Hello!
Day of transfers and mom's birthday! Yay! Happy happy birthday Madre! I love you so much, I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful birthday. :] I hope you enjoyed the little package.
Today I leave the beautiful town of Novato my "birth" place and venture out to another area. The mission life is all about change which is hard for me, but it's a huge part of life as well. I need to learn to more accepting of change, I think. This is the place where I came out brand new and was the greenest of green. I have learned, grown, and changed. I have met amazing people, I have made lifetime friends, I have learned how to better follow the example of Jesus Christ by the experiences I have had while here. It's been a roller coaster, but a FUN and life changing roller coaster, haha. Yesterday during church (last Sunday here) I kept feeling these intense spirts of the spirit come over me. I sat there and felt that I had done my "labor" in this part of the Lord's vineyard and that I am now moving on to another part of the Lord's vineyard to do my labor. I could feel the Lord's love for me and knew that I had done the things I was supposed to do here. It's a bittersweet feeling because I absolutely love the people here. I love the branch members, I love the investigators, I love my companion. I know, though, that I am so blessed to have had these experiences, to be able to know them and love them. I am excited to go to Vacaville and love those people just the same.
An investigator we have been teaching, Saul, has a baptismal date set. He is a man we tracted into and we love him sooo much! He has come to church the past two Sundays and we know that he is going to be baptized. We tracted into him (knocking doors). We told him a little about our church and invited him to come. We hadn't heard much from him, but one day we decided to go stop by his house and see how he is doing. He answered the door and told us that he had tried calling us earlier that day and we were confused because we hadn't received a call from him. He showed us the number he had tried calling and it was off by one number. He had called to let us know that he wanted to go to church Sunday (which was the next day) and told us that he didn't have a car. If we hadn't went over to his house that day, we wouldn't have been able to find him a ride so that he could attend church. Sure enough, he was at church the next day. It's the most wonderful thing to see someone you are teaching at church! We had a lesson with him the next day and he is so prepared. He accepted a baptismal date and he is preparing himself. We had a lesson with him Saturday night and he remembered his baptismal date. He wants to be baptized so much. At the end of the lesson we invited him to say the closing prayer and I felt the spirit so strong. It was simple, but it was so sincere. He told Heavenly Father that he felt happy and that he felt peace. It was the most beautiful prayer I think I have ever heard. He was at church again yesterday. He brings his little Book of Mormon and gets so excited to use it. This Gospel changes lives. This Gospel has changed mine. I love sharing it with others and witnessing the change it brings to others.
I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He is the Son of God and that He atoned for each and every one of us. Only through Jesus Christ and the Atonement can we become better sons and daughters of God. I know that God lives and loves us so much. Joseph Smith restored the Church of Jesus Christ and how blessed we are to be members of the true Church of Jesus Christ. I love the Book of Mormon. It helps me daily. It gives me strength. It gives me comfort and peace. And I know that if you want strength, happiness, and peace, you will find it in the Book of Mormon.
I love you all so much! I am so thankful that you all support me while I am out doing something that means so much to me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for EVERYTHING!
Thank you for the birthday card, money, and chocolate (yum!) I took it to church yesterday and shared it with the Gospel Principles class we taught. We all enjoyed it! You are all amazing. :]
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
11-14-2011
Hola, Hola!
Today is a beautiful day here, the sun is shining and it's the perfect weather. We've been having a lot of days like this and it makes me happy. The rain season is supposed to come soon and so we're cherishing everyday with the sun shining bright. I received the package in the mail! Thank you! :] I am waiting till Friday to open it, I can't wait to see what's inside!
This past week we had the opportunity to meet a seventy, his name is Elder C. Scott Grow. Him and his wife came and we individually got to shake their hand and introduce ourselves. He then spoke to us about missionary work. He served a mission and has been a mission president twice. He knows what he's doing when it comes to missionary work, haha. I really enjoyed everything he said. It was amazing! One thing that particularly stuck out to me was how much he emphasized family. Family is the center of God's plan for us. Satan is doing everything he can to attack families. There is so much going on in the world that can and will break families apart if we aren't careful. He bore testimony of Jesus Christ and that He lives, that our Heavenly Father lives and love us so much. He bore testimony of how real Satan is too. We have got to be careful, we have got to stay strong. I am going to include the link to The Family Proclamation & please read it! http://lds.org/family/proclamation?lang=eng He told us that whenever the First Presidency comes out with something, you know that it's IMPORTANT. That is the reason we should pay very close attention to this and how we can protect our families and have happiness in our homes! I love it. :]
Guess what?! One of our investigators, Saul, came to church yesterday! YAY! It was a perfect day yesterday. It was another beautiful, sunny day and we had an investigator come to church with us. It was the primary program which is probably my favorite program of the year in church, just sayin! It was soooo cute. I love kids. I love the spirit that I felt yesterday watching them sing, bear testimony, and teach of simple, but eternal truths. We hope that Saul enjoyed church, we think he did. We have a lesson with him tonight, so we will see him tonight! Our branch members are so welcoming and I am amazed at their examples & testimonies. They just take them right under their wing as if they've known them forever. It's awesome, I love this branch!
Transfers are next Monday, so we'll find out this Saturday. I think I will be transferring, I'm not positive though! We will see. You will know next Monday! You should probably start sending all mail to the Santa Rosa California Mission address from now on, so that they can forward them to my new area.
If I do transfer, It will be bittersweet for sure. I will be so sad to leave this area. My "birth" place in mission lingo and I will always remember the wonderful branch members, the investigators, my companions that I've grown so close to, the people I've loved and who have loved me back. It will be hard, but I know that I will go to somewhere that I will meet more AMAZING people. I know that everything is in the Lord's hands and that gives me so much comfort. I will get transferred to where I need to be at that time exactly like I got sent here to Novato for this amount of time.
Thank you for EVERYTHING that you do! I love all of you so much!! Have a wonderful week.
con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Today is a beautiful day here, the sun is shining and it's the perfect weather. We've been having a lot of days like this and it makes me happy. The rain season is supposed to come soon and so we're cherishing everyday with the sun shining bright. I received the package in the mail! Thank you! :] I am waiting till Friday to open it, I can't wait to see what's inside!
This past week we had the opportunity to meet a seventy, his name is Elder C. Scott Grow. Him and his wife came and we individually got to shake their hand and introduce ourselves. He then spoke to us about missionary work. He served a mission and has been a mission president twice. He knows what he's doing when it comes to missionary work, haha. I really enjoyed everything he said. It was amazing! One thing that particularly stuck out to me was how much he emphasized family. Family is the center of God's plan for us. Satan is doing everything he can to attack families. There is so much going on in the world that can and will break families apart if we aren't careful. He bore testimony of Jesus Christ and that He lives, that our Heavenly Father lives and love us so much. He bore testimony of how real Satan is too. We have got to be careful, we have got to stay strong. I am going to include the link to The Family Proclamation & please read it! http://lds.org/family/proclamation?lang=eng He told us that whenever the First Presidency comes out with something, you know that it's IMPORTANT. That is the reason we should pay very close attention to this and how we can protect our families and have happiness in our homes! I love it. :]
Guess what?! One of our investigators, Saul, came to church yesterday! YAY! It was a perfect day yesterday. It was another beautiful, sunny day and we had an investigator come to church with us. It was the primary program which is probably my favorite program of the year in church, just sayin! It was soooo cute. I love kids. I love the spirit that I felt yesterday watching them sing, bear testimony, and teach of simple, but eternal truths. We hope that Saul enjoyed church, we think he did. We have a lesson with him tonight, so we will see him tonight! Our branch members are so welcoming and I am amazed at their examples & testimonies. They just take them right under their wing as if they've known them forever. It's awesome, I love this branch!
Transfers are next Monday, so we'll find out this Saturday. I think I will be transferring, I'm not positive though! We will see. You will know next Monday! You should probably start sending all mail to the Santa Rosa California Mission address from now on, so that they can forward them to my new area.
If I do transfer, It will be bittersweet for sure. I will be so sad to leave this area. My "birth" place in mission lingo and I will always remember the wonderful branch members, the investigators, my companions that I've grown so close to, the people I've loved and who have loved me back. It will be hard, but I know that I will go to somewhere that I will meet more AMAZING people. I know that everything is in the Lord's hands and that gives me so much comfort. I will get transferred to where I need to be at that time exactly like I got sent here to Novato for this amount of time.
Thank you for EVERYTHING that you do! I love all of you so much!! Have a wonderful week.
con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Sunday, November 13, 2011
11-07-2011
Hello!
It's me again! :] And it's been a crazy week. I am going to try and write about as much of it as I can. I hope everything is going great in St. George & Ferron!
On Wednesday, we had zone conference and those are always amazing. I've only had two now, but they always are exactly what I need and it helps me improve myself and know how to become the best missionary I can be. There are pictures on the mission blog, so if you want to check it out here's the URL: http://santarosacru.blogspot.com/ They are meetings with a few different zones and President Bunker and Sister Bunker are there and they edify us with motivating, spiritual, and powerful goodness. That's the best way to explain it! Haha. President Bunker told us that we are workers in the Lord's vineyard. The Lord is the owner and we are the laborers/workers. He was telling us that we should never think we "deserve" something even though we may think we are doing our best. Things will come about and take place on the Lord's time table. I walked away from that knowing that all I can do is my best and not get discouraged if I am not seeing tons of baptisms. We are workers for the Lord. And I am so blessed to be doing this work. I love this work!
There have been quite a few things that I've done that I would have never thought I would do on a mission before coming here. One of which is attending a baptism in another church. I told you about Pam last week and she has been wanting to be baptized, but she is Presbyterian and so she felt that was what she wanted to do. We asked her to pray about it and we don't know if she did, but it was a big event for her and she invited us, so we went. It was a different experience and one that strengthened my testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hna. Skroski and I both went in with open perspectives. As I looked around, though, I couldn't help but feel emptiness. I looked at Pam, her friends, and even the pastors and I just didn't feel anything. Afterward, we went to our zone meeting (different from zone conference, haha all this talk of meetings!) and I felt the spirit so strong! A few of the missionaries bore their testimony and I just kept getting goose bumps all over, I knew that the spirit was testifying to me of the truth of what they were saying. We sang "Because I Have Been Given Much" as the closing hymn of the meeting and I could barely hold back the tears because I felt the spirit so strongly. I know that this is Christ's Church. I know because I have prayed. In Moroni 10:4-5, it says that if we pray with faith, a sincere heart, and real intent we will receive our answer, we will know the truthfulness. I know that that is true because I've received an answer. I love the Gospel, I love it with all my heart. I love the Book of Mormon. I love our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. The Gospel has changed me. That is one of the best things about being on a mission, you witness the change in people's lives. There has been a scripture that I've been sharing a lot with others and so I want to share it with you it's in Mosiah 4:11-12. It talks about the change that we can feel through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
I want to also share a quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that touched me this week: "When you are confronted with challenges that are difficult to conquer or you have questions arise, the answers to which you do not know, hold fast to the things you do know. Hang on to your firmest foundation, however limited that may be, and from that position of strength face the unknown."
I love all of you so much. I am so blessed to have EACH one of you as part of my family. I tell people about you all of the time and I feel so proud each time I do. Thank you for your support, for your love, for your encouragement.
Les amo muchisimo!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
It's me again! :] And it's been a crazy week. I am going to try and write about as much of it as I can. I hope everything is going great in St. George & Ferron!
On Wednesday, we had zone conference and those are always amazing. I've only had two now, but they always are exactly what I need and it helps me improve myself and know how to become the best missionary I can be. There are pictures on the mission blog, so if you want to check it out here's the URL: http://santarosacru.blogspot.com/ They are meetings with a few different zones and President Bunker and Sister Bunker are there and they edify us with motivating, spiritual, and powerful goodness. That's the best way to explain it! Haha. President Bunker told us that we are workers in the Lord's vineyard. The Lord is the owner and we are the laborers/workers. He was telling us that we should never think we "deserve" something even though we may think we are doing our best. Things will come about and take place on the Lord's time table. I walked away from that knowing that all I can do is my best and not get discouraged if I am not seeing tons of baptisms. We are workers for the Lord. And I am so blessed to be doing this work. I love this work!
There have been quite a few things that I've done that I would have never thought I would do on a mission before coming here. One of which is attending a baptism in another church. I told you about Pam last week and she has been wanting to be baptized, but she is Presbyterian and so she felt that was what she wanted to do. We asked her to pray about it and we don't know if she did, but it was a big event for her and she invited us, so we went. It was a different experience and one that strengthened my testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hna. Skroski and I both went in with open perspectives. As I looked around, though, I couldn't help but feel emptiness. I looked at Pam, her friends, and even the pastors and I just didn't feel anything. Afterward, we went to our zone meeting (different from zone conference, haha all this talk of meetings!) and I felt the spirit so strong! A few of the missionaries bore their testimony and I just kept getting goose bumps all over, I knew that the spirit was testifying to me of the truth of what they were saying. We sang "Because I Have Been Given Much" as the closing hymn of the meeting and I could barely hold back the tears because I felt the spirit so strongly. I know that this is Christ's Church. I know because I have prayed. In Moroni 10:4-5, it says that if we pray with faith, a sincere heart, and real intent we will receive our answer, we will know the truthfulness. I know that that is true because I've received an answer. I love the Gospel, I love it with all my heart. I love the Book of Mormon. I love our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. The Gospel has changed me. That is one of the best things about being on a mission, you witness the change in people's lives. There has been a scripture that I've been sharing a lot with others and so I want to share it with you it's in Mosiah 4:11-12. It talks about the change that we can feel through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
I want to also share a quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that touched me this week: "When you are confronted with challenges that are difficult to conquer or you have questions arise, the answers to which you do not know, hold fast to the things you do know. Hang on to your firmest foundation, however limited that may be, and from that position of strength face the unknown."
I love all of you so much. I am so blessed to have EACH one of you as part of my family. I tell people about you all of the time and I feel so proud each time I do. Thank you for your support, for your love, for your encouragement.
Les amo muchisimo!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Sunday, November 6, 2011
10-31-2011
My family!
Happy Halloween!! I hope you're all having a great week & a great day. :] Today we worked earlier and then our p-day is going to go for the rest of the day. They don't want us out walking around and stuff when everyone is trick or treating and stuff. I heard that you got our Halloween card, I hope you all enjoyed!
We've been having a good week! Last Monday night we went over to a family's house, they are all members, but his Mom and sister were visiting from Guatemala. We were able to teach them about the church and we also watched "The Restoration" with them. We told them about the Book of Mormon and gave each of them one. Before we left, they asked us if we had any more pamphlets we could give them and we gave them every pamphlet we had, haha. We are going to refer them to missionaries living in Guatemala. I hope that they read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. The Elders from Novato were there with us and they are English speaking. After the movie, we bore our testimonies in spanish and then the Elders bore theirs. We translated for one of them and then the other one can speak a little spanish. He bore his testimony in the little spanish that he knows, but I felt the spirit so strong.
I haven't even told you about Pam yet, I can't believe it! Well I don't think I have..Pam is a lady who lives downstairs from us. One day her friend was walking Pam's dog and were talking to her and she told us that she is having surgery and so she's just been helping her out. We told her that if she needs anything, we'd be willing to help her! Every morning after we wake up, we go down and walk her dog, Phoebe, and make her breakfast, feed the cats, and Phoebe as well. We've became really good friends with Pam. We have watched a lot of different church movies with her like "The Restoration," "The Testaments," "Legacy" and a few more. She loves them! She alwasy tells us how much she loves when we are there and when we watch the movies. I know it's because she feels the spirit. She wants to be baptized, but in the Presbyterian church because that is what religion her family is and that's understandable. We did ask her to pray about it though. Last night we watched "The Testaments" with her and afterward she prayed. It was such a cute prayer. I will always remember her and I want to keep in contact with her forever.
Yesterday we were part of a baptism for Amanda. She was being taught by the Elders and we have grown close to her because we see her at church since she's been coming. She reminds me of Patricia, she is so sweet and cute. She has two little kids who are ADORABLE! I was so happy to see her baptized. After she was baptized, she just looked so bright and happy. I felt the spirit so strong as I watched her get baptized. The church is true!!
It's amazing how close you grow to these people. I really do love them so much! I hope you are all doing good! Dad and Chandler, I hope you had a fun birthday! I got mom's letter and it sounded like you all had fun in Ferron. :]
I love you all so much! Thank you for your love and support. I am so blessed to have a family that is so supportive to me!!
Thank you for everything you do!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Happy Halloween!! I hope you're all having a great week & a great day. :] Today we worked earlier and then our p-day is going to go for the rest of the day. They don't want us out walking around and stuff when everyone is trick or treating and stuff. I heard that you got our Halloween card, I hope you all enjoyed!
We've been having a good week! Last Monday night we went over to a family's house, they are all members, but his Mom and sister were visiting from Guatemala. We were able to teach them about the church and we also watched "The Restoration" with them. We told them about the Book of Mormon and gave each of them one. Before we left, they asked us if we had any more pamphlets we could give them and we gave them every pamphlet we had, haha. We are going to refer them to missionaries living in Guatemala. I hope that they read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. The Elders from Novato were there with us and they are English speaking. After the movie, we bore our testimonies in spanish and then the Elders bore theirs. We translated for one of them and then the other one can speak a little spanish. He bore his testimony in the little spanish that he knows, but I felt the spirit so strong.
I haven't even told you about Pam yet, I can't believe it! Well I don't think I have..Pam is a lady who lives downstairs from us. One day her friend was walking Pam's dog and were talking to her and she told us that she is having surgery and so she's just been helping her out. We told her that if she needs anything, we'd be willing to help her! Every morning after we wake up, we go down and walk her dog, Phoebe, and make her breakfast, feed the cats, and Phoebe as well. We've became really good friends with Pam. We have watched a lot of different church movies with her like "The Restoration," "The Testaments," "Legacy" and a few more. She loves them! She alwasy tells us how much she loves when we are there and when we watch the movies. I know it's because she feels the spirit. She wants to be baptized, but in the Presbyterian church because that is what religion her family is and that's understandable. We did ask her to pray about it though. Last night we watched "The Testaments" with her and afterward she prayed. It was such a cute prayer. I will always remember her and I want to keep in contact with her forever.
Yesterday we were part of a baptism for Amanda. She was being taught by the Elders and we have grown close to her because we see her at church since she's been coming. She reminds me of Patricia, she is so sweet and cute. She has two little kids who are ADORABLE! I was so happy to see her baptized. After she was baptized, she just looked so bright and happy. I felt the spirit so strong as I watched her get baptized. The church is true!!
It's amazing how close you grow to these people. I really do love them so much! I hope you are all doing good! Dad and Chandler, I hope you had a fun birthday! I got mom's letter and it sounded like you all had fun in Ferron. :]
I love you all so much! Thank you for your love and support. I am so blessed to have a family that is so supportive to me!!
Thank you for everything you do!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
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