are set up years in advance, like this one, and then when you come to the other side of it, you look back and marvel at the tenderness and wisdom and compassion of God. Another image is coming to my mind now. I see that photograph of Grandma Ricks and Grandma McClellan as nurses, both gazing off into the futures of their lives. And it is the same look that Grandma Ricks gave me that day in the hotel in Layton, Utah. Only she was passing it on to me, inviting me to dream about my future and then live it. And now she and Grandma McClellan are reuniting and looking back on all the layers of tender mercy in their mortal lives, rejoicing in the Lord's blessings and marveling at the detail in their own personal plans of salvation. Mom, you said something to me right before I left for my mission that has stuck with me, like a layer of tender mercy in my life. You told me that the Lord wanted me to be a writer, but you knew somehow that coming on a mission was an essential part of preparing me to be a writer. I think about that now when I think about that lovely artifact of two of the most elect ladies I will ever know, a picture I have always felt was my muse. And now it can fully speak to me. Partly because my muses are now back together, but also because I have gone through (most of) this essential step to becoming a writer. I feel the calling to write more than I ever have before in my life now. I listened to general conference with a question in my heart, really wanting to know if the Lord saw writing as a good use of my talents and testimony. I received such a fervent but simple confirmation that, yes, the Lord would have me write. Having met all these wonderful people and experienced life for myself, I feel I am now ready to write. Sorry.
That paragraph started out as a tribute to Grandma Ricks and became more focused on me towards the end. I didn't mean it to be self-centered. Sometimes my thoughts just flow out that way. I don't really have time to edit them while e-mailing, so I guess you could surmise that these are my thoughts in their purest form, nearest to raw material as a writer gets. A member in Katy shared this analogy with me once, and I have come to appreciate its truth over time. Writers are like word sculptors, but unlike sculptors, they not only chip away at their marble but must create it as well. Thanks, Miss Rhonda.
Speaking of tender mercies, we experienced one this week. Well, probably several, but my spiritual eyes are not yet refined enough to recognize them all. Dad, also a long time ago, back when I was still working at the Credit Union and it was more than two minutes from our house, I remember you saying something to me that was very prophetic. You told me that you saw great things in me and you could envision generations of people who speak Spanish one day thanking me for sharing the gospel. I remember at the time thinking to myself, I don't think so, Dad, because I don't know if I'm even going on a mission. That moment was when I was probably a sophomore in high school. But for some reason the memory has stuck with me. I ponder on it periodically, wondering how and when that could be fulfilled. Well, one of those moments of periodically happened this week. We have been increasing our finding efforts, and for some reason we decided to try a group of apartments in our area. We knocked around, and most people spoke only Spanish, but at one of the doors we met a young man who said, after we shared our brief schpiel about having a message about Jesus Christ, "Is that it?" Obviously, he wanted to learn more. We set up that we would return on Saturday. Which we did. He is from El Salvador, and a junior at the local high school. When asked about his beliefs in God, Pablo said, "I just want to know the truth. There are so many different ideas that I get confused." Later, we asked him if he had ever prayed to know something, and he said, "Yes. Often at night, I pray to know where we go after this life. I am asking God to tell me why I am here on earth, why we came here." All the time I am hearing this sincere seeker of truth talk to us, I am also hearing Dad's words in my head again, and I'm wondering, "Could this be him? Maybe I came to find him." Now, I'm not trying to be dramatic or say that he is or that I was sent to find him and he'll soon be a stake president and generations will call me blessed. It's not about all of that. It's about him finding the truth his heart has been seeking, ever so humbly. But at the same time, a father's words sure motivate me to think about what a difference the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ could make to generations if Pablo chooses to embrace it. I pray he will.
Now, as for Sister Tetreault, I will be sure to send a letter her way today. I have been incredibly busy, but she has been on my mind a lot. Thank you for sharing her lovely words with me. She is my best Texas friend, another layer of tender mercy in my life. The earth is truly on the church again. And it should come as no surprise to you that the Rangers defeated the Yankees to enter the fall classic. God lives in Texas. Duh.
Love from the Lone Star sister,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS I'm attaching some photos of us at the temple with a member from Katy who received her endowment on Saturday. What a blessing to be able to share it with her!
Monday, October 18, 2010
10-18-10 "wiki, wiki, WISDOM"
I have been thinking since Wednesday what I was going to say in this e-mail, trying to come up with the perfect way to share the news, but then I got the box from Mom on Saturday and since then I haven't had to wonder how to tell y'all since you already know, apparently. But, yes, it's official. I will be home in December 1st. I loved the descriptions of various reactions to the news. I hope people in Rexburg can still hear. And I hope Eli can contain just a little bit of his excitement so I can see some of it, too. But shame on you for your bad textiquette. I have a reputation to uphold as an English major. Actually, when I found out myself, it quite frankly caused me some severe insomnia for two nights in a row, I was so anxious to tell you, but you probably found out the same day I did, so I lost sleep for nothing. I've caught up, however, so no worries in that department.
Now, other than that we had a pretty good week followed by a fabulous session of stake conference on Sunday. That is the third stake conference I've been to in six months, and while I don't want to say it was the best, it probably was. The visiting general authority was Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Both he and his wife shared lovely and inspiring talks. Hers was about not judging others. She told this story. Their house is up in the hills or the mountains somewhere, not just in a regular neighborhood. They had a neighbor who moved in and started playing music very loudly and put his horses in his front yard behind an unsightly fence and always had not the best looking kinds of characters coming over. Every time she would drive past the house, she would comment to her kids about how disgraceful/shameful/sad/etc. it was to have that in the neighborhood. Eventually, she was called to go visit this man because, unbeknownst to her, he was a less-active member of the church and a quadrapalegic. She had to go visit him because he'd been without food or care for over a day and she was the closest member of the Relief Society presidency to his house. She made up a plate of food and went to help him. He told her that she probably didn't like how loud he played his music, but it was one of the few things he could enjoy from his wheelchair. And he also loves horses, but he can't see them when they are in his backyard, so he had to put them in the front. Plus, it's hard to find good help so he had to take what he could get. I thought it was a beautiful story with an important lesson. She also used an analogy she got from Elder Maxwell. Life is like watching the Olympic diving competition. To the untrained eye, they all look good, but we don't know the degree of difficulty of certain dives, so we shouldn't think we are capable of judging others by their choices and experiences. Only Christ will be the judge because only He understands all the factors, the degree of difficulty of each life. That was such a comforting truth to learn. Often because of my pride I think Heavenly Father will condemn me for not being as strong or as good or as righteous as others, or I think that my life circumstances and experiences make it unfair for me to be judged by the same standards a others, but I guess I need to believe more strongly that Christ really is totally just and merciful. He knows the degree of difficulty of each of our lives and will bless and reward us accordingly.
Elder Jensen's talk was equally good. He shared three ways that we can come to know things--scripturally based ways of having knowledge. We can judge things by their fruits to know if they are good. This is the method of observation. We can experiment upon the word, come to know by doing. Or we can have truth revealed to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. As an example for the last point, he told about being a young missionary in Germany. He had a bold companion, but he himself didn't feel he knew the language at all or had a super strong testimony of the gospel. After working in one town for several months, the local Lutheran minister advertised a meeting about "the Mormons," which his companion decided they should attend. The minister stated that the Mormons have a book other than the Bible and Joseph Smith instead of Martin Luther, so no one needed to bother with them. They are just nice American boys. He then asked if anyone else had anything to say about the Mormons, so the companion got up and said, "Yes, we have the Book of Mormon, but we also love the Bible. Yes, we have Joseph Smith but we also believe Martin Luther to be inspired. What he started Joseph Smith finished." And then he invited Elder Jensen to speak. He said up to that point, he'd tried to be cautious and not say "I know/Ich weiss" about things he didn't really feel like he knew. But in this moment he had to say something so he "ventured into the dark," as he put it, and said, "I know" about the Church and the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the Savior--all of it. And in that moment, the Holy Ghost told him, and he DID know. It was so powerful. He said, "I've staked my life on it." Such a pure, powerful testimony.
That got me thinking about knowledge and wisdom. What is the difference betwee the two? I spent my whole personal study this morning pondering it. So far it feels like I've learned that knowledge is something you learn after the fact, after the experience. Your conclusions or truths or observations you draw from whatever it was. But wisdom is the application of that knowledge before the experience. Knowledge means putting on your hindsight and reflecting on what happened, but wisdom means having clear foresight that you use while you are learning and experiencing and experimenting. Sometimes you don't even have to experience things to have wisdom; Heavenly Father can just reveal it to you. All the commandments are that way. Heavenly Father tells you how to act so you can avoid having to put on your hindsight knowledge goggles for things that He would rather you just avoid altogether. Think about it: the word of wisdom tells us how to act and what to avoid to keep our bodies and minds healthy and receptive to the Spirit. And He gave that wisdom through His prophet before anyone learned it by experimentation and observation. Or Joseph Smith's experience. "If any of you lack wisdom (or the knowledge of how to act, say, what church to join), let him ask of God." And the great thing about revealed wisdom, is that we can still experiment upon it so that it becomes both knowledge and wisdom to us, but after a while of doing this, our faith that God's wisdom is pure wisdom will become stronger and stronger, so we will be more and more willing to venture into the dark because we KNOW that the marvelous light of God will be there eventually, no matter what happens during the experimenting phase. After all, He "giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not."
Phew. I just really liked those insights and wanted to share them with someone, maybe selfishly so they will remain with me more strongly. Anyway, we also went to the temple this week, and got transfer calls on Saturday night. We are both staying in the area, so Sister Schlauder will be my last companion and this will be my final area. Weird to finally know that for certain. I can really feel the loose ends starting to tie themselves up, but I'm glad I still have these next six weeks to work and be a full-time servant of the Lord. I suppose I'm starting to put on my hindsight knowledge goggles a little, pondering the lessons I've gleaned along the way so that I will have faith and wisdom for the future. I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.
It sounds like everyone is having a great Idaho autumn. Eli's birthday party sounds really fun, and I can't tell if Cassidy has purple hair in that picture or not. As long as it's not an honor code violation at BYU-Idaho, I bet it looks fabulous. As for the other picture, it cracks me up, but I'm not 100% sure the thought occurred to them that if they really were farming pot, that would be illegal, so they shouldn't advertise it. Maybe it's affiliated with the Psychadelicatessen, which is modeled after the Partridge family bus, featuring one of TV's favorite moms, Shirley Jones, but not TV's favorite mom, June Cleaver, who I am glad you told me passed away but also slightly sad to hear. Who'll keep the Beaver in line now? And who will listen to Eddie Haskell's smooth talking lies? I'm sure someone will take the opportunity, but who?
Love and Shining,
Sister Whitney Sorensen
Now, other than that we had a pretty good week followed by a fabulous session of stake conference on Sunday. That is the third stake conference I've been to in six months, and while I don't want to say it was the best, it probably was. The visiting general authority was Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Both he and his wife shared lovely and inspiring talks. Hers was about not judging others. She told this story. Their house is up in the hills or the mountains somewhere, not just in a regular neighborhood. They had a neighbor who moved in and started playing music very loudly and put his horses in his front yard behind an unsightly fence and always had not the best looking kinds of characters coming over. Every time she would drive past the house, she would comment to her kids about how disgraceful/shameful/sad/etc. it was to have that in the neighborhood. Eventually, she was called to go visit this man because, unbeknownst to her, he was a less-active member of the church and a quadrapalegic. She had to go visit him because he'd been without food or care for over a day and she was the closest member of the Relief Society presidency to his house. She made up a plate of food and went to help him. He told her that she probably didn't like how loud he played his music, but it was one of the few things he could enjoy from his wheelchair. And he also loves horses, but he can't see them when they are in his backyard, so he had to put them in the front. Plus, it's hard to find good help so he had to take what he could get. I thought it was a beautiful story with an important lesson. She also used an analogy she got from Elder Maxwell. Life is like watching the Olympic diving competition. To the untrained eye, they all look good, but we don't know the degree of difficulty of certain dives, so we shouldn't think we are capable of judging others by their choices and experiences. Only Christ will be the judge because only He understands all the factors, the degree of difficulty of each life. That was such a comforting truth to learn. Often because of my pride I think Heavenly Father will condemn me for not being as strong or as good or as righteous as others, or I think that my life circumstances and experiences make it unfair for me to be judged by the same standards a others, but I guess I need to believe more strongly that Christ really is totally just and merciful. He knows the degree of difficulty of each of our lives and will bless and reward us accordingly.
Elder Jensen's talk was equally good. He shared three ways that we can come to know things--scripturally based ways of having knowledge. We can judge things by their fruits to know if they are good. This is the method of observation. We can experiment upon the word, come to know by doing. Or we can have truth revealed to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. As an example for the last point, he told about being a young missionary in Germany. He had a bold companion, but he himself didn't feel he knew the language at all or had a super strong testimony of the gospel. After working in one town for several months, the local Lutheran minister advertised a meeting about "the Mormons," which his companion decided they should attend. The minister stated that the Mormons have a book other than the Bible and Joseph Smith instead of Martin Luther, so no one needed to bother with them. They are just nice American boys. He then asked if anyone else had anything to say about the Mormons, so the companion got up and said, "Yes, we have the Book of Mormon, but we also love the Bible. Yes, we have Joseph Smith but we also believe Martin Luther to be inspired. What he started Joseph Smith finished." And then he invited Elder Jensen to speak. He said up to that point, he'd tried to be cautious and not say "I know/Ich weiss" about things he didn't really feel like he knew. But in this moment he had to say something so he "ventured into the dark," as he put it, and said, "I know" about the Church and the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the Savior--all of it. And in that moment, the Holy Ghost told him, and he DID know. It was so powerful. He said, "I've staked my life on it." Such a pure, powerful testimony.
That got me thinking about knowledge and wisdom. What is the difference betwee the two? I spent my whole personal study this morning pondering it. So far it feels like I've learned that knowledge is something you learn after the fact, after the experience. Your conclusions or truths or observations you draw from whatever it was. But wisdom is the application of that knowledge before the experience. Knowledge means putting on your hindsight and reflecting on what happened, but wisdom means having clear foresight that you use while you are learning and experiencing and experimenting. Sometimes you don't even have to experience things to have wisdom; Heavenly Father can just reveal it to you. All the commandments are that way. Heavenly Father tells you how to act so you can avoid having to put on your hindsight knowledge goggles for things that He would rather you just avoid altogether. Think about it: the word of wisdom tells us how to act and what to avoid to keep our bodies and minds healthy and receptive to the Spirit. And He gave that wisdom through His prophet before anyone learned it by experimentation and observation. Or Joseph Smith's experience. "If any of you lack wisdom (or the knowledge of how to act, say, what church to join), let him ask of God." And the great thing about revealed wisdom, is that we can still experiment upon it so that it becomes both knowledge and wisdom to us, but after a while of doing this, our faith that God's wisdom is pure wisdom will become stronger and stronger, so we will be more and more willing to venture into the dark because we KNOW that the marvelous light of God will be there eventually, no matter what happens during the experimenting phase. After all, He "giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not."
Phew. I just really liked those insights and wanted to share them with someone, maybe selfishly so they will remain with me more strongly. Anyway, we also went to the temple this week, and got transfer calls on Saturday night. We are both staying in the area, so Sister Schlauder will be my last companion and this will be my final area. Weird to finally know that for certain. I can really feel the loose ends starting to tie themselves up, but I'm glad I still have these next six weeks to work and be a full-time servant of the Lord. I suppose I'm starting to put on my hindsight knowledge goggles a little, pondering the lessons I've gleaned along the way so that I will have faith and wisdom for the future. I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.
It sounds like everyone is having a great Idaho autumn. Eli's birthday party sounds really fun, and I can't tell if Cassidy has purple hair in that picture or not. As long as it's not an honor code violation at BYU-Idaho, I bet it looks fabulous. As for the other picture, it cracks me up, but I'm not 100% sure the thought occurred to them that if they really were farming pot, that would be illegal, so they shouldn't advertise it. Maybe it's affiliated with the Psychadelicatessen, which is modeled after the Partridge family bus, featuring one of TV's favorite moms, Shirley Jones, but not TV's favorite mom, June Cleaver, who I am glad you told me passed away but also slightly sad to hear. Who'll keep the Beaver in line now? And who will listen to Eddie Haskell's smooth talking lies? I'm sure someone will take the opportunity, but who?
Love and Shining,
Sister Whitney Sorensen
Monday, October 11, 2010
10-11-10 "Every time we say goodbye"
I suppose that's kind of a misleading subject line, but I do have a bit of sad news. The family that was baptized a few weeks ago is now moving away. They are still determined to be active in the church where they are going, but we are sad to see them leave so soon after baptism. All their friends in the Church are here, but this feels like the best decision for all involved, almost like the Lord is impelling them to move forward. However, Allen was ordained to the office of a priest yesterday, which was a wonderful thing to see. The gospel really changes lives and blesses families.
On a brighter note, I ran into Elder Judkins on Saturday. We were having a tri-mission conference with Elder Costa of the Seventy. I wasn't sure if I would see him there, but I did, very quickly actually. We chatted for a few minutes. I didn't have my camera with me, but he had his, so my companion took a quick picture of us. Hopefully he will send a copy home so you all can see us together. (I will look the same as I did in the other picture, however, since it was the same day.) He is so much taller than I remember. He seems to be doing well. I only met his companion briefly, but he seemed nice as well. Elder Costa shared some good counsel with us. The other speaker was Elder Gifford Nielsen, an Area Seventy and former BYU and Houston Oilers quarterback. He talked about how often exclamation points are used in the scriptures when the Lord talks about the importance of missionary work.
Things are going well in both wards. We have many people we teach at least once a week, or at least have on our minds and in our prayers. Where it felt a couple of weeks ago like one ward had a lot more work than another, now things seem to be balancing out a lot better. We are teaching the wife of a member. She is from El Salvador and speaks Spanish almost exclusively, but her English is improving quite a bit. We weren't really sure where to go with her next, but we remembered that one of her major questions was about why we need a prophet if we can get answers to our personal prayers. We felt like Elder Oaks's conference talk answered that well, so we asked her to look it up online, but when we did, she started telling us all about what he said and saying we need to pray for the prophet because he has a lot on his shoulders. Just another little miracle of the Spirit.
We are going to the temple on Wednesday. It seems like forever since I have been. I can hardly wait. And every time I go, it's one time closer to when I can go in Idaho Falls again. Of course, that's still far enough away that I have plenty to take care of here, but it really is starting to feel like my time is growing shorter.
The snow in the mountains sounds lovely, Grandmother and Grandpa. This year fall here feels more like fall than it did last year, but I'm sure I would enjoy it even more if I were in Idaho/Utah. The leaves don't really change colors here. Kind of disappointing.
Sorry you had such a rough week, Mom. I can imagine that's really hard, just knowing you'll not have an opportunity to talk to her for a while. But I did crack up when I read about James Taylor meets Howdy Doody. I thought of you all on my birthday, which was wonderful, and on your anniversary. 27 years is a pretty good amount of time. I'm attaching some photos of the Taylor family and some birthday antics.
Love and shining,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS We also saw a HUGE opossum run across the road in front of us this week! Those things are ugly! At first we thought it was a cat, then a dog, then a squirrel, but in the end its huge tail and gross little shimmy gave it away. Yuck!
On a brighter note, I ran into Elder Judkins on Saturday. We were having a tri-mission conference with Elder Costa of the Seventy. I wasn't sure if I would see him there, but I did, very quickly actually. We chatted for a few minutes. I didn't have my camera with me, but he had his, so my companion took a quick picture of us. Hopefully he will send a copy home so you all can see us together. (I will look the same as I did in the other picture, however, since it was the same day.) He is so much taller than I remember. He seems to be doing well. I only met his companion briefly, but he seemed nice as well. Elder Costa shared some good counsel with us. The other speaker was Elder Gifford Nielsen, an Area Seventy and former BYU and Houston Oilers quarterback. He talked about how often exclamation points are used in the scriptures when the Lord talks about the importance of missionary work.
Things are going well in both wards. We have many people we teach at least once a week, or at least have on our minds and in our prayers. Where it felt a couple of weeks ago like one ward had a lot more work than another, now things seem to be balancing out a lot better. We are teaching the wife of a member. She is from El Salvador and speaks Spanish almost exclusively, but her English is improving quite a bit. We weren't really sure where to go with her next, but we remembered that one of her major questions was about why we need a prophet if we can get answers to our personal prayers. We felt like Elder Oaks's conference talk answered that well, so we asked her to look it up online, but when we did, she started telling us all about what he said and saying we need to pray for the prophet because he has a lot on his shoulders. Just another little miracle of the Spirit.
We are going to the temple on Wednesday. It seems like forever since I have been. I can hardly wait. And every time I go, it's one time closer to when I can go in Idaho Falls again. Of course, that's still far enough away that I have plenty to take care of here, but it really is starting to feel like my time is growing shorter.
The snow in the mountains sounds lovely, Grandmother and Grandpa. This year fall here feels more like fall than it did last year, but I'm sure I would enjoy it even more if I were in Idaho/Utah. The leaves don't really change colors here. Kind of disappointing.
Sorry you had such a rough week, Mom. I can imagine that's really hard, just knowing you'll not have an opportunity to talk to her for a while. But I did crack up when I read about James Taylor meets Howdy Doody. I thought of you all on my birthday, which was wonderful, and on your anniversary. 27 years is a pretty good amount of time. I'm attaching some photos of the Taylor family and some birthday antics.
Love and shining,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS We also saw a HUGE opossum run across the road in front of us this week! Those things are ugly! At first we thought it was a cat, then a dog, then a squirrel, but in the end its huge tail and gross little shimmy gave it away. Yuck!
Monday, October 4, 2010
10-4-10 "There's Nothing Automatic About a Mission"
The subject line is my favorite quote from myself in the past little while. I said it last night while Sister Schlauder and I were discussing someone she knows who went on a mission a little unprepared to face the realities of the world and taking care of herself in really simple ways, perhaps hoping that a mission would automatically teach her those things. So I said, "There's nothing automatic about a mission." Which is very true. This week alone, we met with someone who tried to convince us that all you need to be saved is faith, not works, and then kind of slyly accused us of being in a cult or said Joseph Smith did have a vision but it was from the devil. That was kind of disappointing, too, because when we first met him we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and then he called us asking for a reading assignment, wanting to set up an appointment. This was on September 21. And we knew he had done some of his reading because he asked us if that day was some kind of Mormon holiday, which at first confused us, but then we realized that it talks about Moroni coming to see Joseph Smith on the evening of September 21. Anyway, didn't turn out wonderful, but we did leave on good, noncontentious terms, although I later slightly wished I had chewed him up and down and asked how he could possibly think that someone could still be saved after completely disregarding all the laws and commandments God has ever given his children. Blinded by the craftiness of men. I hate it. So. Much. And then later on in the week we were not-so-kindly asked to leave the park where we were apparently not supposed to be contacting people and giving them pass along cards. This guy on some kind of groundskeeper's golf cart drives up and shines them right in our eyes and then says, "Y'all know you're not supposed to be doing that, right?" So we left, but it took everything in me not to just cry on the spot. I mean, park contacting is hard. It takes more courage than almost anything else on a mission, for me at least. In the end, we figured that Heavenly Father was just trying to tell us it was okay to stop doing that and try other techniques, but it still didn't feel good. And again, later there was this part of me that sort of wished I had just demanded to know right then and there why the first amendment doesn't apply in a public park. But overall I'm glad I kept my cool. But those were just the low points of the week.
The high points were many, including the flood of mail I have been receiving, including a card from one Justin Johnston, who claims to be your "BESTIE," Mom. I can only assume that "bestie" is a slang term for best friend or favorite co-worker or someone you have been sharing laughs with at the Colonial. In any case, as your oldest child, I feel that if anyone is your "BESTIE," it's probably me, but I'm not really in love with the term, so he can have the title. I bestow it upon him. I also got a lovely picture drawn for me by Jace Marlow with a picture of Cassidy blushing because "she is in love," according to the comments from Heidi. Thanks for wrapping up the birthday gifts, but I already opened them and wore them yesterday, sort of as a conference/birthday treat to myself. I love the skirt and the sweater is perfect. I am wearing the tennis sweater right now, and it is just as great as I remember it.
Conference. So much to say. I was so glad the first speaker was Elder Holland. I always get a little panicked that it will be his turn to speak in the priesthood session. I love the way he just complimented every single member of the church for doing the same small things over and over without expecting recognition, and made sure we all knew he was talking to us by saying, "Stop looking around. I'm talking to you." Point taken. Thanks. I couldn't stop laughing when President Uchtdorf told the story about the tree and said, "I'm sure you're all wondering what this has to do with airplanes. Well, let me tell you." Perfect. Isn't it nice to know that we can focus on the simple things, the "everyday" answers instead of running from source to source, hoping to find the cure-all? I couldn't take notes fast enough on Elder Scott's talk. He is one of my new favorites. And, don't be jealous, Kip, but we are having a special tri-mission conference this Saturday with Elder Costa, one of the 14 point prophet speakers. I'll be sure to let you know the highlights of his counsel to us. President Monson is really coming into his own as the prophet. He spoke so directly in the opening session about the need to go on a mission, and I was ecstatic to hear that Hartford, Connecticut is getting a temple! Yeah Cody! He will have the privilege of preparing the area for a temple. It will be such a blesing. The Houston temple turns ten this year, so they just redid all the carpeting and such inside. I haven't been back yet, but we're going next Wednesday. I can hardly wait, but at the same time it is bittersweet, since it will be one of my last times there. But thankfully, I will be able to carry a little of it home with me. Thanks for the money for the book. I can hardly wait to have it. We might go pick it up today. Anyway, I agree. Every talk was amazing. I will be eagerly awaiting my new Ensign to persuse every word. I also felt like I got some personal revelation about how to best finish my mission and what to do after that.
Speaking of which, I can't believe my registration date is already this month. Go ahead and sign me up for classes. I can't remember exactly how to get on there, but I did leave a tentative schedule of what classes I want to sign up for each semester. If you log onto the website with my user ID and password, which I think I wrote down for you before I left, you then go on to something and can see my academic plan. Maybe Sister Dyer or somebody could help you look it up. As far as housing goes, I wouldn't mind being in the same place as before, but I'm sure anywhere woud be fine. I'm not very picky. I picked that place because it was in close walking distance to the parts of campus where most of my classes are and you don't have to walk up the scary hills at night. Plus, it was inexpensive. The Lord always puts me in the right place, so I trust your judgment. So, I'm officially going back to school in January. Crazy.
Love y'all,
Sister Whitney Sorensen
PS I'll send some pictures by mail this week, or e-mail them next week.
The high points were many, including the flood of mail I have been receiving, including a card from one Justin Johnston, who claims to be your "BESTIE," Mom. I can only assume that "bestie" is a slang term for best friend or favorite co-worker or someone you have been sharing laughs with at the Colonial. In any case, as your oldest child, I feel that if anyone is your "BESTIE," it's probably me, but I'm not really in love with the term, so he can have the title. I bestow it upon him. I also got a lovely picture drawn for me by Jace Marlow with a picture of Cassidy blushing because "she is in love," according to the comments from Heidi. Thanks for wrapping up the birthday gifts, but I already opened them and wore them yesterday, sort of as a conference/birthday treat to myself. I love the skirt and the sweater is perfect. I am wearing the tennis sweater right now, and it is just as great as I remember it.
Conference. So much to say. I was so glad the first speaker was Elder Holland. I always get a little panicked that it will be his turn to speak in the priesthood session. I love the way he just complimented every single member of the church for doing the same small things over and over without expecting recognition, and made sure we all knew he was talking to us by saying, "Stop looking around. I'm talking to you." Point taken. Thanks. I couldn't stop laughing when President Uchtdorf told the story about the tree and said, "I'm sure you're all wondering what this has to do with airplanes. Well, let me tell you." Perfect. Isn't it nice to know that we can focus on the simple things, the "everyday" answers instead of running from source to source, hoping to find the cure-all? I couldn't take notes fast enough on Elder Scott's talk. He is one of my new favorites. And, don't be jealous, Kip, but we are having a special tri-mission conference this Saturday with Elder Costa, one of the 14 point prophet speakers. I'll be sure to let you know the highlights of his counsel to us. President Monson is really coming into his own as the prophet. He spoke so directly in the opening session about the need to go on a mission, and I was ecstatic to hear that Hartford, Connecticut is getting a temple! Yeah Cody! He will have the privilege of preparing the area for a temple. It will be such a blesing. The Houston temple turns ten this year, so they just redid all the carpeting and such inside. I haven't been back yet, but we're going next Wednesday. I can hardly wait, but at the same time it is bittersweet, since it will be one of my last times there. But thankfully, I will be able to carry a little of it home with me. Thanks for the money for the book. I can hardly wait to have it. We might go pick it up today. Anyway, I agree. Every talk was amazing. I will be eagerly awaiting my new Ensign to persuse every word. I also felt like I got some personal revelation about how to best finish my mission and what to do after that.
Speaking of which, I can't believe my registration date is already this month. Go ahead and sign me up for classes. I can't remember exactly how to get on there, but I did leave a tentative schedule of what classes I want to sign up for each semester. If you log onto the website with my user ID and password, which I think I wrote down for you before I left, you then go on to something and can see my academic plan. Maybe Sister Dyer or somebody could help you look it up. As far as housing goes, I wouldn't mind being in the same place as before, but I'm sure anywhere woud be fine. I'm not very picky. I picked that place because it was in close walking distance to the parts of campus where most of my classes are and you don't have to walk up the scary hills at night. Plus, it was inexpensive. The Lord always puts me in the right place, so I trust your judgment. So, I'm officially going back to school in January. Crazy.
Love y'all,
Sister Whitney Sorensen
PS I'll send some pictures by mail this week, or e-mail them next week.
Monday, September 27, 2010
9-27-10 "...after miracle...after miracle..."
Houston says hello, again. I've come through another week, and this one was just as good as the last one. It culminated in two wonderful baptisms on Saturday for Brother Allen Taylor and his wife, Sister Brigette Taylor. What a week leading up to it! There is a rule in the mission that no one can be baptized unless they have attended several sacrament meetings. Brigette and Allen had a baptism date for Saturday, the 25th, but because of work, Brigette had only been able to come to church once, but she had already taken off work planning to be baptized on Saturday. She had been diligently studying her Gospel Principles manual while at work, answering all the questions in a little notebook. She truly has a testimony of the gospel and had a deep desire to be baptized with her husband. After counseling with President Hansen, we determined that she could be baptized on Saturday as long as she could find a way to always be at church after that, at least for sacrament meeting. We held a special fast on Tuesday that the Lord would provide a way for her to get off work on Sundays. When we went over for the lesson on Tuesday, we asked her if she had talked to her boss about it. The only thing she needed to do was call a co-worker and ask if she would take Brigette's Sunday shift. She did, while we were there, and the co-worker readily agreed! It was a miracle. Everyone recognized it. However, this would still be a test of faith since Brigette was the only one working and they depend on her income to provide for their family. We were very worried about it through the week, at varying degrees. I somehow felt calm about it by Wednesday evening, but Brigette was worried up until Friday, when she told us she felt this calm come over her that everything would be all right. That day, again while we were at their houe for a lesson, Allen got a call about a temporary job. Which starts today! I am so amazed at how the Lord's hand has been in this, and at their intense unwavering faith. It was certainly a trial of faith, or even a leap of faith, but they are now members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the gift of the Holy Ghost. I know they will only continue to be blessed as they grow and learn in the gospel. I feel blessed to have met them and seen them take these steps on the path to eternal life.
In the midst of all this, we had a special sisters' training conference on Thursday this week. President Hansen shared some very good wisdom and counsel. Every one of us has a special purpose and journey that the Lord intends for us as a missionary, and He had a plan for that mission before we even arrived in Houston. I can think of countless ways in which that has been true for me, even though at times I have struggled against the lessons He's been trying to teach me. President Hansen also shared special wisom about how we measure our success as a missionary, even saying directly that it is never about the numbers, and if someone tries to tell you it is, that person doesn't understand it yet. It is such a relief to have that to ponder on when the numbers become a weight of worry. In those times, I try to picture the faces of those I have grown to love, people who the Lord saw fit to make a part of my mission experience. Sometimes those people don't fit into "key indicator" categories, but they themselves and the memories I have with them are blessings the Lord has given me as part of my mission.
Saturday was wonderful in every way. The Relief Society president in one of our wards took us to dinner with Brigette to a great little Tex-Mex restaurant. Remind me when I get home to have some "green sauce" salsa with y'all. It is GOOD. And from there we went to the general Relief Society broadcast. I was anticipating hearing from President Monson, and Brigette was hoping to as well. She had been worried that he was a very serious, sad man, but now she has seen the true President Monson in all his wit and wisdom. I am deeply excited to study the history of Relief Society. What a prophetic blessing that will be! And I, too, am striving to be non-judgmental of others. I want to treat everyone as my equal and see us all as children of God.
As to my birthday coming up, I know one thing I want for certain. There is a beautiful book about the building of the Houston Texas Temple and you can buy it at the little LDS bookstore by, what else, the temple. It costs about $30, so if someone could put that money in my account, I can buy it. Missionaries get a discount at the store, so I will buy it here and bring it home for all to enjoy, since you all can't physically be in the temple with me. As far as anything else, I will need a new pair of jeans when I get home, and I guess I would like a little more money to buy souvenirs and stuff here. Maybe a Texas t-shirt or something like that. I don't know. What do people need anyway? Maybe a gift certificate to Deseret Book so I can do some shopping when I get home... Just birthday cards in the mail would be nice, I guess. I'm simple. I'm easy. Just send love. Speaking of the Houston temple, yes, I did see that beautiful picture of it in the new Temples magazine, Cassidy. It is even more beautiful in person. It's hard to tell by the picture, but there are such tall trees all around it, and somehow it fits perfectly into that setting. I'm glad to hear you are sticking with your school work. I know what you mean about not having a long enough break between semesters. Winter semester is very long because it only has two holidays in it, and they come right at the beginning. March is a seriously long month sometimes, but I always love learning. I just wish I had more time to do it in sometimes. Hope all is well with you!
Love and shining,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
In the midst of all this, we had a special sisters' training conference on Thursday this week. President Hansen shared some very good wisdom and counsel. Every one of us has a special purpose and journey that the Lord intends for us as a missionary, and He had a plan for that mission before we even arrived in Houston. I can think of countless ways in which that has been true for me, even though at times I have struggled against the lessons He's been trying to teach me. President Hansen also shared special wisom about how we measure our success as a missionary, even saying directly that it is never about the numbers, and if someone tries to tell you it is, that person doesn't understand it yet. It is such a relief to have that to ponder on when the numbers become a weight of worry. In those times, I try to picture the faces of those I have grown to love, people who the Lord saw fit to make a part of my mission experience. Sometimes those people don't fit into "key indicator" categories, but they themselves and the memories I have with them are blessings the Lord has given me as part of my mission.
Saturday was wonderful in every way. The Relief Society president in one of our wards took us to dinner with Brigette to a great little Tex-Mex restaurant. Remind me when I get home to have some "green sauce" salsa with y'all. It is GOOD. And from there we went to the general Relief Society broadcast. I was anticipating hearing from President Monson, and Brigette was hoping to as well. She had been worried that he was a very serious, sad man, but now she has seen the true President Monson in all his wit and wisdom. I am deeply excited to study the history of Relief Society. What a prophetic blessing that will be! And I, too, am striving to be non-judgmental of others. I want to treat everyone as my equal and see us all as children of God.
As to my birthday coming up, I know one thing I want for certain. There is a beautiful book about the building of the Houston Texas Temple and you can buy it at the little LDS bookstore by, what else, the temple. It costs about $30, so if someone could put that money in my account, I can buy it. Missionaries get a discount at the store, so I will buy it here and bring it home for all to enjoy, since you all can't physically be in the temple with me. As far as anything else, I will need a new pair of jeans when I get home, and I guess I would like a little more money to buy souvenirs and stuff here. Maybe a Texas t-shirt or something like that. I don't know. What do people need anyway? Maybe a gift certificate to Deseret Book so I can do some shopping when I get home... Just birthday cards in the mail would be nice, I guess. I'm simple. I'm easy. Just send love. Speaking of the Houston temple, yes, I did see that beautiful picture of it in the new Temples magazine, Cassidy. It is even more beautiful in person. It's hard to tell by the picture, but there are such tall trees all around it, and somehow it fits perfectly into that setting. I'm glad to hear you are sticking with your school work. I know what you mean about not having a long enough break between semesters. Winter semester is very long because it only has two holidays in it, and they come right at the beginning. March is a seriously long month sometimes, but I always love learning. I just wish I had more time to do it in sometimes. Hope all is well with you!
Love and shining,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
Monday, September 20, 2010
9-20-10 "Miracle after Miracle...and some laughter in between"
Howdy, y'all! Texas is treating me just fine. I am flourishing in this new area and my new companion and I are, as Anne Shirley would say it, "kindred spirits." We laugh a lot and have a wonderful time. We are keeping busy and meeting with joy and determination the challenges that confront us. This has been the most amazing week of my mission yet, just because it feels like the Lord's hand has been in the timing and everything is going according to His will. It means learning to walk by faith, but that has become so much less of a frustration and much more of a blessing. Let's get down to details because it won't mean much if I just keep talking in all these vague phrases. Okay. We have a couple that has been being taught for a while, Allen and Brigette. They both have quite a past, but they have two little girls, seven and two, and an amazing story of how they found the gospel. He was driving along a main road in this part of Houston back in April when he realizes that the path he's taking is not going to lead to happiness. So he decides that he's going to walk in and join the next church he sees with lights on and people inside. He stops at one, but the doors are locked. Same thing with the next one. But the third church he finds is ours and they're having institute classes. He's been meeting with missionaries since then, and now he and his wife will either be getting baptized this weekend or in a few weekends. I am ecstatic for them! They are a perfect example of how much the gospel can really change lives and bless families and bring us happiness in life. Plus, I heard from Sister Layton in Katy that another couple we had been teaching is also going to get baptized on General Conference weekend. That's what I call miracle after miracle, just like Elder Kikuchi promised.
And if that weren't enough, we had another few this week. Thursday morning is our planning day. We do our studies like regular and then spend a few hours planning out what we can do to help our investigators and less-actives come closer to Christ and when we should meet with them. We had finished our planning, and we thinking that we still had a lot to accomplish with Brigette and Allen and just thinking we didn't have that many people to teach anyway. We were out meeting a few people, and no one seemed to be home. I had also just been thinking that it had been a while since we'd gotten a church headquarters text referral. They don't come all the time, but they are a good source of people to teach. And then just a little while later we got one for a "Joseph." It gives a few details about him: he wants to be baptized and is engaged. I don't want to call is skeptcism, but it probably is, but I usually reserve my celebrations on such things until we actually meet with the person. We went to the street, but the address is wrong. So something in me (read: the Holy Ghost) tells us we should try a different combination of the same digits. We do, but no one's home. After our last appointment that night, we are heading home and decided to try again. This time someone was home, but it's not the right name. As we're walking back to the car, a different combination of digits flashes in my mind, one that could also be on the street. And when we knock on that door, he answers and says, "I didn't think you were going to come. I'm so glad you did." I NEVER thought I would hear those words on my mission. We set up an appointment for the next night. He used to meet with missionaries when he was in high school, but stopped. And now he is engaged to a member in California and is definitely looking towards baptism. We're seeing him again tonight. Golden.
There was a series of perfect timings yesterday at church. And a great discussion with someone we met at the park. Sister Smith and Sister Taylor stayed with us for a few nights while going to a training conference at the mission office. I wish I had time to tell you about all the little details of how the timing has just been perfect this week. But I'll record it all in my journal to share at a later date. We had dinner at President Hansen's house last night. What a lovely experience. Everything is wonderful. The Spirit is so good to us, and this week looks to be just as good as last week, especially if we have a baptism on Saturday to go along with the General Relief Society broadcast. We will be having a special sister missionaries conference on Thursday. It feels like I am finally understanding my purpose as a missionary and reaping the joys serving. All the perfect timing is finally starting to come together.
Much love and shining,
Sister Whitney Sorensen
PS According to a rumor Sister Schlauder heard, Reba McEntire's daughter is a member in a neighboring ward. I don't actually know if Reba even has a daughter, but I don't really care. It's good enough for me to know that the show, REBA, takes place in Houston, so I kind of found her suburb, and she already sort of has the gospel. Good to know.
PPS Remind me to tell you later about the attack cat at Allen's house. Great story.
And if that weren't enough, we had another few this week. Thursday morning is our planning day. We do our studies like regular and then spend a few hours planning out what we can do to help our investigators and less-actives come closer to Christ and when we should meet with them. We had finished our planning, and we thinking that we still had a lot to accomplish with Brigette and Allen and just thinking we didn't have that many people to teach anyway. We were out meeting a few people, and no one seemed to be home. I had also just been thinking that it had been a while since we'd gotten a church headquarters text referral. They don't come all the time, but they are a good source of people to teach. And then just a little while later we got one for a "Joseph." It gives a few details about him: he wants to be baptized and is engaged. I don't want to call is skeptcism, but it probably is, but I usually reserve my celebrations on such things until we actually meet with the person. We went to the street, but the address is wrong. So something in me (read: the Holy Ghost) tells us we should try a different combination of the same digits. We do, but no one's home. After our last appointment that night, we are heading home and decided to try again. This time someone was home, but it's not the right name. As we're walking back to the car, a different combination of digits flashes in my mind, one that could also be on the street. And when we knock on that door, he answers and says, "I didn't think you were going to come. I'm so glad you did." I NEVER thought I would hear those words on my mission. We set up an appointment for the next night. He used to meet with missionaries when he was in high school, but stopped. And now he is engaged to a member in California and is definitely looking towards baptism. We're seeing him again tonight. Golden.
There was a series of perfect timings yesterday at church. And a great discussion with someone we met at the park. Sister Smith and Sister Taylor stayed with us for a few nights while going to a training conference at the mission office. I wish I had time to tell you about all the little details of how the timing has just been perfect this week. But I'll record it all in my journal to share at a later date. We had dinner at President Hansen's house last night. What a lovely experience. Everything is wonderful. The Spirit is so good to us, and this week looks to be just as good as last week, especially if we have a baptism on Saturday to go along with the General Relief Society broadcast. We will be having a special sister missionaries conference on Thursday. It feels like I am finally understanding my purpose as a missionary and reaping the joys serving. All the perfect timing is finally starting to come together.
Much love and shining,
Sister Whitney Sorensen
PS According to a rumor Sister Schlauder heard, Reba McEntire's daughter is a member in a neighboring ward. I don't actually know if Reba even has a daughter, but I don't really care. It's good enough for me to know that the show, REBA, takes place in Houston, so I kind of found her suburb, and she already sort of has the gospel. Good to know.
PPS Remind me to tell you later about the attack cat at Allen's house. Great story.
Monday, September 13, 2010
9-13-10 "How Do You Feel About Redheads?"
I have news! I am in a new area with a new companion. Sister Schlauder is from Las Vegas, Nevada, and we are getting along swimmingly well. We actually serve in two wards, which means five hours of church on Sunday, which is actually not as bad as it sounds. Not that anyone would think that church is bad. So now that my foot is in my mouth, let me tell you more about the area. It is right by the temple and actually goes really far north. Part of the area is actually in Tomball and it borders what used to be the Tomball ward but then got split back into the Klein stake. I'm realizing that none of this makes much sense to you all because you have never been here. Seriously, I've realized in the last week that I have this map of northwest Houston permanently engraved on my mind and so I'm not very good anymore at describing it to y'all who don't know the area. Anyway, this area was just switched from elders to sisters about three months ago, so the wards are both still excited to have sisters and are both incredibly friendly and welcoming. We had two wonderful sacrament meetings yesterday. The first was a returned missionary reporting his mission to somewhere in Brazil. He spoke about charity and his love for the people and for the Lord was very evident in every word from his mouth and every expression on his face. In the second sacrament meeting, we had two excellent talks about setting goals and accepting change in your life. I've felt very strongly the past two weeks that one of the strongest opportunities I have to receive revelation is through attendance at church. Last week, our Relief Society lesson was manna from heaven. I felt like it was directly to me. And then during both of those talks yesterday I got some very specific directions and promptings and, yes, comforting feelings from the Spirit. So in addition to being more receptive to the Spirit in the morning, Sundays are a great time to receive revelation.
Before I forget, my reason for that subject line is to tell you that I think the Texas sun is turning my hair red. Not all over, but for a while now I've been thinking that I have some red streaks in my hair, but I cast it aside as wishful thinking, knowing that I've secretly always wanted to be a redhead so I was probably just imagining it. But yesterday Sister Schlauder looked at me and said, "Do you have red streaks in your hair?" At which point I confessed that I had thought my hair was turning red. So, it's official I have about a dozen red hairs. I'm no Anne of Green Gables, but I might some day qualify to be something of a Lucille Ball, since her hair was bottle red anyway.
Also before I forget, I think I may have misled you somewhere along the line, Mom. You keep referring to the investigator who got baptized when Elder Kikuchi was here. We were issued a challenge to challenge some investigators to be baptized the next day, but none of our investigators did so. Another companionship in our district did, and I think I mentioned that, but it wasn't "our" investigator. (I hate referring to investigators or baptisms, etc. as "ours" or "mine." You cannot own a person or his or her ordinances of salvation.) But, I did hear from Sister Layton last night that some of our investigators in Katy are very close to setting a baptism date. And we actually have two investigators here who are looking to be baptized sometime in September or October, so pray that all will go well with that. We will be doing a lot of finding this week, but I am feeling inspired by your reminding me what I said about tracting a while back and that great story from your friend. Greetings to them. I know I can do it. And think the hardest part is that at this point I know the kind of effort that is required to bring about the desired results and I let myself focus on how tired I am rather than how good I feel when it actually works well and the Lord blesses someone to take a copy of the Book of Mormon or receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Those are my two favorite things, I've discovered. I love sharing the Book of Mormon. I want to give it to everyone! I get so excited when I think about testifying to people about it. It truly has changed my life. And, I think I've already mentioned this, but my favorite thing about being in an area when someone makes the covenant of baptism is watching his or her countenance change with the gift of the Holy Ghost.
On my first full day here in Kleinwood/Windrose, we did a little tracting. For the first time, I had someone tell me to my face that I was part of a cult. I've heard that others think that about the Church members, but I've never had someone say that. Actually, it was a fairly cordial conversation, and I could actually feel the Spirit, but I suspect that maybe it was more because her heart was hardening to the message the more we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and hear about our message so the Spirit had nowhere to go but back into us. And at the very next house, we left a copy of the Book of Mormon, so you just never know.
Cassidy is quite crazy for running, but also quite brave. I hope everything is well with her at school. Eli is already in PACE. I can hardly believe that, but I'm glad they started out with rockets.
Love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
p.s. Please. Shine.
Before I forget, my reason for that subject line is to tell you that I think the Texas sun is turning my hair red. Not all over, but for a while now I've been thinking that I have some red streaks in my hair, but I cast it aside as wishful thinking, knowing that I've secretly always wanted to be a redhead so I was probably just imagining it. But yesterday Sister Schlauder looked at me and said, "Do you have red streaks in your hair?" At which point I confessed that I had thought my hair was turning red. So, it's official I have about a dozen red hairs. I'm no Anne of Green Gables, but I might some day qualify to be something of a Lucille Ball, since her hair was bottle red anyway.
Also before I forget, I think I may have misled you somewhere along the line, Mom. You keep referring to the investigator who got baptized when Elder Kikuchi was here. We were issued a challenge to challenge some investigators to be baptized the next day, but none of our investigators did so. Another companionship in our district did, and I think I mentioned that, but it wasn't "our" investigator. (I hate referring to investigators or baptisms, etc. as "ours" or "mine." You cannot own a person or his or her ordinances of salvation.) But, I did hear from Sister Layton last night that some of our investigators in Katy are very close to setting a baptism date. And we actually have two investigators here who are looking to be baptized sometime in September or October, so pray that all will go well with that. We will be doing a lot of finding this week, but I am feeling inspired by your reminding me what I said about tracting a while back and that great story from your friend. Greetings to them. I know I can do it. And think the hardest part is that at this point I know the kind of effort that is required to bring about the desired results and I let myself focus on how tired I am rather than how good I feel when it actually works well and the Lord blesses someone to take a copy of the Book of Mormon or receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Those are my two favorite things, I've discovered. I love sharing the Book of Mormon. I want to give it to everyone! I get so excited when I think about testifying to people about it. It truly has changed my life. And, I think I've already mentioned this, but my favorite thing about being in an area when someone makes the covenant of baptism is watching his or her countenance change with the gift of the Holy Ghost.
On my first full day here in Kleinwood/Windrose, we did a little tracting. For the first time, I had someone tell me to my face that I was part of a cult. I've heard that others think that about the Church members, but I've never had someone say that. Actually, it was a fairly cordial conversation, and I could actually feel the Spirit, but I suspect that maybe it was more because her heart was hardening to the message the more we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and hear about our message so the Spirit had nowhere to go but back into us. And at the very next house, we left a copy of the Book of Mormon, so you just never know.
Cassidy is quite crazy for running, but also quite brave. I hope everything is well with her at school. Eli is already in PACE. I can hardly believe that, but I'm glad they started out with rockets.
Love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
p.s. Please. Shine.
Monday, August 30, 2010
8-30-10 "The First Vision...at 15 mph"
Hello family. It sounds like everything is going well in good old Idaho. I cannot believe that Eli is already a third-grader. He looks so grown-up. I especially love the Converse. That's my brother, all right. Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez would also be proud. It's hard to belive that he's already that old, especially when I think back on a year ago, going "by the time Eli is in third grade, I'll almost be home. By the time Cassidy is a sophomore in college, I'll almost be home." Speaking of which, I'm not sure if December 1 is the exact day anymore, but I have been assured by President Hansen that I will be home before Christmas. As far as what needs to be done to get school set up, I will obviously have to be registered for classes. I should have everything all planned out already on my BYU account. I'll obviously need a place to live. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Good to know that the Colonial theater is still thriving. Speaking of which, Sister Layton and I were looking through my pictures and she actually knows the person who played Daddy Warbucks in "Annie." And someone named Carrie Darrington, which sounds very familiar to me, but I can't remember why, but it seems like Mom and Cassidy are the ones who know her. Plus, when we arrived at zone conference on Wednesday morning, Sister Layton was saying something about a song she likes about the stripling warriors, but I was concentrating on driving so I wasn't totally listening. But it registered in at least some part of my head, and so I said, "Who was that?" And she said, "My seminary teacher wrote a song about the stripling warriors." "Brother Kunz?" "Yeah." "He's my neighbor." So, yes, Brother Kunz, your fame has preceded you. She also wondered if you couldn't send the CD to us for our listening pleasure.
Zone Conference: Elder Kikuchi is amazing. It was such a blessing to have his wisdom with us. The predominant impression I got from him is that he is constantly in perfect tune with the Spirit. Not easy to do, and it requires you to go a a bit of a slower pace, but doing so leaves more room for others to learn by the Spirit. He shook everyone's hand, and I actually got to play the opening hymn. How often does one get to play the piano with a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy listening? He taught us that "tithing for the missionaries is obedience." You have to pay 100% of your tithing to be qualified for a temple recommend, so you have to follow 100% of the rules to be fully qualified for the Spirit. And you had to know he knew what he was talking about, that his testimony of that principle is true, because you cannot deny that he is living it and reaping the benefits. He also taught us to be very simple with our tracting approach, just asking people if we can ask them a few questions and asking about Heavenly Father and His plan for us. "You don't want to argue on the doorstep." True. We've already been using it a little bit, and so far we get some of the same reactions but at least now I'm not doubting myself, wondering if I'm tracting wrong or not listening closely enough to the Spirit that everyone lets us in. The final thing he taught us was about how to teach the First Vision. You have to go very slow. 15 miles an hour. Any slower, and it just gets lost and people don't realize what you've said. He first had some elders do a teaching demonstration, and then he critiqued them, but very nicely. And then he had Sister Layton and I do it. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my mission. As Sister Layton was telling the account from Joseph Smith history, I could feel the Spirit welling up inside of me so deeply. I knew in that moment that my efforts as a missionary were pleasing to the Lord, and those feelings were only confirmed when, after our demonstration was concluded, Elder Kikuchi looked at me and said, "I could feel your testimony even while you were not speaking." I knew that he was perfectly in tune with the Spirit of the Lord; I knew that he could not lie; and I knew I was a good missionary. It was a very good feeling.
We had something of a crazy Friday. Elder Kikuchi was still in town, and on Friday night we got a call from the zone leaders that he and President Hansen had received revelation that the Katy zone could have two baptisms on Saturday--unplanned baptisms--if we would start fasting and praying and then go out on Friday and teach our investigators the First Vision the way we had learned in zone conference and commit them to be baptized the next day. Well, in the end, we did have one baptism of an investigator that had been vacilating about her baptism for a long time, but it still put us out there and made us challenge investigators that we hadn't been challenging as much as we should have and it led us to get appointments with former investigators that hadn't met with missionaries in a while. Crazy.
Anyway, that's the news from Katy. Happy everything!
Love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
PPS I have a bit of a cold, so I hope this all makes sense. My head is kind of stuffy.
Good to know that the Colonial theater is still thriving. Speaking of which, Sister Layton and I were looking through my pictures and she actually knows the person who played Daddy Warbucks in "Annie." And someone named Carrie Darrington, which sounds very familiar to me, but I can't remember why, but it seems like Mom and Cassidy are the ones who know her. Plus, when we arrived at zone conference on Wednesday morning, Sister Layton was saying something about a song she likes about the stripling warriors, but I was concentrating on driving so I wasn't totally listening. But it registered in at least some part of my head, and so I said, "Who was that?" And she said, "My seminary teacher wrote a song about the stripling warriors." "Brother Kunz?" "Yeah." "He's my neighbor." So, yes, Brother Kunz, your fame has preceded you. She also wondered if you couldn't send the CD to us for our listening pleasure.
Zone Conference: Elder Kikuchi is amazing. It was such a blessing to have his wisdom with us. The predominant impression I got from him is that he is constantly in perfect tune with the Spirit. Not easy to do, and it requires you to go a a bit of a slower pace, but doing so leaves more room for others to learn by the Spirit. He shook everyone's hand, and I actually got to play the opening hymn. How often does one get to play the piano with a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy listening? He taught us that "tithing for the missionaries is obedience." You have to pay 100% of your tithing to be qualified for a temple recommend, so you have to follow 100% of the rules to be fully qualified for the Spirit. And you had to know he knew what he was talking about, that his testimony of that principle is true, because you cannot deny that he is living it and reaping the benefits. He also taught us to be very simple with our tracting approach, just asking people if we can ask them a few questions and asking about Heavenly Father and His plan for us. "You don't want to argue on the doorstep." True. We've already been using it a little bit, and so far we get some of the same reactions but at least now I'm not doubting myself, wondering if I'm tracting wrong or not listening closely enough to the Spirit that everyone lets us in. The final thing he taught us was about how to teach the First Vision. You have to go very slow. 15 miles an hour. Any slower, and it just gets lost and people don't realize what you've said. He first had some elders do a teaching demonstration, and then he critiqued them, but very nicely. And then he had Sister Layton and I do it. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my mission. As Sister Layton was telling the account from Joseph Smith history, I could feel the Spirit welling up inside of me so deeply. I knew in that moment that my efforts as a missionary were pleasing to the Lord, and those feelings were only confirmed when, after our demonstration was concluded, Elder Kikuchi looked at me and said, "I could feel your testimony even while you were not speaking." I knew that he was perfectly in tune with the Spirit of the Lord; I knew that he could not lie; and I knew I was a good missionary. It was a very good feeling.
We had something of a crazy Friday. Elder Kikuchi was still in town, and on Friday night we got a call from the zone leaders that he and President Hansen had received revelation that the Katy zone could have two baptisms on Saturday--unplanned baptisms--if we would start fasting and praying and then go out on Friday and teach our investigators the First Vision the way we had learned in zone conference and commit them to be baptized the next day. Well, in the end, we did have one baptism of an investigator that had been vacilating about her baptism for a long time, but it still put us out there and made us challenge investigators that we hadn't been challenging as much as we should have and it led us to get appointments with former investigators that hadn't met with missionaries in a while. Crazy.
Anyway, that's the news from Katy. Happy everything!
Love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
PPS I have a bit of a cold, so I hope this all makes sense. My head is kind of stuffy.
Monday, August 23, 2010
8-23-10 "Sometimes the Subject Line is the Hardest Part"
Really. Sometimes it is. I have a hard time deciding on something that sounds both clever and relevant, and sometimes it just doesn't come to me. Usually it's on the weeks when I feel like I don't have much to report, so I can't come up with a trend to make the title or anything. Oh well.
First things first. I went to the doctor this morning, finally. I just hadn't gotten around to making an appointment. His name is Dr. Ahmed and he was very nice and professional. I will be seeing him again at the end of November. He suggested that I start lowering the doses of some of my medications gradually, just to keep myself from experiencing too many side effects or long-term damage. I agreed because he says that once the RA is in remission you do not need to be on such large doses. He is doing it very slowly, but I will keep a good eye on it and watch for any adverse effects. The bill from his office was about $100, but the total was closer to $200, so they might be sending another bill after it gets submitted to the insurance. I also had to go to a lab to get my blood drawn. I called Dr. Khalaf's office to have them fax the records to my new doctor and the secretary didn't say anything about outstanding bills. I haven't been to his office since April, so I don't think there is anything to worry about there.
We are going to have zone conference this week, and Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the Seventy is coming. He has been a member of the Seventy forever! Hopefully Elder Braeden Sorensen won't be jealous. I am fairly certain Elder Kikuchi is from Tokyo because I found an article about Japan in an old Ensign about how Elder Kikuchi was in the first stake presidency in Japan which was created in Tokyo. Actually, we also met a lady yesterday from Japan while we were tracting. She was very nice, but her husband who is another Christian denomination tells her not to accept anything from people who come knocking on the door, but she had many Mormon friends. It even sounded like she'd investigated for a while but her Buddhist parents didn't want her to join or something. Oh well. She lives down the street from the Relief Society president, so only time will tell.
We did make it to the temple on Tuesday. It was a very peaceful session. And as far as decision-making goes, I have decided to come home in December. If I've calculated it correctly, I will be departing Houston on December 1. Wow! That sounds really close. I'm getting kind of excited, but I am determined to stay focused. We were at the home of the assistant ward mission leader last night and he said that when you get released they just say, "Okay. You're released. You can take your name tag off now." It was weird to think about it. So I've decided not to. But, "I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me!" I
In the meantime, study hard all you people heading back to school. School starts here today, and the first football game is supposed to be on Friday. Here, high school football is everything. Life basically revolves around it for three to four months.
Today we are having a p-day party, just us girls. We'll be making red velvet cupcakes and just lounging around. Thanks for the pics of the day at Ross park. Cassidy: you look like Grace Kelly, girl. Seriously. Go get 'em. And Dad: is that your muscle man face? Very smooth. Eli: more handsome everytime I see you. But I do not know where the Seaworld Tycoon game is. Possibly in my computer, but if it's not there, I'm not sure. I will keep Grandma Ricks in my prayers, but I know that whatever happens, it will be the Lord's will.
Much love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
First things first. I went to the doctor this morning, finally. I just hadn't gotten around to making an appointment. His name is Dr. Ahmed and he was very nice and professional. I will be seeing him again at the end of November. He suggested that I start lowering the doses of some of my medications gradually, just to keep myself from experiencing too many side effects or long-term damage. I agreed because he says that once the RA is in remission you do not need to be on such large doses. He is doing it very slowly, but I will keep a good eye on it and watch for any adverse effects. The bill from his office was about $100, but the total was closer to $200, so they might be sending another bill after it gets submitted to the insurance. I also had to go to a lab to get my blood drawn. I called Dr. Khalaf's office to have them fax the records to my new doctor and the secretary didn't say anything about outstanding bills. I haven't been to his office since April, so I don't think there is anything to worry about there.
We are going to have zone conference this week, and Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the Seventy is coming. He has been a member of the Seventy forever! Hopefully Elder Braeden Sorensen won't be jealous. I am fairly certain Elder Kikuchi is from Tokyo because I found an article about Japan in an old Ensign about how Elder Kikuchi was in the first stake presidency in Japan which was created in Tokyo. Actually, we also met a lady yesterday from Japan while we were tracting. She was very nice, but her husband who is another Christian denomination tells her not to accept anything from people who come knocking on the door, but she had many Mormon friends. It even sounded like she'd investigated for a while but her Buddhist parents didn't want her to join or something. Oh well. She lives down the street from the Relief Society president, so only time will tell.
We did make it to the temple on Tuesday. It was a very peaceful session. And as far as decision-making goes, I have decided to come home in December. If I've calculated it correctly, I will be departing Houston on December 1. Wow! That sounds really close. I'm getting kind of excited, but I am determined to stay focused. We were at the home of the assistant ward mission leader last night and he said that when you get released they just say, "Okay. You're released. You can take your name tag off now." It was weird to think about it. So I've decided not to. But, "I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me!" I
In the meantime, study hard all you people heading back to school. School starts here today, and the first football game is supposed to be on Friday. Here, high school football is everything. Life basically revolves around it for three to four months.
Today we are having a p-day party, just us girls. We'll be making red velvet cupcakes and just lounging around. Thanks for the pics of the day at Ross park. Cassidy: you look like Grace Kelly, girl. Seriously. Go get 'em. And Dad: is that your muscle man face? Very smooth. Eli: more handsome everytime I see you. But I do not know where the Seaworld Tycoon game is. Possibly in my computer, but if it's not there, I'm not sure. I will keep Grandma Ricks in my prayers, but I know that whatever happens, it will be the Lord's will.
Much love,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
Monday, August 16, 2010
8-16-10 "Some of My Favorite David's"
Today's e-mail will mostly be about yesterday because it was just a plain good day. So let's begin at the beginning. Before stake conference, Elder Bednar asked to have a special session with just recent converts and current investigators, but missionaries were invited to attend as well. That was a blessing because we weren't invited to the Saturday night session and we would have to watch the general session in our own chapel, not the building where Elder Bednar was. Not that being in the same building matters, and I know I have been overly blessed in my life to be in the presence of apostles much more than most people, but still, we were excited. During that session, Elder Bednar first addressed the recent converts. He asked them to stand up and asked a few of them how they came into contact with the church. One woman had been a cruise ship performer and some of her fellow performers were members. A young man standing right behind us had been studying at a theological school for years, but eventually could not deny that he had found more truth. Amazing to think that someone could accept the restored gospel even after having studied theology. He then spoke a little bit to the investigators. He was teaching them the first lesson, about Christ setting up a church and the great Apostasy or falling away and the need for a Restoration. It was amazing to hear him teach that, especially to people that I know personally and desire to come unto Christ, but even as he was saying it, I had the thought come to me, "He doesn't teach it that much different from the way you teach it. You both teach it the same way." It made me think of a story President Packer tells about when he was called to be an apostle and they asked him to bear his testimony. He said he bore it the same way he would in sacrament meeting, but they seemed to be satisfied with it, so being an apostle doesn't take anything different from being a regular member of the church. As a missionary, I teach the first lesson much the same way an apostle would. I hope that doesn't sound disrespectful or sacreligious. Anyway, he did a few more things like asking new members what words were confusing to them: "Sunbeam," "ward," "stake," and even told a few stories about how some new members had confused the Aaronic priesthood with the "ironic" priesthood and temple officiators with "fish eaters." His basic point was that old time members are terrible at helping with this and new members are bad at asking for help.
Skipping to the next session, first the stake president gave a wonderful address about always examining our lives and not procrastinating the day of our repentance. He used the questions from Alma 5, and as he was talking kept inserting questions of his own. Two members of the stake bore testimonies, one a woman with an autistic son who had just gone through a difficult divorce, and a member who joined in Vermont while her husband was going through cancer treatments and subsequently moved to Houston. Two youth were spontaneously called on to bear their testimonies. And then Elder Bednar spoke for about an hour, but his sermon contained about a year's worth of teachings. He started by dissecting the stake president's talk and reemphasizing the things he taught. He said, "Alma spoke in your stake today. Your stake president is Alma." He said that when he calls a new stake president, he gives him just these two pieces of counsel: "You are Alma in this stake, so study Mosiah 18 to about Alma 40, and your job is to shepherd people to the temple." He then shared a story/parable. He had a friend who wanted to buy a four-wheel drive truck, but his wife kept telling them they couldn't afford it and didn't need it. He bought it anyway, and in order to justify it to his wife, went into the mountains to chop some firewood. As he got higher and higher, there was a lot of snow, but he wasn't worried because he had four wheel drive. Eventually he got bogged down, and the truck was stuck. He decided to chop the firewood anyway since he was up there, and after he packed it in the bed of the truck wide and deep, the truck was able to get out. The difference was the load. Sometimes the load makes all the difference. It is essential to getting us home. We are stuck without it. He also taught that some elements of our load are unnecessary--he called them our weapons of rebellion, comparing them to the swords of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in Alma 24. We need to abandon those, but some parts of our load are absolutely necessary and essential. I'm being a bit redundant here, but the teaching was really profound. He shared a brief anecdote about home teaching. He said that one of the members of the twelve has a secretary who is a single older lady. Once at the end of the month, a pipe burst in her home and she was in her waders trying to clean it up when her home teachers came over. This was their reaction: "We can see that this isn't a good time." He said that the purpose of home teaching isn't to get in the door, but to "be with, watch over, and strengthen" and that when members realize that, home teaching will become much more powerful. He also told a story about he and one of his sons went to visit some families his son had taught on his mission in Bolivia. At first, when they entered the very modest home, Elder Bednar felt sorry for them at first, thinking "What can we do to help them?" But after he saw the children being so nice to one another and content with one piece of candy and only wanting to share more with others, he saw a scenario in his head. He imagined the couple coming to America and driving around, observing all the things we do to occupy our time, things like soccer and violin lessons and all the rest, which are nice and good, but that we use as excuses for not being consistent with family scripture study and prayer. He could see that couple getting together at the end of such a trip and thinking to themselves, "What can we do to help them? How can we help them realize that all those things don't really matter?"
That's just a sampling of his amazing teachings, but I cannot believe I was so blessed to be serving in this area at this time. But then again, I can, because the Lord's tender mercies are all over it. For instance, having Elder Bednar here this weekend forced me to reflect on the fact that Bishop/President Lindsay who interviewed me to come on my mission at one point was actually mission companions with Elder Bednar on their own full-time missions. And as we sang the closing hymn during the general session yesterday, "How Firm a Foundation," Elder Bednar requested that we sing the seventh verse. I almost instantly recalled a moment from my final days in the MTC. Sister Folkman said that "How Firm a Foundation" was her favorite hymn and she specifically sang that verse to us on one of our final days there. I had almost forgotten that moment, but the Spirit brought it to my rememberance in that moment. So in some ways, I am beginning to sense that the end of my mission is near because the strings from the beginning are starting to get tied up here at the end. I know I still have much left to do, but much of what I was sent to do has already been accomplished.
Last story. Last night the ward had a member missionary fireside. Both Sister Layton and I spoke for a few minutes, followed by a member of the ward who just moved from a ward that had incredible missionary experiences. After the speaking was over, we had refreshments. There is a cute family in the ward with three little boys, Matthew, David and Ethan. David is about three or four, and he was running around the gym. I was telling him what a good runner he was, and from then on, he kept telling us to sit down and watch him run. He would do laps around the gym and then we would clap for him and cheer him on. If he ever found us standing up, he would tell us to sit down again. I love little boys. Seriously. Eli was the first one, but since then there has been Cade and Jace and Max and Cameron and so many others. This is just the latest. I'm glad everything went well with Jace's tonsils.
Thanks for the stories about Relief Society, Mom. It really is amazing to be part of such a great sisterhood. And I love the idea of a "heart that hears." Hearts are the most important symbol and indicator of our conversion and dedication to the Lord. If our hearts are hard, we cannot feel or receive the Lord's counsel, but when are hearts are soft and still enough to hear, we can receive every blessing of mortality and eternity.
Love you all,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
Skipping to the next session, first the stake president gave a wonderful address about always examining our lives and not procrastinating the day of our repentance. He used the questions from Alma 5, and as he was talking kept inserting questions of his own. Two members of the stake bore testimonies, one a woman with an autistic son who had just gone through a difficult divorce, and a member who joined in Vermont while her husband was going through cancer treatments and subsequently moved to Houston. Two youth were spontaneously called on to bear their testimonies. And then Elder Bednar spoke for about an hour, but his sermon contained about a year's worth of teachings. He started by dissecting the stake president's talk and reemphasizing the things he taught. He said, "Alma spoke in your stake today. Your stake president is Alma." He said that when he calls a new stake president, he gives him just these two pieces of counsel: "You are Alma in this stake, so study Mosiah 18 to about Alma 40, and your job is to shepherd people to the temple." He then shared a story/parable. He had a friend who wanted to buy a four-wheel drive truck, but his wife kept telling them they couldn't afford it and didn't need it. He bought it anyway, and in order to justify it to his wife, went into the mountains to chop some firewood. As he got higher and higher, there was a lot of snow, but he wasn't worried because he had four wheel drive. Eventually he got bogged down, and the truck was stuck. He decided to chop the firewood anyway since he was up there, and after he packed it in the bed of the truck wide and deep, the truck was able to get out. The difference was the load. Sometimes the load makes all the difference. It is essential to getting us home. We are stuck without it. He also taught that some elements of our load are unnecessary--he called them our weapons of rebellion, comparing them to the swords of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in Alma 24. We need to abandon those, but some parts of our load are absolutely necessary and essential. I'm being a bit redundant here, but the teaching was really profound. He shared a brief anecdote about home teaching. He said that one of the members of the twelve has a secretary who is a single older lady. Once at the end of the month, a pipe burst in her home and she was in her waders trying to clean it up when her home teachers came over. This was their reaction: "We can see that this isn't a good time." He said that the purpose of home teaching isn't to get in the door, but to "be with, watch over, and strengthen" and that when members realize that, home teaching will become much more powerful. He also told a story about he and one of his sons went to visit some families his son had taught on his mission in Bolivia. At first, when they entered the very modest home, Elder Bednar felt sorry for them at first, thinking "What can we do to help them?" But after he saw the children being so nice to one another and content with one piece of candy and only wanting to share more with others, he saw a scenario in his head. He imagined the couple coming to America and driving around, observing all the things we do to occupy our time, things like soccer and violin lessons and all the rest, which are nice and good, but that we use as excuses for not being consistent with family scripture study and prayer. He could see that couple getting together at the end of such a trip and thinking to themselves, "What can we do to help them? How can we help them realize that all those things don't really matter?"
That's just a sampling of his amazing teachings, but I cannot believe I was so blessed to be serving in this area at this time. But then again, I can, because the Lord's tender mercies are all over it. For instance, having Elder Bednar here this weekend forced me to reflect on the fact that Bishop/President Lindsay who interviewed me to come on my mission at one point was actually mission companions with Elder Bednar on their own full-time missions. And as we sang the closing hymn during the general session yesterday, "How Firm a Foundation," Elder Bednar requested that we sing the seventh verse. I almost instantly recalled a moment from my final days in the MTC. Sister Folkman said that "How Firm a Foundation" was her favorite hymn and she specifically sang that verse to us on one of our final days there. I had almost forgotten that moment, but the Spirit brought it to my rememberance in that moment. So in some ways, I am beginning to sense that the end of my mission is near because the strings from the beginning are starting to get tied up here at the end. I know I still have much left to do, but much of what I was sent to do has already been accomplished.
Last story. Last night the ward had a member missionary fireside. Both Sister Layton and I spoke for a few minutes, followed by a member of the ward who just moved from a ward that had incredible missionary experiences. After the speaking was over, we had refreshments. There is a cute family in the ward with three little boys, Matthew, David and Ethan. David is about three or four, and he was running around the gym. I was telling him what a good runner he was, and from then on, he kept telling us to sit down and watch him run. He would do laps around the gym and then we would clap for him and cheer him on. If he ever found us standing up, he would tell us to sit down again. I love little boys. Seriously. Eli was the first one, but since then there has been Cade and Jace and Max and Cameron and so many others. This is just the latest. I'm glad everything went well with Jace's tonsils.
Thanks for the stories about Relief Society, Mom. It really is amazing to be part of such a great sisterhood. And I love the idea of a "heart that hears." Hearts are the most important symbol and indicator of our conversion and dedication to the Lord. If our hearts are hard, we cannot feel or receive the Lord's counsel, but when are hearts are soft and still enough to hear, we can receive every blessing of mortality and eternity.
Love you all,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
Monday, August 9, 2010
8-9-10 "Busy, Busy, Busy!"
We have been busy, busy, busy this week! It was certainly a roller coaster week. I am sorry, but this will be a quick e-mail because we are running a little behind. We have really been trying hard to talk to people this week about the gospel, which means a lot of tracting, but we have certainly been blessed for our efforts in some ways, even if we don't have any new investigators yet. We met with all of our regular investigators this week and that is amazing. I don't know; it feels like I had a million things to write this week, but suddenly I can't remember any of them. We tracted into some Jehovah's Witnesses who were actually willing to sit down with us. Usually they just try to get us to leave and won't accept our pamphlets or anything. But these ones actually took a copy of the Book of Mormon. Of course, they ended up doing most of the talking and would hardly let us get a word in edgewise.
Strange to hear about all the rain and lighting in Idaho, because we usually have a lot but for the last week it was mostly dry. It did rain for about twenty minutes on Saturday, but other than that, Sister Layton hadn't seen any Texas rain. She enjoyed it; she even wanted to get out of the car and run around in it, but we were enjoying a Sonic drink because Saturday was also her one month on the mission mark.
Okay, I just remembered something exciting to tell you. This weekend is stake conference for the Katy Texas Stake, and we have a special guest coming. You might even say a special witness. Elder Bednar will be here, and he is even having a special meeting for investigators and recent converts. I have no idea what he is going to say, but it is incredibly exciting. I'll keep you posted about what he says. I'm looking forward to it.
Yes, I am a trainer. I don't know; I never mention it like that because I know that trainers are no more important than any other missionaries. Sometimes it is tempting to think that training is more important because, especially for sisters, there aren't really any other official "leadership" positions. But I'm just glad President Hansen and the Lord feel they can trust me with someone who has such fresh passion and faith for missionary work, because it certainly helps me become a better missionary.
Man, it feels like there are so many more things to say, but I can't remember any of them. I'll just have to write you a letter this week and tell you what they are after I review my journal. Good to know Cody is doing great. I knew he would be. Is his address still the same? I haven't heard from him since he officially became Elder Jardine. I do like the dog's name, but you have to remember that I thought it's name was Spin for three days, so it was kind of a sudden change for me, and at that point I didn't even know what kind of dog it was. I can still hardly believe we have one. Weird.
Love you all, and sorry I can't write more. This will be an incredibly disappointing e-mail.
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
Strange to hear about all the rain and lighting in Idaho, because we usually have a lot but for the last week it was mostly dry. It did rain for about twenty minutes on Saturday, but other than that, Sister Layton hadn't seen any Texas rain. She enjoyed it; she even wanted to get out of the car and run around in it, but we were enjoying a Sonic drink because Saturday was also her one month on the mission mark.
Okay, I just remembered something exciting to tell you. This weekend is stake conference for the Katy Texas Stake, and we have a special guest coming. You might even say a special witness. Elder Bednar will be here, and he is even having a special meeting for investigators and recent converts. I have no idea what he is going to say, but it is incredibly exciting. I'll keep you posted about what he says. I'm looking forward to it.
Yes, I am a trainer. I don't know; I never mention it like that because I know that trainers are no more important than any other missionaries. Sometimes it is tempting to think that training is more important because, especially for sisters, there aren't really any other official "leadership" positions. But I'm just glad President Hansen and the Lord feel they can trust me with someone who has such fresh passion and faith for missionary work, because it certainly helps me become a better missionary.
Man, it feels like there are so many more things to say, but I can't remember any of them. I'll just have to write you a letter this week and tell you what they are after I review my journal. Good to know Cody is doing great. I knew he would be. Is his address still the same? I haven't heard from him since he officially became Elder Jardine. I do like the dog's name, but you have to remember that I thought it's name was Spin for three days, so it was kind of a sudden change for me, and at that point I didn't even know what kind of dog it was. I can still hardly believe we have one. Weird.
Love you all, and sorry I can't write more. This will be an incredibly disappointing e-mail.
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS Please shine!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
8-2-10 "Now Introducing...Your Long Lost Neighbor"
So much to report this week. Hopefully I will get through it all. I will start with the Spanish since you are very overeager about it, Mom. No, I am not being transferred to a Spanish area or anything like that. I don't have a Spanish-speaking companion. But on Tuesday and Wednesday I did spend two days in a Spanish-speaking area with a Spanish-speaking companion. Sister Smith was transferred to Montgomery so we went to the mission office early on Tuesday morning and since my new companion wouldn't be arriving for two days, they arranged for me to be with another sister in the same predicament. We stayed in her area because it is much closer to the office and the mission home, where we would need to go on Thursday morning to pick up our new companions. What an adventure! I loved every minute of it! It almost made me wish I were a Spanish-speaking missionary, except that I know too well now that I needed to be English-speaking because of all the people and companions and et cetera I've had in that department. Even so, I also believe that these two days were intended to be a part of my mission just as much as any others. We became fast friends, and it was truly a blessing to serve with Hermana Green. I would never have really gotten to know her without it. Plus, we just had some great stories. Early Tuesday afternoon, it was downpouring, right when we started tracting. The second house we knocked on, we met this abuelita and her grandkids who mostly let us in because of the rain. We sang a hymn in Spanish with them and were about to say a prayer and leave when the aunt arrived. I couldn't understand all that she was saying, but her body language and her facial expressions were doing an adequate job of conveying her displeasure. After we stepped out, Hermana Green started laughing. She said, "When that lady got in there, the first thing she said was, 'Who let them in?' " We had a good laugh about that one. We also had some authentic Mexican food at two great restaurants--well, one restaurant and one taco stand. We got popsicles from a street vendor. We saw a shrine to the virgin Mary, complete with blinking lights. And I did get to brush up on my Spanish more than I have since being in Houston. I couldn't always assist Hermana Green during the middle of the lessons, but I could testify at the end and read it well enough to read scriptures and sing hymns. On Thursday morning, we drove to the mission home to meet our new companions. Mine is Sister Layton from, get this, Shelly, Idaho. No joke. We probably live ten minutes away in real life. She has participated in numerous drama productions, so we had that connection soon. She is an amazing missionary, and I know she will inspire me to serve well. We are getting along swimmingly and seeing many miracles from her faith already. I've included a few pictures of us at the mission home. She is the one in the reddish shirt. And Hermana Green is in the bigger picture with the purple floral dress on. The baptism! Some of the pictures are blurry, so hopefully you can see them well. Brother Ravenberg baptized Brother Clevenger, and he was confirmed yesterday in sacrament meeting. All went incredibly well. I can't wait to watch as the Spirit forges the fire of faith even deeper in his heart. I feel privileged to have been here for his baptism, since I don't think I was a very big part of it. This weekend has been years in the making.Okay. You can ask Sister Layton, but ever since I got your letters and package (thank you, by the way) I have been randomly saying in an incredulous voice: "They got a dog!" You really caught me by surprise, but from the sounds of it, you were all a bit surprised by the sudden addition also. He is adorable, but I must say I was at first disappointed that you changed his name from Spin to Gryffindor. Anyone can name their dog after Harry Potter, but not everyone knows about the stunning adventures at the Triple R Ranch. However, considering the amazing nickname possibilities created from Gryffindor, I think you made a wise choice, so I give my common consent to Griffin, Griff, Griffey, or whatever his name is at the moment. Honestly, it reminds me of when Eli was born and we debated for a while whether to call him Bubba or Bubby or many other things. So we just chose all of them at our own discretion.
Eli, sweet shirt skills. Very styling, although I can't say I recommend the body glove look.
It sounds like you all had an amazing time at the low in numbers but high in fun family reunion. I would say I wish I could have been there, which parts of me do, but I am glad I was here. As far as Meggie goes, I'd like to see her but I think it's better if we don't. It's generally discouraged to see family and with a brand new companion, I need to set a good example. Meggie: I love you, and I'll see you as soon as I can. As far as Sister Tetreault goes, I'm sure she doesn't hate you. Maybe their plans changed or maybe she isn't worried too much about it yet since it's still months away. Although, come to think of it, months seem to be moving very quickly at the moment. Can you believe it is already August. It's been over a year since I was even in the MTC. Pai-Shan has almost been baptized for a year. Crazy!
Missing you all but getting lost in the work,
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen
PS I love you and please shine!
Monday, July 26, 2010
7-26-10 "What's That on the Horizon? A Plane?"
First of all, I have to ask: did the chickens have large talons? Just wondering... Between chickens and goats and waterparks and scout camp and Blue Angels and Cassidy coming home it sounds like you all had a very busy week. That's funny; I was thinking about the Nukayas a lot this week. They were just on my mind. Maybe it's because Sister Smith and I have been listening to some Christmas music, so I've been thinking about Christmas Eve and Christmas and just general family goodness. Not that I'm not focusing on being a missionary, but I certainly always think of you every day. You're right, Mom, the time is growing closer, which means it's moving a lot faster than I ever remember it moving before. Next week I'll have interviews with President Hansen and I'll bring up the idea of when I'm going home and ask him about the ecclesiastical endorsement.
Busy is a good way to describe our week, too. We had plenty of service opportunities between helping a sister from the ward strip some wallpaper from her bathroom and doing our usual other service things. Also, we were very busy teaching and we even got to go to the temple on Friday night to do baptisms with the ward missionaries and the youth. We had a few miracles this week. We got a call from a new family in the ward, saying his brother who lives in the ward would like to start meeting with the missionaries. We are going to start teaching them tonight. Thinking about it gives me this nervous feeling in my gut, but I just shove it aside and trust that the Spirit will guide us as long as we are prepared. It's a big thing to be entrusted with someone's family when salvation is at stake, but I feel a bit like Esther lately: "Who knows but what you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (I paraphrased a little bit there.) Plus, yesterday, this family just walked into church, having just moved to the area, looking for a church, and the wife has had many friends growing up who were LDS. Unfortunately, they live in another ward, but we'll probably go visit them first just because they've already met us and then we can pass over the teaching a little while later. Miracles. Ron had his baptismal interview on Friday and is all set for his baptism on Saturday. That will be one of the greatest miracles to occur yet. But actually, I think my favorite thing about seeing someone join the church is when they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost because that's when you really see their countenance start changing.
Speaking of which, I loved the story about Eli. It sounds like he is learning very well to use his gift. Even from afar, his desires to be in tune with the Spirit amaze me. First he rescues Reagan Sermon, and then he says you can all fast for me. And now he is learning to discern good and bad, right and wrong. The tender whisperings of the Spirit are maybe the greatest miracle of all.
And now, just behind the Blue Angels, something very grand on the horizon. Sadly Sister Smith is being transferred, but I will be getting a new companion. I don't even know her name yet, since she is still in the MTC, but I will meet her officially on Thursday morning. We will also get a special trip to the temple. I am typically really nervous about big changes like this, but I can feel the Spirit saying that everything will be okay and not to worry about anything. It will guide me, us, every step of the way. In the meantime, I will probably be brushing up on my Spanish for the next few days, since Sister Smith is leaving for her new area tomorrow. Details next week, and pictures.
Good luck to Maegan. Keep me posted. Hi back to Jack and Jack's wife. He's married, right? Congratulations to Ryan. He'll be great. Cassidy, as your friend pool continues to shrink, remember that I'm coming home to you as quickly as I can. Very soon in fact.
Love you all!
Sister Whitney Sorensen
P.S. Please shine. I am!
Busy is a good way to describe our week, too. We had plenty of service opportunities between helping a sister from the ward strip some wallpaper from her bathroom and doing our usual other service things. Also, we were very busy teaching and we even got to go to the temple on Friday night to do baptisms with the ward missionaries and the youth. We had a few miracles this week. We got a call from a new family in the ward, saying his brother who lives in the ward would like to start meeting with the missionaries. We are going to start teaching them tonight. Thinking about it gives me this nervous feeling in my gut, but I just shove it aside and trust that the Spirit will guide us as long as we are prepared. It's a big thing to be entrusted with someone's family when salvation is at stake, but I feel a bit like Esther lately: "Who knows but what you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (I paraphrased a little bit there.) Plus, yesterday, this family just walked into church, having just moved to the area, looking for a church, and the wife has had many friends growing up who were LDS. Unfortunately, they live in another ward, but we'll probably go visit them first just because they've already met us and then we can pass over the teaching a little while later. Miracles. Ron had his baptismal interview on Friday and is all set for his baptism on Saturday. That will be one of the greatest miracles to occur yet. But actually, I think my favorite thing about seeing someone join the church is when they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost because that's when you really see their countenance start changing.
Speaking of which, I loved the story about Eli. It sounds like he is learning very well to use his gift. Even from afar, his desires to be in tune with the Spirit amaze me. First he rescues Reagan Sermon, and then he says you can all fast for me. And now he is learning to discern good and bad, right and wrong. The tender whisperings of the Spirit are maybe the greatest miracle of all.
And now, just behind the Blue Angels, something very grand on the horizon. Sadly Sister Smith is being transferred, but I will be getting a new companion. I don't even know her name yet, since she is still in the MTC, but I will meet her officially on Thursday morning. We will also get a special trip to the temple. I am typically really nervous about big changes like this, but I can feel the Spirit saying that everything will be okay and not to worry about anything. It will guide me, us, every step of the way. In the meantime, I will probably be brushing up on my Spanish for the next few days, since Sister Smith is leaving for her new area tomorrow. Details next week, and pictures.
Good luck to Maegan. Keep me posted. Hi back to Jack and Jack's wife. He's married, right? Congratulations to Ryan. He'll be great. Cassidy, as your friend pool continues to shrink, remember that I'm coming home to you as quickly as I can. Very soon in fact.
Love you all!
Sister Whitney Sorensen
P.S. Please shine. I am!
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