1-25-10 "Do you want some eggs to go with that car?"

I am appalled. Guess what I discovered this week? There is a theme park where you can meet and greet all the characters from Peanuts. We're talking shaking hands with Linus and Lucy and Snoopy and Charlie Brown (and probably Peppermint Patty, if you happen to want to meet her). How did I find this out, you may ask? From the southern California-ites in my district, Sister Hoskins and Elder Dexter. I think we were at lunch after going to the temple, and I said, "I wish there were a theme park where you could meet Charlie Brown." And Elder Dexter says, "there is. Knott's Berry Farm." I now have a new goal for my life list. I need to meet Charlie Brown. No rush. I could do it when I'm fifty. I just need to do it.

And while we're on the subject of being appaled, you'll never guess what happened to us on Saturday night. Well, you actually probably could guess, based on the subject line, but I have to tell you the whole story anyway. We were out visiting a family in our ward way out in the country. After we left, on our way to our last stop of the night, we're driving down a country road. I am driving. We're just chatting. Nothing strange. BAM! BAM! Two very loud sounds from the passenger side of the car. I'm thinking I ran into a mailbox, although I was driving nowhere in the vicinity of any. I ask, "What was that? Did I hit something?" and Sister Hoskins says, "No, no..." I'm intently driving straight forward now, my eyes glued to making a perfectly straight line with the car, and she's looking around. Three seconds later, "we just got egged." Me: "What?!?" Her: "Our car just got egged. Pull over. We're going to call the police." I comply. We put on our hazards, and find the phone. A guy in a truck pulls up next to us, going the other direction, before we can call anyone, and asks, "Did y'all just get an egg thrown at you?" Sister Hoskins explains that we did, and that we're going to call our friend who's a cop. (The husband of the family we've just been visiting works for the police department.) When we call the family, at first the wife answers, and when we tell her what's happened she's all in a panic, but quickly the husband gets on the phone and says, "Just come back. We'll clean you off." On the way back, we nearly get egged again, because as we approach the scene of the crime, we slow down and see white things flying. Sister Hoskins, who is now driving, stops, rolls down her window, and yells, "We called the cops!" A rustle of clothing and some kids, basically teenagers, running. We then notice that there are eggshells all over the road right there. We get back to the house, they wash off our car with a hose, and send us on our merry way. The car smells RANCID; we're sure they threw ROTTEN eggs at us. Blech! The next morning, we still had eggshells in the passenger window. Well, there's something that never even crossed my mind as something that could happen to me in my life, let alone on my mission.

We are turning the corner here in Tomball, I can feel it. We had an appointment yesterday that fell through, but we have one with a different person on Wednesday at the church. Actually, that was arranged by the zone leaders. Someone who lives across the street from the church (which is our proselyting area) walked into the chapel and got a copy of the Book of Mormon from their ward's bishop, talked to them for a little bit, and set up an appointment. Grand things are on the horizon. We've been having more and more success with less active families, and I'm even starting to feel better about tracting, thanks to the example of Sister Hoskins and the testimonies of other missionaries that it can be done, it can be productive, and it has a purpose whether you find people or not. The Tomball ward is amazing. Almost every member family we meet with has some neighbor they're working on sharing the gospel with, and some have many. We're striving right now to implement the ward mission plan, which will certainly channel all those efforts and inspire even greater missionary success.

Good for you for having the missionaries over last minute. You are obviously one of their favorite families. I know we have a few families we can stop by on when we don't have a dinner, and it never fails, they'll invite us to stay. It requires a little humility, but I think of Alma when he first meets Amulek: "Will ye give an humble servant of God something to eat?" (Alma 8:19). And the best part is, once when we did that, later the mom told us that the lesson we shared on that spur of the moment dinner really helped her in her calling. It inspired her to testify more. God's hand is in everything.

Speaking of the Olympics, I would be sad too if I were a Canadian missing the Canadian Olympics. A missionary in our district right now goes home two days before the opening ceremony, and while he's not rubbing it in or even acting like he's on his way home, I'm trying my hardest not to be a little jealous. By thinking things like, "well he missed both Torino and Beijing!" and "missionary work only comes around once in every life--the Olympics happen every two years." They'll be over in the blink of an eye, and my goal is to be so focused on the work that I don't even notice. My best advice would be, just give the the highlights in your e-mails. Less than 250 words per week should suffice. Satiate my appetite, but don't leave me craving more.

But you know what I am craving: more stories about Eli's genius vocabulary and future career as a book reviewer. Love the title of the book. Love the fact that he knew "realistic fiction" and "acrostic." I didn't know that in second grade! All I knew in second grade was the poem from Matilda about how to spell difficulty: Mrs. D, Mrs. I, Mrs. F-F-I, Mrs. C, Mrs. U, Mrs. L-T-Y. (To which the Trunchbull responds, "Why are all these women married?!?") And that's the book I'm going to add to his list: Matlida. Unless you think the Trunchbull will scare him. I think he'll love it. It will make him laugh out loud. Maybe not as much as Splat the Cat, but I haven't even read that book. So hopefully I won't die very soon. And if he's old enough to write a book as morbid as "What All Kids Should Read Before They Die," he's old enough to read Matilda. And the visual aids thing is also hilarious. Maybe you should show him that Shakespearean poem, "The Seven Ages of Man." It sounds like he's already got most of them, but it might give him a few more ideas.

I'm sorry to hear Uncle Ellis passed away, but I agree that he's probably enjoying Grandpa and Grandma McClellan's company once again. I'm glad to hear Jason Wilding is headed for Brazil, home of the 2016 Olympics. Which mission? It's a shot in the dark, but someone from the Tomball ward just headed to Londrina, but there are like 20 or 30 missions in Brazil. Just wondering. And the most exciting news of all: Co-dizzle! Yeah! Go on a mission! Date a tall redhead from Rupert! (And probably in that order, although letter-writing is a fine art to be cherished and developed in between.) A redhead from Rupert...that reminds me of my favorite redhead, who happens to be named Rupert. I first started loving him in H.P.A.T.C.O.S. Also a good book for developing geniuses. Wow. Hopefully, he won't have read all of them by the time I return.

When I get to this point, I always feel like I have more to say, but I can't remember what all your letters said, or if there's some great news from my side I'm forgetting. No, I never did get a letter from Aunt Lenore, but I'll send thanks along if you get me her address. And I'm making calls today about visiting an opthamologist. I'm leaning more and more towards getting a new doctor, but I think I'll wait a little more and see how I feel. I may just go to him once more, because I'll likely be transferred after my next appointment, which is in March. President and Sister Hansen are always great to counsel with me. "It'll work out." That was President Hinckley's motto, and I'm striving to make it my own. In addition to "less is more."

And since "brevity is the soul of w(h)it," here I make my end with LOVE:
Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen

P.S. All the debutantes in Houston couldn't match the bussel in my hedgerow!

1-19-10 "What is genius, anyway?"

(I mentioned recently to Whitney in a letter that the original Rainman, Kim Peek, had passed away. The girls sometimes call Eli "Rainman" since he retains every bit of information ever known to man. Thus, the rainman reference in the letter.)

One example of genius is Rainman. I heard from someone recently that he had died, but now I can't remember who said it. This mystery person was also saying that Rainman was a Latter-day Saint and had his scriptures memorized. Imagine that. I'm not really sure if that's true though. I'm sorry to hear that he died also. I don't think I've ever actually seen Rainman, but I know I've seen the scene (how's that for internal rhyme?) where Dustin Hoffman counts cards and says to Tom Cruise, "The Queens. There are a lot of them."

Another example of genius is my brother, the P.A.C.E. testing champion of the world. I had no doubt in my mind when you said that he had taken the test that he would pass with flying colors (which is an expression that makes no sense, but kind of makes a nice image in my mind). The boy can do really difficult multiplication tables, sometime even more than his teacher can do without a calculator. (Eli can do them without a calculator and the teacher cannot. That's a double entendre.) The boy knows the word "embroidery." I would say that P.A.C.E. was a great program for me. I was obviously never in it in 3rd and 4th grades, but I loved having that one day a week to go and do something a little different from the rest of the week. I made really good friends from all over the school district, and I got a chance to stretch my skills in the learning department. I think he would like it, but I wouldn't say it's absolutly essential if you want him to be happy. Maybe he just wants to be a regular student. I'd say, let him give it a try if he wants to. Congratulations, genius brother! I love you the moster more!

But the prime example of genius this week is me. I finally got a haircut. A. Maze. Ing. I love it. It looks about like it did when Witney's mom gave me one. Short and flirty and fun. The bangs are back to their fabulous selves.

Hmmm. We are kind of on a time crunch today, so I have to write quickly. Thanks for the Olympic news. I'm trying to decide if I want you to tell me who wins things. I probably won't be able to say no. Let me know about cool people like Evan Lysacek and Shawn White and anybody new who comes along. Maybe even tell me about uncool people like Bode Miller and Johnny Weir(d) and Bode Miller. Are there any good female skaters? You know I'd love to be able to witness it with my own eyes, but if the vcr's not working, maybe I'll just ask you to buy the 2010 Vancouver highlights DVD or something as a Valentine's gift.

Speaking of which, my Valentine's Day requests are: 1. a picture of the Idaho Falls temple. Nothing elaborate. Something transportable. Just a picture of my temple. 2. More music. We always need more music. Classical is nice and acceptable. If you burn something, could you send the version of "Lead, Kindly Light" from the Pioneer Sesquecentenial (sp?)? And if you are able to find the "Together Forever" soundtrack on CD, we wouldn't say no. And I'm not being sarcastic in either this sentence or the last one. Really. Ugh. That's the trouble with sarcasm. When you don't intend it, it still sounds sarcastic.

That's all for this week. Sorry it's so short. Martin Luther King Jr. took up our time. We have to go find people to teach.

Love,
Sister Whitney Sorensen

1-14-10 "Take a Picture...It'll Last Longer"

...Even more photo gifts from our missionary. Again, thanks to the lovely Kimberly for her sweet scanning skills!The feet of them that preach. In rain, in sleet, in mud, in floods. A good pair of shoes is worth at least $150!
Whitney's dream of meeting a President finally comes true. He seems a little cold, though.

Fellow elders and sisters on temple day. Elder Ced/Ed is front and center. Shia's personality twin is Elder Bell, arms crossed, attitude proudly showing!

Will it blend? Are we allowed to make Coke Can chicken on a mission?

Sister Kemp and Sister 'Squints"
Alex after his baptism. Word from Whitney, "Remind investigators of proper post-baptismal attire." I still think he looks great. Glowing and groovy!

All the well-wishers after Alex's baptism.
Two are clowning for the camera. Two are not.

1-11-10 "Pictures of Me, For You"

The Queen of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, we made a Charlie Brown Christmas tree

Downtown Houston during the worst blizzard of the year! Ha!


The beautiful Houston Temple Sister Sorensen and Sister Kemp preparing to design a gingerbread house
The finished product
The tree from some members

Festive aprons for the cooks in the kitchen

Christmas morning
A calender from her sweet baboo!
More Christmas gifts
Reunited with Sister Hoskins...her companion from the MTC. They're getting ready to 'rip it up in Tomball! Happy New Year, y'all!

1-11-10 "Put Up Your Duke"

I hope you get the big e-mail I just sent with only pictures (mostly). Unfortunately, I couldn't attach the best picture of the week because it's on Sister Hoskins's camera, but have no fear, I'll find a way to get it to y'all. We met John Wayne this week! "How?" you ask. "How could you meet John Wayne, since he is dead?" We were tracting! We were tracting a street in a neighborhood, also trying to contact a former investigator to see if she'd like to learn with missionaries again. We didn't get in contact with her again, but at one house at the end of the street, there was a lifesize poster of John Wayne hanging up on the door that leads from the house to the garage. After we talked to the person inside, we asked if we could take a picture with it. So, I met John Wayne this week, and I have photographic proof. Rooster Cogburn and I bared our true grit together. I'll see if I can get a copy of the picture today and send it along.

In other news, still no investigators, but the work always moves forward. We'll keep trying, and in any case we're really having success with less-active families. We're getting in with a lot of them, and we're also dropping by on members a lot. We really think we need to get to know the whole ward in order to get them to all work together on this and build up the work in the area. Sister Hoskins really has a fire underneath her, determined to get it going again, and I'm glad to be her companion. She is great at talking to people and just keeping the conversation going. We are about to find the people who are prepared in this area. I just know it. I can feel it. We had interviews with President Hansen this week, something we do every six weeks, and I just felt so optimistic about the future that day. Some days are harder than others, but I am determined to keep going.

Now, about the weather. Yes, it has been very cold here the last four or five days. The humidity makes it feel much colder than it actually is, too, but the cold snap is almost over, so I don't think I'll need a warmer coat or a scarf or anything. I've been wearing my lovely rain coat everywhere, which is really more of a joy than a pain since I love it so much, and I just wear a sweater underneath to stay warm. I've also been wearing my gloves, and as long as I keep my hair down over my ears, I'm fine. I'm an Idaho girl. I've been through cold way worse than this. Suffice it to say, I don't think I'll be needing any additional winter-type clothes, but I'll keep you posted.

Hmmm, I feel like I don't have much to say this week, although everything's been good, and I have been writing it all down in my journal, so everything I can't remember when I'm sitting at a computer I can at least tell you later. Alex. He hasn't been to church in four weeks now, and we were really starting to get worried. We'd called him and called him. Last week, we were worried that he just didn't know about the time change, but he never called us back after we left like three messages. He wasn't at church yesterday either. But finally last night we found out that the Elders Quorum secretary saw him at Walmart and learned that he (Alex) is apparently moving to Russia! I still haven't heard that from Alex himself, but at least we know he's not missing in action (MIA) or absent without leave (AWOL).

Love the picture of Cassidy saying "Hasta Luego" to Elder Tobias. He'll love it. I also finally got to see the pictures of Christmas morning and Beatles Rockband. Too cool for words. What's with the magic wands? Did they come with Harry Potter on DVD or something? Cassidy, you make a good-looking Ringo, as does Eli, but why are Madeline (sp? too many ways to spell that name anymore) and Cassidy being attacked by Kim? Is she Yoko or something? Any word on when Mr. Chicago is putting in his mission papers? And is Conor just living at home until he hops the country to the MTC and then to Lithuania?

Also, Elise. I'm so glad to hear she's on her way to London. She'll love it. Every minute of it. Just think. Who'dve thought I would be the trailblazer for Ronnie and Elise to go to the London Theater Study Abroad program? Do you know if Elise ever got my letter? I sent her one like three months ago, but I never got one back. Life as a college co-ed is busy, I know, but did she at least receive it? And how is Miss Ronnie? Use my facebook to find out, if you are not yourself her FBF (facebook friend).

I definitely think doing sealings at the temple counts, and doing initiatories is also wonderful. You absolutely have the right to change it up, Mom, so do it. Speaking of which, love the irony in the fact that my at home desk and my former desk both had weights in them and needed to be moved recently. I'm even more glad to hear that my desk made it's Idaho Falls debut and was not only on stage, but was the stage for a dance number by Lily St. Regis and Rooster and Miss Hannigan. Fab. U. Lous. You could have had them sign it, but after a while it might have gotten old. Of course, they could always do like some missionaries do and carve their names into the drawer. Or, come to think of it, my other desk, the one that got moved with thirty additional pounds, had several names carved into the desktop itself. So signing with a sharpie would have been nicer, since the desk remains flat when you don't carve into the surface.

Doctor: yes, I am going to the doctor on Thursday. I'm a little nervous, but I know I can assert myself and get my position across. It's not like he can do the procedure without my consent.

Oh, and to further clarify the apartment situation. Apartment #1 in College Station burned down, so we moved to #2 in the same complex. #3 was when I moved to Tomball. #3 is also Cobblecreek. #4 is when we moved and the hilarious desk incident occurred. I currently live in #4 which is on State Hwy 249 and is called the Park and Spring Creek, not Cobblecreek.

Okay, time's up. I hope this week's letter wasn't too boring.

Love,
Sister Whitney Sorensen

P.S. I just got gum all over my blue skirt from sitting at this computer desk at the library. Hopefully ice will get it off. If not, it was only ten dollars. But I really like it! Pray for it. Last week, Sister Hoskins had a skirt incident. She sprayed what she thought was oxiclean, but was actually bleach in an oxiclean bottle on her blue skirt, and when it started turning pink she screamed. We called the elders to jokingly ask if they could bless the bleach out of a skirt. She ended up bleaching the whole thing pink, and it doesn't look too shabby. I wonder if they've ever blessed the gum off of a skirt...

1-4-10 "Greetings Idahoans and Earthlings"

If this e-mail address seems a little strange, it's not because I was taken to the planet Vulcan. Although I did make the "Live long and prosper" sign with my hands everytime I read those words in your e-mail, Mom. No, it's because all the missionaries are getting new e-mail addresses since they are updating the much outdated missionary e-mail service. (Question: why is update the opposite of outdate? Shouldn't it be downdate? or indate? Curious...) So here it is, my new e-mail address: whitney.sorensen@myldsmail.net. Almost the same as the old one, but a little less complicated. All your old e-mails will be sent to this box, so if you accidentally forget, don't worry, I'll get them. But try not to forget.

Which brings me to the discussion of another address change. Didn't I tell you like two months ago that Sister Kemp and I moved apartments? It was even before Thanksgiving. And I thought I told you my new address at that time, not just last week. (By the way, the zip code here is 77375, just like the old one.) If I didn't, you missed a great story. Well, actually a pretty okay story. That was clear back when the missionary often reffered to as LaBeouf was still here, over six weeks ago. Ced/Ed is still here, but he is on the third companion he's had while serving in this area. Anyway, the great/pretty okay part of the story involves my desk. When we were moving, we had two senior elders plus the Spanish elders plus the zone leaders here to help us carry all the heavy stuff. We lived on the second floor, too, so things were a little tricky negotiating angles and stairs and such. Almost everything was carried out, except my desk. They were out of room in the truckbed and trailer they'd brought, but they still thought they could maybe fit it in. Plus, they just wanted to get everything out of the apartment. So the zone leaders were trying to carry my desk out of the apartment. They got it through the front door, and they stopped for a minute on the landing. One of them looked like he was really straining, and I remember thinking that was odd because a) he's not really a weakling, and b) the desk shouldn't be that heavy. After about a minute, they picked it up again and carried it down the stairs and over to the truck. Five or ten minutes (but not six, seven, or eight) later, Sister Kemp and I were in the apartment...we looked out the window, and what did we see? Two elders discovering two weights IN THE DESK! We're talking the kind of weights you would put on the end of a bar to do bench presses. Probably 30 or 40 pounds, all concentrated on the side of the straining (seemingly needlessly) elder And then Sister Kemp has a revelation: "Oh yeah, I forgot we put those in there!" Apparently, earlier in the summer, she and Sister Cook (her old companion) had been cleaning the apartment and found the weights. Wanting to get them out of the way, they put them in the desk. And forgot about them. I do remember seeing them once myself, but I never used that part of the desk, so I didn't even think to clean it out. We felt really bad. We were sure they thought we'd played a prank on them. We mentioned it to them, trying to apologize and make them see the humor in the situation, but they kind of brushed it off a little. "Sure you forgot about them." Oh well. I still think it's kind of funny. Maybe that's cruel.

Moving onto current events, the first part of this week was spent mostly in transfering Sister Kemp to Katy and transferring Sister Hoskins to Tomball. All the switching happened on Wednesday. I'm very excited to work with Sister Hoskins again. We need her in this area. She has no fear of tracting, and in fact loves it. Hard to believe, I know, Dad, and I'm sure I'll never love it, but doing it with her makes me less afraid of it. I have that goal to become a fearless tracter (not a fearless tractor), and if anyone can help me accomplish it, it's her. We've already spent quite some time tracting, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming, and she's so good at keeping a conversation going that we have great success talking to people, even when they make it clear at the beginning that they don't want to have us teach them. My favorite thing this week has been having people tell us they already have a copy of the Book of Mormon. It's so strange and exciting, because it happens when you'd least expect it. The mission is focusing right now very strongly on using the Book of Mormon, and President Hansen keeps saying that "the Lord has a special blessing in store with the Book of Mormon." I'm starting to think that this is at least part of it. Who would have thought that the Bible belt would be filled with hidden copies of the Book of Mormon? Not this missionary. Apparently, President Benson's call to "flood the earth with the Book of Mormon" is not lost. We're still sowing and reaping its blessings.

On Thursday (New Year's Eve), we had our first district meeting with our new district leader, Elder Bell, aka Ced/Ed. The more I think about it, I don't really think he looks like Ced/Ed at all, but now that that's his nickname, I've got to use it. Anyway, it was one of the best district meetings we've had in a while. I could sense the attitude of the district turning around with the three missionaries newly added to our district. For the last six weeks, all three companionships have kind of been in a finding--and not succeeding at finding--slump. But I have a feeling that's all about to turn around. I am the designated piano player. It's not a calling, necessarily, but we did kind of vote on it. It felt kind of nice to use common consent for something even as simple as that. Like they wouldn't just assume that I would do it. It feels...official. That night before that Sister Hoskins and I were delivering some Gospel Principles manuals to members of the Relief Society who hadn't picked theirs up yet. We stopped by the Carpenter family's house. The Carpenter's are very strong and active, but Sister Carpenter has been very sick. We had such a nice visit with them, during which time I learned that using the title "Miss" followed by someone's first name is a very strong Southern tradition and a sign of great respect. So, Miss Joy, you are a true Southern lady now. The Carpenters also had us over the next night (New Year's Eve, again) for steak. We had to eat at like four, because President Hansen wanted all missionaries "in their apartments, no questions asked" by 5. With the unsaid motive being to avoid drunk drivers.

Friday most of the day was a mission-wide conference to gear us up for the new year. I loved every minute of it. Lately, despite the hardship of feeling like we have no one to teach and worrying that I'm wasting the Lord's time, I feel like I'm hitting my stride as a missionary. Every missionary meeting I just come away with a strong sense of determination and purpose, like I know that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, and I know exactly where the Lord would have me improve the most. And yesterday I know the Spirit was guiding us as we did our work. I think part of it was it being fast Sunday, so I was feeling closer to the Spirit, but we'd forgotten the ward list at home, so I had to go entirely from memory. We decided to drop a Gospel Principles manual by to some less-active, fairly recent converts whom I'd never met. They have never been home when I've gone by with Sister Kemp, but their name came into my head three or four times, so we drove over there. They were home! She was so excited to get the manual. She even kissed it. She and her husband expressed the desire to come back soon, so hopefully Sister Hoskins and I will be able to get in with them again soon. They didn't express any animosity toward the church, and spoke so fondly of the missionaries that had worked with them. We had a great conversation. After that, I felt that we should go to another less-active family's house, a husband and wife who haven't been to church in ten years or more. Sister Kemp and I have been stopping by on them since I got to the area, but usually when we get there, something crazy has just happened. Once, they were worried that one of their horses' leg had been broken. He was so worried about it. The next time we stopped by, he said that after we'd left, he'd gone inside and just said a heartfelt prayer, leaving it all in Heavenly Father's hands. And the horse turned out to be okay! Skip to me reading through the conference Ensign. I was reading President Packer's talk about prayer, and there's that great story about their son praying for the cow to be all right. I immediately thought of the family, so I'm sure the Lord was telling me to share it with them. So we did. And it was the best lesson we've ever had with him. He really wants to come back to church again, because he has temple work he wants to do, not just for himself but for family. I just feel so strongly that serving them is one of the many reasons the Lord needs me in this area. It's people like them that make the hard times worthwhile. He also gave us some slices of a traditional Southern cake he'd baked: "Sock-it-to-me cake" is a yellow bundt cake with cinnamon and pecans in the middle. I don't usually like pecans, but this was delicious. Not quite red velvet, but approaching.

Wow, I haven't really responded much to your e-mails. Glad to hear you're having a very white January, although I'm not really jealous. I'm glad to have a snow-free (for the most part) winter as a missionary. It's definitely got it's challenges, and who needs snow on top of that? I can't wait to read THE BOOK, but I suppose I'll have to. Something to look forward to, just like writing my own books, and watching the Olympics one winter after they occur.

Oh, I did get the Christmas card/package finally. A lot of mail got lost in transit, but it's all mostly out of it now. The picture card looked great. I'm keeping it in my journal. I played Christmas bracketology by myself. My winner: "For Unto Us a Child is Born." How could anything else win with that on there? It's almost not fair. Next year we should exclude that one. Songs I'm glad you didn't include: "Christmas shoes" (punk or otherwise), "Domnick the Christmas Donkey," and "I Wanna Kill Your Mother for Christmas." Song I was sorry you excluded and exchanged: "Merry Christmas, Baby" by the Beach Boys. I substituted it for "Little St. Nick" because I like it better. I think it actually made it to the final two. Let's just say I think the right side was more competitive than the left.

Okay, I have to go now, but I love you all I'm definitely shining brighter than a vulcan.
Love,
Sister Whitney Sorensen

p.s. Ooh, and I forgot to mention that on the way to district meeting on Thursday we figured out that Elder Bell was also a part of his Scholastic bowl (nerd bowl, as he referred to it) team. He's from Idaho. Crazy small world. We would have been at the same state competion at least once, but probably never competed against each other because he's from a smaller school. But maybe we did. I can't really remember if we ever played against Soda Springs.

12-28-09 "Reunited and It (Will) Feel So Good...

I know you're all sitting by the computer in breathless anticipation, wondering if I'm being transferred, so I might as well say very first that I get to stay in Tomball! Sister Kemp will be going to Katy, trading spots with Sister Hoskins, who will be joining me in Tomball on Wednesday. We are going to "tear up Tomball," in the words of Sister Hoskins. I'm really excited to be her companion again. We'll have a lot of fun together, and time on the mission is really starting to fly, probably more for me than it is for y'all at home. Therefore, any mail you need to send in the next six weeks (until approximately the first week of February) can be sent directly to our Tomball address, if you so desire. 29807 State Highway 249Tomball, TX 77375 (I think that's the zip code. Not positive, though. It might be 77377. Look it up if you can. You can access much more of the internet than I can.)
In the next six weeks, my goals are to: 1. find out about the "Jesus is Coming" song. 2. get a haircut, so my bangs look better from the Walmart disaster and so the length isn't dragging down the curl any longer. 3. complete a deep reading of First and possibly Second Nephi, which I have been working on for a few weeks, but I've been distracted by trying to read the entire conference Ensign. I figure those are some good goals, just like your goal to do one endowment every week, Mom. I'd make the same goal, but I'm in a slightly different place in life, so, maybe next year. But that's a whole year away.
I'm not really sure what to tell you, since we already chatted for so long on Friday night. I kind of shared all my news then, and I can't really think of anything too incredible that's happened since. Cassidy, I wanted to buy you a gift today, but, well, I didn't, because I thought you might already have one (a calendar) and I couldn't figure out how to send it. We were at Target, buying me a new journal this morning, and we saw a Jonas Brothers calendar. It was called, "Rock and Roll Royalty." Very natty. Very dorm room. Very us. Alas, only in my dreams did I purchase it for you.
Speaking of which, I had a rather strange dream last night, at least partially involving the family. We were all shopping at a greeting card/bookstore, only most of the greeting cards had already been written on, with personalized notes and everything. We were going through stacks of them, trying to find the ones meant for us. I remember thinking in the dream that some of them were hilarious, but I can no longer remember what any hilarious parts were. Perhaps it'll become some strange part of a story I write someday. Perhaps it's my calling as the Birthday Card Philosopher coming back to me the only way it knows how right now. Who knows?
And speaking of Rock Royalty, who has Beatles Rock Band? The Johnsons? I couldn't get the pictures to open on the computer I'm using today, so if it's obvious from the photos, I apologize. Long story short, our regular library is closed, and we're at the Barbara Bush library today. Actually, I think it's just A Barbara Bush library, but the computers don't do as many things here. Sounds like fun. Can't wait to try it, but until then, just have Eli learn to play the drums and watch the "Band on the Roof" episode of Even Stevens frequently for me.
Thanks for sending the hookarm story. You're right, though. It's not as cool when you're not around a campfire at girls' camp. It satiated my curiosity though. All the time now I just get these random memories coming back to me, so I'm trying to write them down in my Great Pumpkin journal so I have them all in one place.
Now, to the literary business of the day. Yes, I did meet Shannon Hale at a seminar. She is mostly a young adult fantasy writer, and the only things I've read by her are her Newbery Honor winning "Princess Academy" and a graphic novel about Rapunzel in the old west. She had a very dynamic personality, and she is a member of the Church. She also has a series, but I have not read any books in it yet. I had a hard time with "Princess Academy" because all the characters have weird names. I think it comes from my desire for all children to have normal, correctly-spelled names. Anyway, she also has two adult books, neither of which I have read, but which might be worth looking into. "Austenland" is I think about a lady who escapes to a theme park based on Jane Austen novels, and "The Actor and the Housewife" is new and is about, you guessed it, an actor and a housewife having a mail correspondence, although I think without the "You've Got Mail" romance angle. There. That paragraph stands as evidence that I haven't entirely forgotten my English major wealth of knowledge.
Hmmm, this e-mail feels so short, but I have nothing left to say, so I'll say "goodbye," since I know what that means about what you'll say next week. As for me and my first Texas Christmas, I'll use the words of another Beatles' classic. My favorite actually. "There are places I'll remember, all my life." That is one of them.

Love,


Sister Whitney Sorensen


P.S. I love y'all! (Do you think that would be a good twist on the Beatles' "P.S. I love you"? Think about it. The band could be called The Southern Beatles, or, more aptly, The Cockroaches. Blech. Nevermind. Too gross for words.)

P.P.S. Did you further know that if you accidentally misspell "blech" it comes out "belch"? Grosser.

P.P.P.S. I've got it! Let's call them "The Oneders!"