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
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
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
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
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
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
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
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