February 13, 2012
hola

It's good to hear that everyone is fine back at home.
It's been the first week with my new comp Elder Lopez. Everything so far has gone OK. Hes not quite as excited all the time like my last companion, but hes cool. He's from the same ward as Elder Beltrán, and is a convert to the church. He knows a lot and has a really distinct way of teaching. He is a really good follower and only has 4 months left. So I've had the opportunity to really lead the area for the first time. It's been a good experience, I showed myself that I have learned a lot and know how to do stuff. I know how to work, and what I need to learn. I get to carry around the cell phone and talk to all of our investigators and friends and they understand me. So my spanish has to be getting better. It's not perfect, but better.

Its weired to think that I only have 500 days left today. I'll have 8 months out on the 22nd and thats a weird thought. Im almost half way through, its gone by so fast. I'm told that it only goes faster after I hit the one year mark.

It is really great news to here that Grandpa Sorensen is doing good. I have to admit your last letter was a little... startling. Let them know they are in my prayers. Let me know how things go.

NO YOU DID NOT TELL ME JACOB WENT TO THE BONNEVILLE SWEET HEART!!!!!!! You will defiantly have to send me pictures and have JACOB tell me how it went.

Some times I feel like I'm in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrah. There is so much crap that happens here. You can't go 10 feet from our apartment before you see pornography in the streets and kids drugging themselves in the streets. I have no idea how the members do it here. We went to eat at a members house and they were all playing video games on cellphones and nintendo DS's. I didn't really get after them for it because its really almost all I would let them do if i was their parent. The only safe places here are in the churches, in a well founded home, or in the LDS founded High School. It's really a war, and were fighting for one person at a time. On the 10 of March we are going to marry a couple so they can get baptized. They have a 7 year old and they are 27 years old. They are way cool, but everyone has challenges when they start getting closser to the church. I had a feeling that I needed to go check on them the other day so we went to confirm the apointment for the night and it turnes out that they had been fighting again (one of the first times in 2ish years) and they weren't planning on being there in the night so it was a great thing that we went to see them. We were able to calm them down and explain alot of things to them. I even talked to them about Grandpa having cancer. It was a powerful lesson. I'm glad and extremely grateful for the Holy Ghost and for the revelation that Heavenly Father can give us.

love you forever
Elder Steven Tray Sorensen