11-21-2011

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