June 2nd 2014

The Family,

Long week. So first things first im glad everyone is going good back at home. Ben i know has probably had a tough week with his wisdom teeth but if that was tough for him he would've had a rough month going to the old guy i went to! Anyways im in a new place with a new comp but still trying to do all i can. Tuesday was a rough day had a 4 hour bus ride and then still went to the area for like 6 hours but it was good. This place, Madadeni, is pretty chill and very flat but its nice. it reminds me of Willcox or a place like that its not little ghetto shacks any more. Its been a change forsure with weather and all but most of all from my last area to here. My last area as we all know was walking and i worked hard there but here its driving and things are so much slower i honestly dont even feel like im working very hard but i dont have a choice cause i dont know the area yet! My comp is actually really cool guy and im loving my time with him we sometimes dont talk much but i continually pray to figure things out that interest him. he very stubborn as most african missionaries are but we teach very well together and i just have to continue exercising patience and love! He has a pretty cool story though and when you look at things through other peoples eyes you understand why they do certain things. For example he is from kenya and joined the church about 2 and a half years ago and has spent one year of that on mission so thats something i really gain respect for him over! but to be a leader you first must gain the trust, love and respect of those around you and my mission president has really seen me doing that so i think i'll probably be training in 3 weeks when the new transfer starts so its all going pretty good. just gotta get a nice warm jacket cause its like africas october right now and im already freezing. but if possible send me a few church movies like 17 miracles, Work and the glory, things like that cause i havent been able to sleep much here but it'll improve thats just mission you gotta always be exhausted or you are doing something wrong. i have really come to love reading tho which is nice cause i always havent liked it at all. i dont think i have finished a book in my entire life unless it was Dr. Suess but i read a 200 pg book in like 4 hours so its nice and the knowledge continues to grow! But anyways i love you all so much. looking forward to hearing from all of you next week and make sure to keep me updated! i love you

Love,

ELDER SORENSON

Service with the new comp chopping down trees and standing on sharp fences

              Elder Summers the AP in his last transfer

Me and Oleg (a member from Berea Ward) and chipeta

                                       Madadeni Chapel

                         My new legit American bead tie

May 26th 2014

Fam Bam,

Another week down. Pretty long one in my opinion but anyways last monday night i threw up like 3 times and then tuesday and wed i was sick and dizzy and just light headed so Wed i decide i should just take it off cause working i wasnt going to get better so i slept all day and just did some thinking and took a Z-pack for meds. but as i thought i was thinking about when i should be coming home and about baseball. We all know i have been struggling with making you that decision whether come back before school so i can get my freshman year of baseball or loose out and come back after 2 years. its tough and i have been quite stubborn with it, several times through out my mission i have gotten confirmation to stay the full two years but its been tough to grasp it. But Thursday we had interviews with President Zackrison and i opened up about everything on my mind. He is truly an inspired man but as he thought about it he said its a hard choice i have to make and while he was thinking he got some revelation of a quote that was perfect for me... "Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; For, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. it was through this sacrifie, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; And it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the Truth's sake, not even withholding his life,and believing before god that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on Eternal Life" (Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith 6:7). So this was perfect for me but doesnt mean im giving up baseball. i will play three years if possible and take it from there. but the Lord knows how big of a sacrifice this is for me and my mission president promised me that the blessing for sacrificing this will be so great! and i know that i'll be a better ball player by giving up that first year! no one be disappointed i love you all and i have decided that this is the best thing for me to do! its going to be tough but i can.. i will do it! but in other news im being transfered to a new place called Madedeni its up in Newcastle and i leave tomorrow its a 4 hour drive so not too excited but im excited to get a new comp... Elder Aman'galia from somewhere in africa so its cool! but Sunday we had a confirmation of Nthando the only person that got baptized while i was here. Anyways i love you all so so much!

Love,

ELDER SORENSON

                                 Package from home

                                      Elder Chigede and I

                  Goofy with my homeboy Elder Allen

                                         Berea Chapel

          Nthando the only baptism from Mayville for me

Chipeta and I with Syril a Ex pro soccer player here in South Africa

                                                 Mayville

                                             Mayville and I

                  One of the many hills i have been walking

May 19th 2014

Fam Bam,

Wow it was a slow and very long week. My Comp wanted to get transfered cause he is sick of walking so he has really showed he isnt happy but this up coming week they might transfer him and i'll get someone new but we might not stay in this area. but some crazy news we got from our mission president today, Szawiland is no longer part of our mission. the gave it and the 14 missionaries and the senior couple to the Mozambique Mission cause i guess since jake left they need to bring in 16 missionaries to make up for it! haha but thats crazy news. but next week i could be leaving this area or atleast getting a new comp. so its exciting but will be a long week until my current comp is gone. not much to share really so i'll just share a cool talk from church. the lady did amazing! so she talked about Eagles and why in the bible and stuff people are compared to eagles. Anyways First an Eagle Flies the highest because the higher it flies the better it sees i applied this as we have high standards or we can see the bigger picture we are able to see whats most important and be able to see the temptations of satan better. Second, the eagle nests high in the mountains whichs is like the temple we need to set our sights on the temple. Third, they take time and make sure they build a beautiful strong comfortable nest in the mountains with their own feathers for warmth and comfort, which is like building our homes and making them an place of love and peace built on the principles of the gospel. Forth, eagle lays one egg per seasons so they care for they baby with their lives and they see is as an individual, we must care for childern tons and one by one salvation comes and even the sacrament comes one by one with broken and unique pieces cause everyone is different. Fifth the chick is fed the very best of every kill and we need to feed our families with the gospel or the very best that we have. Sixth, as the chick is ready to fly and leave he is scared and doesnt want to so little by little day by day the mama makes it a little more uncomfortable and takes the nest apart which trains the chicks core muscles and talons cause he has to hold on and balance and for this sometimes we have to be chastened by the Lord so we can hasten the work or even our progress. Lastly when the baby tries to fly he looses alttitude but the parents will fly down and catch the chick on their back and then the fly high with it there then they dump him off and the continues till the baby flies well. but this applies in so many ways but we need to help others as they fall or even allow people to help us when we get to close to the world. but theres another story with the eagle beut i wont share it now. but i hope everyone is doing great i hope things will get better for me out here very soon! i love you all so much!

LOVE,

ELDER SORENSON

May 12,2014

Family, Wow it was so great to be able to see and talk to everyone its nice to feel of all the love in a place where you dont get much. thats one thing i have really learned to cope with is staying happy with out much love! so thank you again for all you all do for me!! but anyways not much action this week my comp thought he was gonna get transfered so he slacked off alot, but we still were able to extend the Baptismal Commitment to 3 people all with in their 20's and they all excepted im so excited to see people i have felt inspired to knock on their door progressing. What a wonderful experience for sure. Africa is so much different that the states and i didnt realize how use i have gotten to these crazy things until i skyped but it was so nice to get refreshed from home! not much to share this week i shared alot on skype. but its transfers this week me and my comp are the same which he's not to happy with and then also Elder Bryan and Matambala are leaving and im really gonna miss those guys for sure. Elder Matambala is the best Zone Leader i have been around that guy is truly inspired and work his butt off every sec of each day. he has help me come to love contacting people im not as confident as him quite yet since he does give atleast 50 passlong cards and people each day which is crazy i can only get about 5. but you all met that crazy guy! i love you guys a ton and i cant wait for the next 8 months to just fly by so i can talk to you all again! Stay positive and motivated in whatever you do that is the only way to succeed! i love you! LOVE, ELDER SORENSON

May 5, 2014

Fam Bam, Wow its been a crazy fast week! time really flies when you work hard all day everyday. Things were pretty good this week just trying to expand the teaching pool sense there isnt really anyone thats progressing. but Friday was a crazy day we showed up at a lesson with a guy named Osborn. we found him sitting outside talking with all his drunk friends they were wasted its was pretty funny i wont lie but with drunks that can go from the happiest guys to absolutely crazy in 2 sec and thats what happened, one guy was up in my face just asking me all this random crap but i just stayed calm and was laughing and said things to make everyone laugh. when we left my comp was like man that guy was about to smack you with that bottle but we just laughed it off and bonded over it. but other than that nothing really to talk about till i get home! this week tho its mothers day and im excited to be able to call and skype. i'll be skyping about 6pm my time which is about 9 in the morning back in AZ. so im excited for that big time and the day i skype 6 months before was the day i was on the plane all day coming to S.A. crazy stuff 1 quarter down 3 to go! but to keep a little thought of mission in the email i wanted to shared a little story that the Elders Quorum President shared on sunday. he was talking about a Chinese Bamboo plant and how it takes 4 years of water and fertilizer each day to sprout but after those four years of care it sprouts and can grow 6 meters in 6 weeks. he applied it to home teaching but theres so many ways to apply the little parable so to say and i thought it was cool but i love you all so much and cant wait to see and hear from you on sunday. i love you! LOVE, ELDER SORENSON
-Proverbs 17:17
-Philippians 4:13

Also that talk i wrote i emailed it to President Zackrison last week in my weekly update letter and this week in his letter to all the missionaries you put it in so all the missionaries could read it which was pretty cool in my book. Love ya

Zone Conference Talk, TCU Baseball Remix: We serve missions to be apart of something much bigger than ourselves. We join together. We believe in one another and we push each other to reach a level of greatness that can only be reached when we all work as one. Our Quiet Confidence comes from knowing that, while we may just be 19 and 20 year old boys and we may face the Advisary along the way, collectively we will rely on an Extreme work ethic, The Spirit, and sound fundamentals of The Gospel to meet the challenges we all face. We're told in Preach My Gospel to not worry about the things we cant control, its a waste of our time and its a waster of the Lords. The only things we can control when stepping out into the Mission Field are Effort and Attitude. I promise you if you give 100% of both You Will See Results. Resist the temptation to bind to the hype of a good area or a good week or something thats going on at home, it will only serve to distract and move us further from our goal. Keep your blinders on and sharpen your focus. Grasp the importance of now and win This day. Then when the Last Day of mission comes and the last lessons is finally over, only then will we know if we were Consecrated. But know this that a single day or a single lesson does not define a missionary. A True Consecrated Missionary comes forth in the early morning hours, A Determined Force, Full of the Spirit and Humility, but deprived of relaxation, mentally driving his body beyond fatiuge, beyond pain, beyond reason, to the point of exhaustion. How far a missionary is able to consecrate himself and be obedient when no one is watching... Thats the essence of a truly consecrated missionary. So when your home and happen to catch a glimps of a consecrated missionary hitting the wall and pushing through, take pause, look closer, and feel fortunate for what you are witnessing. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. * not sending this to boast of myself but hopefully to motivate missionaries and members alike to put forth that effort to do The Lords work. *

April 28, 2014

Family, Wow what a fast good week! Had some great experiences this week. but it just flew by! And seems like stuff is getting done back at home big bro getting engaged thats some crazy news! but nothing but love, support and encouragement for the love birds! but two months of waiting is pretty quick we'll see if anyone can top that! ;) haha but Congrats! Anyways what a great week! Monday i get a great big envelop from home that was full of so much love and support from so many people and i wanna thank everyone that wrote a letter and also a HUGE thanks to Lauren for always going that extra mile for me! In that letter there was some amazing words but for sure something that was for me was the story of Pushing Against the Rock that was sent by Jon Lovell. i had never heard it before but i knew that it was for me because after studying it and thinking about it prayers and more inspiration came. Things got real tho when the next day(tuesday) at zone conference the AP Elders Summers shared the exact story what an amazing experience! and thank you again for that story. but ya tuesday was zone conference which meant i was around Americans which was awesome. once again Elder Moorhouse and i had a great time catching up and cant wait till pres makes us comps one day. Zone conference was on consecration of ourselves it was power. but funny story as we were taking a break for lunch and Elder came up to me named Elder Bryant from Gilbert and he looked familair but i couldnt put him to anything until he said i know your little brother he knocked out one of my really good friends and then it clicked. i was dying! what a small world it truely is.but Zone conference we were asked to write a talk and i took a TCU motivational thing and changed some of the words to apply it to missionaries i felt inspired to do so, so since i wasnt able to share it at zone conference i'll send that in another email.But General Conference was this weekend and wow was it power it seemed to go by so so fast i learned a ton and loved so many of the talks. but truely this week i found a power scripture in my studies that applied so good to me.... Mosiah 23: 10-11: Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my prayers and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to the knowledge of His truth. Nevertheless, in this i do not glory, for i am unworthy to glory of myself. It was powerful for me to read those few short verses and i hope it helps one of you as well. but that was pretty much the week. still working hard going out at 11 and coming home at 8:30 whether or not its tracting the whole time or not we are doing our best. I love you all so much! keep me posted! love ya LOVE, ELDER SORENSON

April 21, 2014

Fam Bam, Pretty Fast week even though we didnt have much success. are teaching pool isnt very big so we have been tracting and finding alot. My whole mission i havent been a fan of tracting at all until this week. i have been praying for a desire for finding and i felt this week i got my answer. for two days i felt inspired to go to so many houses and most of them turned out to be successful, and the ones that werent we were still able to plant a seed for future missionaries or members. but Last monday was pretty legit. after emailing we went to the Durban Botanical Gardens which was pretty fun (not my idea) but still enjoyed it. but after that was the good part. We headed to Moses Mabeda Stadium which is the big Soccer stadium that was built for the world cup and the have a ride thing that takes you to the top but its pretty expensive, lo and behold i was able to convince the security guard to let us all go up for free it was sweet also got his number for other missionaries. tuesday it rained and since i walk i got soaked but we made the best of it my companion was great and just marched along with the work as we got rained on. We gave a blessing that night it was powerful. it was for Gogo Sitoly cause she have a bad swollen foot. Later in the week we had a powerful lesson with an investigator Michael and his wife. they are having family and relationship issues but my companion had a great idea to have all of us kneel down and pray at the end of the lesson so as each of us prayed the spirit was very strong and even the wife started to sob it was a great experience. Sunday (easter) we had Exchanges and i was with Elder Chigede. we had a powerful day and many powerful things that happened that i cant fit in an email. but Last night as we exchanged back my comp Elder Chipeta told me that our best investigator is no longer able to be baptized. his name is Topelo and is 18 he wants to be bap. and go on a mission really bad but he parents are supportive at all so we will have to gain the trust of the parents and maybe the Spirit will even convert them. But this week Prayer was important. No Matter what Pray every morning and evening and i dont have to tell you the blessing you will see them! Quotes of my Week: "Satan always goes after the talented ones" "Excuses are easy to find; they spring up as readily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside" -James E. Talmage (Jesus The Christ,p.431) "If your complaining about life you are only thinking about yourself" "Forget yourself in the service of others" - President Gordon B. Hinkley "For Blessings some come Now, some come Later and some don't come till Heaven, but for those who have faith and believe in Christ they come." -Jeffery R. Holland I love you all so much! and thank you for the continued love and support!! LOVE, Elder Alex Sorenson