Reuben's Baptism :)

Dear Family and Friends,

     It has been a wonderful week! So much has happened that I don't even know where to begin. Well first off Reuben got baptized this last saturday. What a beautiful day that was and it was such a great baptismal service. There was another guy named David that the elders worked with that was just baptized with Reuben as well. Reuben's family was all able to come as well. Both of Reuben's grandmothers came and they are both non-members so it was so great to have them there. This area is amazing and so much work is being done. Brother Baker (our ward mission leader) mentioned that the 4 elders serving in our ward are really struggling because they have never had so much work to do in their life and they are struggling with prioritizing their time to get everything done. We need to teach them a little bit about stress management. haha!

   So many miracles have happened this week that I think the best way to do it is to write them in bullet points.

 - Last monday night we had dinner with the Travers family and they invited a friend of theirs named Felicity. She is a 21 year old girl but is a single mum with a boy named Will who is 5 years old. We had a wonderful dinner with them and was able to teach Felicity. She is so keen to learn! We are so excited to be working with her. She actually just came to church on her own on Sunday and we were so happy to see her there. We feel like she is the next one to be baptized because of her great desire and we are praying that she will accept.

-This last week I went on trade offs with a sister named Sister Elliot. She came into my area and so I was taking her around. Sister Schwab left me with a lot of potentials to go try again. I felt the need to try this woman who lived in Belconnen. She didn't even know the name of the woman, she just thought it started with a "W." All we had was the address so we tried it. We walked up to the door and knocked on the door. Soon after someone came through the gate behind us and invited us in without even asking us who we were. So here I am not knowing who this is, no name, nothing and they just openly invite us in. And so we walk into this home and we sit down introducing ourselves and getting to know what their names were. They then asked us who we were and what denomination we were apart of. So then I realized that they didn't even know who we were but they are islanders so they are so welcoming and invite everyone in. So we begin to tell them more of who we are as missionaries. They said that they were from a little island in the pacific named Tuvalu. (Look it up because I had never heard of it). But they had said that they knew of many mormons. So we taught them some of our beliefs. They then invited us to eat dinner with them. We couldn't believe it! This was truly a miracle that we were sent to that family at that time and I know that they are ready to hear the gospel. I can't wait for them to hear more and for them to grow in their testimony of the Savior. We meet with them tonight so I will have to let you know how it goes.

-We had a great lesson with Erin Hurley this week. She is apart of that family that we met while tracting one day. She is so keen! That family is so ready to receive the gospel it is amazing! We can't wait to teach all 3 of them more and more. We will be hoping to set a baptismal date with Erin here in the next visit.

     There is so much more that is happening that I can't even begin to express. But miracles are happening each and every day. So many less-actives are coming back to church and so many are desiring to hear the gospel. It is truly amazing! I'm so grateful to be a missionary at this time. I've have gained such a great testimony lately of how important it is to talk to everyone. I have made it a point to make every opportunity a teaching opportunity because every single person we meet needs the gospel of Jesus Christ and we are the ones that need to share it. Remember that everyone on earth decided to follow God's plan they just have forgotten. We need to be the ones to remind them of who they really are. So I encourage everyone to reach out to EVERYONE that you know to share the gospel. Even if you think that they may not be interested give it a try anyways because they just don't know what they are missing out on. It is not until they get a little taste of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they will desire more. INVITE EVERYONE TO COME UNTO CHRIST.

   I love you all so much and am so grateful for each and everyone  of you in my life. I hope you have a wonderful week. My commitment for you all is to read Alma 5 this week. It helped me a lot to examine my life and if I truly have a relationship with my Savior. I hope to hear about what you have learned next week.

Love always,

    Sister Sorensen

Oh yeah and I forgot that we had Zone Conference this past week. This is the Canberra Zone. We have such a great zone!

For Sister Tito's B-day last week we went to lunch at this really good mexican restaurant. (In Australia Mexican food doesn't really exist so I love it when I can have some of it.) I never knew how much I loved mexican food until I came here and they don't really have much.

Reuben's big happy family. They don't really like pictures too much as you may notice. It is hilarious, they just describes they so well. haha

Reuben after his baptism. He was so happy!

This is my new best friend Shayla. She is such a cute little girl. She is the daughter of one of the less actives we are working with and I absolutely love this little one.

Yesterday we had a meeting but we had to join in via Skype because we have another meeting to go to on Saturday so they only wanted to have us drive once. It was such a long meeting but we enjoyed ourselves. This is Sister Tito and I and Elder Bryce and Elder Tingey (Zone Leaders).

Working in the Vineyard of the Lord

Dear family and friends,

  Wow the weeks are flying by. This week has been another full on week of work as a missionary and I absolutely love it! This area is amazing and we have so much work to do here. It has been kind of a crazy week because now i'm in charge of the area because my new companion just got here so she doesn't know it. And i've only been here for just 6 weeks now so its been a little stressful but we are getting there. I'm sure learning a lot and its been a good challenge. But my companion, Sister Tito is amazing so I'm grateful that she is here.

  

   I'm just so glad that we have the ward the we do here in Belconnen. I have never seen a ward that is so heavily into missionary work. Every activitiy and everything that the ward does is some way or another connected to missionary work so it is great to be apart of it. The members sure keep us busy and help so much with fellowshipping. This last weekend we had a baptism in our ward and this next week we have 2 baptisms in our ward. One of those is the little boy that we've been teaching, his name is Reuben. He is 11 years old and he is so ready to be baptized. He has been so fun to teach and one great thing is that he loves soccer. So he has such a short attention span but when I give him a reward such as teaching him a new soccer move he sits and listens, its awesome! So Reuben and I are good friends and I'm excited for him to be able to enter the waters of baptism.

   I have seen the hand of the Lord in every single thing that we do each day. This week has been great! One miracle that I would like to share with you is with one of our investigators named Visnja. I might have mentioned her before but she was a former investigator and Sister Schwab and I actually started teaching her. In the past she has been a little hesitant and always has said that she doesn't have a lot of time. But this week we texted her to set up a time to go and see her and she happily set an appointment with us. When we went for the appointment I was almost thinking that she wouldn't remember or would be busy. But when we got there she was happy to see us. She opened up her door and let us in. She also looked a lot happier than I had seen her in the past. It was a miracle! Well of course we were happy to go inside and she was so excited to learn. We taught her of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she loved every minute of it. She said it all just made sense and she really liked it. The spirit was so strong and I knew that the Lord was leading the lesson. We invited her to be baptized and she expressed some concerns but we were able to resolve them with the help of the spirit. She then said that she would once she learned more! We were so happy and now are striving to find a date that we can set for her. What a miracle!

    Another really cool miracle was with this man named Lance. He was a man that was Excommunicated about 25 years ago and has had a rough background. He has been through a lot and miraculously we were able to find him. Well Sister Schwab and Sister Fotuali'i did but we have continued to teach him. Well I don't know if I mentioned this last week but he came to Stake Conference last week for the first time in about 25 years. He has such a big heart and now has a desire to come back to church. He feels like it is his time. He may be one to move very slowly but this has been a testimony builder that the Lord leads and guides this work. He places people in our paths that are ready to hear the gospel. Even those that you may think will never come back will come back as you trust in the Lord.

    Lately I've been reading the story of Alma the priest of Noah who was converted by the words of Abinadi. He brought many unto Christ by his teachings. But in Mosiah chapter 23 and 24 it talks about how the Lamanites start to take over their land and threaten them if they pray that they will be killed. Well they pray in their hearts and the Lord hears their prayer. He tells them in verse 13 to "Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and i will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage." Going on to verse 14 it reads, "...I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs..." In verse 15 it tells us that the Lord didn't take their burdens away but gave them the strength to bear their burdens.

    I know that the Lord knows the burdens that we carry, he understands our pains and our sorrows. But we need not bear those burdens alone. He is there for us and will help us to strengthen us to make it through the hardships of life. So no matter what you may be facing right now know that you are not alone and that as you trust in the Lord and rely on Him, he shall lift you up.

I challenge all of you this week to read those two chapters in the Book of Mormon. Mosiah 23 and 24. Then let me know what your thoughts are next week. I'd love to learn from your insights and your thoughts.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love and appreciate you all very much!

Love always,

     Sister Heidi Sorensen

Sister Tito and I

Reuben and I had a arm wrestle. It was pretty funny, he was trying so hard!

This is Mini's grand-daughter that we were able to teach last week. She is such a sweetheart. And Mini is such a great little missionary and she doesn't even realize it.

Transfer Week

Dear Family and Friends,

  Well another transfer has come and gone. Time has been flying by here on my mission, I just can't believe it. I have such a short time left and I'm surely going to continue to strive to give all my heart, might, mind, and strength to the Lord's work. It is an incredible experience being a full time missionary. I love it and I love seeing people change because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  This week has been a good week. Unfortunately my companion, Sister Schwab got transferred. She has become such a good friend of mine that I'm surely going to miss her. But I know that this is the Lord's work and he has called her to a different area of His vineyard to help save souls. I'm actually very jealous she is going to an area called Orange which is in the Bush. There are a lot of real Bogan's (Aussie's) that live in that area so that should be a fun adventure.

  I absolutely love my new companion as well though. Her name is Sister Tito. I actually lived with her in my first flat on my mission. She really helped me at that time and I have always loved her so I look forward to working with her. She is a great missionary and I'm so blessed to be able to have her. I'm ready to learn from her and continue to grow. That is what I love so much about a mission you are always learning something new from the people that you're working with or even your companions.

This week I went on exchanges with a Sister that just went home today. Her name is Sister Clegg and she actually is from Alpine, Utah. But she is so smart and I have always looked up to her so it was an absolute privilege to be able to go with her on her last week of her mission. She taught me so much and gave me lots of advice. She has also served as a Sister Training Leader for a while so she was able to help me in that aspect as well.

  Well first off when we were coming back to the flat for lunch we found 20 dollars in the bushes and we looked at each other and went, "Out to lunch?" haha it was a cool miracle. We went and got a little something for lunch and met a lot of potentials while we were there eating. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

  

   We got to see so many miracles that day it was amazing. That day we were trying to visit this investigator and they weren't home so we thought that we would knock on all of the neighbors doors. When we knocked on the door across the street there was this nice girl named Laura. She is 17 years old and she said she went to a Hill song church. We told her a little bit about who we were and we asked her, "how would you feel if you knew that there was living prophet upon the earth today?" She was really touched by that and she said, "that would be incredible!" We then testified that there was a living prophet today. We then asked her if we could come back and she said that she would love to have us come back.

     On the return appointment I went back with Sister Schwab to see Laura. Well she wasn't home but her mum and her sister were there. They were very nice and they said that Laura had mentioned that we were coming. They were asking us some questions and we told them a lot about who we were and what we believe in. They had a lot of those funny questions like, "do you really have multiple wives?" So it was good to clear up some of those little rumors that go around about us mormons. They were so interested and they invited us to come back and teach all 3 of them! So we now have 3 new investigators and we are so excited to teach them more. I will keep you updated on them.

     Another cool experience I actually forgot to share last time was an experience with Prayer. Mini (our recent convert) had lost her cords to her rice cooker and her other crock pot after the feed at her baptism. She had searched the kitchen several times and asked that we would look as well. Last sunday we were there and I had this strong impression to take Mini into the kitchen and pray with her and then look for her cords. So I acted upon that feeling. Mini was searching very worried and we just told her that we would say a prayer that we would find them. We said a simple prayer and then we all started looking. Not too long after that Mini found them. She was so happy! Sister Schwab and I then talked to her and pointed out that we had only found those because we had relied on the Lord and He had answered our prayer. I said a little prayer in my heart of gratitude. Then Mini went off to tell everyone that she had found it and that she did only after praying. So that was a cool experience with Mini.

Sorry this is super long but there is always so much that happens in a week. I know that this is the Lord's church. He is leading and guiding His work. There are hearts that are being softened and ready to receive the gospel. We just have to reach out to them and find them. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love always,

   Sister Sorensen

We went to the beautiful Botanical Gardens last p-day with one of our recent converts, Trish

We went to the Telstra Tower and it over looks all of Canberra, it is so beautiful!

Sister Schwab and I

Sister Clegg and I when we went to lunch after finding the 20 dollars.

all the Sisters that we are serving with in Canberra.

We need the members in missionary work!

Dear Family and friends,

    First off, good news! After being in Australia for a good 9 months I have finally seen a live Kangaroo! It was so funny we were driving to church and I was talking in the front and the sisters in the back of the car yelled at me to look out the window. And there were a big group of kangaroo's right off the side of the road. It was pretty cool to see. So Australia isn't really what everyone thinks its like, there aren't kangaroo's everywhere. It is possible to live here and never see one. I'm living proof of that one! haha

     Anyways this week has been a pretty good week. We still have so many people to work with and are striving to work hard every minute of every day. But unfortunately this week we didn't do so well at getting members at the lessons. As we were evaluating our week this week we noticed a decrease in numbers all the way down and realized it was because the decrease in member help or fellowship. That really was a testimony builder to me of how much of a positive influence the members have in the work. It really lightens the load and a lot more work is able to get done when the members and missionaries are working along side eachother. So I guess the goal we have for this next week is to get the members back into the work and excited about missionary work again. We should be wise and follow the council given by our loving prophet to work side by side with the members it really is the most effective way to do missionary work. I encourage all of you if you aren't already to get involved in the missionary work because you make all the difference! Full time missionaries aren't as effective if they don't have fellowship to help the investigators when the missionaries aren't there.

  We were still were able to have the baptism of my dear friend Mini Raine this week. Even though I've been here for only just a few weeks she has become someone that I dearly love and care for. I know that I was meant to meet such a wonderful woman. We call her mummy Mini because she is like a mother to Sister Schwab and I. She is constantly feeding us and making sure we're doing good. She always lightens the mood and helps lift us up. She was finally able to be baptized on Saturday and actually we had a double baptism in our ward. The sisters we live with, Sister Pea and Sister Sauaki had their investigator baptized on the same day. So it was a great day for all of us. Such an exciting time. There is no greater feeling then seeing someone change their life and desire to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized. Mini even told us that she read the entire Book of Mormon and knows that its true. It was a goal of her's to read it all before the baptism. She is such an amazing lady and will always be one that is dear to my heart.

  The miracles never cease! Just these past couple weeks we've been working with a woman named Visnja. Sister Schwab has been working the whole time since she's been here in Canberra to find the address of this woman because she felt like she needed to meet this former investigator. Just a few weeks ago we were able to find her. And we have developed a good relationship with her. The first lesson was on her door step through her screen door. The next one was on the porch but with the door open and just a few days ago she finally let us come inside her home and sit down to teach her. She said that she now looks forward to having us come and has started to pray again. She even said that she would come to church. Unfortunately she wasn't feeling well that morning but still wanted us to come by. She even mentioned what a great blessing it was that we came into her life and that it was at the perfect moment. We assurred her that it wasn't our doing. It was the hand of the Lord that is leading us, and we are just His servants. I know that the Lord leads and guides this work today.

  

 Another tender mercy that we saw yesterday morning was with a less active named Lole. We originally had an appointment with this investigator named Lance but he cancelled on us and then we had a back up that also cancelled on us. Well unsure of where to go we prayed and though of this woman named Lole. We had such a great lesson with her and she said that we had come just at the perfect time. She was having a rough morning and was contemplating whether or not to go to church or not. But there we came and helped her to remember our Savior and she said that she would come to church. She expressed her gratitude for us coming and that was what she needed. That was such a humbling experience to me. Just more evidence that this is the Lord's work and that he will guide us to those that need it. Even if it take two cancellations, he will take us to those that need the gospel, we just have to have faith.

  Lately I have been studying more about my Savior, Jesus Christ and so that I can become more and more like him. Something that my companion shared with me that has always stuck with me was. If we want to know our Savior then we must walk in His footsteps. As we walk in His footsteps then we will eventually find Him. I myself am striving to walk in my Savior's footsteps as closely as I can. I know that I'm not perfect whatsoever but I know that as I strive to follow in His ways then I can be perfected in Him. For He is the mediator and has paved the way for us to make it to Our Loving Heavenly Father. I know that as we put our Trust in God and follow the path that the Lord has set for us that we will find that true and happiness. And I know that we come to know our Savior more as we serve our fellow men. There is a recent acronym that I learned from my lovely companion, J-Jesus O- Others Y- Yourself. This is the only equation of how we can find true happiness. Because as we put the Lord first in our lives (3 Nephi 13:33) then we can experience the fulness of Joy which is only found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that these things are true and I'm so grateful for this gospel in my life.

  The committment that I leave with all of you is to strive to come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ. Do all that you can to put the Lord first in your life and you will find that your life will be more joyful. I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love always,

    Sister Sorensen

 Sister Schwab and I got some fun Minion pj's they are that best!

Trade offs with Sister Finau. That was fun riding bikes again.

 Mini's baptism

Philippians 4:13

Dear family and friends,

    Wow what an incredible week its been! I know I say that every week but its true. So much happens in one week that its crazy! Sister Schwab and I have been working so hard each and every day. We have been working till 9:30 every day this week just trying to get to all the people we need to get to. The Lord has definitely blessed us with so many people to work with. This week we received 4 new investigators it has been incredible. This Belconnen ward is on fire with missionary work. In fact at least half of our lessons each week are arranged by members of our ward which I've never seen before. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve in this ward at this time. I have so much that happened I'm just going to do this in bullet points.

* First off Mini (Malasian) had a conflict with her baptismal date we set with her. We scrambled to figure out another time to do it. Through lots of prayer we were able to figure it out. She is now getting baptized on July 26 this coming saturday and we are so excited. She also just told us that she just finished the Book of Mormon! She has such a sweet spirit and is so ready to be baptized.

* I had the priviledge of going on trade offs with this wonderful sister named Sister Ketts. I feel like she taught me more than I could ever teach her. She is a great example to me. We had this great experience while we were together. We were going to try to contact this Asian man because Sister Ketts speaks chinese and we thought it would be a great opportunity. Unfortunately he wasn't there but we decided to knock on a few doors right next door. We knocked on this door and a man named Nathan was there. We talked to him a little bit about who we were and asked if he would be interested in learning more about what we share with others. He said yes! We then asked when we could return and he said, "How about tomorrow?" We were so excited and of course accepted that invitation.

   We went back the next day with a member and my companion. We taught him the Restoration. He was so keen to learn more and we are hoping that he will continue to progress. That helped me to know that so many are ready to receive this gospel. We just have to rely on the spirit to know where we need to be and what we need to say.

*Friday we went on a bus adventure for the day. We were put into an district that is about 30 minutes away rather than 10 minutes away. We don't have enough kilometers to make that trip by car so we took the bus. We had to leave pretty early to make sure we could get there on time. We had the bus route all planned out...or at least we thought we did. It was a great experience and we talked to so many people! We took one wrong bus and had to wait a little bit for another one to come. But on the next bus we met this young girl named Serah. She is a muslim girl but doesn't really believe in that. She asked so many questions and we had a full on lesson on the bus talking about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was so interested and keen to learn. We left her with a Book of Mormon and some pamphets. I think some of the other people on the bus were also listening in. It was such a cool experience. Since then we have been texting her and she said she has been reading what we left with her. I knew that there was a reason we got on the wrong bus.

   We may have been late for district meeting but we had talked to so many people that day. On the way home we also met another lady and had a full lesson with her as well. It was so cool and who knows what may come of all that we taught and who we met but I know that we were in the right place at the right time.

*That same Friday we had another tender mercy. This member of ours Brother Majcic invited his friend Rei over for dinner. When I met her she said that she had seen me before on the bus and really liked what I was teaching to the man. I didn't remember her at all but I remembered that last week on trade offs with Sister Sauaki we took the bus and I was teaching this man about the plan of Salvation. That was a great testimony builder that you never know who may be touched by the message or who may be listening. Rei came to church yesterday as well! That was a huge miracle. She has never belonged to a church before and doesn't really know about God but she likes the feeling she gets when she comes and that is a great start.

*Saturday I got my cast off FINALLY! We witnessed another miracle that day also. The nurse that removed my cast saw that we had name tags and was very curious to who we were. We told her who we were a

little bit and she asked if we pray for people. We said we did of course and then she asked, "will you pray for me? I'm going through a really hard time right now and could use some prayers." We of course replied and said we would. She then proceeded to tell us some of the trials that she was facing and that she felt very alone. That gave us a great opportunity to share with her a little bit about our Savior Jesus Christ and how we are never along. Neetha was her name and she said that she was christian. We taught her a little bit more and we found out that she lived really close to where we live. She agreed to have us over and to teach her more. She also said that she was about to not come to work that day but knew she had to come. I ended up being her first patient that day and she said that what we said helped her to feel better and to have hope. She was grateful we had come. That was such a great experience I will never forget.

   Even though that cast was a pain I think I've seen the most miracles due to that accident than ever before. I'm so grateful for what I had to go through so that I could witness so many miracles. It has humbled me and helped me so much.

I know this email is super long but it has been such an incredible week full of so many miracles. I know that the Lord is there for us and will help us to get through our trials, we just need to ask, we need to knock and that door and ask for help. The Lord will provide a way. I encourage all of you to pray and to seek for opportunities to share the gospel. You may not have a tag on but you know that truth and as you can see from some of my experiences there are so many that are searching for truth. We just have to open our mouths.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Stay strong and never forget who you are, we are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father.

Love always,

   Sister Heidi Sorensen

This was the day we got lost and our adventure on the bus.

Trade offs with Sister Ketts and Sister Elliot.

 Here is a little bit of what Canberra looks like, its so beautiful!

We went to the National Museum of Australia last p-day, pretty cool!

Mini invited us over for lunch on Saturday.

There is not enough time in the day....

Dear family and friends,

 

   This week has been another great week. There are so many things that happened that I don't even know where to begin. We had a crazy busy week full of so many appointments and meetings to go to. But as a missionary I would much rather be busy than not have much work to do. Sister Schwab and I are so blessed to have such a big teaching pool and so many people that want to hear the gospel in our area. This week we were stressing a little bit just trying to figure out how we were going to be able to see everyone we needed to see. But the Lord has a part in this and is definitely leading us and helping us along the way. The members of the Belconnen Ward are amazing and are also helping us out so much and are great fellowship for all the people that we're working with. I absolutely love this ward and this area! We were so blessed to have quite a few less-actives come to church yesterday and 1 of our investigators came. The great thing about is that we didn't have to worry too much about making sure they were ok. The members and their fellowship that they had were there to help them and show them around. It was a great example of the importance of using ward members and making sure that they take part in the work.

 

    Many have been asking about Nikki and how she went this week. Unfortunately this week she has been sick but we stopped by anyways to check up on her and to see if we could do anything for her or her family. She was still very kind to us and wanted us to come back again hopefully in the next few days. But Sister Schwab was telling me what a miracle that was and that the spirit has truly touched her heart, she had never been that nice in the past. So I know that this the the right time for Nikki to receive the gospel and we are going to follow up with her and continue to try to help her.

 

    This week there have been so many tender mercies that have helped me each day to keep going and to know that God is always there for me. I think sometimes after doing the same routine every day that you begin to loose that fire and motivation but thanks to a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ I'm able to continue moving forward with faith. It those tender mercies that the Lord gives me that help me to keep going. I know with all my heart that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is always there for us, NO MATTER WHAT! He wants whats best for us. And yes the adversary is real and is always trying to bring us down I know that as we build our foundation upon the Lord Jesus Christ that we cannot fall. Those little things are the things that matter most in life, Keep doing those things that will bring you closer to our Father in Heaven.          

   Yesterday our ward mission leader gave a great lesson on spiritual gifts and how we each play an important role in the work of salvation. The Lord needs each and every one of His children to bring everyone back to Him. We each are so different and the Lord has given us different talents and abilities that others may not have. That is why the Lord needs us all. I hope you never feel like you have no worth and that you don't matter. I know that we each have a purpose in this life and that the Lord needs YOU, he needs all of us because we each have divine worth. We are His children and He is always there to guide us and direct us in our life. Don't ever hesitate to turn to Him. He wants to hear from us.

 

 I hope you all have a wonderful week and know that I love and appreciate each one of you. Thanks for being such a great example to me.

 

Love always,

   Sister Heidi Sorensen

These are the Sisters we live with. Sister Pea (from Tahiti) and Sister Sauaki (from Tonga). We love them and have so much fun with them.

 I went on trade offs with Sister Sauaki this week on Wednesday. She is great and I learned so much from her.

Mini our investigator who is getting baptized in a few weeks. She is wonderful! She is from Malasia.

We had to go in the sunbeams class for a few minutes to help the teachers. We gave them some stickers and sang some fun songs with them. they were so cute!

The Lord watches over and protects us...

Dear family and friends,

 

    Wow what an incredible week its been. I have learned so much this week. I love it in Canberra! The Belconnen ward is such an amazing ward, I've never seen a more missionary minded ward. Everything that they do is focused on missionary work and involving investigators and less-actives to join. We have an incredible ward mission leader. He is so powerful I've already learned so much from him. He is Brother Baker from Vernal, Utah actually but he has lived here for the last 11 years and has been a great asset to the ward. Everything that he does is focused on his calling and putting the Lord first in his life. What a great example.

        I also am so grateful for my wonderful companion, Sister Schwab. She is such a great example to me and is so Christ-like. I'm so excited for this transfer and so many miracles have already come from this past week thats its been unbelievable. She has helped me to be a more concecrated missionary and I love the strong desire she has to serve the Lord.

 

   We had so many miracles happen this week. We went to this less-actives house named Noni. He is the only member of his family. He is married and the sisters have been working with them for a while. And today we felt like we needed to come by. So me not knowing too much about them we just went up and knocked on the door. The daughter answered the door an she said that they were busy and had no time and that her dad Noni was out of town. But while she was talking I had this strong feeling like we needed to just get inside there house. So acting on faith the only way that I thought to get inside was to use the toilet. So that is exactly what I did. I asked if I could use the toilet even though I didn't have to at all. But I followed the prompting. As we came in the mum was surprised her daughter had let us in and didn't look too happy about it. But I just proceeded to the bathroom and left my companion in to talk to them. What I later found out from my companion was that she was afraid of the mum (Nikki) and that when I left her alone that she was freaking out a little bit. But then she told me that she just started to have a little small talk with her and then she felt like she needed to talk about her grandpa who just recently passed away two weeks ago. So she did and while she was out there talking I was taking my time because I knew we had to be there. When I came out Nikki was in tears as she was talking about the death of her mother and how even though it was 11 years ago she was still having a really hard time. We then started to talk about the Plan of Salvation and how much comfort and peace it brings. That we can see our loved ones again that have passed on and that in fact our loved ones are still always there for us. That they are our angels that watch over and continue to help us in our life today. The spirit was so strong as we each shared experiences of loved ones passing. We gave her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and she really wanted to read it and she even asked when we could come back. We set up a return appointment. We knew that God had guided us there for Nikki that day and that was what was going to soften her heart. When Sister Schwab and I got out in the car we were blown away by the experience we had just had. Sister Schwab then proceeded to tell me all the background story and how hard hearted Nikki has been ever since she's been here and she thought that she would never be interested in hearing the gospel. But God knew her heart and knew what would soften her heart so that she would listen and feel of the spirit. The lord knows our needs and continues to soften the hearts of men so that they can receive the gospel (Alma 13:24).

 

    We also had another incredible miracle that happened yesterday. So yesterday we had to travel to Sydney for the Leadership council meeting so that is like a 3 hour drive. The meeting was at 9 in the morning so lets just say we had to get up super early. But we were going to ride with the Elders to save on Kilometers on our car. We left a little after the time we wanted to leave and we had gotten about 20 minutes away from our flat and realized that we had forgotten our phone at the flat. We didn't know what to do because we were already late but we knew that might be important so that we could get a hold of the elders so that they would wait a little it for us. And also when we had put the address in the GPS we realized that it would be 90 kilometers away which was a lot farther than the elders had told us and it estimated that we would get there an hour after we were supposed to meet the elders. We were unsure of what we had to do so we said a prayer. We both felt like what we needed to do was just keep going and do our best to get there. I don't think that I've said more prayers in a row than at that very moment. I was praying the entire way there that the elders would wait and that we would get there on time and all would be ok. I prayed that all would work out and that we wouldn't have any problems. I had faith that all would be well and that the Lord would watch over us. We listened to conference talks on the way and just were silent the whole time. When we got there to meet the elders we looked at our clock and it said 6:50 and we had only left 5 minutes before 6 am. We both looked at eachother amazed at the miracle that we had just witnessed. It was undescribable but we knew that God had taken care of us and made it happen. I said a prayer of gratitude as I was still amazed at what had just happened. It was as if God had stopped time just a little bit so that we could make it and all would be well. This experience was one that I will never forget. It was sure a test of faith for both Sister Schwab and I. We got away from the technology and relying on that and just trusted in Him. I know that the Lord will watch over us and protect us. He is all knowing and will always provide a way. All we have to do is have faith in him and act upon our faith.

 

  On sunday we also had this woman that Sister Schwab has been teaching ever since she got here. She came up to us during church and said that she wants to be baptized. We were so happy! There are so many wonderful things happening in this area and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here and experience it myself.

 

I've gained such a strong testimony of obedience this past week. I've been striving even more to be more exactly obedient and trusting in the Lord. I know that the Lord has blessed us for our efforts and putting Him first in our lives. I know that I'm not perfect at all but I know that through the enabling power of the Atonement that we can become better and come closer to our Saviour Jesus Christ. "He is the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) Jesus Christ is the one that makes everything possible that we have today. I know that this is the Lords church and that He stands at the head. I know that as we align our will with His that we will be blessed and will have more joy and happiness than we can even imagine.

 

  I encourage all of you to apply the Atonement in your DAILY life. I know that we each make mistakes each and every day but as we repent daily we will be strengthened. We will be able to become whom the Lord knows we can become. Continue to reach out to all that you know to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. You are the Lord's instruments in HIs hands in bringing others unto Him. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

 

Love always,

     Sister Sorensen