February 27, 2017

Hey everyone! My week was pretty good! In an attempt to make my weekly emails a little bit more interesting I am going to try and tie every day into my subject line which is "Splash"!

Monday- It was a an interesting day Monday! From about 12:30 to 4:30 We did  laundry! I was the odd duck out, so I didnt have a computer, and didnt get to email until 4:30! I shot hoops the whole time I was outside, and It was raining all day, and at one point i missed pretty bad, and had to go chase the ball! It went on the grass, and when I ran on the grass I stepped into a watery mud puddle, and of course SPLASH!! Mud went everywhere! We had dinner at a young couples house, and it was so much fun! They were way funny! 

Tuesday- We had service at a food pantry, and I got the job of loading up karts with the food, and taking them to the peoples cars! Well when I was loading up this ladies car I dropped a jug of juice, and it landed cap first! It broke and went SPLASH!! Luckily it was outside, so it wasn't to bad of a clean up! We just got her a new juice and it was all good! We walked all day Tuesday, so that was really interesting! It is amazing how much longer that makes everything! We also went on splits, and Elder Olsen and I went out and tried by less actives! It was pretty fun! 

Wednesday- We had district meeting in Salisaw! That went really good! It was super weird to go to a District meeting, and not have to have the meeting planned out, but it was a good weird! After the meeting we went to a Mexican restaurant! We were eating chips and Salsa, and one of the Elders bumped the salsa dish onto the floor, and you guessed it SPLASH!! After lunch we called the shop, and our car was still not ready! Lexi (The girl getting baptized Saturday) had her baptism interview after the meeting! She passed which is super exciting! After dinner we went on splits, and I went with an older gentlemen! He was way cool! He reminded me so much of my Grandpa Sorensen! It was a ton of fun to go with him to visit people!  

Thursday- Everything canceled on us for the morning, so we took the opportunity to plan! Afterwards we went out and tried to execute our plan! The main problem with that is that the temperature got up to 85 degrees! It was sooo hot! The whole time we were biking i was sweating so much! It was just a constant SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH!! We got a call from the shop telling us our car was going to be done at 3! We had a member that was able to give us a ride to Fort Smith! As we were pulling into the parking lot at 3:15 they called, and said it wasn't ready! We went in and talked to them! We found out they have no idea whats wrong with the car, so that kind of sucks!!! When we got back we had some other members waiting to go out with us! I went with Elder Butler and a member who has some slight mental issues! We contacted a referral, and it went pretty good! The member was able to bare his testimony and say the prayer! it was way cool! 

Friday- A member bought us some bike tubes because Elder Butler has been popping them left and ride! That was way cool! I now have a few back ups which is way good, Especially as much as we are biking! During the day We had a few minutes, so we went and got the font ready for Saturday! We just swept it out, and made sure that everything was working good! We ended up biking to Wister again! It is to long to bike on lol! We also went on another spit! I went with the Branch President! He is a way cool guy! I like him a lot! He can be very intimidating! He is kind of an intense dude!  That night I was having some air mattress problems, so I was trying to get this plastic piece off! It wasnt coming so i got my knife out to pry it open, and the plastic part broke, and my knife slipped right into my finger! I ran to the bathroom, and sure enough SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH into the sink! It was a pretty decent cut! I dont think I need stitches though which is good! We will see what happens though! 

Saturday- Honestly It was a pretty slow day! They two main things that happend was we had lunch with our branch president and his non member daughter! It was a good thing, but we have a long way to go with his daughter! She has been exposed to a lot of Anti-Mormon stuff! She has a lot of problems in her life, but is hesitant to let the Gospel help her! At 4 we had the baptism of Lexi! She is 9 years old, and so much fun! The program was pretty good! I dont know if you remember, but she chose me to baptize her! We got in the font, and SPLASH!! It was an amazing experience! Words cant even describe it! 

Sunday- Well church was great! Lexi was confirmed, and that was way cool! She had a member do it! After Church the Stake Patriarch came, and spoke to everyone about Patriarchal blessings! It was way cool! A less active youth came out with us after church which was way good for him! Then we got a call saying that we were having a surprise apartment inspection! Well we hurried and did some touch up cleaning which involved a ton of SPLASHing! Then we took him to Mission prep! It was an awesome day! 

Well that was my week! It was a pretty good one! I hope you have a great week!

February 20, 2017

Hey everyone! This week was a pretty good one! There was a lot of crazy things actually! I am sorry that I am on late today, and I probably won't get to talk to any of you personally, but Its actually a really frustrating reason that I am on late, and I won't go into details, but to put it simply I am pretty frustrated with Elder Olsen right now! I will just get into my week!

Monday- This was one of the most boring P days of my mission! We did all things we needed to such as email, Laundry stuff like that, and we did nothing for fun! It was kind of rough! For dinner we ate with an investigator! Whenever we go there  who says the closing prayer is decided by who touches their nose last, and somehow I end up being the last one every single time! There is nothing wrong with saying prayers it just gets old saying it every single time,  so I decided that I am going to make them not want me to pray, so i said the LONGEST prayer of my life! I am not kidding when I say that prayer was no shorter than 6 minutes long! I had to end it because I started dying laughing! It was pretty funny! 

Tuesday- Usually my Valentines day is just another day for a missionary, but ours was not normal, but it was not because of anything to do with love! If you remember our car is in the shop, and we were on bikes, and on Tuesday it rained and rained and rained! We had to bike clear across town to go to service at a food pantry! When we biked back it was only raining harder! We were ablsoulty soaked! That night we had a Spaghetti dinner for all the sisters in the branch, and all the Guys helped serve it, and that was pretty fun! It was also fun to visit with a bunch of the members, and still try and get to know them better! 

Wednesday- We had a Zone Training meeting in Fort Smith, and we had to get a ride from a senior couple! Well that means we were crammed in the back of a car! It was fun though! The meeting was Super good though!!! We talked about how we need to have more effective studies and it was awesome! We also had interviews with President and Sister Loveland! They were really good! Sister Loveland in our interview asked me if I read the talk she asked us to read, and i just told her honestly I didn't, and she punched me in the chest again! Athlough I have to say it wasn't nearly as hard as last time!! After the meeting we got a call from the shop about our car, and it turns out that our car is going to have to be in the shop for the rest of the week, so we had to be on bikes the whole time!  Wednesday was also my 19 month mark, so that is INSANE!!!!!!!!

Thursday- Honestly Thursday was soooo slow, and there is nothing really exciting to talk about, so due to my lack of time I will just leave it at that!

Friday- We had some members take us out to eat for lunch, and we all got chicken strips! The member is this backwoods member, and the whole time we ate he told us how bad fast food chicken was for us, and honestly it tasted so good I didn't even listen to what he was saying lol! We ended up biking to Wister again! It is about 10 miles, but it didn't seem to bad that time! We had a lesson with Lexi who is a 9 year old who is going to be baptized on the 25th! I will get back to her though because later this week was a cool story! A member came and picked us up, and we helped him move some furniture to a less active member who just lost a bunch of stuff! 

Saturday-  Boy, Elder Olsen and Elder Butler love to bike! We had an appointment in a town that is a 30 minute car ride away, and they had the bright idea to bike! Well the bike route is way longer, and our gps told us it was a 50 mile round trip! We sure went as fast as we could, but that is a long ride! It took us just under 3 hours to get there! On our way back Elder Butler got another flat tire! A member picked us up and took us home! Well he left  a part to his bike in that members car, and so when we went to bike to dinner his wasn't working, so Elder Olsen and him rode on the same bike! One was on the seat, and the other one was pedaling! Needless to say we got a ton of weird looks, and plenty of funny comments! Dinner was something else! The 13 year old girl was hitting on me the whole time! It was to a point where it was pretty uncomfortable, and there was Cockroaches  EVERYWHERE!!! I just had to close my eyes to be able to eat my food! It was way interesting! 

Sunday- Well I had to give my talk today, and it went alright! I thought it went pretty bad, but people were telling me good job, so i must not have done terrible! Either that, or they didn't really listen! Then something really cool happened after Sacrament meeting! IT is back to Lexi! She walked up to me and asked me to baptize her! Honestly i am so pumped for that! It is going to be way cool! Then our branch president told us we were teaching Gospel Doctrine, so we gave a pretty bad lesson there! It was all good though! 

Well folks I am sorry that this one seems kind of rushed, but to be honest it is lol! Oh this morning we found out that we might get our car tomorrow, so pray for that! I sure love and miss you all so much! 

Love Elder Jordan Sorensen 

Hey eveyone! This week was another pretty good week! There was a lot that happened it seemed like, so I will just get right into it! 

Monday- WE had to take our car to Fort Smith because it was over heating! After we dropped off our car we went and played some basketball! That was a ton of fun because almost everyone who was playing was pretty good, and it was just a blast! We ended up spending the night in Fort Smith because we had a conference in Fayetteville the next day! Elder Olsen and I went with some Spanish missionaries, and let me tell you  I didnt understand a word that was said that night! I was part of a blessing that they gave to a member, and It was really weird, but cool to hear a blessing in Spanish! Well we didnt really come prepared to stay the night! We figured our car would be done, but it wasnt, so I slept on the floor with a sweater for a pillow, and another sweater for a blanket! I actually slept pretty good, but i am defiantly more grateful for my air mattress!  

Tuesday- We had a Zone Conference in Fayetteville, and it was way good! President and Sister Loveland are so awesome! We talked a lot about becoming better teacher, and it was just way good! It was 80 degrees outside! It was a warm day! When we got back to Fort Smith we found out that our car has a cracked head, so we wont have it for a week! Luckily we had a member that was able to take us pack to Poteau! The member is in the branch Presidency, and on the way home he did a very tricky way, and trapped me into giving a talk on the 19th, so I am preparing for that! 

Wednesday- Without are car we took advantage of Wednesday and did a lot of planning! When we were done with planning we went out and walked! It was soooooooo Windy!! It was super hard to walk when the wind was blowing at me, but we made it the rest of the day just fine!  We had a member take us out to dinner, and the funniest thing happend! While we were eating this little girl walked in, and she was about the same age as the members little boy, and the boy starts trying to do everything he can to get that little girls attention! He was doing the most ridcules things, and it all was working! Eventually he got her to play checkers with him! it was so funny, and I got a lot of dating advice just from watching him lol! After that the husband came out with us, and he went with Elder Olsen, and Elder Butler and I went and had a few visits! That was pretty good, but nothing to crazy came from it! 

Thursday- Well Thursday was pretty cool! We had a 3 way exchange with some members! We had 3 different ones come out with us! They gave me a solid apointment because I am still not 100% sure on who everybody is, and as soon as I got in the car with the member he let me know that the appointment canceled! I had no idea what to do, so I just went through the branch roster, and we went until he knew somebody! It actually worked out really good! We went to a less actives house that is on the verge of coming back! We had a pretty good lesson, and I think they are planning on coming to church this week! It was way cool! Our dinner was pretty funny as well! This guy who was born and raised in the same small town Oklahoma that he lives in now took us out! He has the most southern accent I have ever herd! He is also super funny! It was a blast to talk with him!

Friday- Everyone is getting sick around here, and I am not exaggerating   when I say that every single thing that we had set up for Friday canceled because they were sick! I did learn something though! Thanks to my aunt Vicki I now know that you can use a 2 liter bottle as a package in the mail! So that was really cool to get! We ended up biking on this highway, Elder Olsen said he knew where he was going (He lied)! We biked about 15 miles up the road when we finally got to a gas station! We went in there got a drink, and as we were coming out we ran into a member, and his Girlfriend who isnt a member! W asked her if she wanted the lessons, and she said that she did, so we are going to start teaching her this week! On the way home Elder Butler popped a tire, and while he was fixing it some guy came around and gave  us a ride, so that was way good! At 8 some members called, and picked us up! They took us to Wal Mart and gave us $100  to spend on groceries, so that was a huge blessing! 

Saturday- We had a few members come out with us, and Elder Butler and I went together again! We had one of the weirdest experiences! We went to this less active/part member family! We had a great lesson! The spirit was clearly there, She was telling us how she knew she need to take the Sacrament,  and then Elder Butler invited her to church, and she said no!! I tried to fix things by asking if we could swing by once a week and share a message, and she said no! She told us she was old, and that she liked her privacy, so she didnt want to come to church, or anything, and then her phone rang, and it was her granddaughter! During the phone call she said something along the lines of "Yes I am planning on taking you to church again"! So we found out she is going to a different church, but she was being super weird about it, so it was interesting! We had a dinner/lesson in a town about 15 miles out of Poteau. so we headed out there on our bikes! It was an uphill ride the entire time! It was so hard! It was also 80 degrees again! We had a good dinner, and afterwards we were playing around on their little Jazzy scooters they had, so that was a blast! We biked back home in the dark, and it went by so fast because it was all down hill! It was a long day though! 

Sunday- We had stake conference, and that was really good! We rode up to Fort Smith with some members! The speakers were really good though! President and Sister Loveland were there, and after the conference we got to talk to them for a little while, so that was really cool! 

Today I called the shop where our car is, and they arnt sure when it will be done by, so I am not really sure how much longer we will be biking! Pray that it isnt to long? lol! I hope you have a great week! I Love and miss you all so much!

Elder Jordan Sorensen

Hey Everyone! I Know I just talked to You Wednesday, but the rest of the week was pretty good! I am just going to get into it!

Wednesday- Wednesday was a weird day! I was mostly saying goodbye to people, and finishing packing up a little bit! It was kind of weird! At this point the transfer didn't really seem real! I had been in Sullivan for so long that I really didn't think I would leave! I definitely created some good relationships there, and I was kind of sad to have to leave! 

Thursday- Waking up for the last time in Sullivan was weird! After shoving all of my stuff in a car, and getting on the road it really started to get real! We met in Springfield! Saying good bye to Elder Durrant was kind of hard! I really like him! We had a lot of fun together! When it was time to go they told me I would be driving a car on the loop! I drove from Springfield to Branson! That was kind of fun! It was about a 35 minute drive! When we got to Branson they told me I was driving again this time clear to Springdale! That one was an hour and 45 minute drive! It was fun! There was only me and One other missionary! We talked the whole time, and really had a good time! I got to See Elder Jackson which was way good! Elder Butler and Elder Olsen Picked me up, and we headed down to Poteau! It is really weird to see Elder Olsen because I know him! It just is a weird thing! I dont really know how to describe it! I really like Elder Butler as well! It will be fun! When we got to Poteau the Branch President gave me a blessing for the area, and it was so good! I am super excited for Poteau especially after that blessing! 

Friday- Friday I leaned something! Our apartment is Ghetto!!! Right now I am sleeping on an air mattress, but that is not to bad! The apartment is just super small, and kind of run down!  It isnt the worst, but it is far from the best lol!! Friday we went on an exchange, and it was way cool we got to split up! Elder Olsen and I went with a member, and Elder Butler went with another member! Elder Olsen and I were able to set 3 baptismal date with a referral, and it was awesome! It was a mom and her 2 kids! 

Saturday- We visited a ton of people on Saturday! There was a ton of people that I cant really remember who they all were! The Missionary work here in Poteau is awesome! The Branch is soo cool! That night we went to the main attraction of Poteau! It has the Highest Hill in the world!! It is 1,999 feet tall! If it was 1 foot taller it would be considered a mountain, but it is a hill, so that is really cool! 

Sunday- We went to church, and that was really good! I am going to tell you this, I am going to fit in here! The 2nd counselor in the branch presidency has a huge beard, and shows up to church wearing blue jeans and boots! Then 2 out of the 3 young mean are wearing jeans and boots! It is a really cool town!! After Church we went around with a Youth, and took the Sacrament to Shut ins! We had a cool experience! At this one ladies house we knocked, and she didnt answer! We all felt liked we needed to keep knocking! Eventually we even went around back, and started knocking! For some reason none of us could leave! We just kept knocking! After 15 minutes of Knocking we decided we were going to leave, and just as we were walking away she answered! We gave her the Sacrament, and she started Bawling! We found out that a few days ago she got a high fever, and it took her out! She said it put her in a different world! She couldn't get up, or eat or anything! She herd our very last knock, and that is what got her to come out of the little phase she was in! It was super amazing to be a part of! We also took the Sacrament to a 94 year old WWII Vet, and that was way cool to listen to him tell stories! Sadly his health is not doing the best, but he is a dang good guy! 

That was my week! This upcoming week is going to be a good week! We have Zone Conference tomorrow, Stake Conference Sunday, and a ton of Splits with members planned! It will be awesome! 

Hey Everyone! This week was a pretty good week! It was a long one because of the transfer week, but it was good! 

Monday- We had a pretty average Monday! We ended up going to Rolla because the Sisters needed me to do a baptism interview! That interview went really good! The Ladies name was Robin, and it really is such an awesome experience to be able to hear peoples testimonies in those interviews! the rest of the day was pretty normal, and nothing to exciting happened! 

Tuesday- We had a slow day at the Food Pantry this week! There is usually 65-120 people that come in for food, and this week there was only 15, so it was a super slow day there! A member gave us a $60 gift card for Subway last week, so we have eaten there so much, but Tuesday was pretty funny because the workers were really starting to recognize us, so we had some pretty funny conversations with them! At our dinner we ate with some less active members who think they are active, but it was so interesting because the whole time we were there the one lady was roasting on the Book of Mormon! She said she knows its good, but we should be more focused on the Bible! It was a pretty interesting dinner, and It kinda surprises me how some people in the church have some really interesting opinions! 

Wednesday- We had a World Wide Missionary Training Broadcast that we watched in St. Robert as a zone! We had a member give us a ride! He told us he was going to pick us up at our apartment at 9:20, and by 9:30 he wasnt there, so we gave him a call! He said "Ya I am planing on being there at 9! What time is it" I told him it was 9:30, and he rushed and still got us there on time, but it was kind of funny that he slept in! The Broadcast was amazing! Elders Oaks, Bednar, and Andersen, and a few members of the Seventy were there, and it was way good stuff! I learned so much! It mostly was about some teaching skills! They also made a few big announcements where we change the numbers we report, and also we have a slightly different schedule that is kind of hard to explain, but it is almost the same! After the meeting we went on exchanges, and Elder Smith came with me up to Sullivan! It was pretty good! We had an amazing lesson with Andrew and Angel! It was seriously one of the top 5 lessons of my mission! It was amazing!!!!

Thursday- We exchanged back, and it was fun to go with Elder Smith, but he is a little different, so it was good to go back with Elder Durrant! We had a Missionary Coordination Meeting with our Ward Mission Leader after that, and that went pretty good! We were able to discus some things that we really needed to! For dinner we had Spaghetti, and mom this will blow you away, but as I was eating it I realized that I actually kind of enjoy spaghetti! Its not my favorite food, but I defiantly dont hate it anymore! 

Friday- We had a drive through food pantry on Friday called the Mobile Market! It was pretty fun! I pushed shopping carts around from the end of the line to the beginning of the line! It was a workout! I had to push 3 carts at a time, and I did it for about 4 hours, so by the end I was pretty beat! It was good though we helped a ton of people with food, and that is really what matters! Friday evening we played basketball with some random people at the out door basketball courts! It was pretty funny, like normal they looked at us in our white shirts and ties, and told us they would take it easy on us, and then we WORKED them! It was great! 

Saturday- We went with a member and finished cutting the wood that we didnt finish last week, and it was just as hard as it was last week! This time there was less of us, so we had to do a little bit more work, but it was good stuff, and we got lunch out of it! We also helped a member work on his, and his dads vehicles! One was a 1950s jeep, and the other was a old willies Pickup truck, so that was fun to work on them! It kind of reminded me of My Grandpa Sorensen's cars that he works on!

Sunday- I had the worst dream ever Saturday night/ Sunday Morning! It was Jesus visited a Conference that I was at, and he was talking to everyone, but some how he skipped me, so I went outside to bawl my eyes out, and he was there, and he put his arm around me and started to talk, and instantly the alarm went off, and I developed a new hatred for the Alarm clock! Church was pretty good on Sunday! Except for the fact that like half our ward was Sick, so all the meetings were super small! 

Monday- We had District meeting, and that went alright! It was kind of rough President Loveland has been giving some really specific, and interesting topics for the meetings! They are hard to expound on! the meeting went alright considering the hard topic! 

Tuesday- We had to make a trip half way to Rolla to meet the Sisters because I forgot to sign the baptismal form! Then the long awaited Transfer calls came Tuesday night! Elder Durrant is staying in Sullivan, and he is training a brand new missionary! I am being transferred to Poteau (Said Po Toe) Oklahoma! i am going to be in a Trio, and I will be with Elder Butler, and Elder Olsen! The cool part is Elder Olsen is Nathan Olsen as in a kid who lived right next door to me for 3 or so years! So that is kind of crazy!! 

Well that is my week! I hope you all have a great week, and I love and miss you all

Elder Sorensen