05-08-2012

Hi familia! Today is p-day! Usually we have our p-days on Mondays, but because it's a new transfer and the new missionaries aren't coming in till today, it was changed. I should have let you know last week in my e-mail, but I completely forgot! Sorry about that. Here I am now! Anyway, transfers are always crazy because you never know what is going to happen. You never know where the Lord wants you to be. I have only been here in Napa for one transfer and so I was almost positive I would be staying, but Hermana Ordonez has been here in Napa for three transfers and so we had no idea if she would stay or leave. She had a really good chance to leave. I am so thankful to be companions with her, we get along so well and we work so well together. Come Friday night when we find out about what happens for transfers (who will stay or who will go) we were nervous and jittery. We received the voicemail from the zone leaders and we were freaking out! They start listing off the missionaries in our zone and who will be going where and they get to Napa North Spanish (which is us) and let us know that we were both going to be staying!! YAY! We were jumping up and down, hugging, and yelling. Haha, we were sooo excited! I felt so happy that she was staying. It's a beginning of a new transfer and we will be together another 6 weeks. I was so grateful! This past week has been a good week! We've been meeting a lot of new people everyday, we have been teaching a lot, and we have been trying our best! Everyday I am on the mission, I love it more and more. I feel like I'm in heaven. Napa is beautiful, seriously! (search online for pictures and you will understand!) The branch and members are amazing, I love our investigators so much, and I love my companion. What more could I ask for?! I am soo blessed. On top of that, I have a family that is so supportive and so loving. Thank you for everything that you do! I had an interesting experience this past week during personal study. I have come to cherish my personal study time on the mission. It is a time between 8 and 9 in the morning where we study the scriptures, preach my gospel, books in the mission library, or the Ensign. I have learned so much as I have been guided by the spirit in the things that I need to study to help me know how to better help God's children here. I can't remember exactly what I was studying, but I was thinking of our investigators. A lot of our investigators & members have struggles and difficulties like we all do: they are lonely, they have addictions, they feel like they can't change, they are lost and confused, they aren't progressing, etc, etc. As I was thinking about all of this, it made me sad. It made me so sad because I just want people to be happy. I know that the gospel will make us truly happy. Of course, we will still struggle. Of course, we will still have difficulties-that's a part of life, but I know that through the Gospel we can be healed. Yes, I felt sad, but then I realized how God must feel at times. We are ALL His children and we all have so many struggles. It's almost overwhelming to think about right?! Then, I thought about the perfect plan He's provided for each and every one of us and that through this perfect plan, we can all have true happiness. We can all have hope. That is what the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is--HOPE! There is a scripture in Psalms 147:3 "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." There is another scripture in the Book of Mormon in Ether 12:4 "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." What does the Gospel of Jesus Christ offer? HOPE. What are most people longing for in this world that we live in? Hope. As we meet new people each and everyday, as we talk to our members in the branch, as we teach our investiagators we hear of all the different struggles and difficulties that people face. As different as they are, there is one solution to all of them: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it's true. I know that Jesus Christ can heal us. It's only through him, that we can be whole and happy. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by Jesus Christ. He is at the head of the church. We are so blessed to be members of his church. I love you so much! I will hear your voices on Sunday. LOVE YOU! Con mucho amor, Hermana Robinson I will call you on Sunday at 5 your time. Thank you, thank you! LOVE YOU! CANT WAIT!

04-30-2012

Hello family! It sounds like changes are happening there in the family. By the time I get home, I don't know if anyone will even be there. Haha. No, I know that at least a few of you will be there. ;] Life goes by so fast, and change is so constant. At times I feel that we blink and when we open our eyes everything is different. That is how I felt when I began this journey as a missionary and I know it is certainly how I will feel when I come home. Despite the fact that change is constant, there are other things that can also be constant in our lives. God is constant, Jesus Christ is constant. The gospel is constant in our lives, but in order to feel of the blessings we must live it. Family is constant! The connections we have as a family can last for time and all eternity, forever. If that isn't constant, I don't know what is. :] I know that it is true that we can be families forever! I also know that as we make the Gospel a constant in our lives, the peace, the strength, and happiness of that will also be lasting or constant. "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows." -President Thomas S. Monson I am so thankful for the Gospel. I know I say that all of the time, I probably sound like a broken record, but I say it because it's true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. He lives and he loves each and every one of us. I hope you don't all think that everyday on the mission is perfect, no it's hard, it's REALLY hard. Haha, but because I know that I have the Lord on my side, I know that I can do what I need to do. I have more peace and more strength in all of the things that we do each day. We are working with quite a few investigators right now and at times I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, we are working here with God's children and I can't help but feel so overwhelmed. I know, though, that when we are doing all that we can that the Lord is happy with us. There are people that we teach that live of the world. One investigator, in particular, that continually tells us that we can't change. He is too much a part of the world. We testify over and over again that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can change, we can become better, we can become the people that God wants us to be. I love sharing the message of hope with others. I love seeing their eyes light up when they hear that they can change, they have hope. Change isn't a bad thing. If we are changing for the good and using the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives daily. We can ALL change for the better, and we can start that change at any moment. I love seeing the changes in people's lives that come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There really is nothing like it! I am so thankful that I can become better. We are here in this life to better ourselves, we are here to progress. If we are progressing, we know we are doing well. :] I love you all so much! Thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for your examples. Keep going strong. Remember that you are so important and so special to me and, most importantly, to the Lord. Read these talks they are amazing! Read them together! :] http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/finding-joy-in-the-journey?lang=eng&query=change+constant http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-race-of-life?lang=eng&query=change I love you all! Thanks for the Easter package. You are SO sweet. Con mucho amor, Hermana Robinson

04-23-2012

Hola, hola! How are you all doing?! I hope you're doing bery, bery good! (Hermana Ordonez always says "very, very good" but in her cute spanish accent!) She's rubbing off on me. This past week has been very good for us! I first want to tell you about Saul. Remember Saul?! Hermana Skroski and I tracted into him in Novato and he was amazing and got baptized shortly after we both left the area. He received the priesthood! The hermanas that are serving there now keep me updated on him and I am so happy to hear of his progress. He is doing soo good! I have made so many good friends here in Napa all ready. I love the branch! We cover a large area here. We cover the North part of Napa and then a couple cute towns- St. Helena and Calistoga. Calistoga is about 20 minutes away, and we have a few investigators that live there. This past week we were able to take one of our members, Nivia, with us to go to our appointments. She's 20 years old and is SO cute. She is here living with her aunt and cousin. She just recently started coming to church again. We call her "futura misionera" because she will be a missionary! We have been talking to her a lot about a mission, though. We invited her to think about it and pray about it. She would be such a good missionary. It was so fun to have her with us and to be able to talk to her about a mission and answer her questions. Here in the spanish branch, we meet in the Relief Society room because our branch isn't too big yet. Yesterday, though, the room was completely full. I know that soon we will move into the chapel and that will be awesome! The branch is growing and I am so excited and happy with it's progress. We had two investigators at church yesterday! We have an investigator named Jose, who has a baptismal date, that was there and also an investigator Juan who came to church. It's the most exciting thing to have people come to church! Being a missionary has increased my testimony of the importance of going to church and partaking of the sacrament. It's a special opportunity that we have that I think a lot of us take for granted. I hope that you are all trying your hardest to go to church on Sunday because it is there where we are able to remember Jesus Christ and especially renew our baptismal covenants that we made when we were baptized. I love these people so much! There are times when I just cry because I want SO bad for them to experience the blessings that come from living the gospel. I love them and want them to be happy. I love all of you SO much. There are times when I just cry because I am thinking about all of you and I want all of you to experience the blessings that come from living the gospel because there are so many blessings that Heavenly Father wants to give us, but we have to live the Gospel. I want you to be happy! I know that we can only have true happiness when we live the gospel! I LOVE YOU!!!!! Gracias por todo que hacen para mi. :] Con mucho amor, Hermana Robinson

04-16-2012

Hello family, How are you doing today?! I hope you are having a wonderful day& week. This past week has been great! I feel like we've done so much. The branch here in Napa is pretty new and so most of the members are recent converts or less active members coming back again. I love being able to see it grow, and to see the members strengthen their testimonies. It's awesome! We do a thing thats called exchanges every once in a while which allows us to go to a different area, be with a new companion, and meet new people for a day. This past week I was able to go to Novato with Hermana Osorio. It was so awesome to see the people that I had been working with before. I was able to see two less active members in particular that I grew really close to and it was such an amazing feeling to see them again. It was like a dream, haha. I still feel just as much love for them as I did then. One of them is Andres and another is Denny. When we went to see Denny, she had no idea that we were coming and so when she opened the door she was so surprised and ran out and gave me the biggest hug! I love her so much! It was fun to be back and another thing that was so comforting is just to see that even though we come and go, the work still moves forward. There are now other Hermanas there taking care of the area, loving the people, working hard just as I did when I was there. It's a comforting feeling to know that those people won't be forgotten or lost. It reminds me that we will never be forgotten or lost. The parable of the sheep in the new testament that says something like: how many of us would leave the 99 to go searching for the one?! I know that Jesus Christ is our shepherd and that we are NEVER, EVER forgotten. On Saturday we were also able to go to the temple and it was beautiful! I love the Oakland temple, I just love the temple. Afterward, I told Hermana Ordonez that I never want to leave there. There is something about the peace inside the temple that gives me a whole new outlook on life. I am so thankful for the temple! It will soon be a year that I went to the temple for the first time. The temple is beautiful! It's even more beautiful when we have family and friends that can be there with us. I hope that you all have that vision and that goal to enter the temple. There is nothing like it and I know that as you do all that you can to prepare yourself, you will feel the help of the Lord because there is nothing more that our Heavenly Father wants for us than to go to the temple and feel of the love and spirit there. I am so thankful for your love and support. I know that the Lord is taking care of you, I know it! And I hope that you know how much He loves you. I hope you know how much that I love you! Thank you, thank you for everything! Watch the video clip about families and temples! :] http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#eternal-truth I LOVE YOU! Con mucho amor, Hermana Robinson

04-09-12

Hello!

Feliz Pascua! How was your Easter?! I hope it was good! We had a good day yesterday even though it didn't really feel like Easter. Haha. When your on the mission and holidays come around, it just doesn't feel like the holiday. I do love the time that I have to focus on the true meaning of the holiday though. The world has made holidays a way to receive presents, candy, and to focus on material things which makes it easy to lose focus of the true meaning. I love being able to truly focus on the significance of why we celebrate the day though.

Watch the video!http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#his-sacred-name-an-easter-declaration

Our Heavenly Father sent Jesus Christ to this world so that we could all have the opportunity to live with God and Jesus Christ again after this life. He sent His son because He loves us SOOO much. We will never be able to comprehend His love for us. I was so happy and excited to go to church! Because we had General Conference last Sunday, it was my first Sunday going to church here in Napa. It's a pretty small branch here, but I love it! After serving in Vacaville, I have a whole new appreciation for branchs and wards. Haha. (I LOVE the group in Vacaville though.) Every time I am transferred and go to a new area, I never cease to be amazed at strong members of the church who devote their lives to building up the kingdom of God. Their examples to me make me want to be better, make me want to be stronger. We have been working a lot with less active members and it makes me so sad to see these members struggling in their testimonies. I want nothing more for them than to feel the peace and happiness that comes from living the Gospel.

We had a lesson this past week with a boy named Raul who is a member, but he's less active. He is SO cute! He's 9 years old and reminds me of Chandler. As I am around these beautiful people, I can't help but feel so much love for them and want them to do good and be happy. Maybe it's because I have a little brother who is about that age and so any little boy that age just touches my heart, I don't know, but I feel a strong desire to help them, to be there for them, and to love them. He came to church yesterday and I was so happy as I saw him walk into the church with his mom.

I pray for all of you so much. As I sit here and write this email today, I can't help but be full of tears because of the love that fills my heart for each and every one of you. I want so bad for all of you to be happy, to have peace and comfort in your life & during your challenges, I want you to be able to have the blessings of God that He is so anxious to give us as we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our life.

I hope that you were all able to go to church yesterday and feel of the spirit of Easter there. Jesus Christ lives. Jesus Christ knows us personally. When we do all that we can to be more like him, we will be happier.

Faith is like a seed, we must constantly feed it and nourish it so that it can grow. As I have been on my mission, I have recognized how important it is to read & study the scriptures DAILY! Pray! Go to church! Love those around you and look for ways that you can serve them. Please, do those things that will help your faith grow because just like a seed, if we do not nourish it everyday, if we do not give it water or sunlight, it will die. Keep your seeds ALIVE! :] Read Alma 32 as a family this week, it talks about our faith being like a seed. I love the chapter! I will ask to see how you liked it next week.

I love you all so much! You mean so much to me. Thank you for your love and support.

I am SO blessed.



Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson

04-02-12

Buenos Dias!

My first week here in Napa and it feels like I've been here for a lot longer than a week. Haha, missionary time is crazy. I love Napa! I feel so blessed to be serving here and I LOVE Hermana Ordonez. She has been our for 5 months and I am learning so much from her. She is an AMAZING missionary & is a good spanish teacher (she is from Ecuador). Haha. She teaches and helps me with my spanish and I teach and help her with her english, and so it's perfect!

We are teaching a lot of lessons and I am meeting a lot of wonderful people! It never ceases to amaze me that within a few minutes or even seconds you can feel the love of God for that person. Missionary work is a beautiful experience and I am so thankful that I have this wonderful opportunity. I am so thankful for your support and your love for me! I will never, ever be able to express my gratitude enough. There is this cute little family that we are teaching: Rubi, Nayn, and the little girl Jessie. Nayn is a member and Rubi is not. They are not yet married, but they now have their marriage license and so we hope it will be soon. Rubi wants to be a member of the church and as soon as they are married, she will be able to be baptized. On Saturday night, we were able to teach them about the temple. I felt the spirit so strong and we taught them about the sealing ordinances and that in the temple we can be sealed for time and for all eternity as a family. I look at that beautiful family and it makes me so happy that I get to witness their journey of becoming an eternal family. I am so thankful that we have the knowledge that we can be together with our families FOREVER!

Saturday night we came home and our power was out. We were like ahhhh, what do we do?! Haha, I don't know where my flashlight went and so Hermana Ordonez was the only one with a flashlight and then I was using the light of the cellphone which wasn't too convenient. We were trying to plan for Sunday with the little light we had and it wasn't working out too well. We were comparing it to the parable of the ten virgins and that 5 of them were prepared and had oil in their lamp, but the other 5 weren't so prepared. Of course, I was the unprepared one, haha. It goes too show, though, how important it is to be prepared. I have been thinking about that a lot and after watching General Conference this past weekend and feeling the spirit so strong, I realized that one of the things we must do to be prepared is listen to the words of the Prophet, or really, the words of God. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2012/04?lang=eng (watch it!!) The Lord gives us so many resources so that we can be prepared when Jesus Christ comes again. He has given us a living day Prophet! We are so blessed to be able to hear from President Monson and I hope that we all listen to the counsel that he has given us as well as all of the other wonderful leaders of the church. He has given us scriptures to read and study, so that we can be strengthened spiritually to face the challenges of life each day. We are able to pray, to talk to our Heavenly Father at ANY time and ANY place. He has given us the church, so that we can take of the sacrament and be cleansed of our sins and renew our covenants. We have been given so many ways so that we can be PREPARED. I love this Gospel! I am young, I don't know a lot of things, but I know with all of my heart that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us. We have a Savior, Jesus Christ, and He lives! Joseph Smith restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we have a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson. I know that families can be together forever through the ordinances of the temple. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and we can feel of the love of God more when we read it everyday! We can learn ways to overcome our challenges, find comfort and peace, and we can come closer to God through reading it daily.

I am so thankful for all of you. I love you so much!

Have a wonderful week! & watch general conference!! :]



Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson

03-26-12

Hola!

Crazy changes happening here in the mission. Week of transfers is always crazy because you are wondering if you'll be leaving and where you may go, but trying to stay focused and work as hard as you can to do the things you know the Lord needs you to do for His precious children. We make our transfer predictions before it comes and we were sure Hermana Fenn would stay in Vacaville and we were pretty sure that I would be leaving. I could stay here forever and be happy, but it was likely that I would be going. I told her "the last thing that will happen here is that we willl be white washed with Elders". Which means that they will take us both out and spanish Elders will come into the area. Transfer information came Friday night and we were both shocked because we were both leaving and being white washed out with Elders, haha. Sister Monson (who we live with) said: "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Haha which was kind of the case in this situation because we were NOT expecting that. Hermana Fenn is going to Santa Rosa and I am going to Napa. It's a lot of work when you are both leaving because you have to organize and make sure the Elders will have all that they need to take charge of the area. We have been trying to get everything organized and make notes for everything so they kind of understand what's going on here. I am excited to go to Napa! It is an area that I have wanted to serve in and I know it is where the Lord wants me to be. I am very sad to leave Vacaville though. It's amazing how a place just becomes home to you and then when it's time to leave it's like leaving home and family because it is how it feels. I have learned so many things here in Vacaville that I could have never learned otherwise. I am so grateful for this chance to have been here and met all the people that I have. Like the quote from Dr. Suess "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." And so my new direct address will be:

1260 Trower Ave.

Napa, CA 94558

And I am excited to be with Hermana Ordonez, I've met her a few times and she's way cute! She is a native spanish speaker from Ecuador and so I know that it will be a new, fun adventure. I am very sad to leave my mom (trainer) Hermana Fenn, but she will forever have a special place in my heart. We've spent three transfers together and have seen each other through ups and downs. I love her so much!

On Friday, we had a wonderful lesson with a lady named Maria and she has two cute little kids who love my stickers of Jesus Christ and will just keep asking for more and more, haha. She read the chapter we gave her to read in the Book of Mormon (yay!) and had some questions. She had a question about the age we are baptized in our church. We flipped open the Book of Mormon to Moroni 8 where it explains that small children are innocent and don't need to be baptized. We then discussed baptism and invited her to be baptized. She said yes and that she would prepare herself to be baptized on April 30th. After leaving the lesson, we could feel the spirit so strong and knew that we had been instruments in the hands of the Lord. I love sharing the gospel with others and I love helping them come closer to Jesus Christ.

Guess what's coming up this weekend!?!? General Conference! And I am SO excited. I can't believe that General Conference is already here again, I feel like it just happened. We are so lucky to be able to listen to servants of the Lord speak to us and tell us of the things that God would say to us. There is nothing like it, we are so blessed to have a modern day prophet and I hope that you all make the time to watch it. One thing I am doing that I did last time and it's AMAZING is writing down some questions I have in my life and then as I watch conference, think of the questions I have, and I promise you they will be answered through the talks that are given. Try it!

http://www.lds.org/church/events/april-2012-general-conference-dates-announced?lang=eng

Thank you for everything you do! I love you so much and you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. Today we will be visiting the people we haven't been able to see yet before we leave, packing, and getting things ready to head to our new areas tomorrow. the next time I write to you, i'll be in Napa. It's a beautiful area and I know there are people ready to accept the Gospel!

Have a wonderful week!



Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson

03-19-12

Hello! Happy Monday!

This past week has been an adventure, but so it is with every week out here. I have been contemplating, meditating, and pondering about who I am and who I want to be. This life is a time to improve, a time to progress. In the Alma (in the Book of Mormon) chapter 34: 32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."

I love that in verse 33 it talks about improving our time, improving our life here on this Earth because that is our purpose. I have been thinking about what I want to be. I want to be full of love for others. I want others to feel good, edified, and uplifted when they are around me and I know that isn't always the case, but I have that desire. And desires do count for something! I am thinking about the ways that I can become who I want to be and I know that the first step is in prayer. I have been praying to the Lord to help me be more filled with His love for all of those that I come in contact with. I know that it is through Love that we can help others change their lives.

This is the last week of this transfer and we are going to go out with a BOOM of LOVE, haha. I don't know what this next transfer has in store for me. I may stay, but I may leave. Hermana Fenn may leave or may stay, I just don't know! I do know that I love Vacaville with all my heart. I love our investigators. I love the members. I love my companion. I have learned so many things that I couldn't have learned otherwise. I know, though, that whatever happens is what the Lord wants, so you know that song "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go Dear Lord"? It rings true for transfers because it's not always easy to leave what you know to something different and strange. We will see what happens, though, and you will all know next Monday!

We had a Zone Conference this past week and it was so good! I am so thankful for the people I have met on my mission. I am so thankful for the missionaries in this mission, for President and Sister Bunker. They are amazing! President Bunker was talking about how it's important to "choose faith over worry" and to know that if we trust in the Lord, everything will be okay! I was reading an amazing talk by President Uchtdorft this morning "Your Happily Ever After" http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-young-women-meeting/2010/03/your-happily-ever-after?lang=eng&query=your+happily+ever+after and there is a part that says:

"Enduring adversity is not the only thing you must do to experience a happy life. Let me repeat: how you react to adversity and temptation is a critical factor in whether or not you arrive at your own “happily ever after.”

I know that is true. We have to have faith, we have to be strong and face trials knowing that the Lord will help us if we allow Him to. I am so thankful for the times in my life where, yes it was hard, but I knew that the only choice I had was to rely on the Lord and He helped me through them. How blessed are we to have the knowledge of a God, of a Savior who loves us SO much.

The other day we were talking to two teenage guys and one of them didn't believe in God, he was telling us that he doesn't know how someone could believe that there was a God. We testified that through prayer we can come to know God and feel of His love for us. That day was a rainy day and it was raining pretty hard. After we had talked to them, the rain cleared up suddenly and there was a BEAUTIFUL sunset. We were driving to visit one of our members and I pulled over the car, so that we could take a picture of it. Even the camera couldn't grasp the full beauty. I then was thinking to myself and expressed to my companion "How can someone see this and not believe that there is a God?!" I look around at this beautiful world and at the blessings we are given and I know with all of my heart that there is a God! In the midst of all of His beautiful creations, worlds, and universes, He knows us personally. I know that He knows each one of you personally. He loves you so much.

Thank you for your love & for your examples. Thank you for your support!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson

03-12-12

Good morning!

I have been so ready to write you and let you know how much I love all of you! I am happy to hear that the wedding went well! I am sure that it was beautiful and wonderful. I want to hear all about it and more pictures would be nice too. :] I am happy Jennica is now an "official" part of our family, she always has been my sister, though! Family is so important and I am so happy to have all of you in my life. You are AMAZING. Never forget that!

On Wednesday, we went to Oakland to hear from Elder L. Tom Perry (apostle) with all of our mission and then also the Oakland/ San Francisco mission. It was amazing! With all of the missionaries together, I felt like I was back in the MTC and it's an amazing feeling. Being together united with tons of missionaries brings a spirit that is beautiful. There is a spirit of unity and purpose among us missionaries of the Lord, representatives of Jesus Christ, that cannot be felt elsewhere. Elder Perry is so awesome! He is funny, he is genuine, he is a man called of God. A few things that he talked about was how this is the greatest time since the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ to be a missionary. He spoke of all of the things that are going on in the media with the "Book of Mormon" play in New York, Mitt Romney running for President, and all sorts of other things. He told us that we are here to bring the truth unto God's children. We are the messengers of the TRUTH. He bore a strong, powerful testimony that bore witness to me again that Jesus is the Christ and Joseph Smith did see God and Jesus Christ & that they did call him, a humble, young boy to restore The Church of Jesus Christ.

What is truth?! Truth is something that can't be imitated. Truth is real and genuine. Truth is something as it really, actually is. We talk to many different people everyday and do you know what our message is to each one?! Well we first share about the Restoration, or The Plan of Salvation, or about a living day Prophet that guides the True Church today...but whatever "truth" we share, we then invite them to read, to study it, to ponder it, and then to pray about it. Each invitation is an invite to seek for themselves the TRUTH. God, our Heavenly Father is the source of all truth. We can know the truth of all things from God, from praying. He will NEVER lead us astray. Every time, which is dozens of time a day, that we invite someone to pray and find out for themselves the TRUTH, I can't help but feel the spirit. I know that what the Lord is guiding us to say is the truth.

There is a scripture in Moroni 10:4-5 lets us know that if we honestly seek out the truth with faith, a sincere heart, and real intent, the Lord will tell us the truth of all things. I know that is true. How?! Because I've prayed, I've seeked it out. Why am I here sharing the truth with others?! Because it is the truth. I know with all of my heart that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ leads and guides this church. I know that God loves us. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I know that we are here for a purpose and that is to be HAPPY. How can we be happy?! We can be truly happy by knowing and following the TRUTH.

I love you so much! Have a wonderful week. :]

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson



THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!

03-05-12

Buenos dias mi familia!

This week is a big week, for all of you and for me! I hope that EVERYTHING goes wonderful with Clark and Jennica's wedding. I know that it will and I know that it will be beautiful! I will be thinking about it! I received the announcement last Monday actually, and LOVE it. It is so cute! Enjoy it!

On Wednesday the Santa Rosa California Mission which means ME, haha, and the Oakland/San Francisco Mission get to meet in Oakland and hear from Elder L. Tom Perry, an apostle of the Lord. Yay! We are all so excited and I know that it is going to be a wonderful experience! It is always a powerful and spiritual experience when hearing from a general authority. I will tell you about it next week!

Life is beautiful. I love this opportunity I have to be serving the Lord. You all know that I am a type of person who loves setting goals. Sometimes, though, I am so focused on doing them and achieving them that I forget to live in the moment. It is something I have struggled with for a long while now and I think a lot of people do. Well, I know a lot of people do. It is something I am working on though, and the beautiful thing is that with the Lord's help it is possible! Saturday, was a beautiful day, the weather was beautiful and it really wasn't different than any other day other than I was really living in the moment, I was enjoying the beauty around me. We went into a lesson and had a really good lesson with a lady named Juana. It went good, we taught her the first lesson, taught her about the Book of Mormon, and gave her a chapter to read. We invited her to read it and to pray about it. We bore testimony of the powerful effect of the Book of Mormon in our lives. We made a return appointment and we were able to meet her beautiful little girl. It was a good lesson and I enjoyed every minute of it. Afterward, my companion was saying how it went good, but was saying a few different things that we could have done better. We are working so hard to be the best instruments in the hands of the Lord that we can and what she began doing is the very thing that I always do. I always walk away from a lesson saying the things that I wish I could have done better and the things I can do better next time. I was surprised that I wasn't feeling that same way. I realized though, that I had loved every minute of the experience with Juana. We had done our best and we had been following the spirit. I was very happy with how it went. As we were talking about the lesson, I began telling her that we did good. We had done our best and followed the spirit. As I did so, I realized that this was a little abnormal for me. I realized that I had asked the Lord for help to live in every moment and enjoy the day. I know that it was the Lord helping me, I know that the Lord had heard my prayer and my desire. I don't want it to sound like I'm not enjoying my mission or enjoying the experiences because I am! I do realize, though, that I think we get so caught up in life, the things we have to do, that we forget to enjoy the journey. Now, we always should evaluate our teaching, we should always look for ways to better ourselves. I think, though, that it's good to be happy with what you did do and be happy when you know you did your best and followed the spirit.
Yesterday in the Spanish group, I bore my testimony about enjoying the journey. It is so important! I thought that there had to be a scripture about that and of course, there is one! The scriptures have ALL the answers. REALLY. Haha. There is a scripture found in Psalms 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." I love it and I think it's going to be my new motto for a while. :]
This isn't something new, but I guess I realized that even when we are having a few difficulties or the work is hard, we CAN find happiness. We can find peace, and we can live and enjoy every moment.

Life is beautiful. ENJOY it! Thank you, thank you for the love you constantly show me. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being YOU!

Have a wonderful week!



Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson

02-27-2012

Good morning familia!

I want to say how thankful I am for each & every one of you. Thank you for your love and thank you for your support. I wake up every morning and can't help but feel so grateful for all that I have. And, of course, at the very top of that list is my family, my beautiful family.

A "miracle moment" if you will, took place this past week and I want to share it with you. I was on exchanges with Sister Thomas here in Vacaville from Friday night to Saturday. As we were going about visiting a few of our investigators, I caught a glimpse of a lady with her son at the park not too far away. Sister Thomas hadn't even seen her and so I insisted that we go talk to her. As we approached her, we let her know who we were and that we wanted to help her find more peace and happiness in her life. We began to tell her about the Book of Mormon and that within the Book of Mormon we can find solutions to problems, peace in times of difficulties, and comfort when we need it the most. From the beginning, this young mom gave off the vibe that she wasn't really interested. We continued, though, and as we were bearing testimony about the Book of Mormon, we noticed that she was crying and I realized that she was interested, very interested and was listening. I felt spirit so strong. As we talked to her more, she began to tell us she is in a place in her life where she doesn't know what to do anymore. She expressed that she knew that we were sent to her that day and she was excited to read the Book of Mormon and learn more about the church. I felt the spirit SO strong because I knew that we were being instruments in the Lord's hands. I felt so much love for Laura, even though I had just met her. I wanted to help her, I wanted to do anything for her and her son so that they could have a happier life, so that they could have the spirit of the Lord in their lives and in their home. As we walked away, I couldn't help but cry because there really is nothing greater than being an instrument in the Lord's hands.
It is these moments that make a mission. It is these moments that I will forever cherish.

Yesterday as we were standing at the chapel doors, waiting for people to arrive we were both feeling very stressed. We had a recent convert there with his wife and no one else was there (the leaders were going around picking people up). He was looking around wondering what was going on and we were feeling the effects of that and then people not being there. We have been working so hard and then come Sunday, it appears as if we hadn't done anything. As we were waiting for the leaders to arrive with some members, Hna. Fenn started saying these she was grateful for. She asked me what I am grateful for and even though it didn't take away the stress and my headache was still there, I knew that I was blessed. I am so blessed. We are so blessed. In our life, we are going to have times of trials, we are going to be stressed, we will feel defeated, but we always have something to be grateful for. So right now, I want to take a minute and share with you what I am grateful for this beautiful day:

I am grateful for the Gospel in my life & that through the Atonement we can be completely healed.

I am so grateful for all of you. Thank you for everything you do for me! I will never have words adequate to express my gratitude and love for you.

I am thankful for my mission and all of the many people I have met, all of the many experiences I've had that have changed me.

I am thankful for the Book of Mormon. It is my favorite book in the entire world.

I am thankful for President and Sister Bunker. They are amazing! He is the best Mission President. Really though. Haha.

I am thankful for my companion. She is such a great example to me. I love her so much!



Yes, there are hard times. Yes, there are challenges. Yes, things don't always turn out how we would have planned, but I can promise you that if we do our best, the Lord will do the rest. I am 100% confident that when we do what is right and that when we are faithful, we can be sure that the Lord will take care of us and comfort us.


“Do not expect that all will go smoothly throughout your life. Even for those who are living as they should, it sometimes will be just the opposite. Meet each of life’s challenges with optimism and surety and you will have the peace and faith to sustain you now and in the future.


For those who do not yet have all the blessings you feel you want and need to have, I firmly believe that no experience or opportunity essential for redemption and salvation will be denied you who live faithfully. Remain worthy; be hopeful, patient, and prayerful. Things have a way of working out. The gift of the Holy Ghost will guide you and direct your actions. I invoke a blessing upon you that life will be full and that you can find peace. If you look forward with hope and desire to do that which the Lord would have you do, that is all that is expected.” -Elder Boyd K. Packer ("Truths Most Worth Knowing").

I love you and am thankful for you. Have a wonderful week!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Robinson

02-20-2012

Hello!
I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week has been eventful and really good. I hit my halfway mark on Saturday and I feel like I'm having a mid-life crisis, haha. There are so many things that I want to do and become and now I feel like the time is winding down when really I know that I still have quite a bit of time, it's just crazy! I'm not freaking out too much, though, nothing to worry about. Haha. :]
We had a really cool experience as we were tracting this past week. We met a guy named Arturo. As we were talking to Arturo, he expressed to us that he was studying and converting to another religion and that he didn't want to get confused studying two different religions at the same time. We then found out that he had been contacted before and had talked a little to missionaries, but he didn't know a whole lot about what it was that we believed. Even though at first he was closed off, as we continued talking to him he opened up to us. We testified of the Book of Mormon being another testament of Jesus Christ and that it is through the Book of Mormon that we can find happiness and peace. We explained to him that it is a record of the people of the Ancient Americas. He was very interested when he realized it was from his ancestors. Arturo, who at first was closed off and didn't want to talk to us, by the end wanted the Book of Mormon and let us know he was going to read it. He has a trip planned for Mexico for about a month and so we won't be able to follow up with him for a while, but it was a great experience. I know that the spirit worked through us and as we were leaving, we both had felt that we had been instruments in the Lord's hands. The greatest feeling ever!
On Saturday, we also got to be a part of an a stake youth activity that was an MTC experience for them. It was so much fun! All of the youth were assigned companions, they learned about missionary work, about tracting, about different cultures. Hermana Fenn and I had the opportunity to teach a class about teaching by the spirit. It was such a cool experience! I loved getting to know and help the youth in their desires to serve missions. It also gave me the chance to reflect on my experience as a missionary thus far and come to realize how much I have learned and how much I LOVE being a missionary.
As we were teaching the importance of teaching by the spirit, I bore my testimony of the wonderful opportunity it is to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. As full-time missionaries, it is our job to share the Gospel and bear our testimonies. I know, though, that we can be instruments in the Lord's hands as members of the Church. When we live our testimony and when we share the love of our Heavenly Father with others, we are being instruments in his hands.
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and felt LOVED. Thank you for the package, Hermana Fenn and I greatly appreciated it! :]
I am so thankful for the Gospel in my life and for the Book of Mormon. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and for my Savior Jesus Christ.
Take some time and watch this video!
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng
I love you so much!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

02/13/2012

Hey family!
It is the beginning of a new transfer and I am staying here in Vacaville with Hermana Fenn again, just the thing I was hoping for. :] I know, though, that we go wherever the Lord wants us to be. I am so happy though that Hermana Fenn and I are staying here in Vacaville together. We were a little nervous, though, when our zone leader called out a voicemail to the whole zone and right at the beginning said "Hello, we are calling with transfer information and a lot of big, scary changes are happening." And they went through the whole zone telling of the changes that are happening and then finally at the very end said what was happening with and so our hearts were pounding all the way through, haha. Transfers are nerve racking because you have no idea what is going to happen, but we were very happy when we found out that we are again here in Vacaville. I am so thankful for my companion and her example to me! She is very patient and loving. I also love Vacaville so much and am so thankful for all of the wonderful people I've met while being here. And I have another transfer (at least!) to continue meeting more of God's children here in Vacaville. :]
We had a busy, busy, but a good week. Busy is good right?! We think so! There were times we were literally running from appointment to appointment, haha.
Saturday, right before a lesson with a recent convert, we were praying in our car and we got out. There was a guy walking and he said "Hey, can you pray for me?!" And I said "yeah! What's your name?!" I couldn't really hear him to good and so I had to ask for it again and then he came over to us and was like "Do you want to do it right now?!" And we were like "yeah!" and so we stood in a circle, holding hands, and he offered the prayer. It was interesting, but really cool. There is nothing like being a missionary, and I am still coming to realize and understand the power that comes with wearing the name of Jesus Christ everyday and having been set apart to do this work. People recognize us as different and we have strangers asking if we'll pray for them. I love it!
The longer I am out on my mission, the more I realize just how much I have to learn. I am working on coming to know the Savior better. I want to develop a stronger relationship with Him, so I know how to better become like Him.
I am reading right now in the book of Alma and there are a few verses that I want to share from Alma 13. This is when Alma and Amulek are out doing missionary work together and they are amazing missionaries, I want to be like them! :] They are preaching to the people and telling them how they can be better. Alma 13:28 "But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;
29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest."
These are attributes of Jesus Christ. These are attributes that I want to have! I am working daily to be better, but it doesn't come easy. It takes work! I know, though, that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and that we become better if we use it daily in our lives.
I know that when we are trying our best to become better, to become the person God knows we can become that it will happen. It takes work, yes, and it takes time, but it happens little by little.
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day tomorrow. Know that you are LOVED tremendously by me (of course!) but also by your Heavenly Father.
John 3: 16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
I love you all so much!!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

02/06/2012

Hi!!
I hope you've had a wonderful week and I hope you have a wonderful rest of this week! :] This past week has been pretty crazy, kind of an emotional roller coaster. At the first of the week, we started our really strong and motivated. On Thursday, we were informed that Hermana Fenn's grandma has passed away and that was really hard on her. She called her family to see if everything was okay and was able to talk to them and see how they were doing. Afterward, she felt comforted and kept going strong. She is such a good example to me. She is strong, she is a great missionary, and loves this work so much. I am so blessed to have her as a companion AGAIN. Friday and Saturday, I think were two of the most tiring days on the mission. I think it was because they were mostly emotionally and mentally exhausting. By the end of both of those days, I was exhausted! Yesterday, though, was a complete turn around and I was so thankful to be able to feel of the spirit that we feel when we go to church. I was so excited to go to church and learn about our Savior, about our Heavenly Father, and about how we can find more spiritual strength in our lives to overcome the hard times that we face. I felt the spirit so strong all throughout the meetings.
In our little spanish group, there were a few people there. It was such a special experience because we were able to hear a recent convert bear his testimony for the first time. We were able to watch another recent convert pass the sacrament for the first time. We were able to hear a testimony from a lady that hasn't been to church in quite a while, but shared how she felt so much love being back at the church. None of our investigators came to church which can be hard sometimes, but being able to be a part of those monumental moments in a person's life (bearing testimony for the first time, passing the sacrament) was worth every minute of work, so rewarding.
I am recognizing just how important the spirit is in everything that we do. I felt the spirit so strong at church and it carried me through the rest of the night with those feelings of peace, joy, comfort, gratitude, and happiness that the spirit brings. I ALWAYS want to be worthy of the spirit. I never want to do anything that may drive it away. The spirit can and will guide us in every aspect of our life if we recognize it and follow the promptings that we receive. We can pray to have the spirit with us more, we can pray to recognize the prompings of the spirit better. I know that when we live in a way that we are able to have the spirit with us, we will be happier and we will have that peace that can be so hard to find. One thing that Sister Bunker told us that she does being the mission president's wife everyday is praying to know the most important thing to do that day. I have applied that in my life and every morning in my prayer, I ask the Lord to help me know the most important thing I need to do that day. I think when we do that we will be guided by the spirit more and will do those things that the Lord wants and needs us to do. I am so thankful that I have the gift of the Holy Ghost and that when we live worthy of it, we can have it as our constant companion to guide us in every phase of our life.
I love all of you so much and hope that you have a wonderful week! I hope that you all feel God's love for you. He loves each of you more than you can imagine. Jesus Christ is our Savior. I am thankful for the Atonement and for the opportunity that I have to better myself each day and that it is through the Atonement that we are able to do that. Thank you for your support and love.
Watch the video!! :] Hope you enjoy. http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#voice-of-the-spirit

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

01-30-2012

FAMILY,
I love all of you! How are all of you doing?! This week has been a learning experience. And it's good because through struggles, we can learn if we choose to. Choice, isn't it a beautiful thing that we all have?! Agency is something that we were given in our premortal existence, so that we could choose for ourselves the things that we want, the way we will live our life, and the people we will become. Heavenly Father presented a plan to us, so that we could become like Him, but that we could live with Him as well. Jesus Christ said that he will come down here and be a Savior, and suffer for us and die for us so that we can become clean from our sin and so we can be resurrected to make it possible to live in the presence of God again. We all CHOSE this plan. You and me and everyone else living on the world chose the plan of Jesus Christ. We wanted to come down here and get experience. We knew that we wouldn't be in the presence of our Heavenly Father, but we knew that He would help us, that He would provide a way for us to know of the things we need to do so that we can live with Him again. We are all His children and He wants us to come back.
He has given us prophets, scriptures, prayer, and the Gospel so that we can be successful in this life and so that we can have happiness. True happiness. Through prophets, we can know of the things we need to do so that we can be safe from the adversary, so that we can find comfort through our trials, and how we can become closer to Heavenly Father. Through scriptures, we can learn of Jesus Christ. We learn of The Plan of Happiness. We learn of stories of the past and what we can do in our daily lives to overcome our trials or our difficulties. Through prayer, we are able to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. We can talk to Him. We can ask Him for help, we can give Him thanks, we can TALK to Him because He is there. It is through prayer that we feel His love, His comfort, and we can come to better understand our purpose in this life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan that God provided for us to make it safely back to Him. This includes faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. If we have do these things and make these covenants, we are on the pathway to Eternal Life. All of us has done these things and so now it's about enduring to the end. Continuing on, keeping our covenants, doing what's right. I know that it is through the Gospel (that plan that God gave us to have success) that we can have TRUE happiness. We will have that peace that is so hard to find.
I love all of you so much. I love the Gospel. I love my Heavenly Father. I love Jesus Christ. I love my mission. I love that we have CHOICE. We can choose who we want to be, what we want to do, and how we are going to live. I love this quote about attitude, we can choose our attitude in life. And I hope you all choose to have a positive attitude!
I love this quote: “The longer I love, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.”
― Charles R. Swindoll

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

01/23/2012

Hello, hello!
It's been a good week & I hope all of you can say the same. :] The rain season is approaching surely, but slowly. We need the rain here, but it makes missionary work a little difficult, so I'm a little torn on my thoughts about the rain coming. I have realized, though, just how grateful I am for the sun. I love the sun!
Friday night, it was raining pretty hard. We had our coats, boots, and umbrellas and almost all of our appointments were falling through. We were wet, the water was soaking through our boots, and our feet were freezing. It was a little discouraging, but as we were walking in the rain we started singing "Como, Come, Ye Saints" and suddenly the whole situation became different. My perspective was turned around and it was suddenly not so hard or discouraging, but it was happy and fun. I love the hymns.
Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
’Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—
All is well! All is well!
Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
’Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—
All is well! All is well!
We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.
We’ll make the air with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we’ll tell—
All is well! All is well!

And should we die before our journey’s through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell—
All is well! All is well!

Sundays are big days for us because we work the whole week trying to help those we are teaching or less actives in the group make it out to church. It's always a little stressful because we are calling everyone to invite them and then comes the time when we see if anyone shows up that we are hoping so bad will. One of our investigators we have been teaching for quite a while now, Anselmo, came to church yesterday. And we were so happy to say the least.
The story with Anselmo is kind of interesting. Last transfer, Anselmo approached Hna. Stephenson and I one day as we were walking down the sidewalk and he seemed to recognize Hna. Stephenson. She didn't really remember who he was at first, and then after a little bit realized who it was. Hna. Stephenson and Hna. Anderson had contacted him one day and taught him a little and then weren't able to get ahold of him. He now lives with one of our members Asenscion and so this allowed us a way to get in contact with him easier. We set up a time to teach him and we were able to teach him quite a few lessons and he expressed a sincere interest in learning more and being baptized. When we taught him the word of wisdom, he told us that he has been smoking since he was 14 and is now 44. He has been smoking for 30 years and He wants to quit, but I could tell from the helplessness on his face that he felt it was impossible to stop smoking now after all of those years.
Time went on and we were able to teach him here and there, but at times he was very hard to get ahold of and we weren't sure if he still had that desire to get baptized. Before Hna. Stephenson left, we invited him to be baptized and he said yes. We set a date for February 4th. Since Hna. Fenn has been here, we haven't been able to teach him UNTIL Saturday night. We were getting a little frustrated because every time we would try and contact him, we couldn't. He wouldn't answer his phone, he wasn't ever home when we tried or if he was he would have to leave. There were a few times where we went to his house and it was as if he were avoiding us. On Friday, we decided to call him and let him know that we want him to want this and we know it will bless his life, and so we are here when he is ready. We were ready to drop him because he wasn't doing his part. To our surprise, he called us back ten minutes later and set up an appointment for us to come by and have a lesson with him the next night. Saturday night, we went to his house and we saw his truck there and were excited with the thought that "perhaps he really is home and maybe we really will have a lesson with him. He was there and we had a lesson with him! It was great and my faith in him was revitalized. He promised us that he would be at church the next day, he had told us that he would come to church on several different occasions and so we were curious to see if he would follow through. As we were standing at the doors of the chapel on Sunday (yesterday) afternoon waiting for the spanish group sacrament meeting to begin, we saw Brother Martineau (our group leader) Asenscion, and Anselmo walk up to the doors of the church ready to come and feel of the Lord's love. Hna. Fenn and I were so happy. I was so excited and happy, I didn't know what to do. I wanted it to be the best experience for him. I can honestly say that I was surprised to see him at church, but I am so thankful. An addiction recovery program in spanish has recently started and so we hope that he will go and join in on the support there and feel of the power to quit smoking. I don't know where this is going to lead, but I do know that seeing him in church yesterday was such a great feeling. A feeling that as a missionary is indescribable. You work so hard to bring others unto Christ and then when you see them receiving the invitation, it's wonderful. I love being a part in this work, being able to witness these miracles happen. After the meeting, he kept saying that he will be back next week.
I love you all so much! I am so thankful to be a member of this church & to have the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your constant support & love.
Have a wonderful week & I will talk to you next week.

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

01-16-2012

Good afternoon! & Happy Martin Luther King Day! :]

This past week has been pretty eventful! We had a zone conference (there are pictures on the mission blog, if you want to go see!). It was really good and President Bunker talked about urgency and how we should constantly be striving to be more urgent to share this gospel with all of God's children around us. We made goals as a mission and I know that we can achieve the goals we set. The Lord wants us to do our best, the Lord knows what we are capable of, and we are going to try our best. It is amazing what we can do when we put our mind to something. Goals or a vision is what helps us become the best we can be. If we make plans and constantly be working for that, we will achieve it. :] Goals are critical in all that we do! I also know that we can never give up. As a missionary, I feel like a parent sometimes and our investigators, less active members, and members even are our children. We try so hard to teach them, work with them, serve them, and love them, but sometimes they just don't obey. Haha. It's frustrating, but I know that we can NEVER, EVER give up.
After zone conference, Hermana Fenn and I were talking to President Bunker and he was asking us about our area. He said something that made me realize just how blessed I am to be serving here at this time, he said "That group is a special assignment you have." It is so true, I love this little group. I love the leaders that we work with. It is a special, special little part of the Lord's vineyard.
We also had a zone meeting this past week, haha so many meetings and conferences but they are all AMAZING and I feel like I am spiritually feasting every time. As a zone, we studied 3 Nephi 17-18 and this is when Jesus Christ comes to the Americas and doesn't have a lot of time and knows that he doesn't have a lot of time and so he is teaching. We know that He was very careful in what He chose to do and teach, so that we could take from that and apply them into our own lives. One of the things that he does throughout these chapters is PRAY. Prayer is something so beautiful that I think so many people take for granted. We are able to communicate with our Heavenly Father at any place and any time. I am working on being more aware and sincere of those things that I say to my Heavenly Father. I want that my instant reaction in any situation is to pray, and to pray for others ALWAYS. Prayer is powerful and so beautiful. I am so thankful for prayer, for the ability we have to pray to our Heavenly Father at any moment. There is power in prayer.
I love you all so much! Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for your prayers, you are always in mine.
Have a wonderful, wonderful week!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

01-09-2012

Mi familia!
I hope you have had a wonderful week! First week of the new transfer and things are going good! Hermana Fenn and I have had a good week back together. She is a great missionary and I have a lot to learn from her. She is focused, hardworking, and I hope to be more like her one day. :] We had some really good lessons this past week. We were able to pick up two new investigators, Francisco and Silvia. They also have three cute kids. I could feel, especially from Francisco, a sincere desire to know for himself what church is true. I hope that they acts on their desires and reads the part of the Book of Mormon we gave them to read. As teachers and guides, we can only do so much. We can only invite, but they have to do their part. Just as it is with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ. They can only do so much, but then we have to do our part.
Everyday that I am here, everyday that I am doing the Lord's work my testimony is strengthened. We are nested with the 5th ward because we are only a small group. We attend the English church services and then the spanish sacrament. We eat dinners with members from the English ward. I have loved being able to meet them and see their cute families. The homes have a wonderful spirit and you can feel of their love for the Gospel just by being in their home.
I know that the Gospel is true. I know that without a doubt. I have prayed about the church, I have prayed about the Book of Mormon numerous times. Every time that I have prayed it is clear to me that the Restored Church of Jesus Christ is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so thankful to be sharing this amazing message with those that don't have it or do, but aren't living it right now. We are here to better ourselves, we are here to better each other.
As I was writing today, a poem came to my mind and I want to share it with all of you. It is one of my favorite poems and I may have shared it with you before. It's called "Footprints in the Sand"

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you."

I know that the Lord carries us. I know that He loves us. I hope that you all recognize the hard times and the difficult times that the Lord has carried you through because it's real. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the Atonement and that through the Atonement, we can live with our families and with our Heavenly Father again.
I love all of you so much! Thank you for all that you do. I am so blessed to have you all in my life.
Isaiah 42:10 "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

My mission blog url: www.hermanarobinson.blogspot.com :]

01-03-2012

Happy New Year!
It is 2012 and I am still in shock. I love the New Year though, I love that we have this opportunity to start anew fresh. We have the opportunity to make goals and plans on how to better ourselves. I feel a new enthusiasm and fire to be better, to be happier, and to be a better representative of Jesus Christ.
I was scanning through my MTC notes this past week and there was a devotional by Rosemary Wixom and in her talk she said to "Give 100%, shine 100%, and love 100%." I listed that as one of my New Year's resolutions. It is going to be my New Year motto.
These past few days we have been in a trio with Sister Orrock, who is serving in the singles ward here in Vacaville. We drove her companion to Santa Rosa to head home and then we were all together covering two areas. It was fun! I love trios. It's definitely different, but it adds a different dynamic. For New Year's Eve we went about doing missionary work. People thought we were crazy, I'm sure, as we knocked on their door acting as if it was another regular day and they were getting ready to celebrate. We went home at 9, planned for the next day, went to bed by 10:30. I feel like such an old person, I am grumpy and ready to be in bed at 9:30-10:00. New Year's day, we went to church and later that night we had a New Year's dinner with the Monson's (family we live with). That was fun!
This past week, I was doing online work on Facebook. Elder Richins, who is serving over Novato right now, wrote me and let me know that Saul was getting baptized that day! Remember Saul?!?! The guy who Hermana Skroski and I had tracted into and had a few lessons with him and he was amazing! Then we both left Novato at the end of transfers. Well guess what?! He is now a member of the true church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If I wouldn't have been in the library, I would have been jumping up and down with excitement and crying tears of joy. There is not a better feeling in the world than knowing you have been an instrument in the Lord's hands by bringing a soul unto Him.
Today is transfer day! Hermana Stephenson and I both thought that we would be together another transfer here in Vacaville, but when transfer information came we were both surprised. Hermana Fenn (my trainer!) is coming here with me. We both always said that it would be awesome if we were to be companions again later down the road, but I didn't know if it would really happen. It has! She is coming here to Vacaville with me and it will be a great adventure. I am now the one that knows the area the best, so I'm a little nervous, but I know that with the Lord on my side I cannot fail. It is going to be a whole different companionship, though. We were both so new trying to figure it out, haha. We now have grown and progressed and have a little better grip on missionary work that it will be fun to see how far we've come. I am ready to WORK! She is such a hardworker and I'm thankful that we get to serve together again.
I hope that all of you are excited for the New Year as well! I hope that you think about the goals you want to achieve this coming year. I want you all to KNOW that you can accomplish those things. We can do anything if we put our mind to it and work hard. I hope you all have a bright hope for the future. I am going to include a talk and a mormon messages clip and I want you take the time to read it and watch it. It gives me faith and hope for the future!
I love you so much. Thank you for all that you do!
Video Clip:http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#new-years-look-not-behind-thee
Talk "The Best is Yet to Be" http://lds.org/liahona/2010/01/the-best-is-yet-to-be?lang=eng&query=look+behind+thee
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson

12-26-2011

Hello!
It was sooo good to talk to all of you yesterday. I loved hearing all of your voices, it was the best Christmas present for sure! I felt like I did so much talking, I wanted to hear more from all of you! I am so glad you all had a good Christmas and that everything is going good. I love you all so much.
Yesterday was such an amazing Christmas and I was trying to figure out why this one was different then some that I've had in the past. I know that it is because I was focused on the true meanig of Christmas this year that it felt so good. I felt the spirit so strong in church yesterday, I felt in when the choir was singing songs about Christ, when the speakers were talking about Christ, and when we as a congregation sang the Christmas hymns. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He is our Savior and our Redeemer. He is our friend and He understands everything we are going through. I am so thankful for Him.
I was so thankful to talk to you yesterday. It was such a happy, exciting feeling.
Dad- I am so thankful for you and for your hardwork. You are a committed, dedicated, loving, giving, positive, and cheerful person and especially father. I feel so blessed to call you my dad. Thank you for your constant support and love. I hope that I can be like you one day!
Mom- I loved hearing your voice, it just made me happy! Thank you for your constant support and love for me. You have always helped me in dreaming big and your reassurance that I could do anything I wanted has helped me so much through my life. I am so blessed to have you as my mom!
Clark- You are such a mentally and physically strong person. I was telling my companion the other day that you are in the National Guard and some of the things you did at basic training and I was just saying how strong of a person you are. Good luck with everything and just keep pressing forward!
Vanessa- my lovely little vegetarian. You are so sweet and so loving. I am so thankful to have you as my sister, but my best friend also. You are so fun and funny and just talking to you about old times made me laugh so hard. I love you!
Chandler- You are my baby brother and you are growing up so fast. You are such a good boy and keep being good! Obviously you were good, Santa Clause brought you a smart phone. You are smart, fun, funny, and so handsome. :]
Thank you again soooo much for all of the gifts. I felt so loved. Everything is amazing! :]
At the end of yesterday, I was so happy. I was so happy because I felt so grateful and so blessed. That is what Christmas is about, it's about being grateful, recognizing those many blessing you do have and then giving back to those who are in need or who need that peace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Last week, we were giving people some baked good who we thought would really enjoy them! We had tracted into a man named Ted one day and he is disabled. He seemed lonely and we could tell that even though he wasn't completely interested in our message, he enjoyed talking to us. I was thinking about him the whole rest of the week since we had met him and so I suggested that we go take him cookies. We showed up one night and he was so surprised and I could just tell that he was so happy and felt loved. After we had given them to him and walked away, Hna. Stephenson was like "I want to do that again!" because it was such a good feeling of service and charity.
I am so grateful for everything I have in my life. I feel so blessed. I love all of you so much, I love the Gospel, and I love my mission.
Have a wonderful week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson