Sorensen Krewe 2

August 23, 2010 Update

2010-10-11T12:23:00.003-05:00

Hello,

Well, this week was much better than last week. We went finding a lot and we were very blessed for our diligence, and our faith. We started off the week by not finding anyone, until Thursday when we counted 2 part members. Then on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we found 12 new investigators. We worked really hard and we talked to as many people as we could, considering our restrictions. And we had 3 of our new investigators come to church. It’s always really good when people come their first week. All together we had 6 investigators at sacrament meeting. The three that weren’t new have been coming for about 2-3 months (Kavitha, Romya, and Giri Babu).

One new investigator family lives opposite to our branch president, but he thought it wouldn’t be good to introduce us, and the daughter is also the team manager at the McDonald’s we visit each week. Her name is Priya and she has been letting us come behind the counter, take orders, make burgers, and do just about everything we want to at McDonalds. Her family is Pentecostal, and don’t care about being baptized twice, because they have been! We met them last night and they liked the message and were excited to pray about the message of the restoration. Their biggest concern, which is HUGE in their eyes, is the fact that we don’t say "Praise the Lord" and stotrum when we pray and when we meet. We talked about how we praise God in our actions, and not words. They seemed to accept that and be quiet. But, if they end up hating our guts it could be really bad because we might get some spit in our burger...lol.

Today, since my companion is being transferred, we are going to go bowling at India’s largest mall. That sounds fun. I don’t really think it’s necessary, or a great idea, but he really wants to go. I hear they have a Taco Bell...with unlimited refills. It’s the small stuff in life, when you are in India.

Kavitha and Romya are doing well. We have been teaching them and their family members English once a week and they are loving it. When they learned that they would be staying here for this big Hindu festival they were excited that they would be able to come to church. They have both, for a second time, told us that they believe in Jesus Christ and that they should follow him. They are very nice, and want to be baptized, but their older sister is not allowing it. I think that’s dumb because she has no say in this anyways. We are trying to help them understand what it really means to become Christian, and now it will be a different culture than that of the Hindu society. Their family members, who are members, are being very helpful. I love the Ramakrishna family.

That’s about it for this week. Next week I will tell you about an Australian family that we are teaching...stay tuned...and on the edge of your seats. I love you all. Hugs and kisses from India!

Love,
Elder Sorensen

August 16, 2010 Update

2010-10-11T12:15:00.004-05:00

Namaste,

Well, nothing much has happened since Wednesday...and the email guy is trying to kick me out. lol.

This week I have been praying for more ways to serve the people of India. I have seen that as I have done this, Heavenly Father has been putting people who need a helping hand in my path. Just the other day while we were walking a little girl crashed her cycle into a ditch...not like y’all think but a small 18 inch deep ditch. She busted up her elbows and shins, but was ok. When she saw me she stopped crying, maybe out of fear. I helped her pick up the cycle and she was off without a word, except "Thank you." Another little girl was trying to put up her kick stand, but the bike kept falling, and I know that she had to get groceries, so I held her bike for her. When she came out she said thank you, and was off. I saw her later that night and she gave me a chocolate. I didn’t eat it, because I cannot have milk, but I did thank her when I took it. I have loved being in the service of my fellow man (Mosiah 2:17).

I have also been thinking a lot about Pres. Uchtdorf's talk "You are My Hands" as member of His true Church we shouldn’t be spectators in showing love, we should be doing it. Just as did Jesus Christ when He lived on the earth. I am grateful for the Restored Gospel and the opportunity which I have to preach the Gospel. I love my Savior and my family. Have a great week.

Elder Sorensen

August 4, 2010 Update

2010-10-07T14:05:00.003-05:00

This is what Pavani SMS’d (txt'd) us on the morning after we had an amazing lesson with her family about temples and how are families can be together forever. Afterwards we all got on our knees and prayed to know if it’s true. Here it is:

"Hey Elders, I will be forever grateful to you for your example and for yesterday's experience. As I was pondering I had a deeper sense of gratitude for our Father in Heaven, temple, and for eternal life. Thank you! Thank you so much for everything. I am fortunate to have you both meet in this life. I wish my son grows up to be a grate missionary like you both, and my husband."

Now do you see why I love her so much?

Wanacum,

Cool starting story this week. Last night we met with one of our members from Ivory Coast, Africa. He said that he had some referrals for us. I have never taught black people, so I was way excited. The lesson was ok, nothing special. But in the end we asked Apo to pray. He asked if he could do it in French, and we both said ok. It was interesting to think about. I have heard people pray in Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kanada, Talangana, Bengali, English, and now French. Not many missions can say that.

A few weeks ago President Funk and the assistants came to our branch for church, and they came to a class that I was teaching. I put everyone into groups and had them teach about the lesson. P. Funk was on the back row and I put him, and his assistants, with 3 other members and I called it the power row. When I noticed what I did everyone laughed. I realized that no one in this group spoke English. It was so funny when they tried to teach. The assistants were good sports about it. Another funny thing, we had an investigator who was so stuck on the Trinity, usually people just leave it, but he was trying to convince us. He gave the example, after he had been proven wrong about 15 times, and after much thought, his brain somehow managed to say, "God and Jesus are like and egg, but only an egg that has been scrambled." Sounds like someone ran outta truth and began to make up crazy nonsense. I wanted to say, "You're talking gibberish."

This Saturday is Ashwini's baptism, and she is so excited for it. We have been seeing her and her family almost every day. We have even been doing family home evenings with them on Sunday nights, b/c they keep bringing investigators for us to teach. Her son, Rishi, is 5 years old and said the opening prayer. He said something profound, and will stick with me while I am raising my kids, "Bless the Elders. Help me to go on mission. Bless my family. Help me to go to temple." Pavani and Suresh are doing a great job. Suresh is in the Branch Presidency, and said, at the last PEC meeting, "I speak for the branch when I say that we haven’t had Elders as good as these since I have been a member. We have never felt more love from the Elders, as a branch. Thank you for your service." Then, on Sunday, he called his wife up to the stand and bore his testimony with her about missionary work. She recited the 10 commandments to him, after we had our movie night this week (we watched The Prince of Egypt) and he was amazed. "Where did you learn that?" Her response, "The elders." She recited them on the stand and did the hand motions that we taught her. I love their family so much. They have been a great help as we have taught Ashwini.

Another wonderful family that we are working with is Suriyha Kantharaj and his family. His wife Rozy has cancer, and when she saw us walking down the road she chased us down. We met them once in passing. They came to church for a baby blessing, but we didn’t remember them until we saw Suriyha...he has a skin pigment problem. We have been teaching them for one week and they are doing awesome. Suriyha read 3 Nephi 11 and when we asked how he felt about it he said, "I know you are gonna ask about baptism. I will be baptized, just let me know that this is the right church." He is Catholic and his family convertered to Pentecostal. He has 2 sons, and both are intelligent. One son came to church this Sunday with Suriyha. When I asked where was everyone else he said, "Rozy is really sick from chemo, and my younger son took her to the hospital. We remembered our promise to come to church." Wow. He told the branch president that he wouldn’t miss a Sunday, and that all four of his family members will come next week. We are meeting them tonight and we will be setting them for September 4th.

I love you all. Thank you so much for your support and love. I hope everyone is doing well. Stay true to the faith. Hugs and kisses.

Elder Sorensen

July 28, 2010 Update

2010-10-07T13:59:00.001-05:00

Namaskaram,

Last Monday and Tuesday were very uneventful, and I feared that the rest of our week would turn out to be less than what we thought, but after Wednesday the whole week was amazing. On Wednesday night we visited with Ashwini and taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was very in tune with the Spirit and is very excited about her baptism next week. We then visited her on Friday and taught about Baptism and Confirmation, meaning the promises that happen when we are baptized and confirmed, and it was a phenomenal lesson. We taught about how we are cleaned from our sins and how that is the only way to live with our families after this life. Kavitha lost her father a year back and is really interested that she can see him again. But Kavitha hasn’t prayed to know what she should do to see her father again, or if it is true. Right before we went home that night we stopped by and told them that we wanted to share another small message. All we did was have Pavani bear AMAZING testimony about temples; she and her husband are sealed. After that we all got on our knees and asked Heavenly Father is it was possible to live without families after we die. One by one we all said a prayer, and the Spirit continued to grow. It was a great testimony strengthener for me, and I am forever grateful for the experience we had that night. Kavitha said that she did feel like it was possible, and that she wants it.

On Saturday we all went out to the Pioneer Day activity and Ashwini made me chipathis and jam b/c she knew that the tiffin, or breakfast, provided would have milk in it. She is way too nice. On Monday we taught them about the Restoration, and how everything we do in life needs to have power and authority. Pavani was doing the translation and asked, "How do you say 'power and authority' in Telugu?" Now, she is from Hyderabad, so this was a huge compliment for me. I said, as I pumped my left fist, "SHAKTI" and as I pumped my right fist, "ADIKADUM.", they got a real kick out of it and I was happy that I could speak some Telugu still. At the end we asked Kavitha to be baptized. She said that she wants to stay Hindu, but her family members said they will fix that. Hopefully she will overcome whatever fear and join the fold of God. Her uncle served a mission and he promised us that he will get to the bottom of it.

Another great lesson this week was when we taught Dean and Beth. I dunno if I have told y'all about them, but they are a young married couple who just moved into our area. Dean is a comic book artist, and he is one of 4 people in a country of 1.2 billion people who can do what he does. When we shared about the Restoration last week they were so excited to come to church and learn more about what a prophet, "not some man who says he understands the scriptures" has to say. We brought Pavani over yesterday and she did amazing. She asked them if they needed to have someone show them the church. They said they would be there and would like to sit with her. Dean and Beth both said that they believe the Book of Mormon is true, and are excited to know more about it. Beth even said, "The BofM is better than the Bible b/c it helps us apply things to our lives." I have never had a Catholic tell me that. lol. Dean said, "It never made sense to me that the Bible stopped; it shouldn’t have. The religion didn’t, so why should scripture?" They are wonderful. Dean has some legal issues that he needs to get straightened out and then everything will be well for their baptism.

I love you guys. I am excited to be a missionary. Never have I enjoyed my life so much, than I have in these last 2 years. It has been a great blessing to serve in the Lord's vineyard. I know the Church is true, and that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and His love for me. I love the Savior. Hugs and kisses!

Love,
Elder Sorensen

October 4, 2010 Update

2010-10-06T13:10:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!

Namaste,

Well, I am probably the only person who HASN’T seen conference yet, but that is ok because I can learn patience. The only thing I can think about is the Deville family. For being an inactive Bishop, Brad has some of the deepest and most wonderful things to say. The other night while we were at the dinner table Brad went to get the ice cream and I said, "YES! There's always room for ice cream!" and then he made a sweet analogy about a jar, big rocks, little rocks, and sand. You can fill the whole jar with sand, but then that’s all you have. You can fill most of the jar with small rocks, and some sand, but the best thing to do is fill it with big rocks, then smaller ones, and then sand. The analogy he made was the big rocks are the important things in your life; family, Church, etc. The small rocks are friends, sports, etc. "And the sand", he said, "Is stuff that you can really do without, like Americans." Josh really liked the analogy.

The other day we found out that Aaron and his buddies bought a car, without telling their parents. This has been a big topic of discussion amongst the Ex-Pats. After Josh's baptism the family had to change because all the other parents were getting together to decide the fate of this car. Well, Marian comes out in a nice outfit and Brad comes out in shorts and a "Highway to Hell" T-shirt. All we could do was laugh. He said, "Well, it seemed like a good idea this morning."

While I was speaking to Marian at the baptism she was just in AWE! She couldn’t help but smile. She mentioned that it has been different than any of her other kids' baptisms. I have been pushing her to stop drinking and prepare to get a temple recommend, that way she can take her boys to the temple at Christmas time. Aaron looked like a Stripling Warrior while he got in the water and baptized Josh. The experience was unlike any I have had on my mission. I cannot describe how happy I was. I hugged them both when they got out, even though my suit got wet.

I love y'all. Thank you for your support an encouragement. Hugs and kisses from India!

Elder Sorensen

September 27, 2010 Update

2010-09-27T12:05:00.003-05:00

Dear Everyone,

This week was a bit tough because we were still under restrictions because of Ganesh Festival. We were unable to do any finding, which has caused our teaching pool to become rather small. That's what happens when you cannot find for 2 consecutive weeks. However, we did manage to go over a Map to Baptism with Jay Kumar and his family. We set a date for October 16th, but they were unable to stay for all 3 hours at Church, so we will have to set them again. We think they want to be baptized on the 17th, and that’s why they left. If it is the 17th then I am fine with that; it will be my last Sunday. What a way to go out!

Saturday was Giri Babu's baptism with his wife Lalitha. Giri was baptized twice. Lalitha, the one who I baptized, basically threw herself in. She lifted her legs up and just went down like it was no big deal. Then, the following day, Giri was not properly confirmed, so they had to call him back up in front of everyone, and do the confirmation properly. If it was anyone other than Giri I think they would have been frustrated and would have left the Church. lol. Lalitha's was done correctly. I did not do either of the confirmations because I have been sick with the flu for the last week. After Church we went to our Branch President and asked him to sign in the spot that says he saw the confirmation. Well, he signed in the spot that was for the person doing the interview...on Giri's record! So now he needs another record! lol. How much more can he take?

The Deville's are excited for Josh's baptism. Sister Deville was devastated when she learned that her 2 daughters would not be able to attend because of visa problems. Josh is doing well and he is pumped for his interview. I told him that it was more to test his heart and not his knowledge and then he was perfectly comfortable with it. Brother Deville is becoming more and more active as the weeks go on. He is so helpful when we teach, and I can see the fire coming back into his eyes.

I love you all. Thank you so much for your support. I hope you all have a great week. Hugs and kisses from India!

Elder Sorensen

September 6, 2010 Update

2010-09-06T10:13:00.003-05:00

Namaste,

Something happened that was of the most importance to me this week, but may seem a little less important in America. This was the first time in 14 months that I had pizza!!! Yah! And I went big and got a pork pepperoni pizza. I was happier than that fat kid in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! I was only gonna eat half and save the rest for later, but I couldn’t control myself. It was so yummy.

Another good thing was more of a mental boost. We got permission to set Giri and Lalitha for baptism! Well, that’s only half the battle. The other half was challenging them. lol. Challenge? Giri was the most accepting person of baptism ever. We challenged him and his wife for September 25th and both accepted! Giri was bursting with joy, and for all the right reasons. I was also very excited. It has been a while since we have had someone set for baptism and this was a family that Elder Gervais and I worked with since the beginning. It’s always good to have someone set for baptism, and this family was a good boost when they accepted.

After Giri's appointment we went to teach the Deville family. Last time we tried to set Josh for baptism, but he said he didn’t know enough. Well, the next morning I studied about baptism and wrote down every question I have ever heard about baptism, added scriptures to support the answers, gave a brief explanation, and showed it to Josh. When I did he said, "Ok, this is all I need to know." We challenged him for October 16th, but his dad will be in Melbourne Australia. So we somehow ended up on October 3rd -good thing we don’t have conference that week! lol. Josh was really excited, but I don’t think anyone was more excited than his mother. She has been feeling really bad for being inactive and not teaching her kids gospel standards. But she is in the process of making it all better. I love their family so much.

This week I was studying about the Atonement and all that it does for us. Then my companion turned on the iPod and a song called "All About You" from one of the EFYs...I think...and the song talks all about how sometimes we think we are great and awesome. But for everything that is awesome or goodt about us there is something that Jesus did which was more important. The song goes on to say, “It’s not about me its all about You." As I pondered about all the things that the Savior did for us I thought, "Should it really be all that hard to do what He asks?" I thought about my personal life, and why I would make mistakes. Then I thought about the Savior and how much love He has for each of us. If He didn’t love everyone, then He would have gotten angry or been disobedient, and that would have ruined our Heavenly Father's plan. There would be no salvation; there would be no Atonement. There would be no eternal life. Everything that the Savior did was not for Himself, but was for us. I stand all amazed that Jesus was able to do it. I don’t know how He had such love. It has given me an added desire to serve Him until the end and to focus everything I do on Him.

This upcoming week will prove to be difficult. It seems like SATAN doesn’t want anyone to work here in Bangalore. There is a 10-day festival, Ganesh Festival, that will shut down the city. People usually go pretty all out for this festival. So Friday night, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday we will be stuck inside cleaning our flat. lol. We don’t know how long it will last, but at least I will be able to catch up on some sleep.

Thank you all for your support. Have a great week.

Hugs and kisses from Bangalore!
Elder Sorensen

July 21, 2010 Update

2010-08-23T13:33:00.001-05:00

Namaste,
This has been an eventful week! Last Thursday we found this Anglo-Indian couple named Dean and Beth. They immediately invited us in and were eager to learn more about the gospel, and what we thought about India. They thought we were pulling their leg when we told them we love India. They kind of wanna be American. They invited us back for the next day, and asked, "Are you affiliated with the Mormons?" I looked them in the eye and said, "We are the Mormons." They thought that was pretty cool. We pulled out a Book of Mormon and told them we would use scriptures from it and they got excited to see what it was about. When we finished the lesson they were in awe. They thought it was so wonderful that we have a living prophet today; they think it’s important that we don’t teach from our own knowledge, but God's. They were unable to come to church because Dean has some legal issues he wants to get sorted out first.

This has been a fun last 2 days with zone conference and interviews. President Funk just took a bunch of time to get to know us. I brought him all my photos and he got really excited. He asked me about what I am gonna do with my last 3 months and I basically told him all my goals and how I related them to football or to some sport. But the best part about zone conference is when all the other elders, from the rest of the mission, get to come and stay with you. Elder Chigurupati has been staying with us! He is awesome, and Chennai is doing really well. He gave me the phone last night, and said, "Talk." I was so happy to hear Donald and Pethal, 2 of the people who I worked so hard with to get baptized. Pethal said that they talk about me every day and in their prayers they always tell Heavenly Father thank you for sending us Chigurupati brother and Sorensen brother. Pethal is about to get a calling as YW teacher. Donald, like only he can do, said, "Brother, I am angry with you. Why didn’t you come to my baptism? I asked for you to baptized me. But instead I had to have Elder McKinley do it." I laughed at him, and he did too. Elder McKinley is one of the senior missionaries who helped us out a TON with getting him baptized.

Then, this morning, Leslie and Cheryl call!!!!! Oh how happy I have been! Leslie is doing wonderful. He hasn’t been hanging out with his old friends, and last night he did, and denied their request to drink with them. He still doesn’t have a job, but today and tomorrow he has interviews. Please pray for him! Even if you get this months later. Please pray for him. They were all so happy to be talking with me. Leslie is a teacher in Gospel Principles and in the YM. Cheryl is the YW first counselor. They are doing wonderful and are a great addition to the branch.

Time is less, and I gotta run. I love all of you. Thank you for your letters. I know that this is God's true Church. I know that the BofM is true. If you don’t believe it go read Jacob 5, or 2 Nephi 31. I love being a missionary. I know this is what He wants for all worthy young men. Hugs and kisses till next week.

Elder Sorensen

July 14, 2010 Update

2010-08-23T13:08:00.000-05:00

Wanaste,
That is a mix on WANACUM (Tamil), and NAMASTE (Hindi). The biggest news of the week is the change in momentum. Last night we met with a sister name Ashwini. Ashwini went out of station in June, and she challenged herself to read the entire Book of Mormon while she was gone. Sadly, she only got to Moroni, but promised to read it today! Ashwini is a Hindu and her father is also Hindu. She talked to him about getting baptized while she was in her native place. He agreed to do whatever she wanted so that she could be baptized. We met with the 2 of them last night and set a date for Ashwini to be baptized. She will be baptized on August 7th!! It was such an uplifting moment. I have been wondering why nothing seemed to be working. We had people to teach, but it seemed like Satan was working harder than ever to keep them from progressing. It has been really difficult in Bangalore, and I have been really discouraged. Now, however, the ball is rolling. "Give me an inch and I’ll take an eel." Now that the wind is back in my sail Bangalore will never be the same. It just takes one set to give you that boost you need.

On Monday night we met with Daniel and Amita; this was not a good meeting. Daniel was searching the Church on the internet, and you guessed it, he found a bunch of anti-Mormon literature. It was nothing new to me; I have heard all the points before. He just had a really hard time with the fact that God told Abraham to lie, but he feels that it was necessary, so he may be ok. He was really concerned about other stuff pertaining to the nature of God, like D&C 130:21-22. He still wants to meet, but I don’t know how much farther it will be able to go. He is into some deep waters.

In more uplifting news, Giri Babu came to Church again!! He is still very excited. This week we taught him about the Word of Wisdom, and committed him to keep it. He promised that he would never drink tea again. He has such a strong testimony already. We committed him to practice English every day for one hour. We did this by telling him to read his BofM in Telugu, while a member, Mary (they work together), read in English. I have seen this to be the most effective way for someone to learn English. On Friday we are going to set Giri with a baptismal date, probably the end of August, that way he can learn English! I love Giri. He is a great example of what it means to become truly converted.

Thank you so much for all of your support. I love getting letters and emails from all of you. Remember "Every member a missionary". I love all of you. Remember, this is Jesus Christ's Church, and we are his disciples.

Love,
Elder Sorensen

June 30, 2010 Update

2010-07-09T12:25:00.002-05:00

Namaste,

This was a very good week here in Bangalore. All of the really cool things happened on Monday, but that was also the day that we had to say good bye to President Nichols. It was a fun event filled with biryani and singing. Afterwards we had a lot of wonderful spiritual experiences. We first visited Daniel and Amitha; they are Jehovah Witness/Baptist background. We shared the gospel of Jesus Christ and answered some questions about the Book of Mormon. We were planning on setting them, but we ran out of time. When we were leaving Danny said, “You know what, instead of Monday, can you guys come on Thursday? I have lots of questions about which baptism is correct.” Sure enough, we are going over there on Thursday with plans to set him and his wife. While we were in the lift (elevator) I had the thought, “This family will be baptized.” It was so strong that I know he will accept the date on Thursday.

This just in, I finally got the photos from the baptisms of Donald and Pethal. They were the family that smoked and drank tea like no one else’s business. They are awesome! I am so excited. I got great news from my last area; Leslie Browne is getting a new job soon and he is going on lots of exchanges with the missionaries!!!!! Words cannot describe how happy I am!!!

Then, later on Monday went to visit a brother named Rajendran, his wife, Mary, and their son Jeevan. This was our second visit but our first time to teach. We taught about God and the Restoration. Raj said, “I thought they were all one. We believe in the Trinity, right dear?” lol. I am TIRED of people saying that. So we explained it and he said, “Huh, I never knew. What else don’t I know?” We then got to the apostasy and talked about how the people didn’t want to leave their traditions and they missed out on great blessings. When we shared about Joseph Smith his eyes got really big, excitement filled his body, and he said, “I really wanna know if this is true.” We invited them to pray and to come to Church. They committed to do both. He was hesitant about coming to Church because of his father at his church. I reminded him about what he said before about the apostasy and he said, “Alright, we will come. See you on Sunday.”

We really had a good week. Thank you for all of your prayers. I feel them, and appreciate them. Bangalore is a wonderful place; I am grateful to be serving here. I love the people, and He who sent me to teach them. Hugs and kisses from India!!

Love,
Logan
Happy Independence Day

July 7, 2010 Update

2010-07-09T12:15:00.002-05:00

Dear One and All,

This was an interestingly good week. It began with all the Bangalore Elders meeting our new mission president President Funk and his wife. They were shell shocked like anything else. It’s hard for me to believe that I was ever like that. lol. The meeting was small; nothing too exciting happened. All we did was sit in a circle and tell about ourselves and what we liked about our companion. After the meeting was over we had lunch. I got a huge beef burger, while everyone else ate lasagna...I was jealous. lol. That night we got a call from our zone leaders. Apparently President Funk decided to press the big red button on his desk and we were all on lockdown this Monday. The BJP had a huge bandh (strike) and those are usually when people die. SO, we were all told to stay inside.

While we were inside we had lots of time to write letters and go crazy. I had too much energy. I began running routes in our living room while my companion would throw to me from his study table. we also set up our living room so that we could play soccer with these little inflatable balls that we have. Needless to say, my companion still hasn’t beaten me. lol. I feel like the Netherlands - nothing can stop me! While we were in the midst of our letter writing we got a call from one of the assistants, he said, "President Funk will be coming to your companionship study tomorrow." It was really cool, until we noticed our apartment was trashed. We spent a few minutes cleaning, and I easily became side tracked with letters and soccer and anything besides cleaning. lol. Well, he did come, and it was an awesome study. We talked about a new investigator name Sam and how we wanted to set him for the baptism. He gave us valuable insights and taught us about some qualifications for baptism. He is an awesome mission president. I think he is going to do amazing things here. He told us that our companionship study was "exactly what it is supposed to be. I am very pleased." We think he is going to make my companion a zone leader on Monday....we will see.

We have been blessed with great investigators. Heavenly Father led 2 bachelors to us this week, Christo and Abi. They are both searching for who God is, and what He can do for us. They are awesome. I shared a very personal experience with them about Brian and I and how we knew that God loves us. I have only shared that experience about 3 times on my mission. I think these 2 brothers are gonna feel the Spirit and join the Church. They are only free on Saturdays, so I will have to let you know how our next meeting goes. They both committed to pray and ask Heavenly Father if He loves them. We have followed up with both of them, and both have said they know God loves them. We will set them for baptism soon. I love being a missionary. Nothing is harder (especially with UPC) but nothing has been more rewarding. Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. Hugs and kisses from Bengaluru.

Love,
Logan

June 23, 2010 Update

2010-06-29T13:20:00.001-05:00

Hello,

Well, I just wanna start of with a funny story. We taught an investigator about the Plan of Salvation, and he said, “Well, what about hell? I cannot accept this message if there is no hell.” So, I pulled out my picture of Calvin burning his butt off in hell, and I explained it to him. I said, “Only a few people like Cain and Judas go here because they had a perfect knowledge.” He replied, “Why does Judas go there? He repented. That’s why he hung himself. That’s what they teach in our church.” Well, he doesn’t believe in his church anymore because 2 20 year-old boys came over and taught him something that his pretty pastor knows nothing about. It felt good. Daniel, the investigator, is going to become a member soon. He is excited to see what else he doesn’t know because his former church did not have all of the plain and precious parts of the gospel.

On Sunday night I had an awesome, eye-opening, experience. We had a bunch on members lined up to come with us and meet our investigators. Well, everything blew up in our face and we were unable to meet with anyone. We decided that since our week was pretty successful thus far we would go a visit some less actives and some recent converts. The less active family that we visited was amazing. They told us all about how they were treated poorly and how the district president thought that the daughter was going with a married man. But, they said that they would come back to church if they could speak with the district president and he would say sorry. So we set it up and hopefully everything will go well. The daughter Preetha is 23 and just needed to cry. She loves the Church and the gospel, but her mom won’t let her go to church because of this incident. The mom only speaks Telugu and I think she likes us so much because we can speak Telugu.

The recent convert that we visited was Timothy. I really wanted to watch the Finding Faith in Christ DVD, so we did. Timothy broke down and told us about all these problems he is facing. He got a new job and is sad because he cannot come on exchanges with the Elders. He talked about how it’s difficult being the only member in his family and how he needed the DVD to help him stay positive. It was a touching appointment. That night I realized, not that I hadn’t before, how much Heavenly Father’s plan is more important than mine. He needed those people to be taught, and He sent us. I was grateful that my attitude about the night changed when I prayed at night, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

I love being a missionary. It’s been the greatest experience ever. I know that this is God’s true church, and that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was translated by the gift and power of God. Hugs and kisses from Bangalore!

Love,
Elder Sorensen

June 15, 2010 Update

2010-06-19T13:52:00.002-05:00

Namaskaram,

Well, this was an eventful week. My companion and I were both sick at the beginning of the week and we were worried that we would be able to catch up in the missionary work. Luckily, we were able to do so. It's not about how you start; it's about how you finish. We worked really hard and did everything that we could. In 3 days we were able to find 7 new investigators and get 7 member presents. Heavenly Father led us to good people too. We are excited about the upcoming weeks and the new investigators that we are working with.

One is a family that we found while looking through the potentials one day. The husband's name is Chandu and the wife is Vanitha. They are a young married couple, and they have one small child named Juju. They were dropped because they had some issues with getting to church, but when we called them they were all onboard for church. They were more than excited to have us over. When we went over there, we learned that the husband did something to his knee (I couldn’t really understand), and he is in a brace for another 6 months. He asked, "Will I still be able to take baptism if I have this brace on?” I told him that we will teach him some more and then we will discuss about the brace. They are a very humble family and very energetic. The son is a little demon though. Maybe it’s just cause he's a little kid. He climbs all over his dad's knee and jumps on it too...maybe that’s how it got messed up. Juju also likes to rip things...and he usually goes for our Book of Mormon...lol. We are going back over there tonight to try and find out if they will be able to be baptized, and if they have that desire, then we will set them.

In a meeting we had with a recent convert she was telling us about how she used to go to the church of God. And she then called it the Church of Satan. I held my laughter because it made me grateful that we aren’t the only ones who are called devil worshippers. She also calls everything, except this church, Satan worship. "If they don’t worship the true God, then who are they following?"

This is about all I got. The week was short due to sickness and we need to go. I love being a missionary. I hope everyone has a great Father's Day. I love you Daddy. Take care of each other and always remember to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). Hugs and kisses from Bangalore.

Love,
Logan

June 9, 2010 Update

2010-06-11T12:43:00.001-05:00

Namaste,

Well, this was a pretty uneventful week. My companion got sick on Monday, and he was asleep the whole day. Then on Tuesday, he was about 40% so we did very little. One of the few things that we were able to do was visit a less active family from Australia. The father was the youngest Bishop ever called in Aussie history. They have lived here for about 3 years and they have never been to church. But they came this Sunday after we visited them. The son Aaron has hair like Mike D., but bigger, and he has been coming to church for about one month. We decided to go see if the rest of his family was interested in coming back. Well, on Sunday his family of 4 came, all in suits, except the mom.

While we were there the father kept talking about how everything you find in Australia is better than anything you find anywhere in the world. He was joking, but it was fun. He knew we didn’t have much time, but he really wanted us eat some Beef Pie. It was so good, especially with ketchup. While we were there we talked with the family about how they liked church, and he said, “I never liked testimony meetings. People here also don’t know what it means to bear testimony.” I thought it was really funny. But he loved the rest of it and we will be going back over there on Tuesday and he is coming to church.

While I was there I learned something interesting about myself. Actually, I have had this suspicion for a while now. But, whoever I am around, Indian, Australian or Mexican, I always mimic the accent. lol I think it just comes from being a missionary in India, and you feel that no one will understand you unless you sound like them. So I had lots of fun talking like their family, with their family. But I only did it on a few words, and I don’t think that they really noticed.

This Saturday we had a baptism! Sisters Mary and Clara were baptized! They have been investigating for a few months. All I really did was teach tithing, do the paperwork and review the interview questions with them. I think my fun review really helped them to not be nervous. They are really awesome and are excited about their new membership in the Church. They have great fellowship, and hop a ride with Mary’s boss each week, so things are looking good.

I will write more when more interesting things happen. Sorry. I am grateful for the gospel, I know that it is the answer to any questions that we have. Heavenly Father loves all of his children, and He has a plan for all of us. We just have to accept it and not want our ways to be higher than his. I love you all. Hugs and kisses from India!

Love,
Logan

June 2, 2010 Update

2010-06-04T16:50:00.002-05:00

May 26, 2010 Update

2010-05-26T10:18:00.001-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

This was a bittersweet week; Leslie’s family is all ready for their baptism this coming Sunday. I was getting ready for it as well; my companion and I were really excited. On Friday night, about 1 hour after we visited Leslie, the Assistants called and told me that I am being transferred to Bangalore. I was so sad. I called President because he has let a few people stay back before, but he said that they really need me in Bangalore and that it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to leave my companion alone for 2 days.
When I broke the news to Leslie’s family, they were very sad, but Leslie soon put me in my place with, “The Lord has blessed us; He sent you. I know that He wants you to baptize another family somewhere in Bangalore.” That made me feel really good. So, on Sunday we took some photos with them, and on Monday during their interviews, we played cricket with all the kids. After their interviews Cheryl, who is very fond of me, said, “I asked if you could baptized me. I thought if I said that they would let you stay.” I told her, “We need to pray for another cyclone.” Her response was funny, “I have made the person saying family prayer do that for the last 3 nights.” How about that?

Even though things will be hard, I feel good about Bangalore. It’s not the same as the rest of the mission...they cannot wear their tags or contact people. They can only knock Christian doors. I am tired of teaching Christians! But everyone needs the gospel. I will probably finish my mission there, which won’t be a bad thing. I am excited for what the future holds there. I love being a missionary, no matter where I am.

Sorry this one is so short, I cannot think of much else except for all the sad goodbyes I have had to say. I love you all and I hope this letter finds you in good spirits.

Love,
Elder Sorensen

May 19, 2010 Update

2010-05-19T12:15:00.002-05:00

Dear Everyone,

This was a really good week! We had a lot of success with Leslie and his family. We taught a few of the commandments and they loved it. We went to their home and we helped them fetch their water from a pipe that comes out of the ground. We were afraid that this would keep them from being on time to church, but the water turned off at 8 a.m. and we weren’t really able to save them any time. All we did was relieve the daughter from her chores. While there we played with their cat and entertained the kids with stories. Then we all headed off to Church and they loved it! They got amazing fellowship from EVERYONE! Leslie would introduce himself, “Hello, my name is Leslie. This is my first time to the Church of Jesus Christ, and I hope to continue in this wonderful fellowship.” What a great thing for him to say?!?!? Then, another elder asked him, “Are the Elders teaching you nicely?” and Sheryl made me feel really good, “This Elder (pointing at me) is so sweet and kind. They are both doing really well.” Awesome! Tonight we are teaching them about tithing, and a few other small commandments, and then we are having lunch with them on Saturday. But, we are unsure about the lesson tonight because of the cyclone that is hitting Chennai. Usually we meet them outside in their front yard (no one else in our area has a yard), but their house will probably be flooded. This cyclone is really cool; I never thought that I would be able to experience something like this. The water is getting higher the longer I type.

That’s about all I got - nothing too exciting this week. I love you all. Thank you so much for your letters and support - it makes everything better. I hope y’all have a great week!

Love,
Logan

May 12, 2010 Update

2010-05-18T12:16:00.001-05:00

Dear Everyone,

This was a really good week. Even though I was really sick, the missionary work has been awesome! We have begun to make preparations for our Missionary Fireside. We will be watching Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration…ooohh…goosebumps. We were waiting to see if I got transferred. Good news is transfers will be postponed for 3 more weeks! The thing that I am most excited about will be the baptisms I will get to see!

On Thursday we went to visit Leslie and his family. They were receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we set them for May 30, 2010. The happiest of them all was Sister Sheryl - she was all smiles. Then when I turned to her kids and challenged them to be baptized, she was even happier! She thought that they would have to wait a few more years. Lucky for us they are above the age of accountability. They had the funniest doubt. Anyone who was/is a missionary has had people ask about being rebaptized. It’s a really big concern and it’s understandable. Well, Sheryl is smart and she said, “If I need to be rebaptized then do I need to be reconfirmed? We were already confirmed.”…I let it be silent. Then she said, “Alright, we will do it. Reconfirm us.” YES! We were shouting for joy when we left. We had to celebrate that night with a big thing of Maaza! Heavenly Father has really prepared them. The second time we went we taught W.O.W. and afterwards they said, “We were talking this afternoon about how to quit our vices, and what things were bad for our body.” The 3rd time we taught the P.O.S. afterwards Sheryl said, “This afternoon we were wondering if we would ever see our loved ones again…” she trickled off and you could see tears in her eyes. Then, Leslie said something I’ll never forget, “Brother, we lost a cat a few years ago. She was very fond of this cat. It’s good to know that she will see it again.” ARE YOU SERIOUS???? YOUR CAT! WHAT ABOUT YOUR SON!! She mentioned seeing her son again as we left. It was cool. Then, the 4th time, when we set them, Sheryl said, “This afternoon we were talking about whether or not we should be baptized into your church. I think we should.” I love them so much. And that will probably be the last baptism that I see in Chennai.
We are still working with Donald and Pethal…still! They are coming along. Donald committed to quit smoking by Saturday, and he has only smoked one cigarette since then. He didn’t make his goal, but he is doing awesome. They fed us pork and beef last night. Donald is hilarious. He hates pork. All but a few Indians believe that all pigs have devils in them. It has to do with Jesus casting the demons into the swine. I have to tell people, “What happened to all those swine? Are they still living? NO, they ran off a cliff and died. EAT IT!” Donald was making jokes about it all night and Pethal kept on giving it. She loves pork also. I was joking with him, “Why would you let your wife cook pork in your home? Don’t you know that releases the devils?” he laughed and she said, “He didn’t know I was cooking it.” They are preparing to be baptized on the 30th, but Pethal still thinks she needs more time. I just want them to hurry up and get baptized.
Mother’s Day was good. I called home on Monday. My companion got good news that his brother got married. His brother was one of the members who loved to come on exchange with us in Gajuwaka. The funny thing about being on the other side of the world is the 3 week lag. Everything that we talked about on Mother’s Day came in letterform the day after we spoke! But I still love letters.
Thank you for all of your prayers and your support. I feel your prayers and your love. Sorensens who read this update: have fun at the family reunion. Someone needs to jazz that thing up without me there. Although, Cajuns know how to party with or without their team winning the Superbowl! I love you guys!

April 7, 2010 Update

2010-04-08T12:54:00.001-05:00

Interesting story before I begin with the awesome spiritual experiences that we had. I was on an exchange with an elder in my district; his name is Elder Mehan. He was my follow-up trainer and luckily he is finishing his mission here with us. We were teaching someone about prophets and he kept throwing out names. I think he listed the most obscure Old Testament prophets he could. Well, his name is Joel, so I piped up, trying to be funny, and said, “Yeah, like Joel, he was also a prophet, he has one of the shortest books.” Then, under his voice he said, “It’s the best one. And,” he laughed to me, ”there’s also a prophet named ‘Reid.’” Afterwards we laughed about it and I asked, “Where is there a prophet named ‘Reid’?” he asked, “Don’t you read the Apocrypha? That’s where it is.” When I come home I will look for my name in the Apocrypha. It sounds cool.

This was a week unlike any other. We were really blessed by the Lord. It's not that He hasn’t blessed us any other weeks, but I felt more like I was aligned with His will and not my own will. In the beginning of the week, missionary work always seems to be a little slow, and this week was even slower. We faced lots of cancelled appointments, and we found a lot of people who had really hard hearts and didn’t want to hear about the gospel. So by the time that Thursday led around we were pretty worried. We only have one new investigator and 4 member-present lessons. These are VERY low numbers, especially for someone who is suppose to be an example. Well, after I murmured I decided that it was all part of His plan. Friday we found 7 new investigators. Saturday we found 3 new investigators. Sunday we found another family of 3! Heavenly Father blessed us for our hard work and perseverance. This week, we have been blessed for doing the small things, like talking with everyone, always finding and stuff like that. We have 13 new investigators already with 4 more families lined up for the weekend. I love how Heavenly Father tests you, and then gives the blessing. Often times as a missionary I think, “I am serving a mission. I should be rewarded for that.” I don’t realize that I am receiving blessings already (like my health…), and I need to do MORE to receive MORE.

More amazing than that is Donald and his progression. We visited him and his family on Sunday night. It was then that we challenged Donald to be baptized on May 2, 2010! He said, in his raspy voice, “Surely, brother, I will be baptized. Then, my family will see that change and they too will be baptized.” He is awesome. He is still smoking about 15 a day, but we have gone over some plans with him, and he is committed to quitting. “I don’t know when I will be able to quit, but I know it will be before May 2.” he said. I believe he will be able to quit. He choked up a little bit when he was telling his wife about his priesthood blessing. He is doing awesome; tonight we plan on setting the rest of his family. We committed his wife to go out on Saturday night, stare into space, think about all that God has done for her and then get on her knees and pray and ask Him if this Church and baptism are true. She would like to be baptized, but she wants to know if it’s true first. She has been in Ooty this week, so that’s why we told her to pray outside and look at the stars. Both of those are 2 things that she cannot do in Chennai. We have high hopes for their family.

I love you all. thanks for your support. Keep working hard to forward the work along. "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing." I love you!

Elder Sorensen

March 24, 2010 Update

2010-03-24T18:16:00.004-05:00

Hello Everyone,
This was an awesome week for missionary work. We found 10 new investigators and got 10 member present lessons, which has been something that we wanted to focus on. The district is still struggling to get people to church; it seems to be a problem all over the mission. I had to give them a little bribe. I told them if we meet our goals that I will buy everyone a cake and we will play Jeopardy or something.

I love being a missionary. My testimony grows everyday. The other day we were on a bus, the wrong one, and we had to get off in 20 seconds. I saw this girl with a cross on her neck. I didn’t want to talk to her because we were about to get off. Then, she whispers to her friend, "Jesus Christ." It really helped me to realize whose service I was on and who I represent. I love it. I ended up talking to her and she invited us over. We will see how it goes!

I realized that the Gospel just makes sense. We were teaching someone about tithing and how it is used to bless the members, whether or not they pay their tithing. It makes sense that God doesn’t play favourites, like most pastors do. He doesn’t care if you pay 100/- or one crore, you are going to be blessed, and HE loves you the same. I am grateful to know about the true Gospel, and I am grateful for my opportunity to serve Heavenly Father. I am especially grateful that I can serve Him here in India. I love this country.

Last Thursday we set up an appointment with an alcoholic named Donald. We have been teaching him for a few weeks and he talked about wanting to be baptized. He is always sober when we come, and he loves our visits. He HATES pastors, and anyone who comes in the name of Jesus. He feels everyone just wants to rag on him and he feels they all want money. He is literally a wreck. But, we went this time with Elder McKinley, Donald calls him McKinzie brother. Elder McKinley helped him to realize that he is addicted, and then helped him know how to stop. He committed Donald to go 3 days without alcohol. If he could do that, then we would know that Donald is not addicted anymore. However, the cool part was when Donald asked for a blessing. Mckinzie brother gave, and it was amazing. Donald got up and said, “Oh, something tingly happened. I cannot describe my feelings.” Then, we asked Donald to say the closing prayer, which he did. By the time he ended he was crying. I was about to cry. Donald prayed for help, and he prayed for us and his family. He is awesome. We left immediately and he was left all alone to ponder about what had happened. His wife noticed a change, he didn’t drink for 3 days and all he could talk about was how amazing Mckinzie brother is. He has a strong desire to be baptized. We just have to help him quit smoking now. I truly love being a missionary. This was the first time on my mission that I have seen a grown man cry. The spirit was incredibly strong. I look forward to more great experiences on my mission!

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers. I hope all is well.

Love,
Elder Sorensen

December 30, 2009 Update

2010-01-21T13:22:00.002-06:00

Dear Everyone,

This was an interesting week. I learned many things about myself, and I realized how much I have learned. It started by an interesting experience I had with an auntie. In prayers here, people like to mumble their own prayers and shout, especially the Pentecostal women. This one lady said her kids couldn’t come to church. So we talked for a while and they said they would come. My companion said the closing prayer, and immediately she began to mutter words and say things “in tongues.” I remembered a quote that went something like, “If you are on the Lord’s service, you are entitle to His Divine assistance.” So when I thought this, I wanted the auntie to shut up. I said in my mind, “God, silence this auntie.” And before I could even say Amen, she was quiet. It's nothing too special, or exciting, but I thought it was cool. It was something that I will be able to remember, and it will help me to rely on the Lord more.

I realized that you can’t know what our mission is really like. I have this culture of India book, and it describes the culture. I read it in the morning, and when we were going to our first appointment we turned a corner and realized that we were sharing our small lane with 7 HUGE buffaloes. One of them even charged us. That’s when I realized that a book cannot tell you how to avoid that, or what to do in the scenario.

I realized how much I have left behind. A lady was telling us that she was afraid to leave her church for a few reasons: she doesn’t know English, she was raised in that church, and her friends are there. I bore testimony and told her about how I left my home country, my language, my friends AND my family. She realized that our Church is correct, but she is afraid. I don’t know what else we can do. I love her family to death, but she fears the world more than the Savior.

We had a bit more luck with a new Roman Catholic family we are working with. They have met with us 3 times and we decided they needed to be set…mostly because we haven’t had anyone set for about 3 weeks. They accepted the date easily. Yesterday, before we came to meet them, the mother called and told us not to baptize them, but to come and do prayer. We went with a sister from the branch who was R.C. She was a huge asset; she helped so much. The father didn’t know his wife called, he said, “I still want to be baptized. Why are you talking about authority? I understand and I still want to be baptized on the 24th.” The wife said, “Absolutely no way.”, but her 2 sons are still excited. She is also afraid of what others will think about her if she leaves her church. Even though she was crying when she said that. We are pretty sure she knows the Church is true. I love you guys. Thank you so much for the letters and the support. I will see you all next Christmas.

Love,
Elder Sorensen

January 13, 2010 Update

2010-01-20T18:45:00.003-06:00

Wanacum~
Well, I made it safe and sound in Chennai. It is a really hot place, but I love it. As I got off the plane I noticed some differences about Tamil Nadu and my beloved Andhra Pradesh. Tamil Nadu smells funny to me. Now that I have been here a few days it’s normal, but still it was weird. The language is shorter, choppier, words that I cannot understand. I am doing a little bit better; I am taking notes and asking people what things mean. The problem is that Tamil seems more “blah blah” to me. It’s kind of hard to describe.

I have found that Chennai is the real Indian experience. When I first got off the plane, it was raining and it continued the full day. My companion was sick so we didn’t go out my whole first day. We have crappy water pressure in our flat, so that means we have to shower with a bucket. I enjoy it. I feel more Indian. The only time I take a bus is when I go to the train station. All of our travel is done by trains. We have a monstrous area, and we can travel 45 minutes by train and still not leave our area. I love the trains. The last thing that makes Chennai Indian is the heat. It hasn’t been under 95 a day that I have been here. It's so hot, and it's so sticky, but I love Chennai. I am so excited to be here. Hopefully I will continue to see success as we get the people who we have set baptized, and the people we are finding progress towards baptism.

Other than that nothing great has happened. I am sorry this is short, but I have less time. I love y'all. Thanks for the letters and the love. I hope all is well.

Love,
Elder Sorensen

January 20, 2010 Update

2010-01-20T18:13:00.003-06:00

Namaste!

Apparently there was an Elder Sorensen who served in this very same branch about 12 years ago. This week at church a bunch of the members asked me if I was his brother or some sort of relation. He baptized about half of the branch at that time. There are a lot of old time members - people who have been members for about 12-20 years. It reminds me a lot of Hyderabad, except there isn’t as many faithful members here. A lot of them have been inactive for 10 of those 20 years. But, now they are all doing fine and Chennai is getting a building - something that Hyderabad and Rajahmundry have had for years. The longer I stay in Chennai the more I come to realize that my mission will end. I am kind of sad, but excited at the same time. I know it has to end, but I’m kind of at that point where I can see the finish line. It is still far away, but something about being here makes me think I will actually have to leave.

One thing that I noticed about my area in Chennai is that it has over 2 million people. This is now my fourth area - out of five - to have more than 2 million people living in it. President Nichols said, on our first day in India, “Some of you may have times when you will be in an area that has more than 1.5 million people. That is the average size of a mission in the States. Then, some of you will be put in areas that have more than 2 million people living in them. That is bigger than any area of any mission in the states.” That is pretty neat to think about. It's very hard, considering the restrictions that come from the Hindus and the lack of English, but Heavenly Father seems to always have people prepared. The ways are not always the same, but He does prepare people. President Nichols also reminded us a few zone conferences ago that “No one who lives in your area can truly come unto Jesus Christ and follow the gospel of Jesus Christ, except through you! If anyone wants to live in the kingdom of God, if anyone wants to live with God, if anyone wants to be with God, then it has to be through you.” He usually does this to drive home the point that we need to remember our purpose and work hard.

We set a new mission goal for 600 convert baptisms. President Nichols said this is because he has such great faith in such great elders. We haven’t had 600 baptisms in this mission since the time when Bangalore and Delhi split into 2 missions. We haven’t had any American missionaries come for about 9 months and we only have 6 Indian missionaries who have come since that time. Remember what President Monson asked us to do, “Pray for areas in which our missionary efforts are limited, or restricted.”

I love you all! I am very grateful to be serving the Lord. I know He is a part of it. I know HE loves His children in every part of the world. I love the Gospel, and I am so grateful for it. Thank you for you letters, and all you support, and thank you for making fun of my Indian accent.

Love,
Elder Sorensen

Logan's Testimony

2010-01-14T19:35:00.002-06:00

Keep your fingers crossed. Kaycee has been our dutiful blog updater until now. When she got a job (YEAH!!!) her blog time diminished greatly. She's still teaching piano and helps me with Algebra for Burke as well. So I'm giving it a go.

For those who don't know, Seminary is a religion class that our teens attend at 6 a.m. everyday they go to school.Each year they study a different text of scripture. This year it's been my blessing, along with my good friend, Staci Dansie, to teach these amazing young people from the Book of Mormon.

Prior to beginning the year, I asked each of the missionaries serving from our ward to write their testimony of the Book of Mormon along with their favorite scripture then send it to me. Our youth have been friends with each of the young men that are currently serving. I thought this would bring more meaning to the study this year.

Logan sent a dvd that had not only his testimony but also testimonies of people he has baptized, his companion and other members of his branch. I hope to be able to post them all over the next few weeks and catch up the blog.

It's interesting that he is so hard on himself. To hear him talk, he was some awful kid. I more than anyone know what a handful he was. But I also saw his potential since the day he was born. Now he's living up to that potential by loving and serving as the Savior wants him to do.

It was great to talk to him on Christmas day. We had the best Christmas we've had in a long time. Probably, because we're all excited he'll be home next year. He does sound just like an Indian now. It's pretty funny. He's still sick. But it's ok. We know he's in the Lord's hands.

He finally (after 9 months) was transferred. Pres. Nichols didn't want to move him from his doctors. Logan received word before Christmas to prepare himself and his doctor because he would be leaving. He hopped on a plane last week and is now serving in Chennai. The first thing he told me this week during email time was, "I LOVE being a missionary". Those are five of the best words a Mom could hear.

Hope you enjoy his video. Check back over the next while. I'll try to update. Leave a comment about his accent and testimony. I'll forward them onto him. He loves to hear the comments.

Cheree

The forty-seventh week...

2009-10-07T10:56:00.005-05:00

Birthday
I had a good birthday. We had some cake and 5 baptisms in our district! Red Cherry Bakery made me the cake. lol. I was going to buy it but my companion did...he is a great companion. He kinda reminds me of KC. He shows love by buying me things. Sister Nichols, the office couple and Elder Mehan all called me on my birthday!! It was cool. Elder Mehan was staying in hyderabad at the time, it brought back some memories. Swathi, the first girl I baptized in Gajuwaka, told EVERYONE at church that it was my birthday. She dragged them to me and made sure every member shook my hand and wished me a happy birthday. It was sweet. One of our auto drivers Naidu brought me 3 apples and a rose for my birthday. He even took us to Church for free.

Illness
The sickness is there...and it's having a blast dancing around in my stomach. The meds don't make anything go away...they are supposed to make the pain less - which I think they are doing. I am very skinny - I am walking on sticks. (his legs are skinny - get it?)

Is chicken the meat you would have gotten all the little bones lodged in your throat? Everyone is having a hard time figuring that one out.

It probably was chicken. At the time I hadn't had beef in a while, and I hadn' had fish in a while... or mutton...so probably chicken.

The Work in India
We still have no one set...but we are doing really well at challenging people. We are going to a few homes to set people tomorrow and Friday. The week was good - nothing too exciting.
We are going to this new place called Steel Plant. It is far away and it is a jungle. We are meeting lots of new people and working on getting them to church. The Branch President lives out there, and he is helping us out a lot.

I was thinking the other day, when you leave Visak where do you think you will go?

I predict the last year of my missoin will be spent in Bangalore and Chennai. Those are the 2 biggest cities left for me. Ii need to stay somewhere I can get my meds I need - and if neccessary treatment. Coimbatoire doesn't offer those things. Bangalore has less restrictions now..I don't know what they are, but they had the most baptisms last month.

You wanna know something cool about the church here in India? Out of all the requests for new buildings this year, in the asia area only 5 were approved - 4 were in our mission!! Sri Lanka, Visak (we are getting a chapel!!!!!) Chennai, and Bangalore. That's sweet! All of them are going to be stake center size. It is way cool. This Sunday, before we watch Conference, President Nichols is going to announce the organization of 3 new districts in our misssion - Visak, Chennai, and Coimbatiore - adding to the Hyderabad and Bangalore districts. The members all over India are pioneers. It's difficult, and sometimes all we can do is watch, but I love being a part of it.

I was sitting in Sacrament meeting this week, looking at all of our members, and I thought, "The 2 year service that we do is nothing compared to what these people have to sacrifice." They leave family, friends, jobs, education, eveything (sometimes) because they know of the Restored Gospel. It feels really great to be a part of these people's lives and help strengthen them and help them progress towards the Celestial kingdom. I have been reading a lot about MY PURPOSE in Preach My Gospel this week, and I like a quote by Elder Oaks - "We don't baptize or proclaim the gospel to increase church numbers or build bigger buldings. We do it so that others can have the promised eternal life which we know is possible."

The forty-sixth week...

2009-09-30T12:09:00.006-05:00

Zone Conference
Interviews were the bomb. I talked to President about a few things. I felt so good. I was so pleased with our interview. He is very pleased with me. He said, "I have interviewed many of your leaders and everyone who has served with you and gone on exchanges speaks higher of you than almost any other missionary."

Monsoons!!!
Since email me last week, it has NOT stopped raining. I think only 3 hours I have seen the sun this week. I have been soaked. I am working hard to keep my shoes dry. They are doing their job!

Teaching
No one is even set for baptism. We are having a hard time progressing people. We have lots of investigators, but not much progressing. We are gonna set some people this week.

Birthday - October 4th
My companion bought me new fitted shirts. The difference in the shirts I had and the ones I have now...is amazing - night and day. I have no big birthday plans. Maybe we will eat some beef curry. I haven't thought about what we may do. We have been busy. I am excited to see my packages!! I will buy new pants with my birthday money...but my suit is way too big. I am constantly told I need to get a new one...but I don't wanna spend $60 on a suit. (just $60?!!?!)

Letter standings (Mom's really in the lead though because she emails at 1am every week!)
1. Kiki- 25
2. Larky- 16
3.Dad-15 (was tied for #2 until the upset this week, lol.)
4. Smayla- 12
5 Gavin-11
6. Mom- 10
7. Burke- 5
8. SKittles-4
9. Chance- 3

If you want to join the running for most letters - write Elder Sorensen a letter!

Elder Reid Logan Sorensen
India Bangalore Mission
Anjali Plaza, 2nd Floor
493 C.M.H Road, Indirangar
Bangalore 560 038
INDIA

The forty-fifth week...

2009-09-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

The forty-fourth week...

2009-09-19T06:47:00.001-05:00

The forty-third week...

2009-09-19T06:46:00.002-05:00

Logan got a new companion this week - Elder Cunningham. He's also from Texas and played football too!

The forty-second week...

2009-09-19T06:37:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I want to start by saying “Thanks!” I am very thankful for your prayers and support of my family. My health is continuing to improve – as much as it can! I’m still working hard through it all! Our mission baptized 72 people this month! I enjoyed hearing all about the progress of the work at zone conference in Hyderabad . President Nichols said that we haven’t even peaked. The picture from this week is one of my favorites – 9 people dressed in white! I got to baptize the little girl Pryanka – she’s the one waving.

I really admire people here for being pioneers. It would be impossible for me to leave my comfortable church and go to one that only uses my second language. Often, people have to travel for 3 hours to go to church. It’s amazing! People literally have to leave all their family and friends to join the church. It’s a great strength to my testimony, but it makes me wonder why people won’t travel an extra 2 minutes to church. No problem - being a pioneer is hard. We have had people kicked out of their homes when their parents find out that they are baptized, and then the branch really helps and supports them. I will miss it when I come home.

I have a way strong testimony that missionaries will be more effective when they receive referrals. I challenge you to open your mouth more to people and give the missionaries referrals. Do you accept? If you do I promise tons of blessings. One week last month, we found 23 investigators and 17 were referrals. It’s the fast and effective way to do missionary work. Try and share a message with...someone... there are so many people all around. Look for people, keep praying, and talk to everyone! People may have had a recent death in the family, or a recent birth - these are all excellent opportunities to share the Plan of Salvation. Maybe you will be talking to someone and you may feel prompted to ask them if they know where they came from, where they are going, and why they are here. Just some ideas. It takes time to get used to and it takes a lot of FAITH!!! My best advice is keep praying for opportunities to share and courage to act when they come (that’s what Elder Bednar said) and most important - don’t let fear sneak in.

Elder Sorensen

The forty-first week...

2009-09-19T06:34:00.002-05:00

The fortieth week...

2009-09-19T06:33:00.001-05:00

The thirty-ninth week

2009-09-19T06:29:00.001-05:00

Sorry folks! It's been a long time since we've posted anything. Life has been a little crazy round here! I figured since I couldn't sleep this morning that I would post some pictures from the past month. When I have some more time this week, I will post the emails and updates that accompany the pics.

Ode to Big Brother

2009-09-16T01:36:00.003-05:00

Gavin had to write a 5 line poem about a family member today for a writing assignment. Thought you all would enjoy it.

Logan
Loveable Logan
His mouth that moves
Speaking the words of the Lord
My brother

There are times where being a homeschool Mom and the Mom of a missionary make me want to do the Happy Dance. For at least five lines of school, today was one of those times!!

Hugs to all,
Cheree

P.S. Gavin is off to the Jeopardy Audition on Oct. 3rd!! We'll keep you posted. It's Kaycee's dream to be on Jeopardy. I guess all those times watching it with her are paying off for him, lol

Update on the Boys Health

2009-08-17T22:37:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's taken so long to update everyone on Logan's health. It's hard to get a real grasp on how he is doing when we only get a few lines of email once a week. It's even more difficult when you consider he's still a 19 year boy.

So this is what we know. To quote him, "American missionaries deal with doors being slammed in their faces everyday. Indian missionaries deal with being sick their whole missions. No biggie." True Logan. Gotta love him. He probably will be sick his whole mission and beyond. But he is doing better. He says he's no longer worried about having to leave India. The mission president spoke with him last week. Neither he nor Logan seem to think he'll be coming home early at this point. This is excellent news.

We of course know this is because of the continuous prayers of friends and family that love him. I received an email from a Senior couple serving in his area. I have reread it several times. It's wonderful to hear even a few words from someone confirming what I have felt in my heart. I thought I'd share them with you all as they give a sense of how he is doing. (the reference to funds is because his bank was bought out, even in India he's affected by the banking crisis)

Dear Sister Sorensen,

We are Elder and Sister Nielsen serving in Vishakhapatnam where your great son, Elder Sorensen, also serves. He called us this morning asking us to help with a problem he is experiencing getting funds. He asked us to write and ask you for the 10-digit number. He cannot get it here.....he needs to get it from the USA.

Elder Sorensen tells us that he is feeling much better as of late. He attributes his improved health to his medication and to the fasting and prayers from family and friends back home. He is a great Elder to work with. He is doing a wonderful job as a missionary. He is always upbeat and good to be around. When he does English class he has the students in the palm of his hand and they learn so much. You can be proud of him! We are too.

Elder and Sister Nielsen

Logan has been put on a regement of different medications and been given some strict dietary restrictions which include no dairy (it's killing him), no spicy food ( he says that's impossible in India so he tells the members he has holes in his stomach so he can't eat their food ) and not to drink any unfiltered water (which he says is impossible because it's at least 107 degrees with 100 percent humidity at ALL times). Howard says his diagnosis will include life long flare ups but he will figure out how to manage it.

Words can not express how grateful our family is for each word of prayer and the fasting that occurs on his behalf. Howard & I have felt that power as it has brought us much peace about his welfare and as these fine missionaries confirm he's still plugging along. He still has 14 months to complete his mission. So keep praying and if it is the Lord's will, Logan will keep serving.

Love to all,
Cheree

The thirty-eighth week...

2009-08-06T00:07:00.000-05:00

The thirty-seventh week...

2009-08-06T00:06:00.001-05:00

The thirty-sixth week...

2009-07-27T18:44:00.003-05:00

The branch had a missionary leave this week. He is going to be serving in the India Bangalore Mission. That is the majority of the pictures from the this week.

All the native elders we have are from the India Bangalore mission. They just can't serve in their home city.

Illness and Special Fast
We all told Logan about the special fast we were planning to participate in. As y'all know he has been sick.

I heard about the fast. It's really cool. I was very excited.

His thoughts on the illness:
If you know what movie this is from I will be very impressed -

"Hang in there, Tommy."
"Oh, I'm hangin'. I'm hanging"

Power Rangers - the end scene when Adam, not Tommy sorry, is biting the big Ivan Ooze on the tail and being flung around like a rag doll. I am always random - but I do love me some Power Rangers.

We have been a bit side tracked because of the sickness, and finding has been rough, but we have some investigators. The biggest thing is that we have 5 people preparing for baptism on August 2nd.

Swathi is having some family problems, but she is rock solid - and she loves church. Her testimony is coming along strong. Another 3 - David, Rahul, and Dilip - need to give up their tea. Vinesh is ready - he is really faithful and wants to change.

The thirty-fourth week....

2009-07-21T14:32:00.004-05:00

The thirty-fifth week....

2009-07-21T14:32:00.003-05:00

The thirty-third week...

2009-07-03T12:54:00.002-05:00

The thirty-second week...

2009-06-26T15:07:00.002-05:00

I had a great week. We had lots of success. We have 0 baptisms...but no problem - we are working hard and will be rewarded. Just like Aunt Amee said...I leave my mark. I missed sending out my letters a couple of weeks - but i havent gotten anything in a while. Hopefully some will come today! The best thing this week was our power going out last night at 8 pm! Then it came on when I was saying my night prayers! I was very happy. hen it went off again at 9ish - but no problem. My favorite thing about Gajuwaka is the size and the heat - both are HIGH!!! We found 16 new investigators this week. I was way excited. 3 of them are about 300 lbs - which will be interesting if they are baptized. lol. We met some really good christians the other day. They all have bible names, and they all love our message. Better part-they have a calander of Hilary Duff in their home. It does make it hard to teach, but I will be fine. The funniest thing this week was this exchange we had last night. We got bunked a few times. We took the member to this crazy family and found out that they are strong investigators. The daughter is flirty, but they are calling themselves and their children Sorensen and Sakamaki! lol. Their names are Sunitha, Sujatha, David, Rahul, and Dilip. They will be set with a date next week. The Magi family is getting baptized on the 5th! I am going to see them today. We are also going to buy beef! I am learning how to make curry. I am pretty good.

Other investigators
Vijay - he is a stud, but has college on Sundays. Joshua is having some rough times with his Pastor. David Wesley is reading the Book of Mormon and we plan to set him soon. Another family is Indira, Keyshore, Rutnam, Kiran, and Sonia- they have read, not prayed, and not received an answer. We want to set them but they are still confused about our message and about their church. That's about all that are progressing.

Companion
How are you and your companion getting along? Is he a hard worker?

We are doing well together. We enjoy our time together. We are talking a lot more. We never had pillow talk, but now we do. He is a hard worker. He is pretty tolerant wth me. Usually I don't like to talk too much, but he doesn't like to talk at all - so it's kinda hard. He is open to me now. I think it's all good.

Illness
Logan mentioned a medical procedure last week in an email to dad, but didn't explain or elaborate. Needless to say, Mom and Dad were concerned and bothered! He finally cleared a few things up this week.

They found a few ulcers. They don't know what caused it. I don't think it's the spice - it's been a constant in India. I am taking a few meds right now. The anesthesia doctor was a female and I accidentally made her think I wanted to make out. lol. She even held my hand! lol. I am still kinda losing weight - slowly now! My weight is about 195. I feel bad most all the time - but no worries. I have clean water all around me - in my flat, inside shops, in some homes. I am fine. Don't worry. The area is a desert, very rural, food is the same, and water is a little cleaner - it's less polluted here.

The thirty-first week...

2009-06-17T18:24:00.004-05:00

I am a transfer pro. I shifted on Thursday - the new flat is brand new but it's crap. It's my least favorite. My new companion is Elder Sakamaki. He is from America but he is full Japanese. He likes cars, has no girlfriend, he got to the misson at the same time as my last comp, and he likes to teach the whole lesson. I like my new companion. He doesn't like my music, but no problem I will slowly desensitize him. I listened to "Everything" this morning. I got 0 letters this week. (I guess that's his way of saying he'd like to get more mail)

Naturally I am feeling better. I am doing a better job at not drinking unfiltered water. I am taking a TON of pills...only 3...but no problem. My new area reminds me of Htown. It's big and has no boundaries. . It's about 45 minutes travel time and it's not too slumsy. Everyone speaks English. We have a lot of rich people in our area... I mean it's huge! We had an appointment last night at 6 pm. The thermometer inside the house said 102! That's stupid! I am in a desert area now - it's very dusty and very sunny. We don't have the big city pollution to protect us from the sun, so I have been sweating challa! We are about 1 hour out from the Bay of Bengal. It's really funny - we have MOUNTAINS in our area. It's pretty bad. A lot of people live on the mountains - making it a nice sweaty hike to get there. I have hit the pillow hard every night in Gajuwaka! The branch is small. The girls here are way flirty and touchy...enough said.

What do you do about the flirty touchy girls?

I flirty touchy them back. lol.

(notice how Mom just ignores this...)

How many in the branch?

This week was amazing...we had to actually get more chairs and we had people standing - but still only about 50 people! lol. We are building a new sacrament hall upstairs. I don't really touch the girls back. I just giggle and smile. (Thanks for clarifying!)

I just found out that the Magi family, the 4 who were set when I left my last area, are reset for a different date. I was worried about handing them over. I didn't really have faith in the ZL to be able to handle them. Oh well.

Funny Story from this week

We were walking down the road the other day and this kid was chanting some telugu, then all of the sudden he starts singing, "My humps my humps my humps my humps. my lovely lady lumps check it out." I was laughing so hard I almost tinkled my pants!

The thirtieth week...

2009-06-17T17:52:00.002-05:00

~Namaste,

I am transfering to Gajuwaka, 3rd branch, and I will be leaving behind a name and a fame which cannot be slain. I was loved my my people, and those whom I served. no problem, IT'S ALL GOOD! President gave me permission to come back to 1st branch for the baptisms of Sailu, Veena, Girish, and Lavanya. I talked to the district leader and he said I will for sure be doing the baptisms. I am way excited. When we told them that I too was leaving they began to cry very much. They said they would cry if Castagno left, but they thought I would stay. They said they would come to 3rd branch, but I told them to stay in 1st. They almost brought me to tears. We are going to visit them tonight and teach them about living prophets. I find that people who learn about prophets early in their conversion will stay stronger. I love the people in my area, I will miss them, but I will do my best.

As you can see we had a baptism this week. It was the first in Visak 1st since March 15, 2009. Ravi Prakash and Saraswathi are amazing. They were so excited for their baptism. We went to their home and we found that she would have to have surgery on Sunday morning. Uh oh! We talked to them and they moved it back. It was cool - she wouldn't be baptized for another month if she had the surgery. Currently she is actually being operated on. During the interview they both said, "I want Elder Sorensen to baptize me." It was cool - but our district leader felt that my companion should be able to baptize one of them, even tho its not what they want. Saraswathi was baptized once - by me! It was a trademark Elder Sorensen baptism; she was under the water for 1/2 a second and she was out (she was even lifted off the ground a little bit-its happened in all my baptisms!). Ravi Prakash, however, didn't really seem to be comfortable with Elder Castagno...it took 6 tries! It was Castagno's first time. He almost dropped him all 6 times. Ravi just didn't wanna get his hair wet. It was awesome. After we went to their house, that night, and we had dinner. There we broke the news that both of us would be gone. It was a very sad night. They were my favorite family in Visak 1st branch.

I went to see my new area. The Elder who is there will be taking my area. We have just been showing each other investigators and sweet members - but lemme tell ya, I thought the Visak city was hot, NO CHANCE! Gajuwaka is so much hotter. There is no ocean breeze, there is less pollution to block the sun, and it's more of a desert. It was bad - but I am excited for the new area - I saw the church - it's small - but I will do my best, and I WILL leave the area better than I found it. While we were there we met with 2 potential investigators. They soon became investigators as we shared about the Plan of Salvation. They are Hindu, and life after death really intrigued them. I am very hopeful about these two - they will be able to strengthen each other and help each other develop in the gospel. The only thing that I found to be negative about my new area is the lack of places to eat. I will surely miss the food in 1st branch - hopefully I can rely on the members a little more out there.

I love y'all! I miss you chawla! You are way sweet! I will send you some more pics also!

~Elder Sorensen

The twenty-ninth week...

2009-06-09T13:59:00.003-05:00

Namaste~

One more week down and so many new adventures to report on. This was another good week here in the V-shack. We set Girish, Veena, Sailu, and Lavanya for baptism on June 21st. I am very excited. We had a way spiritual lesson with them and we committed them and they all are ready. The son, Girish, is usually called Lucifer in his home. This is b/c he will never pray or go to church. But in the 7 weeks we have known them he has prayed 3 times and he has been to church 5 times. We told the family his new name is “Michael”. Then, we had to have a lesson about how Lucifer was defeated, and how Michael is a way cool angel. Now, they think that they have to change their “Indian” names to “Christian” names. That is a whole different lesson. Their family is doing well. We were finally able to take a family over there, 6 weeks after we met them. We brought over the YW 1st and 2nd counselors, they just happen to be mother/daughter. They were excellent fellowship; they invited the mother to church - something that we have been unsuccessful in doing. They also were really good teachers and helped us out a lot. To get their family excited about reading the Book of Mormon we told them, “whoever is farthest when we come back will get a big chocolate.” We called them last night and I could hear Lavanya yelling, in the background, “Brother, Veena and Amma are hogging the 2 Telugu copies. It’s not fair.” Even if it’s only for candy, I am happy they are reading.

Sunday night we went to Ravi Prakash’s home. He and Saroswathi are rocking the house. Ravi has a bit of a hard time reading, so Saroswathi reads to him while he listens. It was sweet. They really love each other. I even found out that they thought they had to buy their own baptism clothing, so Saroswathi, a major shopper, bought Ravi a bright white shirt and a shirt to wear afterwards. She is making him buy the white pants though, lol. While we were there we went over the baptism interview questions and they were having a blast. She thought she wasn’t going to be ready, but she is on fire. She knew all the questions, and she even read them from my planner. Ravi wants to serve a mission when he is older. They said that they want a branch in Narciputnam, which is Saroswathi’s village. We have been teaching her nephews and nieces that are in town, and I had a dream that Ravi and Saroswathi would baptize their family and bring them to the gospel and a branch would be formed. It was way cool. Ravi said he had the same dream - out of the mouth of 2 witnesses. They are so prepared to make a difference in their life and the life of the members here in Visakhapatnam. We still have to do all of their paper work and their interview in the 2 days we have with them when we get back from Hyderabad.

Nothing else is too exciting. I had a 13 hour train ride to Hyderabad. It was way fun. I took lots of pics. I will send most of them home. I love Hyderabad. I feel like I am home, and it's always good to see all the people whose lives were changed for the better. I miss them, but I am excited that we will be able to see each other on the other side of the veil.

Thanks for all of the support and love, both to me and for my family. Keep the letters coming.

~Logan

The twenty-eighth week...

2009-06-09T13:33:00.002-05:00

Namaste~

This week I determined that when I return to the U.S. I will not be able to speak English. I had a dream that someone caught Rainbow Trout in a puddle at Wal-Mart. I was starving and he was selling them 3 for 300/-. I tried to bargain with him - it’s a very common thing to do here - but it didn’t work. Now I am afraid when I return I will be bargaining for everything. Plus, I already know I don’t use the same words, phrases, or pronunciation - everyone will think I am a loon. My words are different and my accent would throw people off. Hopefully when I come home I can lose the Indian in me, but still keep that relaxed feeling that comes from being in India.

One thing that I found in my studies this week that made me laugh was 2 Thessalonians 3:1. Churches just misread it. They thought the apostles were saying “Pay” for me, when really they were saying “Pray” for me. That’s been my new head of attack this week. “Does you pastor ask you to pay for his car?”

Santosh was supposed to be baptized this week…notice I say supposed to. He passed his interview, which is good, considering he has investigated the church for 1 year. Elder Nixon came out and said he passed, but then Santosh asked,”Brother is the church in Vijewada?” Apparently he is going to college in 3 months and if he does he won’t be able to attend church. So we are holding off on the baptism until we can get him into a college somewhere that has the true church.

We met with this wonderful family of 10, the father’s name is Keyshore and the mother’s name is Susheela. Both speak amazing English and are very posh. We were teaching their family about the Book of Mormon and they loved it. We came back another time and they told us that something came up and they will be gone for a few months. They loved our message!!!! I was bummed. But, the wife will be coming back and she wants to learn more. So we will have to find a way to teach her while her husband is gone.

Ravi Prakash and Saroswathi are preparing for their baptism. They are very excited. We had a very spiritual lesson with them this week. We reviewed about Word of Wisdom and we also talked about temples. They lost a daughter 17 years ago. They really are excited about being with her again, and I am way excited for them. But that is all for this week. Nothing too exciting, except its getting very hot! I love you all. Thanks for the letter!

Elder Sorensen

The twenty-seventh week...

2009-06-09T13:25:00.002-05:00

Namaste~

So this week is going to be short! I found a really cool buffet this week! It’s called the Grand Bay Hotel. It’s the richest place in Vizac and it’s delicious. I was 197 lbs, and in the last 3 days I went up to 204. No problem. I am going to have to cut back - it’s expensive and it’s too fattening. I can’t have my dad beat me in the weight program.

We took over a new area called KGH this week, no one was using it, so we decided to enjoy it. It's full of slums, but we also have a lot of wealth. It's really sweet. We are teaching a neurosurgeon and his wife, who is going to be some kind of surgeon. I don't know what kind. We are having a baptism this week. The brother’s name is Santosh, which means happy, and he has been investigating the church for 1 year. He is a really nice, very smiley brother. He is only 17 and his Hindu father doesn’t want him to “take the baptism,” but we got permission from our mission president to go ahead and baptize him.

We had our movie night/missionary fireside. It was AWESOME! We watched the Prince of Egypt. I missed movies, a little bit, but I gained a stronger testimony of how prophets are just men, especially the ones like Moses who had no predecessor. I also like the burning bush part, when Jehovah scolds Moses. But, quickly right after He reproves him with such an amazing amount of love. I really felt the Spirit a lot. Like the parting of the Red Sea. But, the underlying question in the district has been, “after the parting of the sea…how did they build a calf?!!!!”

That’s about it from my life. I forgot my planner that has all my doings in it. I love you all and thanks for your help and letters! Hugs and kisses from India!

The twenty-sixth week....

2009-06-09T12:37:00.001-05:00

Jamming in Jelly

2009-06-06T22:40:00.007-05:00

While watching "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" today, I was enticed by an advertisement for the new Chicken Burrito at Taco Bell. I convinced my brothers to make a run to the border with me (really it wasn't THAT hard...). When we went out the car Gavin said "There's no where for me to sit!" (Mom had been couponing this morning and stocked up on some cereal....)

We quickly emptied a spot and set off in Grape Jelly (that's the name of my car) to get some cheap Mexican goodness. Upon our return, Mom asked the monkeys to unload the back seat and put all of the cereal in the garage. About 30 minutes later, Mom asked me where the boys were. I looked out the front door to see where they went, only to find them Jamming in Jelly. They had the radio blasting (the windows were up and I could hear it across the street!) and were lip synching along to a couple of our favorite songs. Later on this evening I discovered that not only were they being cute, they were also being silly and had recorded their jam sessions. The results had to be shared with the world. And so without further ado.....the world premier of the first 2 episodes of "Jamming in Jelly" starring B & G......pure Sorensen greatness....

and yes we do have TV in Texas!

The twenty-fifth week...

2009-05-06T18:41:00.004-05:00

Namaste~

How was the week? Well, mine was really good. These last few days have been the first in Visak that I have gone to bed thinking, “I enjoyed being a missionary today.” I have been on exchange with Elder Nixon and he has really been able to help me in my companionship. So I think I am excited again.

I am down to 91.2 KGs, which equals to 200.7 lbs. which is good, but if I get any smaller I am going to worry.

A quick summary of our Skype call...

Gavin that was probably the best I have ever heard Viva La Vida. It rocked! Burke I was way happy when I heard your song. Ask everyone I started dancing. But due to circumstances here in India I wasn’t able to hear all of it but I enjoyed it a lot. Hair Bear I really liked seeing you, I have contemplated writing your family a few times, maybe this week. KC I miss ya so! It was good to see ya. I really thought the stories about the old people were the best. Mom where were u? I thought u were sleeping or something. Lol. It was good to see you too. I like how u tried to keep it serious, and thanks for the small hint. Dad I could barely see you. You are disappearing. I’m going to come home and you won’t be there. It was really good to see all of you. Everyone is looking really good. I love you all. Sorry that this one wasn’t more for everyone. I love yall. I cant wait to speak to you again…soon!

Elder Sorensen! On a webcam? Yes - it's our "test call" for Mother's Day. We just thought a few screen shots might be fun.

The twenty-fourth week..

2009-05-06T17:59:00.002-05:00

Long story short...I was on fire this week.

The Week That Was,
It was a good week here in V-shack. I think I complained about the weather a little too soon. Let’s just say it’s hotter than it was 2 weeks ago when I began to say it was hot, and it’s only getting hotter. That may have been the reason my companion and I were “on fire” missionaries.

The week began with a wonderful Wednesday night. We went to a member’s home and they prepared what seemed like the best beef curry I have ever had. It was so soft and tender. I ate so much, it came back to hurt me though - I had to waddle home - but I have no regrets. They saw how much I liked it and they are having us over again next week. I am way excited.

This week my companion and I found 3 new families that we are working with. All of them have potential to become members of the church. The best family is Sister Diyamoni. We were finding in the hottest part of the day - our appointments for that time cancelled. We were having 0 success. We found a narrow alley that we felt we should go check. Much to our dismay all we could see were Hindu marked doors. One aunty was nice enough to give us some water, even though I don’t think it was a wise choice to drink. She then told us of a few Christians in the area. We went to the said house to find 4 wonderful Christians - a mother Diyamoni, a son Girish, and 2 daughters Vina and Lavanya. After they showed us how wonderful Lavanya was - she is an international classical dancer - we were finally able to share a message about the Restoration. They have already been taught by the missionaries about 1 year back, but they never went to church. So my companion and I have been wondering how we can get them to church, and help them progress. We went last night and we found out that there are 2 more sisters Raja Laxmi and Siylu. Only 3 have been taught by the missionaries and the other 3 are very interested in American men sharing about religion. We committed them all to church, and we are going over again on Saturday for Lavanya’s birthday. They seemed really excited about church that is once we told them we had communion and we also have Teligu. The son will be the hardest - he has no motivation. On Saturday I intend to take his Billa CD and tell him he can have it back on Sunday when he comes to church.

This last transfer I have put more emphasis on my study of the Book of Mormon. Recently I have been in the war chapters, and I love it. I have been finding weird new ways to compare the battles the Nephites faced to the same that I am facing here. This week I was reading in Alma 60. This is when Moroni rips Pahoran for being a traitor. Moroni then tell Pahoran, in verse 16, where it all began. It started when the king-men wanted to fight against the government. I thought about it a lot and the problems that my companion and I have been facing, and then I thought about how I could apply it to the rest of my life. It's pretty much the same concept. The Nephites were at the hardest part of their war, and they needed help, but the government wasn’t able to send it. The same is with us. If we expect the Lord to send us help we must first fix the inward problems. Just like Moroni and Pahoran did. If we are struggling with our family, our ward, or our companion we must first cleanse the inward vessel. It really helped me to see why my companion and I haven’t had any success since we have been together.

A funny thing that happened this week; we were at an investigator’s house and we were introducing the Book of Mormon. I had a Teligu copy I planned to give them. We were with the branch president and everything was going as planned. I gave them Moroni 10:4-5. As she read I listened for the words I knew, but I couldn’t hear them. No problem I thought. Then the branch president’s wife stopped her and flipped the pages and told me that she was reading Ether 10:4-5. My bad. Lol.

That was my week. It's getting time to go. I love you all. I hope you have a good week.

Elder Sorensen

The twenty-third week...

2009-05-06T17:32:00.004-05:00

All I can say, this week, is, “Thank heaven for Gold Bond.” Enough said.

Anyways, the week was good. There have been a lot of new things between our companionship. We have tried this new approach we like to call “bus finding.” We have been having less success knocking on doors so we decided that it would be fun to take a bus from one end of our area to the other. We also did this because it’s been 42 degrees Celsius, or 107 Fahrenheit, and we wanted to stop walking, but also do missionary work. So as we sat we chatted with people, gave them pamphlets and our number. So far we haven’t ran into any bad bus conductors - if we did it would be detrimental to our finding efforts. We get a lot of referrals for other missionaries, and we get a lot for ourselves. About 1 out of 6 ppl we talk to actually give us appointments that go through. It’s been a lot of fun.

Another new thing that we have done this transfer is start working in an area called Kancharapalem, or as I call it “The Konch”. When I got here it was the worst area - the Elders say they have been there forever and never found English. My first night we went back there and met a family of 6! Wonderful! Since then we have had the most success finding and teaching there. There is very little English and there is even less desire, but the Lord has truly blessed us. We now have about 8 investigators that we are working with back there, and a few more that have since been dropped. One we are working with is named Das Kumar. Das is the cousin of another investigator named Prem. Das probably had the most inspired OYM (Open Your Mouth) I have ever seen. Elder Castagno asked, “Brother, how many Jesus Christs are there?” The brother answered correctly - one. And then my companion followed it perfectly, “Then why do we see so many churches?” After we spent some time with Das we found out why this was inspired. He has been asking everyone which church was true. He said he would ask his father when he was younger and his father would tell him, “Satan makes those thoughts. All churches bring you to heaven.” If only it were that easy. Das was so excited to learn about the gospel. He had some doubts about how Joseph Smith could have seen God. He also had doubts about authority. He had a small concern with the Book of Mormon. We resolved those pretty quickly. He saw that many people saw God, and that a bible school doesn’t give someone authority from God. Last night we set him with a date for May 10, 2009. So I will see a baptism, and get to call home! His wife, Pushpa Vatti, speaks no English. We are trying to teach her.

I am a firm believer that there are people we knew before this life. I found another one here in V-shack. His name is John Cena. All Indians love wrestling, and their favourite is John Cena. This little kid ran up to me and said, “Hey, John Cena.” Since then we have been best friends. I was very flattered he chose me as his favourite wrestler. I usually reply to him, “John Cena, Namaste!” their family loves it. I want to take them to lunch one day before I go. I love them. One day I was having a really bad day and he came up and called me John Cena. And I got him to call me Batista. It was amazing. He is one little kid that knows how to make my day better.

This week I have been looking through my conference notes a lot. Someone said, I am not sure who said it, “Build upon your foundation.” That is really good. I have thought about it a lot because the church here is so young. Every member here and now is the foundation. Everyone everywhere has to start their own foundation. Once we have a foundation we cannot stop and be happy with where we are. If we continue to build then we continue to discourage Satan and we protect ourselves from him. It’s really cool to think about. I don't know why this is in the update, but it could be nice for someone. I think its more for my younger audience. Everyone will be a much better missionary if they have a foundation, and they continue to build it. When you know Joseph Smith is a prophet, then you must learn what he taught. Then, you must learn what his predecessors have taught. The gospel, and conversion, is a lifelong thing. It doesn’t come from one prayer, it doesn’t come from one scripture, and it certainly doesn’t come from one experience. I am grateful for my testimony, and all the people who have helped it to be as strong as it is. Thank you for all the support and prayers. I love you all!

Elder Sorensen

The twenty-second week....

2009-05-06T17:27:00.003-05:00

Salam alacum~
That is Muslim for “Peace be upon you” and the return is Wallum alacum for “The same peace unto you.” I wish Americans had something cool like the Muslims, not just simply “HI!” Anyway, I figured it was time that I told y’all who my investigators are and not just about them. Sounds good?

Kumar- He is a member referral from a less-active sister his age. He is coming from Hindu background. He is very intelligent and I think he has a crush on the sister who referred him to us. His family is paca Hindus, meaning they are actually Hindus not just by mouth but by actions. He wants to have more faith in Christ, but he isn’t sure how to get it - good thing we are here. He has come to church the last 4 weeks, 2 with Surisha, and 2 without her. He is very committed. He has some family concerns, but we can hopefully resolve those.

Satya Raju and Sarhila- they are a recently married couple who just moved to Visak. They are a member- referral from Ghandi family. They have a small son named Jeffy - he’s the cutest in India and he loves to smile at me and not so much at my companion. They have concerns about rebaptism and why we need the Book Of Mormon. We are working on both right now - we think rebaptism is a cover up for a bigger problem. They have wonderful English and wonderful fellowship at church.

Rama Laxomi- Part member. She is wonderful. She is working really hard on her English, with little or no support from the husband. She reads English perfectly, about like I do, and she understands it, but it gets all lost somewhere in speaking. She loves to make us warm milk - I love it.

That’s about all that I can remember, we have a few more but none are set with baptismal dates. Oh well. This week was a lot of fun. My companion and I are getting along now, my worms are gone, and I only got hit by one motorcycle this week. I love you all and I miss you.

Elder Sorensen

The twenty-first week...

2009-04-08T09:57:00.006-05:00

Namaste~
This will be known as the week of a few losses. First, we had an exchange on Friday, when we went to English class and I met with my companion I saw that none of our investigators were there. James Lowmanth and his wife, Venkat Rutnam, told Elder Castagno that they will only be going to the Allipurum Baptist Church from now on. It's because of the lack of English they know. Oh well. We went over there and they told us again that they don’t want an English church…it hurt. So the Abominable Church of V-Shack won round 3.

On Saturday morning we went to an investigator’s home. Her name is Gayatri - she has been investigating for 4 months - and her mother would not allow her to join the church though. Her mother has been on dialysis and has been a huge road block. But, on Saturday morning we went over and there was a big tent up with people around it. That’s nothing unusual for India - it happens all the time. This time her mother was lying on a bed in the street with flowers covering her body from head to toe. She dies 10 hours before we got there. She didn’t really feel all that different. I think she was prepared for it, and that it hadn’t quite hit her yet.

The next morning we went to pick up Rama Laxmi for church. We got there and she was crying - her uncle had died in the night. She didn’t go to Hyderabad with her brother because she would miss her baptismal date. I was very sad for that one. After church we went over the Plan of Salvation.

Enough sadness, some funny things about the week. We were chased for 10 minutes by a beggar. That’s not too unusual, but this time the guy was quacking and waddling like a penguin. We tried to hide in stores and everything, but he kept following us. He almost got ran over by a bus when I ran in front of it. He was funny. Then, we went to a new investigators home, he is a 7th day preacher…enough said. He brought us into his home and within 5 minutes - 30 aunties and kids were there asking for a prayer - everyone in India asks for a prayer. After 10 minutes of telling him we wouldn’t do an apostate prayer, my companion gave in. It was really weird, because in India everyone chants in the middle of prayers. Some words are in Hindi and some are in Teligu - but they are all saying the same thing, praise. After I lost my patience I just told the man, “Brother, we need to go. We will try and visit you all again.”

I also found out this week why I have been sick for the last 2…I don’t have malaria; I have something better…little friends living inside stomach, eating my chicken biryani. Lol. No problem. I actually think it’s quite funny, even though my mom probably doesn’t. Have you ever had one of those hot days where you think, “It doesn’t matter how much hotter it gets, because once it’s over 100 its all the same?” Well - that’s the kind of week I have been having. It’s so hot here, but I love it.

It’s time to go. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss Texas, but the V-Shack is starting to rock.

Dad- Philmont=Wilmont
Mom- What are you doing at Kroger?
KC- shift bus driver, shift!
Burke- did u want pearls too?
Gavin- send me pics of dad “playing” softball
Chance- can u beat burke @ rock band yet? Its not too hard.
Boudreaux-keep doing you thing man

The twentieth week....

2009-04-07T10:37:00.002-05:00

The nineteenth week...

2009-03-26T18:14:00.001-05:00

The eighteenth week...

2009-03-23T17:04:00.006-05:00

To Pops:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Eat cake with your hands and have NANA shove some in your mouth then rub it in your face...thats how they do it here!!

I LOVE YOU!
nenu premistu nanu!

NAMASTE~
Well, I found out that I am finally leaving Hyderabad. It was a sad night. It turns out that I was a casualty of the “incident” last weekend. They are removing 2 elders from Hyderabad for safety. Oh well. I am going to Visakhapatnam, the Miami of India. Everyone says it is really beautiful and an amazingly hot place. They also have a beach! But it’s poopy, like all water in India. I really look forward to meeting new friends and making new memories in another wonderful place of the world I would never otherwise have seen. With sweet “hellos” come sorrowful “good byes”. We have been visiting families this week, saying good byes, getting addresses and that whole gig. Abraham family was the hardest to let go. Abraham said he will come to Visac so I can baptize him -funny guy. They took about 8 pages in my journal, all of which were funny and sad. On Sunday night, our regular night at their home, Susheela made us mutton, as you white people call it-goat. Usually Indians only cook the meat. This time was different. I got to eat liver, kidneys, and lungs. They were actually kinda good. I wouldn’t throw them away if I was given that dish again. The kicker was this big clump of yellow stuff on my plate. (Just so everyone is on the same page I never asked what it was, and I never ask what weird looking food is, my companion ALWAYS asks). The yellow was actually intestines. Yummy! I couldn’t eat it all, but then again I did have about 7 feet of goat, you know what, on my plate. I was eating it REALLY slowly. When I ran out of rice I said, “Finished.” Susheela approved and lemme leave. Thank goodness. The next night, my last with them, was a different story. She made awesome Papu, or Dahl, and her daughter made the most amazing chicken curry - besides my mom anyways. When we left they all followed me out…it was sad. Susheela waved good bye and cried as she did so. It’s weird, I met these people 3 months back and now one is my Indian mother and it’s weird to think I am leaving. But the Lord needs me in Visac. I also said goodbye to Undru Suresh, my first convert. He was ok with it. His good bye was, “All the best, safe journeys.” I think he will be in Visac soon so I will see him then.

Last night I got outta the bed to go wash my hands and I turned on the light and I saw a spider the size of my hand. I squealed like a little girl. My companion got the mop so I could kill it from a distance. Sucka. We also caught a nice size gecko and threw it out the door. Why am I telling u about these random animals? On Elder T’s last night in the other flat they caught a bat! They locked the door and left the brand new elder in the room. They got a really cool video. They knocked it down with a towel and grabbed it. It was way cool, I LOVE India! Well the weight is still going down, I am at 203 lbs, yes! Well, that’s about all I can remember. Thanks for everything, from everyone. I love you all. Keep the faith.

Hugs and kisses from Hyderabad.
Elder Sorensen

Another week on lockdown, but not stir crazy yet!

We have been out at the church doing career workshops, and all that. We have been really busy. The time i was in the flat i spent studying, reading letters, and going through former investigators to see who we could use to help the church to progress.

Food
Well it finally happened...I had something you wouldn't even touch. It has to do with goats and eating every single thing in it...I had intestines, liver, lungs, and kidneys...YUMMY!!! Susheela, my new Indian mommy, made it for us - the inards tasted different. I didn't know what it was, and I still haven't asked what anything was if I didn't know what it was, just to stay safe. But Mehan asked....AH!!! It was really stringy and rubbery. I couldn't eat all the intestines so Abraham finished them. The lungs, liver and kidneys were ok. She made up for it when I said good-bye on Monday night. She made awesome papu - dahl. Mamatha made me chicken curry. Wonderful.

Some members of Abraham's family call me Baby Elephant - and Susheela called me a balloon. They still think I am large though - . this week they did tell me I am starting to look skinny. I have lost another 2 pounds.

Transfer
I have been transfered to Visakhapatnam!!!! Cisac is still in Andrah Pradesh. It's on the east coast - kinda north of H-town. I will only be on the flight for about an hour. I know Visac has really pretty women, beaches, greenery, and missionary work. lol. They have Mako Sharks - those are the 3rd most dangerous. I will actually be flying the most prestigious airline in India. It's called Kingfisher....all of their airline attendants are models, and they treat everyone really nice. My new companion will be Elder Castono. He is from the O.C. Elder Mehan will be made the Zone Leader. I was a casualty of what happened last week. They are taking a companionship out of Hyderabad First.

Elder Toleafoa had his final transfer this week - HOME!

I was sad but we didn't shed tears. We hugged for a while and I didn't look back. I felt it was best. He wrote in my journal. So did Abraham's family and Elder Mehan - all full of tears. I called them the night I got the call...and Susheela said "Why is you going Visac? Come home...stay." I talked to her for a while...I thought she was crying on the phone. The next day at church they all told me that they couldn't go to sleep till 2am because they missed me so much already. Susheela did cry - and she cried when I left for good. She told me, "Papu, eat slowly. Stay long time. EAT!!"

Interesting Fact:
Did you know that Hyderabad is the Pearl City? I didn't know it - but it has the most, natural, and largest selection of pearls anywhere.

The seventeenth week...

2009-03-23T16:17:00.003-05:00

NAMASTE~~
Well this week was a lot of fun. We found a way sweet family in Police Colony this week. We found them totally by accident. I was on an exchange and the guards were giving me problems because they didn’t believe me. So I finally got in, due to my friends and my sneaky skills. We were walking to find some new baptism sets and this guy on his bike stops and says “I hear you are looking for Boscar. I’m Boscar.” I didn’t really wanna see Boscar. He is the father of an investigator who hates the missionaries. He was a different Boscar though - lucky for us. He brought us to his home and fed us tons of biscuits - cookies in Indian terms - and gave us a lot of soda. We taught him again this Sunday using my Calvin and Hobbes diagram my sister sent me. Thank Kiki! His wife is way sweet and his family loves us. We don’t plan on setting them for baptism for a while. We need to see how they do with reading the Book Of Mormon.

This week we did have a baptism. Susheela, Madhura, and Mounika Meti (the Abraham family) were all baptized this week. I baptized Susheela and Elder Mehan got the other 2. It was wonderful. I love that family so much. Afterwards we went to their house to celebrate Mounika’s birthday. It was krunk. Krunk is the new word that I am trying to institute in India. It hasn’t really been working. Some little kids say it, but that’s about it. I am working on Susheela. She says it every now and then but doesn’t know the real context to use it.

This week has been pretty eventful. A couple of elders got beaten up by some anti-Christian group. No one was thrown in jail and no one was badly injured. It was more a political thing. Elections are coming up, and the RSS is looking for ways to make Christians look bad. The charges were dropped and everything is ok. Not being able to find will kill the zone. Our zone, Hyderabad, is the most successful in the mission. So we will see how this affects the mission. We were also told that we will have to shift (move) for safety reasons - but the work is still moving on. We had 4 baptisms this week in our district and about 10-15 in the zone. Thank you for all of your prayers…and letters.

I love y’all.
Elder Sorensen

Elder Sorensen had an interesting week to say the least.... a few items of note:

4 people were baptized on Sunday - including Rajini and Madhura, Mounika, Susheela Meti(3 members of the Abraham family)! Elder Sorensen was able to perform the baptism of the Mom - Susheela. Elder Mehan baptized Madhura and Mounika. Elder Toleafoa, Logan's first companion and trainer, was able to baptize Rajini.

It's good that T did Rajini. It's his last Sunday in the mission. He will be home by next thursday.

He finally received his Valentine's package the first week of March (just in time for St. Patty's Day!)

I am way happy I got it!! My favorite thing was the tuna. I ate some yesterday. lol. It was yummy. The doritos are hard not to eat all at once. lol. I have gone through all my chips in the flat thinking about them - but nothing compares. Everything was there. I was really happy I opened the Crystal Light thing before I went to church. I thought it was actually Crystal Light - nice packing skills. (The Crystal Light containers were filled with individual packets of mayo and relish to make tuna!)Drink packets were there yes. They were nice. lol Thank you. I have worn all but 2 of the ties, but I have only been able to wear them for short times because of the new rules. Oh well. I like them. (Thanks Pops and Nana!)

The majority of the week was spent in lockdown in the flat due to violence in the area.

Well about the heat - it's only March and it's 109. How un-fun! We actually are on lock down because of some anti-Christian people beating up Elders about 5 minutes from my area. Hopefully my mom doesnt read this. They beat one and the other got away - so no worries. We were actually supposed to be with them that day but changed our minds. Now we are wearing color shirts, not wearing ties, not wearing tags, and we are not finding - so it sounds like a normal mission right? lol. It's been all fun. The last 4 days I have been stuck inside.

They are allowed to choose if they want to wear white or colored shirts - The color makes us seem more like students and not Christian. I like the color...I feel safer especially since we are staying away from certain areas for a while.

Mom asked about the one Elder who "got away" and if he would get in trouble for leaving his companion since they are supposed to stay together.

When you are getting attacked like that it's better for one to stay and get beat while the other gets help. You never leave your companion but he won't be going home early for this one. Even though he ran to the closest members home...which happens to be all older women. Everything is changed for us. We cannot find for 2 weeks - and it's 2 weeks at minimum. President is still thinking about extending it. All I keep thinking is "No unhallowed hand can stop the work." It helps to know that.

The sixteenth week...

2009-03-04T14:26:00.003-06:00

I had my first baptism (in the mission) this week!!!! (he baptized Gavin and Hanna when he was a Priest). I didn't really see it coming.

Logan and his companion found Suresh their second week together.

He actually found us. He is the best we have ever taught at keeping commitments - and he is way cool.

Suresh asked Logan to perform the ordinance.

The font was cold - and he was way happy and so was I.

In other news...

I am also baptizing Rajini this week. I kept him a secret also. I am also baptizing some of the Abraham Family.

The fourteenth week...

2009-02-18T13:56:00.005-06:00

HOLLER!

Well it’s been another exciting week on Mosque lane - nothing too exciting. We have 8 baptisms lined up for the first 3 weeks of March. We set Dinesh and Rajesh last night, I got to do the honours. They were my first successful set, so I feel really god about them. We had to push back the Abraham family. He couldn’t give up tea, or make it to church, but the daughters and mother are still coming and have a date for the 8th. The last 2 days have been spent building our finding pool. Last week we had an all time low of 6 new investigators for the week. So we are busting our hump, check it out, to get some solid people baptized. We walked for about 8 hours in the last 2 days with no avail. We are finding more and more anti-Christ’s, but less people who want to know about Jesus. It’s kinda frustrating when people yell at you to go to hell. But I am sure everyone gets that on their mission. No worries.

We also set Simon, Yohan’s brother, for baptism on March 8th. We dropped him a few weeks back thinking he was just a punk, but it turns out he really had no time. He likes us and he has said that he knows the Book of Mormon is true. Abel (our actor friend from last week) was off at some “rich people meeting with Parliament” this week so we didn’t get to see him - but we are planning for him tomorrow. He said he will get us something really nice to eat. I trust his judgment.

On Sunday I was told that I should marry a Tamilian woman. We had mother Stella feed us this week and it was da bomb. The next day she said “Marry a Tamilian woman.” Lol. So we also made plans to go back this week. My companion is hurrying me. I love you all. Thanks for all the supoort. Sorry this update is short.

I look forward to hearing from y’all.
Elder Sorensen

The thirteenth week

2009-02-18T13:52:00.003-06:00

Holla Party People!

Well as Elder Mehan and I always say, “Another one bites the dust!” This week is gone and more wonderful experiences were there. Elder Mehan had it rough the beginning of this week. He got some really bad motions and our Monday and Tuesday mornings were both shot till about noon. But we still have 5 new, solid, investigators already. One brother we met last week lives in Jubilee Hills. It’s a part of our area that we just started to develop. It’s the Beverly Hills of Hyderabad. We actually got lost and saw HUGE houses. So we went that way. People gave us weird looks but hey, we are Americans in India. I pointed out his start, indicating that he’s Christian and has a higher likelihood of talking to us instead of killing us, and we went up to his door. His servant ran and got permission to let us in. When we went in, his entourage was playing UNO on the downstairs table. He had 2 other floors and another house backside. We went to the 3rd floor in house number one to teach him. When we went upstairs he was chillin’ with his public relations guy. We taught him the first lesson. He pretty much has the Bible memorized. He accepted the Book of Mormon, but when we went back he was sick and didn’t read. I was bummed. He gave us another ride though. He has a huge SUV with leather seats and A/C. It’s the small things in life that I miss about the good ole U.S. of A.

We have been walking a lot this week. The first morning Dwight got sick he was leaning back in his chair, and when he came down he landed on his camera. Not good. So we have been trying to save his money for a camera. It has been going good so far. The more we walk the more we find. The other night some Muslim guy started bombarding me with questions about my perception of Jesus. I bore testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that he came down to be the Savior of the world. This guy, the first Muslim I have ever really talked to, listened then started quoting the Bible and how things in the Bible say there is no Christ and that I am going to hell because Jesus was a Muslim. Lol. All I really wanted was a Qu-ran. So when he didn’t have one I bore testimony again and left. I learned some interesting things from him though. Their view of Allah is very different from our view of God; I thought they were the same. They say Allah has no children…so we are all randomly here but will somehow live with him again.

Anyways Michael Jackson is still weird - other than that nothing too exciting. Abraham and Cucila will probably be baptized in mid-March - neither can seem to give up tea fully, but the daughters and their one son will still be taking on February 22, 2009; which is very good. Well all is well in India. It’s time to go. I hope everyone is having a good Valentine’s week. They love it here in India. Thanks for all the support to me and my family.

Much appreciated,
Elder Sorensen

The twelfth week

2009-02-18T13:50:00.004-06:00

Dear Adoring Fans,

Another good week in Hyderabad - nothing too exciting. This week I became really grateful that we have the FULNESS of the gospel. When I go out, I always see - on Hindu cars - this symbol “L” except it looks exactly like the one we have. It's not really an L, but they all have it so it's kinda weird. And it’s weird when Muslims see our garment line and they ask what it is…and they say, “Oh yeah? We wear garments too.” Interesting, huh?

We taught a family this week that had a poster on their wall. Nothing out of the ordinary for India, except it took the whole wall. It was a picture of Jesus on the cross. He was wiping away the tears of the other thief. The thief was bound by a serpent that took up the whole poster, and it came out of an apple tree near to the thief. As Jesus’ blood dripped the serpent was cut and the thief was relieved. Interesting, huh? The title was “The love will free you.” Some reverend saw a revelation and he turned it into that poster. That family is amazing. They sang an amazing Teligu song after we sang "Families Can Be Together Forever." They really helped to invite the Spirit. This family has 5 daughters. The father, after our lesson, said “I have 5 daughters, and I have always prayed for a son. Today God sent me 2. Thank you so much.” The great thing about this is the mother is the head of the house - something you will never see in India. She’s the pastoress of their church - so she pretty much wears the pants and brings home the mutton - but she loves us too and invited us back. It’ll take them a long time to accept the gospel though. Some people you can just tell. No one else is really wonderful, or life changing, but we will get there.

The excitement to Abraham’s family being baptized is almost too much. Their whole family is so excited. One of their children, the only boy, said, “I like your new haircut. You look like a hero (Indian for actor). You’re my favourite hero. You look like James Bond.” You wanna know who was smiling really big after that? Lol, Me! They fed us copious amounts of food - as Elder Dansie likes to put it. Like they always do - they love to talk and learn. So it was a wonderful week.

Nothing too exciting has happened. I got hit by another guy on a bike - but this time he fell off. So I helped him up and told him to be more careful. Someone laughed and said something about a big American. So I can only assume they were making fun of their friend for running into the wrong American. Lol.

Well…thanks for all the support. I love y’all. Keep up the good work. Support the missionaries.

Elder Sorensen

Comments Anyone??

2009-02-09T08:07:00.002-06:00

In talking to friends and family this weekend, I realize not everyone knows that Logan get to read the comments on the blog. Each week Kaycee copies the comments into an email that Logan can read. As you can imagine he LOVES ANY word from home.

So comment away!!!

Getting mail to India can be tricky.Of course getting mail from India is crazy too. It seems to be hit or miss. We got 4 weeks worth of letters from him in one week. He is doing a fantastic job writing home each week. I am grateful Pres. Roberts gave him that counsel.This Mom loves ANY WORD from her boy. It's funny though because he often tells the boys,"Now don't tell Mom this BUT...". It's usually followed by some gross boy talk of the details of just how sick he was or he saw a rat or someone fed him rice a mouse was just eating in the corner or we were locked in the flat all day because some Muslims bombed a Hindu temple around the corner. Stuff like that.

The thing about all the don't tell Moms is I appreciate his protecting me. It's sweet, afterall. But the more I read about his experiences, how much he LOVES India, how much he LOVES missionary work and can sense through the Spirit how much his testimony is growing the more I don't mind the don't tell Mom events. My testimony of him being exactly where he needs to be in strengthened every week. Don't get me wrong. I still miss him more than words can express. It's just a wonderful tender mercy of the Lord that I fully recognize he's in the Lord's hands even with all the "don't tell moms".

As a side note, I thought you might like to hear about our very normal weekend:

The boys cleaned the church Saturday morning with Howard. Then they had a Primary activity.

We got to attend Bryce's baptism. That was a sweet memory to watch him walk to the font and realize he may not have red hair but he walks just like his Dad. Faren's talk was sweet and personal. I liked it. It made me look forward to grandchildren.

Brayden gave me lots of hugs. I love that redheaded boy. He's funny.

I got to visit with Christy and hold Parker. He too is an excellent snuggler. I LOVE his fat rolls but boy is he solid. Reid & Jewel were here too.Our visit wasn't long enough with either.

KC and Chance ran to Chloe's baptism where KC played the piano.The rest of us missed it. We were still at Bryce's.

Adee sat on my lap in Sacrament meeting. She was burning up with fever so Kaycee came and took her home. McKay gave Howard & I a really cute smile.

I bumbled the piano accompaniment at the baptism and in Primary (like I said a normal weekend).

Howard and I had church meetings Sunday. Burke and Gavin were goofing off in Sacrament meeting.

I went coupon shopping and got FREE food. Gotta love FREE food.

Howard took me to buy DMC floss at Hobby Lobby. (There's actually NOTHING normal about that. He HATES craft stores) But he was REALLY cute standing in the aisle holding all my floss and standing in line. Gotta LOVE a man that tolerates my hobbies!!! Oh and he went to the grocery store with me. Double score. He should get an extra kiss for that!!

I studied for a Seminary lesson.

Howard, Kaycee,Burke & Gavin went to see Taken with Bryan and Adam. Burke and Gavin sure LOVE spending time with Bryan and Adam especially when Bryan drives.They sort of follow them around like puppies. Which is great in my opinion. I appreciate every good example they have in their lives. Plus they really miss Logan. I think their time with B&A helps.

We got to visit with Cindy & Faren last night. Poor Cindy is in 2 boots, a broken ankle and foot. That stinks.

We ate on the run and didn't see KC at all on Sunday.

Just a normal weekend or running here and there filled with family, church and life.Notice there wasn't any mention of house work. Now you know what's on tap for today, Monday.

The eleventh week...

2009-01-29T14:04:00.006-06:00

Return to Excellence

Holla all my people. Hello to all my friends in the ward serving in God's Army. I'd like to extend a special welcome to the newest member Elder B. Wilson. OK, on to the amazing stuff. This was the week to end all weeks. It was amazing.

This week I truly fell in love with missionary work. The family in the pic below is the Abraham family.

They have 8 members. We set 6 of them for baptism February 22, 2009. Awesome! We have been teaching them this whole transfer, 6 weeks. Their English is less, and they have been begging us for baptism. We decided that it would be a good idea to give them a date and it was amazing!

We went to their house for Republic Day - that's why a grown man is feeding me cake. It's a weird Indian tradition - but I love it. The cake was amazing too. The family asked that Dwight and I would do the baptisms. So of course I accepted.

Saturday we found an atheist. He was amazing. His father was there. And Peter, that father, is a body guard for the CMs of India. He is personally over Rajasekhar Reddy, the CM for Andhra Pradesh, the state which I am currently in. Suren, the son, wasn't believing in God. He said that something was telling his soul if it was right or wrong, but he didn't know what it was. He hadn't come to church before, and he had never prayed. After we taught the Restoration, we asked Suren to pray. He gave an awesome prayer. Then on Sunday he came to church for all 3 hours and stayed for a baptism. It was wonderful. Since Saturday he has shown us 4 or 5 wonderful families. Sunday we have a baptism for Suresh which we think we may push back so we can give him more time. He's ready; we just don't want to push it.

The kg count is down; 96KG (210 lbs). That's how big I was starting my freshman year. But it's all good. I love this weight. We also have a few other families we are working with. Malar family-they just moved here from Tamil Nadu and stay next to a recent convert. The mother and grandmother are the "only ones liking Jesus" in the family. The son is only 7 and the father is always ledu - not there - and the grandfather is also atheist. The missionary work is fun here in India. Thank you for all your encouragement and support. Like Jensen always says "More letters are much appreciated." I love y'all!

Elder Sorensen

"I've Been Hittin' the Blinkies!"

2009-01-28T12:26:00.002-06:00

A direct quote from Mom:

I can get cheese for 75 cents cause I've been hittin the Blinkies!

How can I not resist sharing that with the world? I promise I'm not mocking! I appreciate all of my mom's couponing talents.

I really enjoy my free Fructis hair products and especially my Herbal Essence Shampoo and Conditioner. She was really awesome and scored me some Apple Jacks this weekend! Yes, my mom is a Coupon Diva and she is awesome - even if she's been hittin the blinkies!

The tenth week...

2009-01-21T12:16:00.002-06:00

Elder Sorensen's time in India has reached double digit weeks! Yay!

Nothing too new is happening. Missionary work is normal. I loved seeing the pics of other missionaries and how they have mountains and blue skies behind them. The theme seemed to be sticking your hands up in the air so I will do that next time.

We had a pretty good week - 14 new investigators. That’s pretty good even for here. My number average has been 9 a week - so 14 is good. We are teaching all of them this week. A few are already set and some are a little slower due to English - but all have given us nice referrals. Suresh is set for Feb. 1, 2009. He’s way awesome. We set him on meeting one. Another set for the 8th is Krishna Reddy. He’s had a rough life. His girlfriend of 14 years left him one day and married some Hindu. He loves Jesus and the Atonement.

Another Family is Vinay by4. His son saw us on the street and I asked, "Brother, anyone liking Jesus?" and he said "I do. My family also." So we taught them. We went back yesterday and Vinay brought us to some new potentials. He took us in his car. It was nice to be in a car. The little things in life. lol. But while in his car we both noticed a funny smell, matches, and a skull pipe...usually for becoming acquainted with Mary Jane. So we will teach Word of Wisdom next. Hopefully "It wasn’t his." like they all say. lol.

The week was good. I am safe and so is Dwight. Thanks to everyone for their love and support. Just like you Jensen, letters are much appreciated - even though it’s a little more expensive. Thanks for all the prayers also.

I love all y’all.
Elder Sorensen

The eighth week...Now with emails!

2009-01-20T16:03:00.002-06:00

Check it out folks - the eighth week now has emails.

There's some great stuff from this week - including Elder Sorensen's first baptism in India, weight loss tips, and some scriptures to read.

Enjoy!

Letters

2009-01-16T09:21:00.006-06:00

Every day when I get home from work, I check the mail. On days when letters come from Elder Sorensen, I feel like a contestant on the Price is Right! I came in and everyone (Dad, Gavin, and I) stood around and waited for their individual letter. As I was standing in the kitchen reading my letter, I thought that it had become much quieter since I came in. Usually, that means trouble, but on this day, I went around the house to find they were in their own little "spots" reading the news from Logan. It was sweet to see, so being my mother's daughter I grabbed a camera and captured the moment...

The Ninth Week....

2009-01-14T13:29:00.007-06:00

What Doesn’t Kill You Only Makes You Stronger

Well due to illness I was down for abut 2 full days...Monday and yesterday were a bit shaky also. But today is a full 80%!! But after all is said and done I know not to eat roadside breakfast. lol. Too bad. This week the Jay Raj family was given the Holy Ghost. And coming this week will be the baptism of Yohan. He’s so amazing. He’s been coming for about 5 months and frequently comes on exchanges. We can’t find this week due to Pongal a celebration where everyone is off school, except those at Christian schools since Pongal is a Hindu holiday. Stores are still open because not everyone is Hindu. Only 95% of India is. The good thing about so many religions is so many holidays. And on those holidays all stores are open. Here the Christians and the Muslims are working the email place. Lucky for us.

One thing I thought about this week...so many churches and temples are there in Utah. One on every street, right? Just like here. Doesn’t matter how poor or how rich - there is a mosque or Hindu temple everywhere. From my balcony I can see 4 mosques. Three are on my street within 1 kilometer from me. I finally saw camels!! But they were only in passing and it wasn’t p-day so I didn’t have my camera. I was so disappointed. I am losing weight like nothing else...I am eating a little more because fatigue is starting to catch up with me...unlike it did when I could sleep for 4 hours at night and go to school and sleep there. I eat a full lunch now and a bigger breakfast. I am down to 96KGs. which is roughly 211 lbs. I haven’t been this small since before my junior year. I feel skinnier now that I know my weight. lol.

We taught a way awesome family yesterday, Sri Kanth, his wife Victoria, his dad Prakash, his mother SHANTI- like jungle book, and his aunt Mathavi. all are way receptive. Sri Kanth has some doubts about the Book of Mormon which we helped clear. We left 3 with the family. Next meeting we are planning to set them for baptism about 4 weeks later. I love y'all. Thanks for all the support and the letters.

Elder Sorensen

running "lol" count = 424

The eighth week...

2009-01-09T08:25:00.011-06:00

Animals...and Teaching
(See pictures above)

I got some new friends - Petey and Shrek - the birds are a must. because I love chicks! We are teaching Omprakash (right) and Vinay (left) is a [new member]. Both are eating American sweets - that we gave them.

We have a lot of people lined up for baptism...but none this week. T and the greenie set all the people he and I found. And the 2 brothers (Alexander and Sheelan) I found right before the transfer are waiting for a date.

The Jay Raj family - Jay Raj, Mary, Shankeethrana (their daughter) and Abhinay (their son) - was baptized on Sunday. Pydimala and Elder Tyler baptized them - but we were their teachers at the time. Elder Tyler flew in from Bangalore to baptize Jay Raj. Rajini came to the baptism - and to our branch. Rajini was excited as I was to see him. He didn't mention anything about baptism. Then, yesterday, T told me that they set him!!!!!! for the 25th of this month!!! I am so excited. I kinda want to baptize him...but we will see.

Being in India
I love India. The food keeps getting better and better. We had some way good biryani - and a member made us some way good chicken curry.

We can only leave our area for emailing. We need permission to leave our area - especially here just because it could really hurt the Church. It's not scary, but today is some big Muslim holiday. Don’t worry. I am not afraid. There's a Muslim, Hindu and Christian celebration every week - all on separate days. Some we can't even leave the flat and some we can find. Usually we can't tho. We just need to be kept safe. If we leave our area, and we dont know it well enough, we could run into an area that has been closed down due to force from the BJP - which is dying down. I don't know what BJP stands for. They are losing support because people are becoming more educated.

Have you seen or heard about the celebration where they throw colored chalk on people and then squirt you with water?? It's like the who or something.

I haven't heard about that celebration. This week is one where they cut themselves for hours. Weird.

New Year's
We taught aunties about fitness this week. They were all doing pushups and curls and lifts in their saris. We had a way lame fireside. It was lame because it was our "New Year's Bash." The 2nd Branch was doing games and stuff. I am missing 2nd branch...too bad.

Companion
Logan decided to call his companion Elder Mehan Elder "Dwight" because he reminds him of Dwight from The Office. I don't know how much he is actually like him, but the name stuck.

Is Dwight really tall? B wants to know if Dwight's head bobbles?

It kinda bobbles. He's 6'4. So yeah - way tall. My comp's dad is from Punjob. so he's 1/2 native - but no accent is there. Dwight is from Ohio. He hates my pajamas. lol. He heard they lost. He has this recipe for buckeye candy...looks good.

Walking and Weight Loss
We are walking so much more. We have a lot of hilly areas - so autos won't go there. We walk about 10 miles a day. Tell Kerrie to lose weight she must eat 2 meals a day and walk 10-15 miles.

Letters & Packages
On Wednesday (New Year's Eve) when I got home there was a letter from KC and Burke and a letter from the Sanders - it was a Christmas card. How about that? And then on Thursday I got a Christmas card from Elder Tenney - how about that? - and the letters form the Sorensen Krewe 3 (Chris & Tanya's fam). It was opened. I got the letters - the envelope was stapled shut tho. I look forward to letters.

This is an answer for Aunt Tanya - Mom asked if he got your package. Here's the response:

You’re going to love this. I got their letter. Tell them I am in the process of writing them back. I have pics of white people. lol. No package...I'm worried.

I don't think you'll "love" that he didn't get the package, but just remember that everything takes much longer to get there. We have determined it takes approximately 1 month for letters. Packages run the risk of being stolen or eaten, so just be aware. If you need some tips on sending packages, please let us know.

Scriptures to Read
Read Alma 26:9 - I forgot what it's about, but I wrote how it reminds me of some Muslims here and I need to "Ammon" them. lol. and Alma 27:17 - like when I come home or like Friday Night Lights when Coach Gaines gives his halftime speech.

"Ammon them" - is that serve them or cut off their arms?

I was thinking cut off their arms. I could serve them tho. lol.

Funny Story of the Week
How can I not resist posting this email thread? This is not all of it - I just put in some of my favorite lines. Enjoy....

(see Seventh Week pictures)

Kaycee and I need you to clarify - which is the shower and which is the toilet in your bathroom? Is the bucket your shower or toilet?

(Really she had to ask...I already explained "squat toilets" to her, but she just wouldn't take my word for it....)

The hole in the ground is the toilet, where rats come out. lol. Joking only!! The shower head is to the left. You can't see it tho.

(Rats? Really? You had to joke about the "unmentionable rodents with Mom? Where's the Mom filter? Definitely not filtering all to well...)

So what is the bucket for? Not funny about the rats!!!

The bucket is for cleaning you bum. The poop will sink to the bottom.

Sink to the bottom of what?

The junk sinks to the bottom of the bucket. I used the squatter twice this week - but i didn’t use the hand - so I still have my virtue.

So you poop in the bucket? Is the hole like a porta potty?

(maybe he does have a Mom filter...oh wait nope...he turned it off....)

YOU POOP IN THE HOLE IN THE GROUND! I was hoping I didn't have to say this...You wipe your butt with your hand. Then you wipe your hand off in the bucket. That's what sinks to the bottom. I've never done that. You know how I say "I kept my virtue?" - meaning I didn’t use my hand. We have tp and we use it daily.

(and here goes Random Man - trying to change the subject and restart the Mom filter)

I wanna start an auto game like we had on trips.
Buffalo - 5 points
Peeing person - 5 points
Coconut stand - however much they charge
White person - 500 points

running "lol" count = 396

The sixth week...Now with Emails!

2009-01-06T10:19:00.001-06:00

As promised, I have added the email conversations with Logan from the sixth week (his Christmas Eve p-day).

Enjoy!

The fifth week....more info

2009-01-05T14:14:00.002-06:00

I was finally able to go back and add some of Logan's emails from his fifth week in India.

Go check it out - The fifth week

I'll try to add some to the sixth and seventh weeks over the next couple days, so keep checking in!

Add this to the lol count

2008-12-31T20:21:00.003-06:00

So Kaycee and I were discussing this last night. Logan was a little sad leaving his first area and first companion. He has a big heart that reaches out to people and he gets attached easily. Watch in his pictures how he ALWAYS has his arm around someone. So very Logan. He's in a foreign place with his own set of struggles but it's good to see it isn't changing him one bit. Well, except in good ways. Check out that highlighted Preach My Gospel.

The seventh week....

2008-12-31T08:46:00.006-06:00

running "lol" count = 353

The sixth week

2008-12-24T10:44:00.016-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!
Well I got my first transfer call this week...I'm going all the way to Hyderabad 1st branch. I will literally be living 20 minutes away from where I live now. lol.

I went on exchanges with Elder Sookhoo,the Zone Leader, Monday. We found a pretty sweet family - these 2 brothers who live together. Their parents are dead and they are both doing odd jobs. Elder Sookhoo and I taught the first lesson and they came with us to FHE and brought friends. We taught them again last night and they want to become members. They are coming to the Christmas Broadcast tomorrow, and they and the friends are coming to church on Sunday. So I picked a pretty good time to get transfered! lol. Other than that nothing new.

We had a Christmas party yesterday and I got a Cricket Jersey, Indian style. lol. Someone I don't like convinced someone to steal my companion's gift and sealed it, so I then stole his gift from him. He was angry and I really liked the gift so it was a double win.

Today I am wearing jeans!!! a first outside the flat. we are going to Snow World for P-day. i'm pretty excited about wearing jeans. lol. We have about 7 appointments for Christmas meals. Hopefully I will be able to walk by the 7th. Hopefully some pics will be coming soon. I miss everyone. I hope you're all doing well. I pray for everyone back home often. Keep safe.

Elder Sorensen

Transfer

While it will be tough to leave the 2nd Branch, Logan is excited to transfer to the 1st Branch for all of the baptisms and teaching they have lined up.

My companion - I call him Elder "Dwight" Mehan. He's a district leader and I will be having 9 baptisms in the coming weeks and 12 investigators at Sacrament. It's pretty intense. The other branch has a ton of baptisms because the members - and they kinda work harder...or so they say. lol. I'm pretty excited. Maybe I can sweet talk one of them into letting me do the baptism.

Losing Weight
Logan decided to stop weighing himself all the time. He did say that the best thing about being a missionary was losing weight though. Why? He never explained. He said that he would probably continue to lose weight.

When I was losing weight it was because I didn't eat breakfast or lunch - and usually not dinner. So now and then I will eat some lunch, like p-days - or days I can't take it - but I am sitting around 220. I will check later this week the weight. I drink a lot - and I usually will grab a cheap bag of chips when we go back to the flat. I am making my budget stretch and I usually am not hungry.

Visiting the Farm
So the pictures of the water buffalo are from a farm they visited in their area. They went to visit a part member family and they live about 2 hours outside Hyderabad.

I don't remember all their names - but they said that we must hurry and leave the farm because the lions are coming.

Apparently, they had kimodo dragons and lions in the area, but we weren't able to clear that up completely.

We were on the farm Saturday or Friday. I can't remember - but they were there when we had to leave because that was around the time lions come. I didn't see any lions unfortunatly. I was scared just hearing about them. lol.

He also snapped the picture of the hen with her 15 chicks there.

That chicken might taste good with some rice - except those babies wouldn't have a momma.

For that cause I refrained from eating them. lol. The little ones were cute.

Letters from Home
Logan commented on how he had finally received a letter from home last week after email. He was excited to finally get something, as were we! It takes about a month for letters...so don't be discouraged if you have written but haven't received anything yet.

In the delay though, Logan was a little concerned about Mimi. While he was in the MTC, I wrote him a letter and told him Mimi had been in the hospital. He wrote back and asked if she was really ok because he had heard...Missionary Urban Myth...about how this missionary got home and found out his dad and brother had died in a house fire 8 months ago. I wrote him back right away to tell him she was home and doing alright, but he still hadn't received it.

How's Mimi? I think she is dead?

Kaycee wrote you a letter about Mimi. She is not dead. I promise. Although, Emilee did shoot her in the face with a Nerf dart last night. Not good. We had cupcakes with her yesterday for McKay's birthday.

Ok I believe you. Why would Emilee shoot her? lol. Kinda funny but kinda not. lol. That's good. I just figured she was since no one was answering any questions I had about her.

She was just playing with Mack's gun. We got him some new darts.

That's cool.

Animals
As you can see in the pics above, Logan was able to catch a couple pictures of the monkeys near the old flat. He finally sent them this week. Personally, I don't think they look like monkeys as much as Gremlins. Ugh!

I wish I could send you the video. There was a huge one, the size of Chance, walking right in front of us. I got afraid. lol.

Funny Story of the Week
I havent seen white people. I only met one. Tell Uncle Chris that I have taken a picture with every white person I have seen in India, besides missionaries, and I have sent them home. I met a white guy from Dallas last week. He was only there for a short while. He left before I could get a snap. I get a TON of stares!! lol.

If you don't understand this....then you're not alone. Mom was a bit confused too. He was just saying that he sent home pictures of all of the white people he's seen. We haven't received any pictures...therefore, he hasn't seen any! Apparently, he was trying to be clever. Clever doesn't work out so well with exhausted Mom at 1 a.m.

running "lol" count = 272

Sneaux?

2008-12-19T08:29:00.004-06:00

Mom wanted me to post this video she got from Pops.

Yes, this snow is in Louisiana - from last week on the 11th I think. We were supposed to get hit with a big winter storm, but we just got the cold without all the fun! Louisiana got the pretty!

More snow pictures and wonderful New Orleans Christmas music....

Snow in New Orleans

The fifth week...

2008-12-17T11:46:00.032-06:00

Elder Toleafoa, Don (Kennedy's brother), Elder Sorensen, Kennedy, some guy who jumped in the picture.

This is for the bloggers...

This week we almost got arrested. lol. There were a few terrorist attacks on a Hindu temple and this undercover cop kept asking us for our passports, but we are never supposed to show without seeing ID first, and finally he showed us, after he was way angered. He said "I almost threw you two away - for your own safety." Everyone is afraid to talk to white people because that is who they are attacking. lol.

While this was an interesting story to hear, I don't think it's the lol type...but we won't tell Logan that. Logan wrote a quick little story for the bloggers because I have been sending him the comments you leave. He says y'all can leave him a little "shout out" more often. He also said for Pete - that he has 2 ties that you gave him and he wears them all the time.

Losing Weight

Logan has lost a total of 14lbs as of this week. He said he is down 3 notches on his belt since leaving the MTC. Mom mentioned that he would probably just gain it right back when he came home to the States, but he said that he and Brian have a plan to make sure they keep it off. We'll see if that actually happens...

Elder T

Mom emailed Elder T this week. Apparently, he wrote an email that upset his family and his mom didn't email him this week. So, Momma S stepped in and sent him some encouraging words.

Hi Elder The Rock
So this is our first letter Elder Toleafoa. I am Elder Sorensen's mom. We call you Elder The Rock here. We think you look like him & you are bigger than our boy. We don't see that too much.

Thank you for taking such good care of him. He speaks highly of you. He says he loves you like a brother. That's saying a lot because he really loves his brothers and he is a very good brother.

I am glad he got you as his trainer. I have always prayed that he would have a great trainer that would teach him to work hard and appreciate the good man he is. My prayers have obviously been answered.

He said you didn't get an email from your mom this week so consider this your Mom email. I am sure she misses you just like I miss my missionary. Sometimes we just don't know how to express it.

So tell Elder Sorensen to share some of his Christmas treats with you and keep up the great work in India. I know it's hard but it will all be very worth it in the end.

Love,

Sister Sorensen
alias Momma S

Dear Sister Sorensen,

I really appreciate the note. Honestly I am the one who has been blessed with your son as my companion. I feel like we were brothers even before this world. You are right he definately is a wonderful man. I respect him and admire his great desires. We are having a lot of fun here and I have enjoyed my time serving with him. You and "Poppa Bear" have raised a wonderful family. Thank you for lifting my spirit. May the Lord continue to pour out His choicest blessings upon you and your family. Have a great week. Aloha!!

Much Love,

Elder Toleafoa

Members/Investigators

Kennedy has been coming with us a lot. We ate at Kennedy's a couple of nights. We had mutton biryani. It was really good. They gave us some beef that was pretty spicy but not too bad - and no serious sickness. I have been fine this week. I had a small cold one day. And it's gone now.

Yeah for fine!! Mommy worries about you being sick. What kind of beef? How is the smell at Kennedy's? (He lives by the potty site)

Buffalo beef - it's all they got. It's not the same but I am way grateful for it. It's the only thing that looks the same. The smell went "away" - I got used to it. It's not a big deal any more. lol. I love Kennedy so much. He's amazing.

Rajini decided on a baptismal date - but not until 2010. Elder S was disappointed, but still optimistic because he is continuing to come to church.

The New Flat

Logan said he is enjoying the new flat - especially with the nice amenities they have.

This is the whitest my shirts have been in India. We have a washer now. It works pretty well. I am pleased.

Being a Missionary

Yesterday President Nichols told a story that explained exactly how I felt... I always wanted to see the Savior. I always hoped that I would be here for the 2nd coming and He would visit me - but we walked past this lady who we thought was dead and I felt really bad. President said that he had a missionary explain to him the same situation - but the elder prayed and said "Savior, visit these people first - they need you more." He felt the Spirit whisper "I did. I sent them you." How about that, huh?

Sometimes it's hard being a missionary. The last week was rough, so Mom wanted to make sure to send some encouraging words.

Are you happy Mancub being a missionary? The days are long but is it filling your soul? Do you feel closer to the Savior? Is your testimony growing? Can you feel it?

Sunday our lesson was from the Joseph Smith manual. The last line was about in the end we will know HIm. I thought of the times I have known Him. I have known Him through the cleansing power of repentance. I have known Him in times of joy but in the end I have known Him the best when I was at the saddest and couldn't do anymore on my own. At those times, I have gone to Him in prayer and said I can't do anymore and then I have known Him the best. He will carry you. I absolutely know He has the power and will use it to help you when you are down or discouraged. That is the beauty of the Atonement.

DON"T BE DISCOURAGED!!!! Work hard and rely on Him!!!

I am so happy - especially because of the wonderful support system I have. I haven’t hit rock bottom yet but I can already feel the Savior's love. It's amazing. I wrote this same email but really nice and our server crashed - so it's not as good - but I love the feeling I get while I am serving.

You don't have to hit rock bottom. You can just rely on the Lord and love your mission!! Everyday is one more day you can't get back - so love them all!!

And then Logan returns to his randomness....

So there is this Hindu temple backside of the church...it's about the size of the old tabernacle and half of the TC building. It reminds me of a Dr.Suess book. It is all colorful and there are wild pics of Hindu gods and all that everywhere. It's all pink, blue, green, red and all other cool colors. Thought you would like that - and so would the bloggers.

Letters from Home

We finally received some snail mail from India! It was so exciting to get his letters. It took about a month for our letters to get here and a letter I sent to him to get to him. He also received a letter from Kayla this week. He appreciates all the mail that is sent (even if he's not able to write you back right away, the letters are worth it)!

Animals

The only animals from this week were some parrots that he managed to snap some pics of. He couldn't get them to send though, so you'll just have to be patient until we get the CD with all the pics on it!

Deciphering Emails for the Blog...(just an idea of what I do to get the blog to the readers)
I am exicted that you got me a nativity!!!

its a lil smaller but its ok. u can tell its from india. except everyone is white. lol.

I got one pic. kennedy is pretty tall. i wouldn't mind dark people. you love them.

his brother Don is. kennedy is on my left, not smiling.

is he between you and T?

kennedy is on your right now smiling. he's not between t and i
there are 2 people on your right. he is the one not smiling right? i am not a blonde you do know this right? why did we get one pic?

ya. the other guy just jumped in. idk his name. kennedy is a little bigger. And he is on my immediate left. not between t and i.

Funny Story of the Week...

Elder S had the opportunity to go on exchange with Elder Siyyadri this week. They found a few people and went to a Districit choir activity. I couldn't resist posting his short description -

It was some choir thing where they sang Christmas songs and stuff like that. Well, they scream them because no one can sing.

running "lol" count = 226

King Tut

2008-12-12T12:15:00.005-06:00

The family went to King Tut yesterday at the Dallas Museum of Art. Awesomeness!

Enjoy some pics...There aren't that many because you're not allowed to take pictures in the exhibit.

The fourth week....

2008-12-12T10:48:00.025-06:00

Sorry, I didn't keep my promise...Tut, parties, Bethlehem, and a fast drop in temperature have kept my attention else where...

Here's the update from Elder Sorensen on his fourth week in Hyderabad. This was a rough week for him, or so it seems. I think the newness and excitement are wearing off. He could really use some mail if you have the time. He has only received one regular letter from home. Logan gave us his Flat address, but he might be transferred, so we'll wait to give that to y'all until we know for sure. If you'd like to send him something, you can always use the Mission Address (which is probably the safest anyway).

Investigators:

Elder T and Elder S met Anoj on Tuesday and set him for baptism on Thursday. He didn't make it to church Sunday though, so the baptism will have to one week later. Rajini is the only investigator that made it to church this week, so the other 5 possible baptisms aren't going to happen before Christmas/transfers. Apparently, they need to come to church for 3 weeks before baptism.

India news...

We asked Elder Sorensen what he knew about Mumbai and how that affected them. He was aware of the death toll, but mentioned that the Indian news reported different numbers than the international stations. He also reported that they probably won't be able to go to the Mariott for Christmas (like Thanksgiving) because there are still terrorists "at large" and the India AirForce is on high alert.

There was a shooting in his area last week that happened right after he and his companion had left. He didn't provide any more information than that.

Religion...

Last week I asked Logan to start looking for a Nativity for Mom. She loves these things and one of her dreams is to have each of the boys bring a Nativity scene back from where they serve their missions. Logan has been looking and he's come across a couple, but he asked an interesting question...

Do you want one that portrays everyone in a sad way - like everything related to Christ is here - or, do you want a regular happy one?

Do you like the sad one? It's sad that Christ is depicted as a sad thing in India. I will trust you to pick it out. How will you ship it so it doesn't get stolen and makes it in one piece? Maybe you should bring one when you come home.

Well how soon do you want one? It actually makes me kind of angry, 'cause everyone here displays their religion with pride. The Hindus have their gods all over their doors and windows and things like that. The Christians all have their crosses and pics of Jesus up everywhere too. When I see the sad ones it angers me, but I am getting used to it. Like Sister Dew said, I am becoming accepting of it.

But Pres. Hinckley said that we tolerate all religions. He said to bring what you have and see if we can't add more to it. I think for the people there, their religion is centuries old. It's the traditions of their fathers. It's like the Lamanites they just don't know any better. You can help them to know Christ by the way you treat them. Be loving and kind. Remember they are each a child of God and all are born with the light of Christ. I can understand though how it would get to you when you have this amazing message that can change their lives but they aren't ready to hear it yet. The key word is yet. Remember too that by their fruits ye shall know them. The fruits of the gospel are new to India. The people in your branch are truly pioneers.

Ya I think of those things all the time. Some people here are really amazing. We are looking mostly for Hindus because they are most likely to become LDS. Christians think it's a sin to be baptized twice. lol. junk fellows.

Junk fellows?

Junk fellow is like calling someone a bum. It means you don't like them but it's not enough to get you jumped.

Logan sometimes forgets to install his "Mom filter" before emailing.

Do missionaries get jumped there?

It's nothing to worry about...so Elder Evans, his area has a lot of BJP people and we were totally safe. Some people tried to punk us but I shared a message with them and they left us alone. Pretty cool.

What are BJP people?

The BJP is just a group here.

A group of what kind of people?

Christian haters.

Moving...

Elder T and Elder S finally moved into their new flat, closer to their area, in Scientist Colony, Habsiguda, Hyderabad. It took some time to get them in because they had to get some things taken care of...

The EQP has said so many times that he will send someone to fix the washer and geezer, so we spent a lot of time waiting for that, and when they are there they go super slow.

What is a geezer?

A geezer is a water heater that heats for about 5 minutes. It's horrible. I have had so many showers that make me lose weight from all the shivering.

Food...

What was your favorite food this week?

Someone made us this AMAZING sweet (dessert). It was some form of noodles - fried, then put into warm milk, which always contains...SUGAR!! So it was amazing. It was so good because the food was so spicy. lol. Nah, not really. I didn't even break a sweat.

Didn't want to die from hot food this week?

No...but Kennedy's family is from Chennai and they serve the HOTTEST food. We eat there this week...I am hoping I don't die. I've eaten a lot of mutton this week. Mutton is rubbery and not too good. We ate a ton of Doll and Buffalo from Kennedy. He's really awesome.

What kind of buffalo? Do you like dahl? I wanted to try and make some before you left.

The dahl was way good. Everything here has tons of tomatoes and peppers in it, so I "like" them now. We had water buffalo. Water buffaloes are plenty here and we drink that milk too, cause no one milks cows. Tomatoes are on the bottom of my list. I can tolerate them. Maybe I will like them before I leave. T can eat onions and tomatoes raw now. I will be able to do that too. We eat them in everything!!!

I am so proud of you for completely stepping out of your comfort zone and preferred taste zone too. I know the Lord will bless you your whole life through for serving and loving the people of India.

I'm seeing it already. I wouldn't like these things back home but here I do. That's just one small blessing.

Losing weight...

The water is keeping me a little sick. Monday T and I were fighting back the urge to upchunk. I felt better around 2...it took him till 5, but we are better now.

Have you lost anymore weight?

YA!! I lost another 2 kg - that's about 5 lbs - so I'm around 220 now. Everyone says I'm looking way different. I'm down 3 things on my belt since the MTC. My waist looks smaller.

Hey - tomatoes will do that for you or maybe it's the parasites...

I will put some back on later in life. We have to take this pill the size of my fist every six months to clean out our system for parasites.

Members
Logan told us a little bit more about some of the people he often mentions from their Branch.

Is Rajini Hindu? What was Kennedy?

Rajini was Hindu, Christian now. Kennedy was Roman Catholic, so is the rest of his family still. We started teaching Kennedy's family and his mom is so ready for baptism. We just need to set her.

What is Kennedy's calling? How did he join the church? Do the members feed you often?

Kennedy is the Young Men's 2nd counselor...something like that and I don't know how he joined. His lil bro is in the Bangalore mission. He's in KGF. I already love the people here. I love how they feed us SO much. Some members really help, and some just say stupid stuff that actually hurts the investigator's testimony.

Funny Story of the week....
(more of Logan forgetting the Mom filter)
Gavin wants to know if your building has a baptismal font?

Tell Gav that everything about this building is better, the only reason it's not better is because the Indians treat it differently. You'll see what I mean. It's really nice but they don't treat it the best.

That's the exact opposite of what I thought they would be like in regards to the building. I thought they would really treasure it. Does it have regular potties?

Yeah - regular potties and sprayers. It's nice. They like the building but they just don't understand the respect it deserves. If a General Authority saw that in America some people would feel the wrath of God.

What are sprayers? (why did she even ask....)

For your booty when your done with your business...you spray and then clean with the left hand.

YUCK!! What about toilet paper? Do you have to use your left hand? Can i send you toilet paper?

Most stores here have TP. I always use it. I haven't used the hand yet. I'm waiting for the absolute last moment before I do. lol. I still don’t understand...because I think all your clothes would get wet, right? Instead of drippage in the front you'd have drippage in the back. No fun!!

Wow what an amazing experience you are having. Does it seem real yet?

Sometimes I forget I'm in India.

Letters from home...
Have u gotten any snail mail yet?

Nope no snail mail. Have you gotten any?

I've sent you so much snail mail. I figured you had to have it by now.
And, lol!!!! Yes!! I got my first after we emailed last week. I sent you a snail mail about it, but I'll tell you now...Skittles. She spent the majority of the letter telling me "It might make a good story, but don't get thrown in jail."

When do you write your snail mail?

Wednesdays. I am sending pics and videos soon. I miss my music and movies. How is that coming?

It's coming I suppose, maybe for Christmas.

Well how long? Because we can file a report if they "lost" it. T said his mom complained once and they haven't lost any more of his packages.

We are just trying to get your Christmas in the mail. I know Kaycee and Daddy have mailed letters as well as the Finneys.

I know and I love that. Tell everyone I said thank you. I am trying to get y'alls to you too. I found these really cool cards.

Did you get their letters then?

No. I only got the one from Skittles.

Liahona...
Have you read the Liahona?

I will certainly try to find one. Is it the Nov. or the Dec. issue? Where do you get a copy?

Oh man, you need to steal one or something. It was the best thing I have ever read. There were so many that reminded me of Christmas in N.O. There was one about "I Stand All Amazed" by Elder Holland - he's a G - and it made me cry so much during the middle of Sunday School. lol. Pres. Monson's was really good. And Elder Neil A. Maxwell wrote a really good one about "Consecrating Thy Performance". Check them out!

Short little explanation - the Liahona is one of the magazines published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in addition to the Ensign (for adults), New Era (for youth), and Friend (for children). The church magazines include articles by General Authorities, including latter-day prophets, and other materials that help to build faith. The Liahona is the international magazine and it is published in many languages. It often includes the same articles as the Ensign, New Era, and Friend, but also has original articles and local news included. You can order your own subscription for any of the magazines or read the articles online. Here are the links for the articles that Logan mentioned:

Animals

How goes the monkey trapping? Does the new flat have interesting animal life?

The only animals around the new flat are Pigeons. I hate pigeons!!!!! I'm so bummed.

You like dirty little monkeys though. lol. Hey remember the pigeons in D.C.? They were fun. You do seemed bummed. Don't be bummed.

lol. I loved those pigeons, but these are just different. No love. Today I got to watch two monkeys. I love monkeys and that lifted my spirits so much. I couldn’t even describe it. I want an elephant. I have seen people with elephantiasis and leprosy. I never knew but I have seen so many. Interesting huh?

Do you stare? Leprosy huh? Are you given instructions on how not to get leprosy? O.K. Mowgli. Do you want a Baloo and a Bagera too? Maybe some vultures to be your friends. Elephants good. Elephantiasis bad!!

I don't know how to get leprosy, therefore I don't know how not to get it. I have wondered about it tho. And I would love Baloo and Bagera.

Tell everyone I love them. I miss you.

Hugs and kisses from India.
Love
Elder Logan Sorensen

running "lol" count = 184

The third week....

2008-12-10T12:24:00.026-06:00

Wow - Thanksgiving really put me behing schedule! This is the email from week 3 (ending 2 Dec 08). Week 4 will be up by Friday! Enjoy...and please comment. I am sending the comments to Elder Sorensen in email form so he knows what y'all have to say about his adventures.

New Key:
Elder Sorensen
Mom
Kaycee
Gavin
Comments/Guest

WEEKLY UPDATE

Hey Everyone,
Well another week down. The Mumbai blasts still kinda have everyone on high alert but we have been told not to worry. The "kg count" is still on. I have lost 4kg since being in India. That's alomst 9 pounds. I'm sitting at about 222lbs. It's funny because I can tell all the locals that I'm going on a diet. They usually get a good laugh. Yesterday we met a really cool new investigator. He came to the other elders in the branch and told them "I've heard about your church. I was taught the lessons a while back. and I have a Mormon book. when can I be taught? I'm really loving your church and all the good things that come from it." We met him and kinda figured out what he knew about the Book of Mormon. He knew quite a bit. We explained to him that we worship Christ and Heavenly Father not Joseph Smith. He was like "that's what I thought." He's so prepared. We are hoping to set him before Christmas transfers. If all goes well we will have 6 people baptized around Christmas time. Tonight we are setting Rajini. He told me that I'm his favorite missionary. It was cool. He said that he would take baptism if I took baptism. I'm pretty sure I was baptized already. I told him that, he kinda pondered it for a while. We met with him Monday night and we are committing him tonight (Wednesday). He kinda mentioned that he wants me to baptize him. which would be freaking amazing. I'm so excited for him. Other than that nothing too big has happened. Peter and his family kinda dropped us so we haven't met with them in a while. We found another really good family. When we met the son didn't believe in God. T was talking to his friends. By the time I left he said that us finding him was a sign from God and he is meeting with us Sunday and his friend is meeting with us tonight. Well that's all. I am picking up some Teligu. I still sound like a gringo, but it's fun. I love y'all. Thanks for the prayers.
Elder Sorensen

CURRENT INVESTIGATORS: Rajini, Radjshakar, Anoj, Madhu, Sagar and Vanisha, Dilip and Laxomi, Monoj, Jesu Ratnum Family,and Nagaraj

A few explanations...The country is not necessarily on high alert, but "kinda nervous." Logan explained baptism a little more to Rajini by showing him his Priesthood Line of Authority. Peter is the father of the 8 member Roman Catholic family they met the first day.

Music and Rules...
Have you sent my Ipod yet? No one here has any good music.

What kind of music do they have?

Some places have American music - we just listened to Colbie Calliat - but mostly Teligu music. It's ok but I don't know what they are saying.

Why are you listening to American music? I thought you weren't supposed to. You did so well on the way to the MTC. How would you rate yourself on following the rules?

There have been maybe 3 days that I was late getting up, or late to studies and those days i knew it. The music is on at all the places Americans go. They know its what we like. It's all good. I'm not really listening. It's not really music i like anyways.

Your rating on following the rules???

Probably 9. I know there are some I don't know and I break my English because they can't understand if you don't.

Is breaking English a rule? like saying so big?

I think it means speaking English and Teligu together, but somethings could work in America and some wouldn't.

Illness...
Logan has been sick off on and throughout the time that he has been in India. Part of the problem is adjusting to the food, but also the water. Logan doesn't drink it all the time, but when he does, he's getting sick. The usual is a stomach ache and fever, but he doesn't let that stop him from doing the Lord's work. He said that being sick is a pretty frequent thing, but staying home isn't. He had a sweet moment with Rajini when he was sick though...

On Saturday night I was sick so we slept for 30 minutes before meeting him. We met him 30 minutes after waking up. He noticed I didn't look well. "Brother, you're looking very dull." I tried to get him to not worry about it. Snday he brought me chocolates and some warm milk,which is actually really good. Go boil some milk and put a good amount of sugar in it.

PMG....
Elder Sorensen talks about PMG all the time now. (PMG = Preach My Gospel) He is telling anyone and everyone who will or won't listen that studying PMG will help and it tells you how to be a great missionary. While in the MTC, I sent him a mini copy of PMG to use. He says that all the other Elders are jealous and that he likes having 2 copies to study from because he can pass one along to the next Elder Sorensen.

Moving...
Elder T and Elder S have yet to move to the new flat. They did go shopping for a couple things for the flat though - a stove, fridge, washer, cups, and utensils. Logan doesn't mind that they haven't moved because he likes the other guys in the flat. Logan is excited for the new flat because it's nice or as he put it his current flat "on steroids."

Thanksgiving Dinner...
It was delicious, not the same, but not India. So I was super happy about that.

Logan explained that they're not allowed to purchase large meals like that, so they all gave their money to the senior couple who paid at the hotel. Interesting. We don't quite understand it, but he was excited to have some good food.

Mail...

Have you gotten any snail mail yet? If so from who?

Nope. None yet. u? I sent some yesterday and last Monday.

Can we send stuff directly to your flat? Some wardies want to send you a package...

Send it through the mission office. The 6 packages thing is a bluff. I can get 6 for the rest of the year. It's year ending, not my mission year ending.

Teaching....

So tell me what it's like to teach. Do you usually follow the same pattern?

It is very intimidating. We hardly ever follow the same pattern. The only pattern we follow is the outline, but we always use different scriptures or teach different points in a principle. It's so much fun though. You feel so good afterwards.

I so wish I could be a fly on the wall to see how wonderful you are doing. It sounds like you are learning alot.

Lessons are a lot of explaining and re-explaining. We usually go over a few things and you can tell really fast if they understand or not. T does a lot of talking in most and I do about 40% in those. The others that I lead are more 50-50 and kinda random, but I'm getting there. Study PMG lesson one. I pretty much do that - thats what it's like.

No one we teach has more than one room. Most are about the size of the living room - the one with the tv - and we sit on the floor sometimes. Rajini has one room. It's the size of mine and the school room minus the closets and a few feet. His bed is a metal frame. He sleeps on newspaper and has a blanket for a pillow. That's what we see all the time. One family we visit has 2 rooms, and some have comfy beds, but only some.

Sunday...
Each week I feel less green. Our BP (Branch President) is amazing. He always says "Elder Sorson, what do you think? How is it done back home?" He helps me a lot and the EQP is actually trying to be better, so I try too. We had a nice conversation - he's a really smart guy. Church was good. Class was fun. Rajini was having fun. It was so funny. Rajini kept getting T and I to read and he loves to participate, so he just has fun.

A 14 year old boy or Sister Kasper plays the piano. This kid is pretty good too and they have an organ nicer than the one at home. The building is really new.

Food...
Are you thinking of making wild chicken and rice? I don't use as much curry as they do there in mine.

I want to make chicken. There are a million places here to buy chickens, but I want to catch one with razor sharp talons.

Some food advice:

Don't drink excessive caffeine - especially energy drinks. They cause osteoporosis and the dehydration. (Name the movie....Gator-ade)
Go for low cost items like an appetizer instead of an entree when eating at places like Friday's.
You can also go for the kids menu.
Share something with Elder T. If there's something you both want it makes it cheaper and you get to enjoy 2 things!
Don't order dessert - it's just sugar and sugar won't give you sustained energy..."no nutrients" (movie?).
Go and have a salad or something.

I don't have too much coke, and everything kinda comes out easier but not like runny. You know. I have some food at the flat. I found some Ramen thats from China, so it's not Indianized. It has no dosa or masala, which are weird and not delicious to the taste.

Bathroom...

What is the potty situation like these days?

Yesterday I had to go so bad and our driver wouldn't stop and when I finally could go there were about of beggers asking me for money. I thought seeing me Pee would be enough.

Beggars ask you for money when you are peeing?

They ask for money whenever, especially when we pee because I can't run away. They pull and scratch and everything.

They pull and scratch while you are peeing? Do you really think peeing in public is modest? Can't you go somewhere private? i'm sorry you have to go in the street and beggars harass you. I would imagine that is very hard to see people so destitute.

Man I wish I could help them. It's horrible but there are no places to go. They have one public restroom in our area and it's at Kennedy's house - the "thing" behind his house.

Gavin's thoughts...
Daddy & I were watching a movie yesterday. It was about a football player that was 5 foot flat. He wanted to play for Notre Dame but everyone told him he couldn't. It's one of the best teams in the NCAA. It reminded me of how people said to you that is was going to be really hard to go to India. That you are wasting your time. It made me cry at the end of the day because I thought of you and how you were like that football player Rudy.
Love ya, Gavin (Impulse)

If anyone tells you that I'm wasting my time you ask them why? Then tell them it's for the Lord and we are sharing a message about how God loves everyone not just the [people] in America. It's ok buddy. Thank you tons.

Mission Plaque...
We asked Logan what scripture he wanted for his mission plaque...the response was greatness!

Romans 1:16. or the one about the Lamanites fighting like dragons - cause thats what we do here. If you can find that one use it.

Fighting like dragons? That doesn't sound very missionary like!

Yes it does. We fight for our lives, don't tell mom. We fight with the spirit - even though the dragon there means Satan.

How do you fight for your lives? Is there street fights? Fun!

Is this KC or mom? Then I'll tell. lol.

It's Kaycee. I type fast so we're tag teaming the email lines. Mom went to the bathroom.

Ok. There are people ALL around who try and get us outta the country. They are haters. They always tell us we aren't welcome and try and steal our passports and stuff like that. Sometimes they threaten us, but they never get away with it. Crossing the traffic here is insane.

So do you carry your passport on you? (It's your papers) Do you need something to wear under your shirt to keep stuff safe? I'm guessing that is part of the reason they don't send the scrawny Elders there.

I carry a copy, not the passport. That's bad. All my stuff is safe. It can't be stolen unless i'm beaten down. Don't worry. T and I are big boys. We are safe, but Pres told us if we do get into a confrontation, we need to be hit first, then we swing and run like crazy.

Pictures...

I didn't really take any new pics this week, but T and I are hoping to make Christmas cards today and send them out. We have been trying to get pics in front of the church forever!! We can't have our cameras while we prosy that's why you dont have too many pics, but I will find a way.

Questions...

Is Elder T teaching you how to be a good trainer? Will you get new missionaries after Christmas? What are the names of the other missionaries in your flat? Were you able to meet with the Pres last week? What did y'all talk about?

kinda. yes, 6, not as big as our batch. Siyyadri-Tuscano,Ward-Evans.
Yes we met, and we didn't really get to talk much because he had meetings.

What does kinda mean? I'm guessing Elder Siyyadri is a native?

I'm just learning from example. Siyyadri is from Radj, the poorest place in the mission.

Does that mean Siyyadri is poor? How does he pay for his mission? Did he have to go the MTC in the States? How does he afford Friday's?

We usually pay for what he can't. He's good with his money. He had to pay 20,000/- before he came out. Natives have to finish their degree before they leave and they go to the Phillipines MTC. I think his family is a little better well off, so I think he has some money.

Uncle Chris Says...
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! GEAUX LOGAN!

He also said that it's amazing how cool and comfortable you look over there in India. He is way proud of you and glad that you're doing well and safe! That was his comment on the blog this week.

Sweet. Tell him thanks and I love him. I had a few letters with him and the fam at the MTC. Tell him I try to look natural even though I stick out like a sore thumb.

Do you stick out like a sore thumb because you're white or because you're "Fat?" How's Bob? Have you taught him any lessons this week?

Bob has been "too busy" and I stick out because I'm white and I'm tall. Very few people here are tall. There are a lot of people who look like Faruk. They have rice bellies.

Fun Stories of the week...
I'm getting way good at Table Tennis because we play a lot. We give church tours and they always want to play table tennis. If they get a point they can ask a question. If we get a point they have to do something, like committment or read, something like that. There's a pretty sweet table upstairs at the church and rajini loves to play, but he always tries to get us to. It's super fun and I'm way good now. Rajini likes it.

I found out last night that if 3 or more cars go the wrong way it's legal here. They all crossed over traffic last night and they were just going and our lane was just going around them. It is so weird here.

Something interesting I saw was a ritual. When a girl has her first menstual cycle they get all the people together and pour goats milk all over her. I saw it in passing...but it was still weird.

We saw a TON of monkeys the other day. T was a little nervous. I thought they were cute. We havent been bat watching because we have been working out at night too - trying to get "so much big" T actually is taller than me, but a little pudgier and "so much big" is Indian for bigger. It's just how they speak and I am getting that way. T had a bad experience (before with the monkeys). He lost some bananas and got chased. I tried to catch a monkey the other day. He ran to another bigger one so I stopped.

running "lol" count = 123

The second week...

2008-12-02T10:49:00.035-06:00

Wow! Can you believe it? Elder Sorensen was set apart as a missionary 7 weeks ago! He has been in Hyderabad for 3 weeks as of tomorrow.

This post is from the email conversation last week. Sorry for the delay....we were out of town and I wasn't able to edit on my cell phone. I figured I would get this posted before I had another jumbled conversation to sort out. Enjoy!

*Reminder!!!! Elder Sorensen's quotes look like this. Mom's look like this.

Getting to the area...
Logan had to fly to Hyderabad, as he will for most transfers according to the letter from the mission. We kidded with him before leaving that he would have a chicken on his lap, but he informed us that there was no chicken. They flew Jet Airways and he says it was pretty nice. There were 4 missionaries going to Hyderabad and his buddy from Mr.Mac and the MTC Elder Pacanos was headed to Visac.

Eating....
Logan is feeling a little better, but he told us he hasn't been eating much since he doesn't have money for groceries until Monday. With the constant need to use autos, the cost is starting to hit him a little hard and he hasn't been able to buy as much food. He did tell us about eating buriyanni from Paradise - it's the best around and pretty cheap - and missing burgers. He has heard that you can get burgers in Chennai and Bangalore, but they're not the same.

ES: All we eat is curd and buriyanni. Buriyanni is just a weird rice with chicken or whatever you want in it. It's all ok. One food was so hot I thought I was gonna die, but I was ok. I say a prayer every time before I eat.

M: Too hot for a Cajun boy?? That's crazy!! Prayer before food is always best no matter what continent you are partaking it on.

ES: I lost my Cajun senses when I was brought to Texas unfortunatly. lol.

Logan told us last week that whenever he has a little of the water that it makes his stomach feel a little woozy. We asked why he was drinking the water if he had been told not to and he explained that he could drink the water only when he has to. Some people are too poor for even water bottles , so he takes what they offer.

ES: It's alright. If I get sick...I'll have to be tough.

The Elders got to enjoy some American food at the Marriott for Thanksgiving day. Logan was excited to have some mashed potatoes.

Turkey Bowl...
Elder T and Elder S planned a Turkey Bowl for all the Elders in the area (20). Logan was pumped! J-Wall had apparently given him a hard time about missing it, so Logan was thrilled to be able to continue the tradition.

ES: There's a big soccer field around here that we played on. We rented it out for 1000. There were 20 elders. It was really cute to see the natives running around doing what they thought was good. I scored a few times, but I was Qb a lot too. I threw to everyone about 3 or 4 times except my companion. He was letting everyone else do their stuff too. It was lots of fun. I scored a rushing, recieving, and throwing TD. I had a couple of both. and I didn't throw one pick. It was an amazing game.

M: Sounds like a fun way to met possible investigators. Sounds like you were being a good sport.

Communication...
M: Talking this way is a huge blessing!! Do you miss snail mail letters? Or do you like these quick conversations?

ES: There have been 2 parcels so far and I haven't gotten anything. Whatever is best for y'all.

I think that means he would like to get some mail. If anyone wants to send him something, check out the mailing address on the top right on the blog homepage.

Teaching...
The other elders in the their flat have been sick. Logan said that it's been draining because they worry about them in addition to all the people in their area.

ES: Hyderabad is 13 million people. We have over 3 million.

Elder Sorensen has taught a few lessons, but he shared that it's pretty intimidating and that Elder T saves me when I freeze. It's all good. I'm doing 2000x better. He expressed that it is difficult to teach because it's hard to describe how the Spirit feels.

ES: It's kinda hard to describe it to them, especially when we know they have felt it. Any insights?

M: Erik says galatians 5:22-23. Seth says it's a warm fuzzy feeling. Ask them if they are feeling it. Stop and describe when you feel the spirit and how it feels to you. Just remember you don't have to be the only contact they ever have. You maybe just the first. Help them to recognize how they feel when you teach. Sounds like trying to describe salt to someone that has never tasted it.

ES: As the days go on and I know more about India the easier it is to apply it to their lives. It's pretty sweet. I'm loving it.

Also, there are many Anti-Mormon and Anit-Christian groups and the people will go speak with friends or pastors and then they never meet with the missionaries again. Elder Sorensen was positive though!

ES: I'm not too worried about it. Thanks for the prayers. We usually have about 8 or 9 new investigators a week. We teach all of them a lesson. We are spending a lot of time finding Hindus because they don't know much about Christ yet and they haven't been baptized, and they have no pastor to go to. lol. We teach about 3 lessons a day. We plan to have some baptisms before we leave.

Before leaving, Pops kidded with Logan about meeting "Bob" from Tech support. Last week, Logan met a Bob and they are teaching him. They met him after being bummed about Rajini telling them that he had changed his mind about being baptized.

ES: We were talking to someone...He saw our tags, stopped, got off his bike, and started talking to us. He told us to just call him Bob. He was pretty cool. We are teaching him again soon. AWESOME!! The Lord works in mysterious ways.

M: Keep teaching!! You will have baptisms. Remember Abinadi never knew he helped convert even one person - that was Alma and through Alma every other Nephite prophet. Sometimes we don't know the good we do in this life. It's so great that you get to teach that much!! That's lots of practice and experience with the scriptures.

ES: We tract a lot and we have about 2 or 3 study hours a day. I know that if these people are willing to talk to us now they will be in the next life and there they will be able to understand. It's cool. I'm not too worried. I know somehow I'm making a difference. The other elders and I get along so well. The members are so nice. They always ask how i'm adjusting.

The Roman Catholic family mentioned from last week stopped accepting them, but Elder T and Elder S see them every day. He mentioned that they hope to get in to see them again before the weeks' end.

Some Funny Anecdotes...
ES: Monday night I almost hit the BP (Branch President) in the face. He was riding by on his bike and he almost hit me, joking, so I almost swung. I saw his tie so I knew he wasn't too bad. And then Kennedy was behind him laughing so we were ok.

M: Kati and Seth wanna know have you named your new monkey friends and can you bring us home one? Erik wants to know if they throw stuff at you.

ES: I'm working on a fool proof monkey trap as we speak. lol. They don't throw anything yet. They usually scavenge and we keep our distance because T hates them. lol.

An interesting observation from Kaycee: Upon compiling these emails, I noticed the frequent usage of LOL by both Logan and Mom. LOL was used 29 times in this series of emails alone! I guess that's pretty appropriate seeing as we are a Laugh Out Loud type of family.

ES: I love y'all. This is my last transmission this week. I love y'all. Thanks for the encouragement.

HOG TIE!! WITH LOTS OF KISSES!!!
SPREAD THE HUGS AND KISSES AROUND!!!!!!
I love you.
Logan

Elder Sorensen is safe...

2008-11-27T09:18:00.006-06:00

Pres. Nichols gave special permission for the missionaries to email last night. He sent us a quick note:

Wussup baby? i know you're in the car on the way to new orleans, or something to that affect. but...we were given special permission by Pres. Nichols to email home today. Tell the boys, by name, that i love them. i want u to know that i'm safe. i hope u have a wonderful turkey day.

We also got some pictures! Enjoy!

The first week...

2008-11-19T11:46:00.012-06:00

So we were able to "talk" to Logan last night via email. It made for an interesting around the globe discussion to say the least. For Logan, it was around lunch time and for us - the middle of the night. Mom and I were the only diehards to stay up and "chat" but we'll forgive Dad because it was his birthday and he hasn't been feeling so well!

I have tried to make a semblance of order to randomness, but I don't know how well this will flow as you read it. Just remember - this was about 50 emails we received from Logan over the space of about an hour.

The actual emails will be preceded by "ES:" for Elder Sorensen (duh!) and "M:" for Mom.

ES: Guess who's here?????? Logan!!! ANYONE THERE???

Logan chose to email like an instant message after Mom asked him a load of questions. He said that it was easier to answer one question at a time. He can only check him email on p-day, but his District Leader/Companion said it was ok to check the day before since they were working out some moving arrangements. Mom wondered if the move had something to do with the Bangalore and Sri Lanka areas being closed. Logan explained that the Brethren have said only one companionship to a flat, so since there are 3 companionships in their flat, they are moving. The areas closed have specific restrictions right now. Logan told us that "conversion" was a touchy word to use in India.

ES: the word "convert" here has different meanings. we say that we are "teachers from church." conversion here is like we bribe or force them to join the church. and this guy heard what they were doing and asked them to come teach him back at the apartment and when they got there he had camera crews and everything. he was yelling "These men said they would give me anything to join their church." it was all over the news here and they had to go on lockdown all over the mission for about a week. the missionaries in bangalore have to take off their badges when they tract or eat. they can only wear them walking. and DL and ZL have to wear color shirts. and no one wears ties when they eat. i dont know why.

M: so what do you call a new member or the process of being born again?

ES: we just say "We are teachers from church with a very special message we would like to share." everyone will say yes.

The lockdown happened around the end of October (the time when Logan was in the MTC).

ES: it was a while back. i feel safe. its awesome. i feel safe.

How do you get around?

Since the area is the size of The Colony, Carrollton, and Frisco with about 3 million people (or so he has estimated), they walk or take "autos."

ES: Autos are little rickshaws that have 3 wheels and are an amazing experience. once we are where we need to be we walk the rest of the day. we walk about 6 or 7 miles. maybe more. we walk a lot.

How's Elder Toleafoa (companion)?
His trainer is the District Leader and he's a Samoan from Hawaii. Logan says that they have "too much in common," "get along too well," and "love each other." I am guessing that means that they might be having a little fun while they're serving the Lord.

ES: my companion is amazing. he lets me say things is lessons and whatever. he lemme b/c no one else would.

Logan says that the next transfer (Christmas) they will be split and "the hard mission will start" since it seems that everything here has been too perfect.

ES: i'm waiting for the storm.

How was church on Sunday? How many missionaries are in your branch? How much area does a branch cover? How does the caste system affect the church?

ES: i ruffled some feathers at PEC. i was told that i would see a major divide between some ppl and no one would support the president. i chose the presidents side and upset the EQP. he was bashing the President and i told him to stop. "from what i see the president is doing amazing and its his job to run the branch not yours."

M: Bishop Miller will be proud you are sustaining the presiding priesthood. Just make sure you do it in a kind and Christlike way.

ES: there are 6 missionaries. and an older couple. the kaspers. there are 150 ppl in the branch. No one here knows the size. there are 4 branches in hyderabad. the difference between the caste system here is amazing. we have ppl who we teach...their house is smaller than our front room, minus the dining room. and our landowner doesnt let anyone but his brothers and colleagues sit on his couch b/c he is so high in the system and he lets us sit on the couch.

How are your feet in those shoes with all that walking? A rickshaw - What does that cost?

Logan keeps expressing just how cheap everything there is. Since Logan is his mother's son, he is a good bargainer and they usually spend 20-40 rupees (or about 50 cents to a dollar).

ES: last night i spent $1.10 on an auto. that was from one end of our area to the other. so it was the most expensive one yet. but its still super cheap here. everything is.

He says his feet are doing great and never hurt, but he teaches lessons sitting on the ground and that hurts, "but its ok." They sit on the ground to teach because people don't have beds and chairs, but just mats on the floor. Logan said that people will try to give them a seat whenever they teach.

ES: i wouldnt feel right if i sat in a chair while they sat on the floor. so we sit indian style on the floor.

M: that's my boy!! that is why you are in India. You are awesome!! You love people!!

Logan is also quite amazed at the "bathroom habits" of India. Apparently, he is reverting back to his 2-year-old days of camping and learning to pee on a tree. He has already learned to check before you go though because it might be someone's home (like your investigator). This makes for an interesting aroma as you can imagine -

ES: the smells here are too hard to describe. its a mix of poo, pee, trash and fruit. awesome huh. some places are just poop smell though.

ES: some unique things about India:

put the food in a tuperware when u send it.
ppl shake their heads for everything, if the chin moves then they mean "no" if it doesnt move then its a "yes" or a sign they understand.
i never see kids at school. all day everyday there are kids running around. my first day i played soccer in the street with some kids. its amazing.
i've been called fat about 30 times already.

How's the food? What do you eat?

ES: the food is amazing. i've eaten some really good food. what i've eaten hasnt been bad. some was super spicy. but they have a lot of cheap american food. subway and KFC and TGIFridays. we go there when we wanna listen to american music.

They went to KFC for lunch on p-day and we pointed out to Logan that the prices at those places are about the same as in the States. Since everything else is so cheap though, they have enough to eat out occasionally, especially since they don't eat dinner. They eat cereal at home in the morning and then have lunch wherever they are during the day. With all the walking and the lack of dinner, Logan has already lost 6-7 lbs and he says it's "mostly in his legs."

Are you feeling better after the flights, mtc sickness and time change?

ES: honestly i dont feel like i'm on the other side of the world. i feel like i'm just in south texas. like EFY. jet lag was gone after 3 hours. and my stomach feels weird every now and then. thats b/c i drink a little bit of the water each meal just so i can get used to it. we buy a water bottle a day. its like 10 rupees. CHEAP! and i wanna get used to it so i dont offend ppl when i enter their homes. everyone offers us Tea, Coffee, water, food, anything.

Have you seen elephants, monkeys or the unmentionable rodents?

ES: i have seen tons of monkeys. no elephants. there are tons of monkeys around our flat. we saw some stealing food on sunday. they are hard to get pics of. and they are greyish brown. they are "Dirty" and they are not lazy.

Gavin will be excited that he saw "Apu."

What is it like when you teach people?

ES: its super hard for ppl to understand. i pray for the gift of tongues almost everyday. and they dont get it too much. they need lots of understanding and explaining. its all good tho. they are really sweet. and a lot have the light of Christ. but its really intimidating...it's ppls eternal salvation at stake u know?

On his first day in Hyderabad, they were able to find 8 new investigators, including a Roman Catholic family who had a good understanding of the Bible and understood what prophets are. Logan was excited to teach them because many of the people they speak to don't have that understanding.

Logan also told us about one of their investigators - Rajini - who has been learning for 3 months. They haven't been able to teach him because "his family thinks we are of the devil." He's a young guy with his own place and he comes to church every week, but was missing this past Sunday. Elder T and Elder S decided to go visit him. He had been sick for a week and boiling dirty bath water to drink and only eating rice. He didn't want to worry his family by asking for help.

ES: he looked horrible when we saw him. i felt horrible. i just wanted to lay him down and pray for him. we brought him medicine. he wouldnt take it. we asked if we could give him a blessing. we explained them to him. he said yes. elder t asked who should give which part, he turned to me and asked me. i looked like a deer in the headlights. my heart swelled for this man. i was so happy. we used my oil and gave him a blessing. i almost cried. we went to another appointment and came back. we read Matthew 9 and pulled out some bread and water. we told him "We arent Jesus, but we are His servants." he finally ate some bread and water. at this point he was so much better. we answered some questions he had about church. he finally said he wanted to be baptized. he brought it up not us. we taught him the Word of Wisdom. we are meeting with him later today, wednesday, to answer any more questions. we called him back on tuesday and he was out and about. didnt feel sick or anything. it was truly a miracle. everytime i see him now he says "Thank you brother." and gives me a big hug.

He made it to India!!!

2008-11-12T10:44:00.002-06:00

Please remember - he is sleep deprived and he only had 5 minutes!!!

From: Reid Sorensen
Subject: Re: Fw: Did you make it to India??
To: Mom
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 4:31 AM

i'm not gonna be able to respond to all u wrote. wednesday is my p-day. i'll get on around 11AM my time. so if u want we can chatter together. kinda like a txt or an IM. they said i have 5 minutes so i'm hurrying. i love this place. its so amazing. y'all cant even understand what i'm seeing. things i thought i would only see in new york. except there are little children running around and in front of cars and riding mo-peds. its awesome. the cows here are twice the size of the longhorns around EDS. thats why no one moves them. i saw a few laying around. its so amazing. well...i've gotten 5 hours of sleep since i left the MTC. the plane rides were horrible. we got off the plain in frankfort and we literally ran to the next teerminal and we waited in line for 3 minutes and were on the plane. thats how close we were. i wont know where i'm serving till tomorrow. they might let us email u. but i'm not sure. Pres. Nicols and his wife are awesome. he said i can email brian but not every week and i have to email y'all first. they made us eggs and pancakes this morning. we'll never ahve another good breakfast they said. we got here last night at 1:30. by the time we got through customs and got to the apartment it was 4ish. we didnt get to sleep till 5. y'all were playing around. then we had to wake up at 6:30. not fun. pres. nicols will be sending some pictures soon. he said when u send packages write "Missionary Supplies". dont write on there the value. the ppl delivering the package will charge about 50% of what u put on there. they say not to b/c the ppl are corrupt not b/c we are trying to jip the gov't. i got alot of ruppies. 1150!!! the exchange rate is 48 ruppies to $1. so thats about $50 or something. thats for the next 5 days. you'll do awesome on your talk. u wanna know how i know? cause your an awesome mom. i love all of you. i miss ya tons.

Lots of hugs and lots of kisses.
-Logan

A Letter from the Prez

2008-11-12T10:39:00.003-06:00

From: Melvin Nichols
Subject: Elder Sorenson
To: "Elder Sorenson Family"
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 8:52 AM

Elder Sorenson arrived safe and sound in Bangalore early this morning. We picked up he and his companions and brought them into Bangalore. They got to bed about 4:00 AM. We then had them come over to the Mission Home where Sister Nichols fed them a great breakfast. We then gave all the elders an orientation. Then we took this photo of Sister Nichols and I and your son. This afternoon we brought them all into the Mission Office and covered a number of items with each elder. I then had a wonderful interview with your son.

I will meet with him again tomorrow morning and give him his first assignment. He will be assigned to the Hyderabad II Branch, in Hyderabad, India which is due north of Bangalore about 500 miles. His companion will be Elder Toleafoa, a district leader and an outstanding young man that I trust very much. Your son will be in good hands.

Hyderabad is the city where the church is strongest. He will be in a great branch with a brand new chapel.

He seems to be doing well and adjusting though he is still suffering some from lack of sleep and jet lag. Thank you for sending us your wonderful son.

Please do not hesitate to contact me.

President Melvin R. Nichols
India Bangalore, Mission

They're back!

2008-10-24T10:54:00.003-05:00

The Krewe arrived home in the wee hours of the morning today, and Mom has left again. She's off to Time Out for Women with Kati. I'm sad I couldn't go, but I'm glad Mom got to go!

I snagged the pictures off the counter, so I could let everyone see the adventures mentioned...

Check em out -

He is officially on a mission!!!

2008-10-22T08:43:00.014-05:00

The timer is correct....

The fam has some plans today prior to the report time...including a trip to the Mt. Timp Temple, playing some football with the boys, and hamburgers...if I recall correctly. As soon as I get a report on the happenings of the day, I will post everyone's memories.

Some events from the drive up there - baptisms at the Winter Quarters temple, a visit to Badlands National Park, the Corn Palace, Mt. Rushmore, stampeding sheep, buffalo hunting, Martin's Cove, Independence Rock and Devil's Gate. I know they were quite happy to be through Wyoming on Sunday and make it to Natalika's house. They spent the day with the Summers on Monday - including a trip to the park and an apple tree that Chance was quite please to find - and then headed to Lehi to be with Amee and Chris & Tanya's family. Tuesday, Mom and the missionary were off to get pants exchanged & hemmed, replace lost scriptures (a tragedy!), buy books, and exchange luggage. From what I understand, it was quite a productive day!

At Mr.Mac while trying on pants, the missionary in the next fitting room mentioned to the sales clerk that he was on his way to India. So, Logan was excited and made a new friend - because let's be honest - that's what he does - no one is a stranger to Logan! They introduced themselves using first names and instantly felt a little awkward. They both decided that "Elder" was the way to go. I'm glad because it would be weird to call him "Sister." They chatted a bit and I don't remember all the details - and Elder Sorensen didn't really either - but I do remember that he was from California. I'm sure I'll find out his name soon enough, there's not that many new missionaries headed to India and they'll probably be together at the MTC.

The boys were happy to have Elder Sorensen running errands yesterday because it meant they got to play Rock Band with their cousins. I think Gavin had a moment where he was a little bothered to end his game, but he quickly got over it. Elder Sorensen requested Chicken & Rice for his homecooked meal last night, so Mom called me and got the recipe. From the report I got, he had 2 large helpings before enjoying 2 servings of delicious banana pudding. He loves food - after all, he is a SORENSEN!

I got to talk to Logan for a minute last night. It's only been a week since he was set apart, and talking to him on the phone, he already sounded different. He didn't use his normal vernacular - dude being the most obvious deletion. I'm so proud of him. He's so grown up, even if he is forgetful and misplaces things! I remember talking when he was about 5 how I would graduate in 2000 and he wouldn't graduate until 2008 and then go on his mission and come home in 2010. It all seemed so far in the future, but now it's here! I'll miss him, but I know he's fulfilling a call he's always had to be a missionary in India at this time. It's like Mom said - it's neat to think that the only movie that could keep the attention of the extremely active 2-year-old Logan was Jungle Book. He's our Elder Mancub!!!

Go Forth with Faith!

On a side note - I wrote Logan a letter this morning using DearElder.com. It was nothing too fancy, but I thought I would pass the greatness on to those who might be interested in a free way to get a note to him. (The service accepts donations, if you feel so inclined.) His box number is 204. He will be in the MTC for approximately 3 weeks (pray for visas!) - hopefully heading to India around November 12th or so.

Happy writing!

For those wishing to write a letter and buy a stamp:

Elder Reid Logan Sorensen

Mailbox #204, IND-BANG 1110

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 87604

And they're off....

2008-10-15T09:37:00.005-05:00

So last night, Logan was set apart as a Missionary. What a neat experience that was! It was great to hear the testimonies of our family and the Stake President - Pres. Roberts. The Sorensen Krewe 2 was all there as well as Mimi, Emilee, Loree and her 2 little ones, and Brian Wilson (not the Beach Boy - Logan's best bud).

After, everyone continued to pack for the trip - a 10 day excursion to Utah and back! They left me (Kaycee) at 5 am and they're on their way to take Elder Sorensen to the MTC. They are going to stop at the Winter Quarters temple and perform some baptisms for some family names - which I am excited about because I've been saving them for Burke to do because one is a professional baseball player and the other a pilot! Then the trip continues across the plains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. They'll be in Utah on Sunday - so if you want to see Elder Sorensen before he heads to India and you reside in the Beehive State, give Mom or Dad a call and they will let you know where they're at!

Aren't we so cute?

2008-10-01T16:33:00.003-05:00

Since Logan is going to India for 2 years, we thought we should have an updated family picture to remember him and to include Chance...that's right the last picture was taken in 2002!!!

So, here's a preview of some of the pics. Enjoy!

Thanks again Seth and Kati for waking up so early to come play with us! The pictures turned out great!