Hola!
Another week full of experiences has passed by, so here I am and I am going to try and include everything I was planning on sharing (sometimes I forget things, it's frustrating!). Well first off, I want to let you know that last week I wasn't able to write you a handwritten letter because we were VERY busy and we also went to Mount Tamalpais for p-day with the Elders in our district. It was really fun and was beautiful! We went to the top and we could see the ocean, San Fran, Oakland, and the bridges. I won't be writing a letter today either because Thursday we are going to the Oakland Temple (yay!) as a district and so I will be writing letters Thursday this week.
We've been staying busy! There is so much to do and we just take it one day at a time. We have been meeting with investigators that we know have such a great desire and faith, but aren't taking those steps to act on their faith. They want to be better and I beileve they want to do those things they are committing to, but it's hard for them to keep their commitments (like coming to church). We just keep praying for them! It's ultimately up to them, to act and do those things necessary to progress. We just keep trying though! :]
I'm also a facebook missionary like I told you, and it has been a really cool experience! I have taught a few people online and yesterday I was teaching a guy from Brooklyn who spoke spanish. It's amazing to see this work unfold via internet. It's been interesting getting started and exactly knowing what to do, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.
The spanish is still coming, little by little, yesterday I taught the gospel principles class! It went pretty good! I had the help of the Lord, so everything was just fine. I know that I can ALWAYS depend on the Lord when I'm doing everything I can. I don't understand a lot, but it is coming. I can understand the people A LOT better than when I first came here.
Funny moment of the week: It happened this morning! Haha. Oh wow, do you remember Bosbeli who I kind of mentioned last week? Bosbeli is about 45-50 and he's from Guatemala. Well okay, so we've been trying to get ahold of him, but he never answers his phone and he's never home when we go try and visit him. Bosbeli called us this morning and told us he got kicked out of his apartment, so Hermana Fenn told him that we would keep our eyes out and let him know if we came across anything. He then went on to tell her that he loved her! And that he was wondering if he could stay with us and then also told her that he wanted to marry her. She was on the phone and I had to leave the room because I was laughing so hard. She told him that she's a missionary and that she would be for the next 13 months. He told her he was going to wait for her. So now, Hermana Fenn has someone waiting for her! I'm not going to let her live it down either. Haha!
On a more serious note, I want to share a quote with you from Elder Holland, "He has, He reminds us, "graven upon the palms of my hands" (1 Nephi 21:16). Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn His back on us now." I love that because it's so true. The love our Savior has for us is incomprehensible. The love our Heavenly Father has for us is incomprehensible. Our Heavenly Father has a perfect plan and at the very center of that plan is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Savior. He is our Redeemer! I read Alma 42 this morning, it talks about the "Plan of Happiness." This plan is a plan of happiness. We can return to live with our Heavenly Father, in His presence! We can live with our famililes forever. If that isn't happiness, I don't know what is. This is my goal. I want to live in a way that I can return to live with my Heavenly Father and that I can live with my family, all of you, forever.
I love you so much. Thank you for every letter, thank you for all of your support AND love. You are amazing!
Love,
Hermana Robinson
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
08-08-2011
Mi familia,
How are all of you?! I hope that life is treating you good. Everything is going good here! We have been staying busy and trying to do those things to find people to teach, to help people come unto Christ and accept the gospel into their lives.
I am going to tell you about the people we are teaching because I don't think I've really done too much of that. Really, though, that's the best part of what I'm doing and so I think it's necessary. :] We've been teaching a lady named Gyna, Gyna is from Haiti and so she speaks French and Creole (native languages), but understands and speaks quite a bit of Spanish. We take a member, Angela (she is soo cute!) who is also from Haiti, but she doesn't speak Spanish but she does speak English and so she translates a lot of what we say into French. It's kind of confusing and a lot of different languages are spoken while we teach her, but she wants to be better. I can feel that from her every time we meet with her. She is so loving and I hope that she takes those steps to be baptized because I know that it will change her life.
Another investigator we taught the other day is Cesar and he is from Mexico. Cesar was very open to everything we taught him. He was showing us this little bible that he carries around and reads all of the time. He has a close relationship with our Heavenly Father, I can tell. We gave him "El Libro de Mormon" and I pray that he is reading it and that he is feeling the power of it in his life.
I went on exchanges this past week. That is where we change companionships for a day. I went with Sister Cottle to Petaluma and her companion came here with Hermana Fenn. She is english speaking and so we taught people in english. It's a lot easier to connect with people when there isn't a language barrier. I really do have a love for these people even before I meet them and then when I do meet them the love just grows. Even though we are there to teach them, they teach me so much! One man we taught is an alcoholic and is having a very hard time quitting. In the MTC, there was a scripture we related to addictions and how addictions are like cords/bands holding us down in our lives. The scripture is 1 Nephi 7:17-18. We shared it with him and told him that we can overcome anything (any addiction, trial, challenge) in our lives with faith and with the strength of the Lord. He said he was going to read that scripture every night to give him strength and hope.
I hope that gives you a better insight to the wonderful people, children of God, that we have been teaching lately.
Funny story: We have been teaching a man named Bosbeli also, but we haven't been able to get ahold of him lately because he works so much. We saw this man on the street and I knew I had seen him before, but Hermana Fenn and I go and talk to him. I was surprised throughout talking to him how bold Hermana Fenn was being. She was asking him why he hadn't come to church and that he needs to ask his boss for time off on Sundays so he can attend. We set up an appointment with him and I had my planner off and after he walked away I turn to her and ask what his name was. She was like "that was Bosbeli." It was not Bosbeli! Haha, we just started laughing so hard. She had thought the whole time, it was Bosbeli and then I realized why she was being so bold with him. It was actually this other guy named Donicio. It may be one of those experiences that you had to have been there, but it made my day!
I have such a new experience everyday. I feel so blessed to be called to this work! I love sharing this gospel with others. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that we are here in this life to have happiness and to have joy and that is why we have families. I tell people about my family all of the time. I love you all so much! I know that families can be together forever. :] I have been reading a lot about hope these past few days. Ether 12:4 is a beautiful scripture about hope, read it!
How are all of you?! I hope that life is treating you good. Everything is going good here! We have been staying busy and trying to do those things to find people to teach, to help people come unto Christ and accept the gospel into their lives.
I am going to tell you about the people we are teaching because I don't think I've really done too much of that. Really, though, that's the best part of what I'm doing and so I think it's necessary. :] We've been teaching a lady named Gyna, Gyna is from Haiti and so she speaks French and Creole (native languages), but understands and speaks quite a bit of Spanish. We take a member, Angela (she is soo cute!) who is also from Haiti, but she doesn't speak Spanish but she does speak English and so she translates a lot of what we say into French. It's kind of confusing and a lot of different languages are spoken while we teach her, but she wants to be better. I can feel that from her every time we meet with her. She is so loving and I hope that she takes those steps to be baptized because I know that it will change her life.
Another investigator we taught the other day is Cesar and he is from Mexico. Cesar was very open to everything we taught him. He was showing us this little bible that he carries around and reads all of the time. He has a close relationship with our Heavenly Father, I can tell. We gave him "El Libro de Mormon" and I pray that he is reading it and that he is feeling the power of it in his life.
I went on exchanges this past week. That is where we change companionships for a day. I went with Sister Cottle to Petaluma and her companion came here with Hermana Fenn. She is english speaking and so we taught people in english. It's a lot easier to connect with people when there isn't a language barrier. I really do have a love for these people even before I meet them and then when I do meet them the love just grows. Even though we are there to teach them, they teach me so much! One man we taught is an alcoholic and is having a very hard time quitting. In the MTC, there was a scripture we related to addictions and how addictions are like cords/bands holding us down in our lives. The scripture is 1 Nephi 7:17-18. We shared it with him and told him that we can overcome anything (any addiction, trial, challenge) in our lives with faith and with the strength of the Lord. He said he was going to read that scripture every night to give him strength and hope.
I hope that gives you a better insight to the wonderful people, children of God, that we have been teaching lately.
Funny story: We have been teaching a man named Bosbeli also, but we haven't been able to get ahold of him lately because he works so much. We saw this man on the street and I knew I had seen him before, but Hermana Fenn and I go and talk to him. I was surprised throughout talking to him how bold Hermana Fenn was being. She was asking him why he hadn't come to church and that he needs to ask his boss for time off on Sundays so he can attend. We set up an appointment with him and I had my planner off and after he walked away I turn to her and ask what his name was. She was like "that was Bosbeli." It was not Bosbeli! Haha, we just started laughing so hard. She had thought the whole time, it was Bosbeli and then I realized why she was being so bold with him. It was actually this other guy named Donicio. It may be one of those experiences that you had to have been there, but it made my day!
I have such a new experience everyday. I feel so blessed to be called to this work! I love sharing this gospel with others. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that we are here in this life to have happiness and to have joy and that is why we have families. I tell people about my family all of the time. I love you all so much! I know that families can be together forever. :] I have been reading a lot about hope these past few days. Ether 12:4 is a beautiful scripture about hope, read it!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
08-01-2011
Dear family,
Hi! How are you?! I'm doing good! I have a lot to tell you this week because there has been a lot that has happened, so I'm going to try and cover everything!
Okay so one of the biggest things that have happened this week is that Hermana Fenn and I finally came to the conclusion that we have bed bugs. Yes, bed bugs! I started getting bites on my leg last week, but I figured it was mesquitos because that is what the bites felt and looked like. I kind of just ignored the problem and kept going on with life. After a while of waking up with more and more bites on my legs, we realized there was, in fact, a problem. We decided to call the mission nurse and ask her about it because we knew we either had bed bugs or fleas. She told us to strip the beds and look at the mattress to see if we could find anything. We ended up doing that and yes we found bed bugs. We both had them. I was the only one getting bitten, though. That was when we begun the process of getting rid of them. We put all of our blankets and sheets in the dryer. We then went to the store to get plastic mattress covers and bug spray. Let's just say getting rid of bed bugs is NOT easy. Today we went and got bug bombs and new plastic mattress covers. We set off the bug bombs and tomorrow we are getting new mattresses. Tomorrow we should be just fine and clear of bed bugs, haha! Let me just say I feel like a true missionary now. Last night I slept on the couch and the night before I slept on the floor. And I have quite the trail of bed bug bites on my legs. We will be so happy to get new mattresses. :]
As I was thinking about this bed bug situation, I thought of it like our sins and repentance. Most of the time, sin starts out small. If we let it go and don't change or do something about it to begin with it just keeps gradually getting worse and worse. At the time, we don't see what the big deal is (okay so yeah I have a few bug bites on my leg?) Then one day we wake up and we have tons of marks and bites and we have realized we have a big problem on our hands. It's at the point that we realize we have to do something about it, we have to change something in order for the mistakes or sins to go away. Once we make that first step that we want the problem to go away for good is when the Atonement can take affect in our lives. The amazing thing about it is that no matter how big of a mess we have gotten ourselves into, there is always a way out. There is always a way to get that new mattress. There is always a way to begin a new life. Repentance is not a negative thing, repentance is a wonderful thing! It's a positive thing, it allows us to get rid of the things that we don't want in our lives and fill it with things that we want to have and become the person we want to be. If I would've recognized what the bites were to begin with, we could've stopped the problem a lot quicker and it wouldn't have become how bad it eventually got. Anyway, that's my spill.
I have met so many new people this week and it really it so much fun. I am starting to understand more spanish, so that's good! I am becoming more and more confident in my teaching everyday. Hermana Fenn shared with me a quote that I really like: "To become someone you've never been before, you have to do things you've never done before." I love it!
This Gospel changes lives. I love the Gospel. I love missionary work. I love Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that through the Atonement we can become better, we can become the person we want to be.
Thank you so much for your love and support!! I love you all so much!!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Hi! How are you?! I'm doing good! I have a lot to tell you this week because there has been a lot that has happened, so I'm going to try and cover everything!
Okay so one of the biggest things that have happened this week is that Hermana Fenn and I finally came to the conclusion that we have bed bugs. Yes, bed bugs! I started getting bites on my leg last week, but I figured it was mesquitos because that is what the bites felt and looked like. I kind of just ignored the problem and kept going on with life. After a while of waking up with more and more bites on my legs, we realized there was, in fact, a problem. We decided to call the mission nurse and ask her about it because we knew we either had bed bugs or fleas. She told us to strip the beds and look at the mattress to see if we could find anything. We ended up doing that and yes we found bed bugs. We both had them. I was the only one getting bitten, though. That was when we begun the process of getting rid of them. We put all of our blankets and sheets in the dryer. We then went to the store to get plastic mattress covers and bug spray. Let's just say getting rid of bed bugs is NOT easy. Today we went and got bug bombs and new plastic mattress covers. We set off the bug bombs and tomorrow we are getting new mattresses. Tomorrow we should be just fine and clear of bed bugs, haha! Let me just say I feel like a true missionary now. Last night I slept on the couch and the night before I slept on the floor. And I have quite the trail of bed bug bites on my legs. We will be so happy to get new mattresses. :]
As I was thinking about this bed bug situation, I thought of it like our sins and repentance. Most of the time, sin starts out small. If we let it go and don't change or do something about it to begin with it just keeps gradually getting worse and worse. At the time, we don't see what the big deal is (okay so yeah I have a few bug bites on my leg?) Then one day we wake up and we have tons of marks and bites and we have realized we have a big problem on our hands. It's at the point that we realize we have to do something about it, we have to change something in order for the mistakes or sins to go away. Once we make that first step that we want the problem to go away for good is when the Atonement can take affect in our lives. The amazing thing about it is that no matter how big of a mess we have gotten ourselves into, there is always a way out. There is always a way to get that new mattress. There is always a way to begin a new life. Repentance is not a negative thing, repentance is a wonderful thing! It's a positive thing, it allows us to get rid of the things that we don't want in our lives and fill it with things that we want to have and become the person we want to be. If I would've recognized what the bites were to begin with, we could've stopped the problem a lot quicker and it wouldn't have become how bad it eventually got. Anyway, that's my spill.
I have met so many new people this week and it really it so much fun. I am starting to understand more spanish, so that's good! I am becoming more and more confident in my teaching everyday. Hermana Fenn shared with me a quote that I really like: "To become someone you've never been before, you have to do things you've never done before." I love it!
This Gospel changes lives. I love the Gospel. I love missionary work. I love Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that through the Atonement we can become better, we can become the person we want to be.
Thank you so much for your love and support!! I love you all so much!!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
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