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

Whoa....... March 24th

Woah, it is the last week of March, a quarter of the way through the year what the heck is going on with time!?!!?!?!

So this week, have a couple funny stories, the main one is last Thursday I auditioned for choir, mainly because I am pretty confident I am going to be a "tech" person, so I figured what the heck! why not? get involved see both sides of the audition... it would save travel stuff. 

Anyways in the audition and the guy running the whole mission choir thing is some actor who has been in the Bible videos. He has us all warming up and after about 10 minutes he looks at me asks me what my name is I tell him and he has me start the song, I didn't do to hot because the bass part was high, anyways after like 10 seconds, he asks; "Is your name really Elder Slapcheck!?" Everyone of course starts laughing and I am like "No it is Sobczak" and he says; "You see elders and sisters - singers must be able to sing as well as properly pronounce things (Making a crack at himself) then says; "Elder Sobczak we are going to invite you not to audition for choir"! 

Oh man it was hilarious! ;) 

Then for the rest of the time I just got to sit in there and listen to everyone else auditioning and some good, some terrible and listen to the guy just beat up on the people singing.  It was not to good of an environment for a missionary to be in, you spend all day getting yelled at then you get picked on at choir by a church member so it was for sure a laughable, awkward non productive experience. 

Another funnny story was on Saturday night we went to a social gathering for old singles that were on the ward and in the stake. You see us as missionaries will go to any activity on the grounds there will be people there that will be nice and food to eat, maybe even people to connect with to eventually teach!  So we go, it is at someones house, actually the home of an ex-communicated member, who loves the church. The food is eaten and then all of a sudden a Karaoke thing is turned on and everyone is singing oldies from like the 60's and 70's. It was so weird ... weird I tell you, seeing 45-60 year olds singing and dancing in someone's living room singing to old songs with Karaoke machine!!!!

Those are my funny stories, the work is going good. This is the last week of the transfer so on Saturday we will all be finding out who is staying and going. Should be fun and exciting to see what will happen. 

Yesterday had the opportunity to interview a lady for baptism that is always a fun experience. Her husband has been a member for about 3 years and she is now making the decision to enter into the waters of baptism so it is always awesome to hear people's stories on how they got to where they are, experiences they have gone through, and lessons learned. 

Glad to be out here on the mission. Life is good and miracles really do happen every single day. Keep your eye focused on the little tiny blessings and IT WILL never seem like life is difficult hard or tuff!   Those things do happen, but it is dwelling on them that makes it all worse.

Keep up the good awesome work and do all you can to be guided by the spirit. 

Love you all so much and again thank you for all you do for me. 

Have a great week :) 

-- 

"Fourth Floor Last Door"

Elder Amric Zane Sobczak

California, Carlsbad, USA

January 2013-June 2013

California, Irvine, USA