Hello Everyone!
Greetings from the mission field! This week has been a pretty good week! There is the usual homesickness that I get during study times, but it always leave when I go out and start my missionary work. I guess the reason for that is I'm too busy focusing on praying for safety as I bike than to think of home. Biking has been intense. One night, we had five minutes to get to our apartment, and we were a solid 20 minutes away. My companion, having trained his legs for the past year and a half, thought it would be alright to push it. I tried my best to keep up, but somewhere between dodging taxis, scooters, and hitting a pothole, I failed. He complimented my riding skills, because somehow, we made it back with a minute to spare. I guess you could count that a spiritual experience. Haha. Our investigators are great! We have had 9 investigators come to church the past three weeks in a row! It's always great to see their faces. I haven't been the one to find most of them, but there is one guy that I found, and he is loving the lessons! He is always very willing to meet. He's awesome. So the missionary work is good. The worst part of teaching lessons? When I don't have the vocabulary to teach, so I start to fall asleep when Elder Vance takes the reigns. I deserve "Worst Missionary for Teaching Lessons of Eternity" award. Haha. But I do my best. There have been a few firsts that have happened this week. One of the members of the ward named Yi Zhong, is the first one to compliment on my not so good physique. He loves squeezing my love handles when he sees me. He thinks it's the funniest thing ever. I had my first ice cream. It was soooo good! I don't know how to describe it, but the fruit in it was incredible! Maybe because it was my first ice cream in a month. Who knows. We went to the Zoo today, because it is Elder Vance's birthday tomorrow, and Yi Zhong wanted to take us to the zoo. I decided since it's my half birthday today, I would consider this a gift. The Highlight of the Zoo: We were staring at one of the exhibits, when a few monkeys came out of the forest and onto the path. People were taking pictures of them and having fun watching the monkeys. Out of no where, a man flies into the crowd and starts firing paintballs into the trees to scare the monkeys off. It was bizarre. I think it might be one of those "You had to be there" moments.
I'm still loving Taiwan! One of the negatives is driving past a stinky tofu shack on the side of the road. Rancid. But other than that, it's great. I'm progressing in talking to people, and still striving to help people join this church. I love the impact that this church has on peoples lives. It's great to see the joy that the truthfulness gives people. I still need your prayers, and thank you for the ones that you have already given me! I love you all so much! I look forward to hearing from you!
With All my Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Monday, February 28, 2011
Letter #6 from Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen
Hey everyone!
I don't have much time, so this will be brief. This past week marks me being here for one whole week in a transfer... and i'm barely alive! (Literally. I almost got in a head on collision with a scooter that cut a corner. Oh. And my muscles wanted to murder me in my sleep for tormenting them by riding my bike everywhere). I am still loving the people here! I don't know what they are saying, but I can tell when they are feeling emotions by the way they laugh and smile. I can't help but smile with them and try and put in my 2 cents. It's rough when I go and contact people on my own because I don't know what they are saying back, but I proceed anyway. Sorry this letter is so short. We had to do a power clean day where we deep cleaned our apartment. We're still not done, and we have to start proselyting in twenty minutes! So I must leave. Just know that I love you all so much! I ask that you pray for me. In learning this language and riding around the streets safely (they're pretty wicked. My companion compared them to a Star Wars battle, darting inbetween cars, scooters, busses, potholes, and the occasional old man on his jazzy). I look forward to writing you next week!
With All my Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
I don't have much time, so this will be brief. This past week marks me being here for one whole week in a transfer... and i'm barely alive! (Literally. I almost got in a head on collision with a scooter that cut a corner. Oh. And my muscles wanted to murder me in my sleep for tormenting them by riding my bike everywhere). I am still loving the people here! I don't know what they are saying, but I can tell when they are feeling emotions by the way they laugh and smile. I can't help but smile with them and try and put in my 2 cents. It's rough when I go and contact people on my own because I don't know what they are saying back, but I proceed anyway. Sorry this letter is so short. We had to do a power clean day where we deep cleaned our apartment. We're still not done, and we have to start proselyting in twenty minutes! So I must leave. Just know that I love you all so much! I ask that you pray for me. In learning this language and riding around the streets safely (they're pretty wicked. My companion compared them to a Star Wars battle, darting inbetween cars, scooters, busses, potholes, and the occasional old man on his jazzy). I look forward to writing you next week!
With All my Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Letter #5 from Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen *First letter from Taiwan!!
Greetings From Taiwan!
Okay. Seriously. Taiwan is soooo crazy! Haha. I haven't even been here for a week and I am loving it!
I left the MTC on Tuesday. FINALLY! I was there for such a long time! The airport was awesome and so were the flights. I'm glad I got to talk to all of you at LAX. Sorry some of our conversations were very brief. My calling card stopped working when I was supposed to have seven minutes left, the phone at some of my precious quarters without allowing me to use them, and all the stores in my terminal wouldn't exchange change. With that being said, I loved hearing from home. The flight here to Taiwan was most excellent! The plane was huge, and all of the people on it were fascinated with our chinese. I contacted the flight attendant while I was waiting in line for the bathroom. I told her about God is our loving Heavenly Father. She thought about it for a minute, and then sent me to another bathroom. Haha. I guess she didn't like that. That was my very first try at conversion, and it went pretty well :-) I only slept for two hours which really took it's toll on me later because our plane landed at 10:30PM and it wasn't until 11:30 that we had all of our bags. We took about a two and a half hour bus ride from the airport to the mission home. We did a little bit of orientation stuff, so no time to sleep. It was dark outside, so I didn't really get to look at Taiwan. We got to bed about 2:30 and woke up at 6:00. Doesn't that sound miserable? It wasn't. We went running and all I could think was... Wow. We were running through the streets of Taiwan! I could not stop looking around at all of the buildings, with their flashing signs, and advertising in characters. It was incredible! The people all stare at us as we run by. There are a TON of scooters. That's all everybody rides. There are very few cars. We got to the track and ran around for twenty minutes. The peole here are BIG on exercise. We had orientation at the mission home after that. We were fed a traditional chinese breakfast. Holy cow. It was seriously the best breakfast I have ever had! Bread dipped in soy milk, baozi (dumplings), some other bread, and a lot of fruit. It really was celestial. We did more orientation... and more orientation... and more orientation... we ate lunch at a place where we do hot pot (throw everything into a pot of boiling water and spices). It was pretty good. And then I was adventurous at dinner and tried some fish that they pulled out. It wasn't even fishy tasting. I could get used to that. The only negative about it was the fish waving high to me as it layed there, staring into my soul. The mission has a tradition of doing "Dan Jones Night". Dan Jones is the missionary that baptised thousands and he would stand on a box and bear testimony in big crowds... That's what we did. We walked to this really busy street. There were a ton of shops, and a ton of people. We all sung "Love at Home" and then one by one, called everyone to repentance. When we finished yelling on the box, an experienced missionary grabbed us, and we began contacting. It was really annoying realizing that everything you had practiced at the MTC wasn't understood by everyone. Haha. I couldn't even say Shen (God) without having to repeat it three times. Haha. But it really got me some good practice. We returned to the mission home and then to the apartment that the elders were staying at. I had a mattress the consistency of a brick, but I think it was the best sleep that I have ever had. The next day, we had a little walking tour of Taiwan with some of the zone leaders. We walked to a confucious temple. It was so neat to see some of the focus of Chinese beliefs. We went to the mission office and had a little more orientation and waited for President Bishop to tell us what to do next. As we were sitting there, anticipating over our companion and first area, I told everyone I was going to Kaosiung (pronounced - Gaoshung). I have felt like that ever since I saw one of my teachers pictures where there was a sign that said Kaosiung. Afterward, we went to the church and watched some footage of our Dan Jones night. To no surprise, I looked like an idiot, but it's fine. No one could understand me anyway. I'm not even sure I was speaking Chinese :-) We received a red envelope with our trainers name in it and where we were going. I got Elder Vance, and I was going to Daliao, an area in Kaosiung. Cool, right? Haha. We went to TGIFridays for lunch to get to know our companions. Elder Vance is awesome. He seems to know how to do everything right, so I'm really excited. I said goodbye to the missionaries that I have spent 12 weeks with at the MTC, and we were on our way. Haha. I wish you could have seen me. I wish I could have seen me. I was pulling my two big suitcases and duffel bag through the middle of the streets in Taichung. Haha. We walked a quarter of a mile to a bus stop and took that to a train station. We did some contacting while waiting for our train. It was more fun contacting this time because I wasn't in the middle of a lot of noise. We had a three hour train ride to my area. I looked out the window the whole time, staring in awe at rust covered buildings, rice fields, and the sun set. The sun set was way awesome! The sun looked so close to earth. That's when I thought "I hope they manufacture SPF 200 here." We got off the train, and got right onto a subway. Haha. It was a twenty minute subway ride to my apartment. Keep in mind, I'm still lugging my luggage around. We talked to some really nice people. The people here are so friendly. They are always trying to help me with my chinese, and show excitement that my chinese is as good as it is for being on island for 2 days. We did some proselyting for an hour, and then It was time to go back. Wow. What a day. The next day was my first real day. My bike wasn't at my apartment yet, so I borrowed Elder Vance's old companion's bike. I was super nervous. We had to ride to the church to fill up the baptismal font. It's about a 15 minute ride of scooters flying by you and people running red lights. Haha. I was used to it by the end of the night. Everyone knows how to drive here, so i'm not even worried about anything. There was a baptism, and I got to stand in the font with Wan Jiemei (Sister Wan). She is a really nice woman who fell out of a tree so she needed a second person in the font to help her. Even though I didn't perform the baptism, it was a special occasion for me to be there with her. We went and taught a couple of lessons. I mainly sit there and listen to it and pretend I know what's going on. Elder Vance will translate for me and then I say a couple of sentences. Biking from one house to the next is really working my legs out. Haha. I was thinking while biking "Even though my legs hurt and I'm really hot, it's always worth it when I visit those investigators." I already love the people here. Especially the ward members. They are all really friendly and loving. Everything about this place is really awesome, and I'm always thinking you would love it if you were here. I especially think of Amanda as the garbage trucks pass by playing ice cream truck music (there are people like you in Asia sister). Haha. Well, my time has come to an end. I can not describe my true emotions over email. I am really excited to be here. I got a little homesick this morning, but it passed once I got out onto the streets and realized where I am and what I am doing. I'm so thrilled that I get to be here and share the true gospel with these people. I know it's where i'm supposed to be and that it will go by really fast. I love you all! Please keep praying for me because I need them more than ever now. Talk to you next week!
With All my Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Okay. Seriously. Taiwan is soooo crazy! Haha. I haven't even been here for a week and I am loving it!
I left the MTC on Tuesday. FINALLY! I was there for such a long time! The airport was awesome and so were the flights. I'm glad I got to talk to all of you at LAX. Sorry some of our conversations were very brief. My calling card stopped working when I was supposed to have seven minutes left, the phone at some of my precious quarters without allowing me to use them, and all the stores in my terminal wouldn't exchange change. With that being said, I loved hearing from home. The flight here to Taiwan was most excellent! The plane was huge, and all of the people on it were fascinated with our chinese. I contacted the flight attendant while I was waiting in line for the bathroom. I told her about God is our loving Heavenly Father. She thought about it for a minute, and then sent me to another bathroom. Haha. I guess she didn't like that. That was my very first try at conversion, and it went pretty well :-) I only slept for two hours which really took it's toll on me later because our plane landed at 10:30PM and it wasn't until 11:30 that we had all of our bags. We took about a two and a half hour bus ride from the airport to the mission home. We did a little bit of orientation stuff, so no time to sleep. It was dark outside, so I didn't really get to look at Taiwan. We got to bed about 2:30 and woke up at 6:00. Doesn't that sound miserable? It wasn't. We went running and all I could think was... Wow. We were running through the streets of Taiwan! I could not stop looking around at all of the buildings, with their flashing signs, and advertising in characters. It was incredible! The people all stare at us as we run by. There are a TON of scooters. That's all everybody rides. There are very few cars. We got to the track and ran around for twenty minutes. The peole here are BIG on exercise. We had orientation at the mission home after that. We were fed a traditional chinese breakfast. Holy cow. It was seriously the best breakfast I have ever had! Bread dipped in soy milk, baozi (dumplings), some other bread, and a lot of fruit. It really was celestial. We did more orientation... and more orientation... and more orientation... we ate lunch at a place where we do hot pot (throw everything into a pot of boiling water and spices). It was pretty good. And then I was adventurous at dinner and tried some fish that they pulled out. It wasn't even fishy tasting. I could get used to that. The only negative about it was the fish waving high to me as it layed there, staring into my soul. The mission has a tradition of doing "Dan Jones Night". Dan Jones is the missionary that baptised thousands and he would stand on a box and bear testimony in big crowds... That's what we did. We walked to this really busy street. There were a ton of shops, and a ton of people. We all sung "Love at Home" and then one by one, called everyone to repentance. When we finished yelling on the box, an experienced missionary grabbed us, and we began contacting. It was really annoying realizing that everything you had practiced at the MTC wasn't understood by everyone. Haha. I couldn't even say Shen (God) without having to repeat it three times. Haha. But it really got me some good practice. We returned to the mission home and then to the apartment that the elders were staying at. I had a mattress the consistency of a brick, but I think it was the best sleep that I have ever had. The next day, we had a little walking tour of Taiwan with some of the zone leaders. We walked to a confucious temple. It was so neat to see some of the focus of Chinese beliefs. We went to the mission office and had a little more orientation and waited for President Bishop to tell us what to do next. As we were sitting there, anticipating over our companion and first area, I told everyone I was going to Kaosiung (pronounced - Gaoshung). I have felt like that ever since I saw one of my teachers pictures where there was a sign that said Kaosiung. Afterward, we went to the church and watched some footage of our Dan Jones night. To no surprise, I looked like an idiot, but it's fine. No one could understand me anyway. I'm not even sure I was speaking Chinese :-) We received a red envelope with our trainers name in it and where we were going. I got Elder Vance, and I was going to Daliao, an area in Kaosiung. Cool, right? Haha. We went to TGIFridays for lunch to get to know our companions. Elder Vance is awesome. He seems to know how to do everything right, so I'm really excited. I said goodbye to the missionaries that I have spent 12 weeks with at the MTC, and we were on our way. Haha. I wish you could have seen me. I wish I could have seen me. I was pulling my two big suitcases and duffel bag through the middle of the streets in Taichung. Haha. We walked a quarter of a mile to a bus stop and took that to a train station. We did some contacting while waiting for our train. It was more fun contacting this time because I wasn't in the middle of a lot of noise. We had a three hour train ride to my area. I looked out the window the whole time, staring in awe at rust covered buildings, rice fields, and the sun set. The sun set was way awesome! The sun looked so close to earth. That's when I thought "I hope they manufacture SPF 200 here." We got off the train, and got right onto a subway. Haha. It was a twenty minute subway ride to my apartment. Keep in mind, I'm still lugging my luggage around. We talked to some really nice people. The people here are so friendly. They are always trying to help me with my chinese, and show excitement that my chinese is as good as it is for being on island for 2 days. We did some proselyting for an hour, and then It was time to go back. Wow. What a day. The next day was my first real day. My bike wasn't at my apartment yet, so I borrowed Elder Vance's old companion's bike. I was super nervous. We had to ride to the church to fill up the baptismal font. It's about a 15 minute ride of scooters flying by you and people running red lights. Haha. I was used to it by the end of the night. Everyone knows how to drive here, so i'm not even worried about anything. There was a baptism, and I got to stand in the font with Wan Jiemei (Sister Wan). She is a really nice woman who fell out of a tree so she needed a second person in the font to help her. Even though I didn't perform the baptism, it was a special occasion for me to be there with her. We went and taught a couple of lessons. I mainly sit there and listen to it and pretend I know what's going on. Elder Vance will translate for me and then I say a couple of sentences. Biking from one house to the next is really working my legs out. Haha. I was thinking while biking "Even though my legs hurt and I'm really hot, it's always worth it when I visit those investigators." I already love the people here. Especially the ward members. They are all really friendly and loving. Everything about this place is really awesome, and I'm always thinking you would love it if you were here. I especially think of Amanda as the garbage trucks pass by playing ice cream truck music (there are people like you in Asia sister). Haha. Well, my time has come to an end. I can not describe my true emotions over email. I am really excited to be here. I got a little homesick this morning, but it passed once I got out onto the streets and realized where I am and what I am doing. I'm so thrilled that I get to be here and share the true gospel with these people. I know it's where i'm supposed to be and that it will go by really fast. I love you all! Please keep praying for me because I need them more than ever now. Talk to you next week!
With All my Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Monday, December 13, 2010
Letter #4 from Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen
Hello everyone!
This week has been a really good week for me. Our lessons are totally improving, and the spirit is so strong when we teach them. The language is coming easier. I can bear my testimony without having to really stop and think. Prayers are good in chinese. I still miss nap time :-( but i'm actually finding myself less tired recently (Thank Heavens).
In sacrament meeting yesterday, Elder Jenkins from my district played his arrangement of "I Believe in Christ", the spirit was so strong as he played. That's the spiritual experience I had for the week (sorry these letters probably aren't that juicy. The MTC is really monotonous and nothing really changes. It's all the same).
Something funny that happened this week:
My volleyball skills have improved Immensely (sp?) (And Amanda, more sisters play basketball than volleyball). Sister Bray is a sister that comes and plays but never touches the ball. We've started to get her to not be afraid of it. She's starting to get good... and so is my serve. When I served, I hit the ball with a lot of force... A LOT... Long Story Short: I didn't get it over the net. It went straight for the person in front of me... that was Sister Bray. It nailed her in the side of the head. Don't worry. She is fine. But I thought it was funny.
Anyway, there's not a whole lot more to say. It's all the same here. You lose track of days and are always looking forward to the next break. I love you all! Thanks for the letters/packages and the prayers. They really help! Write me more letteerrss if you can. I love them!
With Love,
Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen
This week has been a really good week for me. Our lessons are totally improving, and the spirit is so strong when we teach them. The language is coming easier. I can bear my testimony without having to really stop and think. Prayers are good in chinese. I still miss nap time :-( but i'm actually finding myself less tired recently (Thank Heavens).
In sacrament meeting yesterday, Elder Jenkins from my district played his arrangement of "I Believe in Christ", the spirit was so strong as he played. That's the spiritual experience I had for the week (sorry these letters probably aren't that juicy. The MTC is really monotonous and nothing really changes. It's all the same).
Something funny that happened this week:
My volleyball skills have improved Immensely (sp?) (And Amanda, more sisters play basketball than volleyball). Sister Bray is a sister that comes and plays but never touches the ball. We've started to get her to not be afraid of it. She's starting to get good... and so is my serve. When I served, I hit the ball with a lot of force... A LOT... Long Story Short: I didn't get it over the net. It went straight for the person in front of me... that was Sister Bray. It nailed her in the side of the head. Don't worry. She is fine. But I thought it was funny.
Anyway, there's not a whole lot more to say. It's all the same here. You lose track of days and are always looking forward to the next break. I love you all! Thanks for the letters/packages and the prayers. They really help! Write me more letteerrss if you can. I love them!
With Love,
Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen
Monday, December 6, 2010
Letter #3 From Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen
Hello everyone!
Some beginning announcements to make -
The last day for Christmas packages to be delivered by USPS is December 22nd, so if you want to send me some for Christmas (please?), make sure they are in by then. And if you want me to wait for Christmas to open them, just say so on the box. I will try and excercise all will power to wait.
Another thing, letters are AWESOME! Keep them coming. I try to write back in my free time (which usually is never. Sometimes I get 10 minutes if I'm lucky). But I get to read them every day of the week, and they are some of the best pick me ups. Mailbox # Changed to 360. Don't forget.
This week was really difficult for me. As we practiced a lesson, we totally went off course and started talking about stuff like Ordinances and Tithing. Those aren't in the first lesson. It was so bad, but it was very good for us to have that. We practiced a few hours later and tought the best lesson we've ever tought before. And then on Saturday, we tought at the TRC (they make us teach someone we don't know as if they are truly investigating). For the first five minutes, you are supposed to get to know them using just chinese. It is so tough! Haha. Half the time I just say the same thing over and over. How is your family? haha. But the lesson went well. Always room for imporvement. Later that day, we had this object lesson where someone out of a companionship is the "investigator" and their companion is writing on the board what you should say next (Holy Ghost). It got sooooooooo frustrating cause we would be way off topic and weren't saying what the "Holy Ghost" wanted us to say (no one would have been able to follow them. They are the French elders that already have their Masters degree). I was almost brought to tears (I know I know.... DQ). And that made me really stressed, but it led to a pep talk later given to us by Elder Gubbay telling us the only person we are racing is our best self. It was really helpful and definitely something I needed to hear.
I've always liked hymns before my mission, but being here has made me realize that I LOVE them. Every time we have a devotional, we do 3 prelude hymns. One of them that we sung yesterday was "Come Unto Jesus". I've never heard it before, but I really liked it. After firesides on sunday, they play movies. This week was the Joseph Smith movie. I cried so hard watching it! The spirit was so strong. It was wonderful.
We went to the temple this morning. I've realized how important temple work is and I love going. Today I especially felt the spirit while I prayed in the Celestial Room. It is such a magnificent place. Everytime I go through the temple though, I always think of my family and how I wish they were there with me :( But it's not about me, it's about others. I also thought of Alisha today and how I got to baptize her when we did some work at the Jordan River Temple. I can't wait to do it again!
Well, my time is running out. I love and miss you all! Keep the letters coming!
With all my love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Some beginning announcements to make -
The last day for Christmas packages to be delivered by USPS is December 22nd, so if you want to send me some for Christmas (please?), make sure they are in by then. And if you want me to wait for Christmas to open them, just say so on the box. I will try and excercise all will power to wait.
Another thing, letters are AWESOME! Keep them coming. I try to write back in my free time (which usually is never. Sometimes I get 10 minutes if I'm lucky). But I get to read them every day of the week, and they are some of the best pick me ups. Mailbox # Changed to 360. Don't forget.
This week was really difficult for me. As we practiced a lesson, we totally went off course and started talking about stuff like Ordinances and Tithing. Those aren't in the first lesson. It was so bad, but it was very good for us to have that. We practiced a few hours later and tought the best lesson we've ever tought before. And then on Saturday, we tought at the TRC (they make us teach someone we don't know as if they are truly investigating). For the first five minutes, you are supposed to get to know them using just chinese. It is so tough! Haha. Half the time I just say the same thing over and over. How is your family? haha. But the lesson went well. Always room for imporvement. Later that day, we had this object lesson where someone out of a companionship is the "investigator" and their companion is writing on the board what you should say next (Holy Ghost). It got sooooooooo frustrating cause we would be way off topic and weren't saying what the "Holy Ghost" wanted us to say (no one would have been able to follow them. They are the French elders that already have their Masters degree). I was almost brought to tears (I know I know.... DQ). And that made me really stressed, but it led to a pep talk later given to us by Elder Gubbay telling us the only person we are racing is our best self. It was really helpful and definitely something I needed to hear.
I've always liked hymns before my mission, but being here has made me realize that I LOVE them. Every time we have a devotional, we do 3 prelude hymns. One of them that we sung yesterday was "Come Unto Jesus". I've never heard it before, but I really liked it. After firesides on sunday, they play movies. This week was the Joseph Smith movie. I cried so hard watching it! The spirit was so strong. It was wonderful.
We went to the temple this morning. I've realized how important temple work is and I love going. Today I especially felt the spirit while I prayed in the Celestial Room. It is such a magnificent place. Everytime I go through the temple though, I always think of my family and how I wish they were there with me :( But it's not about me, it's about others. I also thought of Alisha today and how I got to baptize her when we did some work at the Jordan River Temple. I can't wait to do it again!
Well, my time is running out. I love and miss you all! Keep the letters coming!
With all my love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Letter #2 From Elder Mitchell Rhead Sorensen
Hi everyone!
Thank you SOOO much for the package. The cookies were AWESOME! and the fruit snacks. and the gum drops. Before I say anything else.... THEY CHANGED MY MISSION!!! TO CHINA, BEIJING!!!!!! just kidding. My mailbox number changed though
MTC Mailbox #360
TAIW-TCG 0202
So pleaasse address the letters to that mailbox. Thanksgiving here was wonderful. We had the morning devotional, and Elder Holland was the speaker! It was phenominal! His words were encouraging and very helpful. He talked a lot about being thankful for his mission and how everything we are blessed with after we get home is due to the service we have givenn to Heavenly Father. It was so awesome to be spoken to by an apostle. I want General Conference to be here already. We hadd thanksgiving lunch with turkey stuffing and mashed potatoes, with some pumpkkin pie. (The computer keeps adding duplicate letters on some words, so keep in mind that my ttyping isn't really this bad. And i'm rushed for time). We did a service projectt at night, where we made backpacks for kids in schools that don't have money. We made 35,000 bags in two hours. pretty impressive. Everything else wwaas just a normal week here at the MTC. Class, Eat, Class, Eat, class, Eat. Long days,, but this week went by quite fast! I got hit with a cold on Satuurrday when I woke up. It made the day kind of miserable, then it was stillll with me yesterday. The worst part? Not being able to nap it off ;-) But today is better. I'm almost over being sick. Last night, we had the Manager of the Missionary Dept. come talk to us for the Sunday fireside. He ttold us what mom told me. Faith and Fear do not coincide together. Completely oppossiite. So it hit me. Chinese is so hard, and i'm afraid i'll never learnn it well, but why? Heavenly Father has given me the gift of tongues, I just need ttoo put my faith in Him. So i've put that aside. He also said not to be homesick, cause thaatt is a sign of thinking about yourself instead of others. I haven't gotten homesick very much. I think that's cause I moved to Logan so i'm used to it. There's not a lot more to add. Just keep praying for me pleasee!! and keep writing! and sending me goodies. Christmas is coming up... Send me presents! And, i've realized I only have four ties to where with black pants ((I have to wear my suit everyday.) and two of them are bblluue. And two are red. I only have one green tie. I promise if youu ssend me ties of different colors, I won't be picky! I just want some change. I hope all is well at home! I love you all!
With Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Thank you SOOO much for the package. The cookies were AWESOME! and the fruit snacks. and the gum drops. Before I say anything else.... THEY CHANGED MY MISSION!!! TO CHINA, BEIJING!!!!!! just kidding. My mailbox number changed though
MTC Mailbox #360
TAIW-TCG 0202
So pleaasse address the letters to that mailbox. Thanksgiving here was wonderful. We had the morning devotional, and Elder Holland was the speaker! It was phenominal! His words were encouraging and very helpful. He talked a lot about being thankful for his mission and how everything we are blessed with after we get home is due to the service we have givenn to Heavenly Father. It was so awesome to be spoken to by an apostle. I want General Conference to be here already. We hadd thanksgiving lunch with turkey stuffing and mashed potatoes, with some pumpkkin pie. (The computer keeps adding duplicate letters on some words, so keep in mind that my ttyping isn't really this bad. And i'm rushed for time). We did a service projectt at night, where we made backpacks for kids in schools that don't have money. We made 35,000 bags in two hours. pretty impressive. Everything else wwaas just a normal week here at the MTC. Class, Eat, Class, Eat, class, Eat. Long days,, but this week went by quite fast! I got hit with a cold on Satuurrday when I woke up. It made the day kind of miserable, then it was stillll with me yesterday. The worst part? Not being able to nap it off ;-) But today is better. I'm almost over being sick. Last night, we had the Manager of the Missionary Dept. come talk to us for the Sunday fireside. He ttold us what mom told me. Faith and Fear do not coincide together. Completely oppossiite. So it hit me. Chinese is so hard, and i'm afraid i'll never learnn it well, but why? Heavenly Father has given me the gift of tongues, I just need ttoo put my faith in Him. So i've put that aside. He also said not to be homesick, cause thaatt is a sign of thinking about yourself instead of others. I haven't gotten homesick very much. I think that's cause I moved to Logan so i'm used to it. There's not a lot more to add. Just keep praying for me pleasee!! and keep writing! and sending me goodies. Christmas is coming up... Send me presents! And, i've realized I only have four ties to where with black pants ((I have to wear my suit everyday.) and two of them are bblluue. And two are red. I only have one green tie. I promise if youu ssend me ties of different colors, I won't be picky! I just want some change. I hope all is well at home! I love you all!
With Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Monday, November 22, 2010
Letter from Elder Sorensen
Hey everyone! This is my first letter from the Mission/MTC. Wow. It has been a crazy few days! The first day was hard, but you were experiencing new things, so it wasn't too bad. It was the second day that was really a challenge. I really did want to come home soooo bad! But, I know it's the right thing to be here. And if I came home, I couldn't have had my break from Sarah ;-) You know I love you sister. My companions name is Elder Oakmen. He's way cool! He's way nice. That first night when we got back to our room, we found out that no one else shares it with us cause it's the smaller room. That means I have the bottom bunk, and I don't have to worry about 3 others snoring.
Sister Whipple, my teacher, is way awesome! Either she teaches Chinese well, or it's the gift of tongues. You just get it when she teaches! I've already learned how to pray in Chinese, so I get to pray a few times in Chinese a day. The schedule here was crazy last week, cause it's different for first week kids. This week we're getting into the groove of things. It's wake up bright and early, go to your class and have personal study. Then you learn Chinese mixed with church. Go to Lunch. Go back to class. Go to Dinner. Go back to class. Go to bed. Days really are so long!
I've seen a few people here that I know. I didn't see Elder Rigby or Sister Flores the first couple of days, and being down in the dumps, missing my family, I needed a good pick-me-up, so thursday night I think it was that I prayed to see them. Suddenly... BAM! I saw them both in the same day! It was most excellent. I almost gave Jaimee a hug, but resisted. It's great to be in the presence of a couple thousand missionaries! Last night we had a devotional and sung three hymns. It was so powerful! I went to the temple today. Although it's not very pretty on the outside, it's beautiful on the inside (as they all are). Oh. Before I forget, I had my first embarrasing moment on Thursday. We were turning in our immunization cards, and as I was walking through this room, I tripped over one of those chairs that are connected to a desk. I went flying across the room, and the desk flew in the other direction! I hear everyone shout "Are you alright Elder?" I started laughing way hard and reached for my phone to text the family, but you know how that ended. My arm is bruised.
My district here is WAY fun. We are all soo close now. There are two brothers from France/England and they're companions. They are going back to Paris and Toulhousse for their missions. There is another Elder from Southern California who has never seen it snow, or seen snow at all! It snowed yesterday and he was sooo excited. We had to stand outside for a few minutes and let him take it all in.
Well, time is running down (there is a red stopclock in the corner of our computer screen, and if we don't send before it hits 0, it logs us out and we are out of luck). Thank you all for the wonderful letters that you have sent me! Please write me everyone! The best thing ever is to get letters. And, I can't write to you if I don't have your address. I love you all so much and can't wait to hear from you (unless satan snatches me up here pretty soon)!
With Love,
Elder Mitchell R. Sorensen
Everyone WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE ME! please.
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