Monday, March 6, 2017
Rice!

Rice. Ah, rice. I'm developing such a love-hate relationship with the stuff. I forgot that this is what it's like to serve with a Korean companion. Rice. All day. I'm to the point that I can hardly get through a half a bowl before I start retching.

Ah, but rice. So fluffy and delicious.

It was another busy week. Lots of meetings; more this next week. I love getting out and seeing the other areas. This week I spent a couple of days in Sacheon. There are more rice fields than people there. Next to the ocean. Covered in mountains. Beautiful area, even though we got caught in the rain with no umbrellas and came home drenched. Sometimes the days feel like dreams. How has another week gone by?

Missionaries use the term "punked" when referring to an appointment that fell through because nobody shows up to it. Well, we got punked a good 6 times this week. Haha. It can be a little tough, but we always try to find some humor in it. Or we go get ice cream and cry (just kidding). I know there are people being prepared, and we'll keep looking until we find them.

Mom, the reason I never talk about female investigators is because in the Busan mission, Elders are not aloud to proselyte to females unless they approach us first. And if they become an investigator, we immediately hand them over to the Sister missionaries. There are pros and cons. I have spent the last year and a half learning how to get phone numbers from people... now if I can transfer that skill over to college life, I'll be all set :)

I read something in Ether 3 this week that caught my eye. I'll try to organize my thoughts as clear as possible. In verse 11, the Lord speaks to the brother of Jared:

11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?

I found it interesting that the Lord asks the brother of Jared if he will believe the words He is going to speak, not the words that He already spoke. It's future tense, not past. It's like saying "do you promise to do what I tell you before I tell you what it is?"

The brother of Jared's response illustrates an important doctrinal truth. He says:

12 Yea Lord, I know thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

He states clearly that his faith is not dependent upon the words as much as upon The One speaking those words. It doesn't matter what the Lord says next; the brother of Jared has already made up his mind that he will believe those words, because he trusts the Lord.

I love you guys! Thank you for the uplifting emails.

Love,

Elder Sorensen