7-11-10 "Remarkable Randomness"

I think this week I should start with the best news, and then just work into the usual simple but newsy information. Last Wednesday night, a man we have been teaching set a date to be baptized. We were ecstatic! He still has a few obstacles to overcome, but he should be baptized on the 31st of July. Please pray that all will go well and that he will be able to make these covenants. I was especially overjoyed to be with Sister Smith when this happened, having been one of her first companions, because this was the first time she has had an investigator set a baptism date. It was so joyful to share that moment with her and to see the happiness and light in her as this happened. Alleluia!

Okay, now into the randomness. Sister Smith has this cd called "The Best of Janice Kapp Perry." It's pretty good, and there are some nice songs on there. One of them is called "The Least of These" or something like that. We've been listening to this cd for the last month, but I only ever really heard and understood the chorus to this song. Until yesterday. When we, on the way to church, heard the opening lines very clearly and distinctly: "I see her sitting all alone/ In a white and sterile nursing home..." We could not stop laughing! We both just looked at each other, as if to question if we both heard that. We did. I assure you. We've listened to it several times since then. It made me think of back when I was first in Tomball and we would have this game of sorts with the elders, each of us trying to find a stranger song lyric than the other for our weekly drive to Waller. It was one of those moments you just really want to share with your family as soon as possible, especially when you are a part of our family which loves sharing randomness with one another.


Speaking of which, yes, Mom, I do remember all those random moments. Particularly the one when we were "checked out" on 17th street. Vividly, actually, although I probably couldn't pick the perpetrators out of a line-up. In fact, you and I truly are mother and daughter because every week when I write my family e-mail to y'all, I make a short list so I won't forget anything and then go paragraph by paragraph and fill you in on my life. Here's a few moments of randomness from my life this week. One night I quoted as much of "You've Got Mail" as I could remember for Sister Smith while we were getting ready for bed. Yesterday we made a movie of us singing "High on the Mountaintop" while driving from one appointment to another.


And here's a slightly less random event from this week. We had zone meeting this week, where all the missionaries in the zone meet for about an hour and a half to get some training and inspiration. The mission has been focusing on the principle of endure to the end this transfer, so our zone meeting was focusing on that, too. The zone leaders created this experience where each companionship went through the life of one person. There was a room where we got blessings like being baptized and being sealed in the temple, but there were also rooms representing spiritual death and repentance. It was amazing. I wish I had more time to describe it. One of the repentance activities was on the stage. There was a table with four gross/scary foods to eat, and before it was explained what we would have to do, assumed we would have to eat one of these items. I was dreading it, just glaring at it while we read the scripture associated with it. But I just braced myself and decided to hunker down and do it. I almost bit into the habanero pepper, when I was told that I wouldn't actually have to do it--we got cookies instead. That's really how repentance is, sometimes. We think it's going to be horrible, but once we take that leap of faith, it is not that bad at all.


I did get your letter full of pictures. So great. It looks like y'all had a great fourth of July. Max looks like a little man, all grown up. And I couldn't stop laughing about the sign that said "Man Sale."


As for the movie quotes, I still have no idea what number one is, but I know realize the error of my ways. Number 2 is "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl," and Sister Smith and I figured out right after we left the computers last week that number 3 is "On the Line." She loves that movie, too, by the way. What a kindred spirit we are in movies. I'll keep thinking about number one, but at this point I'm not even sure I've seen this movie.


We're going to the temple tomorrow. Yeah!


Love you all,


Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen

PS Please Shine

PPS Did you do any checking about the ecclesiastical endorsement?


PPPS We went to a baptism on Saturday of a little boy about Eli's age and practically his twin. I'll send pictures next week when I remember to bring my camera. For just a moment it made me sad that I'd missed Eli's, but then I realized that the Lord had provided this tender mercy to let me be a part of another one.