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
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
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
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
Sunday, January 15, 2012
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 :]
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 :]
Sunday, January 8, 2012
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
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
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
Monday, December 26, 2011
12-19-2011
Hello my dear family,
How is everything?! I will soon get to hear all of your voices and I am so excited. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. That will be by far the best Christmas present this year.
Being on a mission during Christmas is different! I have come to love Christmas even more being a missionary because we completely focus on the true meaning of Christmas because we aren't thinking about all of the other petty things that has changed what Christmas is all about. We had our all mission conference on Thursday and it was so wonderful! I felt the Christmas spirit so strong. It was all of us missionaries in the Santa Rosa Mission and the spirit was powerful. There were a lot of Christmas musical numbers and they were all sooo good.
One of the Elders, who has a disability, that has been in our zone in Vacaville is Elder Miller and he was on what is called a "mini" mission. You get to experience full-time missionary work, but for about 3 months or so. He is the sweetest person and has the spirit so strong. He added so much to our zone and he will always have a special place in my heart. The all mission conference finished his three months, so his family was planning on coming and picking him up from all mission conference (he lives in the mission boundaries). He was so excited to see his family! At the all mission conference, President Bunker was talking about exaltation and how through Jesus Christ, we are able to be families forever. Exaltation is to live with God and to live with our families for eternity. He talked about how wonderful it is and will be. He told us that we would all be able to get a glimpse of exaltation and told Elder Miller to stand up and then said that his family was in the back and to join his family. He was so happy to see his family and went so fast to join his family at the back of the room and embrace them. The whole room was in tears, it was so touching. I couldn't help but think of all of you and how much I miss you. I couldn't help but think of the day we will again reunite and how heavenly that will be. I know that family relationships don't end at death, I know that families can be together forever. I love all of you so much and I can't imagine not being with all of you for forever. I know that one day we can all go to the temple and be sealed as a family and have the sure knowledge that we will be together FOREVER.
I love all of you so much! You are everything to me. Being on a mission has increased my understanding of just how dear all of you are to me. Thank you for your support and love! Oh and thank you for the package, I received it at the mission conference! I am waiting to open it on Christmas when I will talk to all of you! YAY! Talk to you soon. :]
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
How is everything?! I will soon get to hear all of your voices and I am so excited. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. That will be by far the best Christmas present this year.
Being on a mission during Christmas is different! I have come to love Christmas even more being a missionary because we completely focus on the true meaning of Christmas because we aren't thinking about all of the other petty things that has changed what Christmas is all about. We had our all mission conference on Thursday and it was so wonderful! I felt the Christmas spirit so strong. It was all of us missionaries in the Santa Rosa Mission and the spirit was powerful. There were a lot of Christmas musical numbers and they were all sooo good.
One of the Elders, who has a disability, that has been in our zone in Vacaville is Elder Miller and he was on what is called a "mini" mission. You get to experience full-time missionary work, but for about 3 months or so. He is the sweetest person and has the spirit so strong. He added so much to our zone and he will always have a special place in my heart. The all mission conference finished his three months, so his family was planning on coming and picking him up from all mission conference (he lives in the mission boundaries). He was so excited to see his family! At the all mission conference, President Bunker was talking about exaltation and how through Jesus Christ, we are able to be families forever. Exaltation is to live with God and to live with our families for eternity. He talked about how wonderful it is and will be. He told us that we would all be able to get a glimpse of exaltation and told Elder Miller to stand up and then said that his family was in the back and to join his family. He was so happy to see his family and went so fast to join his family at the back of the room and embrace them. The whole room was in tears, it was so touching. I couldn't help but think of all of you and how much I miss you. I couldn't help but think of the day we will again reunite and how heavenly that will be. I know that family relationships don't end at death, I know that families can be together forever. I love all of you so much and I can't imagine not being with all of you for forever. I know that one day we can all go to the temple and be sealed as a family and have the sure knowledge that we will be together FOREVER.
I love all of you so much! You are everything to me. Being on a mission has increased my understanding of just how dear all of you are to me. Thank you for your support and love! Oh and thank you for the package, I received it at the mission conference! I am waiting to open it on Christmas when I will talk to all of you! YAY! Talk to you soon. :]
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
Sunday, December 18, 2011
12-12-11
Hello family!
It's beginning to feel like winter here in California. I can't believe Christmas is so soon, 2011 is almost over, and the beginning of a new year is almost here. I honestly feel like the mission puts you in a time warp and when I get home I will still believe it is May of 2011. Christmas season is so fun. We have had fun listening to our Christmas music and looking at the different Christmas lights up on the houses in the neighborhoods. I can't help but feel so blessed. I have so much, I am SO blessed. As I think about Christmas time and our Savior, I cant' help but feel so much gratitude and love for Him.
This past week we had a lesson with one of our investigators, Alejandra. She is a sweet lady. She is a single mom of two children who is trying her hardest to provide for her kids the best life possible. She has been working night shifts at a factory of some sort. On Friday night we went over there to see how she was doing and she was out front, talking on the phone crying. We let her finish her conversation on the phone and when she got off, she said to us sobbing "Me faulta la ayuda de Dios"- "I don't have the help of God." My heart was broken. Something happened that had made her feel that God is not there at this time for her. We asked her what happened and she told us that she had been fired from her job due to the wrong of another person, who she thought was her friend. As she told us this, I was racking my brain for something, anything I could do or say to make her feel better. I put my arm around her and tried to console her, she then invited us into her apartment. I know that Hna. Stephenson and I were both doing our best to follow the spirit, praying to know what it is we need to say to her that night that would help her know that God is there despite this hard time. We asked if we could have a prayer on our knees and then we shared with her in Doctrine and Covenants 121 when Joseph Smith, a prophet, was doing all that he could to build up the kingdom of God, doing his best to be a husband and father, doing his best to be a son of God and was put in Liberty Jail for months in the winter with barely any food, without a bathroom. Horrible, horrible circumstances. We shared with her his cry out to our Heavenly Father when he asked in verse 1. "O God, where are thou?" We read until God consoles Joseph and says in verse 7. "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;"
After we shared of God's love for her and that this is a trial and difficulty in her life right now, but that in the grand scheme of things it is "but a small moment." We told her everything would be okay, we testified to her that God is ALWAYS there. She expressed to us afterward that she really like those verses and that she felt better, she felt peace. We left her with a prayer. We walked out of her apartment that night feeling that the spirit had worked through us. I can't imagine being a single mom of two children and losing my job. I don't know what I would do, but I do know that God is ALWAYS there, but it's up to us to turn to Him.
I am so thankful for all of you. You are all great examples to me. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your love and support. I hope that everything is going well and that you all feel the love of God for you because He does love you sooo much.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
It's beginning to feel like winter here in California. I can't believe Christmas is so soon, 2011 is almost over, and the beginning of a new year is almost here. I honestly feel like the mission puts you in a time warp and when I get home I will still believe it is May of 2011. Christmas season is so fun. We have had fun listening to our Christmas music and looking at the different Christmas lights up on the houses in the neighborhoods. I can't help but feel so blessed. I have so much, I am SO blessed. As I think about Christmas time and our Savior, I cant' help but feel so much gratitude and love for Him.
This past week we had a lesson with one of our investigators, Alejandra. She is a sweet lady. She is a single mom of two children who is trying her hardest to provide for her kids the best life possible. She has been working night shifts at a factory of some sort. On Friday night we went over there to see how she was doing and she was out front, talking on the phone crying. We let her finish her conversation on the phone and when she got off, she said to us sobbing "Me faulta la ayuda de Dios"- "I don't have the help of God." My heart was broken. Something happened that had made her feel that God is not there at this time for her. We asked her what happened and she told us that she had been fired from her job due to the wrong of another person, who she thought was her friend. As she told us this, I was racking my brain for something, anything I could do or say to make her feel better. I put my arm around her and tried to console her, she then invited us into her apartment. I know that Hna. Stephenson and I were both doing our best to follow the spirit, praying to know what it is we need to say to her that night that would help her know that God is there despite this hard time. We asked if we could have a prayer on our knees and then we shared with her in Doctrine and Covenants 121 when Joseph Smith, a prophet, was doing all that he could to build up the kingdom of God, doing his best to be a husband and father, doing his best to be a son of God and was put in Liberty Jail for months in the winter with barely any food, without a bathroom. Horrible, horrible circumstances. We shared with her his cry out to our Heavenly Father when he asked in verse 1. "O God, where are thou?" We read until God consoles Joseph and says in verse 7. "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;"
After we shared of God's love for her and that this is a trial and difficulty in her life right now, but that in the grand scheme of things it is "but a small moment." We told her everything would be okay, we testified to her that God is ALWAYS there. She expressed to us afterward that she really like those verses and that she felt better, she felt peace. We left her with a prayer. We walked out of her apartment that night feeling that the spirit had worked through us. I can't imagine being a single mom of two children and losing my job. I don't know what I would do, but I do know that God is ALWAYS there, but it's up to us to turn to Him.
I am so thankful for all of you. You are all great examples to me. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your love and support. I hope that everything is going well and that you all feel the love of God for you because He does love you sooo much.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Robinson
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