Wow! I can't believe that Christmas is less than a week away. This week was the busiest and craziest week that I have ever experienced in my life.
TUESDAY
I had a good day on Tuesday but I was exhausted because it is very hard to sleep here. There are parties every night on the street and the people in the streets play the music very loud! After we taught five lessons to different families, we drove to a different mission to practice for choir. We sounded pretty bad.
WEDNESDAY
We didn't get home until 11:45 PM because we practiced for our Christmas choir performance and the practice went all day! The director asked me and three other people to sing a special musical number for Guayaquil South. It is a barbershop piece called, "Oh Come, Oh Come Emanuel". The other missionaries wanted me to sing bass because of how low the song goes.
THURSDAY
We didn't teach any lessons today. We went to a park and set up 4-5 nativity scenes for the event on Saturday. Nothing too exciting happened, but I did sit in the front seat in the taxi and talked to the driver a lot! It was crazy that he actually understood what I was saying! Ha ha!
FRIDAY
We had a zone meeting today and I would say that I could understand 80% of everything said! So I think I'm improving my ability to understand and speak Spanish, little by little. I learned the phrase "fake it 'til you make it" .... it's my motto here because I just smile, nod my head, and say yes when I get told something!
SATURDAY
So I have come to realize that the area I am in struggles with organization! Prior to the special choir event we were singing in, everyone was running around with their head cut off. Our first full run through of all 15 songs was at the performance! It definitely wasn't like the performances that I was used to participating in high school but our musical performance went so well!! Once I get the recording I will send it to you guys! During the performance, I learned that nobody knew the part on stage so they threw me the mic and had me sing the tenor part so, from what I could tell, the people in the audience could only hear me singing! It was a fun experience and we got a ton of referrals and investigators who want to learn about the gospel after hearing us sing and feeling the spirit!
SUNDAY
Church went pretty well but I didn't understand a whole lot. I feel like I'm taking two steps forward and one step back when it comes to learning Spanish. I know I will get this language down eventually! We have confirmed five people to baptism and we are super close on two more! All of our investigators have some really good questions and I think that it is a good thing! Although I can't answer their questions yet (because of the language barrier), I think it's a good thing that they are pondering our message.
Although I did not have that many lessons this week because of the huge Christmas event on Saturday, I feel my testimony and knowledge of this gospel growing stronger every day! During lessons, when in doubt or when I don't have any words in Spanish to explain what I want to say, every single time, a song or a scripture comes to my mind that is exactly what I needed to say! Also, the investigators love when I sing to them because they understand what I say!
Overall, the weeks are flying by on my mission and I know that I will be able to understand Spanish eventually! I just need to ask the Lord, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, to bless me with the Gift of Tongues. I know my purpose here on earth is to grow and to make mistakes (trust me, I make so many mistakes in Spanish it's not even funny). I know that through the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration that there will be life after death and that I will be able to be with my beautiful family forever!
I love this gospel and hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas! Give your family an extra hug for me! I leave with you my testimony, en el numbre de jesucristo, Amen.
Love Always,
Elder Sorenson
1 Nephi 15:26-27 - Everyone is equal and we should always see the good in everyone. 
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