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
Sunday, February 19, 2012
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
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
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