Sarah Cate: Happy Thanksgiving!

Alright beautiful people in my life here goes the tales of the week:

 Do I have cause to smile this week? WELL DUH! I'M SERVING A MISSION SILLY PEOPLE! But not only that, I met a character from a very beloved movie that Libbi and I used to watch all the time. The title of the movie is Drag Me to Hell. Yes. I know it may be strange to equate a person on my mission to such a movie but let me explain. (The title of the movie is very dramatic so forgive me to quoting it) In this movie, there is a gypsy woman who curses a lady for not giving her a loan on her house. (This movie is very silly and I think that's why I love it so) Well I just want y'all to know that I met a real live version of that gypsy lady. The rest of this paragraph is all fact and nothing is made up: Her name is Jafar. Yes. Like the character in Aladdin. She speaks only in Farsi. For service here in Texas, we volunteer at a center for the, as Sarah Sykes Sorensen would put it, "mature" adults. :) We paint nails for the old ladies!! hahah yeah my life is soooo coool!!!! I am so blessed. But this last week was my first time painting nails for the mature ladies.  I got the lucky opportunity to work with Jafar. She yelled at me so loud that many of the workers had to come over. (No one speaks Farsi so they just talk to her in English and expect her to understand--all about great communication here in Texas). One of the workers had to hold her hand and tell her "purrty hands"  to allow me to paint her nails. The whole time I was intently listening for the words "lamia" because in the movie, the "lamia" was a curse placed upon the girl. I felt like it was a scene from that movie. I loved every minute of it. I guess except for the helpless feeling that came when I could not communicate with her. I guess I need to learn some words in Farsi. Simple ones like Please and Thank you and "Please don't hate me Jafar because I am only trying to bring people light and joy and happiness. Not sadness and anger. I just want to paint your nails." --ya know, simple things like that. :) It all turned out well. A darling lady came back and asked me to escort her to the lunch room where she gave me three quarters to buy myself a "Coke". Oh it was so tender. I love so many of the people here.

 I am so blessed. I have felt y'alls prayers. My heart is so open to these people. They are beautiful people. They have accomplished amazing things. I am working and praying that the ward can be more united so that when we bring people in, they will be fellow-shipped and loved. I don't know that my heart can take it so much. Sometimes I freak myself out because I look at the people that God has blessed me with in my life, and I want to cry because my heart is so full of love and special feelings for these people. How did that happen so fast? I know. Heavenly Father loves me and all my family is just rockin so all of our prayers are being answered. Gosh it's so weird to try to describe how I feel. I guess I'll try to this way: I feel like a giant blob of feelings and I am absorbing so many other feelings that I feel like I can not hold any more. I just love these people. OOohhh dear, I am so weird. Oh well. I love it so I guess I'm just weird. :)

 I met a cute family who lived in Boston and went to the temple a lot when Gus and Susu were temple presidents. It was a beautiful connection and fun to talk about Boston. They are a Less Active family now but I think they are going to be coming back. They are just awesome.

 I also met a Less Active man that is...well how do you say in English...........ummmm intense. Yeah that may be an understatement. He expressed to me that "its time for me to be taken to the next level of understanding. A higher way of thinking" . He said I was ready!! Yahhoooo!! hahaha I have no idea what that means but I will keep praying for him. He is a good guy but just has gotten really into his own knowledge and hasn't really relied on God a lot.

 I have been having the most bizarre dreams this week because I have had so many interesting experiences. We met a man who breeds snakes. His name is Larry and I think we are going to be best friends for life. He is sooo funny and crazy. They have about 18 pythons in their trailer park home! It is truly amazing. They have one that is 8 feet long. I have some pictures! Oh I also got the distinct privilege of watching him feed them!!! yes. Rats. Oh sad day for my childhood. I will be OK though. Traumatized quite a bit. There are so many BIG HUGE time hunters here as well. You name it, they have shot it and have it hanging in their house. WOOOOOW.

 Austin is so unique. I love it. It is beautiful and crazy just like me. I miss a lot of San Anotonio but I am excited for this next great adventure. I am so sorry to hear about Bob Anderson. Please let his wife know how much I love her and give her a hug from me. I miss y'all loads!! I hope y'all can forgive me for my imperfections! I am working on it. I miss y'all like crazy. I love ya sooo much.

 love you little, love you big, love you like a little pig!

 hna. Sorensen

 

Libbi: Cuiabá- translated means....whole new level of hot!

So, life is good and hot here in Cuiabá. The name of my area is Industriario (suburbs of Cuiabá) my comp. is Sister Morais she is from the northeast of Brasil she is wonderful.  We are opening this area for sisters and it is quite an experience. But for real...new level of hot here! It is normally around 90 at night and I have never slept soaking wet in my own sweat before with two fans blasting and no blankets....haha OK too much info. Life is good and more important than the weather: WE HAD A BAPTISM THIS WEEK AND A VISIT WITH ELDER DAVID A. BEDNAR!!!!!!! It truly was a week of wonders. I learned and grew so much in this week that my body is very spiritually tired...not just regular physically tired. But it was wonderful, we had a special meeting with Elder Bednar on Fri. and then he spoke in our stake conference.He spoke about the importance of teaching people like agents not objects. He is a master teacher and we were able to discuss and ask question while being completely spiritually enriched. It was perfectly wonderful and I can honestly say that it has changed me as a person and changed my view of my mission and my eternal role and purpose. OK...gettin a bit deep but it was thrilling.
The second thrilling thing was our baptism of Suellen! She is wonderful. She is the daughter of an inactive member that married a non-member and she has a brother that is also inactive. She is 38 and has a 4 year old little girl and she is just wonderful. When we arrived in the area she had already been taught everything and all we discussed with her was the next step which as we all know is baptism. She was extremely excited to hear the conference with Elder Bednar and she said that she hoped to receive her answer to this decision during the conference. We waited and waited for her and others that we confirmed were coming yesterday and finally entered to the conference with no one...we lost the seats we were saving and sat way in the back...feeling low. And who entered just as the first speaker began. Suellen, her mother and brother and daughter! HOW WONDERFUL! The talks were perfect and Elder Bednar told a story that I have thought about a lot this week...It was about when the children of Israel were crossing the river Jordan but they didn´t wait till the waters parted they began to cross....they got their feet wet first....WOW! what a story of faith...just like it says in Ether we don´t receive the answer till the test of our faith. God´s plan is so perfect! Anyway, we discussed the conference with her after and she was feeling the spirit so strongly that she felt sick to her stomach...she didn´t know how to describe what she was feeling. I too was feeling the same thing. We then invited her to be baptized later that same day and she accepted! Of course everything was crazy, chaotic in the preparations...but the baptism was beautiful and this week was truly one to remember.
I´ll end with something a little more light. The mistakes in Portuguese continue...this week was a good one. Instead of saying...it was all mixed up I said it was all menstruated....like the menstruation of a woman....oh wonderful day when the whole world is laughing at you! hahaha but I´m learning and growing so much! I just love my mission and this place and these people! Life is such a wonderful gift and the plan of the Lord is perfect. Another wonderful thing that Elder Bednar taught is who we really are. WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD! HE LOVES US! HE HAS A PLAN OF HAPPINESS FOR US AND WANTS US TO RETURN TO HIM! Oh the mercy of my God! I love you all. Remember who you are this week. A child of God! he loves you and there is a crazy blond American in Brasil, Cuiabá baking alive who loves you too!
com amor,
Sister Libbi Sorensen

Sarah Cate: "If This is Austin...It Must be Sarah Cate"

Dearest Family and friends,  

Y'all are dear to my heart. I am doing well. It was, as all y'all know, a difficult transfer. I am now in Austin TX. I never thought i would serve my mission in Austin but here i am. I am so excited. Austin is a completely different world than San Antonio. Its kind of crazy. It's motto is : Keep Austin Weird. -is that not perfect for me?!! I think so. The area I am in currently is called Barton Creek. Don't let the humble name fool y'all. This is a pretty fancy shmancy area. We have Jeff Kent in our ward. I guess he is a famous baseball player who played for the Dodgers. Yeah, and we have Ty Detmer...don't know how to spell his last name but I guess he won the Heisman trophy back in the day....yeah, sound out the words you don't know... I am plugging along. I am close to the Riverside area of Austin though which is the coveted area for Spanish speaking missionaries because its mostly Spanish. I am going to do exchanges with the sisters there this transfer so that is a blessing. There is not a whole lot of Spanish where I live. Mostly outnumbered by fancy sports cars and big houses and gate codes. haha Oh what an interesting time. My companion is Sister Jones. She is just about one of the sweetest people I've ever met in my life. I was blessed to go on exchanges with her down in San Antonio, when we were both down there so I've already served with her a little bit. She is from Enterprise Utah. (Oh by the way, many people look down on me for being from Salt Lake.) yeah ruuude! but I love them anyways. It's one of the beauties of not being part of the world, you just don't care what they think at all!! hahaha

 The area is very big. I am going to need lots of prayers to get the work going and the ward on board with what is about to happen here! I am so determined to make this place harvest, I just need the Lord's help. I am hoping for many miracles here. We are missionaries for heaven's sake! We are doing the Lord's work. Why not see miracles?!

 Before I left San Antionio I received some beautiful letters from Emily and Kimmy and Aunt Marilee. I just love them so much. I am blessed to have such awesome support. I love y'all so very much. Thanks Pete Pete for your e-mail. You too Meg. I am so lucky to have such an awesome family who is doing incredible things. What a great thing. How is y'all's diet going? I am gonna need to go on one too when I get back :) wups. hheee hee. I just love y'all so much. Y'all are beautiful. Don't ever forget how much I love y'all.

 Hna. Sorensen

 

8818 Travis Hills Dr. Apt. 722

Austin, TX. 78735

 

write me!!!!!!!!!!!! I love y'all so much.

Sister Deleon.....I LOVE YOU. HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU. I cried on Wed. for you. You are so cool. Tell me all about everything that you are doing and what it feels like to wear pants!!!

Libbi: WOW! I´ve for sure walked a wagon train or two :)

Oh family, has it really only been one week. I feel like everyday that I have lived here in Dourados I've had enough experiences and moments to fill volumes. I always feel rushed to fill you in on the highlights because there is just so much happening. I love it here but as always we move we change and we grow...I am going to be transferred to Cuiabá. I will open another area for sisters and I am really excited. My companion will be Sister Morais and I have only heard good things about her. I´m excited but not excited for the 16 hour bus ride...4 hours to Campo Grande and 12 to Cuiabá.

Highlights of this week....Patrici...is...crazy....I´m sorry to say that we returned to teach him this week and thought that it was a problem with sisters but we tried to teach him with our District leaders and he began to yell and shout and....well, we aren´t going to teach him anymore. We had a bunch of people that we confirmed would come to church and we didn´t have anyone. No, we had Carlos who is 9 and has family in the church but we marked a date for baptism yesterday and he will be baptized with his cousin on the 27th of Nov. I am really excited to leave this baptism for the other sister that will stay here in Dourados (my two x-comp's Sister Nascimento and Sister Heydorn)

This week...in the middle of the closing prayer of one of our lessons in front of the house of an investigator I felt something hit my head...I thought that one of the little kids threw something but don´t worry, it was a giant bird turd on my head! Good times...washing my hair in the sink of a stranger....and really allowed us to leave that house with a laugh...good stuff. I´m walking so much that my Chacos (sandles) are breaking...it is just my right Chaco for now but I take it that I have done a bit of walking in these last 6 months. Everyday this week was a joy with my comp. Sister A. Silva...she is really funny and sometimes speaks in Spanish. I love it and her! I´m so glad we had a chance to be comps because almost all her comps on her mission in Sao Paulo were really complicated.

Who knows what the future holds here in Brasil for Sister Sorensen, but I´m excited and ready for the challenge. My Portuguese is getting better and better but I spent 10 min. trying to say the word Trabalho - not trabalio for those of you who studied Spanish or Portuguese...and the difference between olho (eye) and olio (oil) someday my tongue will work and in the mean time....pray for added patience to my comp. I love you all and wish you all well in what your doing...I sent a truck load of letters last week so I hope that those who wrote me get my letters someday. Eu te amo! Boa Semana!

com amor,
Sister Libbi Sorensen

Sarah Cate: Oh, Happy Day!

Dearest family and friends,

 

My heart is so full. I don't even know where to begin in writing this. This last week was so beautiful. I received a package from Maren which was sent by some of her friends. I was unable to be home to receive it in person because this week we were visited by our Area Seventy representative. Elder Zivic came and talked to us about being better missionaries. To add to the excitement, I received a call that Elder Zivic wanted to interview 5 missionaries to represent our mission and President asked ME TO BE INTERVIEWED!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!! It all turned out to be fine. He was very nice and spoke Spanish. He spoke some to me but I was too nervous to speak back to him in clear sentences but It was very beautiful. He said he just moved to downtown Salt Lake. I couldn't remember what Peter and Sarah's address is.  Maybe they live nearby? It was a real emotional experience and the spirit was very strong. Also, I had to say goodbye for the last time to Sister DeLeon, my trainer, because she is going home this Wednesday. Oh, I feel so bad for her. I also had to say goodbye to sister Larsen because she is going home at the end of this next transfer. It was very sad to see really the only missionaries that I've known closely on my mission go home. Oh well.

 

The emotions did not end there. Yesterday we had two of our investigators attend Sacrament meeting!! Stacey, our beautiful friend with a baptismal date, got up and bore her testimony in sacrament meeting and it was her very first time attending!! Yes, I just about died I was so happy. There were several non-members there. It was just such a beautiful day. The people in this ward are unbeatable. They are so cool and I love them very much.

 

It was difficult to receive transfer calls last night and find out that I am going to be transferred. This is a huge surprise for me because I was almost guaranteed to stay here two transfers while I was training. I was very worried after I got the call that I had done something so wrong that my trainee needed to be with someone else. I called my Mission President and he said that I was needed to "work my magic" in another area and I needed to help a different companion. He said that I didn't do anything wrong and that it was quite the opposite. It helped put my heart at ease a little bit but it does not make it any easier to leave.   

 

I am going to need lots of prayers. Please don't ever forget how much I love y'all. I am blessed to have y'all in my life. I miss y'all like crazy. Keep praying for Stacey. She is going to be baptized next week. :)

 

Hna. Sorensen

Libbi: A mission, Brasil and a show!

Dear Everyone,
 How are you all doing? This week was funny...I laughed a lot. It seem like everyday something ridiculous happened and all you can do is laugh. You know Murphy´s Law, well I think it is 1000x stronger on the mission. You truly experience everything.  That is why you grow so much. I am for sure learning a ton. I continue to make mistakes in Portuguese everyday. I asked a little girl if she was on fire instead of asking her how was her day off from school (fogo is fire foga is day off)...I am learning and loved getting all the letters from Conference from the Christensens! I love you all so much! You are the greatest family ever seriously!

So the shows this week...basically everyday we walked on the street we had a new and funny experience. I had a man do magic.  He just started walking next to us doing this magic show and spoke a few phrases in Spanish and then he was gone hahaha.  We had a man surfing on his motorcycle for us and then popping wheelies and then he was gone without a, "Oi" ... nada...  Then we had a man singing Katie Perry- "Firework" full-voice in his house as we passed by...oh I love Brasil! So, we had so many possibilities this week but as we marked times to pass by conveniently everyone `wasn´t home`oh and one person was walking around in their house blasting the TV and suddenly when we clapped in front of their house...abandoned...hahaha.  Oh these wonderfully kind people that don´t have the courage to say they don´t want to change or don´t have time for the life-changing message. I love the work. I love my companion... We will have success this week. We are working with a man named Patrici but we have a hard time teaching a lesson because he has a lot to teach us also. But, I continue to learn and grow here. I love you all and have a wonderful week of joy for all you are blessed with!

com amor,
Sister Libbi Sorensen

Sarah Cate: Y'all know Texas is Tricky

Hello Y'all,
I don't have a ton to write but life goes on as it always does. We taught Stacey last week and guess what.....SHE ACCEPTED A BAPTISMAL DATE FOR NOVEMBER!!! Yahhooooo! Its not going to be easy so it may change but we will just keep working. We worked really hard  to get a lot of people to come to church this past Sunday and guess what........NO ONE CAME! Yeah break my heart. It was very frustrating but we gave Stacey a church tour and she really loved it. It made us happy. Stacey couldn't come to church because her work wouldn't let her off yet. She is working on it though. HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL!
Hope the day is treating y'all well. Susu and Gus, thanks y'all for y'alls letters. They are a bright ray of sunshine in my week. I love y'all very much. I truly appreciate the jokes. I use them all the time!!! I looooove them! Thank you.
We went on exchanges this week. I stayed here in Encino Park and Sister Deleon...yes....MY TRAINER! came to Encino Park too! IT was so much fun to serve together again. It was a huge tender mercy and it was fun to see how much we both had changed since we last served together in Del Rio. It was very beautiful. Today we are planning on going to the mercado...I guess that is San Antonio's little Mexican market. I'm suuuper excited.
Also, I got to teach in Spanish this week. It was a huge surprise but we received a referral for a lady that only speaks Spanish. I had a baby heart attack at first but once she started speaking I could understand her and in my broken Spanish with her broken English we communicated. :)  It was just another sign that the Lord loves me and wants me to keep studying Spanish :)  It's a never ending process in this mission because you don't get to hear it all the time and you have to speak it all the time to keep it up so it makes it hard to learn the language. Libbi is very blessed in that way...blah blah blah blah. I'm a little jealous but I try not to compare.
I miss y'all tons. Hope y'all have a good day! Tegan un buen dia!!

Su Hermana Sorensen