I love my new area!

June 22, 2015

 Hi family & friends :)
(Warning this is a long email...but it's good so read it)
Ok, soooo I absolutely LOVE my new area! It is completely different than my last area, it's actually the exact opposite. It is so nice here in El Dorado Hills. We live with a member in their separate guest house & they basically live in a mansion!! They have a pool and ping pong table and 2 guest houses and yeah basically they are loaded$ just like EVERYONE else in this area! Some of the biggest houses I have seen in my life are in this area!! It's gorgeous here!

We are covering 2 wards and one of the wards is just a huge gated community where you aren't allowed to proselyte at all in that ward so you have to work with the members, which I LOVE! The members here are amazing. I am blown away at how excited they are about missionary work. My first night here we had dinner with the nicest family, the Danielson’s. They are the cutest family and Brother Danielson was like, "ya know what...I could be hanging out with my member friends all the time but how is that going to help bring people into the Gospel?” Their family is amazing and are so willing to help! I am so blown away by the differences between these wards and my last area.

My new companion is Sister Kauvaka! She is Tongan & really sweet, she's stressed out leading the area but she is such a sweet heart. I love that none of my companions have been white or from Utah because I get to learn so much about other cultures and I love it!! I like being the senior companion and kinda being in charge hahah. Sister Kauvaka is the most directionally challenged person I have ever met in my life!!! You're all probably laughing because you thought I was directionally challenged! But no, she is horrible and we get lost SOOOO MUCH hahah but I think I've got it almost figured out. Anyway I guess this is a tough area to be in because there are a lot of wealthy people who are happy with their lives and don't think they need religion, but I love it here, I LOVE working with these members! I'm excited to see what we can do in this area.

Yesterday, since we have 2 wards and 2 ward councils we had 8 hours of church but I really liked it! I got called up on the spot to bare my testimony in one ward so that was kinda freaky ha but it went well! In relief society we talked about the importance of the Holy Ghost and how important it is to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. President Ezra Taft Benson said, “I have said so many times to the brethren that the Spirit is the most important single element in this work. With the Spirit and magnifying your call, you can do miracles for the Lord in the mission field. Without the Spirit you will never succeed regardless of your talent and ability.”  I have realized the importance of doing things by the spirit and how you do need the Lords help in every aspect of life.

I absolutely love being a missionary! I love this Gospel so much and I am so grateful to be sharing it with others. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and that we can change through it. I have been studying the talk, "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox lately (if ya haven't heard it you should listen to it) and it's truly amazing that Christ has payed for all of our sins and we just need to try harder and harder everyday. I've learned how much easier life is if you just take it day by day. I always think, "I just need to be a little better today than I was yesterday"

Anyway I'm sorry this email is so long, but I hope you know I love you all so much. I have realized how blessed I am with the most amazing family and friends. Thank you for all the letters and emails you all send, I can't tell you how much they mean to me & I save them all! Let me know if I can do anything for any of you:) I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love,
Sis Sobotka

Sister Sobotka and Kauvaka with their District

Sister Kauvaka and Sister Sobotka

I AM BEING TRANSFERRED!

I AM BEING TRANSFERRED! (My address is still the same so write me at
the same address) Yeeee I'm going to the city of Folsom and I couldn't
be more excited :) my new companion's name is Sister Cavaka isn't that
funny? Sobotka & Cavaka hahah I've only met her once at zone conf and
she plays the ukulele and is a great singer so I am excited! Also I'm
going to be the senior companion! Soo that's a little freaky and we
are covering 2 wards so that means...FULL TIME CAR HOLLA!!!!!! No more
biking in the ghetto:) it also means I won't be going to the Modesto
mission and I'll be staying in the Sacramento mission:) I am so
grateful for the time I have got to spend here in Carmichael in the
La Sierra ward and the people I met here and all the crazy
things I got to experience, but I am excited for new adventures in
Folsom:)

Here's how my week went:

It got super hot this week and even reached 109!! One night we were
biking home and it was soo hot and we had about 20 minutes left until
we got home and then Sister Sahms bike chain just got jammed up some
how so we started walking home...and I was just about to start crying
and then a car pulled up next to us and it was this man who works at
this Chinese restaurant we always go to and he got out and helped us.
It was so nice!!! It's amazing to know that the Lord is always looking
out for us! I finished the Book of Mormon last week and started again
this week, I was reading in 1 Nephi 1:20 where it says, "the tender
mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen because of
their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance" I
am so grateful for all of the many tender mercies I have seen while
serving a mission, I know that the Lord truly loves us and always
makes sure there is a way to overcome our trials.

Thursday we did service at the cemetery with Elder Jaramillo and Elder
Snow (our district leaders) and we were riding around in a golf cart
and Elder Snow tried drifting around a corner and Sister Suzuki and
Sister Sahm just flew off the back of the golf cart!!! Hahaha! They
didn't get hurt but Sister Suzuki was soo MAD! Elder jaramillo, Elder
Snow and I were trying so hard not to laugh, but it was seriously
hilarious! Hahaha!

Basically the rest of the week was biking around in the heat and
talking to every one trying to find new people to teach, it was a long
week but we were able to add a new investigator who came to church and
loved it! Her name is Alicia, she is the nicest investigator I have
had! When we showed up at her house she had a pizza and fried chicken
made for us! They just moved to California... Her husband is a member
but super less active and she called the Bishop and asked to send
missionaries over. She had already been reading from the Book of
Mormon and Is praying about it, she is awesome and even asked to take
pictures with us. I'm sad to be leaving this area right when I met her
but I am so excited to hear more about Alicia.

Anyway that was my week, I hope you are all having fun this
summer and gettin super tan-I'm gettin pretty tan except with horrible
tan lines hahah anyway yeah have a great week love you all:)

Love,
Sister Sobotka

Alicia (New Investigator), Sisters Sobotka, Sahm and Suzuki

Sisters Sobotka, Suzuki, Sahm and Jack (Investigator)

Sister Clayson (Ward Member) Sisters Sobotka, Sahm and Suzuki

Lookin for some religion? You know who to call.

Hello Everybody:)
So this week has been really good! really long, but really good! I've realized how much easier missionary work is if you just tell yourself that you are happy haha and to just laugh off stuff.

Last Monday both of my companions ran out of money sooo I had to buy their groceries for them and I came to realize at the check out that I also didn't have enough money to cover all 3 of our groceries :-) luckily the sweetest lady behind us bought our groceries! She was a member in another ward and was SOO NICE! I know Heavenly Father is watching out for us:)

This past week we had a mission conference with the entire mission talking about iPads and how to use technology wisely. It was a really great conference, by Elder David F. Evans of the Seventy. So we should be getting iPads within the next week or so? (we hope). At the conference they talked about how they are splitting the mission and we will be getting a call before July 1st letting us know if we will be staying in the Sacramento Mission or transferred to the Modesto Mission! I am actually a little nervous and I just wish I knew where I was going. But I am happy to go wherever the Lord wants me to go:)

Not much more has happened this week, we have just been biking all day long looking for people to teach, so if any of you know anyone who lives in Carmichael California and are lookin for some religion you know who to call;)

--
Love,
Sister Sobotka

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!
This week has been such a great week! We have been just out riding our bikes and talking to everyone and meeting all kinds of interesting people. We began teaching a new guy named Jonathan but apparently he is out of our area:( so we have to pass him off. We taught another guy named Dennis, who lives in his truck and is like 297873 years old, but very sweet and he told us he would come to church but he didn't show:( so that was a little sad, but we still had an amazing lesson with him about the restored gospel!

This week I have really realized how important the restored Gospel really is! Without this Gospel we wouldn't have the Priesthood authority on this earth and we wouldn't be able to perform the ordinances done in the temple like sealing families together forever! haha I know I probably should've realized that along time ago, but this week it really hit me!

One of the best parts of my day is personal study time. I have learned so much in that hour everyday and how much I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON! I've realized how important it is to study the scriptures everyday and how much you can learn from the teachings in the scriptures. Even though they were written forever ago, you can relate to pretty much all of it. I know the Book of Mormon was brought forth in our day for a reason:)

On Thursday was Lola's baptism! So we got there about 5:45 and the baptism started at 6:30, and it was like 6:25 and Lola still wasn't there? We started freaking out haha I was a stress case, but then she showed up and she was just crying her eyes out and having an anxiety attack saying she was too scared to be baptized. Then our Bishops wife, Sister Wigginton took her out in the hall and said a prayer with her and then she was okay! It turned out to be a beautiful baptism and it was really cool to have a bunch of non members there! Tony-our street contact even came!

This week while we have been biking I have seriously waved to EVERY SINGLE CAR we have passed! I pretend like I know the people in the car and just act all excited to see them and they get so confused its hilarious! haha Sister Sahm and Sister Suzuki just laugh their heads off so it helps us get through the long days of biking:)

Also, we found out that our other investigator-Josephina, is going to jail next month:( sad huh? It's so sad seeing people you love and care about making poor decisions.

It has been a great week and I really love being a missionary. I have learned so many things out on the mission that I wouldn't have ever learned by staying home. When you think about it I only have 18 months to not worry about school, or a job, or money or anything except serving others...isn't that an amazing opportunity? haha well I hope all of you have a great week! I LOVE YOU! CTR!



--
Love,
Sister Sobotka

I am here because I love my Heavenly Father

Hello Everyone!

This week has been good and long ha!
Last week we found this guy, Tony, while street contacting and he was totally golden! We set up a return appointment and gave him a Book of Mormon and he read all the way to Alma by the next appointment! We found out that he was 26 so we had to pass him off to the YSA Sisters:( but he came to church yesterday and is planning on being baptized on June 6!! So we are pretty excited! I never thought street contacting would go anywhere...haha but it just goes to show that it is important to talk with anyone and everyone!!

This last Monday sister Sahm tried so hard to get a hold of her Mom in the tiny island of Pohmpei but we could not get through, she is such a good example to me. I really look up to Sister Sahm. I don't think I would've ever left my tiny island to serve a mission, and it just shows how much she loves her Heavenly Father. But, on Wednesday she did get a hold of them!! Apparently there was a big storm by her island and the phones weren't able to connect.

Being in a trio is a very different experience but for the most part it is pretty fun! On Thursday we got caught in a huge rain storm and it just poured on us on our bikes! it took us about 40 minutes to bike home and we were SOAKED by the time we got back to the apartment!!

This week i started thinking, "what on earth am i doing here? am i crazy for going on a mission, this is super hard." and then i read a conference talk given by President Uchtdorft called "On Being Genuine" and i read this quote...
"I am here because I desire with all my heart to follow my Master, Jesus Christ. I yearn to do all that He asks of me in this great cause. I hunger to be edified by the Holy Spirit and hear the voice of God as He speaks through His ordained servants. I am here to become a better man, to be lifted by the inspiring examples of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and to learn how to more effectively minister to those in need.
In short, I am here because I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ."

It just kinda put everything into perspective...that is why I’m here! I’m here because I love my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.

I have a million crazy stories that have happened in this crazy area but I don't have time to share them all, but just know I basically talk to 10 homeless people a day and they are all super crazy. I have realized how much I love living in Utah and how beautiful Utah is. I've realized how grateful I am for my family and how happy I am to have been raised in the church.

We had Stake Conference this week and it was all about FAMILIES! Families are the most important thing, I've realized and I am sooo grateful to have such an amazing family at home. I hope all of you realize how important your families are:) I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Sister Sobotka

A Week of Change

Hi Family and Friends:)

This week has been a week of change. I said goodbye to Sister Lavea which was really hard, we got along so well and I’m really going to miss her.   My 2 new companions are Sister Sahm and Sister Suzuki! Our apartment is really crammed right now...so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the transfer goes. But we all get along really well:)

I've realized how scary my area is! Sister Suzuki and Sister Sahm both told me this is the most ghetto area of their mission and they are both pretty scared. haha. We witnessed a drug deal this week, so that was interesting. I also helped wrap a homeless guys wrists because apparently he broke them while fighting some guy over a little girls bike..yeah not exactly sure on that whole story, but I was happy to help.

Like I mentioned before Sister Sahm is from Micronesia, from a tiny island called Pohnpei! There are only 30,000 people on the island and she had never left the island before her mission. She grew up speaking Pohnpein, but took English in Highschool and so we help her with her language study everyday! She is the sweetest Sister and really good example to me for coming out on a mission. She was baptized at the age of 13 and loves the Gospel. The other day I asked her if she had a boyfriend and she said yes! So I asked her what his name is and she replied, "Preach My Gospel" hahaha!

Yesterday was Mothers Day so we had the great opportunity to talk to our families! Unfortunately Sister Sahm couldn't get a hold of her parents in Micronesia. I could tell she was really sad and asked President Jardine if she could try again today. She asked us to pray for her that she would get a hold of her family, so we have been praying really hard. Last night after we planned, Sister Sahm said the closing prayer and said, "We are so grateful that Sister Suzuki and Sister Sobotka got to talk with their families" and I just started crying! I realized how much she really loves other people. She didn't even get to speak with her family but she was still thanking her Heavenly Father that her companions got to speak with their families.

It has been good being a trio so far, and I hope the rest of the transfer will be good as well! We are still trying to find people to teach and just talking to EVERYONE (even the people on drugs-and it freaks me out) but no effort is wasted:)

I hope you all have an amazing week and remember to Choose The Right!


Love,
Sister Sobotka

Sisters Sahm, Sobotka and Suzuki

Not One, but Two Companions!

This has been a pretty crazy, but great week!

We had exchanges this week, I was able to go to another area for the day with Sister Rasmussen! It was pretty fun and it was great to see another area!

Thursday we finalized Lola's Baptism for May 21:) We are really excited for that!  We saw “Dreamer" and she did some tap dancing for us and we talked about how Heavenly Father blesses us with talents so she was happy to show us all of her many talents haha! We added a new investigator, Josaphina who is super nice and is really excited to learn!

Friday we had an amazing zone training. I really love my Zone and it has been fun to serve with them these past 12 weeks! We talked about putting others before ourselves and loving everyone we talk to!

Saturday we went on a Temple tour with a less active lady in our Ward, her name is Angie. She had a stroke when she was 23 years old and half of her body is paralyzed! She has such a positive attitude on life and I look up to her a lot! The Temple tour went great and she loved it:) On Sunday we had dinner with members and they are huge Giants fans! They told us that the Giants swept the Angels this past week so that is pretty sad news?!

Monday night we got our transfer calls! I will be staying in the La Sierra Ward...but I will be getting not only 1, but 2 new companions!! So we will be in a trio:) I will be with Sister Sahm-from Micronesia! and Sister Suzuki who is Japanese! This should be pretty interesting! I’m really excited to get to know these 2 new Sisters, I’m really sad to see Sister Lavea go:( she was such a great companion and I am so grateful for the things she has taught me.

OKAY SATURDAY NIGHT!  The scariest thing happened on Saturday night. We had just finished daily planning and Sister Lavea was in the shower and someone knocked on our apartment door... it was about 10:15pm and I looked to see who it was, but all I could tell was that it was a woman. I wasn't planning on answering it and then she just knocked again and says, "HELLO ANSWER YOUR DOOR!" then I thought it might be a lady who works at the office of the apartment complex, so I opened the door and its this black lady who smelled like smoke and had missing teeth…I was like "hi" and she was like "ohhh I just wanted to see who lived here" and I was like uhhh and then she just walked into the apartment!!! My heart was just beating super fast and then she just tried to grab Sister Lavea's purse!! She said "oh I’m just going to look at this" and I was just freaking out by then. I said "NO SORRY!" so I just seriously slammed the door on her, I have no idea if I hurt her or what even happened but I just had an adrenaline rush or something!  I locked the door and ran and got Sister Lavea out of the shower haha! I was shaking,  Sister Lavea got dressed super fast and grabbed a dumb-bell and she opened the door but the lady was just totally gone! We called our Zone Leaders who live in our same apartment complex and they went out and looked for her but she was gone! President Jardine and Sister Jardine called us to make sure we were okay!  That is the excitement for the week:)

I hope you all have a great week and CTR :)


Love,
Sister Sobotka

Sister Sobotka, Angie and Sister Lavea visit the Sacramento Temple