Monday, March 27, 2017

Elder Sorenson - March 27, 2017

Hi Everyone!

These weeks are honestly flying by and I don't know how I feel about it. There are so many things that happen in such little time! This week I really tried to focus on following every prompting of the Holy Ghost, be more diligent, and love every single person I talked to!

These experiences I am having are building my testimony more than I could possibly imagine. I am more than grateful for the opportunity to not only go on a mission, but to serve a mission for two years of my life....at this point, I only have another year and a half!

An Elder from the MTC e-mailed me a letter and I truly desire for each of you to read it if you want to know more about the importance of missionary work and what our purpose is. It is called the Ricciardi Letter. I will attach it to my email this week. It is a bit of a read, but it will change your aspect on life a ton! (At least it did for me!)

Throughout this week I really listened and taught by the Spirit. I have never felt so happy during a lesson and had more of a conviction and the correct words in Spanish to help someone receive the knowledge of the gospel than I did this past week. This week I had companion exchanges again with Elder Troncos, which went really well! We went to a house and had an investigator that wanted to be baptized, but he is only 12 or 13 years old and so he needs permission from his parents. His dad is a very strong Catholic and wouldn't give his son the permission he wanted to be baptized. (Mind you, I was just figuring this out during the time we were talking to him) I immediately got a feeling to share a certain scripture with the boy's dad, so I talked to him for 5 or 10 minutes then shared the scripture. He ended up crying and knew what I said was true! He then gave us permission to baptize his son!

Overall, the week went great and I feel the Spirit more than ever. Having the opportunity to wear a name badge that has my name and the Savior's name on it is the greatest blessing and gift anyone could receive!

I love you all and hope all of your families are doing well! Te Quiero!

Love Always,
Elder Sorenson

2 Nephi 31 - Doctrine of Christ
Companion exchanges with Elder Troncos! 


Companion exchanges with Elder Troncos!



The English class Elder Sorenson and his companions taught this week.


Elder Sorenson's self-customized new boots that are on the hot market...they are the new versions of Nike!!

Elder Sorenson's self-customized new boots that are on the hot market...they are the new versions of Nike!!
There is never a dull moment when Elder Sorenson is around. :-)

This picture was sent to Kyle's mom from a member of Kyle's current ward in Ecuador.  
 

Monday, March 20, 2017

Elder Sorenson - March 20, 2017


Hi Everyone!
So this week went well and I learned quite a bit! We weren’t as successful as we usually are with finding new investigators, but one positive is that we reactivated an inactive member! That was one of the coolest experiences ever! She told us the only reason she wanted to come back at first is because of the light in my companions and I’s eyes! She just said that something was different with him and I and she wanted to come back! I know without a doubt I was sent here to help her 6 weeks ago to be able to get her to live with the Gospel again!

One of the Elders was sick this week and so he asked me if I could stay with him to take care of him (I know, I know…Mr. Mom!). So I did and I got super far in the Book of Mormon. I am now in Helaman!!! Hopefully I will finish by the end of this next week.
I learned 3 great lessons this week!!

1.      My trials that I have had in my life are, and will be, to help others grow their testimonies! We taught about tithing and fast offerings one day and the lady didn’t know where the money was going, so I shared a personal experience and she ended up crying and promised to always pay tithing! The Spirit works in miraculous ways.

2.      I learned this next lesson from 2 or 3 videos that I watched one day during lunch. The first video talked about how a girl (who looked just like my sister Aspen) wanted to have a perfect life, but she then realized that having a perfect life was part of Satan’s plan. I learned that we, as human beings, tend to always want more. We put ourselves in impossible math equations, for example, “ME + MORE = CHRISTLIKE” We can fill in the MORE part of the equation with things like, more money, more physically fit, more time, and stuff like that – the real and soluble equation is this, “ME + CHRIST =  MORE” The more we try to be exactly LIKE Christ, the more we become disappointed, but the more we try to be WITH Christ in our “life equation”, the easier and the more spiritual our life will be!

3.      There were two questions in another video that really stuck out to me and really hit home for me. I want to share them with you and challenge you to really think about these questions because they will really help you in every situation you will encounter: “What am I worried about that won’t matter in 1,000 years?” AND “What am I going to do that will matter in 1,000 years?” These two questions really hit home and made me think a ton! I am not going to say anything more, so just think about the questions. Will it matter in 1,000 years?!
A man that we did not know fell off of a fishing boat a few days ago and passed away.  A member that we were teaching knew him very well and she was very troubled and upset. I might not have known her exact pain, but I shared the story briefly about my good friend, Mason, who passed away right before I left on my mission. As I began to talk about my friend Mason, my Spanish INSTANTLY came out of my mouth close to perfect! I understood her entire comment and it was just amazing! I shared with her the Plan of Salvation and that the only way I was able to get through the whole thing with my friend was with the knowledge that this life doesn’t end after the life here on earth! We are with our families for time and all eternity!

I love this mission and the fact that I get to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ makes me more grateful than ever before. We all need to remember that, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience!” I love all of you and thank you for always supporting me!
El vive se que estoy aqui para aumentar ellas fe en El. Este evanglio bendice las familas par nedo de la paz eterna, la felicidad eterna y la vida eterno!

Te Quio,
Elder Sorenson

Helaman 3:35
Helaman 5:12
The facial mask I got from an inactive member but is now reactivated and attending church!!

Elder Hirschis first baptism his whole mission!!


Kyle's mom received a FB Message from someone in Ecuador that included these pictures and the following message:
Buenas tardes Sra. Kim! Su hijo esta sirviendo en mi barrio.
Yo estoy muy feliz con ellos porq me visitaron y me activaron de nuevo en la iglesia. De nada hermana. Que tenga una linda tarde
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Good afternoon, Mrs. Kim! Your son is serving in my neighborhood. I am very happy with them because they visited me and activated me again in the church. Have a nice afternoon!

Kyle's mom received a FB Message from someone in Ecuador that included these pictures and the following message: Buenas tardes Sra. Kim! Su hijo esta sirviendo en mi barrio.
Yo estoy muy feliz con ellos porq me visitaron y me activaron de nuevo en la iglesia. De nada hermana. Que tenga una linda tarde
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Good afternoon, Mrs. Kim! Your son is serving in my neighborhood. I am very happy with them because they visited me and activated me again in the church. Have a nice afternoon!

Kyle's mom received a FB Message from someone in Ecuador that included these pictures and the following message: Buenas tardes Sra. Kim! Su hijo esta sirviendo en mi barrio.
Yo estoy muy feliz con ellos porq me visitaron y me activaron de nuevo en la iglesia. De nada hermana. Que tenga una linda tarde
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Good afternoon, Mrs. Kim! Your son is serving in my neighborhood. I am very happy with them because they visited me and activated me again in the church. Have a nice afternoon!

Kyle's mom received a FB Message from someone in Ecuador that included these pictures and the following message: Buenas tardes Sra. Kim! Su hijo esta sirviendo en mi barrio.
Yo estoy muy feliz con ellos porq me visitaron y me activaron de nuevo en la iglesia. De nada hermana. Que tenga una linda tarde
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Good afternoon, Mrs. Kim! Your son is serving in my neighborhood. I am very happy with them because they visited me and activated me again in the church. Have a nice afternoon!
Elder Sorenson's comp was bored in the store, because he was being like his Grandma Fuller and looking for the best priced cleaning products!! The name of the store is called "Tia."

 What Elder Sorenson and his companions do on P Day because "we are still little kids and love to play with nerf guns in the church!! LOL"


Monday, March 13, 2017

Elder Sorenson - March 13, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week has had its ups and downs, but we are still doing okay!  We lost two of our investigators that had baptism dates because one just doesn't like the idea of being a member of the church anymore and the other can't get permission from her parents. It bummed my companion and I out because we were progressing with them so much, but there is nothing we can do about it.

It rains a ton here and they don't have very good drainage systems, so for three days in a row my companion and I were walking in rivers of water up to our knees. It was actually pretty fun until the third day when both of my pairs of shoes were wet and I didn't have any dry ones. Ha ha! Also, we looked for Dr Pepper and couldn't find any so it looks like I'm just going to have to wait for another year and a half.

Our only investigator right now with the baptism day is Jordie and this kid is only 10 years old. He understands the doctrine the first time we teach him! We will read a  powerful scripture with a deep meaning behind it and he will hit the nail on the head regarding what it means! It is absolutely incredible! So, my companion and I decided to have him read Jacob 5. So if he understands all of that, I will be amazed and so proud! Ha ha!

My embarrassing story of the week was when I was in the house of one of the members here because they were serving us lunch. So the chairs here are not that supportive or strong, especially when American gringos that are super big compared to the Ecuadorians, sit in them. All of the chairs here are plastic lawn chairs and I found out the hard way. I had eaten all of my food the family had served me and was kind of leaning back in my chair when, "Snap!" a side of the chair broke off!! My companion was choking on his food he was laughing so hard! I was just bright red and wanted to leave! Another 10 or 15 minutes went by and I was telling a story to my companion and then, "Snap!" the other side of the back of the chair broke and I almost fell backwards. I can't remember the last time I've ever been so embarrassed!! So this week I learned to lay off the rice and don't trust the chairs! Ha Ha!

Also, this week we had "Capatacion" which is basically a very, very, very, long meeting with the Mission President and a few other zones in the area. It started at 8AM and didn't get done until 5PM. It was a great meeting, but it was just super long! A senior missionary couple came to it too and they were actually from Los Angeles, about 30 minutes from where I live, and they're on their third mission! The stories they told where incredibly inspiring! The good news from this conference is that my Mission President gave us, the gringos, permission to watch General Conference in English! Yes, I know I don't know all Spanish, but I was so happy when he said that because I need to hear Utchdorf's voice! Ha ha!

I am loving my mission and it is honestly the greatest decision I have ever made. I have never felt so spiritually in tune before and my whole thinking process is different when I have the scriptures radiating in my soul. I find myself constantly thinking about what I read and what the people in the Book of Mormon had to go through just so people like us could live with the gospel and the knowledge of eternal plan of happiness! I want to invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon because it has the answers we have all been looking for and I promise, if you search the scriptures looking for an answer, you will always find one!

I love this gospel and I love you guys. Thank you for being a great example to me and showing me the importance of living the Gospel standards and principles every day!

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Please read the Book of Mormon! I know He lives and I know we all have a chance to live with our Savior, Jesus Christ, again as long as we endure to the end! I love you and always remember I am praying and thinking about all of you every day because you are the reason I am on a mission!!! Thank you!! This mission has changed my life forever!

"....the way is prepared, and if we will look, we may live forever." Alma 37:46

Love Always,
Elder Sorenson

Alma 38:9-15
Elder Sorenson's first time trying goat's milk .... he did not like it at all!

Elder Sorenson's companion got Dear John'ed so they took the necessary procedures. Haha!
 

Elder Sorenson's companion got Dear John'ed so they took the necessary procedures. Haha!

Elder Sorenson's absolute favorite zone leader from his first sector. His favorite
zone leader's last day on his mission is this next week!

Elder Sorenson's awesome, new, and good looking zone in Machala!


Elder Sorenson's first time trying goat's milk....he did not like it at all!
 

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Elder Sorenson - March 6, 2017

Hi Everyone!

Not a lot happened this week, but that is OK! I found out something really interesting about myself this week. I turn to the book of Mormon more than anything now. Yes, I know when I am teaching I obviously use it, but now even if I need to help my family (through email) or my companion or even myself, I instantly turned to the scriptures and they are seriously so comforting to me because of the hope and the confidence it brings in my life!

I also have really developed a love for the people here in Ecuador. I don't really focus on the language or anything about myself, I focus on their needs and their desires, which in reality, blesses me abundantly and gives me the confidence to teach this restored gospel to everyone I meet. I am really just forgetting myself and going to work. I have also learned that the more you teach with love and compassion, the more these great people of Ecuador want to listen. I love the missionary life!

This week was carnival and also, school was out. So everyone was on vacation and we weren't as successful without lessons this week. But I want to share something I learned in my personal study this week! I read Alma 30 this week and it was a great chapter, but there was something that stuck out to me so much in this part. In verse 14, it basically says, "I don't find joy in my own success, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brother in." This just hit me so hard and showed me the importance of humility. I am forgetting myself and going to work. I should never be upset if I had a day where the lessons were few or nobody wanted to hear our message, I should rejoice in the fact that I have changed lives and I should also look at the glass half full. Always be grateful for people success!!!!

So big news is, I found out that there is Dr. Pepper here! So my companion and I are going to be on the hunt for it today! Also, my companion happens to be good friends with a lifelong friend of mine! It is such a small world! I love you guys and hope you're doing great! I now have five months in the mission and it's flying by. I do not want this to end!

Love always,

Elder Sorenson

Alma32:8, 12-18, 21
Humility & Faith






Saturday, March 4, 2017

Elder Sorenson - March 1, 2017

Feliz Carnival!

I honestly don't know how I even went one day before my mission of staying in the house all day! Four days of being in the house was getting all of us super anxious and wanting to just leave and go teach lessons! Carnival was pretty cool, there were pools everywhere and everyone was covered in water or mud. My companions and I couldn't participate in the outside activities, but we did have a window and water balloons!

Last week I was in three different zones because I kept having companion exchanges. The first exchange with Elder Troncos was a blast! Their sector is enormous, so they get permission and have bikes. It was so weird riding a bike, but so fun! Elder Troncos and I only crashed one time each, so I guess you could say I already forgot how to ride a bike. Ha ha!

Also, it poured buckets on our sector and our sector does not have any good drainage systems, especially because all of the roads are dirt. But there were literally "lakes" that we had to walk through. The water got up to about our knees. Ha ha! But here was the best part, we got told that there was a ton of fungus in the water and we needed to go wash our legs in alcohol to get rid of it! Well, guess whose amazing and great mom bought her son a gallon of alcohol before his mission?! My mom did! Ha ha! So grandpa, yes, I did need that much apparently! I was cracking up thinking about it!

Our zone got told by our president if we accomplish our new baptism dates and new investigators goal, we will get rewarded and be able to do something fun! All of us worked super hard and my companion and I got 19 new investigators and 7 new baptismal dates! It is crazy how a little motivation will make you work even harder, so this really helped me learn about the importance of setting achievable goals but also pushing yourself to become a stronger and better person.

This mission has been one of the most humbling experiences for me and I have only been here for 5 months. My testimony has grown more than I could ever have imagined and the people of Ecuador are some of the sweetest people in the world. Everyone here is super grateful for what they HAVE and they cherish them. They also love and cling on to their families more than anyone because in reality, money does not buy happiness; it only buy things that are temporal. But what "buys happiness" is the knowledge that we can be with our love ones forever. And this is free! And it is not temporal! Through obeying the commandments, receiving all of the ordinances of the Gospel, living with all of the attributes of Jesus Christ and enduring to the end, we will live with Him again.

I never thought this would happen but on the days I don't think about the language, the words just come to me. On the days where I worry if I sound like a three-year-old, I actually do! I am really seeing and experiencing the importance of forgetting myself and going to work. When I only focus on other people and look for opportunities to serve other people, I find so much more joy and it actually builds my testimony too! These people are ready to put their eyes single to the Lord and they are ready to receive the word and the message this gospel contains. What is my part? I get to live and teach the principles of the gospel every day and give it all up to Him. (Helaman 3:35)

Love Always,

Elder Sorenson

Alma 13:27-29
*Invitation to have humility and always have an put our faith in Him!



On companion exchanges riding bikes realizing how out of shape I am. 

Riding bikes during a companion exchange - good news....I only fell one time!

Elder Sorenson's new mission district.

Ocean Pier - Guayquil, Ecuador

Ocean Pier - Guayaquil, Ecuador

Felize Carnival! 4 days "house bound" resulted in moments like these!



Felize Carnival! 4 days "house bound" resulted in moments like these!
A message written in Spanish from Elder Sorenson - March 1, 2017
Elder Hirschi and I being Elder Hirschi and I.

What we did during the four days in the house. We are sailing to the Galapagos. My companion is George Washington, Hirschi is Clark Kent, his companion, Elder Davila, is yoda....and me, you know I am super creative, I am being myself.