New challenges.........

     Well I guess they didn't want to wait for the 5 year mark in October for nursery. Sunday I got called to be the Young Women's Secretary. I have never been in YW's. It will be a great and new challenge! I am excited, nervous and very humbled by this calling. There are 45 beautiful girls in there. There will be newsletters, rolls, birthdays and camp. I am still doing nursery on Sunday till they find someone, so I get to ease into this. But I am really going Wow! I have painters that I have gotten mad at in my house. Thank you landlord for not listening and keeping them in the basement. I have now locked all doors and windows so they have to work outside!! It's warm out, they can handle it! I am grateful for all the challenges this week. They have kept me on my toes and also tired me out! But that is what life is all about!!! New challenges........     :]



Dear Family,

Well this week was pretty great. It was different, but really good! We did a ton of service! Man, everyone is moving! Ha ha there's like 5 families moving here. I love helping out though. So remember the Bible bashing people we found the other week? Well we had an awesome lesson with the husband on tuesday! It was the complete opposite than the lesson before! He just basically wanted us back to Bible bash but when we got in there for the second time we gave him our purpose and that we are there to teach. Not bash. It was pretty cool though, it set the tone for the whole lesson. We taught for about an hour and it went so well, but we didn't even get through the first lesson! He's the type of guy that wants all the details and that's what we gave him. He knew a lot about the church but still had it all wrong. He said he was "shocked". In a good way. Ha ha. It was cool.

So i may or may not send pictures of this...we'll see how i feel after. But in district meeting for a readiness activity, i dressed up like a baby. Binky and all. I applied it to helping our investigators(babies) to understand the need of the Book of Mormon, and how to use it. Hey, it worked! Whatever it takes to get it done right? Ha ha.

This last week i went on exchanges with the Fairborn elders. It was awesome! I just love getting out and about and learning from other elders. It's so fun. These missionaries are awesome. While on exchanges, Elder Lamm and Birch had a sweet lesson with Donna and her son Brandon. The bishop came along and everything. Brandon is now all for baptism and is excited for it! We're just waiting on Donna. She is praying for May 26th for her and her son to be baptized. I love those two.

Ok so a really cool thing happened yesterday. At church we were doing our normal thing and helping out in a primary class when a member came in to tell us a guy came in and was looking for us. She asked him if he was visiting and he said "well kind of". Clear indication that either he's less-active or a non-member. He said," is this the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?" She said yes. He said, "ok. This is where i need to be." After that is when she grabbed us. So we walked in to priesthood and sat and asked his name and if we could talk in the lobby. The first thing he said when we sat down was," Ok, do you have the authority to baptize?" We said yes. Then he said, "Well i'll get right to it, i want to be baptized."   ......Mind=BLOWN. Ha ha. He had been taught 8 years ago and and the only thing keeping him from being baptized was that he smoked and drank coffee but now he doesn't. He had been wanting to go to church but week after week he kept putting it off until a few days ago his sister died and said alright, this is the week. So we taught him the first lesson right there with little 10 yr old Sam McMurray who spoke up and bore testimony on prayer and taught him how to pray. It was one of the most powerful moments of my mission. Amazing. So we're going to be meeting with him as much as possible this week and the bishop said to baptize him as soon as possible. SO it may be this saturday or the next. Woo! The Lord is in this work. He is so prepared and ready to be baptized. I am so blessed to be a part of this work and to be given these opportunities. Wow. I love it.

So i said this week was different, and it was for obvious reasons. But it's different because we found 6 people last week but we're only teaching 2 of them right now. And this week we found only 2 people, but i feel like we found more because they are ready to be baptized. It's crazy how each week differs on a mission. Some weeks you'll find a bunch of people to teach and have none left after the first lesson. And others you'll find 1 person and that's the person you really needed to find. I'm learning more than i ever have. I'm seeing more success from my efforts than ever before, but it's also been harder than ever before. But that just proves that hard is good(President Nilsen's motto). Hard is when we are being molded into the person we need to be. It's when we learn and grow the most. And i am so grateful that the mission isn't easy. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father has given me this opportunity to be here and be a part of this work. I can honestly say that this last year has been the greatest year of my life. And i look forward to another year! I love my Savior. I know with out a doubt, that this is his true church and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. We should each remember that we are representing His church, whether we have a tag or not. We have the fulness of the gospel. We have the light and the only thing that can save this world. Let's share it and love others into His church!


Have a great week!! I love you all!! Ohio is cold and damp. But is wonderful!

-Elder Robinson

Got a little distracted again........

     I was helping with the cleaning of the garage and went oops!! So here I am taking a minute to put the Elder's letter on here. Sorry it's been 2 weeks in a row without my words of wisdom ha ha! But it is the last day for the city dumpsters and I have Chet and James helping today. So hopefully I will write more next week. Have a great week everyone!!   :]


 Dear Family,
 
So, this past week was a rather interesting one. SO much happened i can't remember it all ha ha. On Monday for p-day we went to a park with Conrad and played softball and baseball. Probably the best part was when i hit the ball while Elder Lamm was pitching and it went right back at him and hit him. Ohh that was fun. I'm starting to notice a pattern when it comes to sports on my mission..i play so much better on my mission than i ever did at home. I don't get it! I hope it lasts!

On Tuesday we found a sweet family! The mom isn't so committed...but the kids are so solid. We only got through half of the first lesson because they were asking so many questions and participating so well. It was great. But before we taught, the mom said," I ain't gonna lie to y'all, i'm lesbian, i've done dope and dealt dope, i've been shot and stabbed, and these aren't even my kids." To say the least i was pretty speechless. We both kinda blanked out for a bit ha ha thankfully Elder Lamm knows missionary work better than i do and he broke the silence perfectly and the lesson moved on and was great. Then later that night we found another family who was referred to us by some members. They let us right in which was surprising and we started out just fine but the husband came in and his intentions were completely set on proving us wrong. It was crazy. I'm not a very bible bashing missionary, in fact i do my best not to! But lately i've had more people want to than any other time of my mission. It's kind of annoying. But it does give me opportunities to bare my testimony just a little bit more boldly. Being a missionary is crazy. You never know what to expect.

On Friday we were headed to an appointment with Clarissa down in Spring Valley, which is the bottom of our area, when we felt like we needed to go see Alex, so we did and his fiance was there but not him. It turns out he had a major porpherea (not sure how you spell that) attack and was in the hospital. After that we got in the car and prayed if we should go see him and the answer was yes, and now. So we went and he was awake and was definitely in need. He has been through so much. It was hard seeing him like that again. Hurting both physically and spiritually. So we taught him a little bit, gave him some conference talks to read and then gave him a blessing. He seemed a lot happier after we left. I am so grateful that the spirit prompted us to go see him. We had no idea he was in the hospital, but Heavenly Father knew. And he knew that Alex needed help. The spirit is so wonderful. Later that night we got a referral for a man in the county jail. So we were also able to go to the jail and teach him! His name is Brandon. His mom is a member and his girlfriend is being baptized next week. It was a pretty cool experience! When i was called to be a missionary, i never thought i would teach anyone in jail. But man it's just too cool!

We also were able to go to Linda's and tare down her deck and burn a bunch of stuff! That was fun! I don't have time to explain all the things we burned but i can send pictures ha ha. It was crazy awesome! Except for the nail in my foot. Ouch.

Alright well i gotta get goin. I love you all! Add yes transfers are next week. Crazy how fast that went by! AH! Have a great week!!

-Elder Robinson

I almost forgot to blog.........

     Well I guess it's better late than never. I'm just going to let the Elder talk today........Enjoy!!   :]


Dear Family,


So this past week has been pretty great. It was a bit slower for our area because of exchanges. I went to Fairborn for just about 2 days because one of the elders there was so sick and they had a bunch of appointments, then the next day they had the booth set up at Wright State University and they wanted someone who had done it before to be with the other Elder so i stayed a little longer that day. That was SO fun! They have a booth with basically a big picture of Jesus on the table and a couple of Books of Mormon too. And you sit and say hi to people and hey wanna hear about Jesus? stuff like that. It's goofy. I did it before and it went well but this time we texted all the members that we knew that were at school and had them come see us and bring friends, which they did! And when they got there even more people came ha ha! I brought my Ukulele too and played while one of the member girls there sang. Oh man it was so fun.

Speaking of the Ukulele, for some reason everyone has asked me to sing for them. It's so funny. I would carry it around and play whatever and no one would ask me to play for them until now. I love it. I'm no singer, but I'm getting a lot better with the uke. Plus hymns are so perfect to play on it believe it or not. So I've sang for like 15 people this past week. Not including the booth ha ha. It's awesome! Any way to get the work done right?

We had an awesome training from the zone leaders this past week. President Nilsen has been trying to figure out really the one thing that has been holding back the mission from being more successful and has discovered that it is P-days. P-days for the past 2 years has pretty much become a play-day and not a preparation-day. I never really thought about it but when it was brought up, the spirit instantly confirmed that this was the problem! So we're now being strictly obedient to the white handbook when it comes to P-days. I love when president brings out the whip! Ha ha it brings so many blessings when we listen to him. This week is going to rock.

This week we found a great girl named Clarrissa. We tracted a trailer park and found her and sat outside and taught her, she is super cool! She's never been religious and doesn't know much about the Bible or really anything. It's cool starting from scratch and teaching the basics. The gospel is so simple and so beautiful and easy to teach. So easy to understand and it brings so many blessings into our lives. It's amazing. Oh and we found a lady named Barbara! She had been taught before about a year ago and we decided to contact her and see what was up. She let us right in and told us she knew she needs to be baptized and needs to do it soon. What a great thing to hear! Ha ha i was pretty much blown away. She came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed it! We are going to set up a dinner with her neighbors who are members and we're going to begin teaching her. I love how the Lord just guides us! All we have to do is be obedient and do what he asks! It takes hard work but it is so worth it.

Well, I'm glad to hear you Easter went well! Mine went along just fine! We got more candy than i think i got on Christmas. Oh my goodness. What a rough life. Ha ha. I love the Savior. I am so grateful for Him. I love knowing that he lives. I love declaring and sharing my testimony of that truth. I love the spirit, and how when we listen to it, we find those that need us. I love the Book of Mormon. I will read it forever. With all of my heart i know it is true. More than ever in any time of my life do i want to share this book with others! Being a missionary is an amazing thing that changes your life. Man, i am so grateful for such a privilege.

I love you all! Thank you so much for all the support you give me! Have a great week!

-Elder Robinson

Easter time is upon us......

     Easter time is here!! When I was little it was about the dress and the basket. You go to church and have a great lesson all dressed up then go home to all the goodies. Now I don't really put a lot into the Easter baskets. I make them have a few fun things in them with some goodies. But what I love is the Easter lesson in the nursery lesson, http://www.lds.org/manual/behold-your-little-ones-nursery-manual/lesson-29-jesus-christ-was-resurrected?lang=eng. I have been teaching it for 41/2 years now and I still love it. I cut out the figures and put them in a folder that I staple the sides of. Then I write on the top "My Easter Story". I write their name on it, they are so excited to take them home and show them to their families. It's a simple and sweet way of telling the story. I love the Nursery manual. I hope this Easter you get to spend time with your families and know that you are truly loved!! Happy Easter!!


 Dear Family!


Goodness! So much great news coming from home! How amazing! Sinaih! Married?! That's amazing! And Jacob is home!!! Woo! Return with Honor! Once a missionary always a missionary!

On the busy Wednesday morning we taught at a retirement home! It was great! We taught about 30 older people about the Atonement. It was so fun. We ate breakfast first, which was interesting. While standing in line there was a pretty bad smell coming from somewhere and i thought it was just the person in front of me. So i went along and got my food and went to my seat. But i still smelled that awful smell! I quickly realized that the smell, had turned into a taste as i took a bite of a biscuit smothered in gravy. It was the gravy! It smelled and tasted like grounded up death. But, i carried on and finished it anyway. All in all it was still a great experience getting up in front of all these strangers declaring the truth of the Savior, that HE LIVES.

Conference! Wow! How amazing! There was too much to take in though ha ha i'm going to print all of them out and study them through the months. Conference is like Christmas for missionaries, well it should be for everyone but for missionaries it's the greatest. For some reason, members also LOVE to feed missionaries LOTS and LOTS of food during conference. Holy moly. I must have gained 20 lbs! So much fooood. But it was fun. Donna came to the Saturday Morning Session! It was great! She enjoyed it a lot and said," It gives you so much to think about, and i love that choir!" It was a great experience for everyone. Then afterwards there's a family here, the Terry's, that take the missionaries to Golden Corral for conference. So Donna came with! She is a wonderful lady and we all had a lot of fun. I love the Terry's.

We went on a few exchanges with other missionaries this week. That is probably the most fun part of being a District Leader. You get to go on exchanges with your leaders more often and the other missionaries in your district weekly. I love it! It's a great learning experience and a great way to get to know the other missionaries. I am learning so much.

The ward is doing great! This Sunday is "invite a non-member to church day". So far we are planning on having the church full! It is going so great. We are receiving more referrals from members than i have ever had, which is amazing. More referrals=more baptisms. It's a fact! We are really working on helping this ward become a missionary ward. It's coming along!


Alright well time has run out! I've got to get goin!! I love you all! The church is true!!!! I love it out here. Have a great week! Share the gospel with someone!

-Elder Robinson