Press Forward

Hey everyone!!

Happy Late Mother's Day. I hope all of you lovely Moms had a great day
and know how much your kids appreciate you all!  Elder Holland said it
best, "To all Mothers in every circumstance, including those who
struggle--and all will--I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God and
yourself. You are doing better than you think you are."

This week has been good! To be honest, there's not a lot going on
right now hahah it's been kinda a rough week, but I'll share a
funny/sad moment with you all:

One day this week Sister Koyle and I were biking out in the rain, it
had just been a really rough morning. We tried to see one of our
investigators, we biked by her house and she saw us & literally ran
inside to hide from us!! We were so upset. I tried to stay positive,
because I could tell Sister Koyle was really hurt. We read the "No
effort is wasted" section in Preach My Gospel and tried to continue on
our day. We kept biking and talking to everyone, we met some pretty
contentious people! Nobody wanted to talk with us. By this point I was
starting to get a little bit sad, but I didn't want Sister Koyle to
know! I don't like people knowing when I'm sad, haha! I felt like our
area was falling apart and I couldn't understand why. Nobody wanted to
talk to us! It was pouring rain and we were biking! I kept praying in
my heart that something would work out. We kept biking, then Sister
Koyle hit a curb wrong and wrecked!!  She just started to cry, not
because she was injured but because it had been a rough day. I got off
my bike and started to cry too. I sat with her on the side of the road.
2 sister missionaries sitting on a puddle on the side of the road in
the pouring rain- it was a pretty pathetic sight to say the least
hahaha. We couldn't help but laugh with tears in our eyes at how awful
the day had been. We looked up as a car drove past that had a bumper
sticker that said, "Smile, God loves you" we both started to laugh and I
thought how God definitely has a sense of humor. We hopped back on our
bikes and kept going. I learned a lot during this day! How now matter
what happens, God is always with us and to just smile because our
Heavenly Father loves us, when the bike knocks you down on the wet
pavement you just got hop back on and keep going! We were able to find a
new investigator that day, we were able to push through the trials of
the day! It felt good. To lay in bed at the end of the day and say "I
pushed through." I thought of the scripture, 2 Nephi 31:20 "Ye must
press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect
brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men..." and how we MUST
press forward and keep going!  To continue to love God and all of His
children.

Haha anyway it was so good to talk to the family:) so grateful God put
us into families, i’m just so blessed. Anyway keep choosing the right
& reading your scriptures❤️

Love always,
Sis Sobotka

1. Skype call
2. Elvis is in the building
3. My cutie companion
4. This huge tree!!!!

 

 

Acts of Mercy (May 2, 2016)

Hey everyone!

This week was full of service and it was tons of fun, such an amazing
opportunity! For the past 3 or so months the Sacramento Stake has been
organizing this huge service project for refugees in the area. They
called it the "Acts of Mercy Project". They've been collecting all
kinds of items that people might need. On Saturday all the
missionaries in our zone got to help pick up all of the stuff, we then
drove to North Sac and a bunch of missionaries from other zones
helped organize it all. It was amazing!! The Stake President in the
Sacramento Stake is amazing! He always has these projects to help
people get more involved. Also fun fact- The Sacramento Stake is the
most diverse stake in the United States!! There is a Chinese branch,
Marshallese branch, Tongan Ward, Spanish Branch, Fijian unit, Hmong
unit, ASL Unit, and 7 English wards all in one stake!

Also, I went on exchanges this week to the Spanish branch! It was
so much fun! I went with Hermana Torres. She is such a sweet heart &
she's just hilarious! It was so much fun. We went to a Spanish lesson
and of course I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I did know
she was teaching the Restoration and I knew the moment she started
reciting the First Vision. The spirit was so strong and I just started
to cry! Even though I don't know any Spanish at all. I've been
thinking about that experience all week. That even though I couldn't
tell what she was saying, the spirit was still able to confirm to me
that what she was saying was true! It helped build my testimony that
the church is true and how amazing the spirit is!! That its able to work
through all languages even if you don't understand, you can still feel
the spirit!

We also helped our favorite less active member sis Mackay dig sprinkler
holes!! Hahah Dad- you are going to be so proud of the yard skills
I've gained on my mission! I've learned how to fix a broken sprinkler
pipe and I learned how to properly use an axe all in 1 day! Hahaha what
a blessing.

I finished the Book of Mormon again this week and that was awesome as
usual. I've just been thinking a lot about the song “Scripture Power"
and the line that says, "Because I want the power His word will give to
me, I’m changing how I live, I’m changing what I’ll be." and how I've
just seen how much that line has become relevant to me on my mission!
Once again closing my email about how grateful I am to be a missionary
& to be able to study The Book of Mormon without distractions (aka
cell phone) hahah

Anyway I love you all. Thanks for all the love & support you give me:)
have the best week & read your scriptures & say your prayers!! CTR

Love always,
sister Sobotka