What A WEEK!

Oh man, what a fun fun week hahaha!   

Lets see, to report on from this week, the biggest thing was this last friday we got called in to do a service project and well, it went for 14 hours. We started at 8:30 in the morning and then went until 10:00 at night. We had to help move a non member out of her house and move her into a apartment which was just insane. It is a long story but basically she got divorced, had to move out in that day and so that is what we did. TWO U- haul fill ups and then up to the 2nd story at the new place. We finished the move at about 8:30 and then we had to help put all the furniture together, so that took up the next,  oh hour or so ... but hey we got to help her out and gave her some good feelings about the mormons!  that is always good when we do that. 

Elder Byrd, Elder Tietijen and Elder Sobczak!

So the next day Saturday was a pretty tired day, but you know we kept doing the work. So that move is the reason you got a picture of my comps and I in service clothes, not on a Prep Day.

Lets see, Sunday we taught Elder's Quorum which was really fun, I always like teaching the classes, not much else about that.

So my thumb is doing much better, the picture doesn't really let you see it but its going good. Long story short i had a missionary stick a red hot heated sharpened hanger into my wart to try and kill it and burn it from the inside out. So it hurt pretty bad but hey it worked I think, we shall see in the next couple weeks as it heals over, pretty sure I am going to have a scar where the wart used to be as I am pretty sure I gave myself 2nd or 3rd degree burn with this thing I did. Don't worry I am telling you so I am obviously fine hahaha! Yikes!!!

Last night we had the departing dinner for Elder Tietjen so that is done, it was such a good dinner and we all had a really good time.

One last story, we went last night to a missionaries apartment after the dinner to pic something up and the gate guard asked me for my name so I said Rick, instead of Amric cause I hate having to go through the whole what did you say how to spell it thing!  but then he asked me for my last name, was not expecting that one so i was like "oh...uhm...It's Travis" hahaha!   so my new name if I ever get famous and have to create a fake name it is Rick Travis hahaha! note  picture of the gate pass.

Not to much else to report on, I am doing all good. I got the packages thank you so much. Everything is awesome and helps with the work. Love the beanie haha laughed really hard when I pulled that out of the box. The suit will look even better once I get it tailored, going next week to get the pants hemmed and tapered and also have the suit coat taken in so it isn't as big on me, so once all of that is done I will have 2 good fitting suit coats and 4 pairs of good fitting suit pants. I have found out a couple things about myself out on the mission, the main thing is that I really like slim pants haha so when i get home I will be wearing weird color slim pants, bring some of California with me wherever I go.

I love you all so much. Thank you for all of the prayers and other things you do for me while I am out here, I really do appreciate. Keep up the awesome work and let me know if their  is anything i can do to help you out. 

Hope everything with the new house and move goes well and smooth. Love you so much have a great week!!!

"Fourth Floor Last Door"

Elder Amric Zane Sobczak

California, Carlsbad, USA

January 2013-June 2013

California, Irvine, USA

July 2013-December 2014

The Life of a Missionary

So family this week ended up being a pretty good one. My coolest story of the week was we started teaching those people we talked about when I called home. We met with them on Wednesday and they came to church on Sunday for all 3 hours. Really cool but the bummer about all of it is that they are YSA age and so this week we will be handing them off to the elders in the YSA ward. It's all good I guess. Same work no matter who teaches them, as long as they get taught and baptized that is all I care about. But they seem really interested and have a lot of questions that I hope will be answered as they take the discussions and continue to learn more about the church. 

My new companions name is Jakobi Byrd from Atlanta Georgia. It is sweet, he has been out for about 15 months, came out a month after me so it is nice again to work with someone who is about my same mission age. Elder Tietjen goes home next Tuesday so this week will be exciting I am sure. The work is picking up here, starting to be happier even when times seem to suck. Basically I have realized that no matter what, I can always use my agency to be happy, you choose to be sad or happy angry or patient etc. So I just have to continually choose to be happy and joyful and looking for the little tiny blessings I have even when times aren't to good, because let's face it there are lots and lots of blessings out there that we can all be thankful for, we may just have to look really hard to find them. 

Dad that is a crazy story about your thumb hahaha! bet that sucked. My knee picture I have attached isn't that bad but wanted you to see. I skinned it playing indoor volleyball, I went for a dive, messed up and ended up sliding on my knee about 3 feet on the gym floor, that's never to much fun to do that. It is all better now though, perfect timing to get it skinned again today in Zone Activity haha! 

   

Get to have a baptismal interview with someone again tonight, I am as always nervous and excited at the same time. It is always cool to meet with people and see their growth, progression, and understanding they gain as they take the discussions and the lessons. 

Anyways not to much else to report on. I have not gotten the packages but I will be getting mail today so i should be getting them. Thanks for that, I should be getting my clothes I sent to the tailors today or tomorrow as well, so I should for sure be set for clothes by the end of the week, thanks for sending the stuff out I really do appreciate it. 

Anyways, keep up the awesome work, something cool I read this week in The Book of Mormon is found in Mosiah chapter 24. Really, just the whole chapter is cool but the very end is what I want to leave you all with today. We have all been lifted through trials and through struggles, the one thing we always need to remember is that it is only because of Christ and our Heavenly Father we made it through them. Nothing we can do will ever measure up to what they do for us. Always turn to them and give thanks just as the followers of Alma did. We must follow our leaders just as these people followed Alma, he was their prophet and they knew he was led by God who led them to safety. Our church leaders do the same thing, we must follow them, even if it is across the uncharted plains, into the desert, or across oceans, they are men led of God who will lead us into the promised land. We must thank our Heavenly Father for this great blessing and all others.


21 Yea, and in the valley of Alma they poured out their thanks to God because he had been merciful unto them, and eased their burdens, and had delivered them out of bondage; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it were the Lord their God.

22 And they gave thanks to God, yea, all their men and all their women and all their children that could speak lifted their voices in the praises of their God.

With much love and Appreciation;

Elder Amric Sobczak

"Fourth Floor Last Door"

Elder Amric Zane Sobczak

California, Carlsbad, USA

January 2013-June 2013

California, Irvine, USA

July 2013-December 2014

Mountains to Climb

My Sister Married In the Portland Temple

What is up Familia!!! So obviously today is Cinco De Mayo on a Monday, clearly a Sobczak Family day. So this last week has been a pretty good one.

As you could tell I did not call for the wedding, I did not get  a call from President to call so I did not. Sorry I talked about it all on the tape and that should be sent today and you should have that this week sometime. I did however wear Ayris ties all weekend.
The Blue Nordstrom fat tie I had before I left on Friday, the Gray Striped Skinny from Kohl's Saturday and the Paisley Skinny on Sunday. So thanks for the ties, had enough to get through the weekend feeling like I was there kind of.  I am a fan of Temple Marriage!

I have kind of redone how I do my studies so I have redove into Preach my Gospel which has been such an awesome experience. I have been studying the Christlike Attributes and Bearing Testimony sections and they have brought a whole new life into the studies I have had.
I realized that my other one was to big and I was not using it as much I should so I started clean, over, new. So that has been nice. I am going to send my old one home and you can go through it and see some of the studies and notes that I have made through the last 16 months of my mission.

Our Ward Mission Leader is being pretty controlling with what he wants us to do and doesn't quite understand that he cannot make rules for us on where we can and cannot go. So it is going to be interesting to see what happens these next couple weeks leading up to the summer. Other than that working with the ward has been going great. We haven't really found any new investigators but you know that whole "Faith to Endure" thing is being implied. Obviously there are things to learn and understand that I have not yet, maybe wont until I am out of the situation.

I get to call HOME on Mothers Day!

So for calling this weekend, we do not have a dinner signed up for Sunday...So we are going to be working on finding a dinner/someone to let us come over to call home. We are going to try around 4:00 or 5:00. I will probably call Sunday Morning and let you know the final details so you are not left hanging. So stay tuned and I will let you know for sure Sunday morning when we are exactly doing it all.

Other than that, not to much to report on. Oh could you possibly send me that Gray suit I sent home a couple of months ago? with both pairs of pants? I didn't need it but now I just have one 2 pant suit that I am wearing way to much and don't want it to get worn out really quick. If you send it there is a place I can take it to to get tailored and all of that, just would like having another suit with four pairs of suit pants instead of just 2 pairs of suit pants. Let me know if you can or cannot.

I love you all so much. glad to hear the weekend went well and everything is going good. Keep up the awesome work, again it is all much appreciated, you have no idea. I love you all and thank you all for everything you do. Time is moving quickly, so quickly, weird to think of all the things that have happened this past year. Keep up all the awesome work, excited to hear all to future stories and excited to talk in person this weekend. Love you so much and thank you again for all you do, love you so much!!!:)

April 27th

hey hey there family. So there is not a lot to report on from this last week sorry I know I am super boring.

I had exchanges with my zone leaders on Friday to Saturday and that went awesome. in short we picked up a new investigator and set a baptismal date for the 31st of May that he seemed pretty excited for.

The work here in the ward is picking up and going good excited to be here and be able to work with the people of Newport Beach.

Again like I said not to much to report on, sorry it just wasn't that much of a mind blowing week so i hope you don't get mad at the email that is so short!   I am sure more will happen that will be shared at mother's day phone call.

keep up the awesome work and doing all of that awesome stuff. Appreciate all you do hope this weekend goes awesome congrats Ayris for the wedding to be - it will be awesome. I think that is this weekend. If not then anyways Hope it all goes well.

Love you all a lot and hope all is going well. Miss you and Love you :)