Elder Sorenson - July 24, 2017

Well, I am sorry everyone I have no time today because I got a call and received changes!! 

I am now back in Guayaquil in the same zone I was before. My new companion is named Elder Bartschi!! He is from Las Vegas and a super hard worker!! 

Since I was transferred I am no longer a District leader, but now my companion and I are Zone Leaders! What does it mean to be a Zone Leader? It means that my companion and I are here to work and help others along the way! 

Last week was really hard for me because I was kind of expecting changes because of how long I have been in Machala, so saying goodbye to my converts was super hard for me. I have made a ton of family and life long friends in Machala! 

The trip back to Guayaquil was fun and it brought back so many memories. What is super funny is that the house I live in now is right next door to where I was living in my first sector. Like literally, it is the same building, just the door to the left this time. Haha!  I am excited to be able to visit my old converts and old members and actually be able to talk to them in Spanish this time!! 

I love all of you and I hope you had a great week!!

Love You All,

Elder Kyle Sorenson

Elder Sorenson - July 17, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week went really well and was filled with quite a bit of laughs, cries, and all that good stuff.

I learned so much, especially from my converts, that I really can help people and I really am helping people come closer to Christ!

First, I want to share the funny story of the week. On Monday, we had a great day and were coming into the house and we saw a rat in our kitchen!! So we thought of a way we were going to catch it. I recorded it, you're welcome to watch it! Just watch the video and you can see why it is so funny!!

Anyways, the Elders and I finally got done with that huge service project that took two more days to finish! But we finally got it done and it was such a good feeling taking up the last bucket of dirt. I love service so much and it's such a great way to help other people!

We also had a meeting with our Mission President and he taught us something incredible: The importance of inspiring questions in lessons because we all know nobody is perfect. He taught us a theory of an iceberg and how we can only see the top of the iceberg, but the ice under the water is a lot bigger. In order to know the problems of the investigator, you need to their gain confidence and then be guided by the spirit to know what questions to ask. It was one of the most spiritual moments and experiences I have had on my mission.

It is crazy what can happen when you rely on the spirit 100% of the time. My companion and I applied the lesson to our investigators and they literally told us their life story and completely opened up. It is incredible to physically see and witness the spirit in conversion and in the hearts of the people here in Ecuador.

The best experience I had this week was yesterday. While we were trying to talk to a family, there was a huge party outside. I swear everyone here are either going to or already have hearing problems because of how loud they play the music. Anyways, everyone was dancing and partying outside. The family we wanted to teach ended up being at the party, so we were a little bummed about that but we went to the next house over, which is Sister Rosa (my most recent convert) and her entire family. We found them reading an Ensign magazine together and reading the teachings of the Prophet! All of a sudden, when we entered their house the music outside disappeared and we were filled with the spirit. I couldn't help but cry with joy.

This mission is not only changing the lives of other people, but those people are changing my life every day.

Love Always,

Elder Sorenson

John 16:33

Elder Sorenson - July 10, 2017

Hi Everyone!

The Fourth of July was definitely a lot different being in a different country, but I still had a great day! My converts (Valeria and Justyn) made me an American flag and gave me a liter of coke and popcorn. They know me. Then, Oscar, my missionary leader, came over to our house and we had KFC and french fries so I guess you could say it was a great day! I was just missing fireworks and watermelon!

This week went pretty well. I learned a ton and am now seeing myself thinking and dreaming in Spanish. I kind of forgot English, especially in praying. My companion really wants to learn English so sometimes we pray in English and, I don't know why, but I have forgotten how to speak. Haha! It is okay. It is only going to get worse!

Two things that I learned this week are the importance of service AND the importance of stretching before service! We were able to help build a house for an investigator and it was so fun. We had to move about 2,500 bricks of concrete and a mountain of dirt to the 4th story of the building! First off, I found a fault in only eating rice - nobody has a whole lot of muscle or a ton of strength. So, what we did was put dirt in a bucket, hooked it to a pully system (made of wood so it was very safe mom) and then pulled it up to the 4th story, dumped it out and repeated the whole process.  I don't know what they see in Gringos, but they think I am strong. I ended up doing the pully for the majority of the time! It was super fun! The next day I couldn't lift my arms....haha! But honestly, it was a great experience and the investigator showed up to church yesterday! That just showed me that when we share the gospel in a different way - not just teaching the lessons - but by doing service, people can receive their testimony through our actions and acts of service.

As a District Leader, I interviewed 3 people for baptism this week and it was such a humbling experience for me. I got to see and listen to their testimony. It made me realize the importance of the Lord and the importance of listening to the promptings of the Spirit!

Also, my companion and I found some new investigators that seem really nice! They said yes to baptism! These spiritual experiences I am having are seriously incredible. I can't count the blessings I have been able to witness or take part of because of this mission. I can't tell all of you enough how much I love missionary work and how much I love this church. I also can't express to you enough the importance of having faith in Him and knowing that this is not the end. We will live with our families forever if we commit to the ordinances and promise Him that we will obey. If we endure to the end, we will receive eternal life.

This mission is honestly going by way too fast. I love being a missionary and being able to be the example for other members of the ward. I am so grateful for the gospel and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I do not want this mission life to end and I know it won't because when we have something and we know it is true, we will find ourselves always wanting to share it with other people (Luke 8:16-17, 1 Corinthians 9:14).

Also, after the baptism interviews I did, I got asked to baptize one of them! It was great and an honor to take part in an ordinance so sacred and dear to me. The man I baptized is a UFC trainer and he works at a gym. The baptism was a day after we did the heavy duty service and it was a great experience. I couldn't even lift my arms, but I was able to (with all the strength I had left) put this wonderful and humble man under the water. He made a splash that got the front row of seats wet!! Haha!

I love you all and I hope that you are doing well! I hope you have a wonderful and safe summer. You are always in my prayers and thoughts. If you have any questions for me or need someone to talk too, please e-mail me. I am always here and will give you the best advice I can! Talk to you next week! See you soon!

Love Always,

Elder Sorenson

Luke 8:22-25 - Where is your faith?
Mark 13:12-13 - Endure to the end, no matter what.

This video is available through e-mail. Please e-mail Kim Sorenson if you would like to receive/view the video. agbellmama5@gmail.com

A homemade flag that was made for me to celebrate 4th of July!

The back of the homemade 4th of July flag!

Shoveling a mountain of dirt to go in the bucket that would be sent up to the 4th story of the buidling 

Dirt in a bucket, hooked to a pully system made of wood and then pulled up to the 4th story, dumped out and repeated until the project was finished!

Elder Sorenson - July 3, 2017

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Well...don't worry! I didn't forget about my favorite holiday and I made sure my District didn't forget either. I am the only white person in my entire District that would even know about 4th of July. Haha!

This week my companion and I literally didn't do anything after Tuesday! On Tuesday, we were doing service for someone by lifting bags of dirt in one spot and putting it in a different spot, I guess it made it look nicer and more organized, I don't even know. The bags of dirt we were moving were HEAVY and I am a pretty big guy - at least compared to the Latinos here in Ecuador. The bags were pretty heavy for me, so just imagine how my companion felt! My companion had lifted a bag of dirt and was taking it to the other side. To get the bag of dirt to where it needed to be, we were walking on a piece of plywood because the ground was really rocky. Well, long story short, my companion stepped on a rusty nail and it went through his shoe and punctured his foot so we stopped our service to look at his foot. I didn't think it was that bad, but we needed to get it checked out so we went to the clinic - the same one we went too when I had bronchitis (Oh, I also found the guy that told me I had asthma and let him know that he was completely wrong - haha!). The doctor looked at my companion's foot and gave him 2 or 3 shots. Luckily my companion had got his Tetanus shot in the MTC. The doctor then told us that he wasn't allowed to walk for a week! So I have been in the house from Tuesday until today. Great week, right? I learned how to solve a Rubik's cube, watched the same 4 movies twice, started to read the New Testament (I am now in 1 Corinthians), and wrote cards to families for when I leave this sector! So, yes, I would say it was a successful week!! Haha! But in all honesty, this past week has taught me patience and how a little incident/accident can change your whole week. I really wanted to leave and teach people (I found myself walking in circles in front of the door), but what was best was that my companion's foot get better. I am happy he can now walk normally and we can get back to work!

I definitely learned patience this week and that our health is really important in this work! One little thing (a rusty nail) can change every single plan of the week! I know this happened for a reason and maybe it was for my companion and I to strengthen our relationship even more.

I hope all of you have a great and safe week! Be smart and be careful with those fireworks because we all know that I wasn't! Haha!

I love you all!! Light off an extra firework for me!

Love Always,
Elder Sorenson

Matthew 25:1-13 "We must always be ready and have our lamps filled."