Dec. 15, 2008

HELLO!
It sounds like everything is good :-)
I had to speak yesterday at church too! It went really well! I started off by telling a story about how I saw the UPS man and wished that I were him because people are always so grateful for the gifts he brings. But then I was reading the last conference issue of the Ensign, and Silvia H. Allred said "the gift of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel is the greatest gift you have to give." So it gave me a better attitude. If people knew the gift that I was sharing they would receive me with a greater smile than the UPS man! Then I talked about gifts from God, and how Satan deceivingly wraps his gifts beautifully but God wraps his gifts in a small and simple way. We need to seek the gifts of God (D&C 46:8-9). Anyway, it was obviously a lot longer and I would just send it to you, but I didn't type it up (I am living in the life with no computer except for 1 hour on Mondays ah!) It went well:-) I hear the economy is getting really bad throughout the whole country. I am glad that we know God and that he will take care of us if we continue to follow him especially in the hard times of life.

This last week we had an investigator, Dale that called our old apt. and he was drunk and talked to the elders, and the Elders talked to him for a while. The Elders called us and told us not to go over there because he was drunk. So our ward mission leader told Dale that the elders told us not to go over there (hoping it would make him wake-up and realize what he is doing to his life). Dale felt so bad he called us and was, like you girls know I would never hurt you... blah, blah, blah. He also wanted to apologize to the elders in person, so we took the Elders over there and they talked to Dale about putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6: 11 or somewhere around there). They said that we need to keep the Spirit in our lives, because where the Spirit is, the Devil can't be there too. So, they gave him a blessing, and after the blessing Dale said he felt something leave or something come in! It was a pretty cool experience. Before we left, we blessed his home and we think that this has stuck, and that he is going to change his life around for good!

Well, Saturday Sister Sorensen is leaving for Albuquerque, so I will be in Farmington until Tuesday, which should be fun! It's nice to do something different, or be in a different area every once in a while. Our days are all pretty much the same! I should still be able to e-mail next Monday.

President said I was probably staying in Cortez for the next transfer, but it's never sure, and I won't find out until Saturday. I will tell you next week. BUT if I am still here, then the afternoon of Christmas would be the best for our phone call. We are going over to a family's house Christmas morning, and we have dinner at 4:00 pm. so if you want to call, then give me a specific time and I will make sure we are home, or I can buy a 5 min phone card. I can then call you when I am home and then you can call me back. Either way works for me but my phone number is 970.565.0737 . I am SOOOOO excited to talk to you all too :-) maybe not "pee-in-my-pants" excited, but I think I can be excited without embarrassing myself :-) The mission office called the other day and said that they got a package from you guys... so I will get it on Thursday at Zone conference!
I really miss you guys and it's hard sometimes to see other families all together, but I know that I will be blessed and you are all blessed double for supporting me and being the BEST family ever! I love you more than you could ever know.

Always remember Jesus Christ in this wonderful time of year, I know it's hard not to get wrapped up in the busy-ness of the season, but Christ is the whole purpose. We have a Christmas lesson that we teach to members, and we have a bunch of pictures. The first is Jesus Christ, then it's Jesus Christ getting baptized, then him raising someone from the dead, then Him giving the priesthood to his apostles, then His ministry on earth, then Him in the garden of Gethsemane, then his resurrection, then him preaching to the people in the Americas, then Jesus and God appearing to Joseph Smith, then Peter James and John giving the priesthood to Joseph Smith and we describe all the pictures and what Christ has done for us and the last picture is a picture of Mary kissing baby Jesus and we say "all of this came from one humble birth in a manger". It's a really cool lesson and powerful. It helps people realize the importance of Christmas and keeping Christ in our mind throughout the season.

Love, Lizzie